January 31, 2003: Welcome to the February edition of the Dig Site! The big item this month is the article "Cutthroat Gravity Gardens." I am laying claim to the record for completing this scenario the fastest - the balloons go up on April 2, Year 2. That's right - a year, a month and a day.

It took several attempts to refine my strategy to complete it that fast. I reveal all in the article, and offer the park, just before the end of the game, as a download.

I don't expect the record to last long, but at least I have my moment.

Next up this month is a brand new scenario, "Intensity City." Surf's up and the gremmies wanna get stoked on some bodacious coasters. The play testers gave it a "thumbs up" - my last report from them was that they're going to play it again. Many thanks to RCT2Obsessed and Spunknit for their play testing efforts!

Finally, another new article this month is on "The Art of Scenario Design." I offer my opinions on what makes a good scenario. If you are designing scenarios for public consumption, I encourage you to take a look at it.

Thanks for stopping by!

January 20, 2003: I added links to Steve Franks' Real World Track Packs page at RCT Station, and Ultimate RCT (URCT).

Steve has build RCT models of an astounding number of classic coasters. One of my real-life favorites, the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz works extremely well in a high-intensity park. Despite its somewhat large footprint of 49 x 16, placement is relatively easy - it has a long, thin shape that flares out only at the ends. Steve also recommends Big Dipper at Springlake Park for classic woodie fans. It would take a large park to hold this one - even with its thin "L" shape, its footprint of 35 x 65 requires a substantial space commitment.

Most of his tracks were built in RCT1 (TD4 file format), so you will need to convert them to RCT2 (TD6 format) using the Ride Designs Manager (click on the "Install new track design" button). Unfortunately, for some of his tracks (not the above two), track incompatabilities between RCT1 and RCT2 will prevent successful conversion. For most of them, however, simply import the track and you're good to go.

The folks at Ultimate RCT have been working hard on their site. They've got their forums up, and are showcasing members' work. There is an ever-increasing amount of content and downloads. It's worth checking out.

I've also added the Dig Site to an RCT "web ring." There are a lot of RCT sites participating; some are rather inactive though. Before you enter the ring, you might want to change your browser security setting to "High" (in I.E. choose Tools / Internet Options / Security) to avoid being assaulted by popups.

January 12, 2003: I am pleased to announce that the Dig Site has added a tutorial on the Giga's Cable Lift Hills, written by James. He first posted the article at Infogrammes, and it is reproduced here with his permission. He did a nice piece of work.

January 5, 2003: Two peeps killed in a crash. Track Pack One users please be advised. Click for the full story.

December 31, 2002: Happy New Year (almost)! Welcome to the January update of the site. This month we get EXTREME!

Extreme, as in Extreme Heights. The guests in that scenario prefer rides of intensity 9 or above. Extreme parks have some elbow room. They should permit the player to build some impressive coasters. More! Bigger! Faster!

In this month's lineup are three (!) extreme track packs. The first is a basic pack of general purpose "small" (and I use the term advisedly) coasters, that just happen to have extreme-level intensity. The second is the EXX-pack. No holds barred here. These coasters are BIG, without apology. Check out that Giga on the left. Did I mention that they are extreme?

The third track pack - EX conversions - takes a few of the coasters included in the standard library and increases their intensity so they qualify as EX-class.

All these track packs have been through the ten-year stress test. They are all solid.

With a nice, new collection of extreme coasters, we need some places to use them. Not to worry, just check out the scenarios section. One of these scenarios, "H.F.O." is the January Spotlight. "What's H.F.O.," you ask? Well, the answer is just a click away.

December 18, 2002: Oops! Joker of RCT Station pointed out that Multi-Dimension cars start out with the riders facing backwards (thanks!). This fact escaped me while writing the article on "X". I have made revisions, and due to the understandable confusion, have created a "Multi-Dimension Cheat Sheet."

December 16, 2002: If you're interested in Multi-Dimension coasters, browse over to the article "Deconstructing X." It's a six-page article that will give you an up-close look at "X," the only Multi-D that comes with the game. In addition, the article provides you with a download of "X-Prime," which is a pretty reasonable facimile.

December 1, 2002: The site is open.

Welcome! This site is dedicated to the idea that "Winning is fun!" If you play Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 scenarios to win, there's a good chance that you will find some worthwhile things here.

Check out the articles. There's a primer about adding excitement to your coasters. Even if you know this material, I think you'll find it's a good read. If you crashed at Amity Airfield, or Fungus Woods made you turn green, read the article on paid admission parks.

Track Pack One, racing roller coasters, is different from the typical ride exchange. This collection has been designed for scenario play. They are small and cheap cash cows. You'll be able to fit them in almost any scenario.

Click to see the stress testing in progress

The coasters have all passed a ten year stress test. It's harder to win if your coasters crash, so I test them before I put them here.

The gentle ride track pack features a dozen designs. RCT2 gentle rides can get expensive. I've tried to balance carrying capacity/stats/size and price. A notable exception is this month's spotlight - Fire and Ice Monster Truck Ride - where I go for broke pumping up the stats.

In the scenarios section you'll find a custom RCT2 scenario for your entertainment. This one is comparable to the easier scenarios that come with the game. I expect to be adding more soon.

If you wish to contact me, you can leave a personal message for me on Atari's RCT Forum (eFossil), URCT, or RCT2.com (Fossil).

Tell all your friends about this site, but since the site is a low-bandwidth "freebie," don't tell them all at once. Thanks for visiting, and good luck with your next scenario!

  -Fossil