Dear RollerCoaster Tycoon World Fans,
I know it has been some time since my last blog post yet we wanted to be far enough along with new developments before providing updates; now is the perfect time to share. Thanks for your patience.
As many of you know, this past fall the game moved from Pipeworks to a new developer – Area 52 Games. We brought them in to focus on core engine development. In order to accomplish many of the great things we have planned for the game, we needed this work first so that development could later continue on not only the engine, but also on gameplay, content, and graphics. Following this effort, RollerCoaster Tycoon World is now in its next phase of development and on its way to release.
A new team is now in charge, and has been for quite some time. You have not yet seen any of the work delivered by this new team since the trailer was prepared using one of the last builds done by Area 52 Games. Before you ask, we are not announcing the name of this new team today. Our reason is simple: right now, they are laser-focused on a key upcoming milestone and we are keeping distractions to a minimum. Our previous developers received tons of fan emails and social media posts (which we love) as well as phone calls and in a few instances even more extreme requests! Once this milestone is delivered, the pressure will ease a little and we will introduce the team.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the game has undergone a significant upgrade to Unity 5, and we are very excited about it. This next-gen engine now allows us to do much more with the game, such as displaying many more objects, polygons, and simulations on screen. We have always kept room for improvement and we can say that a number of your suggestions (those that were not in earlier builds) are being implemented now. Those improvements will be announced soon.
From a schedule standpoint, we are on track for a release this year. It has been more than 10 years since the last PC RCT game and we are committed to releasing an amazing AAA game that lays a new foundation for the future of the franchise. Game development is a journey and it is not without its bumps in the road.
Until the next major production blog, see you on the forums so keep the suggestions coming; the game designers and production team love reading what you write! And of course as soon as I have fully polished next-gen in-game assets I will share them.
Sincerely,
“Mattlab” Executive Producer RollerCoaster Tycoon World