Park / Parque de la Habana
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16-August 20
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70.00%(required: 70%) Gold
CoasterCreator9 75% Cocoa 75% RWE 75% chorkiel 70% csw 70% geewhzz 70% nin 70% WhosLeon 70% Xtreme97 70% Liampie 65% posix 65% Scoop 65% 70.00% -
Description
Originally a large city park west of Old Havana, Parque de La Habana was converted into an amusement park after the Cuban Revolution. The park featured El Columpio de Mar, a swing ride which commissioned several Cuban artists to decorate its structure, and El Caballo Mecedor, an original ride designed by the Ministry of Public Works; both of which stand today. In anticipation of increased tourism with the lifting of the trade embargo, the park built two modern rides: La Estrella del Sol, an imitation of Arrow’s corkscrew model, and Río de la Nación, a river adventure ride designed by Cuban-American Engineers and constructed by Hopkins Rides. The park is known for its historic rides and picnic grounds, as well as its proximity to the Memorial de Guerra de Independencia Cubana and Castle Estridor.
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He who travels has stories to tell!
Round 1 - Cuba
We received a whopping 11 entries for this round! It's a good thing we have an extensive poll to help you figure out who will get a ticket to the Grand Final... Before we get to the entries, here are this round's objectives again, for your convenience.
1. Your park must be set in or themed to Cuba.
2. Your park must contain at least one water ride of any kind.
3. Your park must contain a custom/in-house built ride, that is, a ride that is not built by any known manufacturer.
How to vote
Before you vote, you have to make sure you've viewed all parks with thought and care. Voting happens through the polls above. The submissions will be judged on two criteria. First, you are asked to vote for the parks that you think completed the three objectives for this round the best. Second, you are asked to judge the parks on their overall quality - separate from the round objectives. After 72 hours, the polls will close and we will add up the votes from each poll. The submission with the most votes in total will earn the creator(s) a ticket to the final round!
Entries
Damn! Eleven?! This is fantastic dudes
Oh, and... Cube-a. Taste-e!
Highlights from each of the entrees after looking at them:
I love that little fishing village here between the coastline and the park.
The color schemes of the buildings are nice and there's some good organization here, very clean.
Architecture is nice, and the courtyard is a really cool detail. Great job on the Che Guevara mural.
The curved queue line works very nicely, as are the interactions and surrounding scenes.
I like the early art-deco vibes of this building... the courtyard also works very well.
Really dig the shoot the chutes ride, it's nice seeing it below ground being overlooked by a tower and courtyard.
Landscaping is beautiful and there are so many little details, then there's that awesome slide!
The lock is a really cool detail and the wooden ships are awesome, very immersive!
In addition to the nice architecture, there's a lot of good ideas like the supports as cliffs or intamin invert.
Architecture here feels very authentic and it's some well-composed stuff. I also love the landscaping.
fredd- archy here was the highlight. I liked the coaster layout but i'm not sure how much I buy the idea for how its in-house. the water ride also just seems like an uninspired way to satisfy a rule. my favorite bit was when the cosater dipped into the concrete valley around the building
cam and dirt- really love this one. the surroundings are full of life and details- forts, art exhibitions, sunken ships, etc. the small park in the center feels so real and the ride choice is excellent. I especially love those butterfly/half-pipe/skater rides and the long curved paths to the corkscrew station. highlight is the park entrance structure
gustav- not bad, a bit rough around the edges but I like the idea. It wasn't clear to me which ride was built in-house and the water ride also felt cheap to me. highlight was the carousel and plaza
liam- wonderful park. the highlight here is the foliage for me, rendered excellently. and of course the archy pops very nicely against it. the waterboarding ride is a dumb joke but I like it, convincing. I guess surfing is a water ride? another borderline one from me there. but lovely work all up, and its nice to see a good old-fashioned schwarzskopf. highlight was the hotel
mk and rwe- one of my favorites so far. the archy and setting is so atmospheric and well-detailed (if a little dutch feeling). the coaster is very confusing but I think I like it anyway, its very fun. theres a lot going on to watch, some great boats, good landscaping, etc. I still think boats on the water is a boring choice of water ride but I guess i'm gonna have to accept it by this point... highlight was the waterfront-ish buildings and that area for me
vegas- simple but nice to see an entry! my favorite bit was the jump through the american flag, very silly.
jag - very clever. wouldn't expect anything less from you. highlight was the in-house ride (lol)
coaster-geoff and scoop- i like this. the cliffside terrain is very interesting and so close to working wonderfully, just needs a bit of tweaking proportions and textures to get it right- but I really like it anyway. it highlights the log flume and scenic railway wonderfully. i really enjoyed the park crammed in behind the buildings, although the waterfront felt a bit less interesting/underdetailed than other entries perhaps. interesting palette vibe too. highlight was the ghost train, loved how its crammed back there.
colby- i really love this. using the park layout of luna park/ coney island and transposing it to cuba is a wonderful idea, and you pulled it off very well. the larger scale/ wider architecture really works for me in a way that was missing in other entries. the central boat ride is great, as is the dark ride on the side. highlight is the central pond and boat ride for me.
shogo and josh- wow, this park is crazy. i'm not entirely sure what my thoughts are, although its certainly interesting and good. theres a lot of awesome structures with crazy textures- that fort, the cruise terminal and the tan building adjacent, the church, some of the waterfront, etc. some buildings are also just so over-the-top and random. maybe cuba is like that? i have no idea. its weird but works in places. also, the interior of buildings does not match up with the windows lol. obviously the cruise ship is amazing, rivals cc9's for sure. the park is a tad messy, but the ride design is certainly interesting. highlight for me may be the fort interestingly enough.
6crazy and hydro- wow this is fukn nuts and really out of left field. you guys just sold yourselves up like 3 rounds in h2h. just so lively, detailed, and fun. heaps to see. archy is a bit uniform-colored but still works very well and the whole infrastructure is amazing. I love that water float. the fair is just so alive and busy and works wonderfully, one of the best I've seen. highlight for me is how the river flows out into the ocean, shaping the beachfront. wonderful.
mama- really loveyl landscaping and vibe. really nailed the atmosphere. I especially loved seeing the more ramshackle housing at the water, no one else really attempted that it seems. great stuff.
overal-- a crazy successful round! what a turnout and some real surprise entries for me. can't wait to see the next round.
I've been dying to review these since the challenge started!
Puerto Habana (FredD): This park is uncannily similar to what I wanted my own entry to be; Havana theming, star-themed coaster, Cadillacs, and even a song I almost used for Carnaval Cubano! The architecture is super detailed and colorful, which I really admire. The homebrew coaster is really interesting in the way that it's a Franken-coaster using elements from different designers. The custom rides for the Santa Clara and the pictures in front of the Che Guevara graffiti are genius and add a lot of soul to the park. Great entry all around. Bravo!
Parque de la Habana (dr dirt and Camcorder22): I figured there would be a lot of Havana-themed entries in this contest. What separates this one from the rest is the diverse architecture and environment. I love the castle on the cliff with the waves crashing all around. It adds so much atmosphere and autheticity. The architecture is authentic but diverse, and the sculpture garden and massive Cuban flag look great. I also love the diverse traffic using different types of cars and buses. The rides themselves are super weird, but accurate to Cuban theme parks all the same. The crappy Asian Arrow knockoff, the swinging horse ride, and the Wild Mouse-esque river rapids are all really unique. Probably the most authentic Cuban park of the lot!
Guantanamo Bay Bolero (Liampie): I love the change of location from the expected Havana. The architecture is good, but the hotel is really detailed. Cabardi Run is a great family coaster with a cool theme behind it, although I do feel custom supports would have seriously elevated it. Waterboarding Experience is just flat-out hilarious, and I love the desynced stations to give the mechanism the appearance of pulling the dinghies. Good submission!
