Author Topic: Classic SimCity/RCT-style games  (Read 2840 times)

Dragon

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Classic SimCity/RCT-style games
« on: January 16, 2021, 14:13:46 »
I used to play SimCity and RollerCoaster Tycoon and The Sims a lot. In recent years, game styles have changed in the subsequent releases and clones, but not to my liking. I finally came across some options that might actually fill that void for me.

In SimCity, I loved being able to see the city grow (or decline) based on what the layout was. I loved being able to setup different kinds of policies to balance things out and make money, like legalizing gambling to bring in money and then adding more Police to fight the increase in crime.

In RCT, I loved having the options to layout the paths, not just to put a ride or building in a reserved space. I loved having the ability to get guests down a certain path and put them through loops of my own creation. I also loved being able to design the rides in RollerCoaster Tycoon.

In The Sims, I loved making improvements to the house to get the characters mood up so that they could improve a skill for a promotion on the job.

Prison Architect, on the iPad, has been the best fit that I've seen in the past few years. Designing the layout of the prison, trying to meet the needs of the prisoners, trying to keep the layout and staff selection appropriate to keep the amount of riots down. Still, there was something missing.

Yesterday I saw a video on YouTube about a game called Parkitect. It looked like it had some of the things that I've missed seeing, like the details of being able to see how something clearly affected a single character. It's available for purchase and made to run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I also found out that there is an open source version of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. It requires having RCT2 files, but I have the games from years ago, just haven't been able to play them in a while. (I've been running Ubuntu Linux on my primary personal computer for the past few years.) I'm not sure which of these I'm going to get setup, but I'm leaning more toward the OpenRCT2 since I already own that game.

Quote from: https://openrct2.org
OpenRCT2 is an open-source re-implementation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (RCT2), expanding the game with new features, fixing bugs and raising game limits. The gameplay revolves around building and maintaining an amusement park containing attractions, shops and facilities. The player must try to make a profit and maintain a good park reputation whilst keeping the guests happy. OpenRCT2 allows for both scenario and sandbox play. Scenarios require the player to complete a certain objective in a set time limit whilst sandbox allows the player to build a more flexible park with optionally no restrictions or finance.

https://openrct2.org/quickstart/extract-rct2-files/linux
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

Dragon

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Re: Classic SimCity/RCT-style games
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2021, 16:30:40 »
I was surprised to find out that RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is available on the Apple Store. I'm sure I've looked for it before, but this week I actually found it! Also, even though Steam and some other places have RCT for the PC for $20, the iPad version is only $5, give or take a few cents. Note: I'm not talking about the RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch game - I've tried that game before; that's garbage to me. RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is actually a revamped version of RCT1&2, complete with lots of the original graphics but including some new interface changes. I wouldn't say that the graphic styles seamlessly fit together, but I don't think it's too bad. (Actually, looking at my own website currently, with the purposely pixelated logo and the rounded borders, I guess it's a graphic style that is totally an appropriate blend of modern and retro for me.) 
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)

Dragon

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Re: Classic SimCity/RCT-style games
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2022, 20:39:05 »
It's been a while, but I found SimCity 4 on Steam. Based on what I had seen, it was supposed to work on on Windows, Mac, and Linux, which I was really happy about because most of the time I'm using Linux on my laptop. Unfortunately, Steam isn't working on my Mac or my Linux right now, so I'm just going to have to wait and see. It's not just SimCity that isn't running, just trying to start the Steam app it is crashing.
"Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? ... OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?... Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on. Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes." - Roy (The IT Crowd)