What is the Optimal Price to Charge for Toilets in RCT2?

Should your toilets be free? Should they cost 20 cents? In this video we take a look at what price makes you the most money.
Deurklink's guide to shop prices: forums.openrct...
Join my Discord server: / discord
Follow me on Twitch: / marcelvos
Follow me on Twitter: / marcelvos96
My second channel: / @marcelvods2630
OpenRCT2: openrct2.org/d...
Outro music by Panorrrama:
Outro Music: • RollerCoaster Tycoon g...
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
KZbin: / @mengersponge

[@user-vd8uu1ef4w]

Most unrealistic thing about RCT2 is that all customers flush after they're done

[@BruinPhD2009]

...and they probably don't wash their hands, either.

[@wxl2562]

@@TheWatchernator petition to update OpenRCT that allows vandals to break toilets when angry and need to use the bathroom. As well have clean up crew / sweepers be the ones who fix the toilets instead of mechanics.

[@princesscadance197]

@@BruinPhD2009 That’s what bothers me more than anything regarding public restrooms. Like really? You’re going to use something that everyone uses, and not wash your hands?

[@KotoriHabane]

@@princesscadance197 Exactly, ever since I was very young I always washed my hands more often than anyone else I knew, and I even had family members that pretty much never washed their hands at all(like once per week, it was horrid).

[@StefanVeenstra]

@@princesscadance197 Public toilets are similar to prostitutes: you never know who went before.

[@popahglo3609]

Anti-clickbait, my favorite

[@Paintplayer1]

The best part is, I'll attentively watch a 12 min Marcel video but will skip the same length click bait video. Because Marcel actually makes engaging content and not just an over the top thumbnail and title. Maybe click bait producers should take note

[@MichaelfromtheGraves]

He did the same with mowing the grass. I love it.

[@BierBart12]

The answer is in the thumbnail/title, but you CAN watch it if you want a longer explanation This man goes above and beyond. Imagine if journalism could afford to do this

[@Paintplayer1]

@@BierBart12 they can afford to do it, but it would require them being forthright with their viewers and prioritizing their job of putting out information over profit from special interest groups

[@daskampffredchen]

Its just giving you the point. But then you simply wonder why and watch it to find out. Even in the mowing grass one I wanted to know if there really was no positive benefit (also learned that RCT2 deactivates the option and that it isnt an OpenRCT2 thing)

[@PTB_BE]

"Should your toilets be free?" Morally? Yes. But the urge to make money says max price.

[@bultwini]

*money*

[@NaughtyPrincessfkhandles]

Just change them $300 and say its the ride of the their life....... when they are about to explode

[@michaelt5188]

in my RP i think of it as them paying for toilet tissue or something similar...it's not uncommon in the 3rd world for places to charge for those as the free rider dilemma hasn't really been overcome yet.

[@daskampffredchen]

@@michaelt5188 Its not only 3rd world. I went to some places in Germany that you had to pay for the toilet

[@hellatze]

so you want to piss ? chose: grass or toilet.

[@reillywalker195]

I normally charge just $0.10 for toilets. Customers never complain about them being too expensive, but the revenues nevertheless help cover their operating costs.

[@deathisnear2424]

My friend always called that the 'Dime A Dump'.

[@octaviacoquus8857]

It's also a lot easier to imagine the stalls being unlocked when you put in a dime, rather than needing to have an attendant fumble about with change.

[@Bobo-ox7fj]

@@octaviacoquus8857 just use a change machine, so you can handle all the coins from other toilet-goers. Yum.

[@octaviacoquus8857]

@@Bobo-ox7fj pecunia non olet

[@Scudmaster11]

I did 1$

[@MarkBiesheuvel]

Perhaps another thing to take into account is that fact that when a guest is walking to a toilet, they are not paying for more expensive rides. Therefore it might make sense to set the price to 10 cents, so they can always go right away, instead of walking to the toilet and turning around because of the high price. This way they can continue on to spend more money elsewhere.

