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NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation

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NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Ole Lange
Publisher O.L. Software (Mad Data GmbH & Co. KG at the 2014 Steam launch)
Platform SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform)
Device HTC Vive, Oculus Rift CV1, Oculus Rift DK2
Operating System Windows, MacOS
Type Full Game
Genre Indie, Simulation, Realistic, Level Editor, Sandbox, VR, Adventure
Input Device Gamepad, Keyboard / Mouse, Tracked motion controllers
Play Area Seated
Game Mode Single Player
Language English
Version 2.6.8.1 (January 2026)
Review Overwhelmingly Positive (Steam user reviews, October 2026)
Release Date January 10, 2014 (website); August 21, 2014 (Steam)
Price US$39.99
App Store Steam
Website https://nolimitscoaster.com
Infobox Updated 10/12/2026
See also: VR Apps and VR Games

NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation (usually shortened to NoLimits 2 or NL2) is a roller coaster design and ride simulation program for Windows and macOS, developed by the German programmer Ole Lange with a small team. It combines a park and track editor with a real-time, physics-based ride mode in which the player can sit in any seat of a train and ride the finished coaster.[1][2] The game was first sold from its official website on 10 January 2014 and was released on Steam on 21 August 2014, where it was priced at US$39.99 as of October 2026.[3][1]

Oculus Rift support arrived for the Development Kit 2 in November 2014, the consumer Rift was supported through Oculus Runtime 1.3 in 2016, and experimental OpenVR support for the HTC Vive followed in June 2016.[4][5] Later updates added VR motion controller support with a teleportation mode (2022) and experimental OpenXR support (December 2022).[6][7] The free demo, listed on Steam as a separate demo item named "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation Demo", is covered in this article.

Reviewed 12 October 2026. Same-subject check of the demo (Steam app 319260), developer and publisher history, release dates, prices, DLC, demo limits, coaster style counts, VR support and update history, development history, review quotes and scores, Steam rating, Metacritic status and system requirements, checked against the Steam store and news API, the official site, Theme Park Insider, Coaster101, The Rift Arcade, TPReview, Rock Paper Shotgun and Metacritic. About review dates.

Gameplay

NoLimits 2 has two main activities: riding coasters and building them. In ride mode the train is driven by the physics simulation; the Rift Arcade's reviewer noted that there is no manual speed control and that gravity and the weight of the cars decide how the ride behaves.[8] The player can choose any seat, car, train and coaster, switch between onboard, free, target and fly-by cameras, and leave the train in a walk mode with collision detection.[1] A control panel lets the player run a coaster automatically, dispatch trains and work the harnesses and gates by hand, or move to manual block and full manual modes that control individual brakes and train movements.[9]

Unlike NoLimits 1, which split the editor and simulator into separate applications, NoLimits 2 puts the track editor, terrain editor and simulator into one program.[9] A design starts with a park, which can hold more than one coaster. Track is shaped with a spline system: Coaster101 described vertex nodes that set the direction and curve of the track, roll nodes that set the banking, an auto-bank function that calculates banking for the expected speed, and separators that divide the track into sections such as lifts and brakes.[9] The editor also has switches and transfer tracks, dual and synchronized stations for duelling coasters, block sections, worn-track levels, terrain sculpting with automatically generated tunnels, and a force vector track element designer.[1][9] A scripting language can animate flat rides and scene objects, and custom scenery can be imported as DAE (Collada), 3DS or LWO files.[10]

At launch the game had 37 coaster styles, from an Arrow suspended coaster to an S&S 4th Dimension coaster.[9] The official site says NoLimits 2 added 11 new styles to the NoLimits 1 set, including 4D, suspended, flying and wing coasters.[10] The Wing Coaster arrived in update 2.1.0.0 in December 2014, update 2.2 in September 2015 brought the total to 40 styles, and the hybrid coaster styles of update 2.6 (January 2020) raised it to 43.[11][3] Parks and coasters are shared through the Steam Workshop, which the game began using in October 2014.[12]

Virtual reality support

The developers began working on Rift support with the DK1 and DK2 development kits during 2014, and in an interview with Theme Park Insider team member Tom Zeliff said the team was adding the Rift to the game.[13][2] Update 2.0.8.0 on 27 November 2014 added support for the DK2, detected automatically at startup with Oculus Runtime 0.43 installed; the demo of the same version also supported the Rift.[4] In a December 2014 review, the Rift Arcade reported that the program then ran only in the Rift's extended mode, that the track editor did not support the headset, and that the in-game menus did not follow head tracking.[8]

