How fast can you pay back the loan in Alton Towers?

[@TheCatthedragon]

"The guests went to the bathroom approximately 1.3 times per burger." Thank you for translating into American units. This really helps things make sense for your overseas audience.

[@weetniksjimmy]

Bb

[@xExekut3x]

something wrong with those burgers if guests are crapping that much because of them

[@melvinjansen2338]

Savage

[@pikachuchujelly7628]

lmao 🤣

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​@@xExekut3xSounds like what theme park food does to me.

[@PicnicAtTheTesco]

A map, an umbrella and 13 burgers - my usual trip to Alton Towers.

[@cattrucker8257]

The map shows you how to fit 13 burgers in.

[@Croz89]

Sadly the only decent burgers are at the rollercoaster restaurant, the burger kitchen ones are worse than McDonald's.

[@SemiHypercube]

I like how this run ends up being just tricking thousands of guests into paying 70 for a burger shop, umbrella, and toilets

[@nthgth]

In my headcanon they're government employees and they're using our money so they're glad to do it

[@HarrisonRocks]

Just like the real Alton Towers!

[@rulerofmonkeys1547]

Its their fault for walking that far into a forest for no reason

[@heyjakeay]

So just like in real life 😂

[@snowflakepillow8697]

In before it’d be a good deal IRL

[@nathangamble125]

1:16 Tom Scott: I'm here at Alton Towers, and the owners are currently starting a massive renovation project...

[@mylittleparody2277]

Why did I read it in his voices? XD

[@TotoDG]

The Tom Scott cameo at 1:16 is already pretty amusing on its own, but it's made magnitudes better by the fact that he actually made a video at the *real* Alton Towers.

[@mkaali]

And red shirt

[@edopronk1303]

I hadn't noticed. Great observation!

[@fl0dego511]

Did you see Aang, Katara, Sokka and Zuko some seconds later? ;)

[@beanoptodon]

He's been doing that in a ton of his videos for some time now.

[@ianmoore5502]

​@@beanoptodonit's the little things

[@pialamode]

This is one of the cases where exploiting RCT game mechanics looks very similar to when a slimy corporation buys up a theme park IRL, scraps everything, then turns it into a way to wring money out of people. They usually at least let people ride the rides though.

[@nthgth]

Compared to some other stuff we've seen him do, Marcel was relatively kind to the guests in this one lol

[@StefanVeenstra]

Marcel: “Want to keep my sanity, thank you very much” Also Marcel: “Here's a calculator made from rollercoasters”

[@decalcomanie123]

Yes I hate it when I travel to England and visit the widely advertised Alton Towers, only to discover that all of the identical rides are inaccessible, leaving only a shop that staight-up just sells hamburgers and umbrellas, and a toilet available.

[@jesseleeward2359]

Well now you know who to blame. They should never have released Alton Towers to general public.

[@toainsully]

Not to mention a lot has changed at Alton Towers 1. Nemesis is now "Nemesis Reborn" 2. Black Hole has been replaced with the Smiler 3. Log Flume has become the site of the Wicker Man 4. Corkscrew's iconic inversion still stands as a memorial outside the park entrance 5. Many new lands have taken over the old ones, e.g. Cbeebies Land

[@Wh173c0c0]

Charging guests 70 Euros for the privilege of buying 20 Euro umbrellas never fails to be funny. Well done, Marcel.

[@HECKproductions]

1:20 "tom scott" in a bright red shirt... now THAT is a good easter egg

[@Rock1290T]

The amount of effort you put into your videos is incredible. Marcel, you are one of the few creators where I legitimately smile when you upload! Love your videos man

[@ryanpenrod1859]

I never thought I'd see a frame-perfect input in RCT

[@newcastlegeorge]

1:18 "I'm walking into Alton Towers"

[@sessaine]

Marcel's runs always feel like some sort of weird capitalism endgame and i'm here for when his prophecies inevitably come true

[@Keyshooter]

game: "you failed the scenerio! better luck next time! ..... why are you still here, you fail!" marcel: "my goals are beyond your understanding"

[@choronos]

I'm happy there's still an audience for this game. I grew up playing Roller Coaster Tycoon games in the early 2000s. The intro to the original game is burned into my memory, with the iconic chain lift sound and the screaming passengers. Sometimes I would just watch the demo clips go by and listen to the theme music for a while. My happy place inside my brain is the sound the guests make in a crowded park. I've always thought that it sounds like there's a kid shouting "Lickitung!" (Pokemon) in the mix.

