Park Wars / Place Your Bets

I sincerely hope there isn't a limit to how long posts can be cause this sucker is big. In fact, this oughta count as 3 posts. I took it upon myself to write up short reviews and odds for each of the 16 Park Wars companies. Note that these are not necesarily in order of which ones I like the most, but in order of which is more likely to win in my opinion. Alternate opinions are welcome. Anyway, if you want to place bets, odds are fixed at whatever they were when you bet. That means a bet on WB right now earns you 3:2 odds. Next month however, all the odds will likely change at which point a bet on WB may be different understand? Now you won't actually win anything of course, but it's all in the spirit of the game. And yes this is totally unauthorized, but hopefully the authorities concerned will approve. Deep breath...


Warner Brothers: Well this park sets the standard for all others to meet. It may not be as realistic as Sea World Desert Sahara or as self contained as Kennywood’s Pearl Bay or as intricately detailed as Europa Worldwide but the balance between theming, rides, and architecture here is just right. If I wanted to gripe I might say that the Super Hero section is too organic, not urban looking enough or that the western section suffers from a lack of logic (palm trees and cacti on a mountain peak?) but those are insignificant. The rides are wonderful, the buildings nicely varied and detailed and when I look at it I forget about every other park wars chain. Yes folks you have your work cut out for you, this is the park to beat. 3:2

New Element: I suppose the NE style is defined by the Spotlights more than anything else so who better than two previous Spotlight winners to represent this website. Pyro and X-Sector have created a wonderful looking park with a consistent use of red and yellow buildings against a background of green trees. I still find the use/abuse of cacti rather amusing but it doesn’t hurt the look of the park any. Heatwave has some great supports and fits the section quite nicely. La Tempestad is even more impressive looking especially for a coaster of that size. NE has the advantage of building in a proven style which places them highly as contenders for the crown. Everything here suggests they will meet if not exceed expectations. 2:1

Europa Parks: This park opens with a bang showing strong commitment to theme and traditional ride design. I’ve always been a fan of detailed theming and the duo of mantis and Nic have packed a plethora of wonderful little details into these two sections. I would argue that the Tibet section looks more like Switzerland than Tibet, but I don’t really mind. Both areas are complete and don’t overuse trees which is wonderful. Revolutionary and Plateau Plunge, the two large attractions, are both very nice but also fairly ordinary--nothing to get too excited about. But with theming like this a de-emphasis on rides is acceptable. Top to bottom this is one of the best of the bunch to me and a strong frontrunner so far. 5:1

Sea World: This park has the goods in all the right places. Wonderful details, great atmosphere, creative attractions, and a dedication to realism in the Sea World name. The buildings are all well adorned without being tacky and the color variations are all perfect. It was disappointing that all those detailed animal pens are empty, but I suppose we can’t expect miracles. Yes Chauncy and micool have crafted a lovely peace of Sea World nostalgia for us all to enjoy but I’m a little unclear how it will fit into the overall war. Just what points this park chain will contend for is a little unclear at the moment. Still, this park chain will likely continue to surprise and attract a great deal of interest I suspect. 8:1

Kennywood Parks: The size of Kennywood’s inaugural park puts the others to shame. You won’t find bridges to nowhere or unused buildings here. Even more impressive is that all this park is good old architecture and theming with only one coaster, and a modest one at that. While I would have expected to see at least one wooden coaster from the park chain famous for its classic woodies, I’m at least glad to find little hacks like the bumper boats and bumber cars which subtelly enhance the realism. The terrain is all lovely and the park just feels more complete than any of the others. I wish more of the buildings had something in them and I hope to see more Kennywood touches like darkrides and classic vintage rides in the years to come. 8:1

Busch Gardens: Well I have mixed feelings about this park. The El Dorado themed section is quite nice with buildings that are generally ell executed and one of the best steel coasters so far in The Golden Temple. I love those sweeping turns out over the trees. The waterpark also had some nice touches like the Dhingie pickup and a number of nice slides. But I think the trees in this park start to get in the way too much, especially in the waterpark. Busch Parks shows a lot of potential but they need to rely less on trees. I’ll forgive the absence of a Beerhouse for now with the assumption that one will be added in the upcoming years. 10:1

Cedar Fair: This park impresses with its commitment to thrills above all else. No fewer than 4 coasters roar through this midway and with a great flume ride, a dark ride, a skycoaster, and an assortment of flat rides added to the mix Cedar Fair dishes up the most well rounded ride assortment of the bunch. Comet and Corkscrew are wonderful designs and the walkways are all nicely adorned with fences and flowers. This park chain will likely suffer from comparisons to the more theme oriented competition, but the level of consistency and planning here is inspiring. 12:1