[@draco89123]

I just make it free, because I'm cleaning house with the priced rides. If it's park ticket only, then there's a logic to 30 cent toilets.

[@Arjay404]

I asked the same question. The one problem I can see with making it free or 10 cents, is that it encourages the guests to go the toilets more often which means they are not paying for rides more often. I wonder if there is a cooldown before they get the desire to go to the toilet again and if they have a memory about the price because if there is, I would say having the price be higher makes more sense as that would mean they walk to the toilets less to begin with. Also does the amount of time a guests spend in a toilet change based on how full their toilet bar is.

[@MarkBiesheuvel]

@@Arjay404 Marcel said that the guests will go to the toilet if their value is above 70 wether the toilet is too expensive or not. If it is indeed that simple, I assume they would spend a lot of time unnecessarily walking over to a toilet, only to find out it's too expensive.

[@StefanVeenstra]

Guests spend decades in your park without going home or calling in sick for work. Patience my boy, they'll pay the price eventually, and still enjoy your rides.

[@ruediix]

20 cents gets a more than sufficient percentage.

[@bekerson4980]

I wonder how much free drinks affect this, if you end up making a profit overall, or just lose money

[@rickpgriffin]

Given that drinks base cost .30 (or so) to provide and you can charge a lot more for them, free drinks probably not. But question: does undercharging for drinks/food cause the average toilet value of the park to go up faster? I doubt it'd affect profits because toilet base price is naturally so cheap, profits from any increased toilet use would probably be marginal and under the rounding threshold

[@lucasduque8289]

That would be a cool thing to test out. Could be a good idea for a future video

[@daskampffredchen]

@@rickpgriffin Now I want to see a custom scenario where you have to make a certain profit from toilets

[@tifforo1]

Toilets are one of the least profitable things in your park, at least on a per-guest basis. But the volume can be high.

[@TheTdw2000]

perhaps not free but I'd imagine setting the price so that everyone who sees the drinks stand buys one is a profitable decision

[@warmCabin]

8:57 So basically you're finding the optimal piss to money conversion ratio

[@epicboomshine6595]

It’s liquid gold.

[@gideonmele1556]

They’re practically flushing their money away

[@jacobnicola5950]

@@epicboomshine6595 literally alchemy

[@dawndefender]

Pecunia non olet, as the Romans used to say

[@stuartdparnell]

Add plenty of lemonade stalls and few eateries, with few toilets and you've gotten yourself a winning combo!!

[@erik060208]

Marcel, you mentioned to put Deurklink's guide to shop prices in the description, but I think you forgot

[@MarcelVos]

My bad, fixed it. The first few minutes of the video are oddly relevant now lol.

[@rjhelms]

I'm pretty sure we studied this in 4th year microeconomics.

[@cypriencoon8744]

7:53 "I did this for all six possible toilet prices and, to get a larger sample size, I did it three times per price and then took the average." This is why I absolutely love you, Marcel

[@mirrorsandstuff]

Charging for your toilets may earn you $0.60, but it does eat a little piece of your soul in doing so.

[@blacknight6337]

When you die and you charged for toilets in RCT, you get brought to a place with a full bladder, no money, and a $0.10 toilet charge

[@zeroyuki92]

Exploding and drowning guests: Chillax it's just a game Charging for toilet: ABSOLUTE BLASPHEMY

[@StefanVeenstra]

100% of guests will pay that 60 cents if you wait long enough. (And place more food and drink stalls) I have not yet been able to add a functional photo section to the toilet in Openrct2, it requires an entrance and exit and while I've gotten them to use the entrance, they never leave. (Probably has something to do with there being no existing car/train for the toilet.)

[@AvenDonn]

Yes officer this comment right here

[@WingMaster562]

Indeed, all of this sounds so horrible, without or even with proper context. The more I read, the worse it gets. No, not even Akio as your profile pic would be able to redeem yourselr.

