User Guide

The Rotate button establishes one of two things. For simple and pre-designed
structures, it controls in which direction the ride will face. (You must set this
direction before you place the thing on the landscape.) When you’re starting
construction on a custom designed ride, however, the Rotate button determines the
orientation of the first section of track, which sets the direction in which the ride will
move and the direction in which the building process will proceed.
• At the bottom is the Entrance button. Use this to position the Entrance to the attraction. While
this button is depressed, move the mouse pointer to an appropriate spot (adjacent to the
ride), and click to build there. All rides must have an Entrance and an Exit, but shops and
stalls do not need them and cannot have them.
• Also at the bottom of the window is the Exit button. Not surprisingly, this allows you to
position the Exit from the attraction. While this button is depressed, move the mouse pointer
to an appropriate spot (adjacent to the ride), and click to build there. All rides must have an
Entrance and an Exit, but shops and stalls do not need them and cannot have them.
If you would like more information, please look into The Tutorial and Building Custom Rides.
Hedge Mazes
One of the mildest attractions you can build, and the one with the longest lineage, is the Hedge
Maze. Folks have been building these labyrinths of shrubbery for hundreds of years, and the
better known among them are popular tourist sites. The standard designs are quite nice, but if
you prefer to build your own, you’ll need to know how the tools work.
When you choose to design a custom hedge maze, the Hedge Construct window opens. It
includes a small, but powerful group of features. At the top are the three mode controls, which
determine what happens when you first click on the landscape (to place the first section of
maze) and when you move the resulting hedge construction cursor.
When the hedge construction cursor is in Open Mode, you build paths through which your guests
can walk.
Move Mode prevents the cursor from
building. In this mode, the cursor simply
travels across the landscape, leaving no paths
or hedges in its wake.
Put the hedge construction cursor into Fill Mode to place
impassable bushes to stymie your guests. In place of the
familiar Add This button, you have four directional arrow buttons.
The Build Arrows are what
you use to move the cursor
on the landscape and build
the maze. Click on any one
of these to move in that direction,
building as you go (unless, of course, you are in Move Mode).
A Track by Any Other Name
Please note that we often use the word ‘track’ to mean whatever structure determines the course
of a ride. Thus, remember that the options for designing “track” are also relevant to tubes, rails,
boat paths, overhead wires, and anything else that provides a fixed course for a ride.
The Curve Arrows determine the
basic shape of the next section of track.
• The Special button, immediately below the curves, offers an assortment of track pieces with
specific functions, including Station Platforms, brakes, bends, helixes, and boosters. Only
those special track types appropriate to the ride you’re working on are available.
The Incline buttons control the slope
of the next section of track.
Occasionally, your cars will need a lift uphill–at the start of most roller
coasters, for example. The Chain button adds a chain lift device to the
next section of track. Note that including more than one chain lift on
a roller coaster adds significantly to the operating costs of that ride.
The Roll and Bank tools let you tilt the next section of track. (Generally, the
idea of a bank is to reduce the G forces experienced in a tight turn.) You
use this on a straight piece of track before a turn, and the bank (or roll)
carries through the curve.
When you’re working on some types of water rides, there’s more than one
possible shape for the tubes your guests ride through. Use the Open or
Enclosed button to select the one you want for the next section of track.
The Add This button keeps track of all
your choices and displays a picture of
the next section of track you’ve selected
to add. The cost of what you’ve chosen
is noted just beneath the picture. Click
on this button to actually go ahead and
build the designed section of track.
If an existing section of track is selected, the Demolish button removes it. If
you’re designing the next section, this button removes the previous section– the
one you just built. When you’re working with simple (non-custom) attractions,
this button destroys the entire structure, including any Entrance and Exit.
Click this button to move the highlight to the Previous
section of track. Continue clicking until you reach the
section you want to change. (You can also right-click on
any section of track to instantly move the highlight there.)
Use this arrow to move the highlight to the Next section
of track. Continue clicking until you reach the section you
want to change. (You can also right-click on any section
of track to instantly move the highlight there.)
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