Park / The Aegean
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13-April 04
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83.75%(required: none) Spotlight
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inVersed Offline
Clue six is a bitch and a half. Help!
EDIT: Nevermind. I'm still lost.
Thanx. I didn't realize how much fishy stuff was around here untill now.
On the park: Wow. I think that if this had been released a little sooner Nate could've gotten his rightful place in the eilite 8 over RRP. This map is amazing. The detail level puts this thing towards the top of the scale and all the rides are amazing. The Architecture is equally amazing. Just mountains of the stuff without the normal gimmics. This park reinvents LL to put it lightly. The only complaint I can come up with is the lack of overall color. The bushes added some green and the water some teal and that was about it. Although color seems like such a minor thing when I look at this park... It's simply incredable.
ride6
I really like this park. The custom music, the trackless go karts and everything else was just awsome.
Nice job Nate and congrats on winning your 5th Spotlight.
I don't know how you manage to impress Iris and the others in the parkmaker committe this many times but you do, congrats!
There's been better parks on occassion, there's even been a few better parkmakers, but in my book, you're the face of New Element. No one can match your consistent talent; what you bring to the game with every park, every contest, is just unnatural and upsurd.
My own lack of talent, moreso patience to work on talent, has kept me on the verge of leaving the community forever. Only New Element and a select few parkmakers keep me interested, along with rctX of course. So congrads and thanks on another Spotlight.
And get iris to update your member title
As for the park itself, I thought it was wonderful. The detail was amazing, and the overall feel of the park was something you only get out of a Natelox park. I'd too, like to see you expand a bit more, see what you can do with more colors and what not, again, on the other hand, I'd also like to see you with another darker style park. As long as you keep building, I'm happy.
BigFoot
LL rules all...
And as said before in the other topic, congrats nate.
Aérôglòbe
It was a golden opportunity not to be missed. Natelox parks, although numerous, are always met with the utmost interest throughout the RCT community. Could this be because of his wonderful video advertising, or merely the mystique surrounding his latest innovations? Evil WME couldn't wait to check The Aegean out*, though - he was there on opening day, bright and early, decked out in his best purple suit and flashing bow tie. What a total dude.
***
"Bloody Hell!" he exclaimed. The sun was out. So out, in fact, that WME was temporarily blinded, as rays reflected off the white walls of the entrance. But it wasn't the white that struck him, rather the radiant golden hues and textures of the surroundings - bronzed roofs, dusty rocks and tropical greenery created the most luxurious atmosphere. Had Cartagena been fashioned out of alcehemist's gold? Had the sun merged with the earth in wonderful union? WME, not used to such philosophical thoughts, had something of a dizzy spell. The strumming of the Gypsy Kings did nothing to help - Bamboleo only caused a sudden urge to dance.
Stumbling past the ticket offices and general amenities (kennels, garages and Park HQ), he finally found his wits. The pathway was a sandy brown, bordered on each side by beautiful pink flowers and exotic trees. The architecture was something else - so many levels, annexes and towers, all enhanced by ornate balconies and windows. An intriguing bell tower and clotheslines were further touches, demonstrating nate's meticulous attention to detail. A nearby billboard promised a thrilling bullfight, so our hero ventured up into an expansive stadium. In the centre a matador, facing bulls on both sides. He dismissed them with a flick of the red cape, the arcs of the cloth reflecting the graceful sweeping architecture making up the stadium edges. Tiring of the show, Mr Evil emerged back into the Cartagena plaza, complete with fountain, statue and clock tower. Cartagena's Story described the origins of the city and its ensuing history, explaining the rise and fall of the Carthagenian empire.
But Tiger Boy wasn't interested in such matters, fleeing the cinema for the thrills of C-IV, a beautifully crafted flatride. Half sun-dial, half gyroscope, the roulette-like spinning left our hero thoroughly dazed, his eyes awash with blood reds and deep gold. By this point, the clip from Bamboleo was fully ingrained on The Ferocious One's brain, so he decided to escape Cartagena for less dance-inducing pastures. Moving towards a distant lighthouse, our hero passed under a decorated archway and into an even older empire.
