Besides having once been an Electrical Engineer, Doctor J is a real medical
Doctor. But besides all that he is something else too! He is an avid RCT
fan, as am I! My wife once told me that I was a certified RCT addict. I
told her that I knew a doctor who was worse then me.
With all this going on in Doctor J's life, not to mention the recent release
of RCT2, it's easy to see how busy he might be at this time. It was no
surprise for me when I asked him if he would consider doing a rE-View with
me, that he said, "Things are pretty wild at the moment! There are so many
new avenues of exploration to pursue - I don't know what I'll be doing next
each day. I think it would be better to wait until some things are settled
down. But if want to try a "quickie" now and get more involved later, that
might work out ok."
So with that in mind we had this little mini-view (minE-View), just to check
in with the good doctor for a quick look at his thoughts about RCT2.
Perhaps we will have a more in-depth interview with Doctor J at a later
time. But for right now I hope you enjoy this little mini-chat I had with
him. So let's get this little junior coaster on the lift hill and see where
it takes us.
| Boomer |
Thank you Doctor J for sparing us a little of your very valuable
time! Your work on different RCT programs and utilities has been brilliant!
Many of us fellow RCT enthusiast have downloaded and used the results of
your tedious and hard work. So it goes without saying that many of us
across the RCT community are VERY interested in what you are finding in
RCT2. With our very limited time I will get right down to it. Do you see,
so far, any chance of there being in
the near future, by you or anyone else, a trainer or utility that gives us a
free play park, full sand box, with full map play and ALL the rides and
shops and scenery enabled? |
| Doctor J |
"NO. The game has been designed to prevent that". |
| Boomer |
I guess I was hoping for too much. Do you have any kind of RCT2
program or utility underway right now that may be available to us soon?
|
| Doctor J |
"I've updated RCTexplorer for the new files. I may add some more
features to it as time goes by. I will be making a new version of the Save
Game Modifier for RCT2; I'll probably start with a rather limited set of
features and build it up over time. Another item, which may become
available, is an editor for custom scenery objects. Only a few people would
really be able to make decent custom items, though". |
| Boomer |
That sounds very interesting! All in all, what do you think of
Chris Sawyers latest creation, RCT2? Do you think it was as good as the
original RCT? |
| Doctor J |
"There is very little difference, really. The two 'NEW IMPROVED'
features of RCT2 are 1) the ability to stack scenery objects, and 2) the
ability to import new items. Others and I have been doing the first item for
a long time. The Beast trainer allowed anyone to stack objects - so that's
not really a great innovation; though it is much easier having the ability
incorporated into the game proper. The second item came at quite a price.
Now, having the same track, with different vehicles being declared a
completely different ride, handicaps us. Have a coaster and want to change
the type of cars on it? You can't! You have to tear down the coaster and
replace it with an exact duplicate of a differently named ride. Yeah -
that's realistic :( In addition, the limit on the number of rides means we
now have fewer items available to us than before. So what's the point of
having more items 'available' in the community if you can't have them
available within a single game"? |
| Boomer |
There have been many reports throughout the RCT community of bugs
and problems with RCT2. Some of this is rumored to come from the process
that was used by Infogrames to copy protect the game CD's. Plus there have
been numerous complaints of bugs with the U.K version and other sources.
Have you personally encountered any problems or bugs with your copy of RCT2? |
| Doctor J |
"I've had no problem with the CD. I hear that the problem outside
of the U.K. has been associated with older CD drives. I've encountered bugs
within the game itself however; improper tile rendering and such. The game
overall has more bugs than usual for Sawyer's reputation (which is: Very
Good!)". |
| Boomer |
Do you think the "fix" for these problems will come from Infogrames
or will they come from the RCT community itself or will they come at all? |
| Doctor J |
"I suspect that they will sell all existing copies before making
any changes. They probably won't ever recognize that the problems exist,
either - so they wont have to replace the existing CD's". |
| Boomer |
In order to honor your time restraints I will reluctantly conclude
this little minE-View. I am sure I will get mail saying I should of asked
more and different questions but for now this will have to do. I will
however, take the liberty at this time to ask you one last question before
letting you go. What site or sites in the RCT online universe, would we be
able to sometimes find you at for questions and advice? |
| Doctor J |
"I most frequently visit the forums at RCT2.com, RCT Station, and
Tycoonplanet". |
| Boomer |
Again, thank you very much for checking in with us Doctor J! You,
along with a few others are considered legends in this large RCT online
community. Your work is greatly appreciated and I think I speak for the
whole collective RCT community when I say, rock on Doctor J rock on! We
will all be looking forward to hearing more from you soon. |
| Doctor J |
"After spending thirty hours in the hospital this weekend - I'm
pretty worn out. But I'll be working on RCT goodies soon enough. And I know
others are working on some pretty neat programs also. Stay tuned!". |
Doctor J has left the house! But I hope to have him back again soon for a
longer visit. For now I will say goodbye and have a safe day.