RobDedede

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• United States

• Accolade Panelist

1. Before anything else I say, I know that I might catch flak for my score on this entry, but I don’t care. The accolade panel isn’t designed to be an objective, AI-like rating system; it’s supposed to capture the median opinion of a park from a representative range of aesthetic preferences from various established community members. The only thing I regret to say is that I don’t have more time to write more expansive, detailed thoughts on the map because it truly deserves them. 

2. With that said, I’ll begin the purely technical, “objective” side of the map, which on its own is superb. You’ve managed to incorporate various different areas and moments in a brilliantly cohesive manner. The sunset effect is effective, not tacky, and not distracting at all. Brilliant. Your usage of text to give context to the viewer is also effective, and did not distract me; it almost left a sensation like the map was a mosaic of postcards, each of a moment you spent with a particular person whom I am assuming the majority of this map represents. 

3. With that as a transition, let me now discuss what I really want to discuss, and the reason why I gave this map a 100. First, I have dealt with moments of loss and grief in my own life, so the map’s narrative immediately spoke to me from that perspective. It’s a beautiful, respectful tribute that I really admire. We have to ask ourselves - what is the point of RCT as an art form? I don’t care if people cringe at that question, and I suspect the cringe comes from their own insecurity. The reality is we all love this game, and for many of us, RCT is a primary creative outlet, used to express our interests, experiences, and shared interest in roller coasters and roller coaster games. Beyond that, however, RCT can act as a vehicle of artistic expression beyond merely making theme parks. Sure, a re-creation of a famous ride is cool, and it might even be the backbone of the game and the community, but for me there is also room for pensive, emotional artwork to take center stage. Am I saying that all forms of this more “serious” type of RCT immediately receive a 100 because it’s emotionally important to the builder? No. What I am saying is that this park in particular is a splendid mixture of strong technical skill in the game, a moving, personal artistic narrative, and a frankly bold and inspiring choice to share the community in what I suspect is your grief. I am firmly of the opinion that scores of 100 should be possible, and should be reserved for parks that define the viewer’s memory of a particular “era” of RCT (maybe every few years or so). In that sense, this park accomplishes that goal for me, and then some. Like I said, I wish I had more time to dedicate to reviewing this park and my justification for its score, but I have many, many other things I have to write, and so little time. Congratulations, nonetheless. This park made me emotional in a good way. 

• Truly incredible work. The cartography theme is clever, with a cool aesthetic gimmick that is both well-integrated into the limits of RCT, not too distracting, and overall additive to the viewing experience. You took an age-old theme and added a fun new layer, with clever usage of niche and new objects. The way you made the map look tattered is so cool! I love the usage of all-black rocks, as they add to the feeling that the park takes place on some kind of remote, volcanic island. Next, to the macro and architecture. First, I adore how you enclosed the main square around the Cartographer’s station as a walled fort, which adds to the immersion of the theme taking place long ago when those were still functional and necessary. Last thing to note is the supporting rides add to the park and do not detract from the main coaster, and are amazingly well-integrated on the map. A highlight for me was the sextant and other navigation tools near Voyage of the Seven Seas.

Perpetuum Mobile is one of my favorite songs, and the theme centered around Gaudi is superb. In terms of atmosphere, theme, and overall vibe this entry (unsurprisingly) landed VERY well with me. What’s also so impressive about this entry is the difficulty of translating Gaudi’s architecture into RCT, and you’ve managed to do it. The combination of Fisch rock pieces with other elements is truly impressive, and frankly I consider this entry to be ground breaking in terms of architectural exploration within RCT. Too often I think there is a focus on gimmicks, object creation, and extreme micro detailing in terms of the “meta.” Instead, this entry leans in HARD to elements of the game like aesthetics, form, color, and balance, which I think can play just as big a role in pushing our community toward fresh, new, cool RCT as the extreme micro detailing stuff. I am sure my review reads as mere gushing praise, and it mostly is, mostly because I cannot hide my positive bias for this type of theme and design style. Congratulations!

1. Some pure Jaguar density right here, and I’m here for it. Imagining outer space like a giant ocean is a really cool idea, and I am surprised nobody has ever thought of it. The massive tentacles reaching out from the void is such a cool moment, as are all the various alien animals swimming/floating around, again utilizing the new custom staff member feature. The coaster’s station as a giant floating space station was a great choice and added a nice color contrast with the majority of the map. Your style is obviously very dense and messy, and always has been, but I think with this map you managed to achieve a degree of cohesion and clarity despite the clutter that works well. Maybe it is due to the theme and the clutter therefore making more sense, but I also think much of it is owed to improved technical precision and design choices. Nice work!

1. Fun little entry here. For me it is hard not to compare it to a recent park with a similar UFO theme - Yucca Desert Park - and while I enjoy both, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this park features comparably less content and advanced technical execution in terms of the UFO effects. Despite that, the way you have landscaped the map such that it appears the UFOs are scarring the Earth itself in an all-out invasion is as fun as it is cartoonish. The large power lines were also a cool feature that added some visual balance to the map. Nice work overall, and though a bit short on content, the map was deserving of a design award in my eyes.