Efteling: Trees! Look at all the pretty trees! I quite like this park. Efteling Park has a lot of dark rides and I applaud Evil WME and KumbaMaster’s adherence to their company title. The trees, lakes and family coasters are really quite charming. Bonus points for atmosphere. It was also a nice idea to leave space for new additions in the current section, a practice I wish more would have followed. Droom Vlucht would have been a lot nicer though if it actually moved. This park would have been a great start if it were a little bigger because it was so sparse. However, if the devotion to realism in design and great atmosphere exhibited here are any indication, great things will be coming from this company. 15:1

Hershey Parks: There’s something to be said about pure coaster design. When you take away all the bells and whistles, many modern coasters fall apart but the coasters in this park are all excellent despite their simplistic approach to theming. Most of the buildings look like they came off the same assembly line, however, and I think more bushes and less trees would have given a more realistic look to the wooded areas. Clearly these parkmakers don’t dabble in most of the theming ideas thrown around NE but the style is quite appropriate for Hershey and this would still be my first choice for pure coaster riding fun. In the end it will likely be a matter of tastes which determines this park chain’s fate and unfortunately since this is NE so most will favor that style, I set the odds for this park a little lower than it deserves. 15:1

Tyline Parks: This park is very much in kinship with the famous Orange Valley and shows off a theming style which can only be described as eclectic. Little bits of theming are used in frightening new ways which sometimes works wonderfully as in the entry area and sometimes misfires as in some of the buildings by Streamliner. The overall effect is a park which looks very cluttered. There are some flashes of brilliance here such as Screamliner and El Chico but it remains to be seen whether the good or the not so good will dominate. Perhaps the biggest wild card, this park chain certainly makes things interesting and if I were a betting man I would think long and hard about putting my money on Tyline because it may pay off huge, but then again… 18:1

Fuji-Q: One of the most traditional parks, this park impresses nevertheless with very tasteful rugged theming and some nice attention to detail. Steel Wave has some nice supports but there’s a limit to how much a shuttle looper can impress really so it’s too bad this has to be the sole coaster in this park so far as it would be much cooler in a number 2 coaster role by principle of its design. This is one of the smallest parks so far, but clearly Kiddo and Bocoson have what it takes. It will be very interesting indeed to see what comes next. 20:1

Boomers: Theres a lot to like about Boomers’ first offering. While certainly not the largest park released, Camelot Xtreme has plenty to do including something nobody expected, an excellent TOGO standup coaster. Pawn and Outlaw certainly get points for originality there. The beach is a nice touch but a little too unadorned. Building design is simple but not poor by any means and the Laser Tag arena is another nice touch. It’ll be interesting to see what Boomers can pull off with more time on their hands. 20:1

Adventure Parks: Well there’s nothing in particular wrong with this park. Quite the contrary, the style of theming is quite enjoyable. Flowers and trees are well chosen and don’t overwhelm the rides which are all very traditional looking. What is here looks nice unfortunately, there isn’t much here. It is just year 1, but this park would have really benefited from a little bit more work and another coaster or perhaps water ride. Adventure Parks certainly shows potential, but if they want to be contenders they need to spend some more time on each installment. 25:1

Nagashima Parks: Well, it’s green. Very, very green.While there are a number of nice details in this park, there are also some definite pet peeves. The exposed ride entrances and exits for example really don’t appeal to me. What do I like? The hotel buildings and gardens are nice examples of Japanese stylings and the log ride has a nice jungle feel to it. The custom supports on Swamp Gator are rather nice looking and the wooden coaster is certainly not bad, though rather ordinary. But the green in that swamp section is just too much really. There’s a lot of potential here and I have a particular fondness for Japanese theming, but please for heaven’s sake expand your color palette a bit. 35:1

Six Flags: Six Flags’ major talent is making the parkgoing public an offer they can’t refuse: tons of coasters and flatrides for one admission price. Unfortunately this park falls short in that department with only a shuttle coaster and a wooden coaster. The elements of this park aren’t particularly bad but they just don’t come together in a neat and tidy manner. Also, the tree selection is generally pretty bad which tends to bring down the overall appeal of the park. The fact of the matter is, Six Flags parks live or die by their coasters so in the future I would suggest bigger investment into the big name coaster companies like Intamin and B&M. 40:1

Disney: Well there’s no sense picking on an easy target. The fact of the matter is, Disney style is notoriously difficult to pull off in RCT. I think every Disney park in RCT represents a compromise and while some come close, none so far have been spot on. As for this park, there just isn’t much for peeps to do. The desert terrain is a welcome change of tempo though and the sails on that pirate ship look quite nice. Gigaforce clearly has big plans for the rest of the park, but since these odds are based on what has been released so far, it comes in last so hopefully year 2 will bring big things. Don’t fret though, we all want you to succeed. 50:1

Wow, that's a pretty good analysis you have there. I agree with pretty much everything you've written, although I thought Tyline would have a bit better odds for that kick ass entryway. Oh well.

