H2H7 / [H2H7 Round 2 Match 3] - Italian Stallions vs Hurricanes

Little high, little shut the fuck up

Anyway the winnnnd blows doesn't really maaaatter to mee, tooo meeeeeeee

 

I'm sorry... NOT

I swear that's at least the second time that gee has [perhaps unintentionally] started a Bohemian Rhapsody comment chain...

 

Anyways, maybe it's time to get back on topic people. And by 'on topic' I mean park reviews...

First impressions of Prideland weren't as impressive as people are making it out to be right now. Maybe it's because I haven't seen the Lion King in such a long time but I felt the park was solid rather than spectacular. A bit like how I enjoyed San Fransokyo because I'd seen the movie, it's likely that I'm not enjoying Prideland quite as much because I can't remember as much of the movie. Still, some great coaster layouts here and the smaller and smaller land tile pieces are getting, landscaping is going to get even more detailed [not sure if that's a good or bad thing].

Kind of surprised by the small number of votes, but here's my review of Indiana Jones:

 

The best part of the park was the hacks, without question some of the coolest and most unique things I've seen in RCT.  The layout was good, pacing was good, it was different.  The architecture nice in some areas, mostly the surrounding.  Rides were well placed, really enjoyed the area by the drop tower and ghost train, probably the strongest section in my opinion.  Staff naming was also neat, I enjoyed figuring out the scene, definitely added to the theme.  

 

The big issue I had with the park was simply the overload of foliage, made it hard to see the park and landscape to be honest.  I understand why its there however, but I feel it would of benefited the park to have less.  As someone who is a big fan of the Indiana Jones series, it doesn't really remind me of the movie or anything from the franchise.  Could be partly because its LL, but when I see it I wouldn't immediately connect it to IJ.  Something I though our park did really well was represent the movie/franchise, the names of the rides, music, theme, all really fit into the movie and represented something from the films.  With this, it was simply to generic to be special, while technically impressive, it doesn't really look interesting especially in the main tomb, which I though was pretty boring.

 

All in all, this is another case where an LL park is a showcase of skill in Codex or hacking and doesn't really do much to impress me as far as the park or theme goes.  Surprised to see this so close honestly, as PL is probably my favorite park of the season so far.  

 

Congrats to the Stallions and our builders for putting forth such great content.  Definitely my favorite match-up of the season.

 

Really disappointing to see the lack of interesting in this match up, already been over 24 hours and only 3 reviews?  Come on guys, at least show the builders some respect and post your thoughts on the parks you can see.  

Why no bohemian? That was funny ;-)

From the screens I was more impressed by the Stallions screen, but it's a shame I don't have LL. It's these parks that make me want to buy it again. If I find some time this week I'll try to buy it. At the moment I can't vote though, but I will give a review of the Hurricanes park.

 

Hurricanes

 

The custom music was spot on. From the moment you open the park you are immediately sucked into the movie. The entrance area had some pretty good architecture, just like the rest of the park had. Nothing ground breaking, but it was very decent. Did not like the bigger buildings, but that's probably because of my aversion to these corrugated roofs. They were breaking down the atmosphere a little bit in my opinion and I thought those roofs were a bit plain as well. I would have preferred thatched roofs, like in the rest of the park. The biggest building, the one with Mick Mouse in it, was way too sprawling. It was nice constructed, but would be better fitting in the park if it was smaller.

The overall themes were well chosen. All coaster layouts were pretty good. I especially liked Timon & Pumba's Wild Ride. A bit contradictory, but I felt the most interesting area was the most weakest area as well. The elephant graveyard could have been pulled of a lot better. I felt the theming was random here. It felt more like a pit of reed than a hyena den to me.The rock towers with the hyenas didn't make sense to me either.

The foliage could have been a lot better as well, I thought. Those jungle bushes did not look very good. I would have used normal trees, like the dark one Liampie released a couple of weeks ago. Also, there was an overkill of reed.

What really made the park was the atmosphere and all little things. The murals were quite well done. Simba and Scar were easily recognizable. The other two were more difficult. I guess they are supposed to be Timon & Pumba? And is that a meerkats burrow near the watering pond? Why did you use the Texas Giant sign a couple of times? Felt completely unnecessary and out of place. It's a shame those Jungle Cruise animals are so fucking ugly, but it feels like I don't have to say anything about that. There are no alternatives, unfortunately.