Cuba Antigua (RWE and MK98): Wow. The detail in this park is through the roof! The architecture is historic yet distinctly Cuban, a testament to the park's name. The railway, horse traffic, and named security guards add a ton of atmosphere and story to the park. Expedicion Tobaco is a crazy Frankencoaster, although it is a bit weird that one train has eight cars while the other has three. Also, the fisher boats don't feel like a very strong water ride. However, this is still one of the overall strongest submissions. Great work!
Cuba (VegasCoaster): Pretty good submission. The river rapids is nice, the launched freefall in the church is a great idea, and the roller coaster jumping through the American flag was pretty funny. However, the architecture doesn't have a lot of pop or detail, and the really deep saturated green trees look artificial. A good start, but also plenty to work on.
Cube-A (Jaguar): I'm a sucker for dad jokes, so the name immediately had me in stitches. The Cube-an cigar boats ride was a genius idea, especially with the cigar box-themed station. While it doesn't suit the objectives perfectly, your take on an in-house ride was incredibly obvious and hilarious at the same time. It's great seeing a more artistic take on Cuba among so many realistic entries.
Cuba Libre Gardens (Scoop and Coaster-Geoff): This is really nice! The buildings are very colorful and accurate, and the surrounding jungle looks very lush and atmospheric. I really love Chango's design, and Rio does an amazing job interacting with the scenery around it. Only real drawback for me is it was a bit hard telling what the in-house ride was at first. I'm guessing it's Montana Rusa. Wonderful entry!
Dreamland Havana 1951 (colby): This is a nice one! The rides and scenery are all very accurate for the era, and the decorations on the fun house is a big plus too. I like the trams going through the city, which in itself is very detailed but a tad bit sterile. Really solid park!
Puerta Vieja (shogo and In:Cities): Holy moly! Everything about this park absolutely blows me away, from the big picture to the tiny details. The Legend of the Seas is utterly astounding in its size and detail, and having the guests interact with it is the cherry on top. I especially love the transparent segments in Riptide. The main theme park is just as beautiful, but the custom invert in particular really catches my attention. It's a very creative concept which stands out as the required in-house ride. Even outside of the park, the city is more detailed than any other entry so far, with chipping paint on the walls and the traffic speeding up and slowing down. This is a H2H level park in a Grand Tour, and I absolutely love it.
Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo (6crazy6king6 and hydroportal): Hot damn! This is giving Puerta Vieja some serious competition! The constant buzzing activity and lifelike detail reminds me of Vespucci Beach. The carnival setting is perfect for Cuba, and Montana Rusa is an adorable little home-built ride. The city and architecture are really well done as well, and the custom signs make it pop. There's just so much going on in this entry, yet none of it feels overpowering. Amazing entry!
Parque Santiago (mamarillas): First and foremost, I applaud you for choosing Santiago as your location. While overshadowed by the capital of Cuba, it's a beautiful location nonetheless. Your take on Cuba is a lot more reserved and peaceful than most of the other entries. What really strikes me most about the surrounding area is the adorable fishing village. It's one of the most immersive sections of any entry I've seen so far, if not the most. The park itself seems to match the atmosphere of the rest of the area; chill, spaced out, and almost calming. The reverser coaster with the switchbacks is a really creative idea and a testament to how far your imagination can reach when tasked with a homebuilt ride. Very nice entry!
Carnaval Cubano (Gustav Goblin): Saving a little director's commentary for last. When I heard about the first round being Cuba, I was enthralled by its almost cartoonishly colorful architecture and aesthetics. I wanted to do something a little more simple and realistic and pay tribute to the vibrant country of Cuba. It ended up being my most ambitious park yet, as I tried custom scenery and supports and even shoestringed rides for the very first time. I was also proud of how I managed my time, as I managed to keep a consistent pace (as opposed to Micro Madness where I took a week break and rushed it in the final hours). However, I'm definitely aware it has a lot of flaws which come from my lack of experience. The layout of the pier is a little awkward, some sections lack detail or were super rushed toward the end, and the bumper boats were kind of an afterthought. I also didn't have time to fit in some other ideas, such as Che Guevara graffiti poking out from the streets or wave sounds near the walkway. However, what amazes me most is that I managed to do this one completely solo. I didn't think I had the attention span to crank out an entry on my own and nearly gave up when I couldn't find a teammate. While I would place it in the bottom 3 entries, I would also call this my best RCT2 work yet.
Since my first time reviewing parks was the most recent Micro Madness, I'm going to honor it by choosing my favorite two entries for each category. For the best park overall, I'm obviously giving it to Puerta Vieja followed by Carnaval de Maravillas. The creators were asked to do a Grand Tour park and gave us H2H-level entries with boatloads of detail and charm. For fitting the objectives, however, I'm giving it to Parque de la Habana followed by Guantanamo Bay Bolero. Parque de la Habana had by far the most accurate rides to Cuba, while Guantanamo Bay Bolero had a hilarious take on both a homebrew ride and a water ride packed into one.
Amazing work from everyone! While I'm going to sit out next round and watch the show, I'm so excited to see how everyone represents Namibia!
In no particular order:
Parque Santiago
Very charming. I absolutely love the huts along the waterway in the form of a little fishing village. Big highlight of the map for me. I like your take on rickety unique ride, and you definitely included a solid fairground style water ride, so that suits the map pretty well despite how basic it is. Lovely sense of place and life to the park itself. The palette sort of washes some things out, but that's not a huge deal to me. Some of the foliage choices and architecture choices in the park itself leave a bit to be desired, but I like the town scene a lot. The positioning of the water features along the middle of the map is fantastic. Really nice work.
Cuba Antigua
Landscaping and architecture is really quite good, with a unique take on the in-house ride concept. Water ride is very weak; it took me a long time to find anything in the first place until I realized it was simply some catamarans on the water. The slave object is something else, I think the theme is sort of distasteful - a roller coaster and all this upbeat music with a bunch of images of slavery is uncomfortable and I really was not a fan - seems you guys can't stay away from controversial theme choices. I like the ships, great work on those MK.
Carnival De Maravillas
I legitimately thought this was a Ryuatax submission when I opened it. It feels almost exactly like his style. Maybe a little bit too exact; not that it was intentional! I LOVE the floating waterslide thing on the beach. That's fabulous. Absolute highlight of the round for me for a single attraction, and a superb fit for one of the objectives. The city scene is fantastic, no complaints there. As is the beach. Great architecture and very lively. You guys really crammed a lot into the park section. I love the in-house design, and the rest of the choices fit nicely, has a nice seaside carnival feel. I'm a little torn on just how busy the submission as a whole is. I wish there were a few less things flying around my screen at top speed; even just the balloons would have been plenty charming; with so much great park and architecture content I just don't know how necessary some of it is. All in all, wonderful job.
Carnaval Cubano
Glad to see you got this out there! I appreciate what you went for, and I think it's cool to see such different takes on similar park styles this round. You managed some really cool rides and hacks, I think your execution was a little bit lacking. I think you're absolutely on the right track with your progression, but some of the buildings fall a touch flat and some contain confusing details (table on top of a roof with no access, random singular plants). The in-house design is solid, and the water ride is there - so you met those criteria, but I might have liked to have seen you go a little more wild with both! All in all, I think this is a great step and a wonderful effort. Keep it up.
Puerta Vieja
You learned well. I love the ship, well done. I would have done a couple things differently myself, but literally only like three people on all of NE would notice those things including you and me. The city architecture is also highly commendable, and I appreciate that there's some gaps in motion to let me appreciate the buildings rather than other distracting elements. I love where you went with the unique ride design choices and the water slides, really cool stuff in the park and I love the unique yet believable style that it has. I wish you two had a bit more time to realize this fully, but I think what's there is incredible, and it's hard to do me wrong with a ship like that.
