Pushing the Limits of Sandbox Games: Rollercoaster Tycoonists

July 21, 2008 3:29 PM

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 came out in 2004, and was received with mixed reviews. Four years later, hobbyists of the game continue to take it to a whole other level. You may have already seen links to the creative ways to devastate in RCT3. A whole other group of fans, however, have gone on to create highly detailed parks and ride recreations. They use customized textures and mods to create massive architectural works that require hundreds--sometimes over thousands--of hours of work.

Apologies in advance for the long intros and ride lines for some of these videos. (Yes, even the lines you stand in is a big part of Rollercoaster re-creation for many hobbyists.)

Space Mountain (entry way and line shown here)

Pirates of the Carribean @ Disneyland Paris

Epcot Center's Test Track

A glowing tribute to several creations, rousing music included.

Still no word on a complete Disneyland however--the universal wisdom is that no one makes it past recreating Main Street.

posted by The ____ of Justice (41 comments total)

Pretty stuff.... the videos are a bit on the long side though...
posted by monkeyx-uk at 3:44 PM on July 21, 2008

You didn't include one of my faves, The PollerCoaster, put together by Australian political blog Possum Comitatus which shows the Australian Labor Party's two party preferred vote from January 2000 through to the 2007 election (which they won).

I'm surprised no one has done something similar for the US presidential elections, or the Democratic Primaries. Yet.
posted by Effigy2000 at 3:48 PM on July 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

That's a great video, Effigy. Never seen it before.

Yeah, I agree on the length, monkeyx. I guess because a lot of the creators put 100+ hours into these rides, they feel compelled to put in every detail, at least to show to other creators.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 3:56 PM on July 21, 2008

I enjoyed the roller coaster crashed way too much. I need to bleach my dark, dark heart.
posted by NoMich at 4:04 PM on July 21, 2008

[crashes]

dammit
posted by NoMich at 4:04 PM on July 21, 2008

Awesome awesome awesome! 3 cheers for The CREAMY CENTER of Justice.

I laughed harder at the crash video than makes any sense. I think a lot of that has to do with the completely inappropriate music.

What is that song? I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!!

Okay, no more sugar for Navelgazer today...
posted by Navelgazer at 4:31 PM on July 21, 2008

Whole communities exist building this sort of thing for Simcity 4 as well. It's wonderful. Thanks for the post.
posted by WPW at 4:49 PM on July 21, 2008

Where monorail meets monaural.
posted by GuyZero at 5:06 PM on July 21, 2008

I'm just waiting for some jerk to inevitably say "Some people have WAY too much time on their hands!"
posted by PM at 5:11 PM on July 21, 2008

Some people have WAY too much time on their hands!

amirite?
posted by Navelgazer at 5:14 PM on July 21, 2008

I'm surprised no one has done something similar for the US presidential elections, or the Democratic Primaries. Yet.

How about this one for US housing prices?
posted by davejay at 5:15 PM on July 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Also, for Navelgazer, that song is "Hoppípolla" by Sigur Rós.
posted by PM at 5:18 PM on July 21, 2008

Double also, for Navelgazer, HA!
posted by PM at 5:19 PM on July 21, 2008

Well, that's what happens, PM, when people don't respond fast enough over here ("fast enough" in this case means "immediatelyimmediatelyfuckingimmediatelyCOME ON!") then I'll post on the blue, and hopefully send a few people over to this kick-ass post while I'm at it.
posted by Navelgazer at 5:29 PM on July 21, 2008

Post on the green. Sorry.
posted by Navelgazer at 5:29 PM on July 21, 2008

The destructive clip had an eerie sort of beauty.
posted by Phalene at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2008

I'd say I don't know what's gotten into me today, but I know exactly what it was: That Carnage Video. I don't know what it is, maybe I'm just this type of gamer, but I've watched it maybe a dozen times already and it loses absolutely nothing. I said this on the green already, but re-watch it just to pay attention to the bald guy in the black-and-yellow shirt at 1:29.
posted by Navelgazer at 5:35 PM on July 21, 2008

That Space Mountain video actually had me leaning in my seat, and I know that coaster really well - particularly that last big gravity and negative-G hill right before the end. The takeoff/lift track sequence is almost spot on, and I wish Disneyland really could project little floating 3D stars and galaxies you could crash through, but it's a pretty close recreation to all the light effects and disorienting light-spot projections they use to light up the structure and track on the real thing.
posted by loquacious at 5:35 PM on July 21, 2008

Understood. And agreed: this is a fine post.
posted by PM at 5:40 PM on July 21, 2008

The crash one is so tragic. The poor girl who survives the carnage by inches and is just staring at the scene, and then the cars come hurtling back to earth out of the sky. But still they miraculously miss her.

