chorkiel

• Offline
• Netherlands

• Accolade Panelist

For NEDC6, I decided to analyze and evaluate my way of voting. We were specifically asked not to rank the entries, but with 14 parks all using the same coaster, I needed a way to understand why I’d rate one park over another. That’d also help when writing reviews.

 

My regular system when voting is as follows. I open a park for the first time and often quite soon have a sense which category/range it belongs in. I start at the entrance and explore the park checking out details along the way. Then I always open the ride and staff menus to find things I might have missed. Then I do a second pass, focusing more critically on things like architecture, macro design, and foliage, to challenge or confirm my first impression. I usually wait a day or two before voting to let it settle in.

The goal of this method is to reduce subjectivity. But obviously opinions are never completely excluded, nor should they.

 

For NEDC6, I started an Excel-sheet to break down my ratings. I started the same: explored each park, gave it a score, and realized I needed a system to compare them. So I began building a list of categories to justify and guide my scores. When opening the parks I kept adding categories, but I ended up with:

 

- Idea

- Macro

- Architecture

- Foliage

- Micro

- Interaction (outside NEDC that'd also include layout)

- Atmosphere

- Aesthetics

 

This is definitely not everything, but these were the main factors I found myself using to judge entries. I don’t think there’s a big difference in the things I look at for parks or designs. Although some categories may weigh stronger for designs and for parks. For example, I do think I’m more critical of layouts for designs. As well as looking whether a ride is the true standout/centerpiece of it, as that is what the category is for.

 

Haven’t done a similar breakdown for what makes me give a yes-vote on spotlights, but I think the following elements are key: overall quality, (cultural) impact, merit and the feeling that the park is a landmark release in the community.

This is such a fantastic piece of art. The music and the whole story come together so well. Is this based on your own memories? Because everything feels so real and lived in. As for RCT, I think it's very impressive how you managed to get all these different scenes to come together so well. I think I spent the most time in this map both times when I was judging them. Just strolling around and taking it all in. Which is funny because it's one of the quietest maps of all. Just stellar work! This work instantly connected with me. This park has been on my mind every since I first opened it. 

 

Like posix wrote it's courageous move to make such a personal and artsy design but it really paid off! While I think the Cartographer is pretty much a perfect design submission. This one was my favorite entry of the contest. Congratulations on a well-deserved win and your new elite parkmaker title!
 

On my first viewing I just started saying out loud how good this is. There were a few examplary designs in this contest, but this design shows what the category was created for. The ride is showcased so well and everything around it is just perfection.The architecture being a main standout in terms of park content. The map edges were a very cool and original idea that really took this to another level. On the one hand this map feels very surreal or fantastical and on the other it's super easy to envision yourself being there. Incredible work!

 

And congratulations on the well deserved elite parkmaker title!

These were my initial thoughts when rating it:

This is fantastic! As of this writing I don't know the score and I'm not sure whether this will make you parkmaker or even elite. I'd say both are deserved. At first view I thought it was a bit messy, but when diving some deeper in the map that's just busy by design. The architecture was another clear standout for me: Belle Isle meets Park Guell? Congrats on this!

 

Some additional thoughts:

Outright loved this release and it was one of my favorites of the contest. It truly felt like a design in the classic sense: the coaster was a centerpiece, but everything around it elevated its impact while also standing out on its own. Every building had its own distinct character as did each ride. The mosaic pathways and colored railings tied everything together but also gave each area its own identity.

 

I debated with myself on whether 90 would be too high of a score. Then I looked at the top rated designs page. In my opinion, this is easily up there with designs like El Encierro and Vulture. Congratulations on making parkmaker! Not elite yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see you make that soon.

This was such a cool idea! One of my favorite concepts in the contest. The park itself was a bit overstimulating to me. There was so much going on and often not in the best way. It made the park hard to read generally. You made some interesting design choices, some worked better than others. The overall shaping of the rockwork with the plants was great, but it didn't really come together with the architecture for me.

 

Congratulations on making it to parkmaker! My score may not reflect it but I genuinely think you deserve it. You've come such a long way in building and your creativity is top tier. And it makes me happy that you got it by building in your signature style.