Cuba Libre Gardens
First off, I appreciate the variety in landscape here. I think it's too much LOTR rockwork for me, but I can appreciate what you were going for. This kinda feels like a Cuban Tivoli Gardens to me, I think that's the intention? Ride design is pretty good, but I'm not really sure what's supposed to fulfill the "in-house" requirement here. That said, I do like the more serious park among a bunch of carnival style fair parks. The log flume is cool, but it felt a bit more like a western mine than anything else to me, just a weird theme mismatch in my opinion. You've got a cool set of buildings, but it doesn't (to me) feel very much like a part of a larger city (probably due to the crop of the park itself) or really all that distinctively Cuban in nature. All in all, this is definitely a solid submission and I'm really splitting hairs here because the top tiers of this round are all quite strong. Well done guys, hope to see more next round.
Puerto Habana
This might be one of my favorites for the in house style, partly due to the way you used a million track types. I don't know if anything else really contributes to that feeling that much, but it's something I appreciated! You should have gone more Fred with the layout, though. I think you really stepped up your game from an architectural standpoint. I liked the detailing and style you went for; just right, really. The water ride is a bit of a letdown.
I think you know that, though. I know I don't have a lot to say about this one, but it's got solid atmosphere, solid architecture, a solid coaster that I think mostly satisfies the requirements, and feels pretty strong overall. Nice work, Fred.
Dreamland Havana
Another colby release in one year? Maybe the world really is ending. I'm a sucker for classical parks like this one, and I think you did an excellent job at capturing that feeling. The architecture inside the park is a bit stronger than outside in my opinion, and the city could have used some life (like lightpoles), but it's really great to see a modern submission from you unrestricted from any 10 year old restrictions. I don't really know if I'd count anything here as in-house, but I could see it. Water ride is a great choice, glad you picked that as it suits the theme perfectly. I really do hope we get to see more from you soon.
Parque de la Habana
Strong contender here. I love the castle and city architecture, really strong feeling of place to me. I really especially enjoy the art pieces and vibrancy across the town. Just enough jank to the ride design while still being convincing park features. I think you satisfied the requirements very nicely. I really like that sunken ship, nice little feature and semi-historical at that. The curved bridge is a highlight people might not notice. I probably don't have much to say that others have not or will not, I just like this a lot.
Cube-a
Extremely abstract, but vaguely fulfills the requirements somehow. I would have expected nothing less from you, Jag. I laughed a fair bit at the cigar cube. Cool abstraction, and I'm glad you submitted something.
Cuba
The highlight here is that tower. Everything else is quite simplistic and lacks refinement, but I can tell you had a vision in mind, actually. The coaster is complete jank and I like it aside from the jump (thrillville?) - just wish it didn't materialize out of a building at the start! Your foliage colors are a little too saturated - that dark green and brown in the trees sticks out too much, and it's rather disorganized and random in general. Keep at it - entering a contest is a bold way to make your NE debut!
Liam
This joke is so dumb.
It kinda works. With the context of that reddit post, I can see this as some sort of weird mistranslation or some kind of misguided attempt at a fun attraction. Maybe a little hit or miss with some, but I think it's a funny concept. Waterboarding definitely sounds like some way someone would mess up wakeboarding or surfing when trying to describe it in second language English. The mechanism behind the ride itself is actually quite well synchronized and impressive, I'm a fan of that detail. I'm guessing that's the water ride and the coaster is an in-house creation (or maybe the water ride is both)? Either way, I actually really like the coaster - feels like some kind of random design you'd find somewhere out of the way. Architecture is great and I like some of the funky object choices. I hope to see more from you soon.
Very strong first round. 12 entries in total is pretty nice to see, and I hope we get quality like this every round. Great work everyone involved!
Cuba Libre has some of the most unique landscaping I think we've ever seen for a tropical park, it's magical.
I enjoy Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo for being "what if Dirty American Realism, but in Cuba".
Holy mother of god the plantation in Cuba Antigua is incredible. My brain can't even comprehend the scope of the details in those buildings. The ships here are jaw-dropping too, but the coaster leaves a bit to be desired.
I feel the need to remark on Cube-a but... not really sure what to say. I think other entries executed jokes better.
Parque Santiago's village/slums really is great, isn't an atmosphere quite like that anywhere else in the contest. If anything the park is a little normal and mundane by comparison, though I enjoyed your self insertion as the switch track operator.
Dreamland Havana makes me feel a certain kinda nostalgic. Shoot the Chutes and Cyclone, both ultra classy and I love the central tower.
I appreciated the cheekiness of La Estrella Habana. The multiple track types is weird and distracting (I know, guilty) but this takes the round for coaster design. Great mix of areas and buildings.
My favorite thing about Guantanamo Bay Bolero is the hotel. Not so keen on the baby diarrhea colored station.
Love the fort in Parque de la Habana. The river rapids ride is a little... ridiculous. The sunken ship is also neat!
Puerta Vieja... hoooooly shit that ship. And I think you guys technically adhered most directly to the objectives. Shame about the unfinished pockets in the park.
Puerto Habana: Great coaster layout, albeit not super “in house” feeling to me. Loved how it interacted with the terrain and buildings. The concrete trench was a good addition. The station building was a highlight as well. Water ride was an afterthought.
Parque de la Habana: That curved path near the Arrows coaster? Hot. Lot of great in house rides.. The rapids ride was actually quite nice.. Way to use the default track and add to the concrete wall vibes near the coaster. Really cool details elsewhere like the fort and the sunken ship. No complaints whatsoever with this park. Really well done.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero: Waterboarding the ride? Yikes lol. Looks sorta fun though? Cabardi Run was a nice ride.. the station architecture was a highlight for me. Really tastefully executed park.. Minus the torture ride. The farm/plantation foliage was ace.
Cuba Antigua : Those ships tho. Really nice colonial vibe.. Very gritty and dirty, but atmospheric. Honestly the slavery scenes aren’t a detractor for me, but I could see why it could be for some. The coaster was a frankenstein of a ride, and I enjoyed it a lot. Water ride aspect was lacking slightly.
Cuba (vegas): Terrain mightve been too ambitious with the large hills? Really colorful entry.. Would’ve liked to see more variety in building shapes. Good to see a park from you.
Cube-A: This was pretty funny. Neat idea to do a bunch of cubes. Great custom in house ride.
Cuba Libre Gardens: Nice palette and architecture. Very cozy park. Missing the in house coaster vibe here. Im guessing it was the side friction? Huge fan of the LOTR rocks and jungle.. Reminds me a lot of landscapes in AC: Black Flag actually. The log flume interacted great with the cliffs and jungle imo.
Dreamland Havana 1951: This is so fucking cool. So happy to see a Luna Park in this contest.. Always wanted to make a Shoot the Chutes myself, so I’m glad to see it executed so well here. The virginia reel and the Cyclone coaster were great additions as well. Archy was done quite tastefully as well. Would’ve been cool if you had hacked/custom flat rides.. Really would’ve taken this to another level. Only thing lacking was a true “in house” ride. Great to see another park from you.
Puerta Vieja: Holy crap. Is this H2H? All the coasters/rides are great and could be in house. Montana Aguilar was a really good in house coaster. Obviously the boat was great too. I was a fan of the terminal and the church buildings as well. The water slides elevate this entry over others because of the quality of the water rides. Great stuff!
Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo: Wow.. this is quite nice. Really surprised at how much quality is here. The archy throughout is top notch, and the carnival is full of life. The waterfront had a lot going on too, and that inflatable slide was a great added detail. The in house coaster was a rusty hunk of junk. I see a lot of Tubiao and Vespucci Beach inspiration in this entry..
