helmsdeepstate

• Offline

Thanks for the recommendation, SSSammy! Map size is something I'm getting curious about. It'd be awesome to see you touch on that in the series. How does one pick a map size, how much space should be left around the map edge, how does one setup a map of a particular size for contests that have map size rules, etc.

Thank you for keeping this series going, SSSammy! I really liked the office hours and am grateful to therty for submitting their park and you for giving such insightful feedback on it.

And thanks to both you and posix for the valuable feedback on *my* park. I admit I was a bit stuck on how to incorporate it, and like magic, you posted an episode all about that. That got me unstuck, and here's my work so far on the wild mouse.

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-09-01 15-10-48.png (1.13MB)
downloads: 39

Still not sure what I'm going to do about the jumbled queue lines and the theming on the looping coaster, but I'm going to poke around the site here a bit and see if I can get some inspiration for those.

I've also started a kids area that has a junior coaster, a truck ride, a mini railroad, a couple flat rides, and a restaurant.

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-09-01 15-05-15.png (1.13MB)
downloads: 46

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-09-01 15-29-43.png (1.8MB)
downloads: 45

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-09-01 15-30-02.png (1.61MB)
downloads: 44

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-09-01 15-31-26.png (1.46MB)
downloads: 39

I thought the junior coaster would be fun to ride as it goes back and forth between the forest and the more open mushroom field. The truck ride starts with a "tutorial" before going on an adventure through some tough terrain, including a moment where you come around a blind corner and it would look like you're about to drive into the pond. Not exactly sure what I want to do with the rest of the area yet.

I'm really grateful for all the encouragement and constructive criticism so far! Happy to receive more of both!

I've really been enjoying the new episodes, SSSammy, and I've been working on my park a bit more. I've been traveling and working a bit more than usual, so haven't had much time myself to post. But here's to fixing that!

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-08-07 15-13-26.png (953.97KB)
downloads: 57

I've been focusing on two areas in my park. The first section is based off of that Schwarzkopf I built earlier. I thought it would be interesting if this is an older part of the park that has more flat rides and cheaper coasters and other tracked rides. I'm mostly just goofing around with the theming and would love some feedback or ideas particularly on that part.

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-08-07 15-13-40.png (1010.7KB)
downloads: 62

The second area was initially based on the glass idea I was using around the entrance. One thing I love about zoos is when they enclose part of a water habitat with glass and you can go down and see manatees or dolphins or whatever swimming underwater. I thought it might fun to imitate that with the submarine ride, and then I thought it'd be fun to have a coaster that appears to go underwater, as well.

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-08-07 15-13-58.png (915.08KB)
downloads: 58

 Fundamentals Bench 2025-08-07 15-15-13.png (1.53MB)
downloads: 47

After watching SSSammy's great interview with Steve, I think the thing I'm struggling with the most is macro. So, I sat down to plan a bit more, and I realized that, because I've never done something like this before, I don't know what I like and what I don't like. Seeing more examples in this series, in the parks from the Steve interview, and in other parks around New Element, I'm starting to get a better idea. I think I'm at peace with the idea that the macro (and other things) for this first park might just suck a lot but the act of doing it will help me better understand what I need to do differently next time.

As always, I warmly welcome any positive or negative feedback!

You're welcome, and thanks again for doing this series! Super helpful!

I've also made some more progress on my park and would love more feedback!

 Fundamental Forest - Full Park -- 2025-07-07.png (625.2KB)
downloads: 52

I added more foliage to the entrance, per feedback above.

 Fundamental Forest - Entrance Foliage -- 2025-07-07.png (1.31MB)
downloads: 61

In the spirit of more foliage, I was also trying to do a garden bit similar to SSSammy, but I wasn't liking how it was turning out.

 Fundamental Forest - Garden BEFORE -- 2025-07-05.png (1.28MB)
downloads: 55

Now, it looks like this (view from the entrance and another from the "back").

 Fundamental Forest - Garden Front AFTER -- 2025-07-07.png (1.48MB)
downloads: 56

 Fundamental Forest - Garden Back AFTER -- 2025-07-07.png (1.43MB)
downloads: 57

I also built a looping coaster as a bit of a feature for guests walking in, inspired by SSSammy.

 Fundamental Forest - Looping Coaster -- 2025-07-07.png (1022.08KB)
downloads: 56

Really appreciate all the feedback, everyone! I was definitely on the fence about the woodie queue entrance, but I thought it would be cool as a guest, so I left it.

I will definitely add some foliage. I think I remember watching a SSSammy video about doing foliage, so I'll revisit that. I will keep cooking and report back when I've made some more progress!