Park / The Legend of Memnon
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14-August 23
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75.00%(required: 70%) Gold
chorkiel 80% RWE 80% Terry Inferno 80% Babar Tapie 75% CoasterCreator9 75% In:Cities 75% ottersalad 75% WhosLeon 75% Xtreme97 75% Jaguar 70% Scoop 70% bigshootergill 65% 75.00% -
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Round 3 - Ethiopia
In a rather nice coincidence, we received seven entries for this round, with many maps highlighting the varied landscape and natural wonders of Ethiopia. As a reminder, please see the round objectives below:
1. Your park must be set in or themed to Ethiopia.
2. Your park must feature or refer to natural resources extracted in Ethiopia.
3. Your park must include a coaster with at least seven tunnels or enclosed sections.
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!
download All parks batch download downloadExpo 77: Ethiopia Pavilion
by alex (100%)
Birth of an Ocean
by Gustav Goblin (85%) and Version1 (15%)
Yirgacheffe
by Liampie (50%) and Turtle (50%)
Hydro Harvest
by Lurker (100%)
Dallol Maar
by CoasterCreator9 (50%) and Milo (50%)
Ethiopia Action Park
In:Cities (50%) and RWE (50%)
The Legend of Memnon
by MK98 (80%) and hydroportal (20%)
Shaping up to be an excellent round with a few surprises. Really had a lot of fun working on something in LL with Milo; and this marks my first major contribution to an LL release. Amazing to see Turtle work in 2023, but all these parks continue to amaze!
Posting my reviews early before I get busy:
alex: This is by far my favorite entry in this series you are making as of yet. It has an amazing attention to motifs that is rather unparalleled. The traditional cloth patterns as awnings are fantastic, and that statue is really great. Unfortunately, because you are trying to "stitch together" several parts of one larger realism park, I do think this park falls a little flat on the objectives this time. The coaster reads more as one large enclosed section to me rather than seven distinct ones.
Gustav Goblin and V1: Cutest couple award goes to you. Macro feels very Gladsheim, but that's not a bad thing. Coaster was super enjoyable to watch go round and round. I loved the colors in this entry. Feels like a breakthrough park for you, Gustav! (And V1 for that matter, despite the smaller share!). Great work guys!!
Liampie and Turtle: A great surprise indeed to see Turtle return - he (and Liam to be fair lol) are way before my time and it's really cool to see the old faces return and improve my understanding NE history. That aside, I really appreciate this park's commitment to shy away from Fisch rocks and use traditional landscaping methods while still looking aesthetically excellent. I am very impressed by just how long that mine train coaster is and the way it hugs the landscape - I know that's not a small feat to achieve. The muddy river turning clearer (or is it the other way around, due to the town?) is also a great touch.
Lurker: I am not an LL expert, but I would consider this to be some of your best LL work yet!! I was able to view this in proper LL and the textures were quite nice. Great Ethiopian flag motif on the wooden coaster as well. The smaller section of the dam more upstream was also well done.
CC9 and Milo: Really cool builder combo and really cool park! The first thing that struck me was the attempt at those same salt features found in Gustav/V1's park, but done in LL with the glass pieces. This park had some really nice landscaping, which I felt really elevated the entry. The hacked go-karts are also quite impressive, but not surprising given your collective LL hacking skills.
in:Cities and RWE: Please keep making Action Parks! I am not growing sick of them and they always turn out super fun. I appreciate how this entry for a more urban angle compared to the other ones - it allowed itself to contain some cool infrastructure and a great structure for the lift hill of the RMC. The large salt flat gave this map some cool macro and some room to breathe. Also, I cannot forget the funny picture objects hahaha. Thanks for the feature
MK98 and hydroportal: Amazing work, guys. Great opening scene that leads the viewer to the large ancient area. Those statues are sick!! Probably my favorite part of the entry. The dueling inverted coasters are also super cool, and I like the produce conveyor lifts. That's a unique way to meet the resource extraction requirement, though I think the quarry also may be an attempt at this? The ancient area also divided itself really well from the more modern area by utilizing more vibrant colors and different objects. In any case, excellent work.
Will probably sleep on it before I vote!
Expo77: Ethiopia Pavilion:
Really like how the structures are done, creative and striking. Also like the the idea of having Ethiopian plants and animals in enclosed structures like that. Also, having all these entries tied together with the Expo is a cool idea.
Birth of an Ocean:
Love how this concept was done, a good opening scene leading to the main part of the park and I like how the main coaster is built into the machinery (And the support work is nice). I love the terrain and rockwork, the way the architecture is built into it, gradient from lighter to darker brown and those pops of color for contrast are great.
Dallol Mar:
Fantastic landscaping, with a lot of creative tricks to pull off something so difficult to do in LL, and I like how the run-down old railroad was done. Rides interact well with the terrain, also like that the park is peepable (Clever way to do that too).
Yirgacheffe:
A grand main coaster, really enjoyed how it took me on a tour of the map when I followed on main view, tons of great interaction too. Really like the elevation and variety of architecture, the mix of old and new to really make it feel lived in, and like it's been inhabited for a long time. The secluded areas are also a nice feature, overall this was a lot of fun to explore.
Ethiopia Action Park:
Love seeing another action park, this was a lot of fun. Streets were really bustling with activity and there's so many small scenes and fun references (Also that radio station, lol.)
The Legend on Memnon:
A good opening to lead the viewer to the main coasters, also a nice idea with the split map with present and past. And the main coasters are impressive, perfect for the theme and the timing is awesome. And of course, those statues, absolutely fantastic sculpture work.
Hydro Harvest
From all your GT entries so far, this is the one that really jumps out. Really liking it. There's a nice atmosphere and much to see. Landscaping and foliage are lovely. Really liking the dam, the subtle colors of the wooden coaster train and the density of the industrial harvest area. Great job!
Dallol Maar
The landscaping is striking here, really great job on that. Landscaping def star of the show here. I also really like the wooden sidefriction switchback coaster, great to see this type of coaster used and the lay-out is really good. The station of it is also really nice! A bit less fan of the layout of the invert. The go karts were cool. Overall strong entry.
