Rollercoaster Tycoon 2

Genre: Strategy

Release Year: 2002

Developer: Chris Sawyer Productions

Publisher: Infogrames

Age Rating: Everyone

Playability Status: Perfect

Tested On: Windows 8 x64

Availability: Copyright retained - Still sold

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Why be a tycoon for oil, property or other such boring commodities when you can be a rollercoaster tycoon? In this strategy and simulation game you will get to build your own theme park, complete of course with huge roller coasters. Similar in concept to Theme Park World, successful tycoons will need to carefully manage their money while keeping visitors happy and re-investing in bigger more spectacular rides. If you were disappointed with the dreadful Rollercoaster Tycoon 4 that recently released on mobile devices, then what better time to dust off your old copy of the second game and build a whole new park?

Installation

The game should install from the original CD without any issues. While installing the game, be sure to choose “Custom” installation and then choose “Full Install”. Since the game places its save file in the same directory it is installed to, you may want to place the game in an alternative folder (e.g C:\Games) to avoid issues with save game files later.

If you have any of the expansion packs for the game, install them too before proceeding.

Patching

There was only one patch issued for the game. The patch updates the games copy protection for users who were having difficulty starting the game. The patch can be downloaded here. We recommend all users install the patch before attempting to start the game.

Once you have downloaded the patch, double click on it to install it. Be careful when installing the patch, it does not automatically detect the games installation folder. Users on 64 bit systems should be particularly aware that the patch will install into the “Program Files” and not “Program Files (x86)” directory unless the installation path is manually changed.

Running the game

Before starting Rollercoaster Tycoon 2, browse to the games installation folder and use the compatibility options to run the “RCT2.EXE” file in compatibility mode for Windows 98/Windows Me. Without this option set, we found the game simply would not start at all. This also applies if you bought the game from a download service such as GOG.com. If you are unfamiliar with using compatibility options, see this tutorial.

Tweaking visual quality

There are only a couple of visual quality options for the game. To change them, you first need to start a new game and then go to the Options menu (the small floppy disc icon). You should then see the option to change the screen resolution and toggle Landscape Smoothing off or on. Make sure this is on and set the game to any resolution you like. The maximum possible is 1280×1024, so if you are playing on a TV or high-definition monitor, you should probably choose 720p, which is 1280×720.

Troubleshooting

Black screen after changing screen resolution:- If the game crashes or goes to a black screen after changing resolution, use the Task Manager to exit the game, make sure to disable any secondary monitors and then try again.

Problems saving games or patching:- Like many older games, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 places its save game files and various configuration files in the same directory that it is installed to. This can cause problems on more modern versions of Windows as programs are not normally permitted to write to the program files directory. To avoid this problem, either install the game to an alternate location (e.g c:\Games\RCT2) or manually edit the permissions on the  “RollerCoaster Tycoon 2” folder. A tutorial on editing folder permissions is available here.