[@ATBatmanMALS31]

I haven't thought about it in years... probably going to go buy it right now lol. It's a great game, and the open version seems pretty sweet.

[@mcohen8025]

Sometimes when I’m at work, I’ll just get this random little tune in my head and be like “what is that…” it’s the RTC theme.

[@kylepollicove3564]

Imagine showing someone from 2003 the park that repays debt the fastest. Like showing Plato a computer.

[@5MadMovieMakers]

Super Mario speedrunner: I fear no man, but RCT, that thing scares me

[@lagg1e]

This really stood out to me. We are GAMING in here!

[@DUKEHadToDoItToEm]

I wish they would fix and put actual updates into the game you're referencing ):

[@weedwums]

​@@DUKEHadToDoItToEmcheck out tf2classic

[@familybroakajonny]

BLJ: “I’m I a joke to you?”

[@PhilipMurphyExtra]

A fun thing to maybe try and do also with the Alton Towers RCT park is to remove rides and try and make a more up to date version of Alton Towers. Because we all know the actual park of Alton Towers has changed quite a bit since RCT come out over time.

[@toainsully]

I tried doing that as well. E.g. Replacing "Black Hole" with the Smiler

[@JessicaRainbow]

I never understood why the real parks had massive loans. It made the scenario virtually unplayable in "normal" circumstances because you'd run out of cash after such a short time.

[@jimmypatton4982]

Real amusement parks actually had those high loans. Definitely undercharged as a kid, build rides big and complex and charged 2 to 4 dollars, cause that was a lot instead of the 14 to 20 dollars allowed.

[@pikachuchujelly7628]

Real theme parks cost anywhere from $500 million to $4 billion to build, so that requires a massive loan unlike anything you see in RCT.

[@1WolfFan]

"I'd like to keep my sanity, thank you very much." - Oh that ship has sailed my friend. ;) And I'm not even talking about the (somewhat recent) scenarios you make where it'll take literal millions of IRL years to beat them. It started WAY before that. ;) But that's why I love your videos. You do the insane research the rest of us are afraid to even start. And it's super helpful, because buried in most of the videos is actual helpful advice for us casual players to adapt into our games and improve our regular games. :) One case in point, thanks to your recent "mythbusting the manual" video, I'm already saving up to half an hour per scenario, NOT worrying about some of the dynamics I thought have been there since the beginning. So thank you for all the hard work you put into your videos, and keep them coming.

[@louisathellama]

The little Easter eggs like renaming guests to avatar characters or Tom Scott always make these videos a joy to watch

[@TrustyGun2]

I'm curious, did you manage to accomplish the objective in the second run?

[@MarcelVos]

I did! I had about 2800 guests at the end of year 3, and the next month it rained which got me down to 2100.

[@mandowarrior123]

This is what I wanted to know.

[@Timmzy27]

1 “challenge” I’d like to see is, can you make the “real park” maps up to date to current 2023 counterparts? How accurate can you make them to what exists today as I know Alton Towers has changed a fair bit

[@bobbythefish4836]

The financial situation of this scenario is depressingly true to life. The loan principle is inexplicably high, with interest payments almost half the value of the total assets, and even an aggressively exploitative payback scheme still takes 16+ years to pay back the loan in entirety...

[@DoubleSpoiler]

i suppose you could technically sell all of the paths to get a bit more money, though it certainly wouldn't be enough to make a dent in the loan repayments. good job on this one!

[@space_pirate_calamity]

An interesting fact about the Boat Hire: in RCT1, a Boat Hire CAN break down, but only if you are using the bumper boats. Such a great small detail that the guest-powered ones like the rowboats and canoes don't break down, but the machine-powered ones like the bumper boats do.

[@TheBalthassar]

So unrealistic that it rains so infrequently in a UK park.

[@bagotky]

As soon as i saw you increasing price for umbrelas to maximum i knew this video is authentic RCT experience :D

[@antarean]

I was *hoping* you'd do a video answering that exact question, how quickly you can pay off those massive loans. Those scenarios feel like you won them in a poker game from the previous park owner who was trying to escape all their debt.