Ethiopia Action Park
Another Action Park he?! Let me nitpick first and say that the Ehtiopians have the least content filled AP so far. I hope the AP board soon decided to add more rides here
Jokes aside, a great piece of rct. Everything is spot on: texturing, archy, atmosphere,... And it's so full of details! Love to see the street chaos being portrayed, hot springs, the crashed plane... Lots of cool stuff here to see. Kinda wished you went with a bigger, longer RMC but it's fine. Station and it's theming is really well done. Love it! Also have to compliment the custom music choice, not really my cup of tea but it brings so much authenticity with it.
Yirgacheffe
What a lovely entry, really charming. I like how you sticked to oldskool landscaping and proving it still works to make a great looking landscape. The long sprawling coaster is great, especially with all those structures on the station-mountain side is kinda spectacular. Also a great dam here. Lovely atmosphere, some cool houses and streets. Also loved the rainbow detail, so little yet so great. The stone fortress in the corner was also a highlight. The only thing I didn't really like was the splash zone of the rapids, a bit too short imo.
The legend of Memnon
Have to admit that the first view when opening was kinda underwhelming, also think the wild mouse wasn't really needed there. But then exploring further into the park it became eye opening. The pit with the dueling inverts is great! That Memnon statue is insane, such a great job on that. Also loving the pink castle and the waterfalls. I do think the fish rock made rockwall between the street and the invert pit could be a bit less straight and more organic, but that's me nitpicking again. Overall lovely entry.
Birth of an ocean
What an introduction to the park! Wow, great job on selling the story here. The land texturing here is crazy. And then, rotating the map also made another wow moment. This is really great stuff. The coaster is great dudes, big love for that and especially for the decision to include a banked tophat. I mean, that would be so awesome to ride irl. All the well, drills, pistons etc are great details. Love the gradient on the structures behind the coaster. Overall great entry and safe to say that this is the best work from both of you guys.
Expo77 Ethiopian Pavillion
Not gonna make the same mistake as last time, so: good expo themed to Ethiopia. But to be fair, this part has better and more theming than the Belgium one. The glass dome structures are the first thing that comes to the eye, great piece architecture there. Also really liking the stick warrior dude. Voliere is also a nice touch. You handled the coaster objective pretty clever, but it seems the layout of it has been compromised for it as it seems a kinda boring coaster. But I can imagine it's more of a darkride then a coaster. Really like how you did the lift of it, Zamperla Volare vibes here.
wow this golden era of rct is really long
Some insane competition this round. Getting some real Micro Madness deja vu.
Expo 77: Ethiopia Pavillion: The best pavillion yet! Lots of visually striking features such as the domed greenhouses and the marketplace with the decorative awnings. In general you've been killing it with the half-transparent pieces all throughout this park. Objective-wise, I love how each pavillion is themed to a natural resource. The gold mining coaster has a cool spiral lift mechanism, but I feel like it's a bit of the miss and the theming itself isn't as present as the other sections even if it does technically hit that seven tunnels requirement. With that said, this is effortlessly clean and very much in line with the past two pavillions. Waiting to see all of these put together by the end of the contest!
Yirgacheffe: Need to get this off my chest before actually reviewing the park. TURTLE. TURTLE IS BACK. Someone PLEASE hold me. Genuinely one of my favorite players to place an object and I'm so happy Liam necromanced him after an 11 year absence. The park itself is what I'd expect from the tried-and-true Heaven's combo. Gorgeous setting with definite hints of Corsair Veridian and Red River Delta in the macro. Coffea Arabica is an epic centerpiece coaster with some serious length and flow behind it. Some fantastic supporting rides as well; Jebena especially, although Harvest has my heart. The micro is equally impressive with a bunch of great little scenes. You two absolutely nailed both objectives and made something truly special. Just please, Turtle, don't drop this and then dip for another 11 years.
I'm so mad I couldn't even be the only player to make a Mala joke about the Great Rift Valley this round. It's so obvious but still.
Hydro Harvest: This is a far cry from your usual style yet it still has those Lurkerisms that bring a lot of attitude and charm to this park. Very chaotic but not to any detriment. A hydraulic dam making starship parts is a very unique aversion to the usual coffee or salt themes we've been seeing this round. You stuffed a pretty shocking amount of rides into that dam complex. I'm also a fan of the way you used air powered track for the cranes; wish I had thought of that myself. The natural area across the river has some very nice landscaping work with a great variety of foliage and some much-needed pops of red that prevent it from becoming a green and brown blob. I'm also a fan of the simple yet effective fort buildings. Honest to god I'd call this your best LL yet!
DaLLol Maar: More than one LL entry this round? LLLL! This is a very modern and detailed approach to LL in contrast to Lurker's trademark last-century (in a good way, don't worry) style. This is a very ambitious location to tackle in LL, and the methods to recreate the salt flats such as the swamp goop, maze pieces, and glass walls are very clever. Likewise, I love the way you recreated the metal structures. Three coasters is ambitious for a park like this, but Potash Plunderer takes the cake with the forward-backward interactions and how it plays off the landscape. The abandoned railway is also a neat touch; I planned to have some abandoned railroad tracks in my entry but ultimately decided against it. Overall this is such a LLovely map and really makes me want to do a LL submission if I choose to lead another park this contest.
Ethiopia Action Park: Everyone's saying Gustav and V1 is the cutest couple this round but honest to god I think it's Josh and Africa. We saw it with Ombezi (shamelessly referenced in this map because Josh) and we're seeing it again along with some Dubbya goodness. The moment I loaded the map and saw that street scene, I immediately thought "OK, this wins." The increasingly ridiculous off-positioned vehicles make a world of difference in livening up a scene like that. This park is just as funny as it is detailed; the barbeque scene and the peeps chillin' in the salt pools cracked me up. Of course it's not an Action Park without a tracked ride made of completely random vehicles. Let's not ignore the RMC-shaped elephant in the room though. Dynamite Blaster: 2 is a really nice layout and pretty chill for a RMC. The huge steel structures really stand out alongside those Fisch boulders I really need to learn how to use. I will say the themes don't hit as hard as some of the other parks, but in terms of sheer quality this one is beautiful. Amazing work guys!
And of course there's an African gentleman with a big yellow helicopter crashed into the rocks.
