Miscellaneous:
Q: What is RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 and how is it different from previous versions of the game?
A: RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 (RCT3) is completely new and redesigned to take the series to all-new heights. Featuring incredible 3D graphics and the exclusive new Coaster Cam™, you can now see your park from any angle and ride what you build.
For fans of the previous versions of RollerCoaster Tycoon, RCT3 will feel like a completely new game: the game engine is new with stunning 3D views, night time, fireworks, park lighting, realistic weather, a new interface, and many new strategic elements and features requested by the fans. For a full list of features, visit the game info page.
Q: When and Where can I purchase RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3?
A: RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 is available now at online and in retail stores. Click here to buy online.
Q: Who is developing the game? Is Chris Sawyer programming RCT3?
A: RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 was developed by Frontier Developments, Ltd. of Cambridge, England, in conjunction with Chris Sawyer, the creator and sole developer of the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise. Frontier and its founder, David Braben, have a long association with Chris Sawyer going back to 1987, when Chris first worked on PC versions of the famous "Elite" and “Virus” games. Chris Sawyer did not program RCT3, but provided design and technical consultations to the development team.
Q: Does RCT3 have a sandbox mode? How is this implemented?
A: Yes there is a sandbox mode. You are able to create very large parks in sandbox mode, much larger than those offered in the scenarios. But keep in mind that large parks demand more computer resources and may run slowly on other people's machines (for example, those playing RCT3 on a minimum spec computer).
Q: What are the system requirements needed to play
RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3?
A: In order to play RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3, you will need a PC running Windows®. (A version for the Apple/Mac computers is NOT planned at this time).
Minimum and recommended computer specifications are as follows:
Operating System: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP (Windows® XP recommended)
Processor: Pentium® III 733 MHz or compatible (Pentium® 4 1.2 GHz or compatible recommended)
Memory: 128 MB RAM; 256 MB for XP (256 MB; 384 MB for XP recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 600 MB free
CD-ROM Drive: 4X CD-ROM or faster (8X or faster recommended)
Video: Any ATI Radeon™ or GeForce™ 2 with 32MB or higher; or other video card with 32MB and hardware T&L (ATI Radeon™ 64 MB SDR or GeForce™ 2 Pro or other video card with 64 MB or more memory and hardware T&L recommended)*
Sound: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible 16-bit sound card*
DirectX®: DirectX® version 9 (included) or higher
Q: How many rides are there going to be in RCT3?
A: There are 221 rides in RCT3, plus a number of these rides and coasters which are new to the series, fresh from the real world drawing-boards of today's top rollercoaster designers. Additionally, most coasters previously in RCT1 & 2 have been enhanced with a wider variety of track pieces (for example banked curves).
The breakdown of Rides is as follows:
- 139 Pre-built Coasters
- 51 Coaster Types
- 10 Junior Rides
- 27 Thrill Rides
- 7 Water Rides
- 18 Gentle Rides
- 6 Transport Rides
- 14 Other Rides (actual number is included with coasters total)
Q: Will there be a demo of the game before it’s release?
A: The RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 Demo is available now. Click here to download.
Q: Will there be expansion packs and how will they differ from previous RollerCoaster Tycoon® expansion packs?
A: We hope to announce our expansion pack plans in 2005. Please feel free to provide feedback on expansion pack ideas in our Forums.
Updates:
Q: Is there an update or a patch for RCT3?
UPDATE 1 for RCT3 is now available. This update introduces some new features, modifies the game's behavior based on early player feedback and addresses some problems which have come to light.
You can update RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 two ways:
- Click the UPDATES button found on the game's autorun screen (which is displayed when you insert the game-disc into your CD-ROM drive); or
- When you click the Check For Updates shortcut found in the Windows START menu under START > Programs > Atari > RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3.
NOTE: If you do not have an internet connection on the computer that you play RCT3 on you can download the update from the following link:
ftp://ftp.infogrames.net/patches/rct3/RCT3_RETAIL-UPDATE1_USA.EXE
Fireworks MixMaster™:
Q: Can I place Fireworks anywhere in the park?
A: Yes, you can place the fireworks on any available land by putting down a new scenery item that acts as the launch location for the fireworks. You can’t put fireworks on paths, rides or scenery.
Q: How do you build a fireworks show and set it to music?
A: We have a new designer tool called the Fireworks MixMaster™ that helps you to synchronize and assign types of fireworks to your placed launch locations and gives you a timeline on which you can trigger the firing of your pyrotechnics. The MixMaster lets you adjust the trigger times easily to synchronize the display to the chosen music track on your computer.
