Theme Park Studio Reviews

Bought this game when it was first released on early access, It was glitchy and prone to crashing without warning.... not a problem on an early access game, its to be expected. This was two years ago. the game feels no closer to being usable, shoddy on every level. If you want serious coaster building, get No Limits 2, If you want a game get Planet Coaster.... There is literally ZERO REASONS to give these people money.

I so badly wanted this game to live up to what it promised With endorsments from various trusted coaster enthusiast sites, this game looked to be headed in the right direction. Now, it suffers from frequent crashes and various other issues. With Planet Coaster out, there isn't any need to buy this now. 4/10 because it at least ammused me during pre-beta.

I purchased this game back in August 2014 and almost two years later there has been very little change. The UI is confusing, the path system is frustrating, and the overall presentation is very bland. I know this was never intended to be a full fledged game and more of a tool to design amusement parks, but that's not an excuse for the lack of progress the game has seen. What little I managed to build after a few frustrating hours gameplay was watered down by the dull and lifeless atmosphere. I really wanted to get into this game, but every time I've played I end up just craving something with a little more life to it. As the game stands right now, I can't recommend. UPDATE: Since release, I haven't even be able to launch the game. I was curious to see how the final product turned out, but I guess that will have to wait.

TPS has a lot of potential (and it's starting to realise some of it which is great), just don't buy it with the wrong expectations. It's not like RCT or any other management sim. You will not be juggling happiness, hunger and money. It's a blank canvas that gives you a free hand to design and create almost any park you can imagine. It focuses almost entirely on the construction (and personal enjoyment) of the park. Visitors are merely there to add movement and life. Personally, I enjoy the no-pressure pace and chance to be creative when I want to unwind. If I'm in the mood for something with a challenge, this isn't the game to launch. If you've ever "played" No Limits, it's much closer in spirit to that than almost any other rollercoaster game, but with a whole lot more detail and flexibility. For me, definitely worth the purchase.

WARNING: DO NOT BUY!!! DEV HAS TOTALLY ABANDONED THIS TITLE. ALSO: IT'S ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. SERIOUSLY, IT'S WORTHLESS AS A BUILDER OR A THEME PARK SIM!!! There isn't even a question, go with Planet Coaster. Never touch this trash and never support this trash developer who stole my money with false promises then ran. So glad I went with the cheapest early access package, I feel so bad for the people who went all out.

This whole thing is terrible, plus it seems like it was abandoned before it even got going. I foolishly wasted $30 on this a few years ago based off of reviews from places like "Orlando Attractions Magazine" and "ThemeParkReview.com" I wonder how much the developer paid them to give good reviews of something that has never made it past an Alpha stage, let alone Beta, or pre-release, etc. Do NOT waste your money on this folks.

I bought this for $30+ some time ago and was quite excited by it. It's insanely customizable, but the user interface and overall software performance is just awful. If the building is a chore, then why even bother? Games like Planet Coaster and (my current favorite Parkitect) offer a much greater value, both in building beatiful parks and park management. This "game" is garbage that I cannot recommend at all. Do yourself a favor and don't spend your money on this dreck.

