This list represents all the Options.txt flags we have come across over the years. Similar to the observation we made in the Cheats FAQ, it seems that not everyone offering a list of Options.txt flags provides all the known flags in one list. The purpose of including a list of these flags in our FAQ is so that all the flags can be found in one location. Please do let us know if we missed one.

Just like a cheat, an Options.txt flag is a code we enter into RCT3 to enable the game to do something it ordinarily can’t do without the code during regular game play. While a cheat or unlockable is activated by re-naming a guest in a loaded park we'll set up our flagging needs in the Options.txt file prior to launching RCT3.

The use of Options.txt flags is a little more complicated than simply opening the Options.txt file and typing in the changes. The contents of Options.txt can be unstable in that depending on what one types directly into the file sometimes Options.txt will unexpectedly drop some of the data we’ve typed in. On occasion, instead of dropping the data it will rearrange the flags by moving some of the entries to another location within the various flags.

We should take care when changing our display settings through Options.txt. If we altered Options.txt to display in a resolution for a 2048 x 1556 monitor and the actual monitor connected to our computer is 1440 x 1080 then one of two things will happen:

Good Scenario:

The game engine will simply replace the Options.txt resolution data of our monitor (that we typed in) with the actual resolution data of our monitor after which the game will play as regular at our actual screen resolution. Alternatively

Not So Good Scenario:

RCT3 will not launch and will not display any error message. With nothing but a black computer screen to look at we will have to bring up Task Manager and end the RCT3Plus.exe process from there.

When RCT3 drops the entries we ourselves have typed into Options.txt likely this is due to the game engine determining that what we have typed into Options.txt is not possible to execute given our existing platform, configuration, installation, or what further tweaks we may have additionally typed into Options.txt.

Some Options.txt entries are dependent on other entries already being flagged inside Options.txt in order to work. For example, if we want to see drops of water trickling off our lens when our view ascends out of a body of water, in addition to flagging WaterDroplets we must also enable Refraction.

That the entries written inside Options.txt are sometimes dropped depending on where we type them in would also indicate some importance to the order in which we type in our tweaks. Unfortunately it's still somewhat of a mystery in what order the game engine prefers these tweaks placed. A rough guide to adding new Options.txt flags (if not altering existing flags) would be to place them after the Cache Warming and Brightness entries alongside existing Options.txt entries that give a similar effect. One should avoid placing all new Options.txt flags at the end of all the text to be found when opening the Options.txt file; the Background Music and Language entries should be the last two flags in the list. Flags added after these two entries are more likely to be moved or dropped.

More often than not RCT3 will drop what has been typed into Options.txt if it is possible to change those settings from within the game (e.g., LOD settings, reflective water settings). That would suggest that what’s can be tweaked while playing the game takes priority over what the game engine finds inside Options.txt. In view of this we recommend not changing anything inside the Options.txt file that it is possible to change through the GUI with RCT3 launched.

We might wish to confine making Options.txt tweaks to three or four at a time and observing after each gameplay session is done which flags have remained and if the order in which we’ve typed them has changed.

We should save a copy of our Options.txt file after we’ve made any flagging adjustments to it and before launching our game. This way, when we get Options.txt tweaks to work we'll have a copy of the working Options.txt file already put aside for future use without any worries that the game engine may have made any adjustments to our entries. Our Options.txt backup copies are most conveniently saved inside another folder alongside the Options.txt file that is currently in use. Of course our backup copies can be named in a way that gives some indication of the changes we've made to the flag entries in that particular copy.

Editing Options.txt

When editing Options.txt most community members automatically turn to the Notepad application that comes with MS Windows and will therefore experience Notepad's limitations while editing. For our community's Options.txt editing needs NotePad++ is a better choice.

NotePad++ is a huge improvement over MS Notepad. Although in NotePad++ we can edit a large variety of scripts and then save the data in over a hundred different file extensions NotePad++ can also be used as a convenient, extended notepad for simple, everyday needs.

NotePad++ displays the entries inside Options.txt files in the way that our game engine views them, with each entry on its own line as opposed to presenting this information in the wall of text as displayed by MS Notepad. Viewing our Options.txt entries on separate lines makes it convenient for us to edit and add individual entries. This has been demonstrated in the following images with the default Options.txt file that comes with a new install of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.

