At the PC Gaming Show at E3 last year, Frontier Developments' David Braben introduced a new title from the team called Planet Coaster. Unlike the large universe of Elite: Dangerous, Planet Coasterwas a bit more down to earth as it put you in charge of creating your own theme park. Seven months later, we're finally treated to the first batch of gameplay footage.
The video, which came in the form of a developer diary, highlighted the construction of roller coasters and buildings. In addition to creating tracks for your ride, you can also customize various attributes for each section such as its overall length and angle. This should give you more control when constructing the ride's path. There's a few scenes in the video that show one roller coaster taking a dip through a cavern under the park before emerging out of the cave's other end.
In addition to customizing each part of the track, you'll also have access to a few templates for various turns, such as corkscrews and large loops. You can also change various settings on these pre-built turns, including size and angle to create an exciting ride for patrons.
When you construct gift shops, restaurants and other buildings throughout your park, you will be able to customize features of each structure, like its walls, roofs, and even smaller details, such as the various decorations on the walls to attract customers. Once a building is finished, you can immediately copy the entire structure and place it in other locations so that you don't have to go through the grueling process of making the same building from scratch.
If you're running out of creative ideas for construction, you could always poach designs from your friends. Planet Coaster has an online feature that allows you to visit parks created by other players. If you see a building or roller coaster that you like, you can copy it and bring it to your park.
A specific release date wasn't provided, but the developers are aiming for sometime this year. When it comes to creating a theme park simulator, Frontier Developments has some experience in the area. The team was also behind the creation of Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, and Planet Coaster is considered to be a spiritual successor to the 2006 game. Ten years later, the company is back in the theme park business.
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