Park / Dimensions: Realms of Creation

123 Comments

  • Kumba%s's Photo
    Well it has only been 364 days since we last had an NE Spotlight and we can't let another day go by and make it a full year gap. So what are we going to do? Who can save us from this fate? I guess I need to do everything around here... heres your spotlight park: Dimension Realms of Creation. After 2 long years of work I bring you my park on (believe it or not) it's second birthday. I think it's got it all, Dinosaurs, Gross Monsters, Sand and even the Planet Earth. The details are countless, the ideas endless and the creativity is un-matched by just about every park out there.

    A huge thank you to Coaster Ed for writing the Spotlight review (wow was it long!) and Cork for ruling it Spotlight minutes after opening it.

    I can't wait for everyones feedback and hope you all enjoy the park.

    Kumba
  • Corkscrewed%s's Photo

    Kumba, you’ve done it. You’ve lived up to your potential.


    Congrats, Kumba! That quote sums it up. I loved this park, and while I think your version of your logo sucks ( :p ), I can't argue with the quality in this park. It might not be everyone's aesthetic cup of tea, but it is what a Spotlight is all about: taking risks, pushing the envelope, and coming up with new things.

    This is a Spotlight easily, without technicality. And if you'd used better colors, I might even consider this my favorite RCT 2 park of all time. :D
  • JKay%s's Photo
    Darren,
    I apologize for not getting this feedback to you sooner. I realize as a tester, I sort of let you down as this probably doesn't do much good considering the date you indicate the park will be released (today). Anyway, I hope this isn't too late too little.

    I must say, this is quite a stunning piece of RCT work you've got here. I truly mean that as parkmaker to parkmaker, you've really done something amazing here. Its by far your best and most defining work to date. There's no question this should be a NE Spotlight and is possibly the best RCT work since RMM ( :p ) or BGSS.

    I have catagorized my review as follows:
    1. Themed areas
    2. Ride execution
    3. Ride/Theme ideas
    4. Landscaping
    5. Pathing
    6. Foliage
    7. Colors
    8. Workbench
    9. Naming
    10. Architecture

    I've given each catagory a 1-10 rating, with 10 being the absolute best

    Themed Areas
    In terms of defining themed areas, this park was done very well.
    I'll just jump into individual walk-thrus of the 5 themed areas:

    1. I start with the Entrance / Hotel & Casino. Not my favorite area of the park, but there are some nifty details here such as the Kumba's comics store cleverly nestled in the back of the plaza. The hotel is massive and I still find its footprint a bit akward. I'm also not keen on the color selection but the fact that you "cut" into the building and made an actual poker casino is really awesome.

    2. Next, I headed over to Dino Digs 2, a wonderfully-themed prehistoric area that is home to my favorite coaster in the park, the steel twister Riparaptor. I just love almost everything about this coaster from design to color scheme, just a great main attraction for the park. There's tons more to see here too, from the Prehistoric Promand with its stunningly detailed shops and clubs to the crazy-hacked Dinolision Derby, not to mention some unique dining experiences; This area really caters to its guests.

    3. Continuing forward, I ventured into what could be the most contraversial and highly scrutinized area, Morbid - home of Mt. Morbid. Despite what some might call distasteful ideas behind of the attractions here, I personally find it to be the best in the park. I say that because everything done here is 100% unique, maybe very Kumba-esque, but yet still innovative enough that it will not be forgotton for some time to come. I love the woody here, Nightmare, which features work from the mysterious Toon. While definitely unorthodox, I really do like the strange color scheme that accompanies the strange attractions and rides that immerse this rocky landscape. When I first saw this area being built, I didn't think it'd come together, but it did and thats very admirable. Although I don't quite understand all the attractions (what goes on at the DRC Arena?), it is still my favorite area of the park.

    4. Pushing on, I found myself in Land Of The Sand, an Egyptian-inspired area that again is home to a plethera of attractions for all ages. The stand-out attraction here is Mirage, a wildly-hacked mine train adventure ride that holds surprises around every corner. I just love the subtle, yet effective use of hacking here. I had to watch the coaster go three or four cycles before I could catch all the tricks - very well done. The theming here is pretty much the standard for Egyptian in RCT and I would have liked to see more intiricate colors and architecture, but still well done by all means. The only other mentionable is the custom water channel over the pathway - very nice touch.