Parque Santiago: Nice stuff Mamarillas! The in house coaster is one of my favorite in the contest.. Really cool and unique ride with the spikes and switch tracks. Really nice archy and atmosphere. The fishing village is super vibey and the cable car was a great addition as well. Much like Cam’s and Dr Dirt’s park, I’m a big fan of the plethora of in house rides.
Carnaval Cubano: Highlight was the white/blue art deco building. Really nailed that look. Overall, you had a great cityscape, but was lacking the extra layer of details that brings a city to life. Needed more planters, bike racks, market stalls, street lights, trash cans, etc. The in house kiddie coaster was neat. Very colorful pier. Adding some canvas awnings over the queues would’ve added even more! Water ride was a bit of an afterthought too.
Nice little park with some cool features! Love that Cuban flag building!
Your finishing touches could use some more work though. I feel that your buildings lack details and are crammed together to much. Maybe use wider paths go get rid of that feeling..
Overall nicely done!
Carnaval de maravillas
Oh my God, I love this! All that detail!
That looping star is amazing!
Really crowded but in a good way tough. Adds much atmosphere..
Architectural madness and cool jokes just add up to this perfect entry!
Great stuff guys!
Cuba antigua
Gorgeous! The boats and architecture are done superb!
Although I get the idea of wood and steel I find that there just to many types of track that uses different sets of wheels. I would have considered choosing this more carefully.
Overall lovely park!
Cuba vegacoaster
Some cool ideas here. Live that coaster with a well executed jump!
Not a fan of the architecture though. I feel there’s still work to be done here and the colors don’t seem to match very well..
Some faults like visible track of the cars and a tile missing some path.. Could easily be taken care of before submitting.
Cube – a
Not sure how to judge this, lol.
That flag colored cube is done really cool! The rest is a bit meh..
Seeing this from distance it actually looks really cool though, all these cubes ! So architecture wise, great job , lol!
Dreamland havana
Damn, that’s really nice! Love that beach pool! Gives a nice bondi beach vibe.
Nice colonial architecture with that water ride as highlight!
That coaster had a great layout but runs a bit slow. I would have cranked up that lifts speed a bit..
Puerto habana
Cool entry! Love some of these details!
That coaster is really nice! Great élément choise and pace is pretty good! Good thing that you choose tracks that use the same wheelbase!
Solid entry!
Guantanamo bay bolero
Great stuff on this “simple map”
That waveboard is briljant!
Some buildings are really neat!
That schwartkopf is looking fresh, but I did not expect less from you tbh, lol.
That foliage though.. Not a fan of those jungle bush. It looks a bit to monotonous to me…
Great park! Can’t wait to see yet another entry from you!
Parque de la habana
Wow dude, this is some nice stuff! Love that coaster and it’s catwalks!
Some pretty neat architecture is found here as well! Some colors, like the purple and bright blue, would not have been my first choise though. Either way, love this!
Parque santiago
No cooldude, so – 1!
Oh,crap,wrong contest, sorry!
This… is… bomb! That architecture is so hot, I love it!
That Harbour is one of the best I’ve seen, with the crooked poles and such.
I really, really love seeing you do cso, dude. Hope to see more in the future!
Puerta vieja
Should I mention the boat, or did you have enough praise already? Lol
Really like your entry guys. Some great architecture. Love to see some modern in there after all that colonial stuff…
That ruine is not really my thing tbh. Those wall texusers just look off..
Those red supports of cusano picante look really thin though but that other coaster is neat!
Great stuff! On to the next one!
Parque de la Habana (dr dirt & cam)
). The layout itself is probably the best you've ever done and I love every part, especially the dive loop through the fort. The colours are great as well, very vibrant and fitting with the style of the buildings, speaking of which are a step above your usual work I think. There are still some trademark Fredisms (which you should keep doing of course) but on the whole the architecture is strong. Some other highlights for me are the old pirate ship, the fountain plaza and the fort on the hill.
. This is as can be expected from two of the best modern builders of the game, a stellar piece of work that would be appropriate in a H2H matchup. The ship is insanely good, and the port building is gorgeous as well. You've done an amazing job with the seafront architecture, makes me question how you even got some of those forms and details to work as they do. Especially love that dark blue building, and that roundabout area is crazy. Both coasters are nice and janky and have the custom feel, love how the layered track is done on the suspended. All the gritty realistic detail of the park adds a great atmosphere as well. Some of the landscape is a bit rough but forgiveable. For me this is probably the most believable interpretation of Cuba and my favourite entry of the round.
One of the stronger entries for sure, and certainly among the more colourful and exciting entries for me as well. The park is one of the more orthodox and perhaps expected takes but you've excelled at bringing it to life with tons of wonderful details and excellent use of space and landscape throughout. The coaster fits the brief and I love the bold colour scheme and overall janky feel, though I think this was the perfect opportunity to go a little more out there for the layout which is fairly conventional. I also loved the green spaces with tables dotted about, and the water ride definitely feels appropriate for this type of park. The surroundings are really strong and I see both of your styles present throughout. The castle forts are another of the map highlights for me, superb architecture and the organic shapes of the landscape are brilliant. Also the underwater landscape may be overlooked but it's a brilliant touch.
Cuba Libre Gardens (scoop & coaster-geoff)
A strong effort from you two, I think Coaster-Geoff you really stepped up to the plate here and have proven some great talent with CSO. The buildings along the waterfront are fantastic, especially the yellow-tinted one on the corner, and there's some nice diagonal facades as well. The beach is a bit bare of detail, but there's some nice elements there such as the stalls and lifeboats. The park is pretty nice in the way it's nestled between the beach and the landscape. From my understanding the custom coaster for the objective is the side-friction? I only say this because the main coaster Chango strongly resembles a B&M Floorless model. In any case, the layouts are great and I enjoyed the log flume as well. I'm not a big fan of the landscape unfortunately. I can totally see what you were going for but the rocks make it difficult to discern depth and height.
Dreamland Havana (colby)
Wasn't expecting an entry from you after just finishing a massive solo, so this was a lovely surprise. 50s Havana is a great setting and you've done a superb job making the park feel like the original Coney Island. Cyclone has a nice layout and the slanted track is a cool element there. Love the Shoot the Chutes ride at the center acting as the focal point, and I can totally see some of the original ride inspirations. The surrounding buildings are rather pretty and don't steal focus, but the atmosphere around that area is fairly dead without peeps and movement. The ocean pool is cute as well, as is the tramway along the beachfront.
Puerto Habana (fred)
This might be one of your strongest pieces of work Fred, excellent job. You've done the cuba theme before in Terra Ventura but here it's miles better in my opinion. I love the idea of the coaster being made up of other coaster parts due to the trade embargo, which is a great idea that incorporates the modern situation well (though I question how all the pieces make a coherent layout and fit together
Carnival Cubano (gustav goblin)
Glad to see you put in an entry Gustav, and this is a great effort. Starting with the park, I like that it makes use of the real life concrete ferry terminals, which is a good tie-in to reality. The entrance building with the flag motif is an excellent idea and probably the best use of the flag this entire round. The park is a little small but you've fit in quite a few rides. The coaster is fairly simple and as above I think you could have done something more unconventional with it. The little battle boats on the side is a cool idea. Onto the town area, I think you may have tried to squeeze is more buildings than was necessary here, as it becomes difficult to really see some of the facades due to the narrow alleyways. This isn't easy to overcome with the isometric view of RCT but having more open roads and thinking about sightlines for the viewer might have helped a bit. The architecture is very nice however, a little flat in places but some of them are well made. You've definitely shown a deal of improvement with this which is great to see.
