10 Year Anniversary / History of New Element - 2008

10 Days, 10 Years

- 2008 -
New Element is Dead, Long Live New Element

2008 proved to be one of NE’s more tumultuous years; while new releases pushed boundaries, broke molds, and redefined the status-quo, site politics initially threatened, and almost succeeded, to derail the community from the strong, steady progression it travelled on. From behind the smoke, mirrors, and error screens emerged a new NE, complete with a new accolade system, a new accolade panel, and a new transparency that proved to be a great departure from the almost-dictatorship-like rules since the conception of New Element under iris. To put it in perspective, if NE was like the Gorbachev-era Soviet Union, 2008 ended up as its 1991, with one-man secrecy being forced out by a new, democratic approach to running the site and appeasing the community.

The birth of the new year heralded the closing of another chapter in NE’s life, that of the Micro Madness contest. Competing through 15x15 plots, players found themselves fighting their way to advance through the brackets to a final showdown. After much controversy lying in January, primarily around the defeat of former-admin Corkscrewed at the hands of relative-newbie Camcorder22, resulting in Cam’s promotion to a Parkmaker position, the April finals resulted in a four-way competition between then-admin Kumba and Parkmakers Xcoaster, Ride6, and Camcorder22. The eventual results showed Kumba’s Rosetta Sphere narrowly winning over Xcoaster’s The Beatles; this marked the first time that an admin had won a contest that he had set up. Regardless, this proved ot be less controversial than Kumba’s earlier decision to keep his word and grant Parkmaker-ship to Camcorder22.
 

Kumba's winning entry, The Rosetta Sphere

Despite the ongoing effects of an active NE contest, the small amount of participants actively building in the Micro Madness competition allowed for an influx of new RCT work to join the ranks of previous NE accolades. Perhaps most remarkable was a new design brought to NE by Geewhzz and Disneylhand. Dubbed El Encierro, it was automatically dubbed by Kumba to be NE’s best design ever, an opinion supported by 2012’s 10-Year Awards. Featuring a stunning B&M invert and an elaborate rapids ride, the design, loosely themed to Pampalona’s Running of the Bulls, proved to be one of realism’s most influential releases, defining many applications of detail and setting a bar for immersive realism.
 

El Encierro, by geewhzz and disneylhand

Equally as impressive, if for different reasons, was RCTNW’s Marriott’s Marine World, the second park in his Marriott series and his first spotlight release. Featuring numerous large aquatic stadiums and a B&M giga by Kumba, the park cemented RCTNW’s role as NE’s most prolific macro-builder, an effective counter to the ultra-micro detailing of the “new realism” of Geewhzz and Cedarpoint6. Closing off this chapter of NE and acting as a unique synthesis was NE’s second of four 2008 spotlights, Highball’s DisneySea. Becoming the first Disney spotlight since Meretrix’s Disney’s Phantasia, released in 2004. Highball’s park was remarkable in its replication of Disney detailism while still maintaining a larger scale associated with earlier work. While somewhat controversial in its lack of rides, the park still won its position for its faithful adaptation to the real park.
 

MArriott's Marine World, by RCTNW

Highball's DisneySea

However, while NE seemed to be just peachy on the exterior, with solid work coming from all sides of the community, things weren’t quite so clear backstage. Gradually, then-admin Kumba was losing influence and interest in actually running the site, stemming from personal medical issues and questionable remedies. Long-time influential members like Posix, Geewhzz, Steve, and CP6 were steadily working on trying to pick up pieces Kumba might’ve dropped, reforming the accolade system to be a simple behind-the-scenes majority vote rather than a singular decision by an admin. Even then, things grew increasingly erratic, practically culminating in Kumba’s offer to sell the site and a screenname shift to his real name. With the future of the site seeming to hang in the balance, Posix, Gee, and CP6 emerged from the fray as the new admins of NE, taking over the site from Kumba, and going on to enact a variety of changes to the site structure. Most remarkable was their handling of the accolade system. From then on, the traditional accolades of Blockbuster and Runner-Up gave way to Gold and Silver, respectively, and a Bronze category was added. These would all be determined by a new accolade panel, a group of community members who would rank parks on a points system, and then the average of those points would reflect the score that the submission received, a huge break from the days when one admin’s opinion proved to be the factor if your park got an accolade or not. These changes in NE administration, function, and politics changed the dynamic between the site and the community, and have strongly lasted since.