The Legend of Memnon: Considering I'm that guy who calls everyone and his mother underrated, I actually underrate MK98 myself. Yeah, the dude's real good. Love the cinematic intro with the time travel device in the mines. Glad to see I'm not the only one going the cinematic route this round. The area with the duellers is just gravity-defyingly epic. Those half-diagonal buildings, those sculptures. JEEEEEEEESUS. Why is Hydro so unfairly good at literally everything he touches? The dueling inverts are ridiculous as well and remind me of a design idea I had a while ago with the diverging lifts and dueling loops. There's so much in this map I really wish I had in my own. While I wouldn't say it delivers very strongly on the themes, this map is just plain ridiculous and you two did an excellent job. Unique concepts, fantastical theming, and cool cutaways are sure to win my heart.
While we all hit at least seven tunnels with our entries, I feel there were two in particular that really hit those objectives. While Hydro Harvest put a very unique spin on the theme of extracting natural resources, Yirgacheffe turned the humble coffee bean into an experience. I'm having a hard time deciding which two are the highest quality of the round, so I'm just gonna say screw it and give it to three; Ethiopia Action Park, Yirgacheffe, and The Legend of Memnon. Great work everyone!
Birth of an Ocean BTS drops after voting ends. Not sure how I'm gonna place with these crazy ass parks but hopefully my entry is still cool regardless.
Expo 77: Ethiopia Pavilion. I thought it was neat and well laid out. It seems that the foliage was the natural resource in this case. In spite of the cool hydroponic architecture, I thought that the coaster's tunnels were a bit contrived to fit the theme. Good work but didn't get my vote on either end.
Birth of An Ocean. I really loved this. The nomads, the breathtaking landscaping, and how well most of it is woven into the cliff face. This is the entry that got my vote for the objectives. Good coaster and the whole thing is especially clearly devoted to natural resources.
The Legend of Memnon. I liked the tracked rides. The duelers and the teleporting mine cart coaster were both inspired. The architecture was good. Bold use of salmon in the buildings. The landscaping was up to par but some of the other entries had especially unusual ideas there so this sadly wasn't one of the best on that front. Good work but not one of my overall favorites.
Yirgacheffe. This was very well made. It has a great overall atmosphere. The mine train coaster was very well woven in to the landscape. And the grassy hills were well crafted and a surprising combination of retro and modern. The good rides, the attention to detail plus the vibes make this my second vote for overall quality along with Birth of An Ocean.
Ethiopia Action Park. The atmosphere is quite good. I liked hearing the radio station and there was some good landscaping but the coaster wasn't as interesting to me as some of the other rides in the other entries. With some more interesting rides this could have been one of my favorites but as it stands, it's good but won't get either of my votes.
Dallol Maar. I liked the landscaping which was good enough to evoke Ethiopia in LL. Job well done in that regard. It had some great macro attention to the landscaping and the side friction coaster and the go karts were both well done. The invert was a little slow in parts which is something I've been guilty of in the past. Aside from the slow invert there's not much to fault. Well done. It didn't have the atmosphere that custom scenery allows in OpenRCT2 which is why I didn't vote for it, but that's just the progress of the game and not a fault of either of yours.
Hydro Harvest. I like it and it's a bold concept. Sadly, I think that the sci fi water power section could have used some refinement to make it look more like an Ethiopian place. It has the boxy buildings but they sort of get squeezed in with the rest where they would otherwise work better as an architectural motif. Getting ethnic sorts of themes can be very difficult to do in LL so I hope I'm not too critical. The rest looked the part but I have to make a note of that sadly. Treating it as a park it was a lot of fun. I like all of the coasters and you've been a good, reliable contest entrant for this Grand Tour.
I enjoyed this round of GT and congrats to all for putting forth such good work.
Wonderful parks all around, love the creative themes at play. Fun to see a few ongoing themes like Expo and Action Park, more charming work from Lurker, and some really epic landscaping in the form of Yirgacheffe, Birth of an Ocean, and Legend of Memnon. Really exceptional work all around and it's really tough to pick any favorite over the others. Gotta say, I love big landscaping and mine trains, though...
It was fun to take on more of a role in an LL park; I built all the layouts, Milo helped tweak both of them a little (fun fact, both coasters surpass the tunnel requirement, the dueler is a mobius so it technically surpasses it by a lot), and I also did a lot of the more macro-focused landscaping (as well as foliage). Milo led the way with the creative landscaping and hacks, I kinda just tried to help facilitate that. We teamed up on the buildings and general scatter. Loving LL these days and grateful for GT to give me another excuse to build in it.
EAP: I love it, it's really clever to have built an urban part on the map, where most of the parks were going to offer us landscapes you've brought something different. This city is my perfect idea of a modern West and East African city. The use of cars creates a very realistic and smooth urban form. This park is incredibly complete: city, landscapes, little scenes. A complete work. We know Josh's qualities as a builder, but I'm impressed by RWE's progress, your first park on the GT was already good, this one is even better, I really hope to see more participation from you on this gt!
Birth of an Ocean: There's a lot of great stuff here, and I really like the work on verticality and the different levels. The work on colours and their transitions is also very interesting, and it's coherent overall: there's landscaping work and architecture that fits in really well. It's a very good park overall! Like RWE, I'm very happy to see Gustav finding its rct and progressing park after park. I know it hasn't always been easy for you but you can really be proud of your work with V1, this park should be your lighthouse and your compass for your next releases.
Expo77: This is probably my favourite of your series. It's not the most complete or the most detailed, but I find the architecture incredibly bold. These glass structures are incredible, a very good example of how 1000 elements don't necessarily make a quality, original building. I also really liked the Ethiopian pavilion, the colours and patterns are superb. Overall, I'm very intrigued (in a good way) by the fake minimalism in this map. I really hope to see all your parks put together on this gt, the result can only be incredible.
The Legend of Memnon: Wow, what an entry in this competition. First of all I'm glad to see someone working on the churches of Lalibela, I think that would have been my angle of attack if I'd entered this round. It's a great park, great work on the architecture and landscapes (maybe just the cliffs which are a bit too regular for my taste). The integration of the coaster is really cool, as is the path to get to it. The diagonals are good. I'm a bit more perplexed about the Memnon Mines area, which seems a bit below the rest of the park, but overall it's an excellent park!
