Pro Tour 2 / Iris' Personal Review

Ok, so I pay the bills so I get my own little topic here separate from Kumba's. So sue me . Anyways, since I was one of the judges I figure everyone would find it interesting to see how my views may have changed since the contest, and what I really liked the most about the certain entries, in a place where I can speak candidly, and not kiss up to all entries

Anyways...
on with the show.




Pros:
-Funny park. In the five minutes it took to look through it, I was pretty entertained.
Cons:
-Obviously, too small and half assed.
-Even with the tiny map, everything on the map has already been released, so while it's entertaining, it took absolutely no effort.
-The coolest thing in the park was a little transport coaster that does nothing but fly from station to station every 5 seconds. That doesn't say much.
-Not sure you've come far ENOUGH in your parkmaking to really make a 'memory lane' type park...would've made more sense coming from a more established parkmaker, though you have made strides.

Screens


-Here we see a piece of the best LOOKING work of Kumba's career in Aviara Cove (since Corkscrewed took control of the colors).
- There's also a jumble of shit from The Day After Tomorrow, where it looks just as horribly colored as it did back then.




-This part was actually pretty cool, mixing all the coasters together from Bayfront Parc into one little clever memory. If more of the park was actual clever hacking such as the Bayfront coaster(s), then the park would have been more enjoyable then just buildings themed to stuff, like you actually did.




-The time machine/portal thing was kinda cool...considering it was the only original thing in the park (though it's very possible it's in only of your earlier works too since it seems familiar). Still, not cool enough to really make up for the rest of it.


Final Thought: The park placed where it should have in my opinion. In a contest like the Pro Tour, if you half-ass it, you're going to get last, regardless of how cute, funny, or clever you think it is. Biggest disappointment of the contest, even though it was somewhat enjoyable for a minute. Literally.

13...



Pros:
-I loved the waterfalls, obviously it's something you've perfected since you've become pretty well known for them, so nice job there.
-I got the atmosphere that I was in a natural park more then an amusement park, so if that was a goal, you definitely accomplished it.
-Landscaping is always guarenteed with your work, keep that up.

Cons:
-Wayyyy too many trees.
-Maybe the coolest attraction in the park, the go-karts, were unoperational.
-Woody layouts could have used a bit of work.
-More color would have been nice.
-Not as creative as your other work, felt like you didn't want to really push yourself like you usually do.

Screens


The coolest "thing" in the park. The huge structure you have here is actually one of my favorite big buildings of the contest, proving people wrong that you're not good with architecture when you want to be.
-The signs above the go-kart track make for more realism (though this is very common).
-The finish times for everyone as they cross the finish was a real cool touch.


-I just really enjoyed the forest fires. Not a real mind-boggling detail, but a very cool one nonetheless. If you're gonna flood the thing with trees, might as well put em' to some use.


-Of course, the waterfalls. Beautiful rock formations, nice foliage, and very good job of making the falls seem intimidating with the chopping water at the bottom.
-I also like how you made the coaster dip underneath the waterfall, that was a cool addition.
-I loved that nature trail thing (not sure it's supposed to be one, but that's the take I got). It almost makes for a main attraction since guests are walking on jagged, almost tilted walkways right above a ferocious waterfall.


Final Thought: Also, this park placed where I believe it should have. Almost interchangable with Kumba, but definitely one of the bottom two parks in my opinion. Still, you gotta appreciate what's there, and hope that Old Red works on the areas of the park that aren't. Less trees, more creativity.

12...



Pros:
-Definitely filled the map...it was nice to see after some of the entries took the easy way out with black tile or water.
-The area with the wooden coaster was much more then I ever expected from you, if you could get the rest of the quality up to that, you'd be pretty damn good.
-The atmosphere was very welcoming...which usually makes it more fun to explore the park.

