Park / The Last Frost Fair
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26-January 26
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Description
In the early 19th Century, the River Thames experienced a rare event: it completely froze over, and the people of London wasted no time in celebrating by erecting a miniature city on the ice and partaking in all manner of amusements. But the fires of the Industrial Revolution were lit, and this Frost Fair would end up as the last of its kind. So wrap up warm and enjoy this moment while it lasts!
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Logo by J K
1800 - 1900
Your park must be set between the years 1800 and 1900, or themed to that era.
Your park must feature a ride with steam-powered elements.
Your park must include a ride with a vertical drop.
Before voting, please ensure you have viewed all entries below. The first question asks you to evaluate which park or parks have met the above Objectives the best. The second question asks you to choose the park or parks with the highest Quality. You may vote for multiple parks in each question. The poll will be closed in approximately 72 hours, after which the total vote for each park will calculated and the park with the highest number of votes will be declared the winner of the round, granting its creator(s) entry to the Grand Final.
Lots of really good entries for this round. I expect it will be close. big fan of the Last Frost Fair myself
AJ's Prairie Lightning
nice little map here that i very much enjoyed, but it didn't feel particularly in line with my expectations for the round objectives. however the quality level is very obvious here, and the overall feel of the map is great.
Chamberlain Steel
lots to like about this map, outstanding quality level and some beautiful work. coasters are interesting and really well done, architecture is pretty great and the little touches really bring this up a level. flowing water, turning brown by the factory, great concept that's executed really nicely. i would have liked a touch more "cohesiveness" on the map as a whole which felt slightly like a bunch of different vignettes linked by empty path, but that's nit picking as you guys obviously have the quality to pull it off. great work.
Modern Foundations
this map felt "clean" in a way that didn't totally vibe with the objectives/theme, but there was a lot to really like here. a tad more understated than a couple of the other maps, i really liked the central canal setting, and almost wish there had been way more of that.
clever. really, really clever, and a fresh vibe for this round (and any round, this is a wild concept). very nicely pulled off, the color of the projections was pretty great and the work itself in there was also interesting and fun to look around. a mad idea.
Steel Valley
traditional Lurker goodness, always a pleasure to look around your maps. if you're wanting feedback (you probably aren't) then i'd love to see you differentiate your themes on a fundamental level a bit more, feels like all of your maps are kinda similar macro-wise with a layer of theming objects or colors to denote the theme.
The Last Frost Fair
this is the map that is closest to what i'd imagined for this round. i actually wanted to enter when i heard the theme, but no way the deadline would work for me. but i wanted to do london dockyards, and you've done a great job of that with the added layer of winter and the frozen thames. it's a piece of history i'm somewhat familiar with, and you've done a great job. architecture all over is beautiful, great coaster, and interiors to boot. probably the winner of the round, for me.
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13
this is probably the second best "park" of the round (i also had to vote for the movie night, too clever) - a really high quality map with the best coaster of the round. obviously i wish there was a cleaner way to do the tilt on the coaster but the point gets across. but this map has everything - scale, height variation, clean readable architecture, enough variation and really cool ideas to more than fill the area. a super believable slice of real life here, great work. the really long coal train is brilliant.
In reverse order, just to spice things up.
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13
Wow, breakout release! And of course more great stuff from Hepta too (lol I joke)
The tilt coaster is a great way to hit the vertical drop prompt. The time setting is clearly hit here. The building materials, shapes, colors all scream industrial rev to me. If I'm being picky, maybe a touch too much glass. But the brick textures especially on the main factory are yum and very on point.
There's some machines that are very much steam powered, across the board I feel like most maps could have encorporated more steam visuals so I don't think anyone 5*'ed this part of the prompt.
Objectives: 4/5
Few if any do foliage/landscape as well as RWE and that's on show here. It's especially exceptional across the railway lines. The buildings and machines are put together so well. Lots of immersive details - the elevator by the lift hill, the train station is exactly the right amount of modest, there's some grid breaking to break things up (namely, the grid). There's one area next to the main factory that drowns a little in red and is harder to make out all the great details. Shout-out to the railway footbridge which is great - wonderful contrast in shapes and color there!
Quality: 81%
The Last Frost Fair
I think this park hits the time period best of any this round by recreating a specific event and also having a real life location helps there too to ground it in the context of the industrial revolution. The coaster doesn't have as imposing a vertical drop as Shaft 13; I do like the splashes of steam here and how the snow has melted off all the nearby roofs. A lovely touch to set the scene!
Objectives: 4/5
The reason why I guess people end up with "styles" is that doing things in a similar way means you get better at it each time, and I can definitely see how Xophe's advent entry helped lay the foundations for this park. The wintery look is fantastic.
The highlight of the park is for sure the Thames, the textures in the ice are fantastic. The gradients in the ice near the edge blew me away and that buried ship with the red mast is lush. Love the peeps trying to drag it!
Lovely city scape over on the other side. I think TTA gives you a bit of a license to have sections without as many attractions or theme park inspired activity so I don't mind that at all If I'm nitpicking for a minus some of the cutaways make the walls look paper thin but that's so tough to counter as making them thicker loses a tile edge to use for interior details.
Quality: 84%
Steel Valley
This one really hits the time period and setting so well, especially with the train circling a little hive of activity in the center. The vertical lift is a checkbox and no more, and I can't really see an obvious steam element on any ride outside of the train, which I guess checks the box.
Objectives: 3/5
Quality wise this is just exactly what I think you set out to do, Lurker. It's got a lovely implementation of the theme in your style, done in a way that I'm sure was a blast to put out on the map. It's always a joy viewing these maps especially as they have so many throwback elements to LL parks from the era of my first stint in the RCT community!
Quality: 65%
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
I can often fall short on the required effort to get the best out of parks like these, so I really tried here to dive in.
Takana Valley is the best steam element on any ride. So cool - I don't even know how you guys did this in such a sporadic way. It's lovely. The rice fields in the orient is a unique touch for the era given the other entries.
The third scene is such a cool agricultural scene setter for the era. I love so many of the little details from the mechanics fixing cars to the tiny model train. But I can't find a vertical drop, which is a shame - with one, this park would have won my objectives vote on its own.
But that steam effect on Takana still splits with some other parks because it's so cool.
Objectives: 4/5
I get the glaze effect is for the movie; it could have been reduced a little to increase visibility. The sparkles of light being lit in the projector more than make up for this though.
The second "picture" seems to be a neat scene but doesn't really win my vote in either category: it doesn't do much for the prompts of the round and doesn't do anything "RCT"-y to make me bump it up the list in the quality category. That's not to say this isn't super cool and unique!
The third scene is incredible and perhaps my favorite. The tiny model railroad in the back does what half diags do to the grid, but to perspective. So unique and something I don't think I've ever seen before in game.
I wish there was more, but I know that setting up the crazy mechanics of something like this must be incredibly time intensive.
Quality: 78%
Modern Foundations
This is such a good pairing for Narc; I felt like in rounds 1 and 2 the start of the macro was there but Liam is such a heavy hitter on architectural details and adding life to parks and those really felt like the two areas for narc to work on and here it is!
While the park certainly could be set in the 19th century, it feels like it could be anytime up to the 1960s too; it would have been nice to see some more concentrated colors or details that were 19th century specific. The layout of Electrification is definitely a highlight that more than checks the vertical drop box. For me the twist over the path down the canal is its crowning moment.
For steam, again there's the trains and I don't really see any other signs. So the box is checked, but not in a way that pushes it ahead of the other entries.
Objectives: 3/5
I feel like this park is overall super proficient but needed to take more risks. It's really tough to fault it in anyway at all, I'd just like to see some more things in it, especially in a contest, to separate it from the pack and take some mad, crazy risks. Everything is good, and I can see some spots of great, especially in the station and its surroundings.
Quality: 74%
Chamberlain Steel
I love the grungier approach to the era. For me, this is more how I picture the industrial revolution - more like a Lowry painting.
There's lots of steam - chimneys, the exhibit steam hammer, and of course the trains, which seem obligatory for the round!
Iron mallet's beyond vertical drop is the second best implementation of that objective after shaft 13. This one I think was the best entry for objectives, but I did vote for multiple parks here since I felt others were close enough to share the spoils.
Objectives: 4.5/5
This park felt alive to the era. So much movement, the inclusion of multiple coasters really works. This is the age when machines started running everything so having so much movement in the park, all the way down to the polluted riverway, works so well.
Lots of grid breaking too, and for two players perhaps more associated with NCSO/DKSO, you would never have guessed it from this entry. All the stuff that is easy to shortcut and requires some CSO specific knowledge - stuff like half diags, rockwork, foliage, you guys hit it out the park.
Quality wise, my joint fav of the round.
Quality: 84%
AJ's Prairie Lightning
A nice contrast with an american agricultural approach to the era! Similarly to Modern Foundations, more era-specific stuff - some industrial rev machines or grungier architecture, would have bought my vote a little more. I like how although again the train is the steam element, it's featured in the map shape, allowing it to contrast nicely with a long stretch of fields. I like how that paints the picture of the era nicely. Prairie Lightning does have the vertical drop too. On objectives this was all boxes checked, but none colored in.
Objectives: 3/5
Quality-wise this really felt right at the level of your round 3, AJ, which is to say, pretty great. There were some nice narrative touches too - the smelting scene under the coaster's drop, the crows in the field, and the central farmhouse was a really lovely centerpiece to the map.
Quality: 75%
I went alphabetical here
AJ's Prairie Lightning
I really like the coaster's interaction and integration here with the map. The architecture is interesting throughout. The hay ride off to the side by the vineyard is fun in comparison to the otherwise status quo theme park lineup. The sightlines to me are overall excellent; there's some that I think would look incredible as a guest, but there's others that I'm not as sure about. For instance, the major red building in the center, I think some of the trees take away from the view of it which feels like it was framed for this direction with the pillars and all, and something like a fountain, statue, or similar might have complimented it more in the center in front of it. I do like the foliage otherwise and the map's flow a lot. I also wished for more ride signage like for the coaster and log flume. This is a fantastic map overall. Solo king
Chamberlain Steel
Ah man I love the multi-dim inclusion. Not many of those in parks, and I appreciate the detail on making sure it spins correctly throughout the layout. I like the overall view of the map, but I think there's sections it could have used a little more texture or detail like by the fenced off village, the brick in the center to indicate some more wear, and around the railroad portions. I'm not sure how I feel about the invisible track used; I think it needed something else. Maybe a palette that skews the grays more on it to darken so they're not so bright as I felt they stick out more than they should. I think more peep scenes tied to the map's theme, like people working on part of a railroad that's closed or maybe some conductors on break with little trash hats, would have given the map a little extra life. The architecture overall looks great though. The layouts here I really like though, and I love seeing so many coasters on this small map.
Modern Foundations
The layout's integration into the map is neat. I wish the architecture had varying colors. The big Spiral Slide sign gave me a laugh for some reason after I made scenery invisible and there is indeed a spiral slide inside the building. The coaster could have used a sign maybe in the plaza entering it, but the plaza itself and the queue is cool and fits the theme going on across the map. I like the contrasting overview where you have the train ride and wheat field on one side with the city and coaster on the other. The layout itself feels a little too high compared to the map, but the layout itself is fun. Overall, a pleasant park to explore!
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
Wow, the trick here is crazy especially with the zoom-out on the other angle. The camera and overall effect is really cool. The little village on the 2nd turn is really cool especially with the different housing angles and the coaster having a steam approach. The layout itself is wild lol. I love the overall story telling of this map when you turn and see the cars from the ride being assembled in a workshop, showing the process. This is a unique map in comparison to the others, and each angle adds just enough value to make me enjoy the tricks done here. However, in some ways I felt like I wanted to see the actual map over the trick as the ride idea is cool.
Steel Valley
Love seeing more LL. This is also interesting in how you went for density in the middle which I don't really see in this building style (but I also haven't been around 50 years to see every LL map ever). It has a neat flow to it, and I liked the little suspended monorail in the middle. I felt that each area felt oddly divided up across the map, but it plays into more of a scenario play feel. I enjoy this as it does something different in comparison to the rest.
The Last Frost Fair
The texturing on the ice is incredible as well as all of the snow piles across the map. The ride lineup is super interesting as it took me a bit to find each one. The coaster itself is still a really nice highlight although I'm not sure if I like it in brown just because the map has so much of it already. Giving every building an interior is a really nice touch as well. I cracked up at the elephant lmfao. If there's anything at all I didn't like about the map, it's the side with the coaster where everything sort of blends together in comparison to the colorful shops on the opposing side and crazy texture work on the ice. Otherwise a really enjoyable map.
Victoria Mine
This map is sweet. The layout has some elements I don't like as much as the others, but the map kind of focusing on it really emphasizes the placement of everything else, like how it goes through a few buildings and interacts with the coal processing. So much great interaction in this map and foliage work. Really a standout of the round for me as it relates to the theme. I probably would have pulled back on red and looked at more complimenting colors to incorporate as it feels overwhelming; maybe something neutral like silver or gray to place around the map or more of the green as it looks great. The main sightline from the ground looking up at the big lift is really cool and reminds me of that theme park where they have a drop tower ride using existing mining infrastructure. The story of the map being a museum turned theme park is really apparent and tells itself, and I appreciate that sort of park making. Overall excellent map.
SEVEN entries - and the quality level is as high as ever! Here we go with some write-ups...
AJ’s Prairie Lightning
Such a great atmosphere in this park, of course helped by the music which you always get just right. The map shape is definitely unconventional haha but I like how it contextualises the park and makes it feel like you have to take a journey to get there. I did wonder if the map was deliberately shaped like Oklahoma but then I checked an actual map and so I think it’ just a coincidence haha. Love the path alongside the railway tracks and how the peeps have to cross the little creek. Architecture, foliage and landscaping are all high quality throughout the park and I like the arrangement of buildings to make cosy little corners etc. The coaster layout is fun and realistic and feels very well woven into the rest of the park. And I particularly like the log flume with a launch! Cool idea. The only downside for me is I feel this doesn’t hit the ‘industrial’ brief as explicitly as other entries. Although I guess for that reason it’s refreshing! Well done in any case!
Chamberlain Steel
So much to love in this map! The moving river that gets polluted as it goes through the area is one of the highlights of the round for me. And the landscaping all along the river (and around the map) is top tier - especially the dead trees etc along the riverbank. I like the meta commentary! So many clever details throughout the map too like the coke workers (such a good use of that handyman animation) and the flywheel that’s synced up with the coaster launch - sooo nice! I also love the little scene at the edge with the houses outside the park with people enjoying the low-tech life. This one definitely hits the brief hard. Oh and bonus points for a bespoke soundtrack composed for the park!
Modern Foundations
I really like how the water directs the flow of this map - coming in at the reservoir, going through the dam, along the canal and out into the farmland area. A nice subtle bit of storytelling there that links everything together. The architecture throughout the park is great, especially the main power plant building. Nice ride design too - the drop tower in the under-construction skyscraper is particularly nice. And of course the dive coaster is the star. I’d never have considered using that red/green combo but it works! I think a bit of grime would help sell the theme especially around the city area, and a bit of music would have added to the atmosphere. But all in all a lovely entry.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
Wow. This mixes it up! Love the storytelling. A great combination of vision and execution. The actual projectors are super effective to start off with. And then the scenes that unfold are increasingly impressive. The 3rd and 4th are my favourites - the way you’ve played with scale is just genius, and the contrast of the zoomed out views to the enormous scale of the close-up section is a great surprise. Some genius object usage too when you dig into how it all works. The perspective on the last scene where the stuff in the background is actually smaller than the foreground is just so cool. And the little individual coaster cars zooming along with a trail of steam behind them is probably the best fit for the ‘steam-powered ride’ part of the brief! My only complaint is that the soundtrack got a bit drowned out by the loudness of the rides from some angles which was a shame.
Steel Valley
An LL map with the original carousel music floating through it - what’s not to love? The nostalgia factor in your maps is always dialled up to maximum and they never fail to put a smile on my face. I love the contrast between the natural areas around the map edge and the harsher brick and rust textures in the centre, separated by loads of train tracks. The sheer amount of steam trains trundling around the map makes it hard to forget the theme haha. It’s kind of hard to compare this to the other entries in terms of fitting the brief since you’re using a totally different toolkit. Perhaps this round would have been an opportunity to try some bigger buildings. But I do love the classic Lurker style!
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13
The opening scene with spinning wheels, gears, chains, conveyor belts… The brief is already fulfilled! I think this entry takes the prize for best machinery! Absolutely superb stuff. I also love that you included the brochure with some of the reference material - just proves how well you’ve captured the vibe. Great idea to set this in the present day using the mining backdrop as a museum. The contrast between the modern visitor centre and the dilapidated old buildings and overgrown train tracks is fantastic. And I love all the rusty machinery and infrastructure dotted around. There’s also some very cool stuff buried under the hill that the cutaway view reveals. The only downside for me is that I wish you kept the vertical land edges - it was a bit confusing for me to work out the height differences in the land without those (e.g. my brain couldn’t work out if that upper path was half diagonal or a gentle slope) - that’s a minor point though of course. A top tier map otherwise!
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As for the entry from me and Xtreme - what a pleasure to build with such a pro! The idea was Xtreme’s and I only ended up with a bigger share of the collab because I had an unexpectedly free January which was lucky. It was really fun doing the research for this - a lot of what you see is grounded in real stuff that happened. Hope you all enjoy exploring the map.
Victoria Mine:
Really cool concept which looks great from the overview. I love the music and atmosphere of the project. The landscaping alright and the foliage is pretty solid throughout. A lot of the half diagonals seem forced in weird places and missing where I’d expect a half diagonal structure to be. The architecture could have been improved in some places as well. Super cool park overall.
The Last Frost Fair:
Great atmosphere and I love the idea. The melting snow was really well executed. I think there could have been a bit more detail in some of the architecture but it was really solid overall. The fair is also really fun and well done. I like all the little details included in that section. The giant text on brick walls goes hard. Land texturing in the fair area is also legit top notch. Whoever did that impressed the hell outta me.
Steel Valley:
This was a fun entry. I don’t have LL so I couldn’t see it in all its glory but I did my best in-game and from the overview. The factory vibe comes across really well. The train surrounding the park was a nice touch! It would have been nice to get some more movement on the corner of the map with the little houses and farms.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club:
Lol. I don’t even understand how you guys accomplished this. It is really really cool. The presentation is obviously top notch and really unique. The sound track worked really well also. The scene you get on first rotation is pretty well done. I love the bridges and coaster were really cool. I feel like it was missing some archy detail though. I feel like the second rotation screen (the room) could have also been improved with more detail. The final rotation screen was really nice. It must be difficult to build perspective in a scene like that. Overall, really impressive.
Modern Foundations:
I like that you guys went with a traditional theme park vibe that was themed to industry. The macro here is well done. That first turn out the station building is framed really well against the path. The dam is a nice touch and I also like that you guys included a number of different types of industry. Foliage and landscaping are a bit all over the place in some areas. Overall cool park!
Chamberlain Steel:
I fucking love the piano track haha. Everything is pretty good on this map. I think the landscaping could have used a bit more work to make it look more fluid although I like the combo of ficsh rocks and default land texture. The palette also works great here. I love all the rides throughout the park. The architecture is pretty solid throughout. Great entry!
AJs Prairie Lightning:
Is the map supposed to shaped like a guitar? Either way I’m vibing. I like that you went with the farm vibe here. The music track was fun also. I really enjoyed all the different colours that you used throughout this entry. All of the buildings were very unique. The center building was really well constructed. I maybe would have used some different colours in some spots, for example the train station roof is the same colour as the path below it which makes everything kind of blend together. Landscaping and foliage is pretty solid.
I’m not sure what I’m voting for yet, I’ll have to take another look at the parks later on. Great work everyone
Prairie Lightning by AJ
Nice park. Love the interaction you have with the coaster and the overall vibe of the park. I think I like the log flume area the best however not seeing how this ties into the objective for this round.
Modern Foundations by Narc and Liampie
Really like the architecture on this map and the very clean aesthetic. I especially love the little train stations. I am struggling with the obvious differences in the map. Not sure how or why they are connected. There is no doubt about the quality of both sections, just not sure how they complement each other. That said, I do very much appreciate the quality and clean lines.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club by Splitvision and Gustav Goblin
Always amazed by these out-of-the-box entries. Have absolutely no clue how they are pulled off, and it was fun to “watch the moving pictures”. Nice work
Chamberlain Steel by hypnopompia and TimmyTuner
Now this completely sold the objective of this round. Im a sucker for good transportation concepts, and although the train is not for passengers, the coal cars and loading dock were a great touch. No clue how you did that but fantastic touch. The Coke workers, the flowing rivers, the various mills and structures, the landscaping are all fantastic. What I really appreciate is even though you get the feel that this is a grimy place, its very readable and “clean”. Outstanding entry
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13 by Hepta and RWE
So to be honest, my first reaction when I opened the map was that the entrance clashed with the rest of the map. This was before I read the description, and then it all made sense, and I really like how you pulled that off. All the industrial equipment, conveyor belts, and overall vibe are incredible. This is the first time I've seen a functioning tilt coaster, and it is very convincing. The best part for me is the underground mining shaft under the tower. This just blew me away.
The Lost Frost Fair by Xophe and Xtreme97
Seeing the two “X”s team up was an entry that lived up to the hype in my head. Pulling off a convincing snow/ice theme in RCT2 is no small feat, and this is a great one. The frozen river, with the heavily trafficked area so clearly marked out, is brilliant. I would not have expected something like this from the master of foliage (IMHO). Just goes to show the versatility of Xophe. I really liked the interior work in the IronWorks building. Very nice, I still can't get over the activity on the frozen river. Everything is just soooooo good. Well done
Steel Valley by Lurker
Once again, I can see the enjoyment you had building this. Sadly, I’m not one who really appreciates the work it takes to build this style of map as I can't visualize how this style is to be interpreted. That said, anytime a quality map is finished is something to be proud of. Nice work
Overall, the quality of these maps from top to bottom is perhaps some of the best so far. There are three maps that really stood out to me and is really tough to pick out a favorite. That said, someone has to win and my vote goes to Victoria Mine: Shaft 13. All the industrial equipment and mine shaft work is what put it over the top for me. Well done, everyone.
AJ's Prairie Lightning
Another AJ solo! And a great one at that. Through all your entries, its very apparent you are inspired by your local area, and the inspiration really comes through in your unique style! I love that you add custom music as well, it really help bring the vibe home.
As for the objectives, an additional steam powered ride would have helped. (Maybe a steam-powered prairie plow?) The time period felt right, but I would have enjoyed some more prairie-industrial themes, like the lift building for the log flume which was really nice!
Overall this was a really nice entry. Lots of great little details, love the tower painting scene! I think the map size/content level is somewhat underwhelming compared to other entries. I realize you are solo building! But I think you posted in Discord that you finished your entry a week before the deadline? I think with a slightly larger, more filled out map you have a winner here, because everything else is there: ride design, archy, vibes! Lovely.
Chamberlain Steel
Wow, the music is just amazing. Immediately sets the tone for the park and transports you into the factory blues vibes. Absolutely love the industrial themes and machines. The flywheel launch for the multi dimension is so cool! Will be coming back to that to see how you did it!
My favorite coaster was Iron Mallet! Just a lovely zoomy eurofighter. I felt the layout for Steam Demon was a bit undercooked, but the launch is fantastic, really well done on that. This park clearly hits all the objectives in my opinion.
Overall, great effect with this map. And from what I understand you guys are relatively new to cso, so this is fantastically promising work, and expecting some huge things from both builders in the future!
Modern Foundations
A very interesting entry! I love the idea of the dam and canal layout, very cool and the dam building is great. The skyscraper under construction is fantastic! The other buildings along the canal are quite nice also though I’m not a fan of the light/dark brick texture as I think it stands out a bit much. Overall I found the setting somewhat strange, I felt the city area could have used a bit more distinction from the natural surroundings. But nevertheless, a very cool little entry!
Objectives here were achieved. The time period felt right and the steam-powered crazy cups were nicely done! Perhaps you could have included something steam-powered with the Otis Disaster as well. But can at least put a check mark for each objective I would say.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
Another super wild entry from Split! This is just a whole different class of RCT to me, absolutely beautiful use of the game’s assets to create a unique piece of art. I have to admit I am more of a traditional player but I can truly appreciate the effort and skill it takes to create these style of entries. (It took me a minute or two to figure out I had to rotate the camera… lol)
The mini steam coaster is really cool, very clever idea to make the entire coaster steam-powered, rather than just ride “elements” as the objectives specify. The voiceovers explaining the steam history on each panel are great and definitely sell the vibe. Appreciate that you pointed out the vertical drop on the coaster. It was in fact there, but perhaps a bit of scenery of showing off that vertical bit would have helped. Also would have liked to see a bit more of the coaster layout. But overall a very enjoyable entry!
Steel Valley
Another cute park from Lurker! I appreciate that you make consistent entries in your own style! I have never been the best evaluator of LL work but I did enjoy peeking around the entry. You definitely hit the industrial vibes, I think! Perhaps a bit more steam-powered things, or some indication of that theming could have assisted. I tried to find some but I may not have located them. Overall, I appreciate the work!
The Last Frost Fair
Instant charm on opening the map, another xophe banger! Really loving your music choices lately, they add so much vibe to your parks. The idea of the frozen Thames is fantastic and so well executed. All the little details on the ice was so fun. Easily my favorite portion of the map!
As for the objectives, the time period is absolutely spot on! Truly felt transported. For the coaster and steam-powered elements, they objectives have a check mark but felt somewhat secondary to the main theme of the park being the frozen thames, taking up just 1/3 of the map size, though the launch was well done. I liked the coaster going through the factory (also had that idea
) but would have enjoyed being able to see a bit more of the layout.
Overall the city vibe was so good! The wall signs, the carriages, it was all truly lovely and typical charming xophe style. A super entry.
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Will leave some additional thoughts about our park in the future, but it was an absolute pleasure working with RWE. I didn’t really intend to create a park like this in the beginning but as the coaster layout and ideas started to come together, we both felt really excited about what we were making! Could not have made this entry without his constant feedback and support. Thanks and congrats to all participants for a great round!
Prairie Lightning
You improve every round and once again, I think this is your best so far in this contest. Lovely buildings with some good diagonals in between, making for a pretty organic feeling. The path details and compostion of everything is ace, everything feels right. Landscaping and foliage were great and really elevated the whole map.
Loved the coaster, nice flowy layout and lovely colours. I wish the drop tower got a bit more love as for it stand, it seems like an after thought. Personally I found the music terrible. I'll also keep nagging about the void on the same level as the park; a big nono for me!
Victora Mining shaft 13
Pretty much blown away when opening the park, wow. The music immediately sets you in the right atmosphere to experience this park. Architecture is top notch, from the modern entrance to all the industrial buildings here. Love it! The coaster is great, layout is top notch. Super smooth and flowing with some modern elements, def a coaster that could be one of my favs if it existed irl. Also love to see a tilt-coaster, props on how you guys made it work.
That running steam engine is so cool and I love how it is composed against the tilts drop. Everything is super detailed, love the dirty railways also. Second park I open and a though one to beat I think. I'll also have to bitch about the void on the same level, a trend I really don't want to see continue. Raise your parks up!
Chamberlain Steel
Interesting map. Architecture is really good and convincing. You guys packed a lot of coasters in here! Love to see the 4D coaster used, we don't see that too often on NE. Making it launched is even more unique. The Vekoma jr boomerang is perfect for this theme. To me, the star of the show was the Gerstlauer Eurofighter. I'm a Gerstlauer fan and thus love to see them in game. Compact layout but everything very flowy and original layout.
Foliage and landscaping is very strong here. The music wasn't my cup of tea, a bit too melancholic imo. Overall very strong map.
Steel Valley
Always cool to see a Lurker entry in here, though this is a bit of a miss imo. The carroussel music is too overpowering and not really fitting the theme. The whole map is a bit too green, happy-feeling where I'd expected a bit more dirty, griddy environment for this round. Overall a cool little park but it just doesn't feel fitting this round theme-wise.
Modern Foundations
The coaster is cool, a dive coaster with a lay-out like the old B&M sitdown loopers, I'm all for that. Everything is pretty clean and done well, though this map doesn't convince me all the way. I think the canal/city part needed to extended to have a more fitting division between city and the rural area, would def have loved to see more of it.
Movie Night at the turn of the Century Club
Baffling entry, bamboozled me all the way. How the hell did you even get movie effects on my screen... Def one of the most unique parks I've ever seen. Love the story, love the gimmick and the effects of it. That 4th screen is amazing. On the one hand, super unique and amazing to see. On the other hand... hard to compare against the other parks because this one is so different. It also doesn't score well on the objectives if I'm honest.
The last Frost Fair
Oh this lovely! What a great idea to have a London industrial setting in the winter, with that snow/ice as an extra layer over the already existing theme. Architecture is great and very believable. The snow and ice details are great. The fair on the frozen Thames is a great idea and something I'd expect to see on old paintings.
Detailing is topnotch, great crunch on the frozen Thames. I also noticed the custom peep names, love to see it. The coaster was good but a bit of shame the most interesting parts of it were hidden away in the building. Also not a fan of the brown track color as it doesn't make the coaster stand out. Other than that, nothing to complain about here. Great entry!
AJ's Prairie Lightning
Really like the countryside setting and the vibrant, pleasant feel to this park. The coaster is solid, although I can't say I understand at all how the steam power is connected here - there is a crashed steam driven train and a lightning bolt shoots up above it and does what...? It also maybe doesn't feel so firmly like a 19th century setting, but I do still like that you chose a more unexpected setting rather than the brick/factory/steelworks theme that is very easy to reach for with this prompt. Also props for entering all rounds so far, all good quality work!
Chamberlain Steel
A great entry packed with fun, coasters and great details! Very solid on all fronts - archy, landscaping, and ride design are all on point. As I mentioned in the Discord, what really stood out to me the most was the river - so brilliant to bring it to life the way you did it. I had originally missed that it even goes from being clear and unpolluted to a dirtier shade after passing the plant's wastewater. The landscaping there is also really fantastic. The steam element is also well represented in general, although it is maybe not directly obvious exactly how it powers or is part of the operation of the coasters. If it weren't for some other entries that are shockingly strong, I think this definitely had the quality to win a TtA round.
Modern Foundations
A nice entry, where I think the standout is the coaster, which feels well-designed and sweeps through most parts of the map in a cool way. Archy looks good, if not perhaps so remarkable. But I did not catch where the steam-powered element comes in for the coaster. Or is the idea that the steam train represents and checks off that objective?
Steel Valley
I will admit, I am not so much an LL guy, but I can certainly appreciate the elegance and beauty of many of the classic LL parks. But this busier style of LL is not really my cup of tea. It feels a bit too fragmented and at times difficult to read. The coaster meant to adress the objectives of the round is also maybe not so interesting and a little unclear to me where the steam power comes in. That said, I do like the side friction coaster and the wooden wild mouse and those areas.
The Last Frost Fair
Brilliant concept, and while I am not surprised to find this full to the brim with beautiful architecture after seeing who built it, I will at the same time never quite understand how some builders like you guys can plop down this huge quantity of amazing-looking buildings in just a few weeks. Everything that is going on on the ice looks so lively and fun, to the extent that you can picture yourself partaking in the festivities. Only minor complaint is that the coaster doesn't quite live up to the standard of the rest - it seems too discreet, placed toward one side of the map and almost blending in too much with the buildings, and it wasn't made very clear what part of it was steam-powered. Still an incredibly strong entry, and would not be surprised if it took this round.
Victoria Mine - Shaft 13
I friggin love this map. Everything from the concept to the execution is close to flawless for me. One of those parks that look really great and pleasing from the overview compositionally, but also look amazing when you look closely at every detail. On top of that, I feel like it has a very refreshing and original style - there are elements of the sophisticated, grid-breaking and realism-leaning archy that is dominating the NE meta in the last few years, but at the same time it feels a bit more fun and playful than what we typically might see in such parks. And the cherry on top is the coaster, which I find phenomenal in all aspects - it impressively dominates the setting while at the same time fitting so well in, and with the fun vertical drop feature it really becomes a very memorable coaster. A true centerpiece! For me this is the clear winner of the round, excellent work Hepta and RWE!
Prairie Lightning
Oh man, I love that coaster layout as well as the kickass sound design. Was not expecting to hear ELP this round. The architecture is very nice and the map has a nice flow to it. Just really solid all around. The silos immediately made me think of your DKMP Transportable Coaster RCC entry. Overall, this map seems more consistent than your TTA3 entry, which was also a banger.
Modern Foundations
I really like the architecture throughout the map. The urban section around the river are a highlight, and the train stations are also well done. The coaster is very solid and has some nice interaction points with the park. I do wish the Crazy Cups section was less isolated from the rest of the map, and I would have liked to see the Industrial Revolution theme appear more prominently. That aside, really enjoy this one.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
Incredibly inventive, as is the norm for both of the builders. It's a triumph of one-angle wizardry and clever object usage, and it is aligned with the spirit of this round more than those previously mentioned in this review. My favorite scene is the town scene with the mountains in the background, but all of the scenes are excellent with great details to dig into. Excellent rockwork, and I love the grainy film effects.
I didn't vote for this for the "meeting the prompt" category, but on third viewing I regret that decision. Ultimately, I had a very hard time evaluating this one with respect to the other entries. I admire the artistry and more creative approach, though I admit I find one-angle parks a little unsatisfying. With a full-angle park, the ability to rotate gives the viewing experience the illusion of exploring a 3D space. With one-angle parks, that illusion disappears and a "space" is reduced to a "video", which I find less engaging. To this entry's credit, it is depicting a film, which fits this type of park very well. That aside, this entry has grown on me over time, and I'm very glad we have something so different.
Steel Valley
This seems like a difficult prompt to hit on in LL. You're such a consistent builder, and all your parks have a distinctive charm to them. I find the steel mill a bit chaotic and difficult to read, though I admit that I am illiterate. I like the rest of the map very much. The agricultural and lumber company sections are highlights. All three coaster layouts are very good, and it's great to see a side-friction coaster which is actually era-appropriate. All around, it's a very nice park.
The Last Frost Fair
For me, this is by far the best entry this round. The Ironworks has a lovely mix of visual clarity, grime, and authenticity. I absolutely love the frost fair, which is brimming with character. Unreal ground texturing. The frost fair flat rides are so charming. The section on the other side of the river feels less necessary, but it still contributes to the wonderful atmosphere. Love the architecture throughout the map. I know both builders are pros, but I still have no idea how they managed to squeeze so much detail and character into a map right at the size limit in only a month. It will be a treat to dig into this more over time.
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13
This is the clear runner-up to me. Really nice grid-breaking paths, foliage, and architecture. I love all the jumbo-sized CTR machinery, especially the steam engine by the entrance. Shaft 13 is a great coaster. It's cool seeing a Vekoma Tilt. The layout is excellent, though I admit the speed with which it takes the layout is a minor gripe (way too fast a realism setting in my opinion). Overall, this park has a great sense of atmosphere and really sells its theme, with the modern entrance buildings, historical information signs, overgrown ruined buildings, and so forth. Really enjoy this one, fantastic work!
Some of my favorite things in each entry:
Modern Foundations
- The coaster going through the canals
- The Otis Disaster
Chamberlain Steel
- The polluted water
- Coaster design would make such a sick park area.
(Semi-missed chance for the objective that Coal Crasher didn't end in a vertical)
Shaft 13
The Last Frost Fair
Movie night
Praire Lightning
Steel valley
Wow what a stacked round! These entries are all great, the quality throughout is really remarkable.
AJs Prairie Lightning
Wow aj this is freaking sweet, youre always bringing the heat in these contests. Definitely reminds me of your dkmp transportable coaster entry a bit, cool to see some parallels here. I gotta say having played some cso now, the stuff that you are able to put out in these contests on your own is astounding.
It’s a great looking park and I really dig the vibe here. Ride design slaps and I love the interaction moment with the log flume.
Purely for the prompt I would’ve liked some components, like the vertical drop and steam elements to be a bit more pronounced, but this doesn’t take away from the overall map for me. Really enjoyed this a lot, awesome work!
Modern Foundations
This is a very clean and solid park! A dive coaster is a good way to get the vertical drop prompt and I like the layout a lot. Pretty flowy and imposing in size, making it a standout in the park.
I like a lot of the macro decisions here, like the diagonal train and dive coaster crossing sections, as well as the more open water and field sections. It doesn’t go above and beyond in aspect to the prompts, but its all of a pretty high quality and overall a very enjoyable entry to view. Great work!
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club
Oh my god I love this. Super creative and artsy entry here. Presentation is really cool with the projectors, the visual effects and the washed out palette, really sells what you guys were going for here imo. Definitely a bit hard to vote on as its so unconventional. In terms of prompts, this is a unique twist on the time period in forms of a presentation, so that nails it pretty well. The steam elements are well represented too, only the vertical drop doesn’t stand out particularly much to me, but it is there. The quality is up there, but knowing whats possible with one angle shenanigans I think the 3 rd scene could’ve perhaps used another minute on the stove. The last one I adore though, with the miniature scale! Well done!
Steel Valley
Nice work lurker! I always like your railroad entries and this is no exception. You used it well to frame the park here. With the somewhat limited possibilities of LL, you still managed to get some really nice theming in to sell the time period decently well. Landscaping is lovely, although the park overall is a touch dense for my liking here and could’ve used a bit more room to breath in the center. The tasks have all been checkmarked here, but don’t stand out particularly in comparison to some of the other entries. Still, this is a very sweet entry that I enjoyed a lot. Always love a lurker entry, good job!
The Last Frost Fair
This map is amazing. Such a great vibe here, from the music to the visuals and the execution is top notch. I had a lot of fun reading up on this historic event to get some more nuance and I think the frost fair itself is done perfectly. That snow crunch is absurd and so much peep stuff really brings everything to life. The factory and town parts are done similiarly well and the quality throughout is just fantastic.
The coaster layout I love, however theres some coaster decisions that I don’t like fully. Im not a huge fan of the brown on brown color scheme and I think it’s a shame such a wonderful interaction moment is obscured inside that building. In the grand scheme of things this doesn’t take away much of my enjoyment of this wonderful map, truly one of the highlights of the round for me. Fantastic work!
Victoria Mine - Shaft 13
Geez im in love with this park. The macro is really standout to me here with the central train tracks on the diag and how the coaster flows around it so well, along with the backdrop of the mountain. Then the lift with the tilt drop is awesome and works perfectly with the theme of the round and the entry – almost mad I didn’t think of It haha. This map really nails the tasks given the best in my opinion along with being among the highest quality too. I probably would’ve done the tilt drop with a more elaborate shoestring, but that’s not even really a critique, what you have here works perfectly fine. What I find somewhat interesting is the use of some of the more recent prominent ncso/dkso building techniques – namely the large compound letter signs and the heavy use of rowing boats for the catwalk and some architecture. For me the catwalk works really well, but the curvy edge of the leftmost building looked a bit wonky to me, especially the Streamlined monorail vehicles there. That is among the only nitpicks that I can give, as this is probably my favorite entry of the bunch. Also a shoutout to the underground theming that’s only visible with cutaway view, an appreciated touch and bonus content to a map that definitely didn’t need it haha. Amazing entry and great work!
Your coaster layouts are so good, love the flow. Long view of the incoming train was nice. Some really good peep scenes too and overall another great effort. 1 vote.
Insane... loved all of it. Content was of course a little low compared to the other entries, just the creativity makes up for it. 2 votes.
Nice entry as always and great to see new LL work.
One of the coolest entries in the whole contest, no pun intended. The frozen lake scenes and the detail in general was outstanding. Did not feel this did the vertical drop well or convey a steam powered ride, so only 1 vote.
AJ’s Prairie Lightning – This is easily the best work in the AJ Farm Park canon so far! This is also some of your best macro and archy yet. I love the center building and the mansion in the corner, but especially love the coaster station and surrounding area. Something about that plaza and the shapes of the buildings and pathways just flow so well into each other, and I can tell you really took some time to think it through before committing to their construction. The use of color is really well balanced and consistent. Lots of thoughtful details peppering the entire map as well. Nice coaster and flume, each with good interaction. The music was a great vibe and I loved the radio aspect, so fun! Something about this park is so strangely nostalgic. Lastly the panhandle with the train tracks and pathway leading out is a nice touch that pays off. Everything comes together to make a pleasant viewing experience that left me feeling charmed and delighted.
Chamberlain Steel – Very strong sense of place here, great contrast of the industrial setting among the serene natural backdrop. Extra points for the environmental storytelling of the dead trees and barren land along the river from the factories’ pollution. While there is a lot going on in the center of the map, it is all spaced out well enough to give each aspect some separation and space of their own. Strong use of textures across the board with the brick, steel, and rock, and while the colors are cohesive, I feel there could have been a few more strong splashes to brighten up the place. I like the architecture, with a good mix of shapes and angles, but I feel they lose a bit of cohesion with each building seeming to have its own color and texture. The dominating stature of the two large coasters lend themselves well to the theme of industry taking a stranglehold over the natural world, and I applaud that decision, whether intentional or not.
Modern Foundations – This is really nice work. I love the coaster’s imposing size and unique layout, as well as the interactivity with the central pathways. Speaking of which, the main street with the canal in the center is really excellent. The buildings surrounding it are architecturally strong, and the macro lends itself to various idyllic scenes, such as the angled bridges, the circular plaza nested within the train track and coaster helix, and the pub patio nestled in. I also greatly enjoyed the quieter end of the map, with ample open space and chill vibes, which contributes a needed contrast to the busier coaster section. The foliage is nicely done here and elsewhere, lush where needed and contrasted with the brown grass which I always appreciate. One thing I wasn’t as pleased with was the coaster’s color scheme, as the green seems an odd choice given the surrounding foliage and the theme. Perhaps a bright yellow or blue might have been a better choice for the theme and overall color balance. All in all, this is great work! I’d say you two worked well together.
Movie Night at the Turn of the Century Club – Upon first opening I was impressed with the initial screen, accompanied by the sound of the projector starting up. I watched with anticipation as the narrator read the words on the screen, but then was confused as the scene stayed the same while he described the scene. Then it occurred to me to rotate the map, and I saw the scene being described! Very nice setting on the 2nd panel, with the terraced landscape and rocky cliffs. You really used half diagonals to your advantage in the one-angle scenes, and it lends itself well to the layering of pathways and landforms. The little village is very nice, even if the buildings are a bit square, but the colors are great. The palette is a good mix of desaturation and tint and works well given the theme. I particularly enjoyed the workshop scene on the 3rd panel, and the coaster engineering nerd in me was pleased by the up close depiction of the cars and coaster track. They look really nice, good job on those! The 4th panel is perhaps the most impressive, with a really great sense of scale and a painterly aspect to the overall scene. Really liked this one.
Steel Valley – Lurker my friend, you can do no wrong. This is great! Purely on the macro you laid out for the whole park, this is some of your best work. The train tracks are a strong visual seperator of the steelworks in the center to the more wooded area surrounding it, even with wooden coasters to support the theme. The visual theme of the center contrasts strongly with the outer edge as well, with its chaotic, claustrophobic tangle of buildings and rides. I have particular fondness for the quietest corner of the map with the farm and coal factory. The small lake with the docks and train bridge is also very quaint, there is something about it that I love. There are tons of neat little touches all over the place that I kept finding, particularly the different kinds of buildings, which have a surprising amount of variation, given the limitations of LL. Very good work, always a treat.
The Last Frost Fair – Wow, what can I say? This is a really impressive effort, and immediately bursting with energy and atmosphere upon opening. There are a lot of entries this round which visually separate the industrial operations from the more lived-in, human areas, and I think this entry does the best job of achieving that result. I love the frozen river acting as a boundary between the dark and grungy industrial side of town, and the cleaner, snow-covered city on the other side. The melted snow from the heat of the steam is a really genius touch and add just an extra bit of contrast to the sides of the map. The frozen river itself is great, and all the little scenes and rides are so cute, such a blast to look through. I think this may actually be the best representation of a winter theme I’ve ever seen put to RCT2, every surface is touched by cold in some way or another, and the details of snow and ice are just excellent. The archy of the city is wonderful and so pleasant to look at, it actually reminded me of those miniature Christmas village displays that you often find at old ladies’ homes during the holidays. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this and my enjoyment only grew as I kept looking. Cheers to this absolute achievement!
Victoria Mine: Shaft 13 – This was a nice surprise! I was greatly impressed immediately upon opening this park, with a very decisive color direction and strong architectural forms and macro. Some really great setpieces across the map as well, such as the steam shovel, engine linkage, conveyor belt, and mine shaft elevator. There are a few awkward spots, mainly the long ramped path to the top of the mine shaft, and the oddly shaped round building at the front of the park which seems out of character for the time setting. I also wonder if the coaster track could have been a different color to differentiate itself from the red brick and rusty iron structures all across the map. These are all minor gripes though, and the numerous highlights are prominent and more than make up for those nitpicks. Some of my favorite buildings of the round are in here as well, with particular love for the lemonade building and train storage building. The train tracks weaving underneath the middle of the industrial chaos above is a particular highlight for me, and it all looks great. Great work on this, one of my favorites of the contest so far.