RollerCoaster Tycoon World

Gameplay

Players are able to build rides, shops and roller coasters, while monitoring elements such as budget, visitor happiness and technology research. Unlike RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile, the game does not include any micro-transactions. Similar to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, the game features 3D graphics instead of the 2D isometric style of the first two installments in the series. When building roller coasters, the game makes use of a spline system instead of the old style of laying individual pieces. Players are also allowed to "ride" the roller coasters they have created, and other rides they have placed in their park in the game, in either a first or third person view. A new 'Park Pulse' mechanic was also introduced, allowing players to quickly find out how their park is doing and the customers' thoughts, similar to Zoo Tycoon titles.

The game contains several scenery and ride themes at launch, with more in development that will be released via free updates and paid expansion packs. The game also introduces an "Architect mode", allowing players to plan and layout the coaster's model before constructing the coasters. Similar to the past installments, there are four different types of coasters available to build: steel, inverted, wooden, and launch-track coasters. In addition, there are ten roller coasters per type. Players can also place pre-built coasters into their park. The game also allows players to build freeform coasters. Unlike in the previous games, the roller coaster train may fly off the tracks if the roller coaster is built incorrectly. As a result, a new "safety-rating" option and medical staff has been added. User-generated content (including custom scenery) was available from release, as well as Steam Workshop support. While terrain and environments are randomly generated in a map, players can still gain access to a terrain editor.

Development

When Atari announced RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile, they also promised that a title for Windows was also being developed. The game was officially announced during Gamescom 2014 with a teaser trailer, subtitled World. The first screenshots and details of the game were revealed during PAX Prime 2014. Part way through development, Area 52 Games took over as the developer of the game from Pipeworks Software. The reasoning behind this has not yet been published by Atari, who announced the change along with the relaunch of the RollerCoaster Tycoon website. The game was due for release in early 2015, although it was revealed that they would not announce an official launch date until closer to the release of the game. A closed alpha was also in development. A new trailer showing gameplay was uploaded on March 5, 2015, showing an intro featuring real life POV footage of Goliath and Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The trailer goes on to show mild gameplay including riding a generic roller coaster, which passes over the park, and showing a roller coaster train flying off its track in a ragdoll-style roll. The trailer ends on more filmed POV scenes of Goliath fading out to a VIP Peep character reacting to what has just been shown. No Area 52 Games logo or release date was shown in the trailer.

Atari later revealed that a third developer had taken over from Area 52 Games, later confirmed to be Nvizzio Creations. At the NVIDIA booth on PAX Prime 2015, Atari unveiled interactive gameplay for the game showing off their development build that featured coaster building and sandbox mode. On September 29, 2015, it was announced the release date would be December 10, 2015. Two beta weekends preceded the release of the game. The first beta weekend was the last weekend of October and this beta was focused on the new spline-based Coaster Builder. The first beta weekend took place as planned. However, feedback from this beta weekend led to Atari deciding to delay the game's release to early 2016. The developer noted the additional development time would allow them to add requested items and features such as “predefined piece” coaster building, additional coaster test feedback, a robust fencing tool, improved on-demand grid, and various smaller improvements." Consequently, the second beta weekend was also delayed from November to December, then delayed to early 2016.

Release

Atari had decided that its theme park game, RollerCoaster Tycoon World, would be launched into Early Access on 30 March, instead of going with a full release. The early access release was met with negative reviews, mostly complaining about the poor graphics, coaster builder, lack of detail, and ride animations. In November 2016, Atari announced that the game will be released on November 16, 2016, one day before Planet Coaster's release.

The game was available for both standard and deluxe editions. The deluxe edition contained two additional maps, terrain texture additions, a digital art book, a gold park entrance, and the panda mascot from the previous games.

Pre-release

A trailer released by Atari containing gameplay of RollerCoaster Tycoon World was received poorly by critics and fans. Some critics noted that the game appears graphically worse than 2004's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and that it "looks little better than a basic mobile game." Atari later issued a statement that the game was still in "pre-alpha" stages, and that the graphics were not yet coded to their full resolution and would also receive a major overhaul when the game's engine is upgraded from Unity 4.6 to Unity 5.0. They also promised that the new visuals would be of higher definition and higher level of realism.

Release

The release of RollerCoaster Tycoon World was met with negative reactions by critics. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game holds a score of 43 out of 100, based on seven reviews.