[@Elbenzo64]

And flush... SAY CHEESE

[@StephenSpring1]

yea, the whole video is predicated on an arbitrary %. Bad work Marcel

[@glennzone12]

True, but the Park Rating will tank.

[@Zander10102]

I just realized this. The guests are paying you to extract their urine. This video is a guide on how to maximize the amount of money you make per liter. Awesome.

[@WingMaster562]

The guests are children.

[@EchoingRuby]

God that park at 4:40 is so beautiful, I thought someone had modded in a shader for a second.

[@Paintplayer1]

I thought the same thing

[@DeLorean4]

Marcel: * Mentions ATMs * Me: * Cries in RCT1 *

[@Basssiiie]

Then again the maths may also be different in RCT1. :P

[@claudetheclaudeqc6600]

me, doing extreme heights or any "no money" scenarios: "we don't make guest pay, everything is free*

[@heroestratos]

What is the context behind this?

[@MisterDutch93]

@@heroestratos RCT1 had no ATMs, meaning if your guests run out of money, they’re out.

[@StefanVeenstra]

@@claudetheclaudeqc6600 Imagine a scenario with “■ no money” enabled and the only object you can place is the ATM.

[@ReddFiveOhOh]

I'm always down to listen to the less-important mechanics of RCT just because learning is fucking radical. Like "guests exploding on a mini-golf" levels of radical.

[@Bellicosy]

Do guests actively seek out amenities within the park after crossing a certain threshold, or does the game simply check the relevant values when a guest passes its respective stall? That is, is there another variable to consider here, that money can be lost as fewer guests are paying for rides as they seek out toilets? Also, is it possible to earn the "Best Toilet" award even if we charge 0.70 monies and noone uses them?

[@Trancefreak12]

Short answer is yes on seeking amenities: you can see in the list of guest actions that there are guests heading for stalls. Long answer is I don't know exactly when lol. Probably when the bar starts flashing.

[@elijahbigsby4154]

Ooooh. that's a good point. If they do seek them out, I think the question becomes "what is the lowest number of toilets, at the highest profit (or at least, lowest negative profit) that you can have in a park"?

[@toimine8930]

One of the requirements for the best toilets award is few guests thinking that they need to go, and that won't happen if they can't use the toilets

[@claudetheclaudeqc6600]

@@toimine8930 except if they are leaving faster than supposed. like died and still have a ton of toilets

[@dreamcanvas5321]

@@claudetheclaudeqc6600 Most Dangerous Park in the Country. and BEsT ToiLEtS

[@terenceshuen]

Should I start charging my family for toilets too ?

[@xenox3]

yes

[@WingMaster562]

When I was with cousins, apparently they charge each other by the hour in the toilet. First half hour is free, but each consecutive is charged. It's like a swear jar, but for not hogging the toilet.

[@ImSquiggs]

Glad to hear my boy's making that toilet money now

[@Mr.ToadJanfu]

Money doesn't smell.

[@RagnarokiaNG]

*makes sickness inducing rides* "..." *kills guests in crashes* "..." *drowns guests* "..." *charges for toilets* "YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!"

[@wrexmkw]

Sometimes I charge $.20 because it covers the cost to run it and guests will usually pay it anyway...

[@WingMaster562]

When I was a kid. I used to charge 4 whole dollars for toilets on the exits of rollercoasters and thrill rides in RCT1. I was a dumbass, didn't think of the morality of things yet in a game, and thought it works all the time just because I saw two ready-to-vomit kids enter even I raised it that high.

[@DreHill1]

Same, but I always do 30 cents

[@5MadMovieMakers]

I've wondered how pounds and euros convert to dollars. Does the game convert the currency or does the numerical value remain the same with different symbols in front?

[@joshuadoll9000]

It's just an even conversion so 1 euro is equal to 1 dollar.

