Guests and Staff

In the series, Guests and staff appear in the games to give it a true theme park appeal.

Normal Guest
A normal guest is the average person to go into your park.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon, they all look like brown-haired male guests whose basic "names" are Guest #, with the # being the number of the guest who has crossed the beginning of the path to the entrance. In the expansion packs, an option on the Options menu lets one change their names so they can have "realistic" names (Bob H., Marie Q. etc.). They also have different ride tolerance and can have different thoughts/moods depending on their surrounding environment.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, the "real" names option inherited from the RCT1 expansions is enabled by default. The guests themselves are basically the equivalent to their predecessors in terms of looks, acts and behavior. However, their intelligence has been somewhat fixed, as one can build paths twice as wide without the guests getting lost. They also actively seek objects like stalls, toilets and the park exit according to their needs instead of wandering around. A guest logic has been coded in RCT2, which enables them to watch ongoing or mid-construction rides.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, the guests have major upgrades in their designs; instead of the brown-haired people in the game, now people appear in different sizes and looks, and ages. They also have more varied thoughts and are characteristically more interactive with each other. They usually come in "families", and they are divided in three ages: adult, teen and child. There is a Peep Designer available in the game's options menu.

In all three incarnations, guests have moods, thoughts and can be attracted to/leave your park depending on certain awards, the overall environment and the variety of rides.

Special/Cheat Guest
In the RCT series, naming guests certain names will give them certain characteristics that makes them special and stand out against the usual crowd. For example, naming a guest "BigBucks" will make this guest have infinite money, and naming a guest "Tony Day" will make him become hungry faster and more often than usual guests. Some names can change guests actions and their attitude. If you name a guest "Melanie Warn," that guest will instantly become happy, which can come in handy for angry peeps and vandals. Naming a guest "Katie Brayshaw" will make this guest stop and wave to others often when they meet, making guests become slightly happier. Guests can have multiples of the same name, from changing lower cased to uppercased, and vice versa, meaning you can have several cheat guests.

Celebrities/VIP Guests
In RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, celebrities occasionally appear in your park as part of a scenario objective. They need to be directed to a certain ride with a minimum statistic, specified in the list of scenario objectives.

The player can create waypoints for the celebrity to follow, although they don't always adhere to your will. Celebrities usually are followed by a horde of fans, which will pester him/her for autographs. If they are harassed enough, the celebrity will become unhappy and leave the park. Certain celebrities have low rubbish or breakdown tolerance which can cause them to leave the park also.

Vandals
The guests can also commit vandalism. The concentration of vandalism is directly connected to the level of litter and/or vomit in a certain part of the path. Vandals can be recognized by their red face expression in the guest window. They will destroy nearby benches, lamps and litter bins, regardless of their happiness level. A temporary solution are the security guards, who forbid destroying things in their vicinity. However, a more common and permanent tactic is making a 1x1 island (also known as the prison among the players) in the water, placing a footpath in it, and then putting benches on the path. Then, drag the potential vandal to that island, and he will eventually cool down.

Handymen

 * Cost per month: $35 (RCT1), $50 (RCT2)


 * Default uniform color: Red (color can be changed)


 * Assignable tasks: Sweep Footpaths, Water Gardens, Empty Litter Bins, Mow Grass

Handymen are essential members of your staff. They are responsible for cleaning up the messes that your guests make; both trash and vomit. They also perform maintenance on your landscapes, by mowing grass and watering flowers.

Note that any Handyman that does not mow grass (mowed grass contributes to scenery and makes guests happier) will almost always stay on paths like guests. Be careful however if you use paths as roofing tiles. If these roofing tiles fall within the Handymans patrol area, the Handyman may jump up on the roof and get stuck there - you have to use your pincers to put them back on the real path, or the real path will never get cleaned!

If the Handyman is given lots of work (lots of gardens to water, trash to sweep, or vomit to clean), keep the patrol area very small.

It appears that vandalism and vomit do not occur in tunnels, so these areas may not have to be patrolled as much (remember that chance of vandalism is directly related to the concentration of litter/vomit on the ground). by Only one patrol area (large or small) should be designated. if multiple non connected plots of patrol areas are selected, the handyman will be "stuck" (never leave) in the plot he is currently in, and neglect other plots.

