tycoon 2 vs 3

[skyace65]

Recently bought RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and I love it, but I'm curious what some of you guys think 2 does better than 3.

[Valis]

Well overall killing your guests whether it's by drowning them or coaster crashes when getting bored...lol! On a more serious note though I tend to favor 2 though more. All these are my opinion though, nothing more.

RCT2:

Better Scenario Editing
More Rides & Stalls (Not including alternate versions of the same rides/stalls)
Better Detailing Overall
More Realistic
2D Isometric View (I also prefer this over the 3D of RCT3)
Scenery (It's easier to make things look nicer, blend in and less bland)

I probably could name some more but I have not touched either in awhile. I prefer 2's Scenario Editor though, seems like I have more freedom than 3's allowing me to do more laying down a better foundation, terrain editing etc before I save it and start building my park.

The more rides & stalls gives it more variety imo and more choices for the player but I guess RCT3 does have more variety of water rides and I guess a zoo though. Pretty sure 2 has more variety though I may be wrong so correct me if so.

I feel 3 was kind of bland in terms of how it looked. Sure you can make a park look nice if spent enough time and put some love into it (I liked filling gaps with tree's, plants and rest areas etc). RCT2 I liked the textures more as well, more sharper visually and I felt like it had some character where 3 the grass for instance looked bland, smooth, flat, plasticy to me I guess.

RCT2's Coasters also looked more realistic along with some of the other rides and the detail on them were great were 3 I felt more was desired and that 3's coasters felt lacking visually.

I dont mind RCT3's 3D setting but I prefer 2's Isometric view let alone I prefer the way the guests looked in 2 even if they all looked the same as well even though 3 had a good variety and you could tell genders apart lol.

I could go on like I said and these are just my opinions though, I do not dislike 3 just felt like 2 gives me more replayability, customization and so forth. Then again I do like RCT3's lighting, fireworks and time of day cycles.

Well I guess that and I actually like RCT2's scenario maps better that and 3 seemed like half of them if not most (Dont remember) but I do remember seemed like 3's were lacking in already made scenery and while I do not mind and love making my own usually 2's was set so when you built a ride least it did not feel naked around it but I get picky when I place tree's and what not.

[CrazyEight]

RCT 3 had one major flaw in my opinion. It used its 3D as a gimick.
Rather than expending the game as a whole, it took baby steps forward carried by the Fancy new 3D graphics. Since it's release it has seen updates and expansions to bridge the gap it had from the RCT2 to this game.

Dispite this, I found the game lacking from a true RCT experiance. Something important was missing that gave the series its feel. The whimsy of building your own theme park had died out a bit.

Maybe it was the over saturated colors that made everything look like it was made of plastic. Maybe it was the low poly on the 3D causing things to look jagged. Maybe it was the smaller maps, or the scenarios, or the fact that guests couldn't die in freak coaster accidents.

What ever the case may be, RCT3 wasnt it's pedecesor.
As sad as it is, the series seems to have died after this. SURE there is RCT World. But that game has changed devs 3 times now, and was delayed till 2016. It only seems to have come about because Indie devs are making "Build your own theme park" style games and Atari took notice that the market still exists. In short, the lack of effort from the launch of RCT3 to the development of RCT World is noticable. Its seems that RCT has become just "A THEME PARK SIM" rather than "THE THEME PARK SIM" that set the stange so many years ago.

RCT3 DID have redeaming features though.
1st person view on rides let you see things the way your guests do. It was a fantastic way to make use of the 3D and added something new and welcome to the experiance. Fireworks were also added to the game. Allowing you to create your own light shows. It was a new way to give life to your park.

Over all, Id say buy RCT2 to own a piece of old gaming nostalgia. Its the game that really put the genre in the spot light. with RCT World and Theme Park Studio right around the corner RCT3 seems to be out of its own league.

[skyace65]

Originally posted by Crazy Eight:

RCT 3 had one major flaw in my opinion. It used its 3D as a gimick.
Rather than expending the game as a whole, it took baby steps forward carried by the Fancy new 3D graphics. Since it's release it has seen updates and expansions to bridge the gap it had from the RCT2 to this game.

Dispite this, I found the game lacking from a true RCT experiance. Something important was missing that gave the series its feel. The whimsy of building your own theme park had died out a bit.

Maybe it was the over saturated colors that made everything look like it was made of plastic. Maybe it was the low poly on the 3D causing things to look jagged. Maybe it was the smaller maps, or the scenarios, or the fact that guests couldn't die in freak coaster accidents.

What ever the case may be, RCT3 wasnt it's pedecesor.
As sad as it is, the series seems to have died after this. SURE there is RCT World. But that game has changed devs 3 times now, and was delayed till 2016. It only seems to have come about because Indie devs are making "Build your own theme park" style games and Atari took notice that the market still exists. In short, the lack of effort from the launch of RCT3 to the development of RCT World is noticable. Its seems that RCT has become just "A THEME PARK SIM" rather than "THE THEME PARK SIM" that set the stange so many years ago.

RCT3 DID have redeaming features though.
1st person view on rides let you see things the way your guests do. It was a fantastic way to make use of the 3D and added something new and welcome to the experiance. Fireworks were also added to the game. Allowing you to create your own light shows. It was a new way to give life to your park.

Over all, Id say buy RCT2 to own a piece of old gaming nostalgia. Its the game that really put the genre in the spot light. with RCT World and Theme Park Studio right around the corner RCT3 seems to be out of its own league.

You might want to check out Planet Coaster. It's done by the people who made RTC3(Frontier), but it looks much better. And they seem to be taking advantage of 3D like you said they should have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOAiH4_Wrc4
Of course we still need to wait till release to see how it is, but it looks promising.

And thank you both for your opinions, I think I might just get RTC2.

[NaceWindu]

Buy RCT2, you won't regret it. I have both and I like RCT2 much better. Pretty much the only thing 3 has going for it is the ability to ride on your coasters. I think the scenario editor in 3 is better than in 2 in some ways, but it's also weaker in others. Scenarios in 3, meh, there are a couple of good ones in the campain, but most of them are bland and the goals are stupid (particularly in the expansion Wild! Some of the scenarios turn more into Zoo/Farm tycoon with goals of making x profit selling animals. Really?) Admittedly in 3 it is nice that there is an actual progression of completing and unlocking scenarios (as bad as some of the scenarios are) unlike in 2 where all the scenarios stand alone with no campain or unlocking. Overall, I just find the gameplay and atmosphere more enjoyable in 2. It felt like you were building an amusement park, whereas 3 just felt a little too goofy to be convincing with a lot of the theming and just the overall look of the game.