[@agentstache135]

Marcel actually already has a video on this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIWce2uHidlre80

[@theuncalledfor]

In summary, since the prices don't really map to reality in any sensical way, currencies of similar real-life value just change the symbol and keep the value the same. For other currencies, powers of ten are used to get a nice, even number.

[@daskampffredchen]

@@theuncalledfor I think the Yen ditches the . so it is just one whole number

[@kingcrimson4133]

@@daskampffredchen That's a way to think about it, but it's not as if they're looking at US currency and thinking "let's just get rid of that pesky little decimal point and call it yen!" It is its own currency with its own history and reason for being the way it is. It just so happens that 1 USD is worth roughly 100 JPY, so conversion is simple enough. (Though in reality, 1 USD is worth 130 JPY at the moment.)

[@stevenlevesque4270]

Hey Marcel: Can you do a video about shops/stalls? i.e. profit margins, guest preferences, min/max to charge, optimal prices, optimal number in a park, and why food courts are a waste of time. Edit: I see you provided a link to Deurklink's guide.

[@MonJilley]

I mean, the guide is there. I'd still like Marcel to do a video talking about this stuff, even if it's just an info dump.

[@stevenlevesque4270]

@@MonJilley he does a good job explaining things in a way that's easy to comprehend.

[@StefanVeenstra]

Depends mostly on mood and weather. The happiest guests will easily pay 5.20 at the fishfood and pizza stalls and 4.20 for soda. But optimal you'd want most guests to buy without complaining. (Complaints hit the park rating) It's not hard to keep your guests from becoming unhappy or angry. Charging 1.80 for cold drinks and 2.30 for hot drinks and most foods. Some luxury foods like fish and pizza can optimally go for 2.80. Cheap items like candy cotton, ice cream, donuts and maps can go for 1.30. If I recall correctly from my own tests years back. My advice: Cheap items: $1 Cold drinks: $1.50 Hot drinks: $2 Food: $2 Luxury food: $2.50 Luxury items*: $3.50 Umbrella's: $20 *Luxury items include hats, t-shirts, souvenirs, stuffed animals/toys and ride photo's. With above list, you'll have a good profit margin without much complaints and it's an easy list to remember.

[@wisniamw]

These thumbnails are instaclick for me just for the way you put informations in your videos great work

[@Timmzy27]

I arbitrarily always priced my toilets at £0.20, glad to see it wasn’t for no reason, though I guess I can charge £0.40 and get away with it

[@lostboy6268]

I really appreciate that you give the answer to the Title Question in the Thumbnail. I watch the whole thing regardless, but man, it´s nice to see someone who´s actually about informing people without clickbaiting. You deserve all the success my man.

[@SoggieWafflz]

All the time videos will go "THIS is the proper way to do this!" and leave it as a mystery until the end of the video to increase watch time arbitrarily. Thank you for not doing that.

[@NoxmilesDe]

I Like math combined with RCT2

[@spockamania]

I feel like there are two ways of thinking. Either charge only $.20 so that there is no real happiness penalty as it is functionally identical to being free or $.40 as that's the most cost efficient

[@RistrayGR]

Charging for bathroom use is a cardinal sin in my world.

[@RichConnerGMN]

nice pfp

[@MrLlama-gl2hk]

What happens if you make a one-way row of toilets at different prices? Do the guests stop at the first toilet they're willing to pay? If so, you could guarantee that guests always pay their maximum amount. Guests leaving the park with a full bladder is potential money walking away!

[@TheLastRaven6]

Thats not a bad idea, but a bunch of no entry signs, then descend the price. going away from the path of the No entry. So it might look like so. (.10) (.20) (.30) (.40) (.50) (.60)

[@iunnor]

Only if we can put one of those dudes in the bathroom that sells vape pens and hand out napkins.

[@NoxmilesDe]

OpenRCT2 ToDo: Handyman should clean the toilet

[@paulharmo]

So, this begs the final question to MarcelVos! Now that you know the optimal price, and have demonstrated that there is very little negative effect, will you start charging for toilets when you play RCT2?

