I read that it will be released January 2014.

…. Actually, when he was alive and kicking, Walt was a pretty good boss to work for. He was demanding, but he paid his artists and engineers well. It was after he died and it become a corporate conglomerate that it became a miserable company to work for…. Michael Eisner was an "unmentionable character" from all I've heard.

Imagine that! Someone on our site who actually worked at WDW. Thanks for sharing the comment about Walt and how happy some of his staff were. I stand corrected. I’ve heard about the different levels and the Eisner management style. Admittedly he did turn the company around (I think I saw it on 60 Minutes) but there must be some other way to do the same thing without so many rifts and such deep chisms.

I read that it will be released January 2014.

What!? After all their trumpet blowing about a summer 2013 release! And with a previous release date set at the doorstep of Fall. Surpri-i-i-ise surprise.

I thought that to, but since it is more advanced than RCT3, and with how realistic it looks, makes sense.

Hey guys, I'm here to be your TPS ambassador and to clear up any misconceptions or incorrect rumors.

What!? After all their trumpet blowing about a summer 2013 release! And with a previous release date set at the doorstep of Fall. Surpri-i-i-ise surprise.

Perhaps the Summer date was a tad optimistic, however since December 2012 and September 2013, the scope of the project has expanded dramatically. Before the Kickstarter program, TPS didn't promise the myriad of features that are coming with the game - things like the animation module, vegetation and particle modules, terraforming modules just to name a few. Once the Kickstarter promises were made, the project had to be pushed back - but in the end you're getting a substantially richer product. You also have to realize that TPS wasn't in development for 4-5 years like most games. What you have seen, is exactly what they've been working on.

From the looks of things, FTA, it may not take us any farther but it will be easier to get there. AND you have the advantage, hopefully, that it will be compatible with 64 bit OS's and not have the 2gb ram limit 32 bit programs like RCT3 have that make it slow down and crash.

You're absolutely right - Initially - it will be a faster way to produce quality parks of the level that we've been accustomed to. And it will not have the computing restrictions that RCT3 has. While still only utilizing one processor, the majority of the load for TPS is reliant on the GPU. RCT3 has notoriously been dependent on the CPU, using it to process poorly scaled peep AI, recall scenery lists and enable global guides (all situations that have crashed my machine).

I agree with you to a point. I think Theme Park Studio will allow for much more realistic re-creations and originals (a-la no limits), but as far as scenery, landscaping, etc., RCT3 and Theme Park Studio don't look much different. Theme Park Studio may actually be too complicated by the looks of it for a casual gamer.

Again, Initially. TPS's success in reaching a broader audience is dependent on how quickly the content libraries get filled up. At its core it is a drag and drop simulator. How deep you want to go into the simulation is purely up to you. But if you recall the Peep video:



It covers how you make a building - and it's honestly not that much different from what we do with the exception of a restrictive tile grid. There is still a grid for placement ease, but it doesn't restrict you like the full tile scenery did in the original RCT3 or even how current CS is restrictive in terms of angle and position. Same thing with landscaping - it will broaden as the libraries populate.

The further you dive into the simulation, the more complicated it can all become, but for the casual gamer, the pieces are there to design roller coasters, support them, build paths, lay down trees, plop down flat rides and construct simple structures. It's very similar to RCT3, but with the added bonus of having complete control of how you make and arrange things in your park.

I've also read it's only going to be available as a download and later have read somewhere else it's also going to be available on CD.

Details haven't fully settled yet, but what I do know is that backers of the project will receive a hard copy with printed box art and manual (like the good ol' days). As for online distribution, it's still too early to say.

Yea I don't think theme park studio isn't coming out this year or anytime soon.I think they going to sell what they have to a bigger gaming company..It the best thing they could do and also it's very hard to run a game studio that not making enough proved to even Finnish a project.

Wrong wrong wrong. Pantera has had experience finishing projects.

Such as the proprietary Vista Studio gaming engine.

Roller Coaster Rampage, Hyper Rails, Roller Coaster Factory - while not gaining massive public appeal, they've laid the ground work for the ambitious Theme Park Studio.

WHEN WILL THEME PARK STUDIO BE RELEASED? ;-(

I'm so excited and want to play it RIGHT NOW. And I'm usually the patient type who doesn't mind waiting 9 years. But since it's been that long since the last descent RC game... Does anybody know? Or have they given any mention of it somewhere or hinted at an estimated release date?