Carnaval de Maravillas (hydro & henkert)
Wow, first of all this was a great surprise from you two. You've both been bubbling under recently and showing lots of promise, and this park firmly establishes you both as top tier builders. This is really at the level of a H2H park to me which is incredible for the first round of a low-key contest such as this and must have taken a ton of effort. Like CC9, I get strong Roy vibes from the architecture and general style which fits into the bright, colourful style of realism that's been emerging in recent years. There's so much to see here that will keep me coming back and it would probably take all day for me to list off everything I saw, but one of the major highlights was the inflatable dragon slide - an amazing idea and executed perfectly. The atmosphere on the beach and in the fairground is fantastic with all the bustling peeps and the movement in the water. The coasters were great additions, loved the schwarzkopf layout and while the custom coaster is low-key it still fits the theme perfectly. Lots of gritty details and crunch which is perfect for the Cuban feeling.
Puerta Vieja (shogo and josh)
Was wondering when we'd see another cruise ship
Cube-a (jag)
Ridiculous and also funny as fuck. The Cuba flag box is cool and you certainly met the objectives, the cuban cigar log flume is an amazing idea too. Always fun to have a shitpost entry though so nice one Jag.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero (liam)
I'm always shocked by how you make stuff look this nice with fairly little effort. It may be a less serious entry but it's really very nice. The beachfront is lovely and that coaster station is one of the better I've seen. The coaster itself isn't anything special but it's a nice layout and the waterboarding 'ride' shouldn't be as fun as this looks for how dark it is, but you've pulled it off. I really like how you've done the foliage here as well, a nice mix of objects. I somewhat wish you'd gone a bit more literal with the Guantanamo theme but perhaps that would take it too far, who knows.
Parque Santiago (mamarillas)
Great to see you trying out cso here mama, and you've done so very successfully. I love the overall openness of the map and the calmer atmosphere this achieves, juxtapoxed with the busier elements on the waterfront. Those shack style houses are brilliant and you've given them a lot of variety and character. The church is perhaps a little bulky but it's very pretty and nicely framed next to the water. The park on the other side has a lovely atmosphere, and I love the custom coaster with the reversing spikes. Overall a solid entry.
Cuba (vegascoaster)
Always nice to see a newcomer enter and show some skill. This wasn't bad, I particularly liked the small enclave of buildings that were separated on the hill. The streets felt a bit quiet and I would have loved to see peeps walking among the buildings, so it's a shame you seemingly couldn't get that to pan out properly. The shot tower is pretty nice and the coaster uses the landscape decently, I like the bit where it leaves the track and jumps through the flag onto the bobsled track, adds to the custom feel I think. I would advise that you use the natural colours for the foliage and avoid the saturated greens, and try to clump the trees into areas of high density and low density. Good effort though, glad to see more work from new players.
Cuba Antigua (rwe and mk98)
Another of the top entries, and I like that you've chosen to do a historical take on Cuba. Really loved all the waterfront architecture, some gorgeous work there. Those ships were also really well done, loved how you added the cannons on the sides. The whole 'slave owners make a ride to keep the slaves entertained' concept is a little questionable (though I'm sure worse has been made), but looking past that the buildings and landscape are lovely, and the coaster is really strong. I'm not fully sold on some of the supports having mixed colours, but the layout is really nice.
Alright, first of all congrats everyone for finishing your entries, that alone is an accomplishment by itself. The quality was high so I enjoyed watching this parks. On the other hand it also means it was very hard to chose for whom to vote...
Carnaval Cubano by Gustav Goblin
Happy you finished your entry. It really is a good step up from previous work and a great effort. A pier is a good and realistic idea for a city park and also a good place for janky in-house rides! I like the inhouse coaster, really awkward (which is good for inhouse estheatics) but it still has a good flow to it. I also liked the idea of your entrance, how you mixed the Cuban flag in it. A bit of shame the other rides were just plopped down there, I feel you could’ve added more details to them. The city archy was decent, good colors there.
I also have to say this… don’t take this wrong, probably my OCD speaking here: but why o why placing the carroussel assymetric on that square
I mean, there’s 3 tiles on one side and just 1 tile at the other side! Drives me crazy man, just do 2-2 and it’ll look way better.
Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo by 6crazy6king6 and hydroportal
Wow! This is def one of the most, if not, the surprise of the first round so far! Amazing… There’s really some fantastic archy here, like the purple building with rounded corners and the white building with the terrace on the roof. I also love the Fidel and Che custom signs you made
The fairground is really good and believeable, well done on that. Not really convinced by your Looping Star recreation, not a fan of the steep lift here. But you supported it nicely and this coaster fits this environment really well. Cool little inhouse ride. I’m glad I’m not the only one taking the easy way out with the water ride though… The beach is so vibrant and full of life. Really got me a Royr feeling… Be proud guys, amazing entry!
Cuba by VegasCoaster
The tower has a nice structure, and it’s pretty much the highlight of this map. I also appreciated the coaster going through the American flag. Other than that, this didn’t do very much to me. Archy a bit simplistic and foliage too repititive. Finishing a submission for a NE contest isn’t easy so kudos for that. A NE contest is also a good way to improve so I hope to see more from you in the future.
Cuba Antigua by RWE and MK98
Another big positive surprise! I feel you both stepped your game up with this submission. I like it you went with an original story and not the typical Havana map like I did myself. The amount of details here is amazing, with the plantation as a real highlight in this map. Really great archy forcened by great landscaping and foliage. And the ships… wow... So lovely work dudes..
Puerta Vieja by shogo and In:Cities
Who the hell has the patience to build such a massive boat… I don’t. Respect. I really like the inhouse coaster(s), really janky but they both seem very fun to ride. Also lovely way to do the lifthill supports on the suspended one. There’s really cool archy to find in this map but I’m not a fan of the palette you went with. Feels a bit too grey/dull, especially for a country like Cuba that’s known for bright colors.
Dreamland Havana 1951 by colby
I have to start with saying the composition of those shoot-the-cutes with the theming around it and the white tower opposite of it is really genius. Some more cool rides here like the airships (a shame they don’t actually work), a classic good old white painted woodie and ofc the Virgina reel coaster which we don’t often see in the game. Overall a very lovely and atmospheric map. I do think it’s a pity you didn’t put moving cars in the streets, would’ve helped the atmosphere in that part a lot.
Cuba-a by Jaguar
It’s a block, it has the Cuban flag on it. Clever joke. RCT-wise not my cup of tea I’m afraid.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero by Liampie
How the hell can you just put something quick together and deliver… well… this?! God, you are really the Zidane of RCT. You make it look so easy and beautiful but it’s actually so hard for others trying to do it too. Really lovely entry with a lot of atmosphere, like a usual Liam park. I like the coaster, pretty flowing. A bit of shame you didn’t put custom supports on it because that can help to make a coaster look even more nice. The water boarding ride is funny. Love it.
Cuba Libre Gardens by Coaster-Geoff and Scoop
Lovely entry. The highlight is of course the landscape backdrop you created. On one hand not such a fan of the LOTR rocks massively used here, but the green mixed in helps a lot too in a positive way. Cool little Beemer there, not something I’d expect to see in Cuba to be honest. I think, with the flume, you guys passed the water ride criterium the best of all entries imo. Also, very clean and tight archy. Have to say, the longer I viewed this park the more the palette started to annoy me. Too grey/dull just like Josh & Miranda’s entry. It’s Cuba guys, I wanna see colors!