Yirgacheffe: What a duo and what a park, lots and lots of work here and lots to enjoy. First of all, the architecture is really cool, this huge level complex on both sides of the river is fantastic, the use of the diagonal really breaks up the monotony of this kind of structure! I also really liked the village along the river. My favourite part is still the castle on the mountainside, it's a beautiful vignette, very pretty to look at, a little postcard in this park. There's something unique about your mountains, those curves are really pleasing to the eye, I'm going to have to look at them in detail to understand how they work. I have mixed feelings about the mud/water transition, I find it very interesting and clever, but I have the feeling that something is blocking with the colors, it's really a detail and it doesn't take anything away from the overall quality of this park! Congratulations on this high-quality work, and I'm glad to see you both building again!
Dallol Maar: It's hard for me to rate an LL park, but I really liked the landscapes in the park: those mountains that look really natural, those little touches of vegetation and the different textures used. I'm really sorry I can't say more, I hope some experts will write you a more detailed review of your park, all work deserves the same attention!
Hydro Harvest: As with Dallol, it's difficult for me to judge this park, it's dense in the good sense of the term, I really liked the dam on the river, overall I liked the work on the right side of the river, it's perhaps more minimalist but I really liked the relationship between the buildings and the vegetation, it's very fluid and organic, very pleasant! I'd also like to congratulate you on submitting a park in each round, it's a really great contest from you and a lot of work, I hope your dedication and hard work pay off, you deserve a place in final Lurker!
In no particular order:
Birth of an Ocean: Interesting opening scene reminiscent of Gladsheim. I think it was a bold move to attempt the land texture gradients that we see done so well by Babar and Josh. It is mostly well executed here, but I was left wondering why some shades were what they were. Were the dark browns symbolizing a wet surface? Or just darker soil/rock? Not a complaint at all, just something to consider in your next project. As Cocoa will say, think of the texture and material of the objects you are using. Besides that commentary, the kineticism throughout is a lot of fun and helps keep me engaged. The launch coaster was pretty great too and well integrated into the landscape.
Yirgacheffe: Really lovely terracing around the park that helped create a sense of age to the park. You could tell what was old, what was new, etc and that felt unique to me. The coaster too was such an old school sprawling layout that was quite enjoyable. Felt like something you'd see in a bygone era of RCT. Only fault I think I'd have here is the mud/water blending. But super minor issue. I agree with Babar, this entry felt like a vacation postcard. Well done!
Hydro Harvest: I think in terms of content and creativity, this was a step up from your Belgian entry. But, it didn't feel like Ethiopia at all to me unfortunately. Wooden coater was very nice though! Curious to see if you can make a stronger setting in rct2.
Dallol Maar: Great to see you build Milo! I think the setting here is unique and is a great contrast to EAP. I like the usage of abstract walls to sell the setting of the springs. The coaster looked fun. Always a fan of an adventure go kart track. Landscape overall was very well done.
Memnon: Really cool entry. The statues were great - architecture was great.. especially the temples beneath the path. Loved the dueling coasters, imo the best coaster(s) of the round. Really impressive overall. Perhaps though the fisch rocks were a bit too linear splitting the two halves of the park. But definitely had a wow factor when opening the park.
EAP: Lovely stuff. I think the urban African city area is really well done. Feels unique and very tied to the location. The hot springs were colorful and very well done. Made for a vibrant viewing experience. Also enjoyed the RMC quite a bit. Maybe a bit meandering of a layout with an abundance of helices, but the tunnels and integration into the landscape was nice. Cool radio station too.
Expo77: Probably my favorite of the round. Such a unique architectural style here that I can tell was very well thought out and intentional. The coaster was a very unique spin on the prompt as well and I would say elevated this entry relative to the others for creativity. And those pods are so different and out-of-the-box! The greenhouses were quite stunning as well. I just can't find any fault here. Every object seems to be perfectly placed and no detail was too much or too little.
Expo 77
I have really enjoyed your idea of turning this contest format into a series of maps that form a larger whole. Making it a period piece has added an extra layer to each entry so far and this one is the most successful at weaving in the location environment in with the angular and somewhat gaudy '70s motifs. Everything is pitch perfect and meticulous, down to the fountain timings. I think my favorite part was the fairtrade coffee pavilion but the bold architecture and fabric awnings elsewhere were also awesome. The coaster was a little cheeky, perhaps a peek into an interior would have given it a little more pizzazz but it is a unique take on the objective. The little extras like the signage and backstage areas pushed this over the top compared to your other entries so far. I think you're finding your stride with this larger project so I look forward to what you come up with next.
Birth of an Ocean
One of my favorite developments in the past few years is the very cinematic approach we now see more often. Yes, the intro is very Gladsheim-esque but it's a great idea for the setting and the contrast with the dense and active industrial area was very striking. The Dallol ruins are very true to the real thing and the overall landscape and map shape are one of the standouts of the round. The coasters and industrial set pieces are very energetic, with surprises at every map rotation. I really enjoyed the landscaping and extra detailing like the recessed cog wheels. Mine train supports on the side friction track look great too, I wish CC9 and I would have stolen that. Great work V1 and Gustav, this map makes a strong case to be a top contender in the round.
Yirgacheffe
Wow, Turtle has officially returned. Ya love to see it. You really haven't missed a beat and with Liam as the second piece of the duo, we got a very well rounded approach to the setting and objectives. The quality is there, the storytelling is there, the detailing is top notch and the setting is one of the more unique of the round in comparison to the stark and gritty desert scenes. The only thing gritty here are the beans. The mine train is a ton of fun, especially with the self dueling and comprehensive coffee production walkthrough. I loved the themed flats like the wet and dry sorting and roasting. There is an impressive variety all around the map; from rural to a dense village, ruins to a modern dam and it all gels seamlessly. I typically don't hate steep rapids but the overall ride design seemed to lend itself to more of a flume CTR like the one in Logan's Brewery. That's really a nitpick though. The mud was a bold choice that could have used a touch more movement in the corner there. Really awesome work, very polished even down to mist rainbows. I won't feel guilty giving this a vote just to see this pairing again.
