Park / Blue Thunder

Park_45 Blue Thunder

25 Comments

  • Corkscrewed%s's Photo
    Posted Image
    BLUE THUNDER

    JKay make realistic coaster?! JKay not cause seizures? JKay show off more good coaster skills, continuing PT2 trend? Wow! Check it out!

    Oh, and something about new realistic coaster supports from Toon that will revolutionize RCT coaster making as long as you can fit the object data files onto a map.... :p
  • Drew%s's Photo
    Just looked at the park.
    I thought it was okay. The dive loop right after that cobra roll would probably kill someone. Though, the coaster looked excellent with the custom supports. Great job on those.
    And I thought the landscaping was done really well. It made up for the coaster which I didn't care much for. The archy was good too.
    Though, I'm just excited to have the new custom supports. I can't wait to put them to use in the future.
    Good job JKay (and Toon!)...
  • chapelz%s's Photo
    :eek: the first work by jkay that i can say that i honestly love. name is kinda lame though.

    Edited by chapelz, 23 April 2006 - 11:12 PM.

  • RCTFAN%s's Photo
    Okay i am going to be brutally honest.....i think you should stick to your seizure style.

    Being realistic there were a lot of things wrong. and i will list a few:

    1. The lift hill was just wrong IMO. The lift should have been hacked to be wooden rather then layerying the 2 together, or perhaps make your own catwalk (which you have done both). The catwalk supports (brown) were not needed.

    2. The Supporting was kinda average for me. Most of it was not ''real'' but i can see you had fun with them.

    3. The blocking was a bit crap lol, it stopped on the lift hill.

    4. The spare train is facing the wrong way.

    However....

    there were some really great things, which i always expect from you.

    1. Great colour choices (including coaster)

    2. Landscaping fitted perfectly with foliage to compliment.

    3. The pre lift drop was really nicely done.

    4.Station had some great forms and i loved the queue line.


    Basically what i'm saying is it was good but you have done a lot better, and i think that this was just to show off toon's supports.

    ..::RCTFan::..
  • Magnus%s's Photo
    Sorry, but I didn't like this one aswell.

    The Supports are supposed to make rct coasters look more realistic, but in this case they didn't work out.

    1. The Layout:
    I'm still a bit dizy of it. You have like 20 left turns and two turns to the right. This has nothing to do with a realistic coaster and especially on a floorless coaster it would be great to see fast changes of left and right turns. What you have been thinking while doing the first drop is still a big mystery to me. At least you added a predrop, which gave it some realistic feel, but what's coming next shocked me a bit. You should have had two or three pieces of straight track then a turn to the right facing down and going over into a steep drop. This would be the most interesting for the rider and the most realistic in my opinion.
    The Cobra-Roll after directly after the first drop is not very B&M-ish either. All the Floorless Coasters (apart from Hydra the Revenge) start off with a big Loop. So when you are trying a realistic Coaster Layout if would be best to stick to that. It's really difficult to get creative on a Floorless Coaster and make it look B&M-ish.
    The Dive Loop-like think next was ok I thought, apart from that fact that 45mph at the top are much too fast. The left turn afterwards looked a bit crimped and the long tunnel part with the left turn was nothing for me either.
    The left turn leading the track under the first drop was really good. That's something I want to see on a floorless coaster and I think it would be a lot of fun to ride that. (A one piece tunnel afterwards would add a lot to the experience though.)
    On the next hill you built a break. I really wonder what that one is for. I mean it can't be a midcourse break as the Coaster comes in much too fast and would have to stop on a much too short piece of track, but you themed it to a midcourse break. Apart from that the Coaster wouldn't be able to get back to the station in case of a security shutdown which would be pretty expensive for the park.
    The small loop afterwards shows what is really missing in rct. A medium sized loop, bigger than this one but a bit smaller than the big loop.
    The left turn and diagonal airtime hill, was really good in my opinion. A right turn might have been better though.
    The Interlocking Corkscrews are an element you will find on most Floorless Coaster aswell, so it was good to see it here, but I didn't like the turnaround track after the first of them. Again it is a way too long and boring left turn.
    The turn to the right getting back to the station looks a bit like you didn't know how to really come back to the station. Some sort of helix might have helped there, but the track out of the station was in the way (which also looks a bit strange).
    The breakrun was ok. I don't get why the last but one break on the straight piece is set to 13mph and the one after is at 18mph.
    So all in all the layout didn't really look B&M-ish and in places very unsmooth. I have the feeling you rushed it way too much because of wanting to be the first using the new supports. This brings me to the next category:

    The Supports:
    First of all major thanks to Toon again for making those. They are a huge steep forward in rct parkmaking.
    This is the first Coaster using them and I know that is really difficult and the supports aren't easy to handle at all, still I think yours look a bit cluttered.
    Look at other B&M Coasters and you will see that they have approx. 5 supports for the whole lifthill. You have 10 or something like that and the supports for the catwalk.
    I think less would have been more here.

