My reasons for refunding this game

[mrtnptrs]

So, after having it bought two weeks ago for 20 euros, I have asked for a refund and I got it.
These are my reasons for it:

1. This "remaster" came years too late: now it became almost impossible to create a better remaster then OpenRCT2 already is: https://openrct2.org/ (which you can use with your old classis CD-version, GOG version, Steam version. It adds loooooooooooots of options and it's FREE!) If this came out like 3 years ago, it would have had a super good rating here on Steam.
2. Lack of (graphical) options in this game.
3. Even after users, including me, reported some bugs, nobody seems to be working on fixing them: https://steamdb.info/app/683900/history/ (correct me if I'm wrong)
4. Importing custom objects and tracks doesn't seem to be that easy and clear in the PC version (you have to place it in the Documents folder of RCTC??? The pop up about e-mail attachements of course is old info from the mobile port.)
5. No discount for previous owners of RCT1 and RCT2 here on Steam.
6. Lack of improvements in this "remaster": only minor improvements like a more modern UI, easier to fix benches and bins, boosters, more objects possible.... so, it's basically RCT2 running on modern OS. But hey, doesn't OpenRCT2 already do that for Free? :P

If the developers would address the above point 2, 3, 4 and 5, I would definitely buy this again for nostalgia and to compare it to OpenRCT2 :P Hahaha Hopefully the developers, but especially Atari, can learn from this and hopefully improve RCTC, as it surely has lots of potential.

[Blackstratus]

My biggest gripe is how Roller Coaster Tycoon:Deluxe (Steam) and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrills (Steam) don't already work on my system. They are huge pains to get working and have huge problems still.

I'm also not a fan of modding (just a personal thing). I don't like having to go out of my way to play a videogame. I feel like OpenRCT2 likely only started because people couldn't even get the Steam version of RCT 2 to launch properly on their new computers. With lack of official developer support this obviously lead the game community itself to fix the issue, and it's since grown into something much bigger and better, and I commend them for that.

Still though, you're going to have people like me, who don't mod, who don't look up mods, and maybe who don't stumble upon OpenRCT2. They browse steam, buy games, and want them to work from out of the box.

Thats why Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic was great!... in theory. I mean, it launched, actually launched, and didn't crash for me! I still had a bunch of other problems though... but in reality once I found the solution to the biggest one (The User Interface), all the smaller ones didn't really bother me as much as they are bothering other people. People are letting their memory and nostalgia cloud reality. I've had people screaming up and down about "How it used to be" and I try to explain to them exactly what Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic is... but they just want to get mad at the developers.

It's got me highly curious to see if OpenRCT2 fixes majority of the issues that people have, and I'll get back to yah on that one... but still.

You're on one side, I'm on the other, but we both agree. RCTC has a lot of potential, and as long as the developers don't sit on it, it could go places and possibly surpass OpenRCT2

Edit: OpenRCT2 did add back the feature to have both Paid Entry and Paid Rides, but they didn't change any of the default scenarios from what I can see). Also, it appears you're required to import the scenarios from Roller Coaster Tycoon: Deluxe. So it's definitely not perfect.

On a side note though, it IMMEDIATELY allows Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 to work without any issues, so that's a HUGE plus.

Edit2: In regards to your #3, the developers have at least responded to a couple of these forum posts in regards to bugs. We don't have a comprehensive list of what they may or may not be working on, if they are actually working at all, but on the surface it does at least appear that they are looking into some issue.

[mrtnptrs]

Originally posted by Blackstratus:

My biggest gripe is how Roller Coaster Tycoon:Deluxe (Steam) and Roller Coaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrills (Steam) don't already work on my system. They are huge pains to get working and have huge problems still.

Indeed. This is partly caused by really old assembly code in which RCT1 and 2 were build. It is really error-sensitive because of this; one corrupt object file and RCT2 will crash at startup and almost no way to find the cause of this. With OpenRCT2 you can find all the corrupt Tracks, scenarios and object files and delete them to get the original RCT1 and 2 better working again.

But to get the game working properly, it has to be rewritten completely in other code, which is what RCTC did at the end of last year. OpenRCT2 started with this in april 2014. The first mention from Chris Sawyer that he was working on RCTC came somewhere in the beginning of 2016; more then 2 years later. So, besides adding options, OpenRCT2 isn't that different from RCTC.

Also, OpenRCT2 does not depend on the code of RCT2 anymore, but still requires the assets, track files, scenarios and objects to get it working. Also, it's fully open-source, free and updated daily by people from all over the globe.

