Alright....Another UPDATE!!!
Ok...First of all, as I mentioned before, since E3 ended there would not be as many updates in this thread. As you can clearly see, I was right. However, I do have a little more information, with the help of PC Gamer Magazine. The following is a mini preview from the pages of the August 2002 edition of PC Gamer Magazine:
RollerCoaster Tycoon was a massive success, due in no small part to its accessible and addictive gameplay. It's also an original and incredible story of essentially one man - Chris Sawyer - producing the hit, and programming in core machine code.
Keeping the same 2D isometric view of its predecessor, RollerCoaster Tycoon II will feature overhauled graphics and will now support resolutions of 1024-768. The parks and objects will also be much larger, and the number of animations has been increased as well.
One of the bigggest additions is the inclusion of five Six Flags parks. We took an extended look at the Magic Mountain park and found the reproduction to be spot-on, including its dipiction of the Goliath coaster. Beyond the new licensed parks, there'll be six new themes (such as a pirate theme), nine new coasters, and 20 total scenarios. You'll also get a coaster designer, which looks extremely simple to use.
Unfortunately, accroding to senior producer Thomas Zohorik, RCT II won't include a sandbox mode. But you will be able to create a kinda-sorta sandbox mode with the enclosed scenario editor. "You can build a park," says Zahorik, "and use the editor to give yourself a $5 million loan, give yourself all the land, and so on. It's not an exact sand-box mode, but it's pretty close."
The interface looks to be nearly identical to the one that powered the first game, and all of the quirky animations and other trademarks appear to be intact.
Copyright © 2002 PC Gamer, Inc.
As you can see, our question on the sandbox mode was answered. However, it looks like we will be able to something close to it. I like the idea of everything being larger and having more animations, and we have found out that there will be 9 new coasters and 20 new scenerios, not including the ones we will be able to create ourselves with the help of the included but limited scenerio editor. The only detailed information is the mentioning of Pirate Theming, which I was hoping for from the beginning. The only thing I find strange, however, is that there was no mention of the number of new flat rides in the game. I find that a little nerve racking.
Keep checking this thread for all of the latest developments and info on RollerCoaster Tycoon II!
