It Launches Fine, But... The Buttons Won't Work

[JennyNoelle]

I played RCT2 as a child, and got it a few months ago (as Triple Thrill Pack - I'd never had any of the expansions before) on Steam, back when it was on sale.

I intend to install OpenRCT2, since it's considered pretty necessary (fixed bugs, helps it run on modern systems, etc.). But I wanted the nostalgia a.s.a.p. ... and I wanted to see if it worked (I had bought a copy for my mom as well, and it had issues launching).

It launched fine, and I was able to navigate the main menu and start a new park, but I found that, once the actual game started, I was unable to do anything.

Basically, the "buttons" (ex: to buy a Merry-Go-Round, or to hire a handyman) wouldn't do anything. I would try to place a ride, and the pop-up would just... not appear.

I tried this a few more times: force quitting the game, uninstalling, restarting the laptop, reinstalling the game, launching the game, starting a new park, fail to place a flat ride, and... force quit.

I know the game doesn't run well on modern systems (both I and my mom have Windows 10), but my mom didn't have any issues once we got it to launch.

I don't know if this is a common issue, or if it's an issue with my copy, or if it's an issue with Steam (somehow) or my dinky laptop. There's a lot of "my game won't launch" stuff in the discussions for this game, but not a lot of "it launches fine, but..." stuff. I don't even know if OpenRCT2 will fix it.

So, can someone please help?

[Still B0r3d]

Just install open RTC2, the nostalgia will not be harmed but enhanced. This game was not coded like modern games but was coded in assembly language by a single person.

If you really, really want to get it running without openrtc2 for something like a comparison of all the improvements, sometimes setting windows compatibility mode for the app can fix some issues. Otherwise you need to revert to older hardware, like a PS2 keyboard.

But by not using open RCT2 you are missing out on many things, including the ability to play a multiplayer game online with your mom working on the same coaster.

[chris.ferrantegerard]

It doesn't take long to get OpenRCT2 running. OpenRCT2 will give you the same nostalgia hit, just updated with better quality of life features. Atari doesn't really support the game well, best to just move on to OpenRCT2.