10 Year Anniversary / History of New Element - 2009

10 Days, 10 Years

- 2009 -
Lots of accolades, H2H5, and Koreans

Without a single doubt, 2009 was one of the best years for the community. An official contest, comebacks, a spotlight, new talents, popular new hacks, you name it. 2009 had it all.

H2H5 was held this year, which was probably the best edition of the best NE contest. The format changed from previous editions, most importantly there were only five rounds during the first round, instead of ten which proved to be too much during H2H4. The renewed format worked: though we got a less parks, the average quality was much higher. There’s no park in the whole contest that should be called weak. There were only three LL parks, but all three were fantastic. Unlike H2H4, H2H5 wasn’t spoiled by endless forfeits. Well, 7 Days in Prison! was disqualified during round 3, but at least we got to see the park. There was only one real forfeit, and sadly this had to be the Whzz Kids’ finals park. The team, captained by geewhzz, won every match in a convincing way and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if they won the finals as well, completing a perfect season. However, K0NG who was working on the finals park had troubles with the map and he decided to not submit his map unfinished. Like in H2H4, Kumba’s Hurricanes once again won the contest through not having an opponent. Regardless this shocking and anticlimactic ending, H2H5 was a fantastic experience for the whole community. It resulted in some of the most memorable parks of the past few years: Sea World Sydney showed that there’s still plenty of room for innovation in LL, Belmont Shores and Lenox Mall showed us arguably the most realistic yet original environments RCT has seen, Roman Vice showed that Kumba was still capable of making parks with the quality of Dimensions and Calypso Quay showed that RRP is also incredibly talented at RCT2, to name a few examples.
 

Sea World Sydney, by geewhzz, jusmith and ][ntamin22

Worlds of Tim Burton, the park by J K, robbie92 and dr dirt that made the Hurricanes champions for the second time.

Although he didn’t manage to win the contest with his team, star of the show was undoubtedly geewhzz. Managing the site, captaining a team successfully and releasing three parks each of exceptional quality, geewhzz did it all simultaneously. The 2009 award for ‘Best RCT2 Player of the Year’ was never this boring before. If that wasn’t enough already, geewhzz posted a tutorial after H2H5 about how to make anything invisible in an easy and accessible way. Nowadays the hack is as common as zero clearancing or adding curstom messages. It opened many new doors and caused a revolution.
 

Belmont Shores, by geewhzz and K0NG

There were many great releases outside H2H5 as well. It started in January with Indigo Hills, an old park by egg_head finished by RCTMajesty. After Indigo Hills came a long string of designs (12 during the next three months!), interrupted by an occasional park like Snowdrift, a wonderful duo effort by 5Dave and Cedarpoint6. Among the string of designs was Tempest, a large LL design by Milo scoring an incredible 84,58. H2H5 laregely stopped the stream of accolades, as most active players participated in that contest. The people that did not were the Koreans. Out of nowhere, Koreans invaded NE and submitted their parks to NE. It all started with FreeRider’s Holy Ground of the Dragon and The Island, both fantastical parks unlike anything else we’ve seen at NE. The Koreans had a style of our own, exotic and refreshing for NE’s standards.
 

Freerider's The Island, featuring an enormous mountain. And when I say enormous, I really mean enormous.

The accolade drought came to an end during the summer, as expected. The parks kept flowing like they did before H2H5. The most notable park of the bunch is Xophe’s Zippo’s Wacky World of Wonders, 2009 sole spotlight, NE’s highest scoring creation yet, and Xophe’s first official release! Zippo’s has everything a good park needs. Good rides, good architecture, good ideas both big and small, humour, dense areas and spacious areas, original themes, great landscaping and an even greater atmosphere. Zippo’s Wacky World of Wonders screams FUN like no other RCT creation. Its style is cartoonish, but still it’s realistic and credible. It’s a one of a kind park.
 

Xophe's Zippo's Wacky World of Wonders was 2009's only spotlight.

The last few months of the year saw mostly bronzes, silvers and designs. There were three golds, but two of these were concept creations in disguise, namely RCTNW’s AT&T Stadium and Liampie’s Dolphin Bay Resort. Since the new Management discontinued the concept creations category, such non-themepark-related maps had to be submitted for spotlight. With Dolphin Bay Resort scoring almost 77%, the accolade panel showed that there was still room for non-themepark submissions on NE. The cancellation of the concept creation category fortunately didn’t leave a gap.