[@surrodox]

I charge toilets in my park saves $0.20, always worked for me Nice to see this though PS: Would you enable auto generated subtitles or make your own subtitles?

[@WingMaster562]

I miss the YT feature of community generated subtitles, it's one of the few good features they've implemented yet sacked.

[@GamePlague]

I never charged for them when playing as a kid but nowadays I charge 10 cents because there is no downside =p

[@draheim90]

There is a downside though, you make less money.

[@nthgth]

@@draheim90 compared to not charging?

[@draheim90]

@@nthgth Compared to charging more, as per the video.

[@nthgth]

@@draheim90 Oh - the comment you replied to was about going from not charging at all.

[@Tarkov.]

What if I'm a sadist and I give away free drinks? 🤔

[@DarkWarchieff]

How do I re-enable the flush sound in openrct2? I miss it. Why do guests pay 1 euro for my toilets if maxed? the history states it had visitors.

[@longevitee]

Could have to do with how guests with high happiness will pay more for products?

[@thomassynths]

Do certain drinks make Toilet value increase faster (e.g. coffee)? Also do salty foods increase Thirst faster than other foods?

[@nthgth]

"these pretzels are making me thirsty!"

[@Rinocapz]

Another toilet video!

[@klobiforpresident2254]

Should have been in the rude overview.

[@channelsquad1222]

Don’t we find a bug in the game like every Sunday you stream?

[@KimFareseed]

And here I have been, just setting them to be free.

[@bewlan]

I like the way you analysis questions. I almost believe €0.30 is the optimal value before you deep dive into simulation and come out the real optimal answer.

[@88porpoise]

That first analysis was simply inappropriate to the question. The expected value only really works for a single occurence. While I like that he included his (incorrect) workings I would appreciate him being more clear at the start because people may think that is an appropriate way to analyze the situation. The variables simply aren't structured in a way that a simple expected value calculation can work due to each event not being independent of the other.

[@Manabender]

On one hand I love that you did *this much* math into the subject. On the other, I firmly believe that ethics still have a place in the game even though the guests aren't real. I always keep free toilets. It's a basic human right, honestly.

[@ravenoustraal]

Ahh... the good old "toilet value." Now I know what kind of answer to expect when I ask my students, "How bad to you have to go?"

[@colecostie]

Only you could make a fun and interesting video on the pricing principals of video game toilets

[@sgtscott8900]

I tend to charge for toilets in parks that charge per ride and not a park entrance fee

[@faselblaDer3te]

0,70€ per toilet use? Well, I've just been to the toilet in march, guess I'll pass.

[@hordenmeisterAO]

Another aspect that might play a role is that after the bladder check notices a value above 70, it will continue to rise while the guest walks to the toilet. Also guests with a value just short of 70 will probably jump to above 80 when having a drink. So the lower values that cause a guest to look for a toilet should be very rare. There should nearly never be a guest not willing to pay 20 cents.

[@decalcomanie123]

"They are too *pissed* off to be further annoyed by bladder."

[@MrCheeze]

I like that this video shows the importance of real-world testing. The theoretical analysis is tricky to reason about but points toward 30 cents, but the empirical test disagrees and leads to developing a more accurate model. (Of course, there's a good chance that the optimal depends on factors like park size. But the testing also suggests that being off by 10 cents isn't a big deal anyway.)

[@leonhrad]

5:50 ha, I get it. they're already too 'pissed' off

[@LEWIS1992]

I want my guests spending time (and money) on rides & shops, not wasting their time trying to find a toilet that's 10p cheaper.

