I'm aware that Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 is essentially the very same game as its predecessor, but besides that, is it an inferior title to the first one? If the first game in the series is superior I'll snap this up, but if RCT2 is the very marginal improvement then I'll stick to the copy I have on CD without expansions until it hopefully appears on GOG.

Cheers

I spent a lot (i mean really a lot) of time on both RCT1 and RCT2. That's right that the two versions look like each other.

Imo, RCT2 is better than RCT1 because it has more attractions, more sceneries and brings nice improvements, including, i remember, about attractions pricing, roads building, pedestrians reactions that are more realistic. It also supports higher resolutions than 1024x768 and offers one more zoom level.

There are also some discreet graphic improvements (more animations, higher FPS) that make RCT2 a bit more nice to watch.

On the whole RCT2 appears to me as a more balanced, corrected version of RCT1 Deluxe. Especially considering RCT2 + 2 expansions packs (not great, but very generous in terms of new attractions and sceneries).


So RCT1 is a bit inferior from RCT2. But it is still a great game.

Personally, i own RCT collection (RCT2&expansions + RCT3& expansions) running properly on Windows 7, but i have taken RCT1 on GOG because it remains a mythical game to me. And i will surely get the 2 if it is released.

RCT 2 did improve upon RCT, and there is a lot of content in both, I say its worth the money only because from what I can remember i don't think all the roller coasters (pre built anyway) came over to RCT 2, along with scenarios and music. I could be wrong though.

I bought it because 1) i couldn't find my CD version, and (2 this was one of the first PC games I played and just to have it back and play through it takes me to that place when i was younger.


So my say on the matter is get it, but I also say get a second opinion.

I'm not too concerned with a few missing roller coasters from the first game or the old scenarios being left behind. RCT1 apparently supports widescreen through editing (http://rct.wikia.com/wiki/RollerCoaster_Tycoon#Widescreen_Resolutions,) but I cannot verify that it works, and the structure of the executable may be different for the GOG release.

I think I'll wait for RTC2. Thank you very much, chaps.

I have to protest. I spend hundreds of hours in the first.
When the second came out i spend one week playing it,
and gone back to one.
I guess it's a bit like Spearmint vs. Doublemint.
They are quite alike, some like them both,
others rather shoot themselves than have one instead of the other.

I never was able to put my finger on why i didn't like RCT2,
but to me the first is just better.
The question which one is best for you is a personal one,
and you should try them both.

I'm the same. I adored RCT when it came out bought the expansion packs as soon as they were released and played hundreds of hours on the damn thing. (I'm to the point now where I have completed all the parks with 999 park rating and I STILL go back for more!). Bought RCT2 as soon as it came out and hated it. Went straight back to RCT + Added Attractions + Loopy Landscapes. I honestly don't know what it is about RCT2 that completely turns me off, perhaps it's the lack of a Window mode (I play RCT exclusively in Window mode because I like to multi-task) or the odd GUI tweaks. IE the flag system for changing the operating mode of a ride, why can't we just have the traffic light system back. I don't want to click TWICE to test a ride when the old system allowed you to do it in one click.

Totally agree with that.

That's the only thing that bothering me though. Strange that so many people hate RCT2 while it cleverly improves RCT1 on many points.

I think that it's because positive changes are not obvious enough at first glance - maybe you should have tried a bit longer to notice them :)

The best improvements, from what i remember, are those :

- You can place signs on paths to forbid access to visitors (very useful when you begin scenarii with large empty parks) or to allow one-way circulation only (very useful for paths with attraction exits only).

- People are no more upset if you ask for more than 2$ to ride a rollercoaster - you can go up to 8-10$ for the most impressive ones (more realistic and much more enjoyable)

- There is another zoom level and you actually see the park working and its visitors even in farest view

- You have access to various styles for each entrance and exit of any attraction, and can also change the queue paths (i just became mad with the only skin of entrances and paths of RCT1)

- The grass doesn't grow at 400 mph and you don't have to hire a billion cleaners from the beginning of any scenario :p

- Scenery is now animated and visitors may stop to take photos of places and attractions, it's more living and nice to watch

- You can play in 1280x1024

There are some other nice features but i don't remember enough the two games. I should play them again soon.

- You can place signs on paths to forbid access to visitors (very useful when you begin scenarii with large empty parks) or to allow one-way circulation only (very useful for paths with attraction exits only).

You can do that with Added Attractions in RCT.

- People are no more upset if you ask for more than 2$ to ride a rollercoaster - you can go up to 8-10$ for the most impressive ones (more realistic and much more enjoyable)

The perceived value of rollercoasters (as far as I can tell) are based on excitement, intensity and the length. I have had 10+ excitement coasters that I have very successfully charged £10 a ride for, only after the coasters had aged somewhat did I need to lower the price

- There is another zoom level and you actually see the park working and its visitors even in farest view

An improvement but I can't say I ever used the zoom mode other than for moving around my park quicker.

- You have access to various styles for each entrance and exit of any attraction, and can also change the queue paths (i just became mad with the only skin of entrances and paths of RCT1)

You can change the entrance/exits and ride music of any ride with Loopy Landscapes (might have been added in Added Attractions, not sure).

- The grass doesn't grow at 400 mph and you don't have to hire a billion cleaners from the beginning of any scenario :p

Grass is completely superfluous to gameplay. It doesn't affect your park rating one iota. If you don't like the look of weeds growing, then just go to the land adjust tool, put it on the maximum size, and just click (don't drag) and it will reset the grass back to 'just placed' state.

Pro tip: The mow grass option on handymen is a complete waste of resources. Not even sure why it's there.

- Scenery is now animated and visitors may stop to take photos of places and attractions, it's more living and nice to watch

I'm pretty sure Loopy Landscapes added this as well. You could also rename one of your guests and they would walk around and take pictures of your attractions. I can't remember the name though.

- You can play in 1280x1024

You can alter the exe in a hex editor and get 1280x1024 mode. Plus you can't use window mode at all in RCT2 (a major negative)

Confirmed. A search turned up nothing similar. If you check the profile of the person who added the screenshot of the game in widescreen (states that RCT1 doesn't support widescreen, but they could be wrong.

The widescreen issue is a non-issue. The game can be run in a window and when doing so you can change the shape of the window so that it fills a widescreen monitor. The display is not scaled when doing this, it just shows you more of the landscape. I did this when I put the game onto my sister's XP laptop some years ago, from the retail disc, and yes, this was RCT1 + expansions.

Niode > wow, it seems that i don't remember well RCT1 expansion packs. Thanks for the corrections. I'll try RCTDeluxe tonite to see what it's all about.

As someone who played both RCT1 and RCT2 countless hours, I will say both are excellent games and worth playing to experience the scenarios you play through in each. RCT2 is a bit better looking, but since when have graphics been a big issue for those of us who get games here on GOG?

You can also place these at the exit of a park so visitors will never leave, thereby making "get more than [x number of visitors]" scenarios stupidly easy to cheese. :)

RCT2 is a better sandbox for sure, but I generally preferred the scenarios in RCT1. RCT2's scenario design just felt lower quality to me.

I can confirm that the widescreen hack works.