Beta 1.4

Theme Park (1994) as native Apple Silicon code: the DOS game's own code is statically recompiled to ARM64 and runs on a native Mac host, with no DOSBox, Wine, Rosetta or CPU emulator.

This release is source only. It contains no game code, data, art or built app. You need your own copy of the game: GOG's Mac package theme_park_enUS_1_0_33010.pkg. The build steps are in the README.

New since Beta 1.3

• Launcher reorganised. The main screen has Game Speed, Updates and three buttons: Game, Display and Sound.
  • Free Mode, Controls, Music Options and Effect Options are nested pages; Back goes up one level.
  • Panel Size moved to Display.
  • The buttons are plain, without the gold borders.
• Updates from the launcher. A built app can check for new commits on its branch and rebuild itself from the repository it was built from.
• Ew and till sound frequency in game. EXTRAS > EW SOUNDS and PURCHASE SOUNDS now have EVERY TIME / 5 / 15 / 30 SECONDS, saved with the launcher's settings.
• 640×480 fixes:
  • The game's cursor shows in full screen.
  • Game windows (rides, research, bank and the rest) no longer flicker as the mouse moves.
  • With a game window open and a Panel Size below 1, the pointer reaches the smaller panel directly. It used to stay on the window's bottom edge until the mouse was over the panel.
  • The interface's corner icons and the advisor scale with the mode.
  • Edge scrolling speed matches 320×200.

What works

• The intro and the whole game, natively, at the original's pace (adjustable).
• Scripted runs and long random-play runs match the x86 original.
• Both the 320×200 and the 640×480 modes, with a widescreen park view and zoom.
• Sound Blaster 16 effects and General MIDI music through the game's own drivers.
• 128 × 128 sandbox parks with Free Mode rules.
• An EXTRAS menu in the game's top bar, Visitor View (experimental), the original ride videos, saving and loading.

Known limitations

• About every 200 seconds the game runs its awards check. This causes a short pause: about 0.1 s in a typical park, about 0.25 s in a very large one.
• An in-process restart (exit code 10 or more) is fixed by reading the code but not yet tested (#6).
• While the game waits for a single key press, its timer, sound and mouse pause (#26).
• In full screen the menu bar is reached from the keyboard (⌃⌘F leaves full screen).
• A new sandbox park gets no visitors at the default ticket price until its reputation grows; lower the price to start.

Theme Park is © Bullfrog Productions / Electronic Arts. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Beta 1.3

Theme Park (1994) as native Apple Silicon code: the DOS game's own code is statically recompiled to ARM64 and runs on a native Mac host, with no DOSBox, Wine, Rosetta or CPU emulator.

This release is source only. It contains no game code, data, art or built app. You need your own copy of the game: GOG's Mac package theme_park_enUS_1_0_33010.pkg. The build steps are in the README.

New since Beta 1.2: the 640×480 mode

• Clicks land where you click.
  • Paths, queues and scenery go on the tile under the pointer, whether you click or drag.
  • Before, the game read clicks at an eighth of their position, and path tools landed rows away.
• No empty margin. The park view stops at the park's edges, as in 320×200.
• Park opens where the game is looking, not on the far corner by the bus road.
• Top menus (PARK, OPTIONS, DISPLAY, EXTRAS) open from the wide park view, with no magenta patches over the park.
• Smooth view. The screen draws at your display's rate (120 Hz on ProMotion) while you scroll, zoom or move the cursor. The park itself updates at the game's 60 frames a second.
• Stable windows. Opening a game window and then resizing the app window no longer leaves a second copy of the window beside it.
• Mouse after a window closes. The park no longer scrolls on its own until you move the mouse.
• Checked in 640×480: ride videos (4:3, black borders), Visitor View, and the ride, shop, finance and rating windows.

What works

• The intro and the whole game, natively, at the original's pace (adjustable).
• Scripted runs and long random-play runs match the x86 original.
• Both the 320×200 and the 640×480 modes.
• Sound Blaster 16 effects and General MIDI music through the game's own drivers.
• A widescreen park view with zoom.
• 128 × 128 sandbox parks with Free Mode rules: a 304-ride park ran a full game year at 60 fps.
• An EXTRAS menu in the game's top bar.
• Visitor View (experimental).
• The original ride videos.
• Saving and loading.

Known limitations

• About every 200 seconds the game runs its awards check. This causes a short pause: about 0.1 s in a typical park, about 0.25 s in a very large one.
• An in-process restart (exit code 10 or more) is fixed by reading the code but not yet tested (#6).
• While the game waits for a single key press, its timer, sound and mouse pause (#26).
• In full screen the menu bar is reached from the keyboard (⌃⌘F leaves full screen).
• A new sandbox park gets no visitors at the default ticket price until its reputation grows; lower the price to start.