Cons:
-The coasters for the most part, were pretty bad. The pointless cobra roll-and-back-coaster really made absolutely no sense to me.
-It almost seemed too cartoony in places, kinda like the early rct2 work that we had at New Element that I feel we've moved past over time.
-The architecture, though kinda nice in places, was pretty much just outdated 2x2...something that's even old in LL parks, and moreso in rct2 with all the possibilities.
-The right half of the park was severely worse then the left.


Screens


-The suspended coaster was really enjoyable, despite not having technically a 'great' layout. I just tried to put myself in the rider's position and envision frantically circling this tall plot of land, while dodging trees, buildings, and rocks.


-Another very cheerful, charming medievel screen. I'm a sucker for those inverted, slanted supports that hold up balconies and stuff.
-I love all the waterfalls you have all over the place, makes the shoot the chutes ride that much more exciting. I just imaging getting ready to drop and feeling the mist from all the other waterfalls hitting my face right before the drop.
-The red flowers accentuate the area nicely without being too bright or dominating.


-Somehow you make pale green and brown look beautiful. The landscaping alone makes this by far better then anything else in the park. The different color rocks mixed with the bamboo shoots give this area it's own identity from the rest of the park.
-Great use of hedge fences, something not used too often anymore, but when pulled off right really look terrific.
-For some reason, I'm attracted to coasters that are 'trapped' in buildings, this one's a perfect example.
-I also love the cascading waterfall that seems to go on forever.


Final Thought: I'm still shocked the park got as high as it did. While it was a nice change, and it was a very charming park, it was so amateur-ish in places that I almost had a heart attack when Fatha' and Nate (two very skilled, meticulous) parkmakers placed it so highly above others. Bad coasters, good atmosphere. Decent architecture and theming. Sounds like you're everyday average entry.

11...




Pros:
-In places, some very nice architecture. Always has been one of Six Frags' strengths. Making not just good looking stuff, but buildings that really suck you into the atmosphere.
-The Neverland area, though not really screaming Peter Pan at me, was very nice as just an earthy-themed land.
-Pretty decent coaster layouts, minus Austin Powers.

Cons:
-The theming/naming of the coasters seemingly had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
-The art-deco/Austin Powers theme (which doesnt even really make that much sense) seemed incredibly sloppy and half-assed, probably the last area done, rushed just to get it in.
-The futuristic area reminded me of a second rate "Arch Angel".
-The whole park's theme was just very bland...not as creative and fun as most of your work.


Screens


-Definitely my favorite area of the park. First off, the color schemes just work brilliantly.
-The rock formations you have sporadically placed throughout the area are really good, though only one is pictured above.
-For some reason, I really liked that pagoda-style Park Information building. Not sure why.


-The only coaster with any theming that makes sense towards the ride. The color scheme in this area was perfect as well...nice job on the colors of the park.
-I'm a sucker for arches. Just can't help it. Especially when coasters go through them.


-This just makes me want to have a damn fiesta. Great vibrant orange, yellows, and browns. Perfect atmosphere for this kind of area.
-I really liked the architecture for the mine train station.


Final Thought: One of the contest's bottom four parks that I felt were significantly worse then the remaining ten. Still, I think that this park was by far the best of these four, but I guess it didn't charm up any of the judges quite like Mossflower Wood did. Hopefully your next work has more ambition, and less art-deco Austin Powers themes.

10...



Pros:
-Two of the three 'islands' were damn good. I especially loved the Adam & Eve one, that one area alone makes me feel like Magnus deserves to be a parkmaker.
-All coaster layouts were unique enough to keep me interested...though the mine train was definitely too short.
-The hacks everywhere were brilliant, I loved the attention to detail.

Cons:
-Despite people defending it, saying it's not a clone of GCC, I can't help but feel it's influenced by it too much. Especially the part with the dive coaster.
-Too much black tile, not enough substance. Not that much of the map was really used.
-I wished the park was a bit clearer with the theme. I always feel like I kinda got it...but then I'm not sure...and then I wonder if Magnus is sure...and then I get kinda frustrated.


