Animating Roller Coaster Tycoon World

The RollerCoaster Tycoon World team continues to push forward on the fourth installment in the RCT series. Yesterday, they shared an interesting look at the process of creating one of the many flat rides that will be available to players when the game is released later this year.

Steph, a senior artist from Nvizzio Creations (the game’s developer), wrote about the process of bringing the “Twister” flat ride to life:

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Before the animation begins, the team researches and analyzes real-life examples of the ride they are creating or recreating:

Before setting pen to tablet, they research real-world rides and note details like mechanisms, ride capacity, and materials. At the studio, we have documentation on the measurements of real rides from around the world, to be as close as possible to reality while keeping our unique RCT style.

The concept art then goes to the 3D modelers, who use complex computer programs to create a three-dimensional version of the ride.

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The ride is then given its textures which brings it closer to looking the the real thing:

The artists create their textures or pulls them from an internal texture bank for things like concrete, wood, and steel materials. We use themed palettes according to each ride’s tone to ensure coherence. This is actually one of the most time-intensive parts of the process, since it’s extremely important to make sure everything looks like it’s made from actual real-world materials.

rctw-flat-1

The animators then bring the ride to life:

Animating starts with rigging. This is where we create a skeleton for the 3D model, allowing it to be manipulated in 3DS Max or Maya. Once a model is rigged, the animator creates the different sets of the ride’s animations that will be used by the engine.

 

The ride is then ready to be implemented into the game environment. Read more about the entire process here.

Executive producer Mattlab also shared an update on the overall progress of the game:

The whole team is working hard to finish a build of the game in preparation for Gamescom, which we’ll be showing to press next week. The art team has finished up work on more coasters and tracks – one of which will be featured in our next big “hero shot” reveal. And lastly, the community team has been busy working on our website refresh, and just yesterday launched the newly redone forums. We’ll have much more information and news on RCTW after Gamescom, so be on the lookout!

Hopefully we’ll see some exciting new shots from the game over the next week or so.

 

What are your thoughts about RollerCoaster Tycoon World? Share in the comments section below.

 

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