I agree with your list, uh, compleatly. However when it comes to the odds you are ignoring many, many things.

First of all, there are points. The most successful park wins, and the success is judged by the profit, or in the case of parkwars, the points. Right now many, many, parks have wasted quite a bit of points, while Sea World Desert Sahara, still has all 50 in tact. As such, points wise, they are winning (goody.)

Also, you ignore public reactions, in favor of personal opinion. This is probably one of the biggest faults in your odds, because public reaction is the sole judge of parkwars.

Anyways, apart from this, as I said, the reviews were quite well written and got the point across without being cruel, or overly joyous (I would take notes, but it would mark an end to all my fun!)

Yes, as of now, because of our lazyness, we are winning, but I think he means in the end. As in, not just year one.

Very nice analogy Coaster Ed. I wish I had time to do one.

Yes, as of now, because of our lazyness, we are winning, but I think he means in the end. As in, not just year one.

Now Micool, unless you've been a naughty boy and have been doing some unapproved spending, well, we'll win this thing by the end. It's all a matter of economy.

Yes, as of now, because of our lazyness, we are winning, but I think he means in the end. As in, not just year one.

Now Micool, unless you've been a naughty boy and have been doing some unapproved spending, well, we'll win this thing by the end. It's all a matter of economy.

True, true. In a way it's certainly all about economy, but you must not forgot those points, the economy itself, is gained by voting. Spending your points wisely is a must, but if you do not earn points, spending them will get harder and harder.

Yes, dear Mr. Roboparks, however we plan on gaining votes, and on building more than just animal pens and aquariums. There are many things we can do within the essentials of Sea-World, which will cost us little, or no points, but could potentially gain many.

But we're waiting until we have enough points so that we can spare building a coaster or two, instead of jumping right into it.

There is a very complex economic brain behind the operation, and of course you have Micool. Hopefully he won't fuck my grand plans for parkwars domination up! That would be bad.

5:1?

Woah. Did'nt think we stood a chance to be honest. And I agree, Revolutionary is VERY plain and the best part of the ride is the turnaround.

True, some parks were cheap asses when building this year. But Tyline spent 40 points (unknowingly, but still...). However, you have to spend some to make some.

According to iris, Tyline has the longest and tallest continuous circuit coaster (Screamliner), so that's 20 points back right there. In addition, we automatically get 5 points for building a coaster next month. And we're up 25 just like that.

And I don't want to sound cocky here, but Screamliner has a good chance of winning best woodie this month simply because there isn't a lot of competition. There are, like, three other woodies.

True, some architecture in Tyline is a bit spotty due to time constraints and creativity slumps, but I plan on going back and giving it a facelift sometime. But the first few things we put in (entry, Screamliner, and Hydra) are top notch... we just ran into problems later. So... yeah.

Atleast we don't have randomly raised land.

Hahahahaha Disney in last w00t w00t. O well...i didnt think it would place high at all anywayz...im almost too busy so i might drop parkwars, dont kno yet. Anywayz, thats a pretty accurate analysis cuz i havnt done like anything yet. Great job on all analysis!

I wanna no what happened to:

Epic Parks
Universal
Tussauds
Blackpool ltd.

I take it there not releaseing one this year (month) but will they be releasing one next month

Just to address a few comments--

I tried to base these odds on public opinion rather than my personal preference but of course my preference no doubt played a large role. Actually I was just going to rate them but I thought this was more interesting. Since this is the first month, the final odds are fairly arbitrary. As people vote and points are won and more opinions are stated it'll be easier to judge public opinion and next month the odds will be adjusted accordingly.

Chauncy I know that you have the most points but you also don't have any coasters which is how most points are won. You won't get very far under this current strategy, but I'm sure as your grand plan unfolds you'll gain better odds. This is only temporary remember just like each minthly park installment.

You're absolutely right about the points Launched (of Tyline parks, lol). I had considered that you might very well win those points but my odds are for winning the final battle based on what you have here. I knew I placed Tyline too low but I'll raise it next month if need be. All the more reason to bet now

Europa Parks:I’ve always been a fan of detailed theming and the duo of mantis and Nic have packed a plethora of wonderful little details into these two sections. I would argue that the Tibet section looks more like Switzerland than Tibet, but I don’t really mind. Both areas are complete and don’t overuse trees which is wonderful. . Top to bottom this is one of the best of the bunch to me and a strong frontrunner so far. 5:1

Wow, it's great to know people like it! It's true that Nic and I have very different styles (at least I think so). I'm alternative in the way I conceive of things, whereas nic has an eclectic way of building things that turns out very accurate and atmospheric. Nic gets me to 'tidy up' (as he puts it) his areas, and I get him to slightly jazz up my areas.