Hydro Harvest
I love this bold take on the theme and the direction you are taking your style. Sci fi is a great idea and really helped this map stand out in a crowd. It's a tough theme and landscape to sell. Contrary to others I think the foliage mix and use of martian texture does convey the theme. The dam and sci fi side of the river are fun and chaotic. I like this Morgan hyper kick you're on, and the ride design in general was very fun and true to form. It's a little generic but not outside the realm of GT and I applaud you for going outside your comfort zone. Looking forward to seeing more from you, as always. We'll collaborate some day
Ethiopia Action Park
Much like with alex, I'm really loving the commitment to the Action Park chain and branding. I also like how each one has a slightly different feel depending on the collaborator. CC9 and I were talking Ombezi during initial planning and it doesn't shock me that you guys settled on a similar idea. I love the tourism angle and really beefing up the ~action~ for what is a stark and barren setting. Obviously you crushed the landscaping, including the brown rocks against the salt, sand and sulphur. The ride design was very fun and fit with the theme. The dense traffic was awesome and really added to this take on the theme with the tourist town vibes. The extra attention to detail like the HOTel sign really pushed this over the edge. I'm certain I have not caught every little scene or reference and will be returning to this map frequently. Great work!
The Legend of Memnon
Another bold and storytelling driven map which is great to see. The modern/ancient split, the ride design and hacking and execution of the set pieces is top notch. I loved the pink and green coloring in contrast to the darker, muted coaster colors. Those first drops down waterfalls and dueling inversions were awesome, great layouts overall and a standout ride of the round. I loved that flat ride with the gears and water wheel power system. The statue face off is awesome. The harvest theme gets a little lost in the shuffle but it's a complex map and certainly meets the objectives. I think the modern day side could have used a slightly clearer hook, it has a slight festival atmosphere but does get overshadowed a bit, and the mine quarry as a portal could have been a little clearer. Overall though, props for a strong execution of such an ambitious idea. This a very fun entry that pushes the boundary of what a GT entry can be.
CC9 and Me
CC9 was awesome to work with and was game from the beginning for the Dallol industrial idea. My pitch really centered around the landscaping features and big rides and CC9 delivered. He deserves all the praise for being an integral part of this being finished and doing all the thankless macro focused landscaping and layout work. His ride design was fantastic, I added the stacked reversers and tweaked layouts within the map. I'm the one responsible for the slowness on the SLC but I wanted peeps to ride it so it was a sacrifice. It is amusing how similar our map is to EAP, and BoaO, but all 3 are such distinct takes on the Dallol area that it worked well for the round. This was a ton of fun and in line with the LL I'm having the most fun with nowadays. Lurker is a big inspiration for that, as are alex and others. It is a bit like bringing a toothpick to an uzi fight but that won't stop me playing and enjoying LL. The Grand Tour was something I wanted to participate in since the last iteration and I could not have asked for a better build partner. It was a blast and I'm looking forward to future rounds!
Hydroportal Harvest - Lurker
This was a fun little map! I enjoyed exploring all of the little details you included on this map. I think the take on the theme is very unique, and it still feels like a classic Lurker style map. Also, great job adding the single landtile tunnels on the lift hill lol. Knocking out the challenge with ease!
Dallol Maar - Milocreator9
Absolutely loved this map. Coasters are sprawling and interesting. Karts are appropriately fun. Landscaping is spectacular. The glass to depict the different colors is brilliant. All around a top notch LL map. Nice work boys, i'll be revisiting this one a lot.
Legend of Memnon - MKportal
This map is nuts. The verticality and layering is superb. So much to see with every rotation of the map. I love how embedded everything is. Beautiful take on a region of the country that stands out from the others. Giant statues are of course excellent. I like the grey one with the O face. Only critique would be the little blue coaster in the quarry. I like the idea behind it, but I think that coaster area itself could have been themed just a bit better! It doesnt matter though, because everything else on this map is just so good. Favorite part is the temple poking up through the pathway from below. Great work.
Yirgacheffe - Turtlepie
I knew Liam was building something cool, but had no clue he pressured Turtle into joining! Always great to see a return to the game after so long. Yes, we know you have been lingering about for a while but it's still fun to see you build again. Huge fan of this map. So much to see on each rotation. It gives off such a classic vibe in the best possible way. I love the storytelling of coffee production - it's very effective.
Birth of an Ocean - Version Goblin
This map is wild. I can appreciate you putting an incredible amount of effort into what I think is a breakout release for you. Shoot, I remember your work from the last GT and even the previous MM - this is incomparable! Massive jump in quality and skill on so many fronts. Great work. Also really fun to see V1 step out of his comfort zone a bit and contribute to this.
Ethiopia Pavilion - Alex
Probably my favorite of them all. I'm just a sucker for this type of architecture. I like that you're taking this approach to the contest as a whole. Each map feels very classy and appropriately detailed for what you're trying to accomplish. I love the repetitive nature of the structures. It works super well. Favorite parts being the coaster structures and the pattern fabric awnings. Such a unique take on the theme and it simply works.
Review time
Birth of an Ocean
I'm impressed at the use of vertical space. Each level is well utilized and progresses beautifully by the use of colour gradients from pale soil on top to dark bedrock below. These areas feel cohesive yet are diverse enough to be something truly new to look at from what you saw before. The coaster is beautifully integrated into the whole thing to boot.
I'm guessing the long tail represents the progression of time as the rift valley/ocean begins to form, well done if that is the case. The use of horizontal space achieves this very well. A small touch like this can really bring a park together. My points of criticism are minimal. Some elements strike me as blocky, particularly the water basins underneath the main coaster. I also think some of the brighter colours could have been managed better, the bright oranges in particular.Dark green and orange mix poorly.
Expo77
Your exhibits captures Ethiopia's export table very well! My tradle obsession aside... I like the effort to present a more grounded sense of a country. The architecture on display here is truly architectual. I think this goes for the Glass domes, gold mining exhibit and pavillion awnings especially. You've truly succeeded at creating spaces. Perhaps not as fantastical as other entries, but you have succeeded at making something I'll keep looking at in the future. That's great, we need more of that in the community.