I have been trying tp keep up wih this game to see how the game is progressing through its development stages and how the development team has been responding to the users and the issues they have been having while trying to run the software. I hope this review helps other make a educated decision on whether the game is worth purchasing. I am happy to report the following observations and my take on the game, even after playing for hours. TPS is a must have for any hardcore fan of the Theme Park/Rollercoaster genre. Not only does the game provide a very strong studio editor for creating your own customized realistic Park, it provides the user with a good educational value of roller coaster physics and 3D edited flat rides. You are only limited in this game by your own imagination. At first glance, the UI looks intimidating, but the staff at Pantera Entertainment have helped users overcome that obstacle very quickly by providing a strong background of how to use documentation included in the game along with a host of how to videos covering everything from building coasters to landscaping your own park. With that said, understanding the UI can quickly become second nature and easily managed after a few times of use. The incorporated Steam Worshop also makes it easy to import custom scenery and rides into the game without leaving the game interface. The coaster builder will set well with RCT3 fans, as it employees some of the same techniques while adding the ability to easily manipulate the control of creating banked turns and twisted track with the help of track nodes, something that RCTW seems to also be incorporating with their spline based track editor. The track editor also has more features than RCT3 and without a doubt is better suited towards this game giving the user the ability to manipulate the track in every way possible. Now with all that said, everyone needs to understand that this software is still in the early access program phase and that they may and probally will encounter bugs and crashes due to their computer hardware conflicts and not having updated drivers. But with that thought, I must also say from strong observation, that the development team is doing an excellent job of addressing those issues if the users will report the problems they are having in the forum threads. Most of the people who are complaining and rating bad reviews are those who won't give the team the time to work out the bugs and put out a completed product that is highly polished. I have been able to play the game on a Windows 7 machine that was not build as a high end gaming outfit, very sucessfully. And although I have encourted a crash or two, I can clearly see the power that this game has that can't be found in other theme park builder games on the market. Although the game does not concentrate on the financial management of your park, it still ranks among the top best in Theme Park building games to have for fanatics and should be included in anyone's library who enjoyed RCT3 and/or No Limits Roller Coaster Simulation and for those who are interested in creating a very realistic Theme Park. On a scale from 1 to 5, the game gets 4.5 stars for the power that it has to create any realistic park and for the backup support the team has put into the game and continues to provide for the fan base it has. If it was not for the fact that the game is still development mode, it would carry 5 stars all the way. Bottom line, this game is highly recommended. So the only question to gamers who are interested in this game, is whether they want to participate in the early access build or whether they want to wait until the game is completely finished. I hope this review helps those who are on the fence deciding on what the game provides and has to offer in the form of Theme Park Simulation building.

I always used to play RCT3 (probably like everyone else). And I have to say this game is very well structured. I will give you a list comparing this game to RCT3 so you can have a better understanding of what each game brings to the table SO FAR. I say so far because this game is still in development, and it could change. Here is my opinion: >>>>Theme Park Studio vs RCT3<<<< GRAPHICS: Theme park studio wins this one, it has way better graphics, and antialising makes the game look a lot better as well (if you have the graphics card for it). The water reflections look great, and the coaster detail is a lot better. HD! GAMEPLAY: RCT3 wins. RCT feels like an actual amusement park game, because it has a lot of features like the peeps, stands, money, financing, etc. This kind of stuff made you feel like you were managing your own theme park. Theme Park Studio is still in development, so they might add some more features like this soon. It just feels like more of a sandbox than an actual theme park game. COASTER EDITING: Theme park studio is by far the best editor I have come across. There are so many possibilities for coasters, you can truly make it your own. Each track segment can be edited to your liking, so you can truly make any coaster you have in mind. It is also very easy to use, with some pre-loaded segments like a cobra roll or a loop. When it comes to flexibility, TPS wins. SOUNDS: Although I have big expectations for TPS to have a great sound library, currently i would say RCT has better sounds. They are more consistent, and they have better variety. For example, on the megacoaster, the lift chain sound on TPS does not make much sense at all. Also, there is no fading so sounds seem to come out of nowhere sometimes. I do expect them to have better sounds in the future though. USER INTERFACE: I'm going to be honest, the TPS user interface takes some getting used to. The RCT user interface in my opinion is more understandable, and it's easier to use. TPS just kind of seems all over the place. Maybe they will update this soon, i just find it easier to play RCT instead of TPS. But then again, it's also about personal preference. That should cover most of the basic categories. In my opinion, I prefer Theme Park Studio over roller coaster tycoon. TPS is still on the early versions, and it has A LOT going for it once they start adding people, and adding more management features. Don't get me wrong, I will always like rct, but tps seems like the next step up. That is all! I hope this helps some of you clear up some differences. Have a great day ! Dated: January 15th, 2015 *Antialising issue fixed!*

Even though Theme Park Studio is harder to learn to adapt with controls and mechanics when compared to RCT3, the game itself has almost no limit in terms of creativity. It lacks the money management aspect, but for someone like me, who likes creating awesome parks without money limit, this game is for you. All it needs now is the complete release and refined building tools! Edit: Ok I will re-review this game. It has been ages since the last update rolled out, and the game is nowhere near ready for even a "playable" release. They did not refine any building tools nor the UI's. Extremely upset with this shitty developer. Forget everything I said in my initial review, do yourself a favor, and go buy Planet Coaster. Worst game to spend my $20 money on. Ever.