2009 also was a good year for comebacks. Micool, Twisted, Panic, Metropole and thorpedo returned for H2H5. The latter two didn’t actually build anything, but seeing them sign up was great already. Outside H2H5, we had Ozone barely missing a LL spotlight with his brilliant Brighton Glen, Evil WME winning Gold with his absolutely crazy Mount Doom, and CoasterForce’s belated Pro Tour 2 (!) park, Moody Park, winning Silver. RMM, usually unable to finish anything, released X, an incredible peepable LL design. Steve, of whom it’s never really clear if he’s retired or not, won a design with Fenrir, which is one of the highest scoring designs on the site. The most influential comeback however was Roomie. Although having already won a design in late 2008, it was during that 2009 that he made clear that he was here to stay. In the following months, he even became the most productive member on the site, cranking out one H2H park and five accolades.
 

The LL almost-spotlight Brighton Glen, by Ozone

Evil WME's Mount Doom. Millions of rides tangled.

Fenrir by Steve

In short, 2009 was fantastic. Even the fights during H2H5 were. There’s no way 2010 would be as good. Or would it?

 

Must-See Releases of 2009

Hyatt's Lake Scarlett Resort by RCTNW Tomb Raider by jusmith Snowdrift by 5dave and CedarPoint6 Tempest by Milo Indigo Hills by many The Island by FreeRiderWorld Showcase by Kumba, Robbie92 amd Gwazi Belmont Shores by geewhzz and K0NG Red River Delta by Turtle, chapelz and Dimi Assualt on Earth Base Gamma Gamma (2287) by Milo and Micool Xlapak by Loopy, Panic and Twisted Park Asterix by Magnus, Sey and SSSammy Calypso Quay by RRP and Liampie SeaWorld Sydney by geewhzz, ][ntamin22 and jusmith Worlds of Tim Burton by J K, Robbie92 and dr dirt Lenox Mall by geewhzz, egg_head and Fr3aK Southport Pleasure Beach by Louis!, RRP and Sey Roman Vice by Kumba, disneylhand and nin AT&T Stadium by RCTNW Zippo's Wacky World of Wonders by Xophe Evil WME's Mount Doom by Evil WME Brighton Glen by OZONE Valium Skies by prodigy Fenrir by Steve Dolphin Bay Resort by Liampie Rangda by robbie92

Brighton Glen. I'm still not sure. Content wise it looks like a gold. Some areas are spotlight-worthy, some aren't. However, it's one of my favourite LL parks and I'd prefer it over a lot of LL parks that did get spotlight, although I don't question their status as a spotlight. It's confusing.

Anyway, 2009 was really great. H2H was such a cool experience!

However, K0NG who was working on the finals park had troubles with the map and he decided to not submit his map unfinished.

Wow...so that's what happened.

Fuck you for posting that in this topic as if it were reality. For everyone to see for all eternity.

Can't wait to return the favor to all three of you.

Fuck double posts. Fuck everyone that doesn't know the truth.

I wasn't "working on the finals park". I was, not by choice, doing that fucking park all by myself. No one (except Burnsy) even offered to be part of our final. They all had better things to do. Whatever that entailed. I wasn't real good at hacking shit then.

I had to run with that park on my own. I knew that I had to do something special to fucking stay undefeated. So, I had to try things that, at that time, I really had no idea how to do. I figured that someone would help out in our team forum. God, was I wrong. NO ONE was there to offer advice...NO ONE was there to help with the fucking error trappers. Yeah...gee was God of H2H5. To everyone but me. Where was our 'captain' when I was flying solo and needed help? Don't ask me, I don't know.

Fuck everyone that puts the blame on me. I did the best that I knew how. When I ran into problems...NO ONE was there to assist. I had to start the fucking park all over....twice.

I didn't 'forfeit' because I was too proud to submit something that wasn't "perfect".

I HAD to forfeit because I had half a park that opened with an error trapper.

Get your motherfucking facts straight before you publish shit that's "historic".

I feel terribly sorry for anyone that's not on my team for H2H6.

And posix...all the fucking crap you keep posting about my pride ruining our team then....because I was too proud to release anything sub-perfection....THAT'S why we'll never get along. When have I ever accused you of something like that? Fuck off.

You keep bringing that up and I keep tabs.

Yeah, I have an ego and it's well-deserved.

Death Match Phil? Any fucking time. But, I don't do your precious LL shit.

Actually, I don't think you do your precious LL much either.


Anyway..I didn't fuck our team in H2H5

my "team" fucked me.

and, I'd hope that they'd all agree.

