H2H2 / PUFFERFISH

These just keep getting longer and longer. There was a lot to talk about in this one.

THE PUFFERFISH

ROSTER:
Posix (captain) - Horstmann Laboratories (W) Anuradhapura (L) Spirits Bay (L)
Toon Towner - Purple Pill Heights (W) Maude Flanders’ Praiseland (W) Spirits Bay (L)
Aero21 - Maude Flanders’ Praiseland (W)
Midnight Aurora - Horstmann Laboratories (W) Ginnungagapet (L)
Nitrophobia - Lost Worlds (W) Enchanted Point (W)
The Judge - Purple Pill Heights (W)
Hyper Helix - Enchanted Point (W)
Creator - Anuradhapura (L)
xSteel Falcon
XVert

At the start of H2H2 this would not have been considered one of the stronger rosters. Posix and Toon Towner were impressing a lot of people back then (myself included) but had not yet grown into the A-list parkmakers they are today. Aero21 was old faithful, still working away after all these years, but he builds in a style that isn’t favored by everybody. Except for Hyper Helix, the supporting cast was relatively unknown to me. So at the start of H2H2, this was a team without any big name all stars. Since then Toon Towner and Posix surpassed all expectations and led their team remarkably well. The supporting cast, with the exception of Steel Falcon and Vert, really filled in well where they were needed. This was one team that really worked well as a unit, pumping out quality parks consistently without missing a match. Everybody on the team exceeded what was expected of them. This roster should serve as good encouragment for the lesser known parkmakers at NE right now. Some of them will emerge as stars over the next year just as Toon Towner and Posix did.

PARKS:
W-Horstmann Labratories - Posix, Midnight Aurora [LL] - 52%
W-Purple Pill Heights - ToonTowner, The Judge [RCT2] - 88%
W-Lost Worlds - Nitrophobia [RCT2] - NO VOTE
L-Anuradhapura - Posix, Creator [LL] - 44%
W-Maude Flanders' Praiseland -aero21, ToonTowner [RCT2] - 55%
L-Ginnungagapet - Midnight Aurora [LL] - 35%
W-Enchanted Point - Nitrophobia, Hyper Helix [RCT2] - NO VOTE
------------------------------------------------------------
L-Spirits Bay [LL] - Toon Towner, Posix - 36%

AVG: 52%

Overall, this is one of the strongest park lineups of any team in H2H2. For consistently good parks only the Icons can compete with this lineup. Four LL parks and four RCT2 parks and look how they alternate each week. That’s impressive. Out of the LL parks, Spirits Bay and Anuradhapura are two of the best parks in this whole competition. And both of them lost (to Corkscrewed actually - the bane of the Pufferfish). Horstmann stands up very well for a week 1 park and Ginnungagapet, despite obviously being rushed, had some great custom theming in it. Boy the Pufferfish sure had a flair for naming their parks.

Moving on to the RCT2 parks, again we have two of the best parks in the whole competition. Purple Pill Heights was the first major acheivment in RCT2 park design. Before Gila, Euroscape, and any of the Hi-Rollers parks there was Purple Pill Heights and it paved the way for all of them. Beautiful architecture only possible in RCT2 contrasted with vibrant colors and pleasant waterfalls and lagoons. Marvelous. Toon Towner also had a hand in Maude Flanders’ Praiseland which was perhaps the most detailed park in all of H2H2. It contained no less than 16 rides and some of the earliest use of Toon’s custom ¼ tile scenery. Rounding out the park lineup are two weaker parks both of which won by forfeit. Some teams were not so lucky.

PS - If anyone has Lost Worlds could they send it to me? It’s the only H2H2 park missing from my files.

REVIEW:

The Pufferfish success story starts out very much like the Sea Serpents. The team of up and coming parkmakers proved themselves by starting the season with a perfect 3-0 record. Week 1 was a preview of things to come as the Pufferfish clashed with the Icons in a battle for the ages. Horstmann Labs and Elfwood were neck and neck as the vote totals climbed up to almost 100. It was the first matchup of the season and it was also the longest and the tensest. When the dust settled, the Pufferfish were on top with a final score of 51-48. Call it a triple overtime win.

The Pufferfish were riding high after their 11th hour victory over division rivals the Icons, but they didn’t miss a beat. “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” was heard coming from the Pufferfish camp and they were right. Toon Towner and The Judge showed us all how it’s done, returning in week 2 with Purple Pill Heights. The significance of this park to NE cannot be overstated. It was a revolution in RCT2 parkmaking and the catalyst for so many great RCT2 parks that followed. The Mean Green were caught in the tidal wave and obliterated to the tune of 46-6. With a hard fought victory in week 1 and a brutal pummeling in week 2, at this point the Pufferfish had already established themselves as the most dramatic team in the competition. Every win or loss meant something.

The Pufferfish got the next two weeks off with a bye in week 3 and a forfeit by the tragically dysfunctional Blue Meanies in week 4. They used those two weeks to rest up and prepare for a rematch with the Icons in week 5. It was now Posix’ time to shine as he unleashed the beautiful (and hard to spell) Anuradhapura. As far as LL parks go, it doesn’t get much better than this. The Icons were finished. It was going to be a series sweep. Unfortunately for the Pufferfish, Foozycoaster and his pal Corkscrewed had other plans. They decided RCT2 was the game for them and crafted a miniature Parisian city called Ville de Lumieres. Any LL park would have had a tough time beating Anuradhapura but a well-crafted RCT2 park swung the vote in favor of the Icons, though not by much. Final score: 35-28. The Pufferfish dropped to 3-1 while the win elevated the Icons into a divisional tie.

The Pufferfish received another bye week before returning in week 7 to face the Soutenours. The Pufferfish didn’t take any chances this time, contracting NE parkmakers aero21 and Toon Towner to produce the massive Maude Flanders’ Praiseland. This was no ordinary H2H2 park. Sixteen rides total including four coasters, detailed architecture and theming constructed from ¼ tile objects, and even a custom statue created by Toon Towner especially for this park. Surely no team could compete with that. Surprisingly OZONE and Prince Ashitaka of the Soutenours put up quite a fight, but the Pufferfish won in the end.

While the Pufferfish were improving their record to 4-1, the Icons slipped to 3-2. With all the parades, champagne, and constant singing of “We are the Champions” someone forgot that they still needed to produce a park for week 8. So Midnight Aurora scraped together a park with one coaster and a bunch of trees at the last minute, forgot to name the free fall tower, and called it all Ginnungagapet. He was no doubt still drunk at the time. As rushed as it was, there was still some identifiable skill in the park. Enough to win a respectable portion of the vote. Those knuckleheads in the Blue Meanies camp were finally getting their act together and produced one of the most unusual H2H parks ever to compete with Midnight Aurora’s creation. Psychedelica they called it, and though it made my eyes bleed, quite a few misguided folks seemed to enjoy it. So the Pufferfish fell to 4-2 just as the Icons were celebrating their own victory and the two rivals were tied atop the division once more.

For their last matchup of the regular season you might expect the Pufferfish to go out with a bang but they were cleverly resting up their top parkmakers for the playoffs. Nitrophobia and Hyper Helix produced a park that was literally half water and trees and still came away with the win thanks to the Sea Serpents’ late season slide. With week 10 off, the Pufferfish could rest easy with an impressive season record of 5-2, plotting evil deeds for their first round matchup with the Icons.

While the Mean Green-Sea Serpent matchups were all no shows, the Icons-Pufferfish matches were becoming quite legendary. Crowds came from far and wide to see which of the two rivals would prevail this time, when it mattered the most. The two teams did not disappoint. By now Toon Towner and Posix were big stars and the two came together to craft the wonderfully imaginative Spirits Bay. The park featured the best wooden coaster in all of H2H2 and some incredibly creative scenery and architecture. But then out of the fog strode Corkscrewed and all of the Pufferfish knew their fate was sealed. Working almost entirely on his own, with a little bit of help from Pyro Penguin, Corkscrewed needed only one building to defeat the Pufferfish. Oh but what a building it was. The match didn’t last long and the Pufferfish all dispersed, shaking their fists and chanting “Misery thy name is Corkscrewed.”

Aside from the way it ended, this was a very good season for the Pufferfish. They tied the Icons for the best regular season record and produced an impressive lineup of parks. They were one of three teams that didn’t forfeit a match, some of their parks are the most beloved of the season, and they came close to going all the way. All in all, there’s a lot to be proud of here. If a few more votes had gone the other way we might all be singing the praises of the Pufferfish right now and crowning Posix captain of the year. (Of course the H2H2 Awards are still underway so that may be the case anyway...) Great season guys, sorry we had to end it early. It’s all Corkscrewed’s fault.

Other Team Summaries:
SEA SERPENTS
BLUE MEANIES
SOUTENOURS

And the Pufferfish made it harder on themselves by not only completing miniparks, but also a medium sized park in Maude's Praiseland! Those crazy fish

Purple Pill Heights and Spirits Bay deserve to be remembered for a long time, and Horstmann/Elfwood & Anuradhapura/City of Lights were two of the most hotly contested contests in the whole season.

This just shows how entertaining the Pufferfish made H2H2. Congrats Posix for leading your team, and well done on the rest for impressing us throughout!

(PS I don't have Lost Worlds either maybe it's on one of the old pages or something...)

edit - found Lost Worlds! HERE

Edited by mantis, 24 November 2003 - 03:42 PM.

Thanks for all the kind words.
Yeah, Corkscrewed, .....gah. My sweet sweet Anuradhapura

Anyway, about "Lost Worlds", not even I have it. Ask Nitrophobia, he might still have it since it's his work.

It's funny how things play out sometimes. Posix wins with the worst park of the 3 he worked on and the other two lose?!?!? Damn you Corky!

Thanks Posix for taking on the captaincy!

Thanks Ed for the write up!

Thanks Mantis and Ed for noticing Spirits Bay....I felt a little dejected at not getting much positive feedback on this.

Thanks Mantis and Ed for noticing Spirits Bay....I felt a little dejected at not getting much positive feedback on this.

lol, and I did like.... 20% and got all the praise
It was quite much, really. Of course I told them who'd deserve all the kind words but oh well, times at which ToonTowner is on AIM are so rare... how could you blame people?

[font="tahoma"]lol, and I did like.... 20% and got all the praise
It was quite much, really. Of course I told them who'd deserve all the kind words but oh well, times at which ToonTowner is on AIM are so rare... how could you blame people? [/font]

Point taken

Great Review. It's so entertaining to read about you under-dog parkmakers slamming your way to the top. But then there was Corkscrewed, the little Asian dude with skill to spare in RCT2. I feel so sorry for you...

Anyhow, where is this Purpil Pill Hieghts that i hear of? *goes of to dig through the old forums*


EDIT: Purple Pill Hieghts

Damn! The download no longer works! Could somebody please e-mail it to me at: ride620032003@yahoo.com

ride6

Should be on my parkmaker page.

Thanks Mantis and Ed for noticing Spirits Bay....I felt a little dejected at not getting much positive feedback on this.

I was a little upset as well because I thought it was one of the most incredible parks in h2h2 by far, surpassed only by Ed's 2 (or 3?) untouchables. The totem poles were brilliant, the Orca statue only touches the tips of your greatness of sculptures (best ever IMO), and the spirits were breathtaking. I also loved the individuality and creativity of the architecture and the stacking of the barrels, which did not create a cluttered effect. While Blood Island went on a mad rampage of hacking and stacking, Spirits Bay did the same, only in the opposite direction.

Ed: I'm loving it. They're becoming more and more of an entertainment column every time. Can't wait for the Icons

Hmm... Bane of Pufferfish.

That has a nice ring to it, really. Iris, can you make that my new Member Title?

Of course, don't forget that the first time, it was Foozy with at least half of the work too. Really, he deserves more credit for Villes des Lumieres, since he brought my skills up to par with that work and inspired me to produce some decent stuff.

Still, it's fun to think of myself as Pufferfish poppers.

Yeah I remember you told me it was Foozy who really got Ville de Lumieres started and established the architecture style. Once I realized that you were involved in two big Pufferfish losses, I had to play that up for all it was worth though. We all love Foozy too.

If people are missing parks, they're all located at:

http://www.nedesigns.com/H2H2/

Thanx Mantis. I got it and it's working.

ride6