    The Catwalk:
    Using the wooden Coaster track was ok I think, but as already mentioned above, people would have to jump down approx. 6 feet in order to get on it. Means this one doesn't really work the way it should. (Also have a look at this picture: http://www.rcdb.com/....htm?picture=13 )Then you have a second catwalk next to it, which doesn't make any sense to me. The wooden Coaster would be enough. Or if you wanted to use the wooden Coaster as sort of a safety net inbetween the catwalk and the track you would have to put those wooden parts on boths sides of the lifthill.

    The theming was JKay style I thought. Nothing special though as it didn't give any special atmosphere or anything. The brown path looked way too bare and I didn't like the fact that the queue line was starting at the one end of the park and the exit paths ended at the other end. This is especially bad for families when children want to ride the coaster and parents are waiting. Queue line and exit paths should start/end at one small plaza.

    Apart from that there were some positve things like the photospot and the queue line which was looking really good. You could have added some water there though.

    I think it's not one of the best designs, but as it includes the new supports it's still a must-download.


    (Sorry for all the bad things I pointed out. I know you can do better, but if you are going for something more realistic you have to strick to certain "rules" in my opinion. I hoped to see another try at a more realistic theme from you though.)

    Edited by Magnus, 24 April 2006 - 05:16 AM.

  • mantis%s's Photo
    I think Magnus may have covered it. Just because something is in a natural setting and has a certain number of inversions doesn't make it realistic.
    And that left turn/right turn ratio is one of my least favourite things. I think it's what hurt Bacillus in Fatha's BGSS, too.
    It's nice to see something different from you, JKay, and I think without considering its realism, this is a nice design. I probably have more issue with Croky's description of it than I do the design itself.
    Congrats.
  • JKay%s's Photo
    EXCUSE:
    I BUILT THIS MERELY TO TEST OUT TOON'S NEW SUPPORTS, NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS. I DID NOT SET OUT TO BUILD THE ULTIMATE REALISTIC B&M ROLLERCOASTER.

    I look at parkmakers like Phatage, posix and RCTFAN (and others) with envy wishing I had the wealth of knowledge they do to follow these so-called "rules" of realism in RCT. I guess I have a different outlook on the game. I see it more as a fun creative outlet rather than an excuse to demonstrate how much I know about rollercoasters or themeparks. I have nothing wrong with realism, its just not my main goal for playing the game.[end rant]

    Anyway, some responses:
    Drew - you're correct about the dive loop. thanks for the comment!

    chapelz - thanks!

    RCTFAN - You're absolutely right, refer to EXCUSE above. Thanks for the comments!

    Magnus - Refer to EXCUSE above, but thanks for the deep insights. Good point about the left vs. right turn ratios, that never dawned on me till now. Hopefully I can take some of your advice to use in my next design. Big thanks!

    mantis - good explanation of why this is not realistic. whats wrong with corky's description?

    I guess Fantasy will probably always suit me better. I'll also agree that this is not the best track ever and maybe downright "unrealistic", but then again, I did have fun building it. Isn't that what matters?

    Lastly:
    CORK - Thanks for making this a design and another big apology for being so pushy earlier.

    Toon - Huge thanks for the opportunity. I'm still in awe of how robust these supports are. I'm so honored that you let me release them. THANKS!
  • Toon%s's Photo
    So, since JKay can't follow instructions, here's a link to a more comprehensive release of the supports. :p

    There is a second group of limited supports that included large tile versions of whichever pieces I was able to convert and a cut back version of the other supports. It is a little more managable in terms of fitting them into a full scale bench.

    Complete Support Release
  • Six Frags%s's Photo
    I just want to thank Toon for this magnificent addition to the game, and congratulate JKay for this great design!

    I can't imagine how much effort and time it must've taken to create this scenery set, Toon, although you've proven to be the master of custom scenery over and over again.. I've created a few custom sets myself, but those were just altered editions of already in-game items.. Even that cost me a lot of effort and time to just get the lining up and pixeling right (with the help of many trial & errors) so props to you..

