I've recently reinstalled RCT3. I like the additional options that the 3-D graphics offer, but the scenarios can get very frustrating, with it being very easy to run out of money in the midst of trying to build a roller coaster to fulfill the scenario. RCT 1 and 2 had the anti-frustration feature that there were a few coasters you could build that would make their cost back fairly readily and then keep boosting your income. I haven't seemed to be able to build the same sort of profitable coaster in RCT 3.
So, is there any good money-making coaster in the game?
2 Answers
Looping rollercoaster, powered launch @ high speed, 6-long station platform (put entrance 3rd from front), as humanly short of a track as possible while keeping the ride a little exciting (Not Low). Like ~10-15 second ride. Make sure there is a camera section on the ride. Put the ride in the busiest section of your park. You will get 3000 riders per hour if your park is busy enough. Start at $7 and work your way down as the ride gets older. Setting photo prices at $3 has worked well for me. If, say, a third of the customers get a photo, that is $8/customer, meaning $24K/hour, or $400/min, or over $5 every second.
I don't know of any such roller coaster, but I never use the pre-fab coasters (where's the fun in that?). I always try to get the price for each ride as high as I can: check what people are thinking about the ride. If they say "this ride is a great value!" then bump up the price by about 0.50. Go to fast-forward for a while then check if the people are still saying great value. If they are saying "I'm not paying that much to go on X" then you've gone too high. Usually a good roller coaster can go for 5.00-6.00 per ride, although it depends a little on the scenario (sometimes the local residents are cheapskates).
You can also do the same with all the booths. I usually don't take the time to fine-tune the price of booth items; I find I can reliably bump up the price by about 0.30 for all items whenever I build a new stall.
Don't overlook hiring enough janitors. Having a dirty park will lower your park rating significantly, which will cause people to stop coming to your park. I always fully train my janitors and give them the pay raise. They are very efficient after you do this.
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