Theme Park is © Bullfrog Productions / Electronic Arts. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Beta 1.2

Theme Park (1994) as native Apple Silicon code: the DOS game's own code is statically recompiled to ARM64 and runs on a native Mac host, with no DOSBox, Wine, Rosetta or CPU emulator.

This release is source only. It contains no game code, data, art or built app. You need your own copy of the game: GOG's Mac package theme_park_enUS_1_0_33010.pkg. The build steps are in the README.

New since Beta 1

• Sound on a fresh build is automatic: the first build makes the sound driver images from your package (#9).
• Sound timing: the Sound Blaster plays on only as far as the game's timer has reached, so effects and music no longer drop or stutter when the game is busy (#10, #11).
• Amiga CD32 and 3DO extras from discs you own: the recorded soundtrack as a Music Type, and the 3DO's full-colour ride videos.
• Full screen:
  • Hot corners, the Dock and the menu bar no longer react to the mouse.
  • The cursor no longer jumps to the middle of the screen.
  • Clicks always reach the game.
• Videos play 4:3 at full height with black borders.
• Menus open at full size while the panel stays at your Panel Size.
• Smoother park view:
  • Fewer frame-rate bumps (the first weather, building quickly).
  • No black flashes at the edges when zooming out or scrolling quickly.
  • No frozen strips around a selected ride.
• Input: stuck mouse buttons and keys are let go when you switch apps or windows.
• Robustness (from an audit, #12–#35):
  • A full disk shows the game's own error instead of stopping the game.
  • Switching between 64 × 64 and 128 × 128 parks in one session draws correctly.
  • Quit, pause and fast-speed pacing are fixed.
  • Visitor View no longer jumps or snaps back.
• Groundwork for Windows and Linux: a platform layer and portable tools, built on Linux in CI.

What works

• The intro and the whole game, natively, at the original's pace (adjustable).
• Scripted runs and long random-play runs match the x86 original.
• Sound Blaster 16 effects and General MIDI music through the game's own drivers.
• A widescreen park view with zoom, and the game's 640×480 mode.
• 128 × 128 sandbox parks with Free Mode rules.
• An EXTRAS menu in the game's top bar.
• Visitor View (experimental).
• The original ride videos at their DOS speed.
• Saving and loading.

Known limitations

• An in-process restart (exit code 10 or more) is fixed by reading the code but not yet tested (#6).
• While the game waits for a single key press, its timer, sound and mouse pause (#26; the log notes when this happens).
• In full screen the menu bar is reached from the keyboard (⌃⌘F leaves full screen).
• About half the game's functions have run in testing so far: see the port audit.

Theme Park is © Bullfrog Productions / Electronic Arts. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Beta 1

The first public beta of Theme Park (1994) as native Apple Silicon code. The DOS game's own code is statically recompiled to ARM64 and runs on a native Mac host, with no DOSBox, Wine, Rosetta or CPU emulator.

This release is source only. It contains no game code, data, art or built app. You need your own copy of the game: GOG's Mac package theme_park_enUS_1_0_33010.pkg. The build steps are in the README.

What works

• The intro and the whole game, natively, at the original's pace (adjustable). Scripted runs and long random-play runs match the x86 original.
• Sound Blaster 16 effects and General MIDI music through the game's own drivers. A limiter stops clipping, and each kind of sound has its own level.
• A widescreen park view with pinch and ⌘-scroll zoom, and the game's 640×480 mode.
• 128 × 128 sandbox parks (up to 10,000 visitors), with Free Mode rules: Sandbox, Endless and True Freeplay.
• An EXTRAS menu in the game's top bar: speed, panel size, volumes, and "ew" and purchase sound levels.
• Visitor View (experimental): walk the park at a visitor's height.
• The original first-person ride videos, now at their DOS speed.
• Saving and loading, including 128 × 128 parks.

Known limitations

• Sound needs a manual step on a fresh build. Fixed on main after this release (ae39e64, issue #9): the first build now makes the sound driver images from your package. Build from main for sound; this tag's source still needs the manual step.
• An in-process restart (exit code 10 or more) is fixed by reading the code but not yet tested (issue #6).
• During a ride video, the widescreen side strips keep the last park picture.
• About half the game's functions have run in testing so far. The port audit lists what isn't exercised yet. It also covers the original developers' unfinished features and has a modding map.

Theme Park is © Bullfrog Productions / Electronic Arts. This is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by them.