MorganFan

• Offline
• United States

Sure why not

Wowie zowie! Oh my gosh this is totally bonkers! What a matchup between two heavy-hitting parks! I can't believe H2H is already over! This one is definitely gonna be one tough vote! Congrats to both teams! Gonna have to wait to make my decision on this one!

This was indeed a tough vote. I went back and forth between the two several times over the last couple days.


Ghirardelli's Dream

I am very torn on this park. At surface level, it feels refreshing in part due to the landscaping and road CTRs, but the end result feels a bit stale and even uncanny. Maybe there could have been some subtle variation or little details that add some life to the very pristine surroundings. I can't deny that it's very clean! Almost to a fault though, as the scenes all kind of blend together for me. The standout of the park is definitely Ghirardelli Square, but the actual square is so cramped! I think you guys may have gone a bit overboard on the archy, toning down the density of structures would have greatly helped to add balance and breathing room to the map. One thing I love about this park is that it is a whole interconnected city! I liked the suspended coaster a lot, actually the most out of all the coasters, though I had trouble getting it to run. Fisherman's Wharf is probably my favorite part. Ultimately this is a good park with a strong vibe, but it falls short in terms of macro, forcefully smashing together its impressive setpieces and citybuilding.


Neo Hot Springs

I am also very torn on this park. I wanted so much more, but I'm ok with what we got. At first I thought the theme needed more time in the oven, but the more I looked at it, the more I came to see the light. This park shines in the big picture. I originally thought a palette might have improved it, but I'm rescinding that opinion because the blue kanji-ice brings a much-needed pop of light and contrast to the darker, muted colors of the architecture. It pains me that the entire map was not as detailed as the storefront sections that others have highlighted so far. I was able to get the coasters to duel consistently by setting minimum wait time to 30 sec, and while it was satisfying to finally get that sync, I ended up wishing for better views of the coaster and more prominent points of interaction. The other parts of the park fell a bit flat without the crazy detailing and movement achieved in its best areas. In all, the level of liveliness that you guys managed to pull off in a park that feels so unbalanced is impressive.


I felt the temptation to null, but I resisted, for I know it is truly man's basest folly

Dambuster Home Video Presents: Buxom the Sunset Sorceress, and the Purple Haze at Castle Death

There is so much I can say about Buxom. It seemingly formed out of thin air early on; we had many ideas at the time, but the prevailing notion was that a fantasy park combining Andrew and Cocoa's best qualities would be sure to sweep any opposition. I awkwardly hung around as the idea started to solidify, taking 70s/80s fantasy (e.g. DnD, Frank Frazetta, and the swords & sorcery genre) as core inspirations. I was hooked by the concept, having an affinity for the aesthetic and great memories of a retro Frank Frazetta-themed pizza joint in Austin, TX.

There had been an idea to play with map shapes, which Cocoa originally proposed with a cross-shaped map.


Soon, Andrew had the idea to represent a pentagram inexplicitly through map features, and I played with the geometry until it worked.


Thus, I had just created the first save file of this park, cursing it in the process. I think you can still see the pentagram's influence on the final park, even though we abandoned the idea of making the pentagram shape obvious and visible. With that, Cocoa did some park planning, and we started the arms race for the best possible inverted coaster layout we could muster. It ended up being a combined effort with ideas from both of us and was also tweaked wherever needed to suit the macro.

Andrew insisted on representing the stylized colors of the 70s/80s fantasy art blowing around in the brainstorm, leading to the idea for a sunset palette. We were all pretty much sold as soon as we saw the first palette test runs. This was also constantly tweaked to get it just right. With that, the building began.

This being my first H2H park, I was completely unprepared for the thrill of watching one's teammates put together a park at a rate and skill level far beyond my comprehension. Simply put, I feel extraordinarily blessed to have been a part of this park, if only just for how much I learned from being on it. That being said, I am proud of my contributions. Regardless, I strived to keep pace and give feedback when needed.

It would be pointless to attempt an exact description of who did what, as there was so much iteration going on during building that everyone got their hands dirty in someone else's work at some point. That goes without saying, a lot of nuking occurred.