    5. Last but not least was the smallest themed section in the park, Earth's Fury. This area features Armageddon, a B&M invert themed to all of nature's elements . The coaster circuit is quite short, but still manages to pack 3 inversions as it rips around the ravaged landscape. (By the way, you did way bang up job on that station - way better than I EVER could have ;) ). Also worth mentioning here is the well-themed Nature's Wrath Pavillion along with the mysterious island with a question mark that I'm sure is something you are saving for the final release. :D. Not my favorite area, but still very cool.
    Score:
    10/10

    Ride Execution
    I can honestly say now that you are one the best hackers to ever play the game, and this park is clear evidence of that. While there may be certain moments in some rides that you could say are over-hacked, I still think they had more character than detriment. I especially loved Mirage and Riparaptor because they showed two different sides of Kumba. The one that can still build an realistic unhacked coaster design (Riparaptor) and the one that can build a crazy-hacked adventure ride (Mirage).
    Score:
    9/10

    Ride/Theme Ideas
    I really can't complain too much about the amount of thought put into virtually every square of this park. I personally find some of the ideas (mostly in Morbid) a bit distasteful for a themepark geared towards families, but we all have to remember this is still a game and practicality has to go out the window sometimes. As for the other areas, the ideas are solid and were executed very well in most instances.
    Score:
    8/10

    Landscaping
    Other than Mt. Morbid, I found the park to be a bit flat, but I guess that goes hand-in-hand with the flooded, landlocked type of park this is. I do admit the use of quarter-tile land blocks is probably what saves this from being a mediocre landscape to a decent landscape.
    Score:
    6/10

    Pathing
    No major complaints here. All the midways were wide enough when appropriate. All single-wide paths served a specific purpose. The colors, however, are a different story :p
    Score:
    9/10

    Foliage
    Foliage use was conservative, if anything, in this park. It's even sparse in Dino Digs, which had a very jungle feel about it. I can't really complain about the lack of foliage because I don't think this type of park really needs a lot of it, so whats there serves the park well.
    Score:
    8/10

    Colors
    Well, you know I've had a bone to pick with the colors in this park from day one and still feel that way now. I don't what it is, but I think every color scheme in this park (with exception to Morbid) could use an overhaul, but thats just me talking. It's not that the colors you chose are bad, they are just very Kumba-esque, which at times can be ugly.
    Score:
    5/10

    Workbench
    You've really proven yourself to be quite the custom object designer with this park. What I love is how you innovate new objects from old ones to bring RCT2 to the full 1/4-tile and 1/8-tile glory it deserves these days. Lots of goodies shall be had from this park.
    Score:
    9/10

    Architecture
    My comments here sort of go along with what I said about landscaping. The park felt a bit "flat" in terms of architecture, but again, I think its focus on catering to its guests more than makes up for it. There are some highlights worth pointing out, such as some of the wonderful architecture in the Prehistoric Prominad area, not to mention all the stadiums, side shows and sculptures strewn through out the park.
    Score:
    8/10


    Naming
    Spelling aside, no complaints about the naming conventions used throughout the park. I also think you did an excellent job in making sure everything is labeled with appropriate signage. It makes so much more sense when I'm looking at something if I know what it is. Well done my friend.
    Score:
    9.5/10

    Overall Score
    81.5 / 100


    Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to test the park (although not much testing now). I enjoyed looking at it. My hat goes off to you for creating such a stunning peice of RCT.

    I'll re-post this on NE when the park is released.
    Hit me up sometime about PT3 judging.

    Later
    Jeremy
  • posix%s's Photo
    20$ logo? :lol:

    anyway,
    "the creatively is un-matched by just about every park out there."

    look _k_umba,
    just from the overview, i can tell you have no idea what creativity is to begin with. i mean you can't even spell it right.
    i don't really want to argue with you about it. you're just too primitive.

    not going to download the park. it's not worth it.
  • JKay%s's Photo
    ^Geez Phil. With that kind of attitude, I wonder why you still visit NE. :<img src=:' />
  • Steve%s's Photo
    You know, sometimes I really wonder what posix is like in person.
  • Turtle%s's Photo
    Angry.
  • Valp%s's Photo
    Kinda like your av, Steve.

    *

    (kidding, posix ;) )

    *

    This makes me want to go buy RCT2 and load it up again... and I just may do that, Kumba.

    Edited by Valp, 28 May 2007 - 04:13 PM.

  • Jellybones%s's Photo
    Don't give a shit about the park either way, but man that logo is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. In fact, it breaks pretty much every rule of logos there is. Hideous to look at, really.
  • zodiac%s's Photo
    Wow. I love it. Kinda wish it was bigger, but I won't argue. Too tired to make a big review now.
  • JJ%s's Photo
    Fook, that's a lot to read.... Skip, Skip, Skip Download :p

    Edit: I hate it :rolleyes:

    Edited by JJ, 28 May 2007 - 05:07 PM.

