News / The List

Introduction
Historically, The List was one of the main features of NE. Created and regularly updated by Iris, The List was last updated, as a one off, in 2007. As the site moved on with new versions, The List became outdated, and is no longer present. With this year being the 15th year of New Element, we decided that it was about time we had an updated ranking, featuring the brilliant parks that have pushed the boundaries in more recent times. Thus, we bring you a new all time ranking. The new lists differ from iris's in format, scope, purpose and method, it is no longer an arbitrary list of personal favourites, but now becomes a mathematically determined ranking based on the input of ten judges.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will slowly reveal both lists in sections.

The List: RCT2 edition
#75 - #61
#60 - #46
#45 - #31
#30 - #23
#21 - #11
#10 - #1

The List: LL edition
#50 - #31
#30 - #21
#20 - #9
#8 - #1


Purpose and meaning
The purpose of The List is to give a complete and comprehensive overview of how park-making has evolved during the past two decades. It is certainly not a list of the best parks in history, although many do feature, but should be seen as a list of the most significant and influential parks in history, the ones that changed community dynamics, created controversy, pushed boundaries or opened up areas of RCT that hadn't been explored before. Of course, the very best parks are naturally influential, so the list can still be read as a selection of highlights from NE's 15 year history. These lists will hopefully be an effective way for new members to familiarise themselves with the site's large history, and serve as a starting point to explore all the different kind of styles and parks the database has to offer, much like the original list did. For this very reason, every park featured within the lists will come with some recommendations of similar and/or related parks, giving a small look into the large expanse of database that is full of hidden gems.

Credits
First of all, iris of course deserves to be mentioned, as without him, there wouldn't be The List to base this off in the first place. Secondly, The List wouldn't be possible without the effort and initiative of yours truly Liampie, who created the forum layout and designed extensive systems that make up the bones of these new lists. Also essential were the ten judges who were called upon to participate in the system: Louis!, Kumba, G Force, trav, ][ntamin22, Coaster_Ed, Steve, inthemanual, robbie92 and Liampie; these 10 members were selected for their connections to the site over the past 15 years, their various preferred styles of RCT, and their ability to remain reasonably neutral and impartial. Thanks also go out to those responsible for the write-ups and other editorial work on the list itself: Liampie, Steve, trav, Kumba, nin, Louis!, Milo, Cocoa, G Force and posix. Screenshots have been supplied by Liampie, Faas, alex, Coasterbill, Shotguns? and G Force. ][ntamin22 designed the wonderful logos. Lastly, tahnks to Google for their lovely online collaboration tools. And to complete this increasingly cheesy credits section, thanks to the community for making so many memorable parks!

Enjoy exploring...



Disclaimer
- While the List does not reflect any individual's preferences, it's still subjective at the core. You may strongly agree or disagree, and question the way the list was made. After the whole list has been revealed, a post will be dedicated to the methodology of the list. Discussing the ranking in the comments is encouraged though.
- We're very open to receiving suggestions for more fitting 'similar parks'. Again, discussion in the comments is encouraged.
- This list required a lot of editorial work, and it may not be free fo spelling mistakes and inaccuracies. If something catches your eye, be sure to inform one of the active admins.

Background
Whoever has roamed topics from the early NE years, say from between 2002 and 2007, will have heard of 'The List' - iris's personal list of greatest RCT works. While being treated as such, his list, it still commanded some respect. His last update of the list took a long time to get posted, and therefore even though I joined after iris's departure, I caught the tail end of this era. It had always been on my mind what the list would've looked like had he continued it. Why not make my own version, with some proper methodology to it? I had built up a good amount of NE history knowledge, as well as connections, and, not unimportantly, an NE admin position. Hence, a little over four years ago I started this New List.

Goal & Criteria
Unlike Iris's List, I did not want to make this my personal list. I didn't want to make a list of parks that simply held value because other people may value my opinion. My main goal was to create a list that gave an overview of all the highlights and milestones in the history of the NE-affiliated RCT2 community, to help new players get some sense of history and an overview of all the different types and styles of parkmaking, to get them started. You could view The List as a map to navigate the vast oceans of the NE database. This is also why every entry in the list has links to parks that are similar or related.

