Financial strategy, gameplay?

[Leander.quest]

According to reviews, at launch the game was only about building rides and watching them. The simulation aspect was not that imporant...you did not need a good strategy, everything was easy.

Has gameplay been tweaked after launch? Are there mods to make finances more interesting?

[caesar_andy]

It's a question of what you are doing.

You can play pre-defined szenarios or the sandbox.

In Sandbox you can build freely and there is no money at all. In the opposite to the old RTC games, you had a Balance sheet in Sanbox though. You are able to see, if your work is lucrative or not, but you will never get insolvent and loose the game just because it's not.

In Scenarios you will have money to spend and earn, but as far as i can say, it' mostly a factor of artifical limitation. And provides a challenge between you and the goal of the szenario. Figure out, what you really need and what prices your guests are willingly to pay, and everything will be fine.
Money management is in fact not easy, but it is not really complex. So don't expect a real Business-Sim here with hundreds of variable. Everything you had to manage is your income against your employers income and the upkeep of your rides. Building a park with a working cashflow can be tough because of the inconsistent income. And you can probably try to max out your parks income by optimizing the routes your customers have to walk. But that's all - more or less.

[Leander.quest]

Thanks for your reply! In a review they said that park guests don't want to pay entrance fees at all but have no problem paying 25€ for one ride. You don't have to pay much attention as you still earn money and just build and watch without having to think about finances much.

[caesar_andy]

The point is, the financial gameplay in PR is not about numbers and math. It's about organisation and flow. It`s true that a large rollercoaster can give you a lot of money. But it is useless having to much customers waiting in a long row. A large ride on it`s own cannot hold a park, even at 25$. It is just to slow. If you want to earn money, you must use your big attractions to lure the customers into region, where your shops are placed.
If a large ride fails, you may loose a month worth of income if your mechanics are bad organised. And a otherwise usefull shop may be wothless, if it has no customers.

That's the point. There IS financial gameplay in the game, but it has nothing to do with doing math and setting values (despite of prices). It's all about guiding your customers through the park, make them happy and place your shops at the right spots.

[Leander.quest]

Thanks for your explanation! :)