Nic mentioned the Tibet area looked swiss! Ah well, I can't say i've visited either country

I'm also glad you commented on the more restrained use of trees. It's something I was guilty of in my first megapark, and then again in my second to a slightly lesser extent. I managed to reel myself in this time, and look for other theming methods. I'm particularly proud of my cascades, and the way the whole Tibet area looks like a penguin when viewed on the map (what, you didn't notice that?)

Thanks again, but my bet is on Tyline because Harakiri is the god of RCT (not my god, I worship something entirely different...)

Am I the only one who liked my woodie? And my invert? lol Well at least coaster ed did!

Boomers: Theres a lot to like about Boomers’ first offering. While certainly not the largest park released, Camelot Xtreme has plenty to do including something nobody expected, an excellent TOGO standup coaster. Pawn and Outlaw certainly get points for originality there. The beach is a nice touch but a little too unadorned. Building design is simple but not poor by any means and the Laser Tag arena is another nice touch. It’ll be interesting to see what Boomers can pull off with more time on their hands. 20:1

Hmmm...20:1 i can kinda understand that...were gonna make year 2 a helluva lot better tho...weve pretty much got everything we want planned out and we're not gonna wait till 4 days left to finish it this month either so look for Boomers to hit the higher part of the charts...and yeah were workin on the beach area too...we got some unique ideas for that too...i think it'll turn out DAMN GOOD!

Yes, dear Mr. Roboparks, however we plan on gaining votes, and on building more than just animal pens and aquariums. There are many things we can do within the essentials of Sea-World, which will cost us little, or no points, but could potentially gain many.

But we're waiting until we have enough points so that we can spare building a coaster or two, instead of jumping right into it.

There is a very complex economic brain behind the operation, and of course you have Micool. Hopefully he won't fuck my grand plans for parkwars domination up! That would be bad.

Not JUST a Economic brain, marketing is something you cannot forget. You have to anticipate what the voters want. Building a small kiddie or a wild mouse would probably be wasting your precious points, since there won't be all too many people voting for it, atleast not enought to get it on top.

Oh and X,
Epic Parks
Universal
Tussauds
Blackpool ltd.
will probably release their stuff next month, it is allowed, the only problem they'd possible get is a gap with the other parks.

Once again Dear Mr. Roboparks, it is all covered. Just shut-up. I know exactly what I'm doing, sort of. Year One gave many voters precisley what they wanted, which is why we are in so many "Top 3's" according to that little poll, and if we had coasters, we may have even been many peoples number one.

We didn't add coasters, because I knew everyone would go about wasting money on year one, instead of saving it up, and spending money, only when nessecary. There is a pattern to true park success, and I am following it, with slight variations, for better preformance in the parkwars arena.

Yup.

Now if only Micool was online during the day...

where do i send the dough in?

thnks for the quite positive review.. and the whole addition of theming in the existing area wasnt really an idea it was needed to finish it in time but when you think about it its actually quite nice

thnks for doin these reviews, they look like they took a lot of time and they reflect that in their awesomeness.. well correctness..

EDIT::: DROOMVLUCHT DOES MOVE!! (clicketh on the station, the trains hang from the above track.. and it kinda looks like the real one !!!)

Once again Dear Mr. Roboparks, it is all covered. Just shut-up. I know exactly what I'm doing, sort of. Year One gave many voters precisley what they wanted, which is why we are in so many "Top 3's" according to that little poll, and if we had coasters, we may have even been many peoples number one.

We didn't add coasters, because I knew everyone would go about wasting money on year one, instead of saving it up, and spending money, only when nessecary. There is a pattern to true park success, and I am following it, with slight variations, for better preformance in the parkwars arena.

Yup.

Now if only Micool was online during the day...

I understand what you're saying, but it's not always quite like that.
Warner Bros. spent FORTY points in year 1. We have already gained back all 40 points, which leaves us with the same amount of points as you, yet we still had a very good coaster (which could win steel contests in months to come as well). Also, due to our spending, we still have a good chance in winning both Best Water-Ride & Best Park, which would get us an EXTRA 25 points. So while you're conservative approach left you with 50 points at the end of 2002, our spending approach very well may leave us with 75.

...and we will all hate you for it, iris.