News / Lichfield Runner Ups

This topic hosts comments for 4 parks(View Parks)
  • mantis%s's Photo
    Well, maybe my opinions are vastly different from everyone else?

    The parks in order of preference:

    1. egypTopia
    Ok. This park is my third favourite park. Ever. Without being melodramatic, I think this park really captures what I am always aiming towards in parkmaking. Falling short of Moonlight Magic on beauty, and Harakiri's Oceania on originality, egypTopia is otherwise exactly what I would love to be able to believe. The architecture is astounding - the restrained use of windows, subtle supports (in places where you'd never normally look) and rarely used textures and walls make the buildings very interesting. The coasters are fantastic, especially 'the Chariot of Lost Souls', and I thought the simple 'Sheik' had the best setting in the park. The luge coaster was probably the weakest coaster, with a slightly messy layout and strange launched lift hill pieces in unnecessary places. Fantastic zoo section (I'm guessing this and Sea World Desert Sahara are somehow inspired from each other?) and the several hacks around the park were great to seek out (similar to Stratford Fair in the use of small hacks). One question - what were the heartline coasters that didn't exist? Oh, and it's great to see someone else who enjoyed Delicatessen :)

    2. Disneyland Mid-America
    The main map was disappointing. The maintenance was crap, and some of the areas looked completely rushed. Some flashes of brilliance (tomorrowland and atlantis were very good), and a couple of areas where I could tell what aero21 was aiming at, but other areas were uninspiring. I don't care about the 'Disney' lable, I just wish it was a better park. Disney Imagi-Nation was better, especially the pirate area. Overall, impressive in parts, awful in others. PS The Triton Area sucked. Really, totally, sucked.

    3. Paradise Falls
    Nice ideas (cool waves, better than iris's) but poor theming. Monotonous trees and pretty bad rocks all round. Loved the corkscrew area, and the river rapids is one of the best water rides out there. Overall, good, but a bit....hmmm....

    4. Pinewood Groves
    Where did Robo's talent go? Shit landscaping, totally treed and no tangible atmosphere. Bring back the days of Rocky Falls.....PLEASE!



    there you go.
  • Scarface%s's Photo
    1.disneyland mid america

    How this thing never got spotlight is beyond me !! I think lichfield was great but this surely should have been spotlight. Imagine going to this park irl, the tomorrowland was just amazing.
    I think it would have been better if you would have put roofs on the buildings where there was a ride indoor.

    2. Egyptopia

    Nice park, not amazing. Loved the rally ride though, one of the most innovative rides out there (along ith toucan falls ;)X ).
    Some areas could have been improved but overall nice !!

    3. Pinewood grove

    Not a fond lover of this park but it was okay but I have seen a lot better from you. It had an efteling feel about the whole park.
    The water park was a nice aspect.

    4. Paradise falls

    Oh wait this was our park... ??? Thanx for the comments everyone so far.
    Remember it is mine and gymkids debut :xmas:
  • Evil WME%s's Photo
    ok since i havent really looked very well yet.. ill give u it in short

    1- Coaster Ed's Park-- by miles.. it really looked great

    2- Gymkids n Adam RCT-- ok.. nice idea for the water ride.. still gotta bring back the "winhack hacks" *hint* too bad for the ratings over 10.. overall very nice

    3- Aeros.. ugly in some places nice in others not my style at all.. dont like the main map, the second was better..

    4- Roboparks.. how boring.. nothing remotely different in any way.. sorry i dont like it.. kan ik ook niks aan doen he?

    ok.. that sums it up.. and for the smart people --> (the whisper voice) they are in order ;) (end the wisper voice)
  • Toon%s's Photo
    Having looked over all the parks here is my ranking and a couple of quick comments.....

    1) egypTopia - amazing! Great park overall and the rally cars were the crowning glory. This would have been my spotlight. Kudos to doing a whole park with one theme (something not seen to often)

    2) DMA - Phenomenal in someplaces, too over the top in others for me. Close to Lichfield, but imo not quite as good.