Mechanics

 * Cost per month: $55 (RCT1), $80 (RCT2)


 * Default uniform color: Blue (color can be changed)


 * Assignable tasks:
 * Inspect Rides. Inspecting Rides prevents them from breaking down.
 * Fix Rides

Mechanics are essential to keeping a parks' rides operational. They make sure that rides continue to run, and fix them if they break down. If a ride requires inspection or fixing, the mechanic enters through the ride exit, so it is important that mechanics can access that area.

Mechanics generally roam randomly around the paths of your park. If a mechanic is heading to fix a ride, this will be noted in the staff window. In RCT1, mechanics heading towards a ride to inspect it appear as 'walking' just like an unoccupied mechanic.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon, a mechanic will be dispatched to a ride via a radio call. Only one mechanic is dispatched per broken-down ride. Typically, the closest unoccupied mechanic will be dispatched to the ride, though this is not always true. If a mechanic en route to a ride is picked up and placed back down, they will no longer head towards that ride and another mechanic will be dispatched. Mechanics may get lost or stuck on the way to a ride, as mechanics will attempt to find the most direct route to a ride and can inadvertently head down a dead end. If a mechanic is far away from a ride that breaks down, gets stuck on the way to the ride, or cannot access the ride exit, the player will receive warning messages that the ride has not been repaired. After a long period, a mechanic unable to reach a ride will give up, and another mechanic will be dispatched instead.

Security Guards

 * Cost per month: $45 (RCT1), $60 (RCT2)


 * Default uniform color: Yellow (color can be changed)

Security guards are a more passive unit than the other staff members. They prevent path items in their vicinity from being vandalized. Usually, security guards are not necessary if handymen are keeping the areas around the path items clean.

Entertainers

 * Cost per month: $40 (RCT1), $55 (RCT2)


 * Normal Costume: Panda, Tiger, Elephant


 * Theme Costume: Roman, Gorilla, Snowman, Knight, Astronaut, Sheriff, Bandit, Pirate, Princess, Wizard

Entertainers boost the happiness of guests in their vicinity, making them useful in crowded spaces such as queue lines, or long stretches of road.

Have Entertainers patrol the end section of long queue lines (lines over 9 minutes) to keep guests from complaining about the wait and to increase the time before guests leave a long queue in disgust. Also have Entertainers patrol long walkways without rides and areas of high trash/vomit potential to divert guests from making negative comments.

Trivia

 * The Bandit costume makes the entertainer wearing it do something highly humourus. First, he stands still and moves his head left, then right. He then looks down and moves one of his hands to his pocket, and pretends to pull the trigger to a nonexistent "gun". Nothing happens. Assuming it fell out, the entertainer shakes the pocket with his foot. Suddenly, a white line appears for a split second from his pocket to his foot. He then jumps up and down, as if he "shot" his foot! (RCT2 ONLY)
 * Different animations accompany different costumes.
 * Unlike entertainers in real-life amusement parks, they do not try to interact with the guests in your park, nor do your guests approach them for photos opportunities, and other activities.
 * Regardless of the costume chosen, their effectiveness will be the same.

Park Inspector
The Park Inspector is a senior citizen that provides updates about situations in the park. He will alert you about long lines, prices, and scenery.

Cost: Free, and comes with each park, and he is unfirable! Given that beings in RCT3 cannot die, you cannot kill him, which in some cases is unfortunate.

Assignable Tasks:
 * Check rides: He rides them for unknown reasons. Check this to allow him to perform this task.
 * Check shops: This allows the Park Inspector to check shops and tell you their price. However, there is a gimmick - he will also tell you if the shop matches scenery and will complain until you fix it.
 * Check vista: He will evaluate scenery at Photographic Spots, and tell you whether the guests, or "peeps", like or dislike it.

The Park Inspector may be unfireable, but you can make him "unhireable". The very moment the game starts, pause the game (shortcut key "P"). Delete the gray path that projects into the park, right up to the gate. With no path for the inspector to apppear on, the inspector will never show up. Unpause the game and wait a few moments. You can then replace the path if you wish.

Vendors
The cashier is present at all ride entrances, shops, and stalls. They perform tasks such as taking the guests' money, serving food and drinks, and handing the guests their purchased items. They can be fired and trained to make them quicker.

Other Information

 * In RCT3, guests were referred to as "peeps" and can travel in groups, typically families.