research and tech progression/ tech tree

[apdergrosse]

Honestly, I did not like the research in RCT3

What I would love to see, especially in the campaign and in the online mode would be a research that is realistic.
I would love a tech progression. You start at some point in time and than you have to research. If you are the first to research a technology it takes longer and is more expensive. If your rival (campaign) or other players (online)have it already you can "spy" and it is cheaper but the attraction does not give such a huge rating boost.
Through time you can develop new rides. Here I would prefer a sens full tech tree. I didn´t like that in RCT3 you got the attractions in an order where all you do is .

Furthermore I would love the tech tree to have stuff like Launch or looping or 0-G-Roll. The first roller coasters did not have them and I would love to see the development in time and technology done through the research.

So all in all I would like a new time based research with a tech/ attraction tree.

P.S. English is not my native language so pleas don´t mind the mistakes. I did not find a threat that covers this topic if it exists pleas just coppy a link in here thanks.

[The Stig]

I still like the idea of a progression or tech tree. Although, there are some members who don't agree with having to progress through features, and would rather have everything accessible from the very beginning. Even still, that opens a whole new debate about what should be locked vs unlocked and what needs to happen to get to that level.

Allow me to dabble:
The rides and elements you mention are good examples, but my idea is to have those kinds of things unlock over the progression of time.

My tech tree would grant certain content to be unlocked strictly on a park's specification.

Take for example:
I build a brand new 150-ft multi-looping roller coaster! Hooray!

Now let's pretend I'm obsessed with scenery. I've taken the extra time and effort and planted trees, shrubs, rocks and water fountains on and around every foot of pathway in my park. And by doing this, my new coaster has a significantly higher excitement rating and increased popularity and satisfaction ratings. Not so hard to believe, since the past games did exactly this.

Now let's just say my park has a really effective staff. I went through the troubles of micro-managing and spending more time than necessary to ensure that I'm on top of my staff operations. And by doing this, my new coaster has a slightly better dispatch time and breaks down less often than if I hadn't. Not too shabby, right?

Alright. Now for the kicker. Let's imagine for a paragraph that I've put a lot of money into the new "technology" category of research. This goes beyond staff and management. This is where the tech tree comes into play. My park prides itself from offering the latest and greatest technological innovations. Fresh from the convention floor. What does this do to my new coaster? Maybe I can install on-board audio into the trains? Maybe I can include special effects like fog and lights to the ride? Little details that couldn't have been available had I not invested in the specific branch of research.

Still reading? Okay. Now let's say that instead of "technology" I invested in "entertainment". What can this do for my new coaster? How about a pre-ride show? Or interactive queue thingies? Or little water-fountain thingies that I can place in water and will simulate a splash when a train rolls by?

My idea would be to take the whole 'unlockable features' concept and apply them to improvements to be applied to your existing attractions, rather than unlockable attractions.

[BeerWhiskers]

I like the way that the tech progression in RCT3 was tied to the scenario being played, and I think that a simiar implementation in RCTW would satisfy those that want to play with it and those who do not.

The suggestion of refining or elaborating on how new tech is researched is a good idea, and I think keeping that was part of the scenario definition is key to it being successful.

[apdergrosse]

If we just get scenarios the new tech level or tech development comes through the scenarios.
But i hope for a campaign and not just scenarios and than a new research system is needed.
I hope that in online mode we have to develop our park with research in certain areas like kiddy gentle thrill or dark ride.
I just got annoyed in RCT3 if I research and get 3 gigantic rides I cant place. So a research/tech tree would be great.

[The Stig]

If we just get scenarios the new tech level or tech development comes through the scenarios.
But i hope for a campaign and not just scenarios and than a new research system is needed.
I hope that in online mode we have to develop our park with research in certain areas like kiddy gentle thrill or dark ride.
I just got annoyed in RCT3 if I research and get 3 gigantic rides I cant place. So a research/tech tree would be great.

I hate when I research scenery and get:
"New scenery item: 1/4 round roof!"

[OTR24]

As for multiplayer I was thinking more along the lines of unlocking items in bunches. To clarify when we start on multiplayer we have only older rides. Wooden Coasters Carousel Basic flat rides. Basic scenery items. Basic Stalls. Gift stands etc...
Once our park grows to a certain point we unlock better rides scenery restaurants and so on. A progression tree.
Once we reach a new park rank then the next time we play... the server were placed on would have parks/players at our same level.
Eventually we would unlock everything and be placed on servers with players who have massive theme parks. Making it really hard to compete. So in essence better rides as we go along but also tougher competition. Then once we get to the top of the progression tree and also don't have any real competition anymore... we can start over or just join servers to check out other players parks. Like...
Hey I'm lvl 100. Me too. Want to see my awesome park? Sure.