***
"Holy Feck!" he shouted, causing a flurry of doves to rise from a nearby pediment. It was as if a piece of Ancient Greece had been unearthed, and was now sitting resplendent in natelox's park. This was Athina, where immense towers of stone and mortar were surrounded by beautiful arches, arcades and columns. The harsh white of the walls contrasted with the rich tones of both foliage and landscape - both of which were reflected in the shimmering water of The Aegean. WME found immediate entertainment in the form of the Pagliacci go-karts and Gravion, a looming enterprise built on cracked stone and cobbles. Although the colours were sharp, there was a wonderful rustic atmosphere to be felt - enhanced by the hotchpotch mixture of crazy paving and golden tiles underfoot.
The towering Epirus sky-swat ride appeared to be fueled by a nearby cascade and waterwheel. Regal statues of Greek heroes stood staring at our hero as he made his way along the waterfront, getting ever closer to the aforementioned lighthouse. With its glowing chamber and rusty chains, the lighthouse struck Herr Excitement as very picturesque, gazing out across the waters towards the temple on the other side. Our intrepid explorer wanted to see this temple close up, so took a seat on a boat heading on a Voyage For Sirius. Setting out across the bay, passing nearby fishing boats and taking in the majestic views of the coastline, the boat slowly neared the far side. Passing into a secret tunnel, Evil Personified was slowly winched up through chambers and out over small streams, crossing over and under until he became completely disorientated. One part of the trek took our Siberian friend right underneath what appeared to be a large double drop. Sure enough, further winching led right to the top of the temple, and the boat emerged onto a high-speed drop and large splash. The foam from the drop seemed to be scattered in intriguing patterns around the area, but our hero had no time to consider this before traversing the bay back into the station. Well crafted and wonderfully realised, the ride had been truly enjoyable.
Soaked to the bone, Sir Tigerlot was in need of a ride to dry himself off, and The Odyssey provided just such an experience. The streamlined train was stopped and launched three times during the 2 minute ride, taking WME on a helter-skelter joyride through citadels and royal quarters, up and over mountains, and through underground caves. He was glad when the jaunt was finally over, as the following walk through the area afforded him longer looks at the wonderful buildings he'd just sped through. Natelox had surpassed himself in the architecture department by experimenting with alternative path types, complex fence interactions and intricate scenery placement. The love put into The Aegean was easily visible in every supporting column and carefully placed shrub.
Madam Tiger was now impatient to discover the other treasures this park had to offer, so he ventured over a bridge and under a hand-made wooden arch into savannah-like region at the back of the park.
***
"Golly" was all that could be heard from our hero. He'd stepped into Tunisa, a rich, grainy area populated by mud-house style architecture, adorned with wooden arches and overhangs. Bamboo balconies added extra layers to the buildings, and the pointy towers gave them a very angular look. Senor WME took a left, taking a quick ride on the immensely tall Flying Machine quad-freefall. Opting for the downward launch, he drank in the spectacular view of the rest of the park before plummeting 140ft back to Earth. He spied a twisted wooden structure nestled in the back corner of Tunisa - was it a coaster, or a strange, mushroom-house style building? WME's knowledge of Canadian architecture wasn't that great, so he opted for the 'coaster' option and made his way towards the entrance. He passed a pair of raised pirate ships, Rhea Seddon, and a 3D Simulator called Soarin' Over The Mediterranian. But none of these were attractive enough to sway Little Miss Ferocious - before he knew it, he was strapped into the front carriage of Ras El Arada, a CCI woodie.
The lift was short and sweet, offering views of Tunisa, with its beautifully crafted Docks area. A quick message of 'Do Not Stand Up' meant the apex was near, and the train took a wonderfully graceful sweep downwards, spiralling back under the lift structure and up into a stunning left-hand helix. More entanglement led into two camel humps and a lovely figure of eight. Passing under the lift once more, the train traversed the rolling landscape, speeding between tropical trees and over water below. More criss-crossing left WME shaking with the lateral Gs, before the brake run took hold and the train returned indoors. The Tiger was surprised - natelox woodies have been very rare in recent times. Ras El Arada proved that nate's coaster skills were still at their peak, with its perfected curves and ground-hugging helices. Our hero found himself wishing nate would build more such coasters, but he wasn't to know that more lay in store.
Jazzed up by the coaster experience, WME couldn't wait to get to the next area, even passing up a chance to ride The Aegean's own Skycoaster. A quick trip through central Cartagena and past the classic La Gloria carousel (an area which seemed joined strangely to the entrance area?), took Mr Atrocious across another bridge and under a very Italian arch.
***
"Well bugger me!" muttered WME, taking in the rustic, authentic architecture of Tuscany. Gothic columns supporting ribbed balconies, topped off with a mixture of portcullis and shutter windows, all added up into a stunning, intriguing style of building. The columns, especially, were a great demonstration of using scenery in different ways. Following the sign for Macchiato, Evil 'Burning Bright' WME found himself stood under the brilliant structure of another custom flat ride. Nate's technical mastery of the Beast and his knowledge of coaster types really shone through here - this was a gem!
Having taken a ride on this masterpiece, WME went in search of further thrills, and it didn't take long for him to find the station to Streets Of Venice, the latest in go-kart thrills. Putting other go-karts to shame, this racing-driver's dream took WME on a joyride around the Venecian canals. Colliding with walls, diving through tunnels, over bridges and, at one point, into the sewerage system beneath, The Earl Of Excitement's kart seemed possessed with the spirit of The Italian Job. He could only marvel at the intricacy of the ride and its interactions with everything around it. How long it had taken to plan, create and perfect this ride was anybody's guess, but the end result was one of the best thrill-ride experiences ever. Touches such as the fenced bridges and cobbled stairs were just the icing on the cake. The Aegean had started as a beautiful, immersive park, and was evolving even further into a mind-blowing spectacle of class and ingenuity. WME couldn't believe that, although Disney's Forgotten Kingdom had been a natelox triumph, how much more involving and detailed this park was. Lost in thought, our hero had managed to wander his way towards the far corner of the park, past Gondolas floating their way along the stunning canals of Venice.
He found his way to the turntable of Monoceros Rapids, the latest in a long line of nate Rapids. It was a testament to how much Rapids have evolved in the last year that even Roarin' Rapids by RRP was being surpassed in terms of technical detail and invention. A working turntable nudged WME's raft out into a canal basin, touring round some rocks and up into the first lift hill. An elevated circle led into the first drop, incorporating an incredible jump that launched Evil over a raft passing below! Further meanders took the raft around a beautiful Italian Boutique, its reflection rippling in the canal. A short cascade section joined on to another lift, which then propelled the raft down the first ever spiral-drop on a rapids ride, drenching its water-hating occupant. WME was distressed and impressed in equal measure, but had no time to fully decide which before being winched up to the tallest drop of the ride. The vertical drop was totally unexpected, and as WME's stomach stayed at the top of the waterfall, the Tiger himself dropped full speed into the foam below. The splash drenched a nearby viewing-bridge, but WME was more interested in shaking all the water out of his sodden fur. His best purple suit was ruined, his bow-tie drooping. Nevertheless, the ride had been an engineering wonder, and our hero decided it had been worth the experience.
Traipsing towards the next area, WME took a last look at the Tuscany architecture, taking in the excellent mixture of dark hues and golden accents. Nate had excelled himself, experimenting with multi-levelled architecture and scenery tricks. Incorporating Streets of Venice into the cramped walkways was The Aegean's crowning glory, and Stripy Boy was only too keen to find out what lay over the next bridge, carved out of sand and rock.
***
"Blimey!", he said, as the sun glanced off the dunes of Marrakech. Sandstone buildings stood harsh and regal in the light, with oddly placed windows and ornate awnings. WME was intrigued by the nearby stadium, so walked up through the entrance area and took a seat in the front row. The show told the story of The Hero (our hero?!) fighting the Imperial Guard, with boats, planes and explosions. The pyrotechnics were very impressive, and each stunt actor was very entertaining.
But all this was lost on our Tom Cat - he'd turned his head and spied the looming spire of Palio, a hypersonic-style coaster by S&S Power. Here was another nate coaster unafraid to take chances - such rides could easily be ugly and obstructive, but of course nate had done brilliantly well in incorporating its 111ft tower into the surroundings. WME took a seat in the aerodynamic train. "3...2...1..." announced a scrolling banner, before the train was launched at 80mph towards the vertical spire. The technology behind this mechanism was on full view, and WME marvelled at the adaptation of the machinery first researched by Foozycoaster. The coaster sped over path, up the spire and down the dizzying vertical drop on the other side. An expansive turnaround followed, supported on stone columns. The track wrapped back round on itself, leaping back over the path and into a high-speed helix around the Marrakech architecture. WME was ferocious no more, reduced to a whimpering heap by the frightening head-choppers and insane g-forces.
