Park / [NEDC5 - 07/10] Toucan

19 Comments

  • Comment System%s's Photo
    comment below
  • posix%s's Photo

     

     

    #07 / 10 — "Toucan" by ottersalad

     

    68.00%

    - Design win -

     

     

     

      65 70 70 75 75 85
      RWE Cocoa Camcorder22 robbie92 intamin22 posix
    60 65 65 65 65 65  
    Liampie G Force saxman1089 Jaguar Scoop csw  

     

     

    ( After the panel vote triggers all above panelists should confirm their votes )

     

      

    robbie92   I loved the unique colour and object choices for this entry, which lend a real lived-in feel for the atmosphere of the setting. While the treatment of the layout itself isn't super remarkable, I really like how it swoops around this lush landscape, like it's a part of an environment much larger than itself; this isn't super self-contained and I wouldn't want it to be. However, the star of this show for me is the built environment, from the village clusters and excellent buildings to the various surrounding scenes (like the lumberjacks or railway construction). The coaster isn't the focal point of this map, it's just another supporting character to the narrative of the map as a whole.
  • CoasterCreator9%s's Photo

    Round two! Let's go.

     

    First off, congratulations on Design. Also, let me get two things out of the way;

    1. Deja vu.

    2. I'm inclined to agree with robbie that the coaster isn't really the focal point. No doubt a key part of the map but everything interesting seems to be happening around it. I do really appreciate the landscape interaction though...........

     

    That said, this park gives me some Dig Site vibes. Not a bad thing at all! You used a lot of unique textures in the architecture, and the setting does a lot to sell this. I do wish it all interacted more, that part in the village is a big highlight. The details are fun and the palette adds to the overall theme by contributing some nice darker colors. Great work!

  • Ling%s's Photo

    I think the highlights here are the classic jungle/southern swamp foliage mix and the nestled village that almost serves as the ride's finale. Both inhabited areas look reasonably developed so I don't see a clear reason they need to be separated across the map like they are. The roof textures look a little weird in places, and I would have liked to see that fort wall's architecture extended elsewhere to integrate it a little better. Euphonia is a solid little supporting ride though.

     

    I don't think this one is obviously better than Jappy's entry. My main criticisms here are the train not really being a part of the map - it's not really visible to the guests on the ground or on the ride - and the holding pattern from lack of block sections really disrupts the pacing of Toucan in the second half.

  • Liampie%s's Photo

    Reminds me a lot of the strategy multiplayer project, as well as Red Dead Redemption 2, as well as something that could've come out of the disaster bench round. All the little settlements and areas of interest make this map alot of fun. The disaster bench aspects hold the map back a little. It could benefit from some more cohesion and flow. I also think you could've done a better job with building the map around the coaster - to give it a stage where it can shine. The coaster and the map seem to kind of exist separately. Lastly, the coaster layout is great.

  • Xtreme97%s's Photo

    First off, great entrance area. The foliage had a good mix of objects and the open spaces really helped, plus that purple shade for the flowers is hot. The way the coaster weaved through the landscape and over the waterfalls was gorgeous, though I find myself agreeing that it felt a bit separate.

    The village across the water was superb. I think you sold the story and concept pretty well with the details like the railroad construction scene. The coaster station looked a bit rough, not sure mud was the best texture choice here. Loved the little suspended flyer, very cute, and it's cool to see another entry using an older bench and style.

  • In:Cities%s's Photo

    This reminds me a lot of Age of Empires and the multiplayer map. I love the little settlement details throughout the map!

     

    The purple flowers are an excellent color choice as well. Fantastic interaction with the caves and waterfalls. Not overdone - just tasteful. The entrance building is my favorite - the dark brown color works wonderfully. The station building is also beautiful as well. Again - your color choice is excellent.

     

    Overall this is my favorite work from you yet. Composition and color choices are a clear standout for me. I can definitely see the influence that h2h has had on you in a good way as well. Only critique for this map is the peep jam lack of 'movement'. I think had you spent a little extra time to fix that issue and get the queue filled up and more peeps walking around to give life to the park, it would have given you the numbers to move up a place in the contest.

  • Cocoa%s's Photo

    I really enjoyed this. Obviously I enjoyed the bench and color scheme, haha

     

    But I think it has a really lovely, mysterious charm to it. The coaster is integrated really well into an interesting landscape, firstly, with pretty foliage and waterfalls etc. You've come a long way since filling in gaps in mekong a year ago. I really liked the station- blue rooves is bold but so successful IMO. and the whole area around there has tons of macro details that really work to me. I'm less keen on the isolated village the coaster swings through- would have been cool to vary it up a bit here, and maybe relax a bit on that dark brown color. But yeah very worthy of a design IMO and of course I dig the old school scenery vibe.

  • Faas%s's Photo

    Great foliage and landscaping. Architecture could have benefited from a better object selection in terms of textures. 