Screens


-I really loved the 4D and it's little 'portion of space'.
-I liked how you had rain falling from all the clouds...something that's visible all throughout the park.
-For some reason, I kinda liked that building in the bottom left, the one with all the confusing God jargon. I also really liked the queue line somewhat hidden in the glass tube.
-The building with the 3D globe in the upper left was nice...plus the fact that he placed Steven Hawking on it made it twice as cool.


-I LOVED this area. Lots of details here to point out, but first and foremost...I wish you would have toned down the pink flowers a little bit, though I do think that they fit the theme very nicely.
-The elevator lift that takes people from one level of the island to the next on the heartline track, that was something I don't think I've ever seen done that really impressed me.
-I love those little walkways in RCT2, something else I'm a huge sucker for when pulled off right. And I especially loved this long, sprawling one that comes fully equipped with ladders, stairs, poles, etc. Not to mention the awesome part where it's right in front of the swan-drop...making people feel like they can almost reach out and touch the vertical coaster track.
-The swan ride was pretty damn cool.
-I love the cascading waterfall on the right hand side of the screen.
-The coffee pot thing was somewhat clever...I guess.
-The mine train spiraling up the tree...very played out. For some reason though, it just feels new in this area.


-The mine train just looks so cool going from tree to tree, cloud to cloud. I really like the part where the train gets lost in the foliage for a second before going back to the station.
-I LOVE that elevator, and how you put it on the reverse freefall to look like it's on a track. Brilliant.
-The crossbraces holding up the station of the mine train was unexplainably cool too.


Final Thought: Had you just built your own thing instead of borrowing so many ideas, this could have been amazing. You obviously have tremendous talent with hacking and figuring out how to use that to your advantage, adding minute details to each facet of your park. The Garden of Eden area was tremendous in parts. Talent you have...it's originality and productivity I need to see more of.

Excellent job on backing up your reasons for the placement and thanks to the screen shots and such there's a suprising amount of subastance to these reviews.

I'm also happy to see that my park hasn't come up yet. But of course it will soon enough...

Ride6

Thanks for pointing out your points in such a clear way, and for the screens.
So far (still a lot to come, yummy yummy...) you exactly pointed out what I felt about these parks, pros as well as cons, so I am a bit confused now........

Thanks for the whole contest and all the work involved anyway.

So much for finishing this...

9...



Pros:
-Pure JKay-goodness throughout the whole park.
-Huge strides forward in the coaster building department.
-The scaled down style of "Razorback"'s area was a very nice surprise.
-A lot to see on the map, kept me interested for a while.

Cons:
-Overused themes, especially from JKay himself.
-Looked too similar in places to previous work, Rocky Mountain Mystique most notably.
-The whole entry just didn't seem to have much of a real identity.

Screens


-Good interaction between the coaster and theming.
-I really liked that gigantic triangular building for some reason.
-Monorail seemed perfectly placed.


-I really liked the water ride, the side borders added a sense of realism, though they did get a bit overpowering in some parts of the ride, still a cool touch.


-The giga was by far one of your better coasters I've seen...still had some minor flaws but definitely an improvement.
-I liked the fountains sporadically placed along the river.
-I also thought you used the hedge fences nicely throughout this part of the park as foliage.


-Coolest screen of the park IMO...love the double swooping turns.
-Station looks perfect for the theme, great color choices, great execution.


-The swooping turns on this coaster are gorgeous, almost works as both theming and coaster.
-I love how you scaled it down for this area, the landscaping is more noticable, and each building seems to have a purpose.


Final Thought: The park was very well executed, but since other parks had incredible attention to detail, or other things to push it over the hump, I feel that this park deservingly fell right in the middle of the pack. Still a very good park though, and possibly JKay's best work.

Love this theard as it gives me a chance to look at the parks. Keep it coming!

8...



Pros:
-Incredible atmosphere...on one hand you have the eerily dead right hand side of the park, and on the other the more lively urban area.
-The urban architecture and theming is some of the best I've ever seen.
-Great color schemes throughout the whole park.