OpenRCT2 isn't really a mod; it has completely rewritten RCT2, works the same as vanilla RCT2, but added a lot of additional (customization) options, fixed some original bugs (like that the bins now work again!!!) and also has the option to use RCT1 files.

OpenRCT2 almost never crashes. By hearing the reviews here, RCTC crashes more often.... Also, RCTC only runs at 60 FPS with FPS drops when zooming out and only at your native resolution. OpenRCT2 has far more options: unlocked FPS, OpenGL renderengine and custom resolution support. Also, OpenRCT2 is also available on Linux and MacOS, where RCTC only is available on Windows and Mac.

Also, OpenRCT2 contains many cheats, which many players like to play around with this game.

Originally posted by Blackstratus:

Edit2: In regards to your #3, the developers have at least responded to a couple of these forum posts in regards to bugs. We don't have a comprehensive list of what they may or may not be working on, if they are actually working at all, but on the surface it does at least appear that they are looking into some issue.

Yes, of course, but as you can see at that link at SteamDB, nothing seems to be actually happening after two weeks. Also, responding with "looking into it" is not very useful; would be much nicer if they reported back with if they could reproduce it and if a fix is in the works.... They could be a bit more transparent.

Originally posted by Blackstratus:

Still though, you're going to have people like me, who don't mod, who don't look up mods, and maybe who don't stumble upon OpenRCT2. They browse steam, buy games, and want them to work from out of the box.

On a side note though, it IMMEDIATELY allows Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 to work without any issues, so that's a HUGE plus.

Indeed, after pointing OpenRCT2 to the original RCT2 installation folder (and the RCT1 install folder, if you want OpenRCT2 to use its tracks and scenarios and some sprites...) it IMMEDIATLY works. So, after installing RCT2 and downloading OpenRCT2 it works out of the box.

Originally posted by Blackstratus:

Edit: OpenRCT2 did add back the feature to have both Paid Entry and Paid Rides, but they didn't change any of the default scenarios from what I can see). Also, it appears you're required to import the scenarios from Roller Coaster Tycoon: Deluxe. So it's definitely not perfect.

Hahaha, ok, they added many more features (even multiplayer!), take a look here: https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/wiki/Changes-to-original-gamehttps://openrct2.org/features But why would they change any of the default scenarios if they are already good? And it is logical that you have to import the scenarios to use them; if OpenRCT2 delivered the original scenarios to you, they would break the Copyright on RCT2. And again: only importing the files of RCT2 is required, RCT1 files are optional!

But I didn't mean to say why you should choose OpenRCT2, but rather talk about what is wrong with RCTC, so the developers can fix it....

[Blackstratus]

Originally posted by mrtnptrs:

Various things

For an installation file that is only 6mb, OpenRCT2 does a whole lot with what's already available. That's for sure.

And I know they have a lot more features, lol, I was just mentioning the one that seems to be getting the most gripe (besides the price).

I included a small section about OpenRCT2 in my Issues/Solutions megathread. It's a good addition for those who are looking for that kind of thing, just that I'm not personally.

I'll give Origin8 until December to dazzle us with some bug fixes and/or a fancy update. If it doesn't come by then, then this game is likely just going to be left behind, plain and simple.

[mrtnptrs]

Fully agree with you. I hope Atari provides Origin8 with enough money to produce some updates for RCTC to make it better. The support for the mobile version was great (many updates), so I hope RCTC will get the same treatment.

Btw, maybe sorry if I sounded a little bit aggressive in my words, that was wrong... just like it very much how OpenRCT2 managed to rewrite RCT2 so well :) Origin8 had the advantage of having direct access to the source code of RCT2 and RCT1, but it still seems they didn't manage to make an as good remaster in more then 1.5 years then the OpenRCT2-team in 3.5 year (they did this by decompiling the original game and rewrite it in modern code)

But to be honest; OpenRCT2 is so feature-rich, that it's pretty hard to make a better "remaster" of RCT2.

[mrtnptrs]

Ok, this is really weird: so, I got my refund, but if I start the RCTClassic.exe from the install folder, I can still play it. So, it seems like the standard Steam DRM is failing: when starting RCTC, it should first check with Steam if it has been bought. This leaves RCTC wide open to piracy, by just uploading the game files...... I hope that the developers fix that soon for their own sake. But at least on a positive note: It REALLY has no DRM!!! :P