    3) Paradise Falls - Great debut for RCTU. Coasters were better than the theming and architecture in my opinion.

    4) Pinewood Groves - Kind of bleh. Just didn't connect with this park. It was nice and worthy of a runner up, but I didn't see anything that really made me go wow.
  • x-sector%s's Photo
    egypTopia: Wow I really liked this park I'm glad I got to see a new park from coaster ed. the architecture was fantastic th layout of the park was also good and the park had a lovely feel to it. It contained some incredible coasters, the Chariot of Lost Souls WOW what a brillant coaster nice layout and amazing theming, the Sheik was also another great coaster. I liked the luge but the theming around made it look abit squashed and cluttered. My fav,fav ride has to be SandStorm Rally Course that was amazing.

    Disneyland Mid-America: I loved this park so much. The entrance was a bit dull but main street was fantastic. Thunder Mountain was one of the best mine train coasters I have seen. I loved the little detail like the islands with the temple on it and the tree. Tommorrowland was fab I loved that resturant. the atlantis ride was another superb ride from you aero. Disney Imagi-Nation was a kickass park. The entrance with the Thought Bubble was great. Me loved the hollywood section I think you did that really well. Triton's Castle is fantastic since you could never recreate the actually Triton's Castle in RCT i think you have done it really well. the water rapids were done nicely. Tower of Terror Hotel was jaw dropping :OMG:. Finally Mysterious Island God I'm in love with that its the best thing in this park its so gorgeous.

    Paradise Falls: Nice Ideas loved the waves. I agree with mantis on everything with this park.

    The Pinewood Grove Resort: Nice average park the 1st map was better I liked Nevis's Giga, corkys duellers and Delta Fyler the theming was good.
  • mantis%s's Photo

    Triton's Castle is fantastic since you could never recreate the actually Triton's Castle in RCT i think you have done it really well. the water rapids were done nicely.

    Tower of Terror Hotel was jaw dropping :OMG:. Finally

    Come on.....Triton's Castle was pants. It's basically jagged rocks with bits of coasters scattered about.

    And the Tower of Terror could have been made a lot more intricate.
  • x-sector%s's Photo

    Triton's Castle is fantastic since you could never recreate the actually Triton's Castle in RCT i think you have done it really well. the water rapids were done nicely.

    Tower of Terror Hotel was jaw dropping :OMG:. Finally

    Come on.....Triton's Castle was pants. It's basically jagged rocks with bits of coasters scattered about.

    And the Tower of Terror could have been made a lot more intricate.

    Well I suppose it was a load of jagged rocks but tritons castle would be one of the hardest things to recreate in rct imo but the way aero did it looked good as I can see what he was trying to create

    About the terror of tower I just really liked the building more.
  • Coaster Ed%s's Photo
    First of all, thanks for the kinds words regarding egypTopia. I did put a lot of work into making things just right so I'm glad that some of you 'get it' even though I realize it's a bit different than the type of parks most are releasing nowadays. Ragarding the zoo, I actually built that after Sea World Sahara was released so I can't claim any kind of credit for that park. I did garner some inspiration from that as well as Segaman's Marineland map and another map which I can no longer remember the name of (sorry). Oh yeah, and that missing pipeline ride was a glitch. I was experimenting with different ways of tunneling the go carts through the pyramids before I compromised and just raised the land a half step, so this must have got left behind. I thought it was kinda mysterious though so I kept it in there.

    But the main reason I'm posting is to talk about the other runner ups. I spent some more time looking at these parks and I'm so glad I did. For awhile I was quite frustrated because nothing looked good to me anymore but I think I'm over that now. I'll add reviews of each of these 3 parks one at a time.

    Disneyland Mid-America - Like all Aero parks, you really have to spend some time looking at the details to appreciate the brilliance of this park. There are just so many great ideas in this park. The Wright Bros. Flying machine, the space restaurant, the rotating transport 3000 hub, the atlantis submarine. But even when there aren't brilliant new ideas there's familiar elements mixed together in wonderful new ways. The thunder mountain layout is a testament to quality ride design from start to finish. Much of the architecture doesn't strike my fancy, overuse of the ugly castle theme I think, but obviously the rides and the theming are the important thing. I'm less enthusiastic about some of the dark rides like Indiana Jones which is pretty short and uninteresting and the Pirate ride which has too much of a jungle feel I think. Stormrider also looks awfully out of place. What this park lacks in elegance (which I will henceforce call the 'X-Sector effect ;) ) it makes up in brilliant new theming ideas which is definately everything I expect out of an Aero park. And I haven't even mentioned map 2 yet! Map 2 has even more wonderful theming ideas most notably the great (steel hull) pirate ship and that discovery island section which just has too much brilliant theming to mention. Unbelievable stuff. This map suffers a bit more from boring castle theme buildings and a bit too much of the random rock land. Villain Mountain, Countdown to Extinction, and 20,000 leagues are the highlights ridewise. At first glance I sort of wrote these parks off but having taken a second look I was truly blown away. Awesome work Aero, I am humbled by your innovation and sense of design.

    Pinewood Grove - I'm a little bit saddened by the 'lukewarm' response this park is getting. Just like DMA I sort of wrote this park off after glancing at it once but when I went back to really give it a good look it warmed my heart :) This park accomplishes everything I tried to do in Cedar Creek as far as traditional parks are concerned only it does it better. There are definately a lot of trees here but Robo took some time to follow the coastline with shrubs which really enhances the landscape even though some more geological (?) variation would have been appreciated as well. The coasters are all pretty simple affairs in the realistic style but they also have little touches which give them personality. Whether it be the terrain hugging 'Diamond' or the sleek U shaped turns of the 'Racer' all of these coasters resonate with more care than most realistic parks have. Nevis' Hyper/Giga has a wonderfully twisted layout which it seems I haven't seen much of with these style coasters in RCT. It does go a little slower than I would have liked, but allowances muct be made I guess when a coaster looks this good. I don't really think the duelers work too well but I'm sorta biased in that regard. Map 2 is what really shines though. I absolutely love the simple standup coaster, the flying coaster (we must have had a mind meld when it came to naming our flyers ;) ) and that wooden coaster that drops under the freeway and weaves through the trees on the other side. The hotel is great in an understated way. This is the kind of architectural simplicity that I really enjoy for whatver reason. I think this looks nicer than the overly elaborate hotels most build (not refering to anyone in particular) and I also think this is the best looking water park I've ever seen. It's clear that people who don't like realistic style parks won't really find anything that inspires them here but for me this park is a touching reminder of everything a realistic park can be when done right. Bravo robo, you've been dancing around this kind of park for some time but you've really hit the nail square on the head with this one.

    Paradise Falls - Sorry guys, you'll have to wait a bit longer for this one. I need to do a little more inspecting to do it justice.
  • aero21%s's Photo
    Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
    Coaster Ed- I have to say that i also, was very impressed with yor park. You did some things (ie, rally ride, luge) that i wanted to put into my parks. It's true that you have to look closely at DMA to see the little hidden things (example, did you see that i put in the ride mechanisms for Wright Bros.?) . I watched your park for awhile and the little things are what really impressed me. I loved how your luge machine took two runs to get through the loop, simply brilliant! I also try and look at the park from a perspective of "what would it be like to actually be there".

    Regarding concerns:
    - Stormrider - i put this ride in because i really liked the front facade i put in, the ride had less inspiration. I agree it isn't your typical Disney ride, but it has merit. What you don't see is what i see in my imagination. Think of being in this ride in blackness, wind, lightning and the sounds of rain surround you. These are things that i can't convey to you, but i see it.

    -No roofs on attractions- I had to do it for my own sanity. I don't like haveing to make walls transparent to watch a ride. You will notice that i tried a sort of Cut-Away stratagy pertaining to the ride. sorry if that upsets the norm, but i felt it was batter suited for the ride.

    -Triton's Castle- What building in RCT isn't just raised land with coaster pieces running through it. possibly 70% of NE parks use that style, so why the inquisition when i do it? It looks fantastic, and it doesn't contain any obscene objects (although i was thinking about it :lol: )

    -Maintenance- I really didn't try for that aspect, only cause some of the rides were impossible to maintain. Try useing the beast trainer to make the rides not break down, it helps.


    That's about it, i'm glad many of you have liked DMA and hope you visit it often to find all the "little" details.



    PEACE
  • GuestSkully%s's Photo
    I can not in any way believe that Disney Mid-America or Imagination didn't win.THose are my top 2 RCT parks.Oh well, I just like the great feels of parks more then coasters.The dueling coasters let me down, though.CLones of DD pretty much. 8@
  • mantis%s's Photo

    I loved how your luge machine took two runs to get through the loop, simply brilliant! 

    -Triton's Castle- What building in RCT isn't just raised land with coaster pieces running through it.  possibly 70% of NE parks use that style, so why the inquisition when i do it?  It looks fantastic, and it doesn't contain any obscene objects (although i was thinking about it :lol: )

    That is what most luge machines are (forgetting Land of the Villain for a minute, where Adix must have had a brain block or something). Zenith (still my favourite luge, and the one that taught me how to make them) is a great example of the double-run of boosters.

    Triton's Castle, to me, looked like a poor imitation of Atlantis: The Lost Empire by NeViS. There was nothing to redeem it.
  • aero21%s's Photo
    Triton's castle in no way was meant to look like Atlantis by Nevis. Also, the double launch on the luge was the first time I saw it, didn't see those other parks. But for those who made it before Ed, your brilliant too.


    PEACE
  • Roberto Roboparks%s's Photo
    Just came back from checking the parks. My top 3:

    Disneylands Mid-America: A very Aero park. Areo theming, Areo architecture, Aero coasters, and Aero-realism. A fantastic park, and the best park to capture the Disney feel this good. I loved the detail in the theming and architecture (It's a small world), and only a few minor things bottered me. 9,3/10

    Egyptopia: Coaster Ed does it again. He makes a stunning park that you just have to like. Brillant rally ride, great theming and architecture, but some slow coasters, just like Cedar Creek. Oh well, great park, but not as good as Cedar Creek! 8,9/10

    Paradise Falls: I didn't really like this park, and I can't really desribe what I don't like about it. It just seemed a little un-organized in a way. 6,5/10
  • Liampie%s's Photo

    Pinewood Grove
    I've been warming up to some Roberto Roboparks lately, after not having paid any attention to him at all for a long time. I can appreciate it more and more. Despite having no peeps, the park feels much more alive than most LL parks. There's plenty of fun to look at rides (the B&M invert duelers are cool) and cute little spots. This is not the type of park that you can enjoy by taking it apart and appreciating every individual element as something brilliant. Individually nothing stands out, but as a whole the park works very well. Reminds me of Watkins Woods a lot.

    May as well comment on the other parks.

    Paradise Falls
    A few cool things like the hyper coaster with the giant waves, but overall this park doesn't come together. Everything is meh.

    Disneyland Mid-America
    Another park(maker) that I didn't pay a lot of attention to. I'm all about that Fatha/RRP/whoever style of parkmaking, but aero offers something completely different. Take the main street for example, with its inclusion of urban scenery objects. Despite having never been to a Disney park (and I don't intend to), you can tell that aero21 knows enough about Disney parks to create his own convincingly. Every building, ride and area clearly has a lot of thought and care put into it. Aesthetically it's not top notch, but the park won me over anyway. Great runner-up to Lichfield!

    egypTopia
    Yes

  • Cocoa%s's Photo

    egypTopia
    Yes


    Yes

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