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Planet Coaster

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Planet Coaster
File:Planet Coaster Logo.png
Developer(s)Frontier Developments
Publisher(s)Frontier Developments
Director(s)Jonny Watts
Designer(s)Andrew Fletcher
Programmer(s)Owen McCarthy
Artist(s)John Laws
Composer(s)Jim Guthrie
JJ Ipsen
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Construction and management simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Planet Coaster is an upcoming construction and management simulation developed and published by Frontier Developments for Microsoft Windows due to be released in November 2016. An Alpha version of the game became available on 22 March 2016 for those that purchased the early bird edition which will run continuously until the games general release. The game is a spiritual successor to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, a game that was also developed by Frontier in 2004.

Gameplay

Planet Coaster is a construction and management simulation video game. Similar to its spiritual predecessor, the game allows players to build different theme park rides and roller-coasters. These player-created attractions can be shared through a mechanic called "global village".[1]

First unveiled at EGX 2016, the game also features a dedicated mode called the "crash mode" which allows players to construct incomplete coasters and let them crash into the park's visitors.[2]

Development

Guests riding a pirate ship ride

Before the development of Planet Coaster, Frontier Developments had developed several other construction and management simulation video games, including 2004's commercial and critical success RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, which sold almost 10 million copies.[3] Planet Coaster serves only as a spiritual successor to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 instead of a direct sequel, as the company considered the use of the brand Tycoon "didn’t carry the cachet anymore" due to the releases of mainly poorly-received Tycoon games in recent years.[4][5]

The game was announced on 29 January 2015 by Frontier Developments.[6] Originally called Coaster Park Tycoon, the game was renamed into Planet Coaster on 16 June 2015 during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2015.[7] Frontier Developments aimed to turn the game into the company's second self-published franchise, along with the Elite series.[8] The game will use an advanced version of Cobra Engine, which is an in-house proprietary engine developed by Frontier previously used by games like Elite Dangerous and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.[3] Features confirmed for the game include a hybrid spline/piece-by-piece coaster builder, modular structure building, a voxel terrain editor among others detailed through Q&A's and "Dev Diaries."[9][10] On the second live stream, the release date of the Alpha was announced. Released on 22 March 2016, the Alpha emphasized on modular building and paths. The Alpha contained two themes: "Planet Coaster" and "Pirate". Although disabled by default, Coaster Building was included in the first Alpha through a cheat code.[11]

On 24 May 2016, Frontier released the second alpha build. This build included finances, terrain tools, improved path building, and the official release of a coaster builder.[12] In a FAQ on 26 July, it was announced that Alpha 3 will be released on 23 August and will support Steam Workshop in an undisclosed capacity.[13] Also, on 25 August, Frontier will discontinue further Alpha purchases as the series advances towards a Beta release.[14] At Gamescom 2016, Frontier announced that the game will be released on 17 November 2016.[15] On 25 August, Frontier has released the official gameplay trailer.[16] The game's soundtrack, composed by Jim Guthrie and JJ Ipsen, will be released simultaneously to the game's release.[17] On 24 September, Frontier announced at EGX 2016 that players who had pre-ordered the "Thrillseeker Edition" will be able to test the game from 6 to 10 October.[2][18]

Upon release, the game will come with Denuvo's anti-tamper technology.[19]

Reception

Pre-release

The game was met with praise upon release of the Alpha. Andy Kelly of PC Gamer commented that Frontier is "off to a tremendous start" and that the alpha "was solid and creating buildings with the new creation tools hinted at the immense possibilities".[20] However, Mark Walton of Ars Technica noted several small flaws including the "hard to navigate" menus and the lack of custom built roller coasters.[21] On 27 April 2016, about a month after the release of the alpha, Frontier announced that Planet Coaster grossed nearly two million dollars.[22]

References

  1. ^ Greene, Gavin (16 June 2015). "Elite: Dangerous studio debuts Planet Coaster theme-park simulator (update)". VentureBeat. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b Minotti, Mike (24 September 2016). "Planet Coaster announces a mode dedicated to crashes". VentureBeat. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b Campbell, Colin (22 June 2015). "Planet Coaster is getting ready for a big ride". Polygon. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  4. ^ Lopez, Jason (16 June 2015). "Roller Coaster Tycoon spiritual PC successor Planet Coaster announced". GameZone. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  5. ^ Hutchinson, Lee (18 June 2015). "Elite: Dangerous developers talk to Ars about Planet Coaster". Ars Technica. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  6. ^ Cassidee Moser (29 January 2015). "Frontier Announces Coaster Park Tycoon for 2016". IGN. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  7. ^ Wilde, Tyler (16 June 2015). "Frontier announces Planet Coaster with trailer". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. ^ Matt Purslow (29 January 2015). "Frontier Developments lay-off fifteen staff, Coaster Park Tycoon announced". PCGamesN. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. ^ Dev Diary #2 - Rewarding Creativity. 11 December 2015 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Meet The Team and Q&A - Richard Newbold".
  11. ^ Tucker, Jake. "Planet Coaster Reinvents The Theme Park Genre". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  12. ^ Wales, Matt (24 May 2016). "Planet Coaster's Alpha 2 Arrives with Landscaping, VFX and Sexy Paths". Kotaku UK. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  13. ^ Skyes, Tom (26 July 2016). "Planet Coaster hurtling towards Steam release". Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  14. ^ Purslow, Matt (26 July 2016). "Planet Coaster will require Steam and use the Workshop for community creations". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  15. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (17 August 2016). "Planet Coaster out this November". Eurogamer. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  16. ^ Younger, Paul (25 August 2016). "Planet Coaster gets a new gameplay trailer - PC Invasion". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  17. ^ Slingerland, Calum (18 October 2016). "Jim Guthrie & JJ Ipsen to Release Score for 'Planet Coaster' Videogame". Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  18. ^ Doctor, V (27 September 2016). "'Planet Coaster' Crash Mode Trailer, News & Update: What Happens When a Roller Coaster Goes Off The Rails?". Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  19. ^ "Planet Coaster z wymaganiami sprzętowymi i Denuvo" (in Polish). 26 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  20. ^ Kelly, Andy. "Planet Coaster: hands-on with Frontier's theme park sim". PC Gamer. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  21. ^ Walton, Mark. "Planet Coaster: A theme park sim so good its developers forgot to develop it". Ars Technica. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  22. ^ Walker, Alex. "Planet Coaster Has Nearly Made $2 Million Already". www.kotaku.com.au. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
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