Cons:
-No impressive rides.
-The idea behind the park is still unclear...and while the mysteriousness of it is awesome, eventually you want to know what you've just been looking at.
-That wooden coaster...thing was absolutely no fun to watch.

Screens:


-Simple, yet effective. I get the feeling that I'm walking through a restricted military base with that little gatehouse..awesome.
-I also loved how you used sand instead of pathways for the park, it just suits the park.
-From this angle, the wooden thingamabob actually looks pretty cool, especially to new peeps entering the park.
-The sinister sculpture in the upper left just looks plain evil. Awesome.


-The architecture here is just superb. Excellent job in this mysterious little mansion.
-The windows with the awnings and everything look very realistic.
-The foliage on the roof was an interesting idea.


-More use of sand walkways instead of paths.
-The wooden coaster actually looks like some scientific experiment in this portion of it..and it actually might be, but the large turning parts were redundant.


-Such a cool screen...I LOVE the broken trolley track. Awesome, one of my favorite theming ideas of the contest.
-Great architecture in the two large buildings...it's hard to make such massive buildings look so good.


-I love this gigantic white building. Every part of the building was impressive.
-The gardens and pathways in the entrance to the building were also nice.


-Awesome urban/coast-line architecture.
-I loved the bits of rock you had seemingly climbing up these buildings. I'm not sure why...but it looked damn good.
-Nice use of glass there making the trolley turn visible to people outside.


Final Thought: With a little more direction, this could have been top 5 easy. while I understand DJ wanted to keep the park open to interpretation, I feel that not even he really knows the exact thing he set out to accomplish. If so, I hope to have some sort of explanation so I can know if what I'm seeing is what you wanted me to..otherwise, it falls short of some of the other great subliminal parks (Epica) that actually gave us our moment of clarity.

7...



Pros:
-Creative ways to theme each of the twelve zodiac signs.
-Pretty impressive coaster line-up
-Tons of little touches all over the map.
-The awesome outline of the map that actually wraps around the edge of the map.

Cons:
-Having twelve separate 'mini-themes' on one map ended up jeapordizing the cohesiveness of the map.
-Some of the signs' themes were a little questionable (the ghost train?)
-Parts of the map seemed a bit amateur-ish, probably due to the long period of inactivity for the fish before working on this park.

Screens:


-I love the dam...it coulda maybe been a bit bigger, but it works well as is.
-The glass looking area looking into the submarine ride is perfectly done.
-The underwater theming on the submarine ride is always good.
-Also gotta love the aqua fishes representing Pisces.


-The custom target/arrow immediately stands out, really cool.
-I love the theming on the queue line, the little targets are usually played out, but actually serve a purpose here.
-Gotta love the bow he made out of the top of the coaster...not to mention the coaster's manufacturer is ARROW. Too cool.


-Lots of things I loved in this screen...
-My favorite ride in the park was actually this swinging ship (never could say that before lol), the "scales of justice" thing was absolutely perfect.
-The dual-level rapids thing is pretty awesome...I really like that little narrow water bridge that the boats precariously travel over...as other boats are directly below. Don't think I've ever seen it done like that.
-That bridge with the torches is just cool for some reason...I dunno why.
-The building in the lower left was pretty cool too...kinda unusual though.


-The pink was a bold move...and from some views it looks too overpowering, but in this one I think the castle looks really cool...the coaster track doesn't hurt either.
-It took me a while to figure out that the entire thing was a simulator...now it's just THAT much cooler.


-Another ride that really grew on me, the "Aries: The Ram" coaster.
-I absolutely loved the interlocking custom flying corkscrews...awesome element that I hope to see on a real coaster someday.
-The catwalk is almost impossible to see from this screen, but that was an awesome touch too.
-Always love custom logos at the entrance to rides...I'm a sucker for those.