[@chompythebeast]

Even knowing all the data, it absolutely kills my sense of immersion to charge for toilets because it's _such_ a bastard move, unless I'm running some sort of joke ultra-capitalist park or something like the one Mr. Krabs erected from garbage behind the Krusty K

[@WingMaster562]

When I was a kid. I used to charge 4 dollars for toilets on the exits of rollercoasters and thrill rides in RCT1. I was a dumbass, didn't think of the morality of things yet in a game, and thought it works all the time just because I saw two ready-to-vomit kids enter even I raised it that high. My Dad finds it horrible and hilarious though.

[@hanshh3532]

I love your scientific approach for these kind of questions. It totally gives no "real value" to explore these questions in this niche, but I get entertained and informed on a high level. Of course, that gives me much value.Thank you!

[@JLock_17]

This is a good observation of real world pricing decisions. Sure you may think the price is outrageous now, but later when you're desperate you'll have to give in. E.G. gas prices.

[@supersonicbros23]

I can't remember where, but when I was a kid we stopped somewhere on a road trip to use the toilets and there was a hand-crank machine that gave you up to like, 5-10 squares of toiletpaper for a quarter per crank. Thankfully all we had to do was pee.

[@Davtwan]

Seeing the profit actually be higher than the running cost gave me a little dopamine boost.

[@johnfoltz8183]

Guests when needed to use the restroom:. I'm not paying that much for Restroom 1. Also guests when buying $20 umbrellas This umbrella from Information Kiosk 1 is really good value.

[@thebros5224]

I never thought that Marcel vos is a math nerd (Respectively)

[@xdeser2949]

rct 2 guests: "oh goddamnit now everyone is going to charge me to go to the bathroom"

[@squishybrick]

I feel like if he really wanted to go turbo-nerd on it, he could've ran further experiments on toilet prices, with the variable of LOCATION, having parks with varied prices, but putting either 1. More, or less toilets 2. Toilets that are closer together in certain areas, or farther apart, more-evenly spread across the park 3. Toilets in either very low-traffic areas, or centralized in hub-points or high-traffic areas 4. Toilets specifically located either right next to rides and food/drink vendors, or toilets completely by themselves in a specific area out of the way. The question/hypothesis being, does the guest's AI have any real bearing on how often or efficiently they use or find the toilets? Will they go out of their way to locate one far away from the normal paths like they actually know where it is? Or, if one isn't placed around normal-traffic paths, will they just aimlessly flounder about and NEVER use a toilet, because one simply isn't in front of them? If the latter is true, you could potentially rig your paths to purposefully draw out the guest's walking path so that it is perfectly timed, a bathroom only being present near or in front of them, after they already really need to go to the bathroom.. Though, even if that was a viable tactic, I guess that'd be like peak tryharding. XD

[@TheMISTERAMD]

I guess that was a lot of work to found that optimal toilet price. I bet you went to the real toilet a few times while making or editing this video. But hey, at least we all know it now that 0.4 is the best option. Too bad that they charge 0.50 euro in real life stations or restaurants when you don't order a drink!

[@2m2a2r2k2]

Could you do a video about how long guests are willing to wait in queuelines, if / how those waiting times differ between rides, what the optimal queue length is and how entertainers / TV's influence that?

[@alexvratsanos5227]

As interesting (and funny) as this was, I have a long-standing rule against charging at all for bathrooms, and I’m not changing it.

[@dosmastrify]

40cents pays for operating costs in rct1 so that's always what I used come. To think, they never got sick of any ride at 40 cents no matter how old

[@Extramrdo]

Oh, this toilet's ten cents too expensive for me. Guess I'll just hold it for another 3 months.

[@we34w]

So on a one way path. Place multiple toilets. Ranging in price. Have the guests walk by them high to low. Then you will get the ones who gotta go now pay more. And the lesser ones will pay less.

[@moonverine]

"80 cents to use this toilet? Forget it, I'll find a topiary."

[@Spinexus]

Am i really watching a video on min/maxing virtual video game toilets? oO

[@bunnyonabunwithagunnicepun5689]

Advanced Toilet Calculations This is why I love RCT2

[@BotherRed]

Could you do one massive like "These are things I got wrong" video?