K0NG, what the fuck are you doing?

I REALLY thought about the whole ordeal and decided that I'd rather have to forfeit than to put out a mediocre, rushed to complete park and get trounced.

You decided to forfeit. That's what happened according to you and exactly what I wrote. I didn't even judge you or anything, so shut up with your victim bullshit.

Oh my, insulting LL, how low can you go

I miss The Testament!

Oh Kong, shut the fuck up. Really, were you building on the park? Yes? Well then you were working on the park.

Liam said you had troubles with the park, everyone knows what that means, and people would not judge you for not sending it in because of those troubles, people judge you because you ALWAYS have these troubles, with every God damned park you build. Now take that fucking stick out of your arse.

Fs man calm down ladies put the handbags away

I don't even get why you are blaming the '3' of us.

I've just organised the anniversary, I haven't written any of these reviews, the authors are listed in the first post.

So yeah, don't really know what 'favour' you would return to me, especially seeing as you've already downright insulted me the other day by calling me a 'dumb fucking faggot'.

lol

This 2009 makes me want H2H6! H2H6 gogogogoggo WE READY!!!

We said September at the earliest goddammit! Can't you people be patient! lol

Oh I never heard that! We can't help it if we are EXCITED. DAMN

Great write up Liampie! I forgot about many of those parks. Also I appreciate the shoutout.

When I read H2H6 I had an eyegasm.

You guys are more impatient for H2H6 than a small kid for the presents he's gonna get on his bday

When the time comes, the time will come, but right now we have other things to sort out first.

I'm more than patient, I kind of have to be, given my position of being someone who just drops in every now and then nowadays.

I can't wait for the History of New Element-2012 thread.

K0NG, what the fuck are you doing?


You decided to forfeit. That's what happened according to you and exactly what I wrote. I didn't even judge you or anything, so shut up with your victim bullshit.

I'm trying to get that fucking moment in NE history clarified. If this was in a 'regular' post, I'd likely just ignore it like I've ignored the majority of other posts from the last couple of years that make it seem like I forfeited the final because I wasn't happy with what I'd built. Like fucking posix says again and again that I simply didn't want to submit a sub-standard, imperfect park. The fact is that the park had an inherent error trapper that I just couldn't figure out. I've never seen one of you attribute the forfeit to that. When, in fact, that's what it was all about. Put yourself in my position and ask yourself how you'd deal with this shit...three years after the fact.

I don't even get why you are blaming the '3' of us.

I've just organised the anniversary, I haven't written any of these reviews, the authors are listed in the first post.

So yeah, don't really know what 'favour' you would return to me, especially seeing as you've already downright insulted me the other day by calling me a 'dumb fucking faggot'.

Because there are three of you now. None of whom either like me (which I couldn't give a flying fuck about) or treat me fairly. At least as far as this particular event goes.

Since I first started posting here..and more noticeably during H2H5, I've never been shy about voicing my opinions on anything. I talk smack because I can back it up. I'm better at this game than you and we both know it. But, when people started blaming me for the forfeit in H2H5 for reasons other than the reality of the situation...like it was more about my ego than error trappers...it fucking changed me. I might have always been cocky and outspoken...but, I was never an asshole until then.

Never.

Reading shit about how my ego took precedence over everything in H2H5....over and over again, fucking changed me from being cocky because of my abilities to being defensive about everything and anything I read here. Trust me, when you read shit like that about yourself, knowing the majority of it is erroneous, it changes the way you act.

When, someday, I read about all the fucking shit I went through...from 14 hour days trying to resolve the issues on my own that I dealt with instead of reading about how my ego fucked my team in H2H5...I'll maybe go back to just being cocky and arrogant.

Or...until H2H6. When I WILL shut all of you haters the fuck up.


Edit: Ya know, I was thinking....it's easy to just coast along and be safe and build the same damn thing over and over again. People take shots at me because I encounter error trappers and black holes and the like more often than, I guess, anyone else.
Know why?
Because I actually try new shit ALL the time. When I want to do something new, I don't go to one of these guys and ask for them to basically figure it out for me. I just try to figure it out on my own. I'm guessing that that's why I might encounter more problems than people that just build safely within the realms of what they know.

Hell, I might have actually figured a few things out that I'm saving for H2H6. Who knows?

BTW...what's gonna look better when H2H6 is said and done...

"Inglourious Rat Basterds"
or
"Reservoir Dogs"

Either way, if you're not on my team....2nd place isn't all that bad.