Pittstop Profits

The grid system formed the foundation of the placement mechanics. Players can adjust grid sizes for both small and large-scale builds, with objects snapping precisely to grid lines rather than cell centres for improved accuracy. Progression is built into the grid itself: much of the space is locked at the start, requiring players to unlock additional areas as they expand their park. This prevents overwhelming the player early on while encouraging steady growth.

To increase creative possibilities, a multi-layer grid system was implemented. Players can build on different vertical levels, from ground-level tracks to elevated structures. Floors load and unload dynamically, showing only the active layer to reduce clutter and improve performance. While players cannot freely set floor heights, developers can tweak the pre-set distances and number of levels for balance. This design opens up complex, three-dimensional track building and park layouts.

Tracks can be freely placed in the world, starting from any orientation. Regular track pieces, however, must snap onto existing pieces, ensuring closed circuits and maintaining valid paths for AI-controlled racers. A connection node system prevents invalid overlaps by checking whether nodes are already in use, guaranteeing seamless and functional tracks. This approach allows creative freedom while enforcing rules that keep tracks playable.

Beyond tracks, all buildable items snap neatly to the grid for consistency and clean layouts. Players can rotate objects within the grid to customise their designs. Validators were added to prevent floating or overlapping objects, preserving polish and avoiding visual glitches.

Using a method of saving metadata to a json file, the system supports saving every detail of the player’s park, including track positions, orientations, and structures. This ensures long-term progression, allowing players to experiment with multiple plots without losing work. The system compressed all important factors of the park into minimal metadata, upon loading a park the loading system would reconstruct the whole park from this metadata. Each park had its own json file which made the system very modular.

The team researched existing track-building systems to refine their design. Neo Sprint (Atari) was considered too restrictive due to its top-down view and limited space, while TrackMania (Ubisoft) was seen as overly complex and racing-focused. Planet Coaster 2 (Frontier) offered the closest inspiration, but the aim was to create a more intuitive and accessible system suited to a tycoon-style game. The final design balanced accessibility with creative freedom, setting it apart from existing titles.