[@Robin_Dragunov]

the 1st thing i do when i see a new post from this channel is give a *LIKE* 👍 ❤️ RCT

[@chriso1373]

Had to watch an ad to see this video. Glad everything is finallt resolved.

[@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791]

If I ever go to a theme park irl that charges for toilets, that will be the last time I ever visit that park.

[@Chosen1Creator]

Imagine a park with free toilets but you have to pay for an elevator ride to get to it.

[@gemstonegynoid7475]

In the real world, you'd just see a more yellow lake if you charge any amount

[@Talon_24]

Great video! At 9:38 This would be been a great opportunity to add a little chart to show the peak/valley

[@anythinggggg]

A video about playing scenarios without ATMs would be interesting. This video touched on it slightly.

[@AdeptCharon]

I shit you not, I actually unintentionally ended up watching this video while on the toilet

[@teddy4271]

I think it really just comes down to how long the average guest will stay in the park. If everyone sticks around long enough to fill their stats all the way to 255 at least once, it'd make sense to raise the price above the usual break point, yeah?

[@Putnam3145]

Depends on if high toilet might make them leave in and of itself

[@SchrodingersCat8813]

Amazing analysis as usual! I really would’ve expected 10 cents was best, get some amount from everyone rather than more from less and I did assume it would lower your rating w tons of people needing to go...but seems not and lower prices are worse. Good stuff! Granted I don’t charge for toilets or park maps!

[@elijahbigsby4154]

I think your analysis around the 7:30 mark is off. It would be correct, if the toilet value for all guests was completely static and never changed, but since it DOES go up over time, eventually any guest is going to theoretically be willing to pay the maximum of 60 cents. It's mostly a question of how many guests LEAVE the park before they become willing to pay 60 cents, because if they aren't leaving, the probability that they'll pay at some point is high. I'm not sure if that makes the 60 cent price point the most efficient, necessarily, but just that looking at it with a static "price they're willing to pay" isn't really going to get the right answer. I'd probably land somewhere between 40 or 50 cents as the most efficient, at least at an initial guess.

[@MarcelVos]

I discuss exactly that later in the video.

[@ErikHuizinga]

One thing that I'm missing (or that I missed) is the answer to the question: when does a guest decide to go to a toilet? That might provide some insight into the reason why you earn more at €0.40 than at €0.30. I found your explanation lacking, because the expected value (price * probability of a particular guest going to the toilet) clearly indicated that €0.30 was optimal. But it doesn't turn out to be the case. So the probability seems wrong. I think what needs to be taken into account is that the guest actually needs to navigate to a toilet, and needs to find it (you can block all access, of course, or just put a toilet on every single path square). So, assuming/given that your toilet are accessible (navigable), what is the probability of a guest wanting to go and finding it? That question sadly remains unanswered!

[@ErikHuizinga]

You shortly say: if the value is over 70 they will want to go to the toilet and if they get to one they will do the math. Is that true for every guest on every square with a toilet? If so, then your math is right. If not, then your math is wrong. Likely, as soon as the toilet value hits 70, the guest isn't right in front of a toilet. On average the number will be higher when they enter the bathroom, because they might still have to walk around, exit rides, finish food/drinks, etc. That higher number is the one we're looking for! That's the average guest-toilet-value-when-they-enter-a-toilet we're looking for. And that's the value we can use to calculate the optimal (maximum) price. Well, not really. We need the distribution (probability density function) of toilet values at toilet-enter time. This is some kind of curve from 70 to 255 on the horizontal axis and between 0 and 1 (0% and 100%) on the vertical axis. Multiply that by the maximum toilet price you can ask and then you'll have the expected turnover. Maximise turnover and you'll have your optimal price.

[@thejubbinator1065]

Holy crap this made me realize just how badly I overcharged for toilets when I played RCT2 as a kid. I would charge $1.00 almost every time.