Staggering off the ride, our hero was in desperate need of some relaxation time, so took a rest on one of the neary by benches. The Aegean was fully supplied with all the benches, litter bins and amenities you'd expect - all those buildings were full of little attractions and shops, and WME had already loaded himself up with souvenirs and nick-nacks. Fully recovered from the trials of Palio, Ferocious Black took a quick spin on the scrambler ride, Cufra. This prepared him for a final ride on the Elrocko design Spartel, a sinuous minicoaster that spun our subject around sand dunes, through little buildings and along the nearby coastlines. The architecture in Marrakech was very well crafted - little touches like ladders and clotheslines really help give it that little extra bit of interest value. It was certainly a great improvement on the similar areas in DFK and Earth, and WME found himself wondering how much further nate could take this type of theme, as the possibilities seemed endless.
***
"Damn and blast it!" WME moaned, on finding his wonderful journey was over. The Aegean had been one of the best park experiences he'd ever had - each square seemed to have been touched by some natural spirit, bringing out beauty and complexity in buildings, landscape and attractions alike. It was obviously a labour of love for nate - if only everyone put this much time and love into their parks. The Aegean now serves as not only an inspiration but a benchmark against which future projects should be judged. Nate has shown how much detail and complexity is possible in RCT, thought WME, and it's up to the rest of us to show we're capable of the same things! "One thing's for sure-" said WME, "nate is at the forefront of modern parkmaking and will continue to push those boundaries. The Aegean is near perfect, but I expect that nate's next park will put even this one to shame. More of his outlandish experimentation with coaster track and scenery hacks will bring out his true colours, and hopefully coasters will play an ever bigger role than in this park."
Like WME i'm looking already looking forward to the next nate release, although i'm willing to wait for as long as it takes, as The Aegean will take up a lot of my time until then. Thankyou, nate, for creating such a beautiful, masterful piece of RCT magic. It has certainly opened my eyes to the progress that can be made through deep thought and contemplation of the tools available to the RCT player, and I will learn a lot from this park. Here's to you winning parkmaker, LL park and non-coaster attraction (Streets of Venice) of the year at the NE awards, because they are deserved more than anyone else.
-mantis
(* all references to WME are purely for narrative's sake. plus, he's the only one who'd wear a purple suit with a flashing bow tie, so I had to use him
Don't get me wrong, Natelox. It's not like I go "Natelox always says my parks are shit so I'll do the same".
I think the park was horribly overthemed and bad layout-ed. You should not seperate areas solely by water. Why not trees?
The areas consisted basically out of huge building clumps with nothing inside. There was, very unlike for Natelox, not much to see in the park.
I loved the stadiums, the treecombos, some landscaping and the refreshing entrance music, but overall it just couldn't fascinate me much. Not like your last park could.
I love Aphex Twin.
Who doesn't?
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I think that you weaken your parks sometimes by releasing them too soon Nate. I love the potential in thei park but the finished product comes off looking unfinished to me. More details in those urban themes would bring the, to life. The great thing about Phatages park is that so much of it was interactive. Animated rides, stuff to watch. The trees and the buildings are just window dressing in the end. It's the interactive stuff, the details, the rides and the personality that bring a park to life and there just isn't enough of it here. The rapids, streets of venice, adventure ride, liquid coaster, wooden coaster. All are great. I just wish there was more.
That being said, I still appreciate all of the little RCT details throughout. Like the columns in the rapids area. What a cool idea, they look good too. That stuff is cool too, but still just window dressing.
the trackless adventure ride was awsome, the stall out area was nice, i liked seeing it zoop under the paths like hallways, really cool. the go karts were inspireing, so cool, and i see you know the Invisable hacks in RCT1, nice to see. (or not see i guess? lol)
the only thing i did not really like was the archy, was it realistic yea, but still it got really repetitive, it seems no-one can do a euro park without that
9.5/10