RollerCoaster Tycoon
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
- North America: March 31, 1999
- Europe: April 12, 1999
- Australia: in 2000 (date unknown)
Xbox
- North America: March 25, 2003
- Europe: March 20, 2003
- Australia: April 11, 2003
Attraction List
Transport Rides
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
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 & Coasters
- Mel's World
- Mothball Mountain
- Pacific Pyramids
- Crumbly Woods
- Big Pier
- Lightning Peaks
- Ivory Towers
- Rainbow Valley
- Thunder Rock
- Mega Park
Expansion Packs
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 [1] (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
- 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.
Higher resolutions won't work, though lower resolutions should be possible.
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 set the compatibility mode to Windows 98/Me. They should also check 'Disable visual themes', 'Disable desktop composition', and 'Run this program as Administrator'.
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[2]; 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.
Credits
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