A station is a boarding point onto a rollercoaster or a track ride.
Station buildings[]
Buildings may be constructed on the building grid for the station often using thematic styles to tailor and customise the ride's experience. Special building pieces, called Station Surrounds are also available, which are shaped to fit smoothly around the shape of the track. They can be found in various styles and themes.
Generally, station buildings may house the latter parts of the queue as well as some of the exit. They may even contain some of the coaster itself, be it a pre-lift section at the start or simply the brake run at the end.
Types of station[]
Entry Left/Exit Left[]
A variation of the station in which guests enter and exit on the left side of the track. It makes the lane gates appear on the same side as the exit, which has a larger gate next to the operator's stand. The right side of the station is an empty walkway.
Entry Left/Exit Right[]
A variation of the station in which guests enter and exit different sides of the track respectively. The gates for each lane are on the left side but the operator's booth is on the right-hand side of the track. There is no gate for the exit, but all guests will simply step onto the large walkway on the right side of the track and exit via the path the player places.
Entry Right/Exit Left[]
A variation of the station in which guests enter and exit different sides of the track respectively. Opposite to the previous model, the lane gates are on the right side of the track while the operator's booth and walkway for the exit are on the left.
Entry Right/Exit Right[]
A variation of the station in which guests enter and exit on the right side of the track. The left side of the track remains an empty walkway as the lane gates, operator's booth, and also exit gates, are all on the right.
Using the station[]
Entrance Points[]
The entrance point to the station must be set before the ride is opened, and they can be placed at any point along the correct side for the entrance and linked to the end of the queue. Guests must pass through the entrance when it is time and find their place in the lane queues depending on which row of the ride they are assigned to.
Exit Points[]
Like entrance points, exit points must also be assigned before a rollercoaster or track ride is opened. They are placed anywhere on the assigned exit side and can connect to a path directly or through a smaller path.
Notes[]
- Stations are elevated from the ground to allow room for track supports and the coaster wheel. They can also be raised further up or lowered at the will of the players.
- Many coasters have track passing under the station, which often take place immediately after the ride begins.
- Some coasters feature animated stations which interact appropriately with the ride. An example of this is the Aethon, a dive coaster, which has a platform guests used to board that withdraws when the ride is ready to leave the station.
- This functionality is taken directly from the real-life coaster model that inspired the Aethon: the Bolliger & Mabillard] ("B&M") dive coaster, more specifically Oblivion at Alton Towers.
- The player can choose to lengthen or shorten the station depending on how many trains and how many cars they would like their ride to have.
- Curiously, the game does not show the guests leaving the station platform and climbing into the coaster carriage; instead, as soon as they are ready to climb in it cuts to them sitting in the scene.
- In real life, many stations have baggage areas in the UK, where guests may leave their belongings in a safe and secure place managed and overseen by staff so they do not have to take them onto the ride and risk damage. These are not present in Planet Coaster. Much of the US has a different system, which allows guests to put all their belongings in lockers at the start of the day which can be accessed throughout. Similar functionality is available in Planet Coaster.
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