The back portion of the year still yielded strong results, even if the site was shook up by September’s admin change. One shocking release happened to be 2008’s third spotlight, Magic Realms Resort by eyeamthu1, a colorful theme park featuring a variety of excellent coasters and in-depth themes. Unlike most other realistic parks, Magic Realms featured less of an emphasis on the cleanliness of detailing and more on the fun atmosphere that parks can provide. The fact that eyeamthu1 was a practical unknown on the site before, with no official releases, only made his Spotlight debut all the more sweeter, allowing him to win Best Newcomer at the 2008 NE Awards. Arguably, no other new member has made a splash like that since. Also ongoing was the Pro Tour 3, a continuation of a contest started during Kumba’s reign as admin. However, due to constant pushbacks, an exceedingly-long preliminary round, and the questionable invites to controversial members, the PT3 competition almost seemed to peter out. However, with the new admins at the reigns, the contest eventually came to a close in November 2008. Unlike the first Pro Tour which garnered around 23 entries, and the second Pro Tour, which had 14, the PT3 only managed to receive seven entries total, with two of those being obviously unfinished. Despite the lack of entries, the winner, 5dave’s Canthose Valley Amusement Park managed to garner enough praise to be voted Best RCT2 Park in the 2008 awards. A collection of quaintly-themed areas and a charming realistic park, Canthose managed to receive the highest ever score from the accolade panel, a score unbeaten by a full park submission until Zippo’s Wacky World of Wonders in 2009. Even with a lackluster turnout, the PT3 somehow remained successful, with enough quality work to satisfy the cravings of the community.
 

Magic Realms Resort by eyeamthu1

Canthose Valley Themepark by 5Dave

The bitter end of 2008 proved to be a beacon of hope for the new NE, as Christmas brought with it four of NE’s most anticipated projects, consisting of three designs and one spotlight. The first design, Starflight, was a triumphant return for Turtle, and a departure from the predominant realism of the day. The second was Roomie’s Jurassic Park – Rampage, his first LL design and release since 2005’s Ville de Fleuves. This release marked the beginning of a new era for Roomie, who, despite being a legend of the old-NE, during the earliest days, became a new legend in LL and arguably the most prolific, productive, and innovative LL player in the modern era. Arguably the most influential of the three designs was RRP’s Castle Howard, a realistic woodie design set in a lush British coastal area. While the main coaster was attractive, RRP’s highly-realistic approach to foliage proved to be one of the mst lasting impacts of the design and cemented RRP as a modern RCT legend. However ,while all three designs were incredible on their own, the crown jewel of that NE Christmas was Loopy’s LL Spotlight, Silver Valley Theme Park. A masterful mix of modern Codex techniques, strong theming, and old-school aesthetics, the park was heralded as one of the greatest LL releases to date, gaining recognition as NE’s third-best LL park in the 10-Year Awards. These four releases capped off 2008 with a bang, almost negating the patchy autumn of the year.
 

Silver Valley Theme Park by Loopy

Castle Howard by RRP

2008 should be remembered as a stepping stone, if not a foundation, for the modern NE we experience today. Shifts in leadership, growth in styles, and an influx of new talent shaped the site into what it is now. On a personal note, having joined in March of 2008, that year, NE’s 2008, is one that I can remember vividly as one that shaped my approach to the game, my view of the community, and the community’s view of the game. Despite the turbulence faced in effect from backstage site shiftings, the ending result is a stronger community, one that we can associate with today. 2008 should be known as when New Element became the Next Element, the Modern Element, and the Forever Element. 2008 only proved that, even if NE seems close to the edge and close to death, its members can only make it stronger. 2008 should be remembered as the year when NE became member-driven, and when the community as a whole became more important and essential to the site.
 

NE est mort, vive le NE!

Must-See Releases of 2008

Seibemshiring Hydrogen Mining by Xcoaster Dulce, NM by Camcorder22 El Encierro by geewhzz and disneylhand Futurama by Xcoaster Dragon Mountain by J K Duel Guitar Solo by Camcorder22 The Rosetta Sphere by Kumba Marriott's Marine World by RCTNW, Kumba, Levis, Steve Franks and Turtle Magic Realms Resort by eyeamthu1 Gaelic Meadow by Kumba, 5dave, Mike Robbins and disneylhand DisneySea by Highball Firefly by CedarPoint6 Charibdys by Fr3aK Silver Valley Theme Park by Loopy and Milo Castle Howard by RRP Starflight by Turtle Wildcat by Steve Annapurna by tracidEdge Canthose Valley Theme Park by 5dave Busch Gardens North America by disneylhand Bayon Falls by 5dave

On the one hand 2008 feels like a LONG time ago, like when El Encierro and Marriott's were released. On the other hand, Castle Howard's release feels like yesterday. In other words, a LOT happened in 2008.

Great review Robbie. 2008 was a wild year. I had a horrible reaction to a medication that pretty much made me insane. Not a good quality for site admin. Fortunately, gee and posix stepped in and did fantastic things with the site. I am happy thing turned out the way they did, but disappointed in myself over the way they came about. Also I never actually sold the site. I still own the rights to NE's content and have a copy of the site on a flash drive... Just who cares, I like what gee and posix have done and think they have the site under control.

On the one hand 2008 feels like a LONG time ago, like when El Encierro and Marriott's were released. On the other hand, Castle Howard's release feels like yesterday. In other words, a LOT happened in 2008.

This. I totally thought Silver Valley was just released last year or 2010.

I love Marriott's Marine World, it's one of my favorite parks in NE!
And off course, was made by my favorite player, RCTNW!