Planet Coaster
| Planet Coaster | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Frontier Developments | ||
| Publisher | Frontier Developments | ||
| Senior Developer | Jonny Watts Andrew Fletcher John Laws |
||
| composer |
Jim Guthrie J.J. Ipsen |
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 17, 2016 (worldwide) | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| Game engine | Cobra Engine | ||
| genre | Economic simulation | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| medium | Download | ||
| copy protection | Denuvo | ||
| Age rating |
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Planet Coaster is a building strategy game from the British game developer Frontier Developments , in which an amusement park can be built and managed. It was released worldwide for Windows on November 17, 2016 . In 2020 the game will also be released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles .
Gameplay
Planet Coaster has three different game modes: Career, Sandbox and Challenge.
In career mode, the player is given certain tasks that he must fulfill. The sandbox mode, on the other hand, has no restrictions and lets the creativity of the player run free. In the challenge mode, the player has to struggle with the financial aspects of setting up his amusement park.
The integration of the steam workshop makes it possible to publish self-made buildings and roller coasters as templates, as well as to integrate the same from other players into your own park. Entire parks can also be shared and even set up together with other players.
The Thememaker's Toolkit , published on November 20, 2018, is intended to enable the player to import self-created 3D models into the game or to offer them to other players for download in the Steam Workshop. The programs 3ds Max , Blender and Maya are currently supported as software for modeling the objects .
development
The game was first announced as the Coaster Park Tycoon in January 2015 . However, Frontier decided against "Tycoon" in their game name, because in their opinion the term no longer stands for the high quality of a game. Therefore, the game was presented for the first time as the Planet Coaster on June 16, 2015 at E3 .
Planet Coaster is based on an advanced version of the Cobra engine that was used in games like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and Elite: Dangerous . The game engine is developed by Frontier itself.
alpha
The Alpha Planet Coaster consisted of three phases, each with different content. The first Alpha started on March 22nd, 2016 and was primarily specialized in the modular construction and path system. The roller coaster construction mode was not yet an official part of the first alpha, but could be activated with a cheat code .
The second alpha version, which was released on May 24, 2016, included many improvements to existing features from the first alpha, such as a revision of the path system. In addition, terraforming tools were implemented and the construction mode for roller coasters was activated.
The last phase of the alpha started on August 23rd and moved the game from the in-house launcher to the Internet distribution platform Steam . This went hand in hand with the integration of the steam workshop , which means that buildings, roller coasters and entire parks created in the game can be shared with other players and used in their parks. In addition, many simulation aspects such as the financial management of your own park have been added.
beta
One week before the release on November 17th, Planet Coaster entered beta . This version already contained most of the content of the final version, including, for example, the wooden roller coasters long-awaited by players and a wild water slide . Furthermore, the size of the buildable game world has been increased by a factor of 2.5. The main focus was mainly on improving the balancing of simulation aspects. In addition, this phase was a bonus for pre-orderers who could already play a week earlier.
Release version
Planet Coaster was released worldwide on November 17th, 2016.
Almost a month later, on December 15, the so-called Winter Update , a free expansion of the game, added additional shops, rides and many winter-themed decorative elements.
On April 12, 2017 the free Spring Update was released. New rides such as the go-kart track and the new management system for crime were implemented. In addition, it is now possible to synchronize up to five roller coasters, for example to create dueling coasters.
One year after the official release, the Anniversary Update was released on November 22, 2017 . In addition to some bug fixes, this update brought a scenario editor with which it is possible to create your own scenarios and share them with other players. The update also brought new decorative items such as picnic benches and new rides and roller coasters.
Paid content
In addition to various free updates that brought new game mechanics and improvements to the game, Frontier has also released a number of chargeable extensions, so-called DLCs . The first extensions were license packages for Knight Rider , Back to the Future and the Munsters , which made it possible to display attractions in an optics based on the films. With the horror package, the first of currently seven (as of April 2019) large additional packages was published in September 2017 . These expansions bring new rides and roller coasters into the game, whereby a thematic area was usually chosen to which suitable decoration and construction elements were added.
List of all previously published extensions:
- License packages for Knight Rider, Back to the Future and The Munsters
- Horror package
- Adventure package
- Studio package
- Vintage package
- World's Fair Package
- Collection "Fantastic Rides"
- Collection "Classic Rides"
- DLC Ghostbusters
reception
Planet Coaster has been seen by the fan base as a major competitor to Atari's RollerCoaster Tycoon World since the first alpha version . On November 10th, the developers of RollerCoaster Tycoon World announced that they would finally release their game on November 16, one day before the release of Planet Coaster. This was seen by many as an affront to Frontier, as the Planet Coaster release date had been known for months.
Planet Coaster was received very positively by the players and was able to achieve a rating of 94% positive in over 6000 reviews on Steam (as of December 1, 2016) .
Further ratings:
- PC Games 85%
"A park editor to fall in love with - despite flaws!"
- GameStar 77%
"An incredibly pretty amusement park that lacks good management options and complex gameplay."
- 4players 81%
“Planet Coaster is a dream for Schönbauer and roller coaster designers with a lively cartoon look. However, the economic elements are neglected. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thememaker's Toolkit. In: Planet Coaster website. Retrieved November 20, 2018 .
- ↑ Maximilian Dautner, Marc C. Hatke: Coaster Park Tycoon: Frontier Developments announces new tycoon game. In: PC Games . January 27, 2015, accessed November 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Lee Hutchinson: Elite: Dangerous developers talk to Ars about Planet Coaster. In: Ars Technica . June 17, 2015, accessed November 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Planet Coaster Alpha 3 launch and update notes. In: Official Planet Coaster Forum. August 23, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Bo Marit: Planet Coaster Beta Update! In: Official Planet Coaster Forum. November 14, 2016, accessed November 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Winter update for Planet Coaster. In: Planet Coaster website. Retrieved December 20, 2016 .
- ↑ Spring update for Planet Coaster. (No longer available online.) In: Planet Coaster website. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017 ; Retrieved April 19, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Planet Coaster 1.4 Anniversary Update . In: Planet Coaster . ( planetcoaster.com [accessed November 23, 2017]).
- ↑ List of additional content. In: Official website of Planet Coaster. Retrieved April 10, 2019 .
- ↑ RCTW - EARLY ACCESS - DEV BLOG # 19: RELEASE DATE! In: RollerCoaster Tycoon World Forum. November 10, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Tobias Ritter: RollerCoaster Tycoon World vs. Planet Coaster - release date as a declaration of war. In: GameStar .de. November 11, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Max Falkenstern: Planet Coaster in the test - now with rating! Great park editor with flaws. In: PC Games . November 21, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Benjamin Danneberg: The game with the two faces. In: GameStar . November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Marcel Kleffmann: Test: Planet Coaster. In: 4Players . November 25, 2015, accessed November 25, 2016 .