The Beta is still scheduled for Late 2013 (either November or December). This is not a timed beta - you can start laying out your parks, import scenery, coaster trains, design flat rides, create building packs...ect. The Beta program may have some features missing, but it will not be restrictive. If you haven't signed up for the Beta, you can still secure a spot through Kickstarter.

The game's official release has not been announced, but a February 2014 time frame has been floated. Fortunately, most enthusiasts have signed up for the Beta, so this extension into the new year won't affect the majority of the community.

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Lastly I remind you all that if you are going to make comparisons between RCT3 and TPS - you cannot use the RCT3 we have now - that's like giving a 900 meter head start to the veteran in a 1000 meter race. This is what you get to compare:



And quite honestly, there's no comparison.

Hey guys, I'm here to be your TPS ambassador and to clear up any misconceptions or incorrect rumors.

... Beta is still scheduled for Late 2013 (either November or December). This is not a timed beta - you can start laying out your parks, import scenery, coaster trains, design flat rides, create building packs...ect. The Beta program may have some features missing, but it will not be restrictive. If you haven't signed up for the Beta, you can still secure a spot through Kickstarter.

The game's official release has not been announced, but a February 2014 time frame has been floated. Fortunately, most enthusiasts have signed up for the Beta, so this extension into the new year won't affect the majority of the community.

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Lastly I remind you all that if you are going to make comparisons between RCT3 and TPS - you cannot use the RCT3 we have now - that's like giving a 900 meter head start to the veteran in a 1000 meter race. This is what you get to compare:



And quite honestly, there's no comparison.

Nice to see the ambassador... this looks like an incredible game. I come from Giants Farming Simulator realm and the graphics of this remind me of their NVidia engine.

I really liked the look and the editor but I thought it was simply another No Limits without the ppl of the park. I really dig the ppl, though. That sold me on it. But again, I'm more of a simulator junkie than an arcade junkie. Don't get me wrong, I think RCT3 is a blast but it is still more of an arcade game than a simulator. Here's to hoping TPS is more of the latter than the former (which, so far, it looks to be.)

I find also that the key to an awesome simulator is the physics engine. So please, tell the Pantera folks to take as long as they like, just nail the physics: that's the key to the whole thing. Fancy graphics become buttwipe without an awesome physics engine behind it. That's the only reason I still play Farming Simulator: my buddy from France spent 2 years rewriting the entire physics engine and it has done more for the franchise than the stupid company that made it. Without him, a lot of folks, myself included, would no longer be playing it. So please, keep us die-hard sim folks in mind.

Totally looking forward to this game!

.....

Lastly I remind you all that if you are going to make comparisons between RCT3 and TPS - you cannot use the RCT3 we have now - that's like giving a 900 meter head start to the veteran in a 1000 meter race. This is what you get to compare:
.....
And quite honestly, there's no comparison.

You were right. There was no comparison. One image has a suspended monorail, a heartline twister and is arranged beautifully in a huge park with scenery and structures. The other image is an unpainted woodie with some trees in a small park. Apples and oranges. And the Theme Park Studio image is hazy. What is it you're hiding in the backgrounds?

I was following the meaning of what you had written in your post up until you mentioned we cannot use the RCT3 we have now. Could you elaborate on that because I don't believe I know what you mean - I'll make my question very easy for you. Although Pantera has nothing to do with Atari will we be able to use RCT3 structures, CSO's, CTR's and CFR's in Theme Park Studio? Again, I already know Atari and Pantera are two separate companies.

Also I don't know what point you are making with the 900 metres 1000 metres comparison. What does that mean and how does it relate to RCT3 and Theme Park Studio?

The reason I stated the race metaphor was that RCT3 has had 9 years to become what it is today - that's not a fair comparison to expect that TPS will be at the same level and beyond in its infancy. And we only have the RCT3 we have today, because we spited the developers and violated Atari's terms of service.

Although Pantera has nothing to do with Atari will we be able to use RCT3 structures, CSO's, CTR's and CFR's in Theme Park Studio? Again, I already know Atari and Pantera are two separate companies.

