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cover-Planet Coaster 2

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 2:38:35 AM

Planet Coaster 2 Review (PlaneNerd)


Some improvement, but the game still lacks character, I still prefer PLANCO 1 50% of the time: (Edit 1/22/25)

This review has been rewritten to reflect the state of the game on January 22nd, 2025.
To be clear I was and am a huge PLANCO1 fan, I have had it since pre-alpha. Thank you Frontier for engaging with us in the review comments, please comment on this update.
Big Issue
PLANCO 1 nailed the lighting and game character, something is wrong in PLANCO 2. The game feels sadder. The lighting makes PLANCO 2 feel more similar to a cross between City Skylines and Roller Coaster Tycoon World. The vibes are all wrong, the old charming lighting and people were much better. The added realism was not a good idea, I do really like the weather effects though. Some massive changes need to happen to the character art and lighting engine.
Needed Small Fixes
1. Auto tunneling and angle snap should be on the same menu as the primary coaster editing options.
2. Flume banking should be an option on all flume types.
3. Smooth to heart-line should be an option in the coaster editor.
4. We should be able to snap flume exits next to each other and then connect the flumes to the ends, that way they end parallel to each other and at the same height.
5. We need one general search bar for all items in all menus, you currently have to know what menu something is in to search for it, or navigate through all the sub-menus to find it, ugh.
6. All rides, coasters, and transport rides from PLANCO 1 need to be added back to PLANCO 7, and not for an additional price.
8. Wave maker realism and options menu upgrade: The wave makers need settings like frequency, amplitude, and propagation length. If you want to get fancy, it would be cool to see wave height change over the propagation length as the pool depth changes, for example waves should break when the pool gets shallow.
9. We should be able to designate the section of a pool under a flume exit as vacate only. Add a pool rope to mark it as do not enter. I am tired of guests swimming under flume exits.
10. The water management needs an overhaul to be more realistic. Proximity is not good, you should have to connect pipes to pools.
11. A passing loop for shuttle transport rides, or two platform shuttle systems for 2-3 trains on a shuttle track, should be possible. Could be selected from the drop down as an alternate ride mode (shuttle, loop, passing shuttle, 2 station 4 platform 3 trains, etc...)
12. We need to be able to add swing launches to coasters.
Needed Features
1. Interactive pool elements like dumping buckets, sprinklers, etc...
2. In sandbox mode loading gates should be toggle-able. In other modes, coaster loading gates should cost money but decrease dispatch times. So all coaster stations have no gates by default, but upgrading them increases throughput and theoretical profit, maybe increases breakdown probability slightly.
3. Coasters ride attendants need an overhaul. Coasters should have 1 ride attendant per station by default, but they should have to do everything (check all restraints, control the coaster from the panel etc...), dispatch times should be excruciatingly slow. But you should be able to hire/add more ride attendants to speed up the process. Dispatch times should be faster with more attendants checking restraints. Adds more management and finance challenge.
4. Please add back in hotels and restaurants.
5. Please add back all old scenery themes and assets, they could be free DLC so we can choose what themes we want to take up disc space.
6. We should be able to make custom switch tracks with the coaster track tool.
7. All switch tracks, drop tracks ect... should be available on all coaster types (especially steel coasters). IRL even some wooden coasters have switch tracks.
8. We should be able to edit sections of prefabricated track elements. (what if I want to change the roll angle of the cobra roll)
9. Please add parallel coaster platforms with alternating departures.
10. Switch tracks and block sections should be able to be custom sequenced, this would be cool for layouts like Gold Rush at Drayton Manor with multiple run options.
11. Turn table station loading/unloading for raft rides, dark rides, etc...
12. You should be able to have trains come on and off a ride based on que length, cost, and train maintenance requirements, missed opportunity. This could be done with transfer tracks and maintenance sheds.
Bugs and general problems:
1. A pool is "inaccessible from the entrance" even if there is only a transport ride connecting them. This could be true of all rides and facilities, but certainly pools.
2. Transport ride waiting times are broken!
For example. A monorail will wait at a station forever as long as there is one person moving through the que. It will ignore maximum waiting time and "Do Not Block Station". A monorail will never take on passengers if the load is set to "ANY" even if there is a maximum waiting time set.
3. Flumes are "inaccessible" if the platform entrance is on an island in the middle of a pool. This is so annoying.
4. Guest behavior does not seem to reflect que length. There can be two flumes near each other with separate entrances, one will have a massive line, and the other will be empty. Strangely this seems to oscillate over long time frames.
5. No way to edit flume platforms after placing. They can get bigger, not smaller.
6. Flumes end too high above the water. NOTE! I figured out if you remove the auto-generated walkway from one side of a pool you can lower the flume entrance, but that walkway should auto-delete if you try to place a flume exit there.
7. Flumes that exit at ground level have run-outs that are not adjustable. It seems impossible to get the heights right.
8. Right click to delete does not always work, fix this, once an item is selected it should work just like planco 1.
9. Right click to let go of item and return to menu does not always work. Sometimes the menu is deleted as well, inconsistently.
10. Hovering over a menu item to see what it is does not work if you are holding something.
11. Reopening a menu does not return to how it was when you left, you have to reopen the sub-menu.
12. There is a maximum length to the path draw tool that is way to short.
13. Deleting a pool does not delete the perimeter path, and don't even try using a click and drag multi-selection tool to get rid of it all.
14. Conveyor platforms don't work, and are unavailable for most rides.
15. The new entrance with 1000 people pouring out of three abandoned busses is worse than the old tunnel to nowhere.
16. Brakes and tires are missing from some animated track pieces.
17. Brakes and anti-rollback magnetic fins do not animate properly.
18. Coaster loading and unloading happens so unrealistically quickly, even for multi-platform set-ups, ride attendants should check restraints ect. Look up realistic dispatch times.
19. When you test a coaster, sometimes the trains don't leave the station. This seems to happen more when using separate loading and unloading stations. Usually toggling test mode fixes it. There is also a big where test mode can not be turned off from the management menu if it was turned on in the edit menu.
20. Staff will not take transport rides even if they are the only option. Please fix this!
Conclusion
It is getting better. For now PLANCO 1 is a better playing experience. I would not recommend buying this yet. I will update my review as new patches and fixes come into the game.
Thank you to Frontier for taking note of steam reviews. I really don't want to have to make an account on a forum just to leave feedback.
Lastly, any future DLC that comes to PLANCO 2, if it contains and mechanics, features, or content from PLANCO 1, please make sure there is a loyalty discount for PLANCO 1 owners.
Thanks!

If anyone would like to discuss this list further, feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks!