Park / [NEDC6] The Cartographer
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10-May 25
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90.50%(required: 65%) Design
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Xtreme97 storms to second place with a stunning entry celebrating the early cartographers.
earns Elite Parkmaker
It's with enormous pleasure that we shall provide dear Xtreme with a shiny new red dress on the site, as despite the tight loss for the champion's title, he successfully upgrades his so far NE Parkmaker status to Elite level.
In some ways this feels long overdue. Our eyes have seen, known and loved Xtreme's skills for years, and the "bigger solo map" contingent was the only thing in his way to greatness. Since his previous parkmaker enabling
Smooch Hour from 2022, Xtreme has been at home in Micros and Group projects that playfully lingered around the 90% score mark twice. It should be no surprise then that a solo piece by Xtreme in 2025 would also find itself in this score territory.
His entry is a spectacle of colour and storytelling across realism, semi-realism and fantasy, all brought together as one. It's rare you will see such ready versatility and fusion of the genres on the same map, glued together perfectly by the overarching theme of exploration and seafaring. Xtreme draws his own map of what 2025 RCT can look like, crafting a vision that encompasses state of the art architecture, terraforming, foliage, ride design, ...really any parkmaking discipline you can think of. He combines it all with tasteful aesthetic expression and renders it as one impressive package. Truly a performance literally belonging to the elite of NE.
Congratulations dear Xtreme, for finding your way to solo work again, and for giving yourself the parkmaker title you deserve, at minimum. NE is so blessed to have you, as a player, as an admin, and as a person. This era of showcase parkmaking would never be the same without you.
On my first viewing I just started saying out loud how good this is. There were a few examplary designs in this contest, but this design shows what the category was created for. The ride is showcased so well and everything around it is just perfection.The architecture being a main standout in terms of park content. The map edges were a very cool and original idea that really took this to another level. On the one hand this map feels very surreal or fantastical and on the other it's super easy to envision yourself being there. Incredible work!
And congratulations on the well deserved elite parkmaker title!
As soon as you open this map, you are bludgeoned with creativity and class. As the title of the entry may imply, there is a strong “map” motif capitalised in the surroundings of this map. This is presented flawlessly, with the map emerging from the battered and faded parchment, erupting into a state-of-the-art masterpiece. There is a level of finish to this experience which makes me think that the builder must have been working on this for years. But he can’t have been, because the layout only dropped when the contest was beginning, and it is so perfectly integrated… It comes as no surprise that Xtreme97 is made of different stuff than you or I, and as a consequence this will be less a conversation about simple pros and cons and more a conversation about the very apex of the game's decision making.
The first thing I want to mention is that for some reason, I couldn't vibe with the music. I think this may have been a technical thing - It feels as though the EQ doesn’t match the style guide for RCT sounds and comes through very harshly. I had to mute the game to comfortably view the park.
The dominant viewing angle appears to be “inside L”, where we view the cobra roll beneath the pre-drop turn. This entry is really a masterclass in framing a layout. There is, of course, a path crossing over the entrance and exit to the cobra roll, but opportunities are taken across the whole layout to make it feel “inevitable”. The tunnels along the cliff through to the loop of bridges over the streams and track through to the dive over and under the queue where we contend with the sea serpent all show a level of effortlessness to make us sick with envy. I think that Xtreme tackles the challenge of framing the loop in an interesting way. He draws a path close, but it appears mostly incidental and less of a deliberate viewing position to accent the loop (in fact, there are stalls appearing to block it from some perspectives). Instead, he has waterfalls frame the loop on either side of it’s backdrop, which guide the viewer’s eyes in a subtle and effective way.
From the reverse angles, the black stone cliffs obscure a lot of the layout from view, but we are paid off by an outstanding Curaçao-esque village in the cove. One of the angles feels a little malnourished compared to the other, and the drop for the log flume is almost entirely concealed, along with the splashdown being completely concealed. The only moment which truly betrays the presence of the log flume is the cool moment where it strikes out into the realm of parchment and ink. This is a very confusing choice, as the log flume basically amounts to a turnaround and the rumour of a drop among the washerwomen of the village. The diagonal swinging ship is a cool and effective choice, but does naturally bias the viewing angle further still.