Parque de la Habana by Camcorder22 and dr dirt
One of my favorite entries! Some really amazing archy in here like the La Carreta building and the turqouise building next to La pasteleria. The coaster was pretty cool, the support work on it is awesome! Also the queue and exit path were highlights! Weird to say about a path but it is. I can’t really imagine what the triple horse butterlies would actually look like, but it got my interest and I like it. The rapid river was also pretty cool, had to think of a Virginia reel coaster but then made as a rapid river. Cool submission!
Parque Santiago by mamarillas
Really solid entry, there were some fantastic parts on this map. Other parts weren’t up to that par. The “favelas” were really well done! Pretty much the highlight of this map. I also loved to see the switchback coaster (or how it is called), a type that’s rarely used. Not a fan of the supports on the flume, that’s the easy way out you went with for that. I wouldn’t mind that it’s easy but it also doesn’t look very good imo. Overall solid entry that shows you are a talented player, looking forward to see more.
The carousel is centered in the plaza with 3 tiles on the top and bottom and 6 tiles on the left and right. However, I could have shortened the queue line to keep the symmetry in the inner rectangle between the plants. Thanks for the feedback by the way!
Yeah, this is gonna be a tough vote.. so far narrowed it down to a top 5. Guess I have to look at them with the official criteria next to my own.
Great entries by all. My not having played this much since high school really shows, but was tons of fun. You can really tell where time was running short and I had to finish the village.
Puerto Habana
Love the architecture and especially the pixel art Che. Liked the coaster but wish there was a little more of the park.
Parque de la Habana
I liked the in house built horse ride, sees very realistic for an achievable in-house build. I also really liked the variety in buildings around the park, especially the mini-Fusterlandia.
Carnaval Cubano
Not sure the in-house built ride jumps out at me, but it brought me right back to the Malecon.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero
So many drowning peeps, but I suppose that's part of the joke. The waterboarding ride is genious and the architecture is spot on.
Cuba Antigua
Absolutely loved the coaster. 10/10 would ride. Interesting mix of both the colonial and more Havana style baroque buildings. I had mixed feelings with the slave tower in my submission but glad someone went further than that (well maybe glad isn't the right word, but definitely part of the island's history).
Cube-a
Everyone loves a pun.
Cuba Libre Gardens
Great architecture on the Malecon inspired bit. Wasn't quite sure which ride was in-house unless it was the scenic railway.
Dreamland Havana
Great seaside park and I love the architecture of the era, but it doesn't have much of a Cuba vibe to me minus the half street that surrounds it. Not sure what the in-house ride is, but given the 20's it could be any or all of them.
Puerta Vieja
Absolutely amazing cruise ship and I like seeing the insides of the buildings on the edge of the map. Gusano picante reminds me of the one credit I got in Cuba.
Carnaval de Maravillas
I think my favorite part of this was the custom billboards which are plucked straight out of Cuba. The buildings look fantastic, but I was a bit distracted by all the various moving pieces.
Parque Santiago
Absolutely loved this one. Montana al Reves was very creative and seemingly one of a few in-house made rides. The surrounding village and the park itself are simple but gorgeous.
Really surprised at the no. of entries and quality of entries overall. Hard round because many parks share similar qualities whilst also having some unique ideas.
I opened the parks a few days ago so apologies if I forget something that I had written down, or if I've missed some interesting qualities, I think I caught most of the main deciding factors that seperate one park in its level from another. Will revisit a handful of parks as there's a few I'm undecided on with top vote.
FredD: The coaster was great and colourful just like the rest of the build. My favourite part of the coaster as previously mentioned is how it digs into the terrain in parts. I also enjoyed the fort on the hill, as well as the Cadillacs driving through town, I also noted you had a nice fountain, and cool dock! A great park to open with.
Hydroportal + 6crazy6king: Really sorry to say for some reason my computer crashed upon opening everytime (problem definitely from my end). A shame as other comments suggest this was a top level entry, and the overview looked great. Will reattempt opening before voting as I feel this is at the top end.
MK98 + RWE: I loved the older feel of the park, and thought the palette was good. Your use of horse and carriage instead of the more typical cars I also felt was a fun change up. I've noted that I didn't like some of the building colours nearer the sea but this was my only criticism. I enjoyed your very interesting coaster and the great transition from the dock to the more rural area as you made your way through the map. I thought there were some great interactions for your coaster in this area, and enjoyed the novel use of the steeplechase ride.
Gustav: I think this was a great effort for someone I've not heard of before. Your pier area was quite small but fulfilled all the contest requirements, and the coaster was suitably cheap and simple that it would appear to belong in its place. Your town felt pretty Cuban with its use of colour but I would have loved to have seen you better utilise the town by having a bit more life flow through it, such as more peep pathways, some stalls, maybe even some rides. The square with the carousel I thought was a good example of what I wanted more of. I also noted you did a good job with small details such as having supports for the pier under the water. A little more refinement in areas and you're well on your way.
Mamarillas: Personally, I think this is the hidden gem of the round. The park I thought really approached Cuba differently from many others, choosing not to use the colourful buildings like many others and instead going for a very well constructed fishing village, which I personally thought was some of the most enjoyable architecture of the whole round, the electrical/telephone poles and wires really added that bit extra. Some notes I made were that i enjoyed your tram, it was very neat, as well as your church which I think was the best of the churches I saw this round. The coaster was neat, compact and believable as a in house ride and overall I think for me this was a top 3 park, great job!
Coaster-Geoff + Scoop: I liked the palette. Everything broke down straight away pretty much, was this a joke relating to Cuba? I thought you struck a good balance between too much detail and not enough. The rockwork was cool, a tad excessive in use but a cool idea and a good backdrop. In contrast I thought your beach seemed a bit empty. I found your chairswing to also be really imposing and cool. Overall I enjoyed this a lot, but struggled intially to find your in house ride as I was looking at the bigger coaster.
Vegascoaster: Although the architecture is fairly simple it's clear to see you're doing a Cuban town. The coaster is funny and a good reference to the US-Cuba relations, I found the little jump to be a great pisstake for an in house ride so well done! As others already said I found the foliage could do with some work but this was a good start to build from for future rounds. My final criticism would be to open the park to guests before submitting to enhance the atmosphere.
Jaguar: Overview looks great. Clearly a bit of a pisstake on the contest goals but also very clever. Some of the stuff is rubbish but it is clear from your level of work prior that this was the intention. The cigar box station was a great idea, I think we all know this is not a winning entry but I'm very pleased something different was submitted.
Mamarillas: Personally, I think this is the hidden gem of the round. The park I thought really approached Cuba differently from many others, choosing not to use the colourful buildings like many others and instead going for a very well constructed fishing village, which I personally thought was some of the most enjoyable architecture of the whole round, the electrical/telephone poles and wires really added that bit extra. Some notes I made were that i enjoyed your tram, it was very neat, as well as your church which I think was the best of the churches I saw this round. The coaster was neat, compact and believable as a in house ride and overall I think for me this was a top 3 park, great job!
Colby: My god you're a prolific builder in the game. I loved your water ride, was it meant to sync so that both cars went down the drop at the same time? The beachside was cool with the rockwork around the swimming pool being very effective. The town probably wasn't my favourite of the bunch but still very good and clearly carrying on from your high level with DAK Spain. I thought the town could have done with some more atmosphere in relation to the park overall to push this park slightly higher.
Liampie: Coaster name was a great rewording of Bacardi. Someone did there research! Waterboard experience also a super fun name (if it's not happening to you), this park is the best in terms of ride names in my eyes. The landscape and foliage were done well and I enjoyed the main road running through the park it gave a lot of atmosphere to the whole scene.
Camcorder22 + dr dirt: The whole thing screamed colourful and I enjoyed it. For me, your water interaction with the shore was one of the best of all submissions if not the best, the terrain work made the whole thing feel very real and a nice change from the other parks presented. The fort was very neat and for me your USS Cuyahoga area was very well done and a lovely little addition. The smaller compact buildings you had in the park gave the place a great compact feel, well done, this submission was top3 for me.