    Oh, and awesome logo there!

    SF
  • RCTNW%s's Photo
    First, nice work JKay and congrats on the design! I also agree that your strength is Fantasy vs realism as you stated but I did really like your que work, especially the exit line. As for the coaster, it just didn't have that ultra smoothness that B&M's are known for. For instance, the interlocking corckscrew portion, there is a segment of track that bumps them up one height in order to get the track to fit. I also think the support work was a bit overdone in some area's Again the area around the corscrew turnaround seemed to have supports a bit too close but it could just be me. Lastly, Although I admired the attempt at the lift hill in making it fresh, the overuse of the brown poles really lost it for me. That could also explain the "Overuse" feel of the support in general.

    All-in-all, I think you showed what could be done with the supports and for your real first attempt at a "Design", you done good!

    James
  • Corkscrewed%s's Photo

    I probably have more issue with Croky's description of it than I do the design itself.
    Congrats.

    View Post


    Hey man, I gotta sell the design. I'm not going to write "Here's JKay's Design. We're really using it to promote Toon, so go ahead and totally don't care about Jeremey." aren't I? :p
  • Kumba%s's Photo
    Honestly the part I liked best was the flat ride with the lovely arches and red flowers around it, nice lookout point near there too. The supports were used creatively if not realisticly, good job with them, I know they can be tricky to work with. As for the coaster, for you it was ok, you still do really akward things like that turn around going into the second corkscrew, add to that the fact that I dispise white supports and I did not really enjoy the coaster that much.

    Good work JKay... and Toon, this should be counted as JKay's second joint design ;)
  • ACEfanatic02%s's Photo
    Meh. Sorry, JKay, but this was mediocre at best.

    While it's obvious you had fun with it, the ride just didn't impress me at all (not because it's unrealistic, but it didn't look good, flow well, etc.)

    -ACE
  • BchillerR%s's Photo
    As far as the layout goes, it was alright. Somethings I didn't like include the diveloop after the cobraroll (that was just way too fast), and then the mid-course brakes (that turn should have been banked). Actually, I was surprised the intensity wasn't over 10 to be honest. Despite the actual physics of the ride, the layout looked very nice. The color scheme you chose worked well, and you did a great job on the supports. Whether or not they are a solid epitome of what B&M supports look like, they still looked realistic (and I'm glad to now have the supports to use also). One thing that I did like a lot about this design, wasn't so much the landscaping, but just where the ride was situated. It just seemed to fit perfectly in the place you put it. The way the paths kind of contained it, the perfect amount of water, and the way it dived in and out of the ground over by the drop might have been simple, but it created a great atmosphere.

    Overall I thought it was good, nice design.





    Also, JK, can you e-mail me the workbench you used. I'll P.M. you my e-mail if you can.

    Edited by BchillerR, 24 April 2006 - 04:31 PM.

  • RCTCA%s's Photo
    ^ Yeah. I would like the bench too. :nod:

    /RCTCA\
  • JKay%s's Photo
    Sure, I'll email whoever the bench, but you'll have to load my design first because I don't have the patience to upload the exported file (I'm on dialup).

    But yeah, PM'me or hit me up on AIM (i'm on right now) to get the bench.
  • Geoff%s's Photo
    I thought it was pretty good.

    You're a real master at composing the supports. Kudos, cause they're not the easiest to get right.... at least for me. lol.

    Umm, I enjoyed the design. It was definitely different to what you do. The coaster layout wasn't my thing. I usually don't like cobra rolls as the first type of inversion. Also, the turn around after the first corkscrew to interlock into the second corkscrew was awful. I am sorry. It was just so weird and too contrived.

    I enjoyed it though. There were some nice touches, like the the station. Great architecture.

    Nice job overall, though.
  • Ge-Ride%s's Photo
    Where's the colors? That's the best part! I personally think that although you make good work with the custom supports, this really wasn't quite good enough to be a design. Blue Thunder, did make good use of Toon's new supports and the landscaping along with the foliage was nice. The only part I didn't really like was the layout, but it just didn't work for me. I'll check the turns to see if Magnus was exxagerating.
  • mantis%s's Photo
    True Croky, but you can still sell it for what it is :D Don't worry i'm just being picky.
  • Corkscrewed%s's Photo
    That's not part of the job description. :p

    Anyway, for those of you who want something more, I'm sure Titan will come out with something everyone in the world loves within the next two years, only to be overshadowed by posix when he releases a zero-custom support RCT 2 design a week later that gets twice as many replies. ;)