Paths

Paths allow your guests to walk around the park.

Guests and Paths
An unlimited number of guests can walk on a path in any direction, and they never bump into each other.

Guests will follow a path until an intersection, entrance, exit or until the end, they can't turn around in the middle of a path. Unless you provide guests with maps, the direction the guests take is purely random. Guests with maps will head towards their destination rides/stalls, and avoid paths leading to dead ends.

Guests never leave a path unless you delete paths or they fall off a ride exit onto the ground (or you pick them up and place them off a path). "Lost" guests wander around the ground until they find a path.

Path Types
{C In RCT1 and RCT2, paths can be constructed using the path builder window, in the center of the topbar. There are 2 kinds of paths: Queue Lines and normal paths.

Queue lines are built from ride entrances and allow people to queue for rides. In the Original RCT, all queue lines were blue. Corkscrew Follies allows the building of green, red and yellow queue lines. When a queue line connects to an entrance and a normal path, a banner displaying either "closed" or the ride name will appear at the head of the queue line.

Normal paths allow normal movement, but Queue Lines can also function as general paths if they don't lead to a ride entrance. In the original RCT, there were 5 different kinds of path design. The selection was expanded in Corkscrew Follies and further in Loopy landscapes.

Queue lines won't connect to adjacent queue lines, but will always connect to an adjacent normal path.Once queue lines connect, you can no longer extend them. Queue line never form intersections.

Normal paths always connect to other adjacent normal paths. In RCT2 and RCT1, the creation of 2 paths side by side will form a wider continally intersecting path; many guests become stuck as they wander in circles around the paths. In RCT3, large intersecting paths no longer caused guests to be stuck.

Path building options
Paths can be built in 2 ways in RCT1 and 2. A direct method allows you to place path square by square, but only on flat and sloped path (not diagonal slopes or edges). Path tiles automatically connect to adjacent path tiles, forming continuous paths. Sloped paths only connect to paths parallel to the gradient, 2 sloped paths side by side never connect. Ground paths cost $10 in the original RCT, queue lines $12, but both were revised to $12 in loopy landscapes. You can delete paths by right clicking on them. The refund is always $10 regardless of what the path originally cost.

You can also change the path style or type of existing paths, even underground or elevated paths using this method. Replacing a path with a different type/style costs $6.

The second method allows you to select the head tile, i.e where you start building the path, and allows you to add paths linearlly section by section. You specify the direction using the arrow buttons.

In this method, you can add elevated paths by selecting the slope up/down options. Elevated paths cost than normal paths, depending on the height. Supports can be customised in Loopy Landscapes, up to 5 options are available. Paths have a maximum support height of 20 in RCT1, trying to create paths any higher off the ground will cause an error message saying "Can't build footpath here, too high for supports". Paths can be build over tracks and other paths; a clearance of 2 height marks is needed for guests to pass through.

By building into a cliff, underground paths or tunnels can be created. Underground paths always cost $32 in RCT1, regardless of depth. Underground paths must clear other rides/paths by 2 height marks underneath.

Pathing Systems
Guests getting lost can be a huge problem in RCT1 and RCT2, since their intelligence is very limited. Most of the times, people wander around aimlessly, but it can happen that they have a specific goal: The park exit, a ride, a food/drink stall or a bathroom.

When they have such a goal, they will head straight to it and can't make their way properly. This can lead to your guests getting trapped. If they head for a ride, they will sooner or later give up, but if they want to leave the park, it can happen that they are trapped endlessly. This causes your park rating to drop rapidly, same as if you block the park exit with a sign. Also long or too complicated ways to shops and stalls can cause unhappy guests.

Guests can't turn around in the middle of a path, they need a special point for that: intersections, ride exits, shops and stalls or benches (if they sit down). On every such decision point, they will choose the direction which is closer to their target. This can be especially problematic with dead ends facing the exit.

A path can be as complicated as you want, as long as there are no decision points, your guests can't get lost. It's hard to maintain that, though, but you can block ride exits with one-way signs if they are causing problems. But remember that guests can decide to leave your park on every single tile, so be careful.

Many scenarios start with a suboptimal path system which can lead the player into continuing it that way - but often enough, it's a wise choice to remove it and start over.

Trivia and Tips

 * In RCT1, there is a bug where when you place a sloping path directly in front of a ride exit at the same height, guests magically float up on to the sloped paths even though the path is not connected. Mechanics cannot enter by this way though, so make sure paths always connect to ride exits.
 * In RCT1, if you convert a queue line with guests already queuing on them into a normal path, queuing guests will continue to stay in line until the line moves. Then they will walk all the way up the queue line (as like normal paths) and reach the entrance, only to turn back and resume walking normally.
 * Guests never vandalize objects or puke on an underground path.
 * If you delete an elevated path the guests on it will drop to the ground or a lower path. Delete an underground path, and the guests on it will "drop" into the void and simply vanish.
 * To prevent the queue line from prematurely connecting to a normal path, delete an adjacent path and build the queue line until you reach the desired path.
 * Queue lines also have a tendency to connect to an adjacent ride exit or stall, causing them to end. Don't place entrances close to exits or stalls to prevent this from happening.
 * Mechanics never enter a queue line by themselves. So if you decide to make use of a queue line as a path, do not connect them to exits.
 * The only staff who purposely leave paths are handymen who are set to mow the grass.