In June 2016 the developers stated that VR controllers were not yet supported and that mouse and keyboard were still required for interaction;[5] the Steam store still lists "Keyboard or gamepad required" under VR support.[1] Update 2.5.2.0 (June 2017) made the whole play mode and main menu usable with an Xbox controller, which the developers called "especially important for VR", together with an improved VR interface and scale fixes to some coaster styles for realism in VR.[14] Motion controller support came in update 2.6.2.0 in March 2022, together with VR comfort options and a teleportation mode.[6] In 2.6.4.0 (April 2023) the game began generating interactive 3D station control panels whose buttons can be pressed with a finger when using VR controllers, with lights, sounds and vibration as feedback.[15]

Version Date VR-related change
2.0.8.0 27 November 2014 Oculus Rift DK2 support (Oculus Runtime 0.43); Rift support included in the demo[4]
2.2 22 September 2015 Updated Oculus SDK requiring runtime 0.6 or newer (0.7 or newer on Windows 10); new --vr and --novr options[11]
2.2.3.7 22 February 2016 Oculus 0.8 SDK; developers stated the game was "ready for the Oculus CV1"[16]
2.2.4.2 (beta) 21 April 2016 Experimental Oculus Runtime 1.3 support for CV1 and DK2 on the Steam beta branch[17]
2.2.4.6 24 June 2016 Main menu shown in 3D space in VR; R key recenters the view; experimental OpenVR support; Oculus Runtime 1.3 devices detected first, then OpenVR; VR controllers not yet supported[5]
2.5.2.0 25 June 2017 Full Xbox controller control of play mode and menus; improved VR interface; scale fixes for VR[14]
2.5.5 17 April 2018 Lower-latency frame times for VR; two new parks optimized for VR[18]
2.6.2.0 4 March 2022 VR controller support, VR comfort options and teleportation mode[6]
2.6.2.1 18 March 2022 VR vignette disabled by default[19]
2.6.3.0 21 December 2022 Experimental OpenXR API support; lag-free loading screen in VR[7]
2.6.4.0 6 April 2023 Interactive 3D control panels usable with VR motion controllers[15]
2.6.8.0 21 December 2025 Two temporal anti-aliasing options, recommended by the developers "especially for VR"[20]

Steam's feature list limits Rift support to the Windows version. The Steam system requirements list "SteamVR or Oculus PC" and state that the Rift DK2 or CV1 needs Oculus runtime 1.3, while the HTC Vive works through OpenVR and SteamVR.[1]

Development

NoLimits 2 is the sequel to the NoLimits Roller Coaster Simulation, first released in November 2001 for Windows and later ported to Mac OS X. The official site describes it as one of the first 3D roller coaster simulation packages; it used OpenGL for real-time rendering and let users design track elements of any kind with Bezier-like splines, which the site gives as the main origin of the name.[10] In a 2014 interview with Theme Park Insider, Tom Zeliff said that he started the project because existing coaster games did not let players build exactly what they wanted. He teamed up with Ole Lange, a German programmer who was finishing his programming degree in the late 1990s, after seeing Lange's screenshots of a recreation of the Schwarzkopf coaster Thriller; Lange became lead programmer and Zeliff designed the trains, and Kevin Stone later joined them.[2]

According to Zeliff, Michael Graham, then working with Custom Coaster International, taught the team how wooden coasters behave, and a 2004 project with Vekoma on its Motorbike Coaster was the first time the team worked with a ride manufacturer. Work with Maurer Söhne, Gerstlauer, Mack and Great Coasters International followed, and Zeliff said the software was used in offices "to quickly display designs".[2] Lange began work on the new engine for NoLimits 2 in 2007.[2] The official site quotes ride designer John Wardley as saying that NoLimits "helps all our development teams to understand exactly what a proposed ride will look and feel like" before construction starts, and the Steam listing names Vekoma Rides Manufacturing, The Gravity Group, Great Coasters International, Premier, Maurer Söhne and Intamin among manufacturers that have used NoLimits for layout, design, visualization and marketing.[10][1]

The developer of record on Steam is Ole Lange, and the official website's legal notice lists Ole Lange (Software Dienstleistungen) in Hamburg, Germany, as the site operator.[1][21] Update announcements are signed "The NL Dev Team".[3]

Release

The Windows version went on sale on the official website on 10 January 2014, along with a free demo; the developers later called that date the game's anniversary when they released update 2.6 on 10 January 2020.[3][9][13] The Steam version was released on 21 August 2014. When it launched, the Steam store named Mad Data GmbH & Co. KG as publisher; the current listing names O.L. Software.[22][1] Website buyers could request a free Steam key.[13] The developers now sell the game on Steam only, and the official site says the earlier standalone version was dropped so the team could concentrate on Steam; standalone customers can still ask for a Steam key.[23] The Steam edition is identical to the Standard Edition.[1]

In October 2014 the developers said a Mac version was about 90 percent complete but had been given lower priority;[13] it was released with update 2.5.5 in April 2018, and update 2.6.3.0 in December 2022 added native Apple Silicon support.[18][7] Feature updates such as 2.5 and 2.6 were released free to owners of the game,[24][3] while the Vekoma MK1101 coaster style is a paid add-on.