Yigarcheffe
There are incredible visual displays in this entry, but I think overall its a bit too busy for me. The recurring use of colours was great and helps the whole feel cohesive. Your incorporation of rides, landscape and architecture was geat. I personally feel its slightly overdetailed. Not enough grand statements, like the mountains in the back (which are wonderful), in the centre of the map to draw your eye. I think that's why I like the dam and mountains so much. Good entry overall that does an excellent job of capturing the theme.
Hydroharvest
I don't have LL installed and had to look at the overview, please take my review with a grain of salt. The chosen theme of hydro-electric power fits well with the theme. I like that you've gone with an actual power plant. I feel the dam either could have been larger or more central to the design of your entry. The actual look of the park was great, some good LL'ing.
Dallol Maar
More LL, more salt you must consume with my review. Good entry. I loved the side-friction and mine-train, excellent use of landscaping to enhance a ride. The salt reservoirs were a neat thing to draw the eye. Invert seemed a bit too sprawly for me, not a fan of sprawly inverts personally but tastes differ.
Ethiopia Action Park
Zamn. Whilst I question the decision to build a city and theme park on top of active sulfur vents I applaud your actions in creating it. Each subsection of the map has a unique aesthetic that blends together well. The city feels authentic to pictures I've seen. The colourwork for the sandy plains are beautifully done and not only create some much needed breathing room but also provide and amazing backdrop for your taller buildings. Your yellowstone-esque walkways above the sulfuric vents are creative and nice to look at and the coaster portrays the mining theme well. The rockwork felt a bit clumpy at times. Lovely entry.
The Legend of Memnon
You did a good job with this, and there are absolutely fantastic elements here, but I think the cohesion could be better. For starters, those sculptures are amazing. Your architecture is done well, too. I think the rockwork is good in isolation but can use some work from a macro perspective. Its does not have any major faults but feels quite angular in how its set up. The half of the map containing the mines especially examplifies this.I don't feel that area added a whole lot to your map, which for the rest is great. Good job especially integrating architecture with verticality. A nice entry that I'll definitely remember.
these were all pretty good could see any of them winning, maybe not the LL ones (haha), but they were still pretty strong submissions on their own.
expo 77 : this was cool i love this architecture. This series is fun please continue such great parkmaking. These might fall short in a contest setting lol
birth of an ocean : was this like a Moses thing? Good texturing, neat drills.
yurgacheffe : wow this was a total nostalgia blast. Big crosair veredian vibes. Total turtle coaster. This was such a cool retro throwback but with some modern object usages. Such a H2H map. River transition, the big mountains and that little castle were cool. Probably my pick for a winner
Hydro Harvest : This was pretty nice and dense. Lots of colors. Fun entry
Dallol Marr : The motives were pretty good here. The glass and the water was really cool. The layouts and rides were great. Well done entry
EAP : Another one, Town archi was sick. Loved the noise. Overall composition was weird. Maybe something more centered? Layout was good. I can see this one winning too.
legend of memnon : This one probably impressed me the most. Technically this had the strongest moments. Some areas were kinda lackluster? This had really cool stuff in it. I could see this winning if the turtle liam park wasnt there. Enjoyed it.
Round 3 - Ethiopia
Results
The third round of Grand Tour is now closed and from the 7 entries received, Liampie and Turtle narrowly edged out a lead to claim the third spot in the Grand Tour Final! They received a combined 57 points from the two questions with their entry Yirgacheffe, while In:Cities and RWE brought up a close second place with 47 points.
Find the results table below. The total score for each entry has been calculated from the following formula. The builders of the winning entry are eligible to compete in the Grand Final.
Score = Objectives votes + Quality votes
Yirgacheffe
by Liampie and Turtle
29
Ethiopia Action Park
by In:Cities and RWE
22
Birth of an Ocean
by Gustav Goblin and Version1
17
The Legend of Memnon
by MK98 and hydroportal
13
Expo 77: Ethiopia Pavilion
by alex
12
Dallol Maar
by CoasterCreator9 and Milo
9
Hydro Harvest
by Lurker
5
Join us for Round 4 in Thailand!
alex are you building all of these on the same map?
Alex just building a spotlight out here.
At some point will post thoughts, been looking at these off and on since release and they're all great.
Super happy with 3rd place. The last thing I was expecting to do this contest was take a majority share in an entry and achieve my best performance in any NE contest. Thank you all for the love and support!
Behind the scenes time. I was pumping myself up for a Uganda or Morocco round if Africa was the next country, but I admittedly didn't know much about Ethiopia when the objectives dropped. I did a little Google search and this was the first thing I saw.
What the actual hell. It was like another planet! Realizing I could make an insane fantastical landscaping circlejerk out of this, I did a deep dive of the Danakil Depression and learned about its salt flats and geothermal and volcanic activity. At this point it was really reminding me of a world from a game a friend and I were working on, although said world had settlements built into canyons harnessing natural geothermal energy. Incorporating these elaborate ideas made my passion for a Danakil-themed design grow exponentially. Parks like Eye of Namibia from the last Grand Tour were also hugely influential in pursuing a fantastical mish-mash of cool Ethiopian stuff over a straightforward recreation.
My initial concept was an early '00s adventure ride-style through the salt flats and dipping into some mines. I ideally wanted to keep it more towards the 2000-tile side since I build slow and wanted to do most of this one solo. An early idea I had was a vertical spike built onto a volcano that would erupt in time. I also gunned for the 64 Shades of Brown palette for the second time, as I discovered layering brown over vanilla colors gives some very authentic salt formation colors. Unfortunately, all I could do was conceptualize for the first three days because practicing my ass off for an interview for a dream job was far more important. I ultimately didn't get the gig which was very depressing, but in retrospect being stuck with my part-time gig meant this park would actually be completed.
As usual with a Gustav entry, it exploded while I was away and I came back to a completely new concept. After doing a deep dive of not just the Danakil Depression but the salt mining culture around it, I decided to include a cinematic introduction of a camel caravan arriving in the salt flats. The moment everything clicked was when I rediscovered the town of Coober Pedy in Australia, which is made of underground homes and caves to escape the unreal levels of heat. The Danakil Depression is the hottest location on Earth; what if salt miners built homes in the Great Rift Valley for the same reason? A recurring theme of this build became discovering similar aspects around the world and giving them an Ethiopian context. For instance, the lower level is based on ancient stone-cut cities such as Petra and Cappadocia. Additionally, as I found out more and more players were tackling the Danakil Depression, I decided to shift most of the emphasis toward the rift valley as to not blend in with my competition. Plus, I'm a real sucker for stone-cut semi-realism. Unfortunately my idea was looking a little too much like Gladsheim, but I made it a rule not to worry about it and just make the park I wanted to make.
