Atari's RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic came speeding onto Switch this week and, honestly, it's an all-round good time. In our review, we praised the game's endless creative freedom and its ability to bring hours of rollercoaster-building fun, but there was one small omission in the Switch port that left us scratching our heads: where the heck are the touch controls?
The new control scheme has had some good thought put into it, and we had no issues with the button inputs when playing on the big screen. But given that the 2016 original boasted touchscreen functionality on its smart device launch platforms and, you know, the Switch has a touchscreen, it does feel like a strange feature to not make the cut.
One glance at the YouTube comments on the game's launch trailer confirmed that we are not alone in our confusion, but a reply from Atari on one thread suggests that the studio might just get it implemented in the future.
The publisher confirmed that it didn't "forget" touch support, but its aim with the Switch version was instead "focused on creating an experience that would mimic the PC version so that Switch players can finally get access to the game in docked and handheld mode for the first time ever". When further questioned on the missing feature by user @Liquid2ubstanc3, the studio responded with the following: "We know people want it and hope to add it in the future so we'll make sure to keep you updated".
Okay, there's no indication of when the touch support might land, nor even an official confirmation that it's definitely 100% coming, but at least it's something. Atari has heard the desire for touch controls and there's a "hope" to add it down the line. We'll consider that a win.
Even without touch controls, we still had a wonderful time with RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic on Switch, stating that it "maintains its crown as the lord of all theme park management sims". You can read our full review below.
Do you think RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is in desperate need of a touch control update? Let us know in the comments.
[source youtube.com]
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Comments 14
Translation: We wanted your holiday money more than we wanted to deliver a complete product.
You can have this on smartphone. It's cheaper, has touchscreen and no framedrops
Yeah, they clearly wanted to release it for the holidays first and foremost but still, better late than never if they actually add touch controls at some point other than the usual fixes!
And that's why I usually don't get games Day One anymore. The lack of features that should have been in the base game is just apalling. Many times when I finally bought a game there would be a ton of free content and QoL updates that should have been there when the game was launched. I feel old for saying it, but I miss the old days when consoles didn't have access to the web and updates/patches were impossible.
Graphite Lab: reads backlash, takes off sunglasses My gaaaaawd, our target audience have hands! They want the Touch! cue The Touch by Stan Bush AKA THAT Transformers song plays
@Burning_Spear idk man, if it is otherwise bug free and playing well (as i understand it is) then not having Touch is hardly making it an incomplete product. there were never part of the classic set up to begin with. if someone releases metal gear solid and it is a perfect port but without touch controls, is it then an 'incomplete product'?
@smithyo : Did the original not have mouse controls? Because mouse and touch controls pretty much go hand-in-hand. The only difference is that you tap/click directly on whatever you want to interact with rather than dragging a cursor around first.
So, yes, if the original had mouse input, then I would most certainly deem this new version to be incomplete in that respect.
Considering that other instalments on Switch supported touch controls from day dot, this is a pretty egregious oversight (or as others have implied, a cynical attempt to begin monetising the game before actually completing it).
@Pillowpants : And I'm sick to death of people making excuses for greedy publishers who rush unfinished crap to shelves instead of holding out until the game is complete especially if there's a physical release involved.
Sure, they can go ahead and release the unfinished version digitally if they want to start making bank on a game immediately (which I don't agree with either, but hey, I'm meeting halfway here), but the least they could do is delay the physical release until absolutely everything is ready and crucial content/features aren't missing from the supplied cartridge/disc. Too few publishers have had the decency to hold out in this regard.
@smithyo It is an incomplete product. If you are talking about RollerCoaster Tycoon 1 or 2 then you are correct. But we are talking about RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic which was designed for iOS and Android in 2016. Touchscreen support always was a part of Classic. The Switch version has the same touchscreen interface design as the mobile version. I would only agree with you if they designed a new interface for controller support like the original Xbox version.
Metal Gear Solid never had a touchscreen version release? Don't understand the comparison. It's more like releasing Metal Gear Solid without controller support.
A perfect port of the mobile version of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic for me is one that has touchscreen support.
Well at least they're not doubling down on not adding it. I'll buy the game as soon as it supports touch.
@SillyG I couldn't agree more, as a fan of physical releases this is a jarring issue. You rarely buy a complete product on the disc/cart anymore. It's a sad state of affairs, really.
Atari isn't perfect but they listen to their customers nowadays.
Surprised this doesn’t have touch off the bat, but still picked it up. Have yet to try it, but all these types of games truly need is a “snap to” input to get the build selection menu, and then replicate mouse left click with R Trigger, and mouse scroll with left or right sticks.
Simcity SNES is one of the best Sim genre games of all time, and it did it that all with just a controller, so the possibility is there as long as someone makes a proper controller layout that works well and isn’t confusing to hell.
Edit - I play a lot of unsupported/unverified games on Steam Deck and use community layouts for the controls, like on SimCity 3000. A lot of times controller setup works surprisingly well in these games, even without official controller support.
Honestly they would have been better off just saying it was coming and not admitting they didn’t “forget” but rather INTENTIONALLY decided to release a complete product.
Glad they said they’re “eventually” complete the game thoug. Similarly I didn’t “forget” the game exists and I might “eventually” have an interest in it too.
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