Final Thought: In retrospect, I wish I placed this entry higher cause it deserves it. I guess at first I was caught off guard by the unrefined nature of the park and that some of the signs were so much better then others. Also, a lot of the creative touches in this park take a while to really set in, which might have a lot to do with my score as well. While I don't think it's in the top 3-5 parks still, it's definitely higher then where I had it...sorry for the Grinch treatment Bass.

Wow there is some seriously good quality stuff here. Thanks for doing this, iris, it helps losers like me keep in touch.
Well done everyone (so far). I've looked at those tiny screens on the pages of the entries left to be shown in this thread, but i'm looking forward to seeing bigger ones!
Oh my...

Man, thanks for reminding me how many awesome entries we had this year.

Amazing number of great parks, though none have stick in my mind the way Escalante River Falls, Crepe Myrtle Islands, Rift Valley, Lumbini Point or A Love Tolken have. Though maybe I just haven't given it enough time. I garentee that En Midvinternattsdrom could've with a truely amazing coaster but of course that was not to be.

Ride6

I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that those parks were the first super duper high quality examples of RCT 2, wheras now, we've gotten just a tad immune to them, so unless you have something like Xcoaster or Phatage plus aesthetic blend, it's not going to stand out as much.

Yea, IMO if we had seen any thing like Phatage or Xcoaster's parks last year, we'd be talking this year about how none of the parks could stand up to them. It's a matter of progress, like Corky said we slowly become immune to the shock and awe factor of parks after having seen 30 parks that achieve this same affect. That's why I personally think it's pretty amazing how parks like those of Phatage, Xcoaster, and Corky still managed to seem stunning and "Shockandawerific" for me despite the whole becoming immune thing. Thanks for the nice reviews Iris, it's always nice to see the whole parkviewing aspect through the eyes of one of the judges.

I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that those parks were the first super duper high quality examples of RCT 2

Not "were", are and two of those are LL. Those parks have something intangible. When I open any of them I'm just completely pulled in. I didn't get that from any of this years parks or at least not to the same extent. After looking at them for 45 minutes I didn't feel the need to spend more time looking around, anytime I look at Escalante or A Love Tolken for 15 minutes or more I find it hard to walk away because I want to take in every little detail.

It's something to do with the proper mix of creativity and details within the "rules" of aesthetics. You (Corkscrewed), cBass and DJ were the three closest and probably three of my top five (Steve and Phatage are the other two I would think). cBass definently had the coasters but tried an idea that required too much of too little space and both yours and DJ's coasters failed to pull me in (except for the woodie which seemed like a support ride to the "underground all the time" dive machine) or in DJ's case truely exist.

Anyway it's all good. Maybe I'm getting immune too since I'm looking at most of these and am seeing things that I believe I could build or come very close to builing right now where acouple years ago (when the other parks debuted) I wouldn've never imagined building such things.

Ride6

6...



Pros:
-Great landscaping.
-Impressive coasters.
-In some areas, some very good architecture.

Cons:
-Seems to follow the ride6-ride formula as someone else pointed out, and that I've noticed. Makes me want to see ANYTHING other then duelers/woodies from him.
-Borrows many things from Mala's parks, in some places the influence is too noticable.
-In some areas, some very weak architecture.

Screens:


-The Cultivation Canal, such a cool ride/structure. This looks like something Mala would have put in his parks, and just never got around to doing it, so major kudos there.
-I love how the main drop of the river ride (visible) has a great headchopper effect, seemingly almost hitting one of the duelers.
-The ride station for the river ride is also cool, with the wooden canvas covering the queue line.


-A nice shot of the duelers, the loops trapped in buildings always make for a nice screen.
-The best building in the park, the simple yet effective brown/teal building that feels etched into the landscaping.
-I also really liked the large double sweeping helix that wraps around that little building.


-Maybe the best wooden coaster of the contest...in my opinion at least.
-I really liked those 'pipe' supports that hold the coaster up after the rocks give away on the edge of the map.
-Terrain abusing wooden coasters are always fun.


