WhosLeon

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• Netherlands

• Accolade Panelist

checking out these was slightly frustrating to me, as i think both concepts have quite a bit of potential but im not sure whether they fully realised it. both parks seemed to have a lack of polish on them, definitely hot springs more so than ghirardelli. in ghirardelli i had a hard time getting into the ctr's used as landscaping and roads. i took that the intention was to create a dreamy atmosphere, but unfortunately to me it made the map mostly look more sterile and flat than it otherwise could've been. the macro was a bit questionable to me as well, the worst offender probably being the awkwardly positioned golden gate bridge funneling into a two-lane street. in many cases this park just left me wondering what exactly the intention was behind some of the stylistic and compositional choices that were made as i couldn't quite figure it out at times. in hot springs some areas felt quite unfinished, the completely unpopulated springs and the coasters not properly duelling are probably the worst cases for me. however, both parks do have some really decent moments overall; i really liked the attempt at lombard street in the canes park (for me the only moment where the CTR road use is fully justified). my favourite area of the map is probably the waterfront - really pleasant atmosphere there and a great sign pasted onto the lift of the woodie. in hot springs i was a fan of the overall macro and dramatic landscaping doubling as kanji signs, great idea. the corner with the black/beige industrial buildings and chimneys is the most successful part of the map for me, really love how the ice canopy creates a sense of depth there. there's a lot of interesting architecture as well as atmospheric nooks and crannies to explore in this park.

overall i found the parks to be pretty close together in quality, but i ultimately connected to the SJ park a bit more because of its strong macro composition and overall atmosphere.
 

Sea of Symphonies really won me over with its amazing animal and coral sculptures. i keep finding more and more and they all make me smile. my favourites so far are probably the spacek pipes used as corals/musical instruments under the valley of the coasters' first drop and the huge shrimp framing the norwegian loop. overall macro is rock solid too, love the big lead-in to the hotel as well as the trident path decal. in some places i wish you would've shown a bit more restraint to let the set pieces of the map really shine, but i suppose the complete maximalism also has its charm.

Raveland is a great park, too. it's funny that y'all dropped two rave/party parks in a row haha. this map is packed with great designs. some standouts for me were the armadillo (?) stage design, the laser tower and the robot sculpture near the entrance. The little Evergreen Gardeners DJ booth as a tribute to the fallen soldiers is cute as well. Getting a slice of the campground in is a good idea, i would've loved to maybe see a bit more of that as it's such a fun and unseen aesthetic. i also think a bigger mainstage with an even bigger crowd would've been nice; the one that's there is cool but just like the tents in Cirque i kinda wish you went bigger and more "all out" with the set pieces.

no one ever asks how is leon.....

two parks that are unique and special in their own way... this one's gonna take a while to decide. upon opening last night my first impression was leaning busters heavily. just a super cool in-your-face aesthetic that brings something we haven't seen before to the table. while the filter might mask some of it a little (or perhaps a little too much at times), there's brilliant fundamentals underneath; a killer layout and some of the best rockwork in recent memory. LHC's park seemed aesthetically a little bit less refined and "perfected" so to say, but makes up for it in it's storytelling. i'm not done with follow the whole narrative yet but i've already laughed out loud multiple times. great work from both teams

i've been having a blast exploring these! they both score very high on the fun-factor scale with tons of little details to discover. the huge mech in Bugs and Bots is probably up there with the coolest RCT set-pieces i've ever seen. i love how the mechs are in animated positions, makes them a lot more interesting to look at. my favourite details are probably the ant farm and the forklift fight scene, so good. overall i really love the parks' aesthetic, it feels very intentional and fresh. discovery museum is great all the same; there's a lot more to it than meets the eye at first. aside from the detailed and lively museum exhibits i think my favourite thing about this entry is all the structural details. i'm often not really sold by exploring a park with cutaway view, but in this park its really fun to use because you can move up and down to dissect how all the floors and supports fit together from a technical standpoint which is great! it reminds me of it was done in Tokyo Dome but this feels even more elaborate, really sells the whole park for me.

definitely going to use the three day window here to make sure i've seen everything that went into these parks. great match guys