RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
North American cover art
Developer(s)Frontier Developments
Publisher(s)Atari Interactive[lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s)Jonny Watts
Composer(s)Alistair Lindsay
SeriesRollerCoaster Tycoon
Platform(s)
Release
November 2, 2004
  • Windows
  • Mac OS X
    • NA: November 17, 2005[3]
    • EU: November 25, 2005
  • iOS
    • WW: August 12, 2015[4]
  • Complete Edition
    • WW: September 24, 2020[5]
Genre(s)Construction and management simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is a 2004 construction and management simulation video game. It is the third installment in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, and was developed by Frontier Developments.[6] RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 places players in charge of managing amusement parks; rides can be built or demolished, terrain and scenery can be adjusted, and prices can be controlled to keep visitors or "peeps" happy.[7]

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 features two methods of gameplay. In career mode, players must complete predetermined objectives in predesigned scenarios. In the newly added sandbox mode, players have unlimited time and money to create their own custom parks and rides.[8] Features introduced in the series include the ability to import and export custom attractions, design custom scenarios and peeps, as well as design an in-game roller coaster and a fully three-dimensional world players can view from all angles.

In 2014, a sequel, RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile was released on mobile devices, to largely negative reception.

Gameplay

A western themed park with a wooden roller coaster.

Like the previous games in the series, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is a strategy and simulation game in which players manage all aspects of an amusement park by building or removing the rides, scenery and amenities, placing shops and facilities, adjusting the park's finances, hiring staff, and keeping the park visitors, known as "peeps", happy. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 features two main game modes. The career mode features scenarios where players must accomplish goals, such as impressing a visiting celebrity or attaining a certain park rating. Each scenario has three levels of objectives, which are ranked as Apprentice, Entrepreneur, and Tycoon; the higher the level, the more challenging the goal is to complete. A third of the scenarios are playable from the start, with the rest unlocked when the player completes the objectives at each level. The second mode of play is the sandbox mode. In sandbox mode, players are given a large, empty plot of land and unlimited funds with which to build their own custom parks.[9] However, the land given in this mode is limited as it cannot be expanded.

The CoasterCam feature in action.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 introduces gameplay features in the series such as the CoasterCam, which allows players to "ride" roller coasters and other rides,[9] and the MixMaster, which allows the player to coordinate firework shows and time them to in-game music.[9] Unlike the two previous versions of the game, RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, the guests, called "peeps", arrive in groups and show variation in gender and age, including children, teenagers and adults. A day/night cycle changes the demographics of the park's peeps; rides at night appeal to teenagers, while the daytime attracts families with children. Peeps can be harmed and injured by crashing vehicles, but will never die as they did in the previous titles, and if placed in water they will swim out. When cars derail from the tracks, they explode after a short period, whereas in the older games, they exploded on contact. Furthermore, a feature was added in which, after a cheat code was entered, people could utilize the Peep Cam from which they could see the park through a peeps' eyes.[10] Parks now have opening and closing times, and the time of day is displayed. Scenery is divided into themes to customize parks, with western-, spooky-, science fiction-, prehistoric-, tropic (Paradise Island)- atlantis- and adventure-themed pieces.[11] Another feature is the ability to import coasters from previous games in the series into RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. The game uses full 3D graphics instead of the isometric viewpoint of the previous games; this means that players can rotate and zoom the view of the park to any degree. However, there is an option to fix the camera's rotation to a preset angle, as in the previous games. 3D land shaping is also available for creating mountains and hills inside the park, as well as the ability to change portions of the land into water.

Development

Although the core features of Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 are based on the previous games, Chris Sawyer, the developer of the first two games, acted only as a consultant, as the game was instead developed by Frontier Developments, since Sawyer was developing Chris Sawyer's Locomotion at the time.[12][13]

Expansion packs

Two expansion packs for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 were released – Soaked! and Wild!. A bundle, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Gold, was also released, including the original game and the Soaked! expansion pack; this was followed by RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum (Deluxe for the EU version of the game), including both expansion packs and the original game. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum is available for Windows and Mac OS X. The game was also published by Aspyr Inc. on the Mac App Store in 2012.[14]