So what is this List actually about? Overall quality, innovation, cult status? I'd say it's all of them. I intentionally let the exact criteria open to interpretation, and went with 'most important', to ensure variety and remove traces of my own bias.

First steps
Before making my own selection of a hundred parks. How do you choose a hundred from thousands? It's impossible. I needed to get the full overview. Therefore I first made a list in excel of all the parks featured the last edition of Iris's List, with the exact ranking included as well. Then I started to expand this list by adding all spotlights, high scoring designs, notable H2H parks and other parks that I thought were somewhat of note and weren't included by Iris. I asked some other people to give me suggestions. I kept it broad and ended up with a list of over 200 parks.

In my excel sheet, I added a column where I with keywords motivated why I thought the park should be considered. Eventually these motivations condensed into patterns, kind of clarifying what I meant with the 'most important' criterium. Most of the parks were simply 'iconic' and representative of a specific era of NE, and a big chunk of the others were included as being milestones in a specific genre - for example for pushing boundaries in LL, introducing new scenery, or innovating the realism movement. Some parks were included for meta-reasons. FreeRider's The Island represents the Korean Wave at NE, RCTNW's Hyatt's project was included for the exceptional scale, and Mirage Islands is a milestone for the way it was conceived. I soon figured out I needed help, though. I soon came up with a system that would involve several judges besides myself, which I will explain in detail below.

The Formula
Making my own top 100 is hard enough, asking others to do the same and then calculating the average definitely impossible, with the result probably not even being optimal. I flipped the concept upside down. Using the list of nominees I gathered, I asked each judge fo each park if he thought it could be worthy of being in the top list. Again, vague, but with useful results. I'm a pragmatic man; if it works, it works. Of course not every judge is familiar with every park, but the judge could also not answer. In practice, I gave the judge a link to the google sheets document, where I made a new column for this judge. He'd enter a 1 (yes) for the parks he deemed important enough that it would not be out of place on the list, and a 0 (no) for the parks that he thought definitely not important enough. As a judge you could not only vote for a park's inclusion, you could also vote against a park's inclusion. The beautiful thing here is that it does not matter whether a judge entered a value for each park, or for only three. The formule I came up with calculates, for each park, how many of the judges who entered a value for that park, voted yes. For example:

Park 1: 1   1   1   0     0   null
Park 2: 1   1   0 null null null
Park 3: 1   1   0   0   null null
Park 4: 1   1   1    1    0    0

Despite park 1 having one more 'yes' vote, it only has a 60% yes score. Park 2 has a 67% yes score, therefore trumping park 1 in the ranking. Park 3 has the same amount of 'yes' votes as park 2, but one more 'no' vote bringing down the score to 50%. Park 4 has an identical score to park 2, despite a different vote pattern. Imagine if the only options were 'yes' or 'null'. The ranking would become less meaningful, full of ties, and biased towards controversial outliers. In conclusion, the 'no' votes were essential in making the ranking meaningful, diverse, and agreeable.

There were still ties, of course. Accolade panel score, or in their absence the community score, therefore is also taken into account with a light weight to it. Again, not perfect, but it works out well.

The formula is as follows:

[yes vote count] / [total vote count] + [yes vote count] / 20 + [special weight**] + [accolade score] / 800

* The idea behind the formula is based on maths. Some of values like 20 and 800 are arbitrary though, based on trial and error. I played around with them until the outcome felt right.
** Explained in next paragraph

Now that the votes had been entered and the ranking had been calculated, it became clear that a list with a mix of LL and RCT2 didn't feel right, especially as the two games have grown apart so much more since the last edition of The List. I decided to split the List in two, with the RCT2 list being larger to accomodate for the larger amount of parks to choose from.

The Judges
For judges I needed active people, preferably with considerable historical knowledge. The first people to join me in marking parks with 1s and 0s were inthemanual, Kumba and robbie92. Steve, Louis!, trav, ][ntamin22 and GForce joined. Despite this being a good set of judges whose historical knowledge likely covers most of NE's history, it was still biased towards more recent releases. Few of us really were around during the early days. Luckily, I managed to convince old timer Coaster Ed to also give some input during one of his brief comebacks.

