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 headed male guests whose basic "names" are Guest ____, with the ____ being replaced by the number the guest is upon getting to the beginning of their path to the entrance. An option on the "Options" menu lets you change their names so they can have realistic names (like Bob H., Marie Q., e.t.c.). These guys also have different ride tolerance and can have different thoughts/moods depending on their surrounding environment.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, they simply have normal names like the option allows in their predecessor. They are also basically the equivilant to their predecessor in terms of looks, acts and behavior.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, the guests have major upgrades in their designs; instead of the brown headed people in the game, now realistic people appear in different sizes and looks. They also have more thoughts and are characteristically more interactive with each other.

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.

Celebrities (VIPeeps)
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 also very important in keeping your park running. 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 exit of the ride, so it is important that mechanics can access that area.

Mechanics generally roam randomly around the paths of your park. Their roaming is useless, unlike handymen, as they do not do their duties by passing by.

In RCT1, when a ride breaks down, one, and only one, mechanic will recieve the phonecall and attempt to fix the ride. The mechanic may not be the one closest to the ride, and oftentimes, the call happens to a faraway mechanic who may take ages to get to the ride, causing it to be broken down for a long time. When another mechanic is heading to a ride, other mechanic will be prevented from heading to the ride as well. Assign patrol areas to mechanics as far as possible to prevent them from getting too far from a ride, and if the phonecall happens to a mechanic who is too far away, picking him up with the pincers would cause him to forget his destination, allowing another (and hopefully closer) mechanic to fix the ride.

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.

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)

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, like the park inspector, cannot be fired.