In:cities + Shogo: Visually the most interesting overview due to the giant boat in the screen. The park is clearly very very good. The boat looks awesome, especially the top deck, it's royal Caribbean correct? You pulled that off very very well. The city felt believable and was topped off with interiors to buildings, I also enjoyed your gas station which was unique. The main highway was the biggest and most imposing one I saw but also felt believable with roads these days. The security checkpoint was funny, the main building connecting through to the cruiseliner was my favourite, a modern twist added on to a traditional looking town. The coaster was also very cool and one of the better looking in house concepts for me. The only thing I didn't like was your fort, it wasn't bad but I believe others did a better job, I didn't like the green paths on it either. Otherwise, the rest was excellent, and as such, I believe this will be highly voted, well done.
Once again, great job by all entrants!
Puerto Habana by FredD
Great entry Fred! Really like how you interpreted the ‘in-house’ ride concept with a coaster built from rag-tag parts found around the world. Weird but wonderful and a creative idea. The archy in this is top notch as well, and full of great little touches. It feels like a town in decay, but still alive and kickin’. It feels as if I’ve arrived at noon, in the full heat, with so little people on the streets and everyone holding a siesta. The murals are a great touch as well and wonderfully executed. Things that hold this back for me are the harbour which could’ve benefited from some more attention. Perhaps waves, a few small cranes… Also the path is very in your face.
Carnaval Cubano by Gustav Goblin
Nice entry Gustav! Really like the entrance gate to the park and the fact you can get lost in all the small little streets of Havana. Definitely something the other entries don’t have and a unique feature of yours. Sadly it lacks a layer of refinement and detail. Some small details like air vents, street lights, signs…would’ve helped pushing this over the edge. Great entry overall though!
Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo by 6crazy6king6 and hydroportal
Cuban Bumbly Beach?
I’ll let myself out… This is amazing. Full of life and detail. It feels like I’m actually walking there and that’s a great feature for any park to have. The archy it top notch, the landscaping and foliage is really well done! The custom objects show dedication as well. You took the theme and went for it. Def a favorite of mine! Negatives? Well, it’s a bit too busy in places perhaps.
Cuba by VegasCoaster
Really like how you went more for the small town entry rather than the big city like Havana! Def points for originality from me. However, some parts feel rushed and unfinished sadly. The jump through the American flag made me chuckle though!
Cuba Antigua by RWE and MK98
You win points for originality for not going for the stereotypes from Cuba with the old American cars, communism and derelict Spanish buildings. Love the fact you’ve chosen a different time period! Highlights for me are the ships, archy and plantations. The slaves are a neat yet daring touch. A real piece of history that some might not like to see in an RCT park, bu fit the theme. The custom coaster is fantastic, really love the combos you made with the different parts and trains. Just one thing… Steam trains didn’t run in colonial times! Sorry, you lose
Puerta Vieja by shogo and In:Cities
Of course Josh would build a cruise ship! And a neat one too, looks bigger than the one in DisneySea. Archy is great. Really like how detailed it is, but it doesn’t always seem to fit well together. Perhaps it might be so in real life but I don’t think the modern buildings work next to the old style I’m afraid. And the palette which makes everything more brown doesn’t help really. On the plus side, the park looks really fitting for Cuba with those aftermarket weird and wonderful coasters. Just a shame it’s not finished.
Dreamland Havana 1951 by colby
Cuba before the revolution! Also a really cool idea! It feels like an old school theme park like Cony Island which I would imagine a Cuban theme park in the fifties would look like. Just like you said in the description. I really like how you met the target for the water ride challenge. I’m a bit unclear for the in-house ride though? My remark would be that the surroundings could’ve benefited from that last layer of refinement to add life: signs, benches and lights.
Cuba-a by Jaguar
Nice little joke! Original idea but it doesn’t really do it for me though. The cigar box was a nice touch though.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero by Liampie
This entry may not be as densely filled or highly detailed as some others, but it does win point for charm! It took me some reading to get your little joke though… Guantanamo, waterboarding… Yeah fun. Like the plantation and archy, not a fan of the colours of the station. The hotel was well done and so was the landscaping. The in-house ride was creative and immediately met both requirements. Well done!
Cuba Libre Gardens by Coaster-Geoff and Scoop
Again this palette? Sorry boys, it just doesn’t work for Cuba imo… I really like the log flume here, as well as the little carnival. I like how it’s tucked away behind the main street and the way to get their through that great entrance. The mountains are a bit of a hit and miss for me, you don’t really get that sense of height with the LOTR rocks. Archy is nicely done though.
Parque de la Habana by Camcorder22 and dr dirt
Interesting entry. The park feels very ramshackle as I would expect from a Cuban park, but has some nice features like the curved paths leading to the entrance and exit of La Estrella Del Sol. What I like most in this entry is the diversity of the elements. Using height, small winding streets and archy that seems like a mix from Zippo’s and Feira do Flamengo works wonders here. Good use of some more open spaces as well.
Parque Santiago by mamarillas
Glad to see you show up in an another NE contest as well!
And boy, did you deliver! Like quite a lot of people in this contest you’ve chosen an urban coastal setting, but with a twist. Instead of the ineer city of Havana, you’ve successfully captured the feeling of the outskirts of town. Somewhere where I would imagine a theme park would be in Cuba. I love how you made the derelict houses and shacks on the coast brimming with life, even though there aren’t that much peeps. It feels lived in, which is what you would want. The coaster is great, I really like the innovative design you used. Some colour choices are a bit iffy for me though, and the WW cars really don’t fit. But those are just nitpicks.
My favorite 3 parks this round, which I think had the highest quality and best met the objectives, were:
-Carnaval de Maravillas
-Cuba Antigua
-Cuba Libre Gardens
Well done to everyone and thanks for all the entries, it was a ton of fun to explore them all and get the different perspectives on Cuba through rct.
Some quick reviews from when I looked through:
Parque Santiago - I thought this was really successful, and I loved the in-house coaster. Felt like one of the better applications of that coaster type i've seen in game. There were tons of little details to look at and the fishing villages were atmospheric as hell, those might be my favorite part. Some of the archy felt a bit boxy in places, and i'm not sure it felt as 'Cuba' as some of the others or really as grand in it's scope. But, I think it's a great bit of parkmaking.
Parque de La Habana - Overall, this park was filled with win. Tons of amazing details that brought it to life, a great little theme park in the middle with a mix of conventional and odd choices that capture that 'small park' feel. The coaster supports in particular wowed me. I'm not as sold on the curved entrance/exit paths. I like them in theory but it kinda falls apart for me when I see peeps zig-zagging through them. But, that's entirely my own hangup. There were a few places where I though the archy wasn't as stellar, veering into a bit of an older rct style. That being said, this just missed on my top parks for the round.
Guantanamo Bay Bolero - This is a slice of classic Liam parkmaking: great archy, well composed, lots of little details, and creativity. While some of the parks were larger, this had plenty to look at. I'll echo everyone else about how amazing that station is. I also liked the water ride as a concept and the main row of buildings had some great details. I do wish the coaster had custom supports, but that's minor.
Cuba-a - Funny and fun, and I'm always here for thinking outside the box. I mean, I won't lie, I wish this was a more serious attempt at thinking outside the box, but i'll take what I can get. Plus, i'm too in love with Phototrophian to be mad, heh.
Cuba Libre Gardens - The landscaping here is the standout, the mountains and foliage are incredible and add so much to the framing of the park. The architecture was also excellent along the main road, and there were plenty of great details. I liked all the rides, particularly the side friction cutting through the rocks. I do think some of the rockwork could have been pulled back where it met the city and park itself, but regardless the impact was great. Congrats, I was really impressed by this overall, particularly the landscaping and how you integrated elevation into the park. Also, I don't think your screen did the park justice, but maybe that was intentional...