The environment and landscaping were a masterclass by Andrew, greatly complimented by Cocoa's scenes and setpieces. Every new Andrew screen of castle parts or rockwork was inspirational, and my jaw probably dropped when I saw Cocoa's nearly-finished cult ritual cutaway scene for the first time.

The castle was a major hurdle, and Andrew took to it in no time, with bits and pieces from Cocoa and me as well. We wanted the best castle possible and agreed that Romanian-style castles perfectly represent the vibe were going for. Luxurious and imposing, but still very old, and maybe even haunted.

 

Anyway, before long, a park started to take shape, and things really started to solidify. We cruised to the submission date and waited for the votes to come in. And then they didn't. Oh well. It was a tough battle, and a thrill to watch our park make a late comeback only to fall back down hours before the voting deadline.

The work I'm most proud of in this park is the stalagmites in the cave, gatehouse, trail, and bridge on the back side of the castle, and coaster supports. My only regret is that I didn't have as much availability as I expected and that this lil bridge didn't make it onto the map.


I am also proud of my musical contribution to this park: Fresh Fur by Castle Rat. Not only a sick song, it was released right around the start of this park and perfectly communicated the vibe we were trying to cultivate. There was a near-constant drip of shared music and media throughout the park's timeline for us to bond over. A great experience for all!

I'm not even really sure how it ended up tying in with Buxom - an obscure pulp fantasy VHS series the three of us serendipitously recalled from each of our childhoods - but its inclusion is undeniable and makes perfect sense. Buxom 4 lyfe! Also, Grimblo won our hearts, but we are heartbroken at the recent news of his late actor. This park is dedicated to him. May he rest in peace.


Murder in McAllan

Congrats LHC, good game and well played; your park is no slouch! The 1/4 Scot in me is happy to see a Scotland park. Indeed, when one thinks of Scotland, the first image is often dark, cloudy, colorless and depressing. However, this park proves the contrary with all of its excitement and vitality incorporated into the overall scene. My favorite section was definitely the village along the water, which incorporated the family shuttle so well and felt very true to life. The large manor is impressive as well as the interior, and while I could repeat the criticisms weighed against the wooden coaster, I will say that it doesn't get in the way too much and allows for the distillery architecture to stand out. In total, the sum of this map's parts are what really make it, allowing the viewer to get lost in each section, looking for details, so the murder mystery is a smart way to enforce that kind of close eye.
Favorites: wee chippy, cathedral ruins, brodie's tavern, waterfront, and distillery setpieces.

 

Raveland

While I will admit that I'm not personally a big fan of edm festival culture, this park allowed me to experience it from the safety of my computer! There's so much on this map, the theme really comes to life in the details; my favorites being the foam party, music notes coming out of the cave, the famous artist H2HX arriving, and all the little sculptures and art installations around. This is without a doubt the best representation of a music festival we've seen in RCT, and I'm a bit surprised it took so long to get here, but you guys knocked it out of the park! I love the bits of old machinery/industry infrastructure which give the scene so much character, and while it is dense, readability is not an issue here. Fantastic coaster, which also lends a great splash of blue across the red and greige surroundings, however I feel that it dominates a bit too much space in the center, leaving the rest of the park to feel pushed into the corners. Overall, this is a damn good park that is fun to look at and rewards a close eye, definitely one of the best parks we've seen this H2H.


Sea of Symphonies

 

This park is so beautiful it puts me in a trance, and all of the peeps getting stuck seem to agree. While I sometimes think themed map edges are gratuitous, the coral reef map edge is just magnificent and really ties a bow on the wonderful park inside. Very effective use of space with the rides peeking through as well. The color use is top notch; for an underwater park, using blue only for the rooves (the "water") while leaving the rest of the map open for all of the green, purple, pink, orange, red, and black, is the work of a mastermind. Speaking of which, we've seen a fair few underwater maps, but none of the whimsical variety (unless I'm mistaken). It lends itself very well to RCT and I could imagine myself going here. The hotel is imposing and feels especially massive from the back side. I love the park entrance and how it opens out into the trident main street and plaza. Giant octopus is a huge W. Coaster is very well integrated, almost to a fault; it is a bit hard to follow in a few spots. Norwegian loop wrapped around the hotel entrance plaza is another W. A lot of peeps look like they need to pee though. Don't they know they can just go? It's the ocean. Fintastic park! Definitely one of my favorites.