Lastly, to compensate for the recency bias, I added iris as a judge, using his last ranking for his votes. Because unlike the other judges, iris actually has an internal ranking in his votes (1-100, instead of 0 or 1,), I applied a special weight to them. Two more benefits from including iris like this are some guaranteed continuity between The New List and Iris's List, and the fact that his ranking could serve as another tie-breaker. In the formula, Iris's 'vote' is included as a bonus on top of the score, rather than being taken into account as one of the other judges's votes. This is the 'special weight' in the formula as shown in the previous paragraph. To be more precise, this is what the 'special weight' entails*:

1.5 - 0.001 * [rank]

Walkman of my Brain, #1 in the last edition of The List, gets a 0.15 bonus on top of its score. Troy's Ancient Resort, #100, gets a 0.05 bonus. For context, the highest total score of all parks on The New List is 1.622. Of course this part of the formula only affects the parks that were listed in Iris's List.

The complete formula:

[yes vote count] / [total vote count] + [yes vote count] / 20 + [1.5 - 0.001 * [iris rank]] + [accolade score] / 800

Future
The cut-off point for this edition of the list was early 2017. After Busch Gardens Asia, only Mirage Islands and Mario Kart were included, and those were definitely arbitrary inclusions. In the mean time we've had a big spotlight wave and another fantastic H2H season, among other succesful contests. Now that The New List is finished, it is time to restart the cycle and make it 2020-proof. Ideally this would've happened way sooner, but after an amazing start the project admittedly lost some steam, also as write-ups became more and more intricate, creating more work. Now that we've done the whole thing once, the next cycle should be simpler. *knocks on wood* In time, I will recruit some additional judges and sample new parks. Stay tuned!

#75 Westwinds (2016) by G Force

New Element is not without its controversies, and in recent memory, G Force's Westwinds stands out. A skillfully made park with Cedar Fair style, there was heated debate surrounding its status as a gold, rather than a spotlight. Despite this, it still stands as one of the more profound releases of the past few years.

Similar releases: G Force's Worlds of Fun, Hudson Crossings, Woodfall Park

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#74 Helios (2004) by Kevin (#48 on Iris's List)

There was never a star at New Element that burned so brightly, only to fade out so quickly... While Kevin's career was short-lived in the golden age of the site, it birthed Helios. Echoing sacoasterfreak's and Foozycoaster's work, it stands as one of the most beautiful examples of the fantastical style of the era.



Similar releases: Musette, Isla Magica

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#73 Asteroid Fields (2015) by Fisch, Tolsimir and bigshootergill

In the grand final of H2H7, the Heaven's Atlas team shocked friend and foe with this bizarre collection of ideas. The park, set on an asteroid field, featured out of this world attractions and gravity defying roller coasters that not only appealed to the park's target audience of little green men, but also to NE. Asteroid Fields challenged the audience to reconsider what they found important in their RCT hobby, and playfulness triumphed over technical perfection.



Similar releases: The Afterlife, The Art of War

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#72 The Rosetta Sphere (2008) by Kumba

In winter of 2007/2008, Kumba organised and won in the first edition of the massive knock-out tournament Micro Madness. Dozens of players explored how much you could do exactly with 15x15 tiles, and in the final round Kumba came up with one of the most succesful combinations of quality and quantity we've seen in the micro genre.



Similar releases: Earl Grey, The Inspiration Well, Gondwana

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#71 Ruishi (2013) by Pacificoaster

Fresh from H2H6 and creating arguably one of the best Disney parks in RCT to date, Pacificoaster brought us a new design in the form of Ruishi. Using a warm and detailed Nepalese environment, he gave us a quick yet focused study of a wonderful S&S power coaster.



Similar releases: Lotte World, Wildfire, Chimei

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#70 Unfriendly Invador (2004) by Phatage (#20 on Iris's List)

Screenshots do not do this adventure ride justice. It has to be viewed in game for you to find out why Unfriendly Invader is special. The hacks were groundbreaking in 2004, and even in 2017 it's not easy to figure out how exactly Phatage did this. Aesthetically, Unfriendly Invador may not have stood the test of time. Technically and creatively, it's still exemplary.