Dreamland Havana - Composition-wise, this was well executed. It felt very well planned and very realistic to how a park like this could exist. I loved how you organized all the rides and architecture inside the park, and I think that shines. In places it lacked some detail compared to the other parks. The long boulevard was gorgeous, love the trees and paving treatment you did there. My only major gripe is that the architecture outside the park didn't scream Cuba to me, in comparison to some of the other entries. So, while I love the theme park itself, it didn't feel distinctly Cuba to me overall.
Puerta Vieja - This was a tricky park to review, because it felt a bit inconsistent (and was a bit unfinished). The ship was incredible. Sometimes I think these kinds of huge ships can become just impressive set pieces, where they have visual impact but not a ton to add. This however, is not that case. It looks great, it has tons of details, and it was fun to explore. I think this park had some of the best archy, but it didn't feel as polished and appeared haphazard. Where everything came together (the main square, the street behind the boat) it was incredible, but with some of the unfinished areas, it just didn't feel like a complete package throughout.
Cuba Antigua - This was a standout for me. It's giving me real Red River Delta vibes and real H2H vibes. The coaster is wacky and fun, I think the mish-mash of tracks really works here and gives an old-school "we learned how to merge" feel. The architecture and particularly the detailing was really great. You had a lot of creative ideas added in, like the rusting of the supports or some of the smaller structures that really made this a great entry. And as i've said elsewhere, I think your texturing and layering, in the archy, that paths, and particularly the foliage was great. That farming area toward the back of the coaster is gorgeous. Well done!
Cuba - Compared to the others, this definitely stood out as the work of a newer player. I think there were some good moments, particularly the tower and the maze hedges. I'd recommend working on your details to give the shape of your architecture some more definition and building up landscape to feel less randomly placed. The other parks in this round provide a ton of great examples to learn from.
Carnaval de Maravillas - Oh well hello Mr. crunch. This park honestly got me shook, it is so well done, so filled to the brim with ideas and creativity and fun. Some things I love: The slide, the car right next to it with swerve tread marks, the riverwalk arch, rust on the coasters, the lifeguard chairs, the garage-styled shutters at different heights on the yellow building, the cracks in the pavement, all the different signs. Together, it creates such a living park, filled with activity and crunch and movement. I love the atmosphere that this is a busy, haphazard carnival on the beach of a bustling city. The architecture is also stellar, particularly the white building closer to the beach, that is gorgeous. Honestly, i'm blown away, I was not expecting this. Well done, definitely my top park of the round.
Carnaval Cubano - This park felt very much 'in progress.' What i mean is, having seen you work on it over the past month and looking at the final product, I can see you improving even within the park and as you built it. There were some great bits of detailing and idea, but elsewhere stuff was more basic. I think this shows you're improving fast and you should keep going and trying new things to hone your skills and style.
Puerto Habana - Honestly, I don't think the screen you posted was the best part of the park (maybe you did that on purpose). The architecture is excellent, especially along the main road at the back of the park. The layering and texturing is on point. I do think a bit more green foliage in places might have helped, even just to break up some of the intense path texture, but at the same time you added lots of little details that help balance that out. Some of the beach/coast felt a little rough as well, but overall I thought it was a great entry and a great bit of parkmaking skills.
Puerto Habana -> 7/10
I think this is a pretty cool entry. Some good architecture which conveys the theme very well and the foliage also seems very fitting. The low riders are a nice touch. Kinda confused about the sheer number of track types used on the coaster. I guess it shows that the coaster is self made but it stills seems weird. Water ride is a big minus in this - come on Fred, you can do better. The coaster itself is good, but sadly there are no real supporting rides in this...why? Also, man that path texture. I guess it kinda fits but it's also a bit overwhelming. The Che Guevara thing is obviously great.
Carnaval Cubano -> 4/10
Well this...isn't great. The city part has pretty basic architecture and is way too narrow. This might work in real life but RCT needs some viewing angles on the buildings. City parts also really need some details which are really missing here. The entrance to the fair section is a pretty cool idea but the execution is a bit of a let down. Too large and too bare. The fair itself could have been more exciting.The Hotel is excellent though and shows that you have potential.
Carnaval de Maravillas-Playa de San Arnaldo -> 9/10
Best submission this round, hands down. Filled to the brim with great architecture, amazing atmosphere and life. This park balances on the cliff to being too busy but really pulls it off. Honestly, I could go on forever about how great this park is. Superb fair area, amazing beach. The custom made coaster is cool but a little small but this park actually puts some effort into the water ride which I appreciate. Amazing, amazing effort.
Cuba -> 3/10
Well, it's colorful, so that is good. The coaster has something to say about America, though I am not sure what. Sadly the architecture is weak, the water ride is not as good as it could have been and the foliage is something better ignored. Not a good park. Also, where are the peeps?
Cuba Antiqua -> 7/10
Pretty interesting idea to go with historic cuba. I like both the city and the farm. Bold move to go with the slavery. You actually made a boat interesting with thet dock idea. Pretty cool custom coaster and a very nice touch to give it two trains of different lengths. Gives it a real self made vibe. Water ride? I guess the fishing boats. Sad! Overall a good effort.
Puerta Vieja -> 6/10
I guess I am supposed to be wowed by the boat but I am not. Very good technically but been there, seen that. The architecture is also I guess technically strong but just not good looking. Overall I don't think there is much to love about the park. Very good custom coaster but again, not very creative with the water ride. Atmosphere? Not in this submission.
Dreamland Havana 1951 -> 6/10
This definitely shows potential. It has everything a park needs to be great the execution is just not quite there. I love the old school theme park idea and I think it's pulled off very well. Water ride is great, but I personally can't see a clear custom made coaster. Architecture holds this back a little. The basic forms are there but it would have needed some refinement.
Cuba-a -> 3/10
Nice gag. Interesting definition of Cuba. Not sure if it fits the spirit of the contest. I think there is a place to be clever and this wasn't it. Not sure what the execution is all about. Joke entry?
Guantanamo Bay Bolero -> 6/10
Goes into a similar direction as Cuba Antigua. Nice little street which doesn't quite come together in my eyes. Very cool custom coaster but man. Water rides have not been creative in this round. Waterboarding Experience is obviously great. The station of the coaster is awesome.
Cuba Libre Gardens -> 6/10
Some cool waterfront architecture and some not so cool waterfront architecture. Interesting choice in terms of landscaping and foliage...with the worst trunk colors possible. Decent Log Flume as water ride but again not very creative. Coaster feels kinda B&M so it's kinda lame for this. Beach really suffers in comparison to other parks.
Parque de la Habana -> 7/10
Very colorful...too colorful? I actually really like the architecture for the most part even though some buildings are a bit iffy. The water ride ticks all my "don't dop this on rapid" boxes and the coaster isn't amazing. The stand out attraction are the horses. Is the track supposed to be visible? Anyway great idea. Also like the foliage and landscaping. Open grass? Yes please. The fort is really cool.
Parque Santiago -> 6/10
Let me start by saying that the "shanty town" by the water is great. Easily the best part of the map and by itself in the higher echelons of this round's quality. The entire waterside has some bold choices in terms of foliage and landscaping and it really pays off. The bigger houses are meh. They look like they are from Cuba but they also don't look amazing. The church is nice. Sadly, the actual park content here is rather weak. It's not like there are a ton of things I can put my finger on and call them bad but it just doesn't come together for me, sorry.
Conclusion:
I voted twice for the Carnaval of being the best submission this round.