Planet Coaster

Planet Coaster

First Released	2016
Developer	Frontier Developments
Publisher	Frontier Developments
Music
Platforms	PC, Console (2020)
Official Website

Planet Coaster is a theme park simulation game. It was released in 2016 and was developed and released by Frontier Developments, the same company that developed RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. A similar game called Planet Zoo was launched in November 2019.

A screenshot of Planet Coaster. A B&M floorless coaster is being built.

It has basically the same goals as the RCT games, while adding Sandbox gameplay and ultra-modern, HD 3-D graphics.

Modes

There are four modes in Planet Coaster, Career, Sandbox, Challenge, and Scenarios, each with their own set of rules.

Career

In Career mode, you have a limited amount of money at the start of the game and thus must build your rides carefully, choosing a little bit at a time, until you have a working theme park in store. Notifications pop up telling you how much money you made/lost monthly, what guests like/don't like about your park, and other tips which can help you improve your park. You can hire people to staff your park like vendors for shops, security to deal with troublemakers, mechanics to fix broken-down attractions, and janitors to keep your park clean. But if you lose too much money, you can be forced to close your park. Thus, the goal in Career mode is to keep your park open while providing an entertaining value for your guests.

Sandbox

Sandbox mode works almost the same as Career, with two major differences; you have infinite cash (allowing you to build pretty much whatever you want) and you can change the setting for your park, allowing you to adjust your staff happiness level, disable attraction malfunctions, even allow your rides to function underwater and even inside the terrain. This has proven to be the most popular mode of the two as people can build enormous, highly detailed builds, or replicas of real-world roller coasters and parks.

Challenge

Challenge mode is very similar to Career mode, but with one main difference. In career mode, you are given a park that is being built, but has run into financial trouble. In Challenge mode, you are given an empty space to build your own park in.

Scenarios

In the Scenario Editor, you can make your own custom rules (what coasters are available, how much money you have at the start, etc.) and then play your scenario, as if it were a Career park. You can also upload your custom scenarios to the Steam Workshop to share them with other people.

Roller Coaster Types

There are a huge amount of coaster types available in Planet Coaster, all derived from real-works examples, with some being based off of specific coasters, if their name is a synonym of that rollercoaster. (list also includes DLC coasters):