Similar releases: Indiana Jones, Flight from Castle Dracula

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#69 Epica (2004) by Phatage (#11 on Iris's List)

Featuring some eccentric coasters with ratings far beyond what peeps are willing to ride, in an extremely jagged landscape full of strange looking architecture, among which a couple of super tall spires piercing the sky, it is hard to decipher what Phatage's Pro Tour entry means. Epica has always been a park you either hate or love, without a middle ground.



Similar releases: Dark Realms, Twilight Peaks

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#68 Fantastic Wonders (2003) by Timothy Cross

Before Timothy Cross suffered something of a mental breakdown, he was one of the site's up-and-comers, giving us his near-Spotlight Fantastic Wonders: a huge and fantastical theme park exploring unique themes and what the new sequel game had to offer.



Similar releases: Myths, Legends and Folklore, Kimmeragh Glen

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#67 Tièrre Mòrtica (2004) by Corkscrewed (#52 on Iris's List)

Why does Tièrre Mortica come with a readme document of almost 3000 words? Because Corkscrewed thought it was a good idea to construct a whole backstory, written in the first person as an anthropologist's account, to go along with this beautifully made horror park. And this backstory includes a whole new language with spelling and grammar rules. Corkscrewed actually designed a new language for this park...



Similar releases: Hallowhusk Cove, Paleos Bay Mine Ride

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#66 Roman Vice (2009) by Kumba, disneylhand and nin

After a solid round robin, the Hurricanes entered the H2H5 play-offs as one of the favourites. Their semi-final park was headlined by captain Kumba, and was stylistically very reminiscent of his typical solo work: as many wild ideas, hacks and fun details as the map size would allow. The theme, however, was new for Kumba: ancient Rome. Featuring among other things an excellent Colosseum with functional peep gladiators, a very vibrant slum area, a storyline about two rivaling emperors, and last but not least the brilliant and unique duelers Jupiter vs. Apollo supplied by disneylhand, Roman Vice is one of the best and richest parks to ever come out of H2H.



Similar releases: Scientifica, The Adventures of Harry Potter, Mythos, The Testament

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#65 Escher Island (2007) by cBass

Screenshots were not always something you found on NE's front page. They used to be in the AD forum and cBass's screens of his Escher project were the stuff of legend. They first went up sometime around 2003 and years went by without a release of what seemed was a failed group park. In 2007, Escher Island was released and the epic screens came to life!



Similar releases: Spooky Islands, Zodiac Thrills

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#64 Djinn (2010) by J K

To fight dwindling inspiration and motivation, J K quickly whipped up two designs alongside his main project Dreamport. A wise decision, as the results may actually surpass the latter. Djinn is a self-dueling mini coaster with a Moroccan setting. The coaster is curvy and knotted, and has a backdrop of some of the most tasteful architecture the site has ever seen. There has yet to be a better execution of such a theme.



Similar releases: Parkmenistan, Bayon Falls, Ilmenite

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#63 Rocky Mountain Mystique (2005) by JKay (#93 on Iris's List)

The park that officially made JKay a legend and helped him win Parkmaker of the Year in 2005. This map was fully loaded with the fun colorful freestyle themes he was known for. The coasters are far from realistic, but flow with their areas. Evil WME chipped in a CCI layout, but the rest is all JKay.



Similar releases: Divinity Ridge, Ecstasy Summit

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#62 Fright Nights (2005) by Phatage (#7 on Iris's List)

Fright Nights is both an adventure ride and a coaster. It starts with a stroll to a lighthouse, which you climb, but then fall! You almost cascade off the edge of a cliff, but rebound and continue on. For some reason, you next get lost in a swamp just outside a mansion which you check out next. You run into some signs of witchcraft that send you into a wild roller coaster ride! 97 mph max speed, a 236ft drop, over 5 minutes in ride time, 5 inversions and a mere 25.8 intensity rating are what you can expect on this creation from Phatage. Best fantasy coaster ever? It would be hard to argue.



Similar releases: The Faraway Tree, Flight From Castle Dracula

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#61 The Pridelands (2015) by nin, RCT2Day and thirteen

Disney has always had a hold on New Element throughout the years, and nin's Pridelands is a testament to making the old new again. Using Disney's typical hub format, the park gives us a Lion King-meets-Animal Kingdom vibe, and the result bursts with atmosphere and character.