I fear I may climb into every detail of this map, so I will cut to the chase. I think this is an achievement to behold, but still has moments to improve or perhaps moments which needed cooking a little further. I sincerely hope this sees you grab that red name as it would fit you like a glove.
Score: 90%, polished to a mirror finish
Watch my initial reactions here!
I LOVED this map. it was my personal favorite, and there was a clear gap between this and any other entry for me.
it's just pretty much perfect. concept, 10/10. theme, excellent. colors, better than i could have imagined. new and interesting scenery uses that make this an iconic aesthetic. the map edge is the kind of thing that 99% of people just wouldn't bother with. it's the kind of thing that elevates a very good map to an excellent map - the killer idea that fits the theme like a glove and ends up defining the design. i'm honestly jealous.
i was thinking while judging this, and i hope this doesn't come across as offensive, that i couldn't think of a defining map from you (probably very unfair of me and i missed a lot of years). every map that i knew you were involved with, i always just kind of thought of as a "them-and-you" map. for some reason, you just didn't pop directly into my head when i thought of the top 3 or 5 builders out there. i'm really happy that this map exists as a solo effort (and pac obviously) because to me you are quite obviously one of the top 3 current players, and you play the game at a level that makes me jealous.
this is one of the prettiest themes i've ever seen in rct and i love it.
That map edge is such a cool way to frame the park, and the execution of it is great, love the theming and details around it.
Great main station, also a great plaza in front with those path details, also really like how the coaster fits into and interacts with the land and paths. Beautiful town on the back of the map as well.
This map feels huge. Its unreal that this is the same size as other maps I've seen in the contest. The landscaping and building work as well as the theme are one of my favorites I've seen in a design. The little details like the map border and the compass are all very cool. The coaster compared to other entries was harder for me to realize it was the same layout since you baked it really well into the theme, making it feel natural and a part of the map. Congrats to 2nd and on getting elite parkmaker!! #gocanes
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.
Yowza, this park is genuinely unbelievable. The atmosphere is seriously amazing throughout this entire entry. I was actually blown away when I opened the map for the first time. The colour choices are so fitting and do a great job of making everything pop out. The entire cartography angle here is really well done. All of the little details around the map edge are done perfectly and look so true to what I'd expect on an old timey map. The macro in this entry is also top notch. It was bold to split the map in two with the big rock feature running through the middle of the park, but it was executed pretty much perfectly. I knew that your entry was going to be really strong going into the competition, but this blew my expectations out the water. I agree with other commenters in that this park is exactly what all design submission should aspire to be.
Foliage and Landscaping: Flawless throughout the entire park. The flowers add so much life and colour to the surroundings. I absolutely love the saturated look of all of the foliage. The object selections were great, you used a lot of foliage objects that I tend to stay away from, but now find myself wanting to give them another chance after seeing your use of them.
The rockwork was also pretty flawless. I really liked the decision to make them all black. I think it really contrasted with the rest of the colours making everything on the map pop out so much more. The rockwork throughout was used very cleverly to emphasize different features on the map. Every single part of this park communicates with its surroundings. It seemed that there was intention behind every single object placement. The water was also great throughout this entry. I loved the waterfalls and rivers running all over the place. This screen below really shows how well you were able to integrate rockwork, foliage, and water features in this map.
Architecture: Again I don't really have any notes about anything. Just exemplary work all around. The forms of every single building were interesting and nothing seemed to be "filler". It is amazing how good macro planning and archy forms can really take a build to the next level. This screen below blew me away with forms, detailing, and interest
The gradients that you used really took this to the next level. The dark to light shading on all of the buildings gave them so much character. On top of this I'm glad that nothing seemed overly detailed. Everything got its own chance to breath. The path detailing was also just master-class.
