New RC Tycoon 3 expansion

Atari has announced that a new expansion pack for PC theme park sim RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is currently in development.

RCT3: Wild! [I! Wish! They'd! Stop! Doing! That! - Ed] features nine new scenarios, eight new coasters and more than 20 species of animals to populate your very own safari park with.

You can interact with the animals, choosing their food and toys, tickling them and waking them up if they're snoozing instead of doing something interesting like fighting each other or eating each other or doing something else to each other. Plus you can make the little beggars perform on cue by organising Lion tamer shows and the like.

As well as the new rollercoasters there are eighteen 'flat' rides and four transport rides - a paddle steamer, elephant rides, speedboats and a safari SUV. The latter is likely to prove particularly useful since animals are prone to escaping every now and again, leaving you to take chase and bring them down with a tranquiliser dart or two.

And finally, the expansion pack lets you design your own shops and ad billboards to put your own original content in the game for the very first time.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild! is due out ["will be released," surely? - Ed] this autumn.