The Frontier proprietary file extensions like .ovl (overlays) will not auto-import into TPS. The same goes for .dat files - which are parks, structures, scenarios and other general files. However by converting existing scenery in sketchup to COLLADA (or .dae extensions), you certainly can have a piece of RCT3 in TPS. This is the same for CFRs, CTRs, and I presume Custom Tracks - though that may be something as simple as changing track model files - as TPS builds using fluid splines and not prebuilt lego-like pieces. CFRs would simply need to be rigged using the appropriate naming conventions (something that we already have to do for the RCT3 importer) as well as CTRs. If you rig it correctly, TPS will automatically know what a wheel is (left and right - upper and lower), the chassis, the body (head, middle and tail), the restraints...ect.

Okay, when will the game come out? I'm tired of waiting.

Atari created RCT3 9 years ago to make money. Yet in spite of how long ago it was released this game has aged beautifully, consistently maintains a huge following and continues to reveal horizons which are being skillfully expanded to a fantastic degree by our CS artists. Ordinarily this is unheard of in the gaming industry. Further, Atari didn’t brazenly request money from the public for RCT3 until after its release. After I paid for my copy of RCT3 I had a product in my hand to show for my payment and a support infrastructure in place in case there was a problem. I was also not concerned that I had to pay for expansions. I was told at the beginning there would be expansions so therefore I was expecting them and the expansions were released when Atari said they would.

Yes, we may have spited the developers and Atari’s terms of service might have been violated but why is that your problem? Can you speak to the fact that Pantera has extracted a great deal of money from the public and continues to switch the date the public will get what they paid for?

Theme Park Studio is outstanding in that it’s touted by spokespersons who admit its inferiority and who use its infancy as an excuse for its lack of quality but believe we should have TPS anyway. I had never heard of Pantera until some months ago when a summer release was announced for Theme Park Studio, a release time which was then moved to the doorstep of fall, then to next January and now to the following February. What’s next? Spring 2014! Additionally Pantera has had the brass, the temerity and the gall to request money for its product prior to releasing it at an unknown time, a release that I don’t believe is going to make February either so Pantera has no idea when this game is going to be ready for consumers.

Rather than tell us what the system requirements are for TPS Pantera has chosen to start a thread requesting posts indicating what sorts of systems members on its website are currently using for the games they are currently playing. If that isn’t the half-built cart placed before the dead horse then I don’t know what is. If we optimistically assume a thousand people post in that thread and that Pantera is anticipating selling millions of copies of TPS what sort of representation is that? Besides getting the people who post in that thread to feel they’re taking part in TPS’s development how is that data going to help Pantera? Atari wasn’t concerned with what systems people at the time were using, it just went ahead and created RCT3 and then released it on the date it said it would. Although it was released in 2004 with specifications for computers that most people at the time could only dream of RCT3 still caught on.

Regardless of how much development has taken place Theme Park Studio is not yet an actual game. It is still an idea. Until I see it in a package on store shelves that’s all it will ever be to me. Some of us may remember Theme Park Builder which was also an idea. It was an idea that never got off the ground because it was disbanded after several years by its founder because he was fed up with the “revolving door of egos.” What assurance do we have that in December of 2014 Theme Park Studio will actually exist as a product? How do we know that by that time we’re not being promised a release date in 2015 or that that development of the product won’t have been disbanded for some reason? What’s going to happen if Pantera hits a stall in the development of Theme Park Studio and a disbanding looks likely? Is it going to suggest expansions or is it going to then ask the public for more money?

And just like Atari’s developers and their terms of service, the race metaphor is also Pantera’s problem. RCT3 was also in its infancy at one time. That there has been nine years between then and now is also Pantera’s problem. Pantera doesn’t seem to be taking into account the amount of time many people have invested in RCT3 since its release – investments that range from learning several applications in one go in order to create exquisite custom objects, or spending six months creating the perfect park or spending four weeks learning all the game menus and discovering what’s in each. Nobody is going to disregard any of this in order to be fair to Pantera. The people who are interested in Theme Park Studio are not interested in a relationship with Pantera; they’re interested in the product Pantera has promised to deliver.