Demo

Steam header art of the free demo

A free demo was released on Steam on 21 August 2014 under the name "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation Demo"; the Steam store now offers the demo download from the main game's page.[25][1] The demo can be used for 15 days, has 4 coaster styles and 3 demo parks, saves only tracks with up to 10 vertices, and cannot record video or take screenshots.[1] The official website's feature list adds that play mode is limited to 30 minutes in the demo and that package and element files cannot be exported.[10] Coaster101 identified the four demo styles at launch as Schwarzkopf classic looping trains, Timberliners, B&M Hyper V-trains and the B&M Dive Coaster.[9]

Editions and add-ons

A Professional Edition for professional users was available as an upgrade from the official website by November 2014, when update 2.0.7.4 let the Steam version detect a professional license key.[26] On Steam the upgrade is the "Professional License" DLC, listed with a release date of 30 April 2022 and priced at US$54.99.[27] The official site compares the two licenses as follows.[23]

Feature Standard Professional
Commercial use of screenshots or videos No Yes
Maximum video capture size 1280x720 4096x4096
Spline import and export No Yes
360-degree (equirectangular) video export No Yes
Video motion blur No Yes
Website watermark in exported video Yes No
Poster and transparent-background screenshots No Yes
Custom friction No Yes
Password protection for tracks No Yes

Neither license may be used to give rides to the public. The official site excludes any attraction, arcade, motion simulator or "VR ride system" used to give rides to the public in venues such as amusement parks, arcades, museums and fairs, and offers a separate Attraction License for those uses.[23]

The Vekoma MK1101 DLC was released on 4 June 2024 at US$3.99. Made under an official license from Vekoma Rides Manufacturing, it adds a new train and track with launch and chain-lift versions and two new parks, and it is available on Steam only.[28][29]

Major updates

Version Date Main additions
2.1.0.0 23 December 2014 Wing Coaster style; two new parks[11]
2.2 22 September 2015 Direct3D 11 renderer; telemetry interface over TCP/IP; Infinity coaster styles (40 styles in total)[11]
2.2.3.0 23 December 2015 Enterprise and Pirate Ship flat rides; stereo 3D TV mode[24]
2.5 10 January 2017 Deferred shading renderer with SSAO, bloom, sun shafts and HDR[24]
2.5.5 April 2018 macOS version; tilt track element[18]
2.6 10 January 2020 Hybrid coaster styles (43 styles in total); rewritten wooden support generator[3]
2.6.2.0 4 March 2022 VR controllers and comfort options[6]
2.6.3.0 21 December 2022 Native Apple Silicon support; experimental OpenXR[7]
2.6.6.0 26 December 2024 Path system for walkways; PBR materials for track and supports[30]
2.6.8.0 21 December 2025 Temporal anti-aliasing options; terrain import and export (Professional)[20]
2.6.8.1 21 January 2026 Bug-fix patch[31]

Reception

Publication Score Notes
Coaster101 9.5/10 Review of the January 2014 website release[9]
The Rift Arcade 9.2/10 Review of the Oculus Rift version; Oculus Rift experience sub-score 9.6[8]
TPReview 8/10 Review of the Steam version[32]

Larry Treece of Coaster101 called the game "a solid roller coaster simulator" and wrote that he "would not be surprised if parks start to use it for marketing purposes"; he praised the redesigned editor, the lighting and the water reflections.[9] Tom Rudderham of the Rift Arcade wrote that in VR "the sense of scale is spot-on" and that the game "sets a new bar for VR coaster sims", after naming earlier Rift coaster games including Atlantis: Infinite Coaster. He also noted the screen door effect of the headset and warned that players new to VR might feel unwell.[8] TPReview's Thomas Souter described it as "much more of a tool than a game" and criticized the limited scenery and empty parks, but concluded that anyone interested in coaster design had no other sensible option.[32] Rock Paper Shotgun covered the November 2014 Rift update in a news post.[33]

On Steam, 96 percent of 1,547 user reviews were positive as of October 2026, an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating.[1] Metacritic lists the PC version with the developer Ole Lange and publisher Mad Data, but shows no Metascore ("tbd").[34]

System requirements

Current requirements as listed on Steam:[1]

