Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

RollerCoaster Tycoon

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
RollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon cover
Developers
Chris Sawyer
Windows interface, (un)installer Fish UK
Publishers
1999-2000 MicroProse
1999-2000 Hasbro Interactive
2001-2003 Infogrames
2003-present Atari
Release dates
Windows March 1999
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Bird's-eye view, Isometric
Controls Point and select
Genres Building
Themes Amusement park
Series RollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon on HowLongToBeat
RollerCoaster Tycoon on IGDB
RollerCoaster Tycoon guide on StrategyWiki
RollerCoaster Tycoon on MobyGames
RollerCoaster Tycoon on Wikipedia
RollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon 1999
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 2002
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 2004
OpenRCT2 (Engine fanport) 2015
RollerCoaster Tycoon World 2016
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic 2017
RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures 2019

RollerCoaster Tycoon is an isometric amusement park building game released in March 1999 by Chris Sawyer.

The game started development in September 1996, running on an evolution of the Transport Tycoon Deluxe engine, under the name White Knuckle. [1] The code was written by Chris Sawyer himself in assembly language[2] with just a small portion of the code interfacing to Windows and DirectX written by Fish UK[3]. The visuals were created by Simon Foster, while the theme music was composed by Allister Brimble.

The game's first expansion from November 1999 had two titles for different markets: Corkscrew Follies in North America and Added Attractions internationally. Aside from new scenarios (one being the first real-world park replica, Alton Towers) and rides, it added gameplay changes like signs that can be used as path blockers for all non-staff and the option to give guests "real" names. The second expansion from September 2000, Loopy Landscapes, added further new rides and scenarios, along with the option for all rides to play a selection of new music tracks by Allister Brimble or one of two custom music slots filled by the user's music files. The latest (1.20.013) patch for Loopy Landscapes would add native Windows 2000 support, and by transition the Windows NT line of operating systems as a whole; reprints of the expansion would include this patch by default. The base game and expansion would be combined in the Gold Edition (North America) / Totally RollerCoaster, with the 2003 North American variant Deluxe Edition including a unique executable version (1.20.015) with which common trainers do not work, as well as a selection of user-created ride tracks from the Ride Exchange section of the official website at the time. This version would be the one released on digital stores in the early 2010s.

The game was replaced by its 2002 sequel as the community favorite due to its expanded theming and construction controls, which in turn was replaced by the community open-source rewrite OpenRCT2. RollerCoaster Tycoon content can be imported to OpenRCT2, but the latter still requires the sequel as its base to run.

The fully patched version of the game runs on all Windows systems, but traps the mouse input even after the process is closed, requiring repeated right-clicking in empty space to free the left mouse button.

General information

RollerCoaster Tycoon Wiki - A wiki dedicated to everything RollerCoaster Tycoon related
The Definitive RCT Reference Guide - a detailed source on every element of the game, including official downloadable content
NEDesigns - park and scenery showcase site for Loopy Landscapes and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
SafeDisc DRM present only in earliest 1999 prints, removed in subsequent patches (which are included in re-releases).[4] There is a workaround for running Loopy Landscapes without a disc check, see Play without CD (Loopy Landscapes)
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Deluxe Edition
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Deluxe Edition
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Deluxe Edition. Includes soundtrack.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Deluxe Edition
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Deluxe Edition
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
Deluxe Edition
Windows
A free demo version is available from GameFront. Note that it allows for only several minutes of gameplay at a time, without a save/load function.
A faithful, higher quality icon can be found on DeviantArt.

Version differences

The Gold Edition (known also as Totally RollerCoaster in Europe) includes the base game and both expansion packs.
The Deluxe Edition is a variant of the Gold Edition that comes with a unique executable (1.20.015 as opposed to patched Loopy Landscapes' 1.20.013) that is more resilient to common trainers. It also comes bundled with many custom track designs from the old official website's ride exchange section. It was originally only released in North America, but digital releases are based off this version.

Monetization

Type Notes
Expansion pack The expansion packs include new scenarios, scenery, rides and quality-of-life improvements.
One-time game purchase The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Corkscrew Follies Also known as Added Attractions in Europe
Windows
Loopy Landscapes Includes the entirety of the Corkscrew Follies/Added Attractions expansion pack.
Windows

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest official patches for the base game (v1.08.187), Corkscrew Follies / Added Attractions (v1.10.026) and Loopy Landscapes (v1.20.013) are available from GameFront.
The Deluxe Edition, upon which digital releases are based, have the unique v1.20.015 build by default.