[@Mamamarcel]

Legend says if you can find a drink stall in Alton Towers you can meet a Super Mario speedrunner!

[@DEF4L7]

14:29 😂"the game goes : ladiedadieda" i haven't laughed this hard in a while

[@RooMan93]

So glad my last visit to Alton Towers was last summer, before Marcel could exploit my mechanics.

[@PhoenixRoseYT]

Have been watching your streams while sick from food poisoning cuz I needed some calm videos to watch. Was looking forward to this vid 😊

[@shockwavedan]

I love it when you play "real" park scenarios, it's always a fun time!

[@kylegarms4571]

Possible idea: Forcing all guests to leave every few years. Rain forces it. Might be able to force rain with save loading until it does, but that is boring Not sure if deleting the one tile would make them leave or free them to the park, their are buildings there, not sure if guests will walk through the building. Win with Murder?: You might be able to use guests deleted into the area under the ground to have guests always coming into the park. Those are just my first thoughts.

[@nthgth]

Yes, to eliminate the concern of the soft guest cap and all the associated overhead and trouble. Maybe Marcel thought that would be too "cheap" 🤷🏻‍♂️ I admit I don't think that video would be as enjoyable as this one.

[@MarcelVos]

The soft guest cap itself it not a problem as those boat hires cost 42 a piece and have no running costs. I'm even getting back 70% of that when I delete them at the end. It would save a little bit for the best food and toilets awards, as you need to have a certain amount of toilets and food stalls in your park per guest, and they do have running costs. However, by forcing the guests out for any reason other than the fact that they're broke you lose out on money they'd otherwise spend, so it's probably a bad idea to do that.

[@kylegarms4571]

@@MarcelVos Thanks for pointing that out. I thought it was getting passed the guest cap. Because a new guest is worth more than the leftover money in the older guest. The Entry price is more than the remaining max 30 in the pockets. (max 100 spawn - 70 entry fee) So it must have been the rain umbrella purchases doing the max income when it was raining. But the umbrellas were at 20, so only 50% of guests can purchase one, less than that if the ones with 20 bought food. My ideas all fail if the park is not at the soft guest cap. Thanks for letting me know that my idea depended on that, and that it was not being reached.

[@Essman614]

Just goes to show you can do anything when you disregard decency and human suffering

[@zaxtonhong3958]

As far as human suffering goes, this is somewhat tame. The people can leave whenever they want. None of the guests died (besides whoever might’ve been on the receiving end of Marcel’s insatiable urge to pick up and drown guests)

[@skult3025]

I just started playing rct again since i played it in my childhood. Went to youtube and this was the first video i saw. Im blown away, amazed and confused to say the least. At least i understand why you got the "most confusing park layout"-award

[@tree453]

not gonna lie, the pausing in a single frame thing was cool as hell man

[@Davtwan]

Thankfully you weren’t doing this run while my UK friend was having a vacation in Atlon Towers lol.

[@keNNed1987]

This has got to be the most mindblowing RCT video I've seen of yours yet :p Simply amazing!

[@RainingMetal]

In RCT1 the ability to charge for both rides and the park should not be slept on. This way, you can get a profit for each guest yet you won't run into the trap of having guests who won't leave and deny you more income because they'll run out of cash to spend on rides. Also, never go for the free entrance marketing campaign when you can do the same with half price entrance vouchers instead.

[@lexingtonbrython1897]

Can you not do both free entry and half-price entry?

[@RainingMetal]

@@lexingtonbrython1897 I don't think so in the original RCT1; picking one of them disables the other during activation. This video shows it's possible in OpenRCT2.

[@Hinjima92]

I always get very happy whenever you upload Marcel, its a joy to watch! Great quality with fantastic humor :) Keep up the good work, love and support from Norway.

[@PicnicAtTheTesco]

Name your guest Tom Scott and he will have a red shirt!

[@thomaskidd8027]

POV: Dave Ramsey plays Roller Coaster Tycoon

[@Rubbly]

I liked the frame-perfect input breakdown 😂😂

[@dylweezy117]

Clicked in as soon as I could. Another masterclass is RCT manipulation, well done.

