Planet Coaster 2 Is Making Personalization a Star Attraction

Theme parks are typically crowded dens of hubbub and excitement. But amid Gamescom 2024’s swarming public halls (and on a floor filled with a frankly nonsensical number of actual cars) the Planet Coaster 2 booth proved an unexpected reprieve. Decked out like a public pool – complete with sun visors and a lifeguard’s chair – it oozed a level of laid-back charm befitting a game about calmly crafting a carnival.

That sun-lounging, poolside attitude is something that it’s clear the team at Frontier Developments is eager to bring into their theme park management sequel. If the booth decor wasn’t enough to clue you in: water parks are the major new addition making a splash in Planet Coaster 2. But as we discovered when chatting with principle pipeline artist Liesa Bauwens, it’s the finer details that may prove all the more exciting for returning fans.

Water load of fun

It’s easy to imagine theme parks and water parks as natural rivals. Drop towers vs drop slides, twisting coasters challenged by spiraled flumes, and tea cups taking on lazy rivers in a face off of fun. But in Planet Coaster 2, there’s no need to pick between one or the other. Roller coasters and pools mix together in a single park, allowing guests to take a cleansing dip after building up a nervous sweat while queuing for the largest coasters. The influx of H20, in fact, comes primarily at the request of the original game’s community.

Frontier Development's Liesa Bauwens discusses Planet Coaster 2 at the team's Gamescom 2024 booth. — Liesa Bauwens discusses Planet Coaster 2 at the Gamescom 2024 booth.
©Restart

“If there was one thing we kept hearing people talk about, it was: ‘Please, please, please add water parks,’” Bauwens says. “And we’re so happy that we finally had an opportunity to do that! The community has been asking for it for a while. And obviously at Frontier we’re not just fans of theme parks, we’re big fans of water parks, so it’s really fun to be able to combine those two passions into one game.”

Pools promise to bring gallons of new creative opportunities for players. Not just in terms of visual design and layout, but also in how they’re approached economically, such as the ability to sell inflatables to guests. Depending on the temperature, it’s also vital to ensure that those rocking up in their swimsuits aren’t being funneled into a skin-scorching oven without protection.

“There are a couple of different things involved when you’re managing a water park compared to managing a theme park,” Bauwens says. “Water management is one of those, and we have a couple more focuses on things like sunburn – which if you’re ever by the poolside, get your SPF on people, it’s the best thing for you!

“Just like with coasters, there are different preferences that guests might have which you need to keep into account. And we have an additional layer of management in things you have to sell to get people to come into your pools and use them. … Obviously you can build flumes and slides just like you can coasters, and add them to the pools as well, which is great fun.”

A busy theme park in Planet Coaster 2 with a water park visible at the front and large rides in the distance. — Theme parks and water parks combine seamlessly in Planet Coaster 2.
©Frontier Developments

The path to creativity

When it comes to water rides, Bauwens’ favorite is the humble lazy river. Planet Coaster 2 will pack in a wealth of water ride types – some based on unique real-world examples like the Venus Slydetrap and Venus Vortex – from which players can find a favorite. But it’s the expanded ability to tailor the existing coasters and flat rides that Bauwens is most eager to share with the community.

“The creative aspect is what I personally love,” Bauwens says. “ We’ve added customization to the coaster cars and flat rides themselves. Now we’ve added the option to place scenery on top of the rides. So a ride that by itself looks very basic can now be expanded to look however you want it to look. That’s really expanded that whole build the park that you’ve always imagined [concept.] You can now add so much more and it’ll animate along with the ride. It’s one of the most exciting things for me personally in Planet Coaster 2.”

Other areas have seen refinement too. Including, to the guaranteed delight of many a Planet Coaster player, the pathing system. How you lay down routes for guests has been overhauled significantly. The expanded toolkit will let players precisely place lines, curves, and plazas, or draw shapes free-form. There’s even the option to choose how the camera tracks with the elements you lay down, ensuring the process should be as smooth as possible for both small and large additions.

These adjustments and improvements don’t exactly offer glamor befitting the game’s box art – that’s best left to new mascot Queen Splash. But it’s easy to see why they’re some of the elements that team members like Bauwens, and the existing Planet Coaster community, are most thrilled about. Water Parks are a headline-worthy addition, but its the tools arriving with them that will hopefully allow players more creative freedom than ever before. And in Bauwens case, perhaps enough to recreate her favorite theme park.

“I would probably say the Efteling – shout out to The Netherlands – because I think it’s a wonderful park and I know lots of our community members absolutely adore the Efteling,” Bauwens says. “But there are so many fun theme parks to go to that it’s really mean to pick just one!”

Our thanks to Liesa Bauwens and the Frontier team for speaking with us about Planet Coaster 2.