Pretty much the first thing I did after basic landscaping was Megalith. It was a super fun layout to make, and I took a note from the rock-cut churches of Lalibela for the station. Fun-fact: the obelisk in the center of Megalith's lift was originally much larger, much less refined, and far more phallic.
Building challenges in the Discord carried me through this area as I warped my mind into an uncanny shape trying to nail down some crazy Fisch rock landscaping Jens J style. As cool as they look, they are so hard to nail and so easy to lose your position and get isometrized.
I had to force myself away from Fisch rocks once they became too frustrating and focus on other areas in order to make progress while resting my head. The introduction section with the desert was ironically enough a refreshing retreat from the rift valley, as it had practically no elevation changes and was all crunch. I treated the desert almost like a traditional painter, painting big splotches of land different colors and blending them together with multi-color land and path blocks and crunch objects. It was actually super fun! This could be where Otter's remarks about understanding the texture and material of what I'm creating came from, which are completely valid and ones I should keep in mind for next time.
I also laid out the Intamin Blitz that would later be known as Devourer. At this point, both the coaster and the salt flats were far bigger than what made it into the release, obviously a result of time crunch. The raised salt hill was also going to be a cinder cone volcano, which was cut by request of a potential partner we'll discuss later. I initially employed a crazy trick to create a zero-G stall that MorganFan included in his Gale of Amun-Ra. It is very specific and very annoying, and maintaining this inversion did eat a lot more time than I would have liked.
While the goal was to fly solo, as every day passed it had seemed I had bitten off more than I could chew. It was really starting to get to me. I was really feeling like I had never made a successful attempt to really show it and was about to make yet another mistake here. Fumbling enough times to end up a punchline of the community that saw so much in me was freaking me the hell out. There's a lot more I could say about this but it's neither here nor there.
Luckily, AJ came to save the day! He expressed interest in teaming up, which I was very much okay with. AJ goes crazy on the Fisch rocks, could pull off some insane mining equipment, and bounce around enough ideas to really make this one stand out. I got the map ready to send his way when a huge thunderstorm blew out my power for a few hours. Not fun. As it would turn out, though, AJ was in the midst of graduating and moving to Delaware to pursue a master's degree. Not exactly the best conditions for a GT entry, which led to him never touching the map.
What a bummer! If only there were a builder who had actually lived in Ethiopia, performed well in contests, contributed some work to Gladsheim, lived in a time zone where he could build while I was asleep, and was open for the 30-40% share I'd need to get this bastard ready and polished! It was a no-brainer to reach out to Sulakke, so I messaged him as soon as he said he was open and kept cranking along.
A day passes. Sulakke has not responded.
Uh oh. I cut out a good chunk of land out of the salt flats, painstakingly moved the desert closer to the rift with Scenery Manager, and started reworking Devourer to suit. I also start having second thoughts about the overall theme, as my research leads me to the idea of a more modern take featuring a political conflict between the traditional caravans and a new-fangled civilization in the rift valley taking the salt for themselves. After some meditation, I realize that with so little time left I should just go for the overall concept that made me start in the first place, although traces of this new theme did show in the end.
Another day passes. No Sulakke.
I'm freaking the hell out. I reach out to MK98, the only other builder who has mentioned being open, but he's building with Hydroportal of all people! I thank him, scratch him off my list, and keep on keeping on. Sulakke finally responds, but unfortunately he won't have too much time to build. To be exact, a few hours. It's obvious things don't work out, so I start shilling for a partner in the Discords.
Robdedede reaches out; an almost-partner from the Microstates round last Grand Tour. He's able to build especially in the afternoons so he'll cover some of my downtime. On top of this, he immediately starts figuring out how to ensure we can finish in time; leveling the volcano and shrinking the map even further to reduce the amount of space we need to fill out. This could be huge! I start shrinking the map expeditiously and come up with hollowed-out salt formations with glowing windows almost like termite mounds.
Rob, also preparing to relocate for college, loses motivation by the end of the day.
At this point I would have just quit and finally given myself some rest after three hellish weeks grinding this park non-stop. I considered it early on, but I might have gone through with it had I not remembered a message in the NE Discord from a few days before.
He hasn't released a finished park in two and a half years, but he's slowly showing more signs of activity and even started on a R1 entry for Grand Tour. I immediately reach out to V1 with the million dollar question; can he do custom supports and/or Fisch rocks? He's not comfortable with Fisch rocks but could definitely cover the custom supports. Good for me; I'll do all the rockwork I can but I hate custom supports. An uncomfortable builder is one that may not be able to finish, after all.
So I've got a partner. I've got a gameplan. I'm zeroed in on the theme that made me want to pursue this in the first place. All we gotta do is finish this in a week.
V1 starts off hesitant over whether we can finish, but his confidence in the park ultimately outweighs my own. As I plug along when able, I also start formulating plans to divvy up tasks between V1 and I. We decide to rework the coaster layout based on a few suggestions by Rob from earlier. V1 whips up four potential layouts, in which this footprint made the cut. I then completely gutted it and turned it into a Pantheon clone because I'm still in swing launch brainrot mode. Somehow V1 was okay with this.
Meanwhile, I finally start to go ham on the mine theming I had planned from early on. I'm not finding as much reference art as usual, but Gauntlegrym and Vermintide are giving me lots of ideas. I pull off the most insane shoestring I've ever done; throwing four windmill blades on one circle of track, eight multi-dimension cars just below, and eight Virginia Reel cars painted like opals using a palette trick on the outside. This paves the way for some more drills outside of the "park". Most of the mine scenery is based on the idea of themed supports, such as the well the vertical spike is enclosed in or the drill holding up the banked top hat. It's a tight race and I'm never where I want to be by the end of the day, but with Mr. Just Build himself on this park that's the only way this is even getting done.
