How to Install Custom Content into RollerCoaster Tycoon 3

[wolfpaw]

Hey everyone! This guide will show you how to install all custom content into RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. If you have any questions or additional information to add, let me know by responding to this topic and I'll be sure to help you or add it to the guide.

HOW TO INSTALL CUSTOM SCENERY

By far the most common custom content added into RCT3 is custom scenery (CS). To install custom scenery, download the custom scenery pack you'd like to install from our downloads section. Once downloaded, extract the zip or rar file and open up the folder it has just extracted. If you see .ovl files in this folder, copy the folder that you just opened and paste it under C:\Program Files (Program Files(x86) if you are on Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10/11)\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\Style\Themed. Once you launch the game, your custom content should be under scenery. This is also how you install custom mortars for firework shows. If you're using Steam to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition, this folder will be located under Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition\Style\Themed.

Once in game, your custom scenery content should be available for you to use and are usually located in Scenery or Buildings. Some other content might be located somewhere else depending on what you installed, for example, firework mortars will be under mortars in the mixmaster tool.

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HOW TO INSTALL CUSTOM TRACKED RIDES

Custom made tracked rides are among some of the other content you can download for RCT3. To install these you need to extract two folders, one containing the custom car and the other containing the custom tracks. First start with the custom car, navigate to your custom cars folder in the RCT3 installation directory Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\Cars\TrackedRideCars or if playing RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition on Steam at Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition\Cars\TrackedRideCars. Paste the custom cars folder you extracted into this folder.

To install the custom tracks, it is the same process however you paste your extracted custom tracks folder into the TrackedRides folder which is located at Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\tracks\TrackedRides or if playing on Steam at Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition\tracks\TrackedRides. Your custom tracked ride should now be in game.

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HOW TO INSTALL CUSTOM FLAT RIDES

Installing custom flat rides is very similar to installing custom scenery. Once downloaded, navigate to your Style folder installation directory at Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon\Style or if playing on Steam at Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition\Style. Once at the Style folder, create a new folder called 'Custom'. If there is already a folder called Custom, open it up. Place the extracted downloaded custom flat ride in this folder - most of the time the extracted folder will be the author's name. If by rare chance the author did not create a folder of their name, you will need to create one in the Custom folder and place the downloaded extracted content in that folder. Your custom flat rides should now be in game.

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HOW TO INSTALL FIREWORK EFFECTS

You can also download and install firework effects from our downloads that you can use in your own firework shows, dark rides, or projects. To install these, navigate to your fireworks folder located in your RCT3 installation directory which is at Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3\Fireworks or if playing on Steam then at Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition\Fireworks. Extract and paste all .frw effects into this fireworks folder. Once in game, if you open the mixmaster, all the downloaded fireworks will be available for you to choose from.

You can also paste these effects into My Documents\RCT3\FireworkEffects but this is not recommended as all effects placed in this folder can be opened and modified with the Advanced Fireworks Editor. If you're looking to just use effects already created for shows, place these effects in the fireworks folder in the installation directory instead.

This also works the same with custom lasers and waterjet effects, just place lasers in the Lasers folder and waterjets into the WaterJets folder.

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COMMON CUSTOM CONTENT ERRORS

Below are some common errors that you may experience when installing custom content:

No svd for sid - This means you did not install your custom content correctly, refer to the above tutorials on how to properly install your custom content and make sure everything is placed in the right locations.

TrackSection(?) is Missing - This means you did not place the Custom Tracked Ride or Custom Track in the right location, refer to How to Install Custom Tracked Rides above and make sure everything is placed in the right locations.

Game crashes when placing or previewing custom content - If your game is randomly crashing when you place a custom scenery item or when you hover over it in game, try turning off shadows in game and then placing the file.

If anyone has any other information to add to this tutorial let me know and I'll add to this post! If you have any questions regarding how to install something, feel free to respond here and we can help you out!