RollerCoaster Tycoon

''This page is about the first entry in the series. For the RCT sereis in general, visit RollerCoaster Tycoon series.''

RollerCoaster Tycoon (RCT or RCT1 for short) is a theme park management simulation game. The player must build successful theme parks to fulfill a set of objectives in various scenarios. The player can build custom roller coasters and tracked rides and add pre-designed rides, shops and stalls, path systems, and scenery to their park. RollerCoaster Tycoon is the first game of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series; it has two expansion packs – Corkscrew Follies/Added Attractions and Loopy Landscapes, and has two successful sequels – RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.

History
RollerCoaster Tycoon started out in 1996 as a planned sequel to Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon. This proposed sequel was soon abandoned and the code of the game was modified to handle roller coasters. By this time, the name was "White Knuckle". Even when Hasbro became involved, the name was still "White Knuckle". After Hasbro bought Microprose, however, the "Tycoon" name was too good an opportunity to pass up, even for a name like "White Knuckle". Microprose's Railroad Tycoon had done so well that Hasbro hoped the same would happen for White Knuckle. The name was then changed to RollerCoaster Tycoon.

Release Dates
PC Xbox
 * North America: March 31, 1999
 * Europe: April 12, 1999
 * Australia: in 2000 (date unknown)
 * North America: March 25, 2002
 * Europe: March 20, 2003
 * Australia: April 11, 2003

Transport Rides

 * Chairlift
 * Miniature Railroad
 * Monorail

Gentle Rides

 * Bumper Cars
 * Car Ride
 * Ferris Wheel
 * Haunted House
 * Hedge Maze
 * Merry-Go-Round
 * Observation Tower
 * Space Rings
 * Spiral Slide

Roller Coasters

 * Bobsled Roller Coaster
 * Inverted Roller Coaster
 * Mine Train Roller Coaster
 * Reverse Whoa Belly Roller Coaster
 * Single-Rail Roller Coaster
 * Stand-Up Steel Roller Coaster
 * Steel Corkscrew Roller Coaster
 * Steel Mini Roller Coaster
 * Steel Roller Coaster
 * Suspended Roller Coaster
 * Suspended Single-Rail Roller Coaster
 * Vertical Roller Coaster
 * Wooden Crazy Rodent Roller Coaster
 * Wooden Roller Coaster

Thrill Rides

 * 3D Cinema
 * Go Karts
 * Gravitron
 * Motion Simulator
 * Scrambled Eggs
 * Swinging Inverter Ship
 * Swinging Ship
 * Whoa Belly

Water Rides

 * Boat Hire
 * Log Flume
 * River Rapids
 * Water Slide

Shops/Stalls

 * Balloon Stall
 * Bathroom
 * Burger Bar
 * Cotton Candy Stall
 * Drink Stall
 * Fries Stall
 * Ice Cream Stall
 * Information Kiosk
 * Pizza Stall
 * Popcorn Stall
 * Souvenir Stall

Scenery List

 * Trees
 * Shrubs and Bushes
 * Tropical and Desert Trees
 * Gardens
 * Path Items
 * Walls and Fences
 * Statues and Fountains
 * Classical/Roman Theming
 * Egyptian Theming
 * Mine Theming
 * Wonderland Theming
 * Martian Theming

Scenario List

 * Forest Frontiers
 * Dynamite Dunes
 * Leafy Lake
 * Diamond Heights
 * Evergreen Gardens
 * Bumbly Beach
 * Trinity Islands
 * Katie's World
 * Dinky Park
 * Aqua Park
 * Millennium Mines
 * Karts &amp; Coasters
 * Mel's World
 * Mothball Mountain
 * Pacific Pyramids
 * Crumbly Woods
 * Big Pier
 * Lightning Peaks
 * Ivory Towers
 * Rainbow Valley
 * Thunder Rock
 * Mega Park

Expansion Packs

 * Corkscrew Follies/Added Attractions
 * Loopy Landscapes

System Requirements

 * Pentium 90 MHz (Pentium 200 MHz recommended)
 * Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/Vista/7
 * 16 MB RAM (32 MB recommended)
 * 50 MB hard drive space (180 MB recommended)
 * 4x CD-ROM (8x recommended)
 * 1 MB SVGA video card (4 MB recommended)
 * Windows 95/98 compatible soundcard
 * DirectX 5.0 (included)
 * Mouse

Widescreen Resolutions
With a bit of editing, it is possible to run the game in higher resolutions than 1024x768, including widescreen resolutions. The result will not be stretched, but instead look just fine (see screenshot).



Creating a Custom Resolution
If you want to play RollerCoaster Tycoon in a widescreen resolution, you will need to edit the RCT.exe with a Hex Editor (create a backup first!). You need to search for these two hex values: "58 02 00 00 68 20 03 00 00" and "20 03 00 00 c7 45 f4 58 02 00 00". In both of them you have to change 20 03 to the new width and 58 02 to the new height. In the game, you need to switch to Fullscreen 800x600 in the options menu, as that is the resolution you customized with this method.