On campaign I would say have rides based on the scenario. One scenario might be an old school park where we only have older rides. Another might be a modern park with 4D coasters and so on... And other scenarios might fall somewhere in the middle.

[savoytruffle98]

I still like the idea of a progression or tech tree. Although, there are some members who don't agree with having to progress through features, and would rather have everything accessible from the very beginning. Even still, that opens a whole new debate about what should be locked vs unlocked and what needs to happen to get to that level.

Allow me to dabble:
The rides and elements you mention are good examples, but my idea is to have those kinds of things unlock over the progression of time.

My tech tree would grant certain content to be unlocked strictly on a park's specification.

Take for example:
I build a brand new 150-ft multi-looping roller coaster! Hooray!

Now let's pretend I'm obsessed with scenery. I've taken the extra time and effort and planted trees, shrubs, rocks and water fountains on and around every foot of pathway in my park. And by doing this, my new coaster has a significantly higher excitement rating and increased popularity and satisfaction ratings. Not so hard to believe, since the past games did exactly this.

Now let's just say my park has a really effective staff. I went through the troubles of micro-managing and spending more time than necessary to ensure that I'm on top of my staff operations. And by doing this, my new coaster has a slightly better dispatch time and breaks down less often than if I hadn't. Not too shabby, right?

Alright. Now for the kicker. Let's imagine for a paragraph that I've put a lot of money into the new "technology" category of research. This goes beyond staff and management. This is where the tech tree comes into play. My park prides itself from offering the latest and greatest technological innovations. Fresh from the convention floor. What does this do to my new coaster? Maybe I can install on-board audio into the trains? Maybe I can include special effects like fog and lights to the ride? Little details that couldn't have been available had I not invested in the specific branch of research.

Still reading? Okay. Now let's say that instead of "technology" I invested in "entertainment". What can this do for my new coaster? How about a pre-ride show? Or interactive queue thingies? Or little water-fountain thingies that I can place in water and will simulate a splash when a train rolls by?

My idea would be to take the whole 'unlockable features' concept and apply them to improvements to be applied to your existing attractions, rather than unlockable attractions.

+1, great idea

[The Stig]

Alright I got another one! Let's say I put research into "Operations."
What's this do for my coaster? Well, not much in terms of ride experience.
But now I can provide better training for my staff. Mass training seminars and periodic status meetings! This increases staff efficiency and morale, so the staff works a little harder and stays happy longer (granted that I'm paying them enough). And whenever I need to hire more staff, they come automatically with that extra bit of experience. Ride Ops can perform seat checks faster therefore improving my dispatch time, and gather money at the front of the queue faster, Janitors work faster, mechanics fix faster, rides break down less, and all that good stuff we had in RCT3 (minus the ride ops, they're new)

Further down the Operations tree, we might unlock a staff break room, or a change building, so when staff "come to work" (if closing the park is included) they start the day with a higher morale, change into their uniforms, and get into their positions quickly. Pretty soon, my park is winning the award "Friendliest staff"!

And the ultimate Operations upgrade? Two words: Golf carts.
With golf carts, my mechanics can get to rides in under a minute with the Mechanic Golf Cart. My janitors can empty all the trash bins on Main Street in one go in the Handyman Golf Cart. And my security guards can respond to any emergency in seconds with the Security Golf Cart. This ultimately means I can do more work with less staff.

Now with my operations at max, and an optimal staff, nothing breaks down, there's never any trash on the ground, peeps behave themselves, and the entertainers...... the entertainers...... uh.... make people want to buy stuff?

[jerseygrrll]

This is a great idea, Stig!

[DonSPa]

ahhh yeah golf carts for the mechanics, janitors etc that would beat having to pick up ur mechanic and drag him to a ride that has been broken down for an hour because it took him a long time to walk to that area,or having to hire another mechanic just to put him in the troubled area

hopefully all these ideas that have been said or even just new can be implemented quick enough before the game is finally released.Im not sure exactly how they are making the game like if they have couple people working on tracks and a couple working on scenery and a couple working on peeps etc etc