  • lucas92%s's Photo
    Wow! I loved it! I just don't have enough words to describe how this park is great. This is a masterpiece Kumba, and you should be proud of. Oh, and damn! You make me want to start a big solo. :OMG:
  • MachChunk 3%s's Photo
    I know how this made spotlight without even opening the park.
  • Jazz%s's Photo
    Lol, it's nice to know that you can be the sole judge of what award your own park earns Kumba... ;)
    Anyways, congrats and this park was certainly deserving of spotlight.

    Despite some flaws that some other members have stated, it doesn't even matter because the park had so many brilliant details and hacks that it more than made up for it. It had a truly unique atmosphere and the entrance area was awesome.
  • FK+Coastermind%s's Photo
    this has to be one of the best, most creative parks ive ever seen. althougth sometimes the archy was alittle off, it was mostly great and was completly made up to be all the amazing hacks. all the ideas and details you have with rides and attractions were jsut wonderful. i loved the explorer ride in the dino area. it was jsut amazing. some of the coasters were abit boring but the woodie in the back and mirage made up for it by far. what really blew my mind was how you managed to make some many small details with ride pieces. i think my favorite section was the nightmareish part in the back. all the monsters and infestations were so cool. i also loved the sand area. the maze was uber cool and i loved the mine coaster!! i thought the entrance was the weakest. it had some cool mechanic wonders but i found the resort alittle boring compared to the rest of the park. the outside looked good but it seems to have alot of the same design, althought most hotel do i guess. i loved all the theaters you had with lots of action going on in them. so many great ideas. the hacks really made this park. awesome work Kumba!! very deserved spotlight!!! congrats!!!



    FK+Coastermind
  • Kumba%s's Photo

    Lol, it's nice to know that you can be the sole judge of what award your own park earns Kumba... ;)


    Hold on thats like the third time I have heard that...

    I did not judge the park for spotlight.


    Cork did and Ed did in place of myself and iris. Hell iris even looked at it at a glance and said he thought it was a spotlight. So thats how I won, tho I will admit if it got SRU or RU id have made it a spotlight just coz I can :lol:

    And Posix, im not even that mad. I find it sad you can be so pissed over this and I don't want a fight . I hope you do look at the park, heck there is a staff member with your name...

    Im looking foward to more comments and will follow with my own when the time is right.
  • Jazz%s's Photo
    ^ I was just joking around anyways, Kumba...

    Congrats again on the achievement.
  • Emergo%s's Photo
    Congrats Kumba, on a really deserved spotlight :mantis:

    Man, what a creativity and ideas in here and so skillfully executed....

    Last hours this topic did not allow me to make a reply in it (is repaired now), it now is around 02:00 am here and I am tired as I had a tough day.

    So I will give a longer comment on the park tomorrow, and for now I will just quote the last sentence I wrote to you after testing the park:

    Darren, great park, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if it was me who had to decide on Spotlights (happy I don't have to, ungrateful job that must be!!) I would give one rightaway to his one.......that is....if you indeed take the trouble to correct all spelling-errors on the signs like you said you would!!.


    (from some things I read I think you did not do the last thing.....but I'll forgive you :lol: )

    Emergo
  • inVersed%s's Photo
    Usually, a park like this really would not be my taste. The concepts would normally be too far from from realistic for my likings. This ended up being a major exception (as I imagined it would). Instead, the little details were brilliant throughout this park. It would take months to discover every little detail and bit of creativity you through in here, but still what can be seen in about 2 hours is amazing. The layouts were nice and everything just was so unique. I really dont know what else to say; this is one of the best parks I have seeen in a while.

    I dont think any RCT park has held my attention as much as this one.
    Great work man
  • Milo%s's Photo

    20$ logo? :lol:

    anyway,
    "the creatively is un-matched by just about every park out there."

    look _k_umba,
    just from the overview, i can tell you have no idea what creativity is to begin with. i mean you can't even spell it right.
    i don't really want to argue with you about it. you're just too primitive.

    not going to download the park. it's not worth it.


    Jesus Phil. All your posts are so boring and predictable these days. "I hate you, Kumba." I hate NE." "Why am I here?" blah blah blah

    At least throw us curveball some time so you will be an entertainment again. Past work aside, you are still the most annoying little prick at this site.


    Anyway, with that said, this looks like a great park Kumba. A fitting end to your rct solo career. All your best qualities seem to be put together in this project so well done with that. Sadly I won't download it either as rct2 is against my religion (actually I just took a peek at the time it would take to download on dialup lol.. it wasn't pretty :lol:)