Q: How many individual firework designs are there?
A: There will be around 30 different fireworks (i.e. individual types of fireworks, not displays) shipped with the game.
Q: Can I see firework shows from the Coaster Cam™?
A: Yes, you can see anything and everything from the Coaster Cam™!
Q: Can Firework shows created by others be traded online and imported into my park?
A: Yes, you will be able to do this via RollerCoasterTycoon.com
Q: Can I include the music track that goes with my firework show when I share it with friends?
A: The music track is not included with your Fireworks Mixmaster™ show. However, if you’ve chosen a music track that is supplied in the game, then your friends will hear it too. For your friends to hear your custom fireworks show, they must have the same music track already, and it must have the same name for it to work for your show. For copyright reasons we cannot use the game to facilitate “sharing” of music.
User Created Content:
Q: Will I be able to create my own scenery for the game?
Q: Which rides can I create on my own?
Q: Can I import custom built 3D models into RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 like I could in RollerCoaster Tycoon® 2?
Q: What other user created “Mods” will be allowed with the new RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 engine?
A: (to all the above)
Unfortunately importing your own scenery or any other 3D models into the game is a feature that will NOT be in the game when it is first released. There are some major issues involved with this, and we feel the time remaining before release will be better spent on other aspects of the game. However, once we have completed the game we WILL sit down and figure out what it would take to make that happen. Atari and Frontier believe strongly in the value of allowing the RollerCoaster Tycoon® community to modify and customize the game.
Q: Can I import coasters created in the original RollerCoaster Tycoon® and RollerCoaster Tycoon® 2 into RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3?
A: YES. There are a couple of gotchas to look out for in the process (which will be explained in the game’s manual) but otherwise this works well.
Q: How do I convert tracks from RCT or RCT2 into RCT3?
A: Simply drop the TD6 or TD4 files in the My Documents\RCT3\Coasters folder; then when you run the game a new button will appear at the bottom of the rides button (it looks like a wrench and hammer). When you hover your pointer over new button, the tool tip reads "Import Track Designs From Previous RollerCoaster Tycoon(r) Games." When you click the button, a list of all the TD6 and TD4 files in the My Documents\RCT3\Coasters folder will be appear.
The issue with some rides not importing is that the clearances are different in RCT1 and RCT2 so not all old coasters work. The game may have issues if you import an old coaster and the tracks run into each other. Hopefully most of the coasters import ok.
Q: What elements of the game can I save and share with others online?
A: You can save out RollerCoaster track designs (of course), Scenarios, your Family groups including customized Peeps, Fireworks MixMaster™ displays, in-game videos, in-game photos / screenshots.
Q: How do I import music?
A: Simply, just copy the selected music files that you want to be played in RCT3 by pasting them to this directory: Desktop -> My Documents -> RCT3 -> Music. Then start the game up, and the new imported music files should be there. You can import wav, mp3, mid, and a few other file types into the folder.
Q: Where do the files save to?
A: Virtually all of the files for RCT3 that you've created have been saved to: C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\My Documents\RCT3 -or - Desktop -> My Documents -> RCT3.
Q: How and Where do I create and view the movie clips?
A: In RCT3, simply press the following keys all at once (excluding the +) "CTRL + SHIFT + F11" to begin recording. Then to stop recording, press those keys again. After you have created the file, it should be saved to C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\My Documents\My Videos\RCT3\.
Q: How and Where can I save and view the screenshots I created?
A: While in RCT3, simply press F10 to capture a screenshot. After you have pressed the F10 key. The file should have saved to: C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\My Documents\My Pictures\RCT3.
Coasters:
Q: How many coaster types will there be in RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3?
A: There are 48 different types of coaster tracks in-game and about 80 different types of cars. There are 28 different other track-based rides in the game, with about 40 different types of track-based cars.
Q: Will there be any licensed coasters that are replicas of real-world coaster designs?
A: Not this time around.
Q: Will the game include preset roller coaster designs of the various coaster types? Will these coasters be the same designs as those found in the original RollerCoaster Tycoon® and RollerCoaster Tycoon® 2 like Mischief, the gigantic wooden coaster?
A: Absolutely, there will be quite a few. You will find all the (non-licensed) designs from the original RollerCoaster Tycoon® and RollerCoaster Tycoon® 2 as well as some new designs using the ‘existing’ tracks as well as some others using the newer types of roller coasters that are not found in those titles.
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