• Bolt=Vekoma Boomerang with Arrow Dynamics trains.
• Trident=Vekoma Boomerang with newer Vekoma trains.
• Loony Turns=S&S Worldwide El Loco.
• Aethon=B&M Dive Coaster (10-seater with Griffon color scheme).
• Werewolf=B&M Floorless Coaster.
• Stingray=B&M Flying Coaster (Based off of Manta at SeaWorld Orlando).
• Pioneer=S&S Worldwide Free-fly (Based on Tranan at Skara Sommarland).
• Bakasura=Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang.
• Invincible=Intamin Giga Coaster (Based off of Millennium Force).
• Rage=B&M Hyper Coaster/Giga Coaster (Based on Fury 325).
• Iron Fury=Rocky Mountain Construction Topper Track (with Gravity Group Timberliner-style trains)
• Malice Unchained=Rocky Mountain Construction I-Box Track.
• Steel Vengeance*=RMC I-Box Track (Released in conjunction with Cedar Point).
• Anubis=Giovanola Hyper roller coaster.
• Equalizer=Arrow Dynamics Hyper roller coaster (Based on Magnum XL-200).
• Viper One=Intamin Impulse Coaster** (Based on Wicked Twister).
• Boa=Giovanola Inverted roller coaster.
• Rival=B&M Inverted Coaster based off of Nemesis.
• Wendigo=Zierer Force (caterpillar trains).
• Dragon=Zierer Force (dragon trains).
• Copperhead Strike*=Mack Rides Launch Coaster (Released in conjunction with Carowinds).
• Torque=Premier Rides Sky Rocket III.
• F25=B&M Sitting Coaster (Contains both chain lift and tire-propelled launch).
• Sprint 500=Intamin Accelerator Coaster (Based on Formula Rossa).
• Zenith=Intamin Accelerator Coaster (Based on Kingda Ka).
• American Arrow=Arrow Dynamics Custom Looping Coaster (Based on Great American Scream Machine).
• Degen=Vekoma MK-1200.
• Canyon Runner=Arrow Dynamics Mine Train roller coaster.
• Basilisk=Rocky Mountain Construction T-Rex Track Single-rail roller coaster.
• Power Up=Maurer Rides SkyLoop model.
• In-Descent=Intamin Reverse Freefall coaster.
• Steel Hydra=Arrow Dynamics Suspended roller coaster (Based on Iron Dragon).
• Spiral=Maurer Rides Spinning roller coaster.
• Manic Mouse=Zamperla Spinning wild mouse.
• Enigma=B&M Stand-Up Coaster (Based off of Riddler's Revenge).
• Black Falcon=B&M Wing Coaster (Chain lift hill).
• Cloud Runner=B&M Wing Coaster (LSM Launch).
• Barghest=Gerstlauer Eurofighter.
• Tiamat=Intamin Wing Coaster (Based on SkyRush).
• Test Pilot=S&S Arrow 4th Dimension roller coaster (Controlled spinning) (Based on X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain & Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highland).
• Gnarler=Great Coasters International Wooden coaster (With Millennium Flyer trains).
• Monster=Philadelphia Toboggan Company Wooden coaster (with PTC trains).
• Hop the Gaps=Side friction roller coaster (Based on Leap the Dips).
• Mouse Hunt=Wooden wild mouse coaster.

*These two coasters were both released into the game as part of a partnership with Cedar Fair.

**While technically an Impulse Coaster, Viper One can operate with closed-circuit, making it a Suspended Catapult Coaster.

DLC Coasters

• Gold Fever=Vekoma Mine Train roller coaster.
• Jixxer and Interceptor=Vekoma Motorbike Coasters.
• Mind Melt=Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster.
• S.L.V.=Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop and Looping Coaster.
• Vector=Mack Rides Hypercoaster.
• Infinite=Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster.
• Interdimensional=Mack Rides Spinning roller coaster.
• Zephyrus=Wooden roller coaster with Luna Park Cyclone trains.
• Aces Sky=Wooden bobsled coaster basef on Flying Turns.
• Rollerghoster=Zierer Force with GhostBusters theme.

Flat and Track Rides

In addition to the roller coasters, there are a host of flat rides and track rides that you can also build into your park. Some flat rides you can build include a HUSS TopSpin, an Intamin Drop Tower, a Troika, and others. Track rides include Intamin Shoot the Chutes and River Rapids rides, a robocoaster, some trackless ride vehicles, and a log flume.

DLC Packs

In addition to the main game itself, there are roughly a dozen expansion packs titled DLC (DownLoadable Content) that will add additional building tools, scenery pieces, even new rides. They cost extra money to obtain.

They include the Adventure Pack, with lots of temple and jungle pieces, the Studios Pack, with lots of animatronics and special effects, the Spooky Pack, with haunted-house scenery and building pieces, the World's Fair Pack, with builds taken from different cultures of the world, and two ride expansion packs that add new roller coasters and flat rides to the game.

DLCs Available

• Back to the Future
• The Munsters
• Knight Rider
• Spooky
• Adventure
• Studios
• World's Fair
• Magnificent Rides
• Vintage
• Ghostbusters
• Classic Rides

Platforms

Planet Coaster is available on the Steam Workshop on PC, along with all of its DLC.

Frontier announced in July 2020 that a console edition for Xbox One X and PS4 would be released in December 2020.

Sequel

On 11 July, 2024, Frontier announced that a sequel, Planet Coaster 2, would be released in Fall 2024. On 12 September, the official release date was revealed: 6 November 2024.