Soaked!, the first expansion, allows the player to build water parks, which include swimming pools, water slides and underwater aquariums, while adding more rides and scenery to the original game such as the ability to create waterfalls. Using the MixMaster feature, the expansion pack also allows players to make their own water-jet displays and co-ordinate them to music.[15][16] Soaked! received an average rating of 79 on Metacritic.[17]

Wild!, the second expansion, allows the player to build zoos and safari rides, similar to Zoo Tycoon in an amusement park setting, in which animals can be placed, and adds more ride types and scenery to the original game. Additionally, it addressed several criticisms of the first game, such as the inability to build underground, which is available without the expansion pack in the form of an update patch. Wild! received an average rating of 71 on Metacritic.[18]

Frontier released an iOS port of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 on August 12, 2015.[19]

Subsequent lawsuits and Complete Edition

The original series' creator Chris Sawyer sued Atari in 2005 for allegedly breaching the terms of a licensing agreement by not allowing auditors access to accounts from 1999 to 2001, during which he claimed he was owed US$4.8 million. Atari counter-claimed in 2007 by claiming that Sawyer broke an agreement by signing a license-agreement with developer Frontier Developments, allowing them to create a demo for console platforms based on assets and mechanics from RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. It was claimed by Atari that this induced Frontier to breach its contractual obligations to Atari by allowing Frontier to market and/or elicit funding for Thrillville through this demo. According to Atari, without this demo, Frontier would not have been able to create Thrillville independently from Atari.[20][21] The lawsuit ended with an out of court settlement.[22]

Frontier later sued Atari in January 2017 for underpaid royalties for RollerCoaster Tycoon. When Atari filed for bankruptcy in 2013, Frontier modified its contract for how future royalties would be paid. Atari has paid Frontier $1.17 million to date for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, but Frontier observed from Steam Spy that sales of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 were much larger than Atari claimed, and under the new contract, Frontier would be owed an additional $2.2 million. Frontier sought to have rights to audit Atari's records and claim the additional royalties it is owed. Frontier's Chief Operating Officer David Walsh confirmed the report in statements to Eurogamer and GameSpot, stating that they had previously attempted to resolve the issue without legal action since April 2016.[23][24] Later in May 2018, the game was pulled from both Steam and GOG due to "expiring rights".[22]

While no resolution of the case has been publicly stated, Frontier announced the release of a self-published version of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, named RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition. Like Platinum / Deluxe, this release includes both Soaked! and Wild! expansions. Additions included in the Complete Edition were to update the game to run on more modern computers, an adjustment in aspect ratios, and the removal of all references to the game's previous publisher - Atari. Alongside this updated computer version, a console port for the Nintendo Switch was also created. The Complete Edition was released on September 24, 2020, to Steam, Epic Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.[25] On the Mac App Store, the version published by Aspyr Inc. was updated to the Complete Edition.[26]

Reception

Release

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 received mostly positive reviews. The game has an average rating of 81/100 at Metacritic and 84% at GameRankings.[27][28] Publications such as GameSpot and Computer Gaming World were overall positive about the game citing its many new features. However, fans of the original and the second game in the series tended to be more critical. Several other criticisms stemmed from bugs and technical issues,[34][36] such as the game crashing, the camera freezing, staff getting stuck on railings, low framerates and graphical glitches mainly caused when adjusting the landscape.[36]

The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 as their 2004 "Strategy Game of the Year (General)", although it lost to The Sims 2. They wrote that it "overcame the series' sophomore slump with a great state-of-the-art design."[39] During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 for "Simulation Game of the Year", which was ultimately awarded to The Sims 2.[40]

Sales

On the week of November 7, 2004, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 was the second best-selling PC game on Amazon.com.[41] Within the next week, the game became the best-selling PC game on Amazon.com.[42] According to The NPD Group, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 was the ninth-best-selling computer game of 2004.[43] It claimed fifth place on NPD's annual chart for the following year.[44] The game also received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[45] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[46]

In June 2015, Frontier CEO David Braben reported that the game had sold "more than 10 million copies".[47]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mac OS X version published by Aspyr, iOS version published by Frontier Developments, Complete Edition published by Frontier Foundry.