NotePad++ is great for when we're trying out different Options.txt flags. If we've launched RCT3 with our Options.txt file opened in NotePad++ and the game engine changes the content of Options.txt, NotePad++ will give a message on the fly asking if we want to update the text contents in its display so that we may read the changes made by the game engine. There are three things we could do when that happens:

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If we want to see what changes have been made we'd opt into updating the flags as prompted by Notepad++.

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Saving our flags without opting into the update will temporarily lock in the changes we typed into the contents of Options.txt so that they're again ready exactly as we typed them for when we next launch RCT3.

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Using Save As in addition to updating the flags will enable us to compare a copy of the updated Options.txt flags to the Options.txt changes that we typed in.

NotePad++ is free and a link to it is located at the end of this article.

After we’ve done with our Options.txt tweaks we can either leave our tweaks in place or conveniently replace the altered Options.txt file with the version of Options.txt that we always like to use.

If our Options.txt file becomes corrupted, while it is possible to delete it and launch RCT3 in order to replace the default Options.txt file, before attempting any Options.txt tweaks the abovementioned backup copy of our Options.txt files will be to hand should we encounter a file corruption.

Because of the difference in file hierarchies that sometimes come with downloaded versions of RCT3 we may find that Options.txt edits are not possible with our installation of RCT3 if the version of RCT3 that we use has been downloaded rather than installed from disc.

Our List

After each Options.txt entry in our list below we’ve put the flag values that need to be entered [in square brackets] along with the entry. Unless otherwise specified each entry needs to be flagged either with a 0 or a 1. Where possible we’ve indicated what each flag does during game play. In instances where we do not know what the flag does we’ve left the space after that entry blank.

Having written that let’s get on with our list:

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AdvancedPhysics

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AggressiveZBias

May reduce flickering on older, low-end video cards.

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AllowAutoTerrainFlatten

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AllowSameTrackIntersect or TrackAllowSameTrackIntersect

A flag that's handy when we simply want to permit the intersection of a single track with itself. Use with "AttractionSceneryAllowSceneryIntersect" and "AttractionSceneryAllowTerrainIntersect" to build tracks that intersect other tracks.

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AllowTestAllTrackedRides

This will allow you to test all the rides in your park, even those that come without test mode.

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AlphaRemap

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AnimalsLOD

[detail level value 0-3]

[draw distance value 0-3]

Set the LOD options for animals.

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AttractionSceneryAllowSceneryIntersect

Use with "AllowSameTrackIntersect or TrackAllowSameTrackIntersect" and "AttractionSceneryAllowTerrainIntersect" to build tracks that intersect themselves and intersect other tracks.

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AttractionSceneryAllowTerrainIntersect

Enables building tracks through terrain. Also use with "AttractionSceneryAllowSceneryIntersect" and "AllowSameTrackIntersect or TrackAllowSameTrackIntersect" to build tracks that intersect themselves and intersect other tracks.

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AutoLevelTerrain

When placing flat rides this flag will level the terrain in 1m increments immediately below the ride. Terrain tile cliff edges will remain exposed. Works whether or not AttractionSceneryAllowTerrainIntersect is flagged.

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AutoLODDensityEnd

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AutoScrollAtEdge

Enable or disable auto-scrolling when the cursor is at the edge of our screen.

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BackgroundMusic

["filename.ext"]

Set the background music to be played in the game. To use, insert exact name of file (with extension) and place in quotes as above. If the music file name gets changed through Windows Explorer, this options.txt entry will need to be updated.

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BlendSceneryLODs

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Bloom

A glow effect will be applied to bright areas. On low-end graphics cards, instead of a glow effect all light areas will display with brightness blow out.

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Bool_AutoDetectBatchCutoff

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Brightness

[0.0 to 1.0]

Set the brightness at which the game displays. Too low a brightness will make the whites display in unpleasant shades of gray.

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BuildingsLOD

[detail level value 0.0-3.0]

[draw distance value 0.0-3.0]

Set the LOD options for buildings.

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CameraControls (only available in Advanced View)

[0, 1, or 2]

0

right mouse button: zoom and rotate

left & right buttons: move

middle mouse button: rotate & tilt

mouse wheel: tilt

1

right mouse button: move

left & right buttons: rotate & tilt

middle mouse button: rotate & tilt

mouse wheel: zoom

2

right mouse button: rotate & tilt

left & right buttons: move

middle mouse button: rotate & tilt

mouse wheel: zoom