Windows minimum Windows recommended macOS minimum macOS recommended
OS Windows Vista Windows 10 or newer (64-bit strongly recommended) macOS 10.9.5 macOS 10.12 or newer
Processor 2.4 GHz dual core 3.2 GHz quad core Intel Core i5 Intel Core i7 or Apple Silicon
Memory 4 GB RAM 8 GB RAM 4 GB RAM 8 GB RAM
Graphics DirectX 10.0 hardware (Shader Model 3 or later), 512 MB VRAM DirectX 11 hardware (Shader Model 5 or later), 1 GB VRAM or more OpenGL 3.3, 512 MB VRAM OpenGL 4.1, discrete Radeon or better, 1 GB VRAM
Storage 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB
VR SteamVR or Oculus PC; keyboard or gamepad required; Oculus Rift DK2/CV1 needs runtime 1.3; HTC Vive through OpenVR and SteamVR Not listed

At its 2014 launch the game ran on Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or later.[9] In 2023, patch 2.6.3.2 fixed a crash when running on Linux through Wine or Proton.[35]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation on Steam". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/app/301320/NoLimits_2_Roller_Coaster_Simulation/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jacob Sundstrom (2014-11-16). "Meet the Team Behind the NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulator". Theme Park Insider. https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201411/4295/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "New Update 2.6 Released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2020-01-20. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/3690071589857030921. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Now with Oculus Rift support!". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2014-11-27. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/522745035936513634. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "New Update 2.2.4.6 with improved VR released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2016-06-24. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/250329347068488408. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "New Update 2.6.2.0 Uploaded". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2022-03-04. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/4247462367432122133. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "New Update 2.6.3.0 released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2022-12-21. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/5000716037438926315. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Tom Rudderham (2014-12-12). "NoLimits 2 Review on Oculus Rift". The Rift Arcade. https://web.archive.org/web/20141228171011/http://www.theriftarcade.com/nolimits-2-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 Larry Treece (2014-01-12). "NoLimits 2: A Review". Coaster101. https://www.coaster101.com/2014/01/12/nolimits-2-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "Info - NoLimits 2". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/info. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "News (2014-2015 updates)". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/news?start=10. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  12. ↑ "NoLimits 2 is using Workshop now!". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2014-10-16. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/521615416604553498. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "News (2014 announcements)". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/news?start=15. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "New update 2.5.2.0 released with improved Xbox controller support". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2017-06-25. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/2564086801846718670. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "New Update 2.6.4.0 available". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2023-04-06. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/5121196841289219518. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  16. ↑ "New update 2.2.3.7 with Oculus Runtime changes". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2016-02-22. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/295354025638515261. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  17. ↑ "New Beta 2.2.4.2 with Oculus Runtime 1.3 for CV1/DK2 released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2016-04-21. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/255953140172406452. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Now available for Mac! New Update 2.5.5. released.". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2018-04-17. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/2758894130305100636. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  19. ↑ "Update 2.6.2.1 released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2022-03-18. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/4259848535831349276. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Warm Winter Wishes". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2025-12-21. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/1819386365099771. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  21. ↑ "Impressum". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/impressum. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  22. ↑ "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation on Steam (archived 23 August 2014)". Steam. Valve Corporation. 2014-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20140823164717/http://store.steampowered.com/app/301320/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 "Buy Now - NoLimits 2". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/buy-now. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "News (2015-2017 updates)". NoLimits Coaster (official website). Ole Lange. https://www.nolimitscoaster.com/index.php/news?start=5. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  25. ↑ "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation Demo". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/app/319260/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  26. ↑ "New update 2.0.7.4 available". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2014-11-05. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/521617330196498076. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  27. ↑ "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation - Professional License". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/app/305170/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  28. ↑ "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation - Vekoma MK1101". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2539050/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  29. ↑ "New DLC available: The Vekoma MK1101 Coaster Style". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2024-06-06. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/5746109972548767059. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  30. ↑ "New Update 2.6.6.0 released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2024-12-26. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/1786573930844720. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  31. ↑ "Small Patch released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2026-01-21. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/1822556746156301. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Thomas Souter (2014-08-29). "NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation Review (PC)". TPReview. https://web.archive.org/web/20141025212927/http://www.tpreview.co.uk/blog/2014/08/29/nolimits-2-roller-coaster-simulation-review-pc/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  33. ↑ Alice O'Connor (2014-11-27). "Vomculus: NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Sim Adds Rift". Rock Paper Shotgun. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/11/27/roller-coaster-simulator-oculus-rift/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  34. ↑ "NoLimits 2: Roller Coaster Simulation". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/nolimits-2-roller-coaster-simulation/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  35. ↑ "Small Patch 2.6.3.2 released". Steam News. NoLimits 2 developers. 2023-02-02. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/301320/view/5035622743880164802. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
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