References

  1. ↑ Adams, David (November 2, 2004). "Sit Down, Strap In, Scream". IGN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ Contributor, GamesIndustry International (October 28, 2004). "ATARI'S FREE ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON 3 DEMO DRIVES EXCITEMENT FOR NOVEMBER 5th LAUNCH". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ "Aspyr ships Rollercoaster Tycoon 3". Macworld. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  4. ↑ Priestman, Chris (August 12, 2015). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 gets ported to iOS without any microtransactions to drag it down". www.pocketgamer.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition announced for Switch, PC". Gematsu. September 8, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ↑ Adams, David (November 2, 2004). "Sit Down, Strap In, Scream". IGN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2004. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Game Info". Atari. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  8. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 by Atari – PC Video Game Review". Kidzworld. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 "Atari - RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3: Platinum". www.atari.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  10. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Cheats Verified". GameGuideFAQ. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ Frontier Developments (2004). Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 – Instruction Manual. Peeps (PC version ed.). Atari. pp. 9–10.
  12. ↑ Gamespot Staff (April 2, 2004). "RollerCoaster Tycoon designer offers first details on new title". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  13. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (March 3, 2016). "A big interview with Chris Sawyer, the creator of RollerCoaster Tycoon". Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  14. ↑ Cohen, Peter (March 21, 2013). "Review: RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Platinum for Mac". Macworld. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  15. ↑ Wilcox, Mike (July 30, 2005). "Disney for a day – Games – Reviews – Technology – smh.com.au". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  16. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (July 4, 2005). "'Soaked' makes splash with wild, watery fun". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 15, 2005. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  17. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  18. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild!". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Frontier ports RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 to mobile with no in-app purchases". Eurogamer.com. August 13, 2015. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ Martin, Matt (March 13, 2007). "RollerCoaster Tycoon lawsuit goes to House of Lords". Games Industry.biz. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Chris Sawyer vs Atari Interactive INC". Bailii. England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division). Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 9, 2018). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 pulled from Steam, GOG". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  23. ↑ Hussain, Tamoor (January 3, 2017). "Atari Being Sued for Alleged Unpaid Rollercoaster Tycoon Royalties". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 3, 2017). "Planet Coaster dev Frontier sues RollerCoaster Tycoon World maker Atari". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  25. ↑ Phillips, Tom (September 8, 2020). "Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition headed to PC and Switch". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  26. ↑ Langston, Keith (November 24, 2020). "The Best Games In The Apple MacBook App Store". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  27. 1 2 "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  28. 1 2 "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  29. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  30. ↑ "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  31. ↑ Staff (December 25, 2004). "Reviews: RCT3". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  32. ↑ McDonald, T. Liam (February 2005). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3". Computer Gaming World. No. 248. p. 88.
  33. ↑ Juba, Joe; Biessener, Adam. "You Must Be At Least This Awesome to Ride". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008.
  34. 1 2 Ocampo, Jason (October 26, 2004). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  35. ↑ Abner, William (November 10, 2004). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  36. 1 2 3 Adams, Dan (October 27, 2004). "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 30, 2004. Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  37. ↑ PC Zone Staff (November 26, 2004). "Roller Coaster Tycoon III". PC Zone. Archived from the original on April 14, 2008.
  38. ↑ Lazarides, Tasos (August 26, 2015). "'RollerCoaster Tycoon 3' Review – Life is a Fun, Micromanaging RollerCoaster". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  39. ↑ Staff, ed. (March 2005). "2004 Games of the Year". Computer Gaming World. No. 249. p. 60.
  40. ↑ "2005 Awards Category Details Simulation Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Best-selling PC Games, week of November 7, 2004". Arizona Republic. November 15, 2004. p. 49. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Best-selling PC Games, week of November 14, 2004". Arizona Republic. November 22, 2004. p. 53. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  43. ↑ Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry; 2005 Sales, Demographics and Usage Data (PDF) (Report). Entertainment Software Association. May 18, 2005. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2005.
  44. ↑ "Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry; 2006 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data" (PDF). Entertainment Software Association. May 10, 2006. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2006.
  45. ↑ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009.
  46. ↑ Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.
  47. ↑ Campbell, Colin (June 22, 2015). "Planet Coaster is getting ready for a big ride". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
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