I sound a bit negative, but in the end it's a great park in which I had a lot of fun exploring.

Alright, fellow LL players.  The mission is now clear:  
 
Make a park so good Version1 can't not install and look at it.

Already tried ][ #haveyouseenjerusalem?

The Pridelands
Concept:
Really good idea creating a park about only one Disney park, but then again I think it's unlikely in real life this would happen. Also being a Disney movie without any buildings and architecture it makes the village areas kinda redundant in my opinion.
Macro (Park Impression):
Maybe there's an overuse of the jungle bush object, but it creates a nice different texture at least. Nice reddish/green/white colors in the park - gives off a really warm African feel IMO.
Rides:
"Be prepared" was a little bit short, but a compact and tight coaster. I loved the bone structures throughout - they kinda disguised the layout of the coaster and made it hard to follow and therefore more exciting to follow I think, so good job here! The mural on the station was also a nice touch but the queue was lackluster. I think the ride names being songs is kinda strange but maybe you just didn't have other ideas for them, so that's fine I guess. Shame the Bone Picker ride didn't work. 'The herd is on the move' was also very well crafted, had some nice colors and a great layout, but it didn't really capture the dramatic scene of the movie - could've used more canyon, more wildebeest and more drama! I really like the interaction with the path and landscape here as well. Good job. I don't get why the sign reads 'Stampede' and the coaster is named differently, though. Rafiki's treetop spin didn't work either unfortunately. Timon and Pumbaa's wild ride was solid but not spectecular. I liked the waterfall part as well as the Hakuna Matata bridge section.
Architecture:
As I said it's really not helping the concept when you decide doing this movie and then add stuff to it that doesn't make any sense in the park, but I understand it is needed for infrastracture and for people viewing the park (a park without buildings? Blasphemy!). I liked the stuff that was there, nice textures, nice colors and believable african feel overall. Lodge + interiors were also nicely done. Loved that fireplace.
Micro (Details):
I loved the area with the hyenas - really nice touch with the black rocks and the grass contrasting them. All the statues in the park were really well done (except that can't wait to be king thing - didn't get what was going on there), especially pride rock! The murals were also great, although I sometimes had trouble to get what they were showing (Scar worked well, but the others not so much). The little show building was also well done and had great placement. Nice naming of the staff, really added to the theme and was a good example how to make fun of others the right way ... Great stuff here and offers a great package throughout!

Indiana Jones and the Skull of the Damned
Concept:
Adventure rides and rides starring Indiana jones aren't really the most refreshing concept, but this one is a really well done design. The only thing I just wished it was more park, or section of a real park with more realistic emphasis on that aspect instead of a diorama, but it's okay you've gone this direction, I would have just prefered the other. The backstory was nice but didn't really translate well into RCT - how did the Nazi stranded their submarine there, why does the skull trigger a trap door and what happens with it afterwards? Some questions I'd loved to see explained somehow ina story-driven ride like this.
Macro (Park Impression):
At first the park looks too overgrown, nothing is really visible but that's the concept and makes sense. What sticks out too much in my opinion is the giant lifthill structure. I think using a more steel grid structure instead would have been better. Also the red and white didn't help at all.
Rides:
The main ride is really spectecular and I couldn't figure out how you did the cool trap door hack - that really made the ride IMO. Due to the overgrown landscape it's sometimes really hard to follow the train and again I think a more realistic approach would've helped the whole idea/ride. Besides the trap door and the bridge the ride doesn't really offer something else besides going through the jungle, although it's fun and would be a blast to ride IRL. The other rides didn't do much for me and seemed like filler, also their names (Tarantula, Temple trap, Swinging Axe, Jungle Chase and Macaw). I just wished those rides would either support the Indiana Jones theme more or the ride itself - what about Indy's fear of snakes, what about a Nazi-chase ride? I think there's a lot of lost potential here.
Architecture:
The ruins (especially that pyramid) were really well done - nice work on those! The village wasn't that exciting (also I didn't understand its role in the story), but the camps were done well again. Loved how you did all the huts and details throughout!
Micro (Details):
I loved exploring the details in the more open areas near the camps (trucks, fence, patrols, huts) and near the river (that submarine reminded me of Uncharted ), but in the jungle it was really hard to focus because of the overgrown feel. All in all I really liked the ride but wished the concept was executed either more realistically (set in a working theme park) or more over the top (like a real movie scene without all the ride shizzle).