Rides and Coasters: I'll take this opportunity to once again say that Pac's layout was fantastic. I don't think any of the entries in the contest integrated the layout into the surroundings as well as you did. There is just so much interaction with the landscape, and the paths. The supporting rides were also just amazing. The battle boats may be my favorite part of the entire map. The only thing that I can think to critisize on this map is the log flume. While there are some great moments like this one below, most of the ride is hidden and the visible drop is also mostly hidden from view as it is sandwiched between two buildings.
With that being said the interaction between rides in general was really well done. The flat rides were also all constructed beautifully.
Overall: This is clearly the most technically strong entry of the competition. You should be extremely proud of this map, and we as a community should feel lucky that we finally got some more solo work from you. I rated this 95%.
Hey siri, show me an an rct park with the very best modern-day meta
+++ Architecture, those buildings PAWPED off the dark rocks, almost made the discovery of the village on the island, more impressive because the theme felt like a hidden gem, lost in the ocean, but a community beautifully crafted.
++ Texture throughout all judged to perfection, the gradient on the main castle walls, the exposed brick on some of the smoother textures. You always let your textures speak volumes in your park-making style and may not get mentioned by most, but bitch I see you.
+++ The map edge, perfectly judged, the right amount of ingenuity but also resting on some older objects to tell the story.
++ The use of that stepped roof on the rocks was quietly brilliant, your object playfulness always impresses me
++ The dragon on the coaster lift was great
++ Coaster colour scheme was chefs kiss babes
- Sometimes the architecture was a tad under-detailed in some sections. That’s hard for me to say when I’m dropping a 90% on this, but I think where this was most obvious was the village section through the rocks (with the log flume drop). I just wanted some washing lines, hanging lanterns, more crumbly textures or flags on some of the simpler faces. Very small gripe.
- The log flume drop itself was sweet but I wanted to see it in all its glory. Compared to some of the other supporting rides we’ve seen in the contest, I thought this was quite shy. However the colour switch-up where the log flume interacted with the map… minute of silence. That was the best part of the log flume for me.
- Quite a bit of glitching on the diagonal swinging ship on one specific angle. It snapped me out of the experience for a bit because my screen it was glitching so badly
Would've been a worthy winner for this entire contest, a huge jump in score from the rest of the competition which speaks volumes for where your game is at right now. It’s scary to think we haven’t seen the best of you yet. You are a dead-set for legendary park maker with where your style is right now, that’s scary.
For me what I think this came down to is you and Barn were neck and neck with park making proficiency, but Barns entry did something else no one did and tugged on those heart strings. Raw emotion is hard to come up against especially in a game where we don’t expect it.
90%
Congrats on 2nd place!
Quite an amazing entry here and easily one of the best designs we've seen. I think the setting is quite unique and charming. Feels like a big kid version of Anchor Bay and I'm here for it. There's an endless amount of interaction and spots to view the coaster as it weaves above and below the path and surroundings. It's so neatly done amongst the half diagonal bridges and paths. Honestly the diagonals/half diagonals here blend so well. I've never been a huge fan of half diagonals, but here its seemless.
The queue for the main coaster is nutty. It's what, a 5km walk? Its massive! All the winding stairs, little porches, so cool. Really neat theming with the castle and cannon towers - feels like a dreamy version of the golden age of pirates in Carribean.
In terms of the backside of the park, that little village is quite cozy and atmospheric. A bit unnecessary for a design in my opinion, but that wouldn't be a major distraction if I had voted on this. I think if anything it just fleshes out the entire island. I guess it just lacks a relationship with the coaster. But having said that, the water ride was a banger. Love the curvy awnings that Barnid highlighted above. The diagonal swinging ship with the wooden boardwalk queue as nice as well.
All in all, this is quite a triumph. Congrats on the Elite Parkmaker title - you've definitely earned it!