Similar releases: Caiman, Hoogland Park

#60 Universal's Cayman Islands of Adventure (2004) by sloB

Before slob gave us his parting gift of Thrillmatic and fell off the face of the planet, his rise to fame was rooted in the second Pro Tour. Thanks to his excellent water coaster round appetizer, we were welcomed with the main course, Cayman's Islands of Adventure. Modeled after the renowned park in Orlando, Florida, slob gave us familiar themes with a sense of class of atmosphere that most still strive to master.



Similar releases: Hawkeye, Venetia Harbour, Disney's MiniSea

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#59 NE's Mirage Islands (2017) (NE Group Park)

NE's Mirage Island not only marks the revival of official NE Group Parks, it's also the very first park to be made entirely using the multiplayer function that OpenRCT introduced in 2016. Unlike the preceding NE Group Parks, all built in the very distant past, Mirage Islands was built without a central vision, by over twenty five different players, taking barely a month from start to finish. Truly a milestone.



Similar releases: Sonoma Falls Theme Park, NE's Sandwich Springs

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#58 Python/Vliegende Hollander (2013) by Liampie

With quite the RCT resume, amidst the fantasy and the quirky, Liampie is not without his realism entries. Bringing us a semi-recreation of a piece of the Efteling, De Vliegende Hollander/Python demonstrates a grasp of both serenity and liveliness, as the Vekoma coaster Python roars among peaceful ponds and meandering walkways, and as the water coaster De Vliegende Hollander takes riders from a city through a quiet dune area into the pond.



Similar releases: De Vliegende Hollander, Eftelrama, Schwarzwald

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#57 Piraña (2011) by Liampie

Piraña is well known as the first proper non-coaster design winner in the history of NE. It did not win because of the novelty, however - Piraña is an excellently built semi-recreation of the ride of the same name at Efteling, with novel realistic details. This design also marks the beginning of the era of custom multi-tile trees - now a staple in any park.



Similar releases: Voyager, Huracan

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#56 Brachiosaurus (2010) by Fr3ak

This B&M hyper coaster sits half in a beautiful prehistoric theme zone, and half on an empty parking lot, showcasing Fr3ak's strengths: creating unique and atmospheric areas where no theming expenses were spared, yet within the realm of credible realism, with a great eye for detail. Aside from the undeniable greatness of the design. Brachiosauris popularised trackitecture in RCT2 with its stacked monorail walls and off-grid curvy buildings.



Similar releases: Extinction, Goliath

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#55 Alice in Wonderland (2006) by JKay and Emergo

We're all a little mad here, but teaming up in H2H to hit us with a dose of fantasy, two of the genre's leaders in madness Emergo and JKay gave us Alice in Wonderland. The map is based on the literary classic, and plunges us into its world of whimsy through Queen of Hearts-shaped inversions, and even down a working Rabbit Hole



Similar releases: The Lake and the River, At Versicoloured Valleys

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#54 Magic Realms Resort (2008) by eyeamthu1

A power spotlight from the early geewhzz-posix admin era. If perhaps not met with praise from the site's fiercest aesthetics and style critics, it won many hearts with its super intense immersion factor that saw people have the park open to explore for much longer time than they were ever used to. Certainly a release to push peep-friendliness becoming a must for RCT2 releases.



Similar releases: Mysterium Adventures, Nowton Thrill Park

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#53 Six Flags Santa Fe (2011) by robbie92

Despite a failed attempt before nailing the look of the modern realistic amusement park in RCT, robbie92 brought us his first large-scale park with Six Flags Santa Fe. Taking familiar tropes of the franchise, he managed to craft one of the most believable parks in the site's modern era, with atmosphere and fun.



Similar releases: Six Flags Great North, BiZaRrO!

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#52 Aero's Wormwood (2003) by aero21

New Element's first ever RCT2 Spotlight, aero21's Wormwood, broke the mold in terms of what could be done with our (at the time) new sequel game. Featuring a pair of dueling woodies and colorful Asian-inspired area, the park showed the community that RCT2 could still provide the same charm and atmosphere as it's predecessor.



Similar releases: Warner Bros. Reel Adventures, Scarborough Faire

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#51 #diamondheights by (2015) Liampie and Steve

Taking a stroll down memory lane during H2H7, Liampie and Steve took us back with a revamped RCT1 scenario in #diamondheights. Cruising on nostalgia and hipster vibes, the park is viewed through rose-tinted shades to bring the classic attractions to life, but never sacrifices the duo's sense of atmosphere and fun.