At this point I'm filling out space. No polish whatsoever, just making sure the park is actually going to get finished. Fisch rocks are driving me bananas, even when I simplify the landscaping. Fearing I won't be able to get that last level of polish on my own, I delegate those path-level details over to V1 and he crushes them. He added so many crucial pops of color to the otherwise brown blob forming the rift. The coaster supports are still coming along too, and I take advantage of a rail he added holding up the supports over the rift to bring back an old idea for a wooden viewing area overlooking Megalith. I'm getting to the point where I have no idea how some parts of this park would even work. I build what I can, but V1 also takes on some areas like the top queue of the elevator and rocks them. Easily the best part of the collaboration process is filling in each other's gaps.
The last week is a blur. I have looped around to no longer being attached to any ideas I have for this park; whatever gets it done is whatever gets it done. I keep jumping between every area as long as my willpower will carry me, including starting the salt flats with only a few days to go. The process becomes draining, and at times I feel the emotional need to return to the womb.
One day V1 comes in with the progress report. Tons of market details, fixing some glitches and... landscaping?!
Defcon 1. V1 is filling in the salt flats. V1 is learning Fisch rocks.
We're so back. Watching V1 jump way out of his comfort zone motivates me to go crazy on it myself, and everything kinda comes together as stream-of-consciousness as it was at the very beginning. Devourer's station becomes a geothermal rock factory as I add more and more moving parts to it. In retrospect, the mechanical pieces embedded in the rockwork are my favorite aesthetic element of this map. I find the opportunity to have mining equipment jutting out of rock formations and steam vents in an uncanny hybrid of natural and artificial, even finding space for a launched freefall in one of them. I'm well on track to finishing, and it's not even the weekend yet.
Unfortunately I'd be on vacation said weekend well through the deadline.
Hotel room grinds are nothing new to me, however; much of the cloud border in Endswell was cranked out in a timeshare condo. I bring my trusty travel laptop that can pretty much only run ORCT2, praying for enough downtime for a final grind. On my way up, V1 makes an absolute boatload of progress that all but guarantees a finish product. I also notice a waterwheel with a very simple structure around it. conveniently around the time I'm wondering how to support Devourer's elevator lift. The moment downtime begins, I prop my laptop up on a cardboard box on top of a nightstand, put my mouse on top of a tissue box so my wrist doesn't die, and dig in. This is how it all ends.
I start about 7:30-ish with a little list of areas to cover, no distractions, and a laptop that cannot connect to the internet or even open images but sure as hell can run OpenRCT2. About five hours later, a beta is in the admins' DMs. By George, we've done it.
There's still a full day until the deadline, though. At this point, I can make all the final touches myself, so I ask V1 to make any final checks while I use any free time I have to apply as much polish as I can. About 4:30, after three or so detailing sessions, my stamina runs out for the last time and I call it. I accidentally send the admins the beta version again and finally take my vacation as an opportunity to relax.
Obviously there was a lot on the chopping block due to how much of a time crunch we faced. I wanted to add additional cutaway scenes and more mining-specific details along the rift valley but the time just wasn't there. The biggest sacrifice I had to make was a three-segment musical score I planned to write. It would be the same song but with different tracks muted so it would start minimalistic in the desert, slowly build to a salt mining anthem with anvil-like percussion at the salt camps, and introduce a proper backbeat in the rift. I also wanted it to be in 7/8 time, half because seven tunnels and half because it's my favorite time signature. It would've employed the same trick as Cocoa's eldritch semis micro where the music changes depending on the angle. I would've loved to do this if it wouldn't have prevented us from finishing, but when the park itself is what matters it's hard to feel sad about making such a sacrifice.
On my way home from vacation, the parks drop. I find out from the middle of a huge mountain lake that Turtle of all people has entered. Hydro has joined the bonkers Fisch rock sculpture train his Cook County Fair buddies have already boarded. Josh did another Africa park so he probably wins again. There's two Loopy Landscapes parks alongside another Alex pavillion. It's awesome seeing so many wonderful entries, but that weird part of my brain starts to speak up. I think I've just been Home Away From Homed again. The single most stressful and involved RCT grind of my life and it's going to result in a pathetic finish that undermines how much went into the park. Is this going to be my legacy? Am I going to be that walking punchline known for putting his all into contests only when the competition is completely insurmountable? Am I blowing my one chance to really show the rare genuine support from a community I'm involved in isn't in vain? I slip into a real bad mental place in the middle of an Indian buffet 30 minutes from home and make myself look like an idiot in the Discord. I feel like past experiences in other communities have forced me into a mindset where results are the only thing that matters, process be damned. Doesn't matter if it's a middling bronze or if it makes you a parkmaker; all that matters is it did bad in the contest. Obviously once I actually see the parks ingame I warm up to them, although I'm expecting a rough finish.
But then I stop and take a look. I just finished a solo in a month after internally typecasting myself as a perennial support builder, even if it needed V1's 15% to get over the hump. It's far and away my best work ever, and it was based on a concept I was passionate about and desperately wanted to see complete. Hell, on the topic of V1, I actually led a collab park well! Just ask Hawaii 0-Five; I was not good at this before. Carnaval Cubano, my round 1 entry from the last Grand Tour, turns three years old the day after, and it's then I realize wow, I've grown kinda fast these last few years.
And then that takes us to today. I got third and outplaced Hydro, MK98, and Alex. Wiiiiiiiiiild. It may not have been a total dub, but for my best NE contest performance to come from an improv solo map is unbelievably validating for someone who's thought he was only good for hacking and little details for a good while.
If you see a frozen staff member in Birth of an Ocean, that's who I'm thanking. Huge shoutouts to RCTClub and Hawaii 0-Five (especially J K) for the constant help and support. I wouldn't be where I am without it. Props to every builder who offered to tag along, even if real life didn't exactly allow for it. (Still waiting for the day I can collab with AJ and it goes right.) Shoutout to MorganFan for the neat zero-G stall trick, even if I had to can it for convenience's sake. And of course I want to give it up for the man of the century, Version1, for committing himself to finish this sucker up and jump outside of his comfort zone to tackle land blocks in general for the first time. You may have had a 15% share but that placement is 100% deserved.
Big step in the right direction for me but I know I have a long ways to go, both as a parkmaker and as a person. Best to take V1's advice and just build.