-Just a very nice bridge that both people and monorails can cross.
-Always love the side to side barrel rolls on duelers.


-What an awesome piece of architecture. If only all your buildings had this much thought behind them.
-The simple yet effective glassy monorail station.
-I also liked the monorail supports over the river...I think they could have looked a bit better but the idea was still a good one.


Final Thought: Definitely in the upper echelon of the entries...it just had a bit more less thought out areas then some of the other parks, hence it falling behind them. Still, the coasters were good, the landscaping was, and the park was filled (in a good way). Definitely ride6's best work in my opinion, so congratulations and a job well done.

You picked out pretty much all of the best parks IMO. Most of it was pretty rushed and most of the "good buildings" you pointed out where built very early on when I felt I could spend a day or two on a building and still make the due date. Not too much later I changed form a building or two a week or a building or two per day and got sloppy. Shame on me for that.

On the coasters I just stuck with what I knew worked for me. And admit it those are both very good coasters in their respective catigories. Or at least I think they are...

My next solo will have some fresher types, I'm tinkering with the idea of doing a 4-D and it's already got one of like 3 inverts I've ever released. But it'll still have a woodie and duelers, just in the same ride, heh. I can't help building what I love.

Ride6

5...



Pros:
-A vintage look back to when RCT'ers could pull off that beautiful realistic look while still looking fresh and original.
-An extremely welcome atmosphere, more of a Sea World-feel then any other park I can remember seeing lately.
-Beautiful color choices across the map, obviously Steve is a master of the pallette...from the pirate area to the woodsy area with the Enterprise, all beautiful color choices.

Cons:
-Wayyyy too much water...not enough of the map used.
-While the Kraken-ish coaster was nice, I'd much rather see a more unique, original layout as the main ride of a Sea World park...especially with the water ride next door...too much like SWOrlando.
-Architecture got a bit repetitive in some places.
-No animals in the exhibits, which looked a bit half-assed.


-The Nautilus Theatre, the perfect example of someone perfecting coaster track-theming. It looks good, doesn't look dominating, and actually doesn't even look like coaster track, it actually looks like a canvas for a theater.
-The red flowers on top of the columns really give the screen a prestigious feel to them.
-I love the facades on the back of the buildings facing the theater so people are actually looking at a backdrop.


-I loved the tan/peach color scheme you had going for, a very relaxing, sunny feel to the entire area, and colors of the rides really offset these amazingly well. While it's a simple thing (colors), when done right they add so much to an area.


-Another terrific color scheme here in Typhoon Bay.
-I loved the station to the ski-lift, the mix of the woodsy sidings and the glass really looks beautiful.
-The operator's booth was a cool touch on the Top Spin.
-The breeze way by the coaster is the absolute perfect photo op..these kinda bridges are too common on river rides but never really used like this for coasters.


-The "Hurricane" coaster just looks beautiful in this view.
-I love the unexpected headchopper right at the end of the coaster's corkscrew.
-A peek of the ultimate piece of RCT2 architecture, the "Search For Kidd" building, with the perfectly placed waterfall.


-Wow. Let's start with the awesome queue line theming and waterfall. Absolutely gorgeous.
-We get a sneak peak of the inside of "Search For Kidd" with perfect pirate theming to go along with the perfect architecture on the outside.


-Red shingles have never looked so good.
-I love the fountains shooting up right after the finale drop to the water ride, as well as the waterfalls at the edge of the ride after the turnaround.
-The photo op spot couldn't have been placed in a more perfect spot.
-I also like that little garden exploration trail thing (whatever it is) in the lower left hand.


Final Thought: Shades of vTd, RRP, Slob, Posix, and all other legendary realistic parkmakers here. The theming and atmosphere was as good as you could ask for. Had Steve used more of the map he would have had a definite top 3 spot in my personal ratings. Also, a different coaster layout probably would have given him a huge boost from Fatha's ratings too.