Rorschach.net

Something is wrong with Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and it’s a damn shame. Specifically comething is wrong with how the peeps (patrons to your park) navigate the park and make decisions. A peep will be 100% hungry and pass right by the hot dog stand. 100% toilet and pass right by the rest rooms. A pocket full of cash and pass right by the coolest ride on the face of the earth. There’s plenty more griping over on the official forums but most of it is hardware issues or people wanting RCT2 to be just like RCT3.

Personally I think the issue with peeps is about how groups are used. Peeps aren’t individuals anymore, they travel the park in groups (couples, families, groups of friends). The “leader” of the group sets the general direction and the rest follow. Problem is I don’t think the group members can take care of themselves. Thus they pass by places that will take care of them because that’s what the leader did. I dunno, all I can say is don’t bother with the game as a theme park sim until this gets fixed. You can still play it as an excellent park builder and roller coaster builder, just don’t expect to leave the sandbox and not get spanked down.

It’s a shame really because I like the underlying principles of the game and it looks great. Hurry up with the patch guys, there’s a lot of other games out there and you’re losing fans by the day.

I don’t know what’s up with this holiday season, but there are a ton of games that have my interest.

Here’s what I’ve picked up in the last few (2) months:

• Tribes Vengeance
• Evil Genius
• Rome: Total War
• Warhammer 40k, Dawn of War
• Star Wars: Battlefront
• X-Men: Legends
• Burnout 3

And chances are I’ll be picking up Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 this weekend. Of course I’ve left out the big sequels like Half-Life 2, Halo 2, MechAssault 2, and Prince of Persia 2. I guess Thanksgiving is a month away so I’ll have to go into game lockdown soon (if I don’t I’ll wind up buying all the games causing family to stress about what to get me for b-day and Christmas) but it will be tough to find a cut-off date.

Now if I could just win the lottery so I can quit my job and find some time to play all these good to great games.

In September I purchased my first new car so pardon me if I brag for a bit. Normally I’m not a car person but as with all things if you get into the details of something it can be quite interesing. I’m very happy with my 2004 Mazda6 Sport Wagon. The powerplant is a 3.0L v6 DOHC engine with variable valve timing which outputs a peak of 220hp. Combine that with the 5 speed manual transmission and I can bark the tires easily and really merge well on the interstate.

Road noise is a little more than normal, primarily from the racing tuned front dual-wishbone suspension and not a lot of heavy steel keeping weight at a still hefty 3300+ lbs., but I compensate for that with the Bose sound system and the 6 CD in dash. It does handle like a dream though, corners really well and is responsive to steering at any speed. It seems well balanced to me not really pushing or pulling in the corners. It’s the most fun car to drive I’ve had the opportunity of using for a long period of time, and that includes Dad’s ‘02 Corvette coupe. (I said most fun to drive, not most fun to look at.)

Rear seats fold down for about 60 cubic feet of cargo space, which makes the dog quite happy on road trips. It’s got the cargo space of a small SUV or truck without looking like one or paying gas prices for one. It’s rated at 19 in the city but even with my driving style (which can be called agressive) I’m getting over 21mpg with normal driving and it goes up on the long interstate car trips.

And I got a really good deal on the extras. Pretty much got the aforementioned sound system and the moonroof, spoiler, roof rails, auto climate control, leather interior, oval exahusts, side sill extensions, sport grille, fog lamps and cargo net all for free. All those bells and whistles can add up so I’m happy with the investment.

I like the idea of having the cargo room and versatility of the truck/SUV without the truck/SUV-ness. And it’s a zippy car, fun to drive after another mind numbing day at work. It doesn’t look bad either, I think it’s the best looking wagon out there and I can’t be happier about purchasing a car.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.