The Cartographer is, without a doubt, my favorite submission of the contest. I absolutely love everything about it. The concept of the coaster rising straight out of the old-time map is pure genius and one of the most creative ideas I’ve ever seen in the game. The architecture is outstanding, with beautifully executed brick gradients and seamless integration of diagonal and half-diagonal elements. The landscaping is flawless, and the supporting rides fit the map perfectly. It’s an incredible piece of work from start to finish. Congratulations on achieving Elite Parkmaker status. You’ve more than earned it!
Of all the entries, this one is probably the best in my eyes. The coaster on this map probably the most enjoyable to look at and watch (which is super important for a design!) great details on the supports set this apart from many of the other entries for me. Appreciate the color choice too, bold but entirely classic in a way too.
The theming was great, just more xtreme goodness that I seem to always love. You really nail this semi-tropical/pirate sort of style in a way that most others can't quite seem to do. Just a great display of mastery of the game, elite park maker is entirely well deserved in my eyes. I'll rate this a little lower than the consensus but that doesn't mean it isn't one of the best design releases in a long time.
85%
I really like the map, the coaster theming and the rest. The sea serpent was a nice touch. I liked the sharks submerged in the sandy border. The cannons pointing at their own defenses was pretty funny. The coaster interaction in general is first rate. I'm torn between an 85 and a 90. I will have to think about it some more.
A huge congrats Xtreme, both on the runner up placement and earning elite parkmaker. It really felt like just a matter of time that you would build enough of something at this level and jump to the next rung, and now it already feels like you just need to build more of something to get to the legendary status.
What really blew me away with this park was the graphic aesthetic and visual themes of the map come to life. The underlying theme at it's core is nothing new, but the way you've stylized it has breathed new life and taken this to another level that few others can attain. Sure, the object choice is next level as always, but it's the restraint that allows each element to shine, from the map edges to the architecture to the macro and even the textures. This map is absolutely packed and yet doesn't feel overly crowded. That is something I really admire and hope I can bring into my own work.
I also think you showed a mastery of color choice. There are so many graphic edges and micro details that become features in and of themselves because of how you applied color throughout. It also really plays into the theme of how a map illustrator would use bold saturated colors to render something. On top of that all, the execution is pretty much flawless and the macro is so well developed. I also would say this is probably my favorite integration of the design. The interaction with the paths, the structures, and how it's nestled within the park is so well done.
I said in my review for Barn that I think it's probably a matter of preference that would separate this and Farewell for most viewers. The execution, the quality of design, the vision between these two entries is absolutely at the highest level. Both had an incredible artistic quality to them, but where Barn used a collage of realistic scenes to illicit an emotional response, this entry felt less grounded, more whimsical, and embraced a more artistic aesthetic that I really don't feel like we've seen on this scale before. Both really appeal to me in some very similar and very different ways, but I must admit that the Cartographer won out for me. I'm in awe of the ability to build rct like this; expertly crafted but also dripping with style and vision that sets it apart from other things.
Again, a huge congrats on everything achieved. All I can do is beg for more.
What a lovely piece of rct man. Love to see these kind of works, a coaster in beautiful location with some history added to it. You nailed it perfectly. The castle (based on the castle in Malcesine I think?!) is so good, love the red battlements. The shading on the castle walls are also great, making us believe they are quite old and used.
Personally not a fan of the coaster colors but I do have to admit they work will in this environment. Interaction here all the max, probably the most I've seen in the whole contest. Love that the fortress and village are seperated so visually with that rockwork in between. That said, I'd gone with a lighter color for the rocks, maybe even light tan or something to sell that Mediterrean vibe more. Without the Italy tag on this page I would have located this map in the Carribean!
The village is neat too, lovely architecture with great color choices. The tea - sorry, espresso cups are so lovely and I absolutely adore the roofing of it. Banana boat is fun but makes me again wonder where on earth I am when viewing this map. One other point of critique: I think you could have done way more the log flume drops! It's hardly visible between those buildings and I think it would be cool as well to see the splashzone in the open, splitting the square open and have some bridge(s) over it. Would have been nice.
The presentation of the map... on an old map is just wow. Really great and it elevated the whole map. You are really one of my favorite builders here Xtreme, there's nothing you make I don't like.