[@ericfuchs123]

As we know, it almost never rains in England, so this video is accurate.

[@bdown08]

I beat all of the scenarios in the original RCT1 game, and not having the cash machine made things so much harder. I ended up consistently charging $5 for almost every coaster since it was a nice balance that would still make plenty of money without draining guests wallets.

[@CTGrell]

I literally was just thinking about this the other day as I was playing that scenario. thanks for answering so quick even tho I didn't even ask you yet XD

[@johnkimble3413]

I wonder if the execs at alton towers are looking at this video and are considering this as their next stratagy? anyway I love these videos

[@Miles_3298]

I'm appreciating the set of names at 1:33; I freakin' love that show. I really enjoy touches like this in these videos.

[@HamsterWheelGaming]

Hey guys I'm Marcel here at SGDQ, and this is my any% Alton Towers 0 dept speedrun. 3..2..1..go!

[@NathanMandjes]

Glad you are still sane by not escorting every guest to the exit by hand. Hilarious. So we can still enjoy your videos!

[@argentpuck]

The odds of going a year without an award in your scenario may be around 1 in 4000, but that's also the odds of finding a shiny Pokemon. It's wild how long but still achievable odds can crop up.

[@weltenbummler2535]

I know it was played as a joke, but I am honestly impressed by your frame perfect click 😁 goed gedaan!

[@Nordryd]

Thank you for reigniting my interest in this childhood favorite. I downloaded OpenRCT2 and have never had more fun with the game in my life.

[@moviestove2099]

I love these RCT scenario challenge vids, please keep making them.

[@RampantLeaf]

The park is basically a North American highway rest stop: a burger place, an information kiosk, and a toilet.

[@Teddy0567]

a map, an umbrella and 12 burgers. such an great line

[@CameraTim]

14:45 is probably the most relatable moment I've ever seen.

[@IambiguousSegment]

I feel bad for the poor guests having to endure this mad dutchman.

[@MrJonnyharry]

I love that Tom Scott visited your park.

[@Comp1337Loser]

14:35 "IT STILL FELT GREAT, GOD DAMMIT!" 😆

[@planescaped]

I associate these uploads with my lunchbreak at work, because you upload them so consistently during it, lol.

[@animestein]

Wow I remember spending hours trying to pay back that loan. Over the span of several months without success. But I now know why I failed, Silly little me tried to build a theme park with rides and stalls etc. I was not yet a fully grown capitalist with an appreciation for dystopian investment portfolios. Ah nostalgia, well thank you for the excellent video, and for going that extra mile by doing it at least twice! Next up lets see what Marcel can do with America's debt!...or lets not.

[@johnbrady645]

I love the frame perfect ad campaign pause in Year 12

[@garnaudiz]

I don't know why, but it's so relaxing to listen to him haha

[@DerGetrollte]

The fact that the Heide Park is a scenario in RCT is mind blowing to me. It's my most visited theme park.

[@DPush420]

Congrats on your first FPI. You earned it.

[@CaloCreek]

I'm just obsessed with how you play the game haha!

[@robbieandrew4075]

There is actually one more "Real" park in RCT1 (although they don't tell you that) - Katie's Dreamland is based on Lightwater Valley in northern England. I worked there for one summer as a teenager, and believe me it is almost an exact replica, just with different ride names (apart from Batflyer, that coaster was real and was called Batflyer lol). Even the underground coaster is real!

[@ChamblesRNG]

Wow... Played this game a lot but never realised its so broken.. Thank you sir

[@Qtheman3456]

"August Year 2: $69,318 profit" *So close* to perfection. Damn.

[@katt-the-pig]

Have you tried completing a scenario by buiding a park _outside_ the park's boundaries, using sandbox mode? As long as the park's entrance is blocked off, guests will ride rides and shop at stalls outside the park. A challenge like this provides some unique obstacles. For example, you cannot place mechanics on land you don't have build permission on, nor will mechanics wander any paths built outside the park boundaries. So purchasing land rights is necessary for ride exits, assuming you're willing to place a mechanic at the exit of every ride. Guests outside the park boundaries do not count towards your guest total, so scenarios with a guest goal are impossible to do with this challenge. Most interestingly, guests become incapable of leaving the map once they have either purchased something or rode a ride.