  • Tolsimir%s's Photo

    I also enjoyed this entry. You have a nice setting and well thought out backstory of the park. However, I am missing a little the connection to the coaster in it. Conceptually and visually. As robbie has stated, the coaster more or less just sits there in the landscape and everything else is around. For a design submission I think you can work a little more and put the coaster in the center of the entry.

     

    What is there is nice to look at. I actually like the station building a lot, especially since it breaks out from the predominant 2x2 and 2x3 on the map. The blue roof is also a nice blop of color in the otherwise very earthy atmosphere. You also have some cool details like the constuction site and the orchard part to break up the landscape. Another building I liked was the café/restaurant with the seating area in the second floor. It had kind of a new orleans feel to it. The building directly next to it was rather bland though.

     

    I did not quite get why the village on the other side of the river was so isolated from the rest. Moreover I felt that the supporting ride was not the best choice. I mean the main ride is a swinging coaster so why would you add another supspended swinging ride? Also I found the layout to be a little too short.

     

    Good job and congrats on the design win!

  • Jaguar%s's Photo

    I totally agree with Liam and In:cities on how this resembles AoE and the multiplayer map. I can appreciate the usage of a similar bench...gives more of an old school vibe, while at the same time, using scenery that's almost reminiscent of the disaster bench but not at all jarring.

     

    The atmosphere of this design is great, tropical but in a dark foreboding way instead of the usual 'bright vacation spot' tropical. I agree with the others in terms of the coaster but it does have a lot of neat terrain interactions.

     

    The biggest strength of this entry would be its composition imo... it's very pretty to look at and you did a good job on the landscaping. I had mixed feelings on the architecture, however... most of the structures were 2x2 brown boxes. But regardless, it's a great entry, and congrats on the design.

  • ottersalad%s's Photo

    First off, thank you to everyone who has given feedback! And I'm super happy to get a design!! I figured I'd explain my process a bit in response to the comments so far!

     

    So, first off the bench I used was Cocoa's modified PT2 bench. I wanted to provide a different vibe with a mix of different textures to push myself a little bit. Macro building  has been an issue for me, and I wanted to work on that here. The idea was to have the coaster weaving in and out of the jungle and give the experience of flying through the jungle, thus the heavy reliance on the landscaping and jungle instead of architecture. So thank you Jag for noticing the terrain interactions!

    The narrative was to have some fun and give my design a bit of oomph so to speak. I definitely took inspiration from the multiplayer game, the farm/orchard area in particular. 

    The village on the other side of the river was the last area I built.. sorta meant to be a canal stop as if the river was part of the Panama Canal.. thus the tiny boat. I totally agree it felt sectioned off though.

    Thanks again everyone who voted, or opened the park, or left comments. And thanks Robbie for the fun layout to work with!

  • mamarillas%s's Photo

    Great stuff Otter! I complimented you on discord but I wanted to put it here for posterity. I love the whole J Stuart tropical flying machine concept and the dynamic feeling of the terrain/environment. The colors on the station building really pop and the train yard area is a nice worldbuilding touch. 

     

    This entry is an interesting spiritual partner to Tolsimir's (your description even talks about flying "above the canopy"). Obviously yours is a more grounded vision while Tols has a magical world with the fantasy cranked to the max, but they seem informed by the same grand theme of flight through and above the jungle and they both emphasize interactions with the landscape. In my own mental narrative it's like J Stuart experienced Tolsimir's entry in a dream and has tried to recreate it in real life. 

  • ottersalad%s's Photo

    Love that thought Mamarillas! I agree on that narrative

  • alex%s's Photo

    Its a strange composition choice to have the entrance open up onto the 'back' of the layout, but it actually worked quite well here in creating a more hidden ride with the landscape opening up behind. And what a beautiful landscape it is!

  • MrTycoonCoaster%s's Photo
    This blue tone is very beautiful, and I'm a big fan of stone like objects.
    Cycad-Tree really added a special touch throughout the park.
    Simple and charming at the same time, I loved the stationary train and the scenery around it.
    The use of water seems to solve everything, indispensable in a park setting, was good.
    The bridges and their elaborate details.
    All in all, the foliage, the buildings, the fences, the colors and the overall look was excellent.
    :)
  • Tolsimir%s's Photo

    haha Mamarillas, nice idea :p

  • posix%s's Photo

    Otter, I thought this was stellar. I'd often felt excited to see what would happen if you took the next step with your game, and here it's happened for the first time for me. There are bits that are exceptionally beautiful and left a strong impression on me, especially the foliage. You make the path layout so nice to follow again. This reminded me of qualities in RCT that I don't see anymore, but that matter to my eyes a lot, and that used to be such a source of excitement. Thus for me you got robbed.

  • ottersalad%s's Photo

    I appreciate the kind words posix! I'm completely content with getting a design accolade.. regardless of the score. But I'm very honored you gave my entry an 85! 

  • In:Cities%s's Photo

    My score for this would have also been in the 80-85 range. It just came together so well.