Similar releases: Bosrijk, Moroverden, Wildcat

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#50 Mario Kart: All-Cup Tour (2017) by bigshootergill

Welcome to Mario Kart! Bigshootergill's homage to the Nintendo classic takes viewers on an exciting, colorful tour of the Mushroom Kingdom. Featuring a plethora of neat hacks and tricks over its 16 unique courses, the park covers the entirety of the Mario Kart library of games. Banking on fun and nostalgia, Mario Kart: All-Cup Tour's blend of karts, coasters and turtle shells provides for a Spotlight entry unlike any other.



Similar releases: Treasure Islands, Go Kart Chaos

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#49 Europa Park World Showcase (2010) by Six Frags

Being plaged by the object limit, Six Frags managed to finish this huge sprawling park in a style that is even more minimal and clean than his usual work. Through some clever tactics to combat the object limit, Six Frags managed to maintain a high amount of fun little details that make exploring the park worthwhile; even the dark ride interiors survived. Featuring 14 (!) areas, there sure is a lot to see.



Similar releases: World Showcase, Schweizer Valley Amusements

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#48 Infestation at Outpost 23 (2003) by cBass (#80 on Iris's List)

The name well represents what you will see on this map: a torus-shaped space station, with a coaster themed to some kind of alien outbreak. Fine, but the legacy of Infestation is actually what you can NOT see... With this pro tour prelim entry, cBass introduced the concept of a black tile. Being only available as a single tile object, black tiling this map required tens of thousands clicks, hours and days of clicking. In other words, cBass sacrificed his weekend to allow us to make space parks and non-square maps for decades after.



Similar releases: Via Lactea, ColorFlood

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#47 Evil WME's Mount Doom (2009) by Evil WME

A masterclass in chaos, Evil WME's Mount Doom takes a classic formula stylised by Mala and cranks it to the next level, adding layers of coasters that fly through a jagged landscape. Described at the time as a 'monster' of a park, you're sure to find new elements to this park every time you open it.



Similar releases: Chaos of Time, Metal Masters, Tobayara Jungle

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#46 Euroscape (2003) by Butterfinger

A shock moment to the site due to the sheer quantity people had never seen up to that point: full 256x256 map size of RCT2 used, object limit reached, and yet an additional map needed for Butterfinger to successfully empty all he had in his head. The park's biggest fan perhaps was iris himself, putting it right at the top of his list upon release which was met with very mixed opinions. If forgotten otherwise, the park remains famous for this gigantism and site controversy.



Similar releases: Trojan Dynasty, Butter's Platypus Paradise, Tula City

#45 Liseberg (2016) by Lagom

It's very to easy to argue that Liseberg is the best debut park in the history of the game; Lagom seeminlgy appeared out of nowhere with this spotlight winning park. Being a recreation, Liseberg shows unparalleled accuracy and attention to detail. Lagom included plenty of surroundings as well, so exploring the map feels like you're actually walking through the city of Göteburg. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Gröna Lund, Budapleasure, Tivoli Gardens

#44 Escalante River Falls (2003) by Mala (#42 on Iris's List)

With his contest win in the Hi-Rollers competition, the enigmatic Mala brought us his brand of wildness with his first RCT2 park: Escalante River Falls. With his $25 contest winnings in hand, he managed to craft sinister mountains with coasters and water rides carving them throughout, and intricate stucco-inspired sculptures for creating that signature Mala atmosphere. ~Steve



Similar releases: Euphoria City, Vulture

#43 Sea of Sagas (2012) by Fisch, Dimi and trav

Head-2-Head 6, Round 1, Match 1. The sixth incarnation of the greatest RCT competition started with a bang as The Replacements convincingly beat the reigning champions The Hurricanes. Their park, a collaboration between masters of atmosphere and colour Fisch and Dimi, explored a variety of themes related to Scandinavia and was an instant classic. From the Hanseatic League and Norse mythology to exploration of the Americas and dragons in canyons, Sea of Sagas offers a wide variety of content, without sacrificing consistency and cohesion. H2H perfection! ~Liampie