[@WingMaster562]

Worry not, because when I was a kid, I used to charge 4.00 dollars for toilets on the exits of rollercoasters and thrill rides in RCT1. I was a dumbass, also didn't think of the morality of things yet in a game, and thought it works all the time just because I saw two ready-to-vomit kids enter even I raised it that high.

[@overdramaticpan]

Price Gouging 1 looks too intense for me.

[@pretrs]

How many people fit in one toilet building?

[@DeanAmx]

"I need to go to the bathroom" *still sit down on the chair, slurping cokes*

[@LuckSpinner]

That hot dog building! Hah! Amazing! Lately been on a buildings kick, always loved to decorate with plants but starting to play more with the walls and roofs. Thanks for another great video Marcel, would love to see a food court ideas video if you haven't made one yet. Laying out the paths/chairs is hard to get the peeps to stop getting lost and going in circles in them. =)

[@MrHack4never]

IRL, Are there any amusement parks that charge for using the toilet?

[@nthgth]

Idk, but IRL anyone who charges for toilet use should be run out of town

[@jayjasespud]

Here I sit, broken hearted...

[@TubeCody]

I'll find a tree instead!! hahahaah loved that

[@polikitez]

Great video as always! Video suggestion: A summary video of all of these "optimal" strategies, with the sole purpose of earning a lot of money and having a relatively good park. Not going deep into any of those but mentioning everything that you should definitely do or not do. Thanks!

[@Marenthyu]

Restroom 69. Nice.

[@rsjc852]

Hi Marcel! You've touched on this subject in several of your videos, but could you consider making a comprehensive guide on how different path layouts and sizes affect the way guests traverse the park? And/Or how guests routines function. It would be very interesting to see how guest behavior works (or doesn't) in different situations. Thanks for continuing to show me that even after 1000's of hours over 18+ years, there's still things I've yet to learn about RTC!

[@MartinBentsen]

I’ve found that offering cheap things for free, such as toilets, unpopular rides, and even some foods, you can generally make MORE money because people are so happy and your park rating increases. Then for your best rides, charge a premium. At $10/ticket, some coasters can make upwards of $16k/hr, and that more than makes up for losing money at $45-200/hr for underperforming rides and stalls. Charge premium prices for popular rides and stalls, and give everything else for free to increase guest happiness and get more people. In business terms this is called a “Barbell Strategy.”

[@BabusGameRoom]

This is the best RCT video I never knew that I needed. But that said...I'll trap guests in the park, I'll paint over deadly rides, and I'll even drown naughty guests...but I will NEVER charge for bathrooms!

[@cat1554]

It's clearly $100!

[@tifforo1]

There is a third affect that happiness has: it affects how much guests will pay at shops! Basically, there is a "fair" price for each item, which does not change based on anything except the temperature, that is the maximum you can charge without any guests refusing because it is too expensive. (It's usually about 20 cents above the default price and is way higher than wholesale cost.) This amount is the same for happy and unhappy guests. However, if you charge more than this, there is a sliding scale where 1/8 of unhappy guests will refuse to pay for every 10 cents you go over. But for happy guests, it's for every 20 cents, and for very happy guests, it's for every 40 cents. This means that the maximum an unhappy guest will every pay is 70 cents above the "fair" price, but you can charge as much as $2.80 higher than the fair price and 1/8 of very happy guests will still pay it! I think this video understates the disadvantages of making guests unhappy since you can make better profits from stalls than toilets.

[@sanderbos4243]

I really like that you didn't just speculate 30 cents being optimal and ended the video there, but actually did some empirical testing which eventually even gave you a different conclusion. :-)

[@MarcelVos]

Originally I did end the video there, but after I recorded the script I decided that I should test if it's actually true and in a very rough test I saw that my conclusion didn't work so I made a more extensive test and extended the video.

[@sanderbos4243]

@@MarcelVos Awesome, good on you!