Envision’s TPT2 Handbook
At first, building in Theme Park Tycoon 2 can be daunting and pretty difficult to get into. The sad reality about this game is that it requires money to actually play it to its full extent, but once you do have that it is one of the best sandboxes on the internet.
Section 1 — A Recreation
When first starting in Theme Park Tycoon 2 a recommended starter project would be a recreation. This can come in many forms whether it be recreating a full park like Disneyland or recreating just a building like the one below. Recreations help keep your custom creations grounded in reality and in turn more believable and atmospheric. Here I’ll go over our steps for making a recreation.
Step One — Make an outline
Making an outline can help make your project seem less massive. Showing yourself where things begin and start can really help you get an idea where YOU can start.
Step One - Making an outline
Making an outline around what you are making can help make your project seem less massive. Showing yourself where things begin and start can really help you get an idea where YOU can start.
Step Two - Dividing the outline
This also of course helps with making the project less daunting and helps give your project layers and depth. In this example I’ve separated each part of the building and the surrounding land.
Step Three - Building!
Once you have both of these outlines done you can start building your project. You should tackle each piece of the divided outline separately so you give your project some nice depth. Adding your own little changes is also a great idea that gives your project some originality and helps you get into custom projects later.
Section 2— A Custom Project
Once you’ve made some recreations or once you feel like starting something brand new you should think about doing a custom project. Custom projects show your creativity wonderfully. You still may take some keys from real things, but try to keep your project as original as possible. The project shown above’s castle is only a recreation for the exterior. The rest of the build is fully custom. Taking inspiration from real life is a great idea that can also keep your projects grounded. Of course, you may want to just keep doing recreations and that’s your own prerogative, but this is just a breakdown of a custom project.
Step One - Choosing a theme
Choosing a theme can be difficult, but you should just follow these three rules.
1. You should enjoy it.
2. It should have the ability to be exciting.
(Example of an unexciting theme: Walt Disney Studio’s backlot)
3. You should know it well enough to make a land around it or ride.
Step Two - Making a layout
Making a layout makes your project easier to comprehend and build. This is pretty similar to the outline from the recreation, but instead of outlining something real you are outlining an area or ride that is by you.
Step Three - Build!
Unlike the last one you should already have your buildings divided up so that you can build them with ease. So, get building. Be as detailed as you want to be. Work with different angles and don’t be afraid to change up your plans.
Section 3 — Sharing is caring.
Welcome to Kindergarten class- just kidding. Simply put, sharing IS caring. You should share your ideas with the community and just remember that a tiny design being put in another person’s park shouldn’t make you lose sleep. Now, obviously, don’t let people completely copy a full building or build (unless it’s from a tutorial), but allow them to do small little details. This can let you put your little mark on the community. Of course, share your build with loads of people, and if you are sharing other people’s builds be sure to credit them however you can. Whether this is in a Youtube video, through Discord servers, or they literally built within your park. Making your own Youtube channel where you share your creations could be a great idea as well.
Suggestion One - Share your build via YouTube
Theme Park Tycoon 2 has a big community on YouTube with channels like Kosii, imaflynmidget, nerdyyodagirl, etc. and it can be great to bring your own creations there. Letting creators share your work really helps with promoting your builds. Most of the channels on YouTube are also good at giving credit to the original creators. I’d try to stray away from creators that seem to not give that much credit. You could also begin your own Youtube channel. I’ve done that as well with my channel, ReezeePeezy (I know I’m creative with names), and it’s been nice to see the support my creations can garner.
Suggestion Two - Share your build via Discord
Theme Park Tycoon 2 also has a massive community on Discord with many active servers like Envision that can help you showcase your content. Most Discord servers have a “creations” channel that can let you share your content and get some nice feedback. You could also make your own Discord server as well to share your work. It takes some work to make a large server and it takes a ton of time as well. Most YouTube channel servers gain members quickly once they are made as most creators with them have gathered a larger audience.
Suggestion Three - Share your builds with a building group!
Theme Park Tycoon 2 has a few building groups within it such as the Masons and Inspire Imagineering. Joining these can be difficult as most owners have to manage their time wisely to allow you to build and it is difficult to own one if you aren’t in that popular of a time zone. There are also usually higher standards when entering these groups. Of course, you could also just build with your friends and not put it under any title and I find that to be the best way to do this for me. This is mainly because most people don’t care as much about credit there and are much more chill.
Section 4 — Conclusion
As stated before, Theme Park Tycoon 2 is a wonderful sandbox with a slight fee if you want to get really detailed. This is a great way to outlet your creativity and share your ideas with the world. If you listen to these steps loosely and work hard on your projects you should be able to make some amazing creations.
We didn’t focus on detailing within this as each person has their individual style which is hard to explain and help improve.
