News
Virtual Rides 3 in retail stores in 2017
August 30th, in the year of our Lord 2016 –
2tainment and ZeichenKraftwerk announce the long-awaited third
installment in the fun fair ride simulation series Virtual
Rides®.
The third installment in the Virtual Rides® series, which fans
have been eagerly waiting for, will be available in retail
stores and via SteamTM starting in 2017. Developer
ZeichenKraftwerk has added a slew of new features to the new
version. The number of rides has tripled in comparison to its
predecessor and the entire fairgrounds have also significantly
increased in size. But it is not only quantity which the latest
title of this successful series has to boast about — the
developer has also greatly improved the AI of the visitors,
which now do not simply just populate the grounds, but also fill
it with life and make you feel as if you were really in an
amusement park.
The player is transported to a carnival environment and takes on
the role of a ride operator. As any die-hard amusement park fan
knows, the right atmosphere can only be achieved with an
excellent operator. The player has the option of playing
preconfigured jingles or even grabbing the microphone and
completely immersing himself in the role. The improved graphics
engine allows for a much more immersive amusement park
experience, whether by day or by night. Furthermore, transitions
between day and night as well as the weather can now be
performed both manually and automatically.
By standing at the corresponding control panel or using a
keypad, you can tone down the excitement on the ride, give
visitors a short breather, add some mist, and change the color
of the environmental lighting to a calming green. But that was
just the calm before the storm. Now it's time to switch on the
stroboscope, pierce the swathes of mist — and put the pedal to
the metal! An echo effect is added to the microphone: Time for
the last round, guys! Screams and shouts of joy are accompanied
by exhilarating electric beats.
Furthermore, with Virtual Rides® 3, the player will have the
option of customizing his ride down to the very last detail. The
colors of the various components can be individually configured,
add-on parts such as decorations and effect devices can be
installed, and operators can also choose from a wide range of
themes.
Steffen Schaller, CEO of Zeichenkraftwerk: "Because we too were
huge fans of fun fair rides since we were kids, it was not only
important for us to ensure a realistic implementation of the
simulation when creating Virtual Rides 3 — our goal was to
create a coherent overall experience that ignites the same
passion we have, even in players who are new to the scene, by
bringing the amusement park to them in their very own home! It
is a fond reminder of the fascination amusement park rides holds
for us with all their colorful, blinking lights!"
Key features:
• 15 simulated and unique rides
• Over 100 booths on the grounds
• Completely open, significantly larger fairgrounds
• Advanced human simulations/crowds
• People react to time of day/weather
• People walk and interact with environment
• Both manual and automatic control of weather and time
• Realistic controls on 3D panel
• Comprehensive design and adaptation of rides
• Physics-based materials and reflections
• Newly developed lighting system