As far as product delivery what I would like is a park a minimum of 1,000x1, 000 tiles and a game engine that can handle all the CS I can put in the park. I would also like to have (all at the same time) hundreds of stalls and coasters in the park, dozens of enclosures containing hundreds of animals, the ability to have 50,000 guests & 10,000 staff in the park, with reflective water, with day and night cycle, with shadows in the day cycle, with the highest LOD/geometry imposter settings set permanently that way and all with my existing system and without the game crashing once for any reason. I already know how the current game engine works for RCT3 so to start this would probably require a game engine patch or crack.

I will admit though that for the next ten years that might be a bit much to expect from a PC game. I can’t do that now with RCT3 but in order for me to switch TPS needs to take me closer to that than RCT3, in addition to which I would much rather play an RCT4 wannabe if it's simply a retread of RCT3 and I can use all my existing RCT stuff (or conveniently convert it) into this new arrival, and that means all rides and coasters, all scenery and structures. There is just no way I’m going to leave tons of painstakingly collected and lovingly created old familiar stuff behind in order to get TPS simply because TPS is new. The only thing TPS seems to have going for it is that the paths and tracks use flexi sections and not rigid sections. Taken into account with the rest of what RCT3 offers I don’t care about that on top of which you’re telling me TPS is inferior because its young and to be fair! Take a step backwards!? And pay for the privilege!? Oh, please.

Finally people will continue to compare any RCT4 wannabe to RCT3 because that’s just the way it is. Again I already know Atari is a different company from Pantera and Pantera is not trying to recreate RCT – we all know that already. However, RCT3 was a great game, is a great game and will continue to be a great game for a very long time. People will always see TPS as an RCT4 wannabe because that’s how we’re built.

RCT3 exists. Be professional. Be a good sport. Be fair. Get over it.

First off, I must make mention, I don't actually work for Pantera - I'm doing this as an enthusiast for the product.

Secondly, I was here when RCT3 debuted to the world. And it was no bed of roses. It was a 3d interpretation of RCT2 with a number of user interface bugs, missing graphic options, and a serious memory leak that made using the brand new 'night' feature hopeless. You also lacked common sense hotkeys like ctrl-click that positions scenery at a predetermined height (something we use instinctively without ever questioning) and 'z' to rotate scenery. There were also mixmaster features missing, like a scrub bar that allows you to poke through the show you've made - instead of having to go from the beginning every time.

Before you had forums, you had Atari support - and let me tell you, it was hopeless as well. There were countless issues with directX when RCT3 first came out and PCs were working up towards the system specs - but seeing how Atari was only the publisher, they'd run down a laundry list of general solutions without actually thinking about your specific issue. If it couldn't be fixed, then they'd send you to Frontier's tech department.

My point is, even the standard you hold to didn't start smooth and that game 9 years ago had to have 3 major structural patches applied to it AFTER it released. These changes were proof that this game wasn't ready - but it adhered to its arbitrary release date, instead of getting things right before the game went public.

I don't want to start a war here - and if you really know me, you'd know that I've spent a great deal of time and effort learning every nook and cranny of RCT3. I've made dark rides, coaster films, fully themed parks, fireworks shows, custom vegetation, particle effects. But why I have hope in TPS is because I feel it will take the RCT3 baton and continue the Theme Park genre marathon - but only if people give it a fighting chance.

As far as product delivery what I would like is a park a minimum of 1,000x1, 000 tiles and a game engine that can handle all the CS I can put in the park. I would also like to have (all at the same time) hundreds of stalls and coasters in the park, dozens of enclosures containing hundreds of animals, the ability to have 50,000 guests & 10,000 staff in the park, with reflective water, with day and night cycle, with shadows in the day cycle, with the highest LOD/geometry imposter settings set permanently that way and all with my existing system and without the game crashing once for any reason. I already know how the current game engine works for RCT3 so to start this would probably require a game engine patch or crack.

You said this yourself - RCT3 can't do this and to expect that TPS will be able to with no consequences to your actions is absurd. You will be able plop down whatever you want, but that doesn't mean you can do it to infinity. It doesn't mean you can arbitrarily have 50K guests because you want it. Everything in gaming has a cost - and the more geometry and textures you put into a gaming engine, the more power you're going to need to support that. TPS mantra is about total sandbox play, but that doesn't mean you get to have everything you want simultaneously.

Surely you can see that your expectations are way out of line? I hate to always bring up this comparison, but SimCity can't even keep track of 12,000 agents. How do you figure TPS will be able to manage 5 times that?