Working Resolutions
Higher resolutions won't work, though lower resolutions should be possible.
 * 1280 x 720 (16:9): Change 20 03 to 00 05, 58 02 to d0 02.
 * 1280 x 768 (15:9): Change 20 03 to 00 05, 58 02 to 00 03.
 * 1280 x 1024 (5:4): Change 20 03 to 00 05, 58 02 to 00 04.

The hexadecimal values are calculated by converting the width or height number from decimal to hex, then inverting the order of the bytes. For example, 720 in decimal is 2D0 in hex (this can be converted with the Windows calculator in scientific mode). Adding a zero to the left we get two bytes, 02 D0. Inverting the order we get d0 02.

Another example: 800 (decimal) -> 320 (hex) -> 03 20 -> 20 03 which is the width value to be changed from the 800x600 resolution.

Compatibility
RollerCoaster Tycoon, being made in 1999, is still somewhat compatible with Windows Vista/7. However, crashes, freezes and strange color changes are common. To fix this, players should check 'Disable visual themes', 'Disable desktop composition', and 'Run this program as Administrator'. Running RollerCoaster Tycoon in 98/Me compatiblity mode on a Windows 7 PC results in the game crashing when trying to load files.

Criticisms
A common complaint was the lack of a scenario editor or a 'free build' mode. Several trainers were released but the expansions included anti-cheat code that disabled them. Sawyer's belief that RCT was a game, and that as such, should include rules, goals and conditions to keep it from becoming just a design tool; this is likely why there are no money codes included. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 later added the scenario editor.

Xbox Release
RollerCoaster Tycoon was released for the Xbox console in 2003, which included all the options, scenarios and rides from the original PC release and its expansion packs. The Xbox release received mixed reviews, mostly because it didn't differ much from the PC original.

RollerCoaster Tycoon for Xbox does not appear on Wikipedia's list of Xbox games that are compatible with Xbox 360.

Development
Development:Chris Sawyer

Design & Programming: Simon Foster

Graphics: Allister Brimble

Sound & Music: FISH (UK) Ltd.

Additional Programming: Jacqui Lyons at Marjacq Ltd.

Representation: Liz Mackney

Layout: Louis Saekow Design

Thanks to: Robb Alvey, Katie Brayshaw, Karen Cumming, Justin Garavanovis, European Coaster Club, Neil Jackson, Victoria Maclean, Martin Sawyer, Elizabeth Slater, Paul Slater, Graham Turner, Ruth Turner, John Wardley, Melanie Warn, Jim Wills, Rich Winger (for help with research and game testing)

Hasbro Interactive
President: Tom Dusenberry

Producer: Thomas J. Zahorik

Executive Producer: Michael S. Glosecki

Operations and Special Projects Manager: Tracy Kureta

V.P. Research and Development Worldwide: Tony Parks

V.P. Product Development Worldwide: Kevin Gillespie

Senior V.P. Global Business Development: Barry Jafrato

Director of New Business: John Sutyak

European Project Coordinator: Richard Alexander

Quality Assurance Director: Michael Craighead

Manager of Technical Services: Tony Moreira

European Technical Services Manager: Roger Carpenter

IS Tech: Bill Colby

IS Support: Mike Constantis, Yaw Diabah

Test Supervisor: Kurt Boutin

Lead Tester, Europe: Stuart Thody

Testing: Andy Mazurek, Dan McJilton, Mark Higgins, Jennifer Kaczor, David Sauvageau, Kathy Steel, Neall Campbell, Darryl Shaw, Wayne Gardener, Christine Fisher, Tom Jannssen, Labyrynth Productions Ltd.

Testing at A.Q.: Fran Katsimpiris, Jon Grimes, Jason Clary, Adam Coleman, Jake Grimshaw, Dennis Ivitchev, Frank Kirchner

Vice President of Marketing: John Hurlbut

Product Manager: Steve Arthur

Directors of Marketing: Gail L. Steiner, Richard Cleveland, Tom Nichols

Public Relations Director: Dana Henry

Worldwide Marketing and Sales: Kate Webster, Mary Miller, Tracey Bunce, Zoe Tremlett, Liz Morgan, Oliverier Salomon, Jean-Michel Coletti, Torsten Opperman, Thomas Jaepel, Jochen Quast, Matt Carroll

Director of Creative Services: Steve Webster

Art Director: Steve Martin

European Art Director: Steve Cross

Creative Services Manager: Kathryn Lynch

Graphic Designer: Jennifer Brackett

Editorial Specialist: Elizabeth Mackney

Website Support: James Sheahan

Localisation: Sam Baker, Anton Lorton, Ulrich Mühl, Jinglebell, SDL Polylang International

Operations and Manufacturing: Richard Lever, Judy Hawley

Administrative Support: Sarah Perry, Kellie Rice

V.P. of Finance: Ron Parkinson

Legal and Finance: Donna Mahan, Bruce Kelly, Linda Ferros, Donna Fuchs, Janet Oakes, Lisa Hung, Alka Patel, Melanie McDonnell

Special Thanks: Chris Down, Louise McTighe