Good matchup... For LL vs. RCT2.

"MFG"

For folks that are lacking LL: http://www.gog.com/g...r_tycoon_deluxe

 

Once you've got it, following Louis!' guide here: http://www.nedesigns...e-guide-inside/ is all I need to get it running on my Windows 7 laptop.

This will be a tough vote for me. I really like the Stallions' park, it has some great hacks and a good story, some nice details as well. Hurricanes' park was solid, but it felt like it was missing something. Still, great coasters and the custom music was awesome. 

I love Pridelands, its my favorite park of this h2h. 

 

I think the most important part of this park is that it doesn't take itself to seriously, and seems to focus on fun instead. 

 

Much of the park is not executed in any spectacular fashion. The layouts, archy, foliage, flat rides etc are all solid, but not spectacular. But the park is just very coherent, it just comes together very well, and is just loads of fun. It's not something you can ever imagine Disney actually building, a park based on a 2 decade old movie with BM inverts and launched coasters, but bam here it is. It's great for the reasons parks like Shadowlands and Air are. 

Currently I am unable to vote due to my lack of LL, but I will hold off on that until I get my hands on it. My thoughts on the Hurricanes, though:

 

Off the bat, great opening of a park with the custom music. Honestly, if you didn't include that I might vote against this park on that principle alone so great job. Everything else... I mean, yeah, it's great. The concept is a little dicey and you pulled it off well enough and I am impressed, but the more I look at it the more I get annoyed. I am saying this because I am under the impression this is meant to be realistic, right? If you had more space I bet there'd be backstage areas and everything. I'm annoyed because where the fuck are the rides for kids? This is a Disney park. You have two massive inverting coasters and a mine train with a 70ft drop? And then a carousel? And a tree spinner? Am I just not looking hard enough and can't find a dark ride? Kind of odd and weirdly throws things off for me. Also, the Festival show needs a canvas cover over it or something because that shit is E-Ticket and if it ever rained it'd be closed and Disney wouldn't let that fly. Also all your stations and massive restaurant have the same shaped roofs (except for the mine train), which is weird. They look great, but still.

 

Anyway, that's being incredibly nit-picky, and I apologize because overall, you do have a great park here. The best this season? Skill-wise, you probably do. Your overall planning is wonderful (pride rock as the park weenie? Genius!), your architecture in most places is detailed yet focused, your layouts are solid, and the foliage/landscaping is also. I also like how you still went for a "hub and spokes" layout for the park too -- very Disney.

 

With that said, a wonderful park. Definitely could be up there with Disney parks like Shadowlands and DisneyAir no matter what discrepancies we find with the park. Well done, Hurricanes!

 

edit; rereading this I realized I came off kind of like I was writing off the park from the beginning and I'm not, I guess I was just initially annoyed and became less so as I analyzed the park more? I dunno, whatever. You guys still suck.

it was intended to deviate off of disney enough for creative freedom (e.g. B&M and intamin in park), though the concept and the park layout are still very disney. the thought process was more about building a lion king park as the builders saw fit rather than how disney would end up doing it necessarily.

I'm about 99% sure the launched coaster is called stampede. I think there's a named track that at least two of you have thought was the ride name.

Interesting to see old members with little activity show up and vote for this. Not complaining, just observing.

These 17 votes are a disappointment. Far more activity for the other parks this round.

Last H2H's Semi Final Votes were 19 votes for the LL vs. RCT2 Matchup and 33 votes for the RCT2 Matchup

Yeah, I know that with each h2h we tend to receive fewer and fewer votes. I'm just trying to decide if it's the lack of activity on the forum, or solely the fact that rct2 vs LL ends in such a way.

the other matchup has only 5 more votes and 24 hours head-start. Last H2H got around 20 votes per match if LL was involved, and we're on pace for that now.

 

I can't imagine too much more, if any, LL in this contest though. Maybe one more park from either of these teams, but I doubt both will have another, and I doubt anyone else will do LL. 

Version1 where is the review of this at?