Downloadable content

There are two official roller coaster collection downloads from Chris Sawyer, both available via his website. While the "Cat" collection can be used in any version of the game, the "Phobia" collection can only be used in conjunction with games that have either the Corkscrew Follies/Added Attractions or Loopy Landscapes expansion packs.

Other official tracks from Chris Sawyer and John Wardley (including the two aforementioned ones), formerly available on the official website, are available from here (at the bottom of the page).

Also released were multiple downloadable scenarios, archived here.

Play without a CD (Loopy Landscapes)

Copy files to disk and edit registry files[5]
  1. Copy all files from the Data folder on the CD-ROM to the Data folder in the game directory. Overwriting is not necessary.
  2. In the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Fish Technology Group\Rollercoaster Tycoon Setup.
  3. Change the SetupPath string value to point to the game directory (copying the Path value is the easiest way).

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/285310/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Saved Games[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/285310/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

General settings.
General settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
40 FPS cap
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Widescreen resolution

This hack only supports the following resolutions: 1280x720 (16:9), 1280x768 (15:9), 1280x1024 (5:4).
This hack works with the original retail release, not the GOG.com/Steam/etc. versions.[citation needed]
Hack widescreen resolution[citation needed]
  1. Open rct.exe with a hex editor such as HxD
  2. Search for the following string: 58 02 00 00 68 20 03 00 00
  3. Depending on the resolution you choose, edit the string accordingly
    1. 1280x720 (16:9): Change 58 02 to D0 02
    2. 1280x768 (15:9): Change 58 02 to 00 03
    3. 1280x1024 (5:4): Change 58 02 to 00 04
  4. Search for the string 20 03 00 00 c7 45 f4 58 02 00 00
  5. Change 20 03 to 00 05 (regardless of your screen resolution)
  6. Save and close the hex editor
  7. Run the game, start/load a save, click the save icon, and click on "Options"
  8. Select the 800x600 resolution to enable the resolution you hacked in

Notes

Higher resolutions could result in decreased performance, especially if there is a lot of attractions on screen.

Input

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Audio can only be fully muted or fully enabled.
Surround sound
Subtitles
No speech
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
UK and US localizations differ in certain names and terms. The Deluxe Edition has US English.
Simplified Chinese
Retail only. Official translation by «Suntendy».
Traditional Chinese
Retail only.
Dutch
Retail only.
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Retail only. Expansions were not localized.
Korean
Retail only.
Polish
Retail only.
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail only: Infogrames Brasil & Fullgames releases.
Spanish
Swedish
Retail only.

Issues fixed

Compatibility modes

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / Me or XP SP3. Also disable desktop composition / visual themes

Dialog boxes not opening/unable to save

Disable visual themes and run the game as administrator

Moving camera with mouse erratic in windowed mode

Set high DPI scaling override for game
  1. Navigate to <path-to-game>, right click RCT.exe and go into Properties
  2. Open Compatibility tab and click on Change high DPI settings
  3. Enable Override high DPI scaling behavior and choose Application in dropdown menu

Issues unresolved

Mouse issues after closing

In Windows XP and above, after the game is closed, the left mouse button might seem unresponsive as it is still assigned to the game process. Repeatedly right-clicking (preferrably in an empty section of the desktop) will "release" full mouse control. On Windows 9x, this issue does not seem to appear as the game process leaves an "empty" tab in the taskbar that is closed by a single click.

Other information

API

Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

System requirements

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 95, 98
Processor (CPU) 90 MHz
System memory (RAM) 16 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 55 MB
Video card (GPU) 1 MB of VRAM
Windows 2000 officially supported only after the Loopy Landscapes patch 1.20.013.


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/285310/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (285310) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  2. When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

  1. GAME INFO - THE EVOLUTION OF ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON (aka The Editing Room Floor) - last accessed on 2023-06-02 (archived)
  2. Chris Sawyer Software Development - last accessed on 2023-06-02
    "It's 99% written in x86 assembler/machine code (yes, really!), with a small amount of C code used to interface to MS Windows and DirectX."
  3. Game credits
  4. Verified by User:Plok on 2023-02-17
    clokspl.exe and similar SafeDisc-specific files present in the very first pan-European retail build, but omitted in all subsequent versions and dumps thereof.
  5. RCT Station - Playing Loopy Landscapes without the CD-ROM (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-05-17