Is Using MicroCoasters Cheating?

I like to abuse microcoasters, but a lot of people don't like that. Are they really so good that it's basically cheating?

Background music: RCT2 Gentle style
Outro music by Panorrrama:

[T-West]

Let's be honest: if it only cost about $619 to buy a microcoaster IRL, I'd put one in my back yard right away.

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It's a good example on how knowing a game too well kind of comes at the cost of its magic. Our shared memories with this game largely came from being challenged by scenarios we struggled with, because of the game mechanics we did not fully understand. It was trial and error, exploring options and assuming certain methods worked better than others. Once you become an expert at the game, you can no longer unsee all those micro optimizations, and everything becomes easy. Even if you opt out of using micro coasters, you know a lot of other subtle tactics that make it easier. You cannot simply regress into a 'casual player' by choice to keep the standard game fresh.

[aronpuma]

To me, microcoasters are just part of the Marcel Vos video experience. I'm watching your playthroughs because your editing and park design and commentary all make for very entertaining, fun to watch playthroughs. I can't wait for more

[Roozyj]

I think a roller coaster can be called a cheezy microcoaster if it's something that people irl would be thouroughly disappointed by, like the half corkscrew or the unfinished looping.
Also, if a lot of them are spammed, because who would want to ride the same ride 4 or 5 times in different places of the park?

[SirPembertonS.Crevalius]

Cheaty? No.
Cheesy? Yes.

I prefer being a bit more immersed making more normal parks, but to each their own.

[namewarvergeben]

The cheesing and "exploiting" of game mechanics is part of why I enjoy these videos! Once you've beaten a game (almost any game) as "intended", it's just fun to have a look under the hood and see what you can do with "inside knowledge" like that

[bortsimons]

The insane amount of in depth knowledge of the game is what makes this chanel stand out. One a game is beaten, finding out about the mechanics, exploits and loopsholes of a game is what's keeping it fun. Microcoasters are one result of exactly that. And that's what i love about this chanel and makes me watch every video.

[GamebooAdvance]

Honestly the only problem I have with them personally is they don't look like something people would ride irl. I know this is weird to say but they feel very "video game-y" instead of something that could exist in a real park. Not a knock on you using them in your videos though, I always love your stuff

[felipekersting]

In my opinion the problem are not the micro-coasters themselves, it is how they are used. For example, having a Shuttle Loop (or a similar design) in your park is totally fine, looks very good and is realistic. I would totally ride a Shuttle Loop and they do exist. The same goes for some other micro-designs. For me, it goes against the spirit of the game in two occasions: 1. if the design is ridiculous and nobody would ever ride that in real-life, like those designs that barely get out of the station. 2. if you spam a lot of the exact same design, because in real-life that would most likely not attract more guests nor make you rich.

That said, as you said it all depends on how you want to play the game. If the goal is optimizing guest generation and becoming rich then spamming micro-coasters is the way to go

[EMAngel]

I think it's sort of like looking up what to do in an exploration/puzzle game in a walkthrough; you lose something when you do it but sometimes the negatives you're able to bypass make it worth it

[nuksnipr]

Marcel has good reasons to use them, but I will admit that I was a bit bummed when they became part of the park in the last video. I usually play RCT as though I was building a real theme park. No theme park would put 6 ferris wheels in a row, even if they were rainbow.

This said, go for it, Marcel. Now that I understand that the rest of the park looks better because of them, I am more inclined to ignore them and consider them a tool to get a nicely decorated and build ride.

[oldvlognewtricks]

I would love a companion video to this where you suggest tweaks that would make the gameplay more fun while also removing the incentive to use these quirks of the economic system.

Even just hearing whether it could be done by adjusting the formulae or whether it would need new game systems would be interesting to hear.

[christianstonecipher]

I am firmly in the field of "microcoasters are exploits". And with that I am also of the mind that exploits are expected for challenges but seeing exploit abuse in your casual game does lower my enjoyment a bit. To me it changes the image of the video from "let's build a park" to "let's beat a challenge".

And as to what I would define a microcoaster to be, my definition would be "any small form factor ride that you repeat for the purpose of trivializing money or the soft guest cap". Personally, what ruins it for me is seeing the same coaster multiple times (excluding dueling coasters as those have their place) as that is what ruins the immersion for me.

[DMoney]

I agree - cheat/ no cheat depends entirely on what you're trying to do. That said though, I would also watch a mini series where you tackle some of your favorite scenarios specifically without any cheesing as a challenge to see what you can manage to come up with under that condition

[-DeScruff]

I don't consider them cheating. But I do think that abusing them is kinda against the spirit of the game.
Its the kinda thing that if it was your first ever playthrough of the game, or of a scenario, I personally would recommend against spamming them since they can easily destroy any challenge.

I think one of the ways to make it feel less "cheese" is to space out your microcoasters. Rather then have them all in one spot putting them in more realistic places (1 or 2 between bigger rides)

[TheotherPoolboy]

I add two synchronized micro corkscrews named "Marcel 1 & 2" to every park out of respect.

They also help fund my need to try and make every other coaster have very high excitement.

[JakeTerch]

I think they’re justified for speed runs, but I don’t really ever use them in multiples. The Junior Coaster design is pretty realistic.

[Jerad]

I'd argue the main issue is no one in their right mind would pay 7 bucks to ride halfway up a loop in real life and return to the station, as a simulation ideally it would reflect that. As such I feel like this would have been considered a bug and patched out if it had been exploited to large scale back in the day.

[jordanfer]

Hell yeah it is!, That's why we must create only heartline coasters, the best type of coaster in the game.

[stellacollector]

When I was playing RCT scenarios, I didn't want them to be too easy, so I played them under my own additional rules/handicaps: 1) No microcoasters, of course, and 2) even no advertisements, because they're super OP too, and occasionally, 3) no pre-built designs, so I had to make my own custom design for every ride. But that was just how I played the scenarios, and I am totally enjoying the way you play the game. The way you design the coasters and the park is quite inspiring, and since scenario plays were a huge part of my RCT experience, I am very excited about this particular series as well.

Still, I hope that you don't "overuse" microcoasters though. You have already made many "efficiency-oriented" parks with microcoasters in challenge videos, and what was interesting for me in this series was that you focus more on aesthetics part of the park instead of efficiency - and I do hope to hear more about the characteristics of the park itself and how you design the park in following videos. Please keep up the great work!