[@AlyxForest]

"I'd very much like to keep my sanity" Too late, you've already lost it.

[@digitaldeathsquid3448]

1:40 WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU MONSTER?!

[@BrendaDelam]

11:03 Just a theory, but is it possible that rides cannot break down when the park is closed, or that it may be in some way tied to having guests in your park?

[@RubUOutC]

Definitely recommend a visit to Blackpool Pleasure Beach IRL even over Alton Towers.

[@kiko_meeko]

Wow, I've never accidentally been so early to a video lol Edit: Nice video as always. Poor Toph didnt get any representation though 😔 I'm sure she wouldn't have seen that coming.

[@CarnageCrab]

Marcel using the Eric Cartman tactic. I'VE GOT MY OWN THEME PARK, AND YOU CAN'T COME!

[@mkaali]

It would be interesting see, how much different this would be with access to the ATM. Hope you'll make a similar "make money the fastest" challenge with pay-per-ride park!

[@Superhorst100]

I feel like you didn’t have to do the second attempt to go through it all again just to prove your point but I love you for it haha

[@Tahngarthor]

I find it odd that Alton Towers doesn't have the "can't build above tree height restriction" since the actual park DOES have a restriction like that which contstrains what kinds of rides they can put in the park.

[@familybroakajonny]

8:36 WAIT! Pause! Excitement is about when guests are interested in a ride? I always thought the excitement rating was for how much the guests’ happiness would increase during the ride😄

[@MarcelVos]

It's only a little special case where guests won't need maps to be able to pathfind to either very tall or very exciting rides that are outside of the considered range for when they don't have a map.

[@lydstyrke]

How about this for a challenge: can you beat rollercoaster tycoon without using rollercoasters? Now of course scenarios that require you to have X number of coasters operating don't count but for the vast majority of scenarios you should be fine. If you ever start with one or more coasters they should be deleted before the first day ends.

[@MarcelVos]

Oh yeah not a problem, there are plenty of great non-coaster ride types.

[@stylesrj]

You might as well say the challenge is to not use any tracked rides because it sounds easy enough. But then again, even without tracked rides, I think one could beat any scenario with just a lot of Merry-Go-Rounds or Spiral Slides. :D

[@JeffGoldblumsChest]

Marcel is finding new and inventive ways to torture his park guests

[@peterprime2140]

Marcel's Sadism 1 looks too intense for me

[@nthgth]

I was sure he'd murder all the guests after completing the challenge, but they got off easy this time

[@atlastanker]

I was not expecting 4 guests to be named Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko lol

[@Lemonator32]

I remember playing RCT when I was I 5. I would max out on loans not understanding how they worked and just thinking I was getting free money. I would always be surprised when I ended up in the red after a few months of in-game time and couldn't buy anything anymore.

[@toainsully]

It's amazing to compare RCT1 Alton Towers to present-day Alton Towers and see what's changed / what was left in

[@DT-hg7te]

I considered opening the game up (the android version) in the queue for The Smiler on Monday, but I thought better of it when I remembered doing it in Walibi annoyed everyone I was with.

[@CptManboobs]

There is something incredibly dystopian about how this all works.

[@ap_red]

I always wonder why Katie's Dreamland ism't counted among the real parks, being pretty blatantly based on Lightwater Valley. Probably legal reasons

[@Noise-Bomb]

As a huge fan of ATLA i appreciate the reference at 1:35

[@PokeMaster22222]

16:53 I love how the burger stall has 0% popularity and satisfaction - just wow.

[@Tichooon]

That frame perfect pause was just *chefs kiss*

[@BlockBKanal]

You could try this challenge one more time, but this time you unlock only the cash machine in the beginning and try to see how fast that would be instead. I tried it and finished a bit faster (although my run is far from perfect since I tried building a park organically)

[@sirloinestakegames7866]

I dreamed this for years. You have fulfilled a childhood dream. I love you.

[@b438]

I saw Tom Scott at 1:19 😂

[@DAAC86]

oh holy jesus I can see my relaxing play of this game and to this day is one of my favorit games but I have been doing it wrong all this time

[@MightyMattTM]

Seems like a pretty normal day at Alton Towers. Enter the park, constantly search for something you can never find, get over charged for the same food, leave disappointed.