And then the roller coast cars blow up. WTF?
posted by smackfu at 5:59 PM on July 21, 2008

Thank you, for Hoppipola alone!
posted by jimmythefish at 6:03 PM on July 21, 2008

PS I nominate Sigur Ros to speak to the aliens when they come.
posted by jimmythefish at 6:11 PM on July 21, 2008

davejay writes "How about this one for US housing prices?"

Wish they'd update it for the crash.
posted by Mitheral at 6:14 PM on July 21, 2008

This made me really miss Disney. Those recreations are dead on.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 7:08 PM on July 21, 2008

Glad you people enjoyed the destruction/creations!

Here are a couple of more crash videos illustrating RCT3's peculiar physics (as someone noted, the explosions seem to arrive centuries after the impact). Apologies if they've been posted before.

The Art of The Coaster Crash

The sadistic Suicide Park.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 7:23 PM on July 21, 2008

Not that anyone cares (and these are sweet), but I think the kooky 3D thing spoiled something in the Tycoon games. I would have loved developers to stick to the orthographic views, with the only change being in a few more camera views, better details, buildability (is that a word?) and characterizations, and of course, the ability to merge Zoo with Rollercoaster.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 8:18 PM on July 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thank You, The TOOTHACHE of Justice, while I still thing Hoppipolla is a much better song choice than Woman, I have to give props to your first new link there for naming the pedestrial-killing coaster "Free Balloon Ride."
posted by My Bloody Pony at 9:24 PM on July 21, 2008

You people?
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:57 PM on July 21, 2008

Effigy2000,

Sorry--not sure what the question is.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 10:02 PM on July 21, 2008

Well let me be the first to say that I object to these slick, highly expensive virtual rollercoasters. Developers have been systematically destroying the traditional virtual carny scene, in order to put these high investment, high return, low labour cost rides into place, at the cost of jobs in the old virtual funfair economy. And if that's not enough, to boast abou their cultural and economic pillage in YouTube videos -- well, not the Best of the Web at all.

Shame on you Mefites, for supporting this bland, homogeneous, neo-conservative agenda. Meanwhile, the progressives among us will continue the struggle to support all those virtual Lobster Boys and Bearded Ladies, not to mention the Geek Shows and the Pickled Punk tents that have now been thrown on to the scrap heap by this new generation of game players.

A Lotta Continua.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:10 PM on July 21, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Just me being a little silly, The IRON MAIDEN of Justice. It's all good!
posted by Effigy2000 at 11:14 PM on July 21, 2008

I liked the crash vid but it lacked oooomph so I put a few together with some music that I think suits it more. Here you go.
posted by GavinR at 11:32 PM on July 21, 2008

Someone has also used RCT3 to create an interesting take on the film "Titanic"...
posted by spirit72 at 5:43 AM on July 22, 2008

Your soundtrack is better, Gavin.

And anyone who has ever played RCT knows that the crash video won't work. You need a bathroom, and maybe a cotton candy stand somewhere if you expect your guests to come back.
posted by Dave Faris at 6:04 AM on July 22, 2008

Wow. That titanic video is huge. Someone has a lot of time on their hands.

• Titanic pt 1
• Titanic pt 2
• Titanic pt 3
• Titanic pt 4
• Titanic pt 5
• Titanic pt 6
• Titanic pt 7

and a recreation of Titanic behind the scenes. Wow
posted by joelf at 3:58 PM on July 22, 2008

Reminds me of the times I used to drive against traffic in an old NASCAR simulation game.
posted by zzazazz at 4:11 PM on July 22, 2008

My kids used to play these, and put in one bathroom for the whole park, and charge $50 for it. Now that was cruel.

The suicide park vid had me laughing out loud. Never knew I was so sadistic! Thanks for the thread.
posted by misha at 4:41 PM on July 22, 2008

My only real problem with RCT is highlighted in these videos. Say you're at an amusement park, and you're having fun, drinking $18 drinks and using misha's $50 bathroom, and you decide to ride the Big New Coaster. You wait hours in line, finally get to the front and notice that each roller coaster train car includes 5 pounds of C4, just for effect. WHO STAYS ON THAT RIDE?

I mean really... the inner-tubes on the waterslides explode. That's just not building for safety.
posted by krakedhalo at 5:29 PM on July 22, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Looking further, "Titanic" has also been done in Sims 2.

Yes, far too much time on their hands..
posted by spirit72 at 5:26 AM on July 23, 2008

Seriously. Just think of how much gold they could have amassed in WoW in the time it took them to do that.
posted by Dave Faris at 7:39 AM on July 23, 2008

I was bitterly disappointed that they made Rollercoaster Tycoon into a 3D game. SO much was lost. It was cute, with character and endless gameplay options - the 3D really limited its charm to me. It made it more difficult to play and turned it into a clunky kid's game. I still play Rollercoaster Tycoon 2, the real version that is still enjoyable. And the user-created objects are fantastic too. Sigh. I guess that's the way it goes now with video games, but I really don't understand the fascination with 3D.
posted by agregoli at 10:30 AM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]