Similar releases: Neverland, Worlds of Fun

#42 Myst (2009) by Turtle

Everyone's favorite gymnast, Turtle, has cemented himself into New Element lore as one of the greats. His most recent solo effort, Myst, gives us a unique map based on the old video game series, and further proves his grasp of theming and atmosphere. ~Steve



Similar releases: Red River Delta, Starflight

#41 Gila (2003) by Toon

Toon's RCT resume might be small, but his impact on both the community and game itself is huge. With his design, Gila, not only did he manage to create a solid two-toned wooden coaster in an atmospheric desert landscape, he also brought his own self-created objects to life by crafting intricate stucco architecture on never seen before quarter-tile scale. ~Steve + Liampie



Similar releases: Purple Pill Heights, Peublo Canyon Boardwalk

#40 Corsair Veredian (2012) by Turtle, Liampie and Steve

Despite some motivational and logistical troubles, Liampie, Turtle and with some help from Steve, were able to pull together and produce this masterpiece of modern Fantasy. This map of "industrialization and adventure", provides a unique atmosphere and aesthetic that is more than worthy of H2H6 Finals Championship crown, capping off one the greatest teams in H2H6 history with yet another show stopper. ~G Force



Similar releases: Nature's Fury, Hallardrin's Keep

#39 Mont Saint Michel (2006) by Six Frags and Emergo (#36 on Iris's List)

For Round 2 of H2H4, the Tycoon Bandits presented a landmark in RCT architecture made possible by the teamwork of Emergo and Six Frags. As one of the few prominent female members at NE, Emergo used her wealth of experience in recreating landmarks for RCTspace's monthly "Road Rally" contests to construct the impressive abbey. Together with Six Frags' invert threading through the architecture it started a string of wins that took the Tycoon Bandits to the H2H4 semi-finals. ~][ntamin22



Similar releases: , The Lake and the River, Granado Espada

#38 The Island (2009) by FreeRider

In and around 2009, a distant Korean community discovered NE, and the site saw a very sudden surge in Korean presence. The parks that were submitted during this time were very foreign looking. FreeRider's parks stood out most though. The Island is his most notable release; an island, a skyscraper, a pile of coasters and ideas. FreeRider and his companions showed NE a side of RCT that few of us had ever seen before. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Holy Ground of the Dragon, Yggdrasil

#37 DisneyAir (2006) by Xcoaster (#9 on Iris's List)

Taking home the bronze medal of the Pro Tour 2, Xcoaster's DisneyAIR gave us the theme park juggernaut's take on aviation, space and beyond. Sporting a unique Disney-bannered entrance, the park boasts some of the more creative and fun ideas amongst its competitors and other parks alike. ~Steve



Similar releases: Scientifica, Seibemshiring Hydrogen Mining, DisneyPunk

#36 Six Flags: World of Excitement (2004) by Phatage

While Phatage burst onto the community with (the) "Unfriendly Invader" where he single-handedly created the narrative telling fantasy genre of RCT2, he would always prove himself as a compendium of coaster knowledge in forum discussions. So although extremly rare for a player to switch styles so drastically, it came almost unsurprisingly when Phatage released "World of Excitement", by some considered as the greatest display of realism in RCT2 still to this day, then rivaling with the extremly popular inter-site phenomenon "Premier Amusement Park" by SupremeScreamer for its sheer accuracy, immersion, and skill filled up to the top even in the most remote corner of secondary water parks or backstage areas. A milestone release for realism in RCT2 in the earlier RCT2 days paving the footsteps for CP6's Watkins Woods many years later. ~posix



Similar releases: Six Flags Colossal Heights, Six Flags Hoosier Station

#35 Cedar Point's Raptor (2015) by geewhzz and wheres_walto

Cedar Point is often referred to as the "coaster capital of the world," and yet there's not a whole lot of it's influence among the elite for the site. Enter geewhzz and wheres_walto, for their ultra-realistic H2H7 entry, Raptor. Taking the famed B&M invert, they've immaculately recreated its surroundings in a modern setting by including the meandering midway, a snippet of Blue Streak, and even a working buffet line. ~Steve



Similar releases: Cedar Point 2006, Cedar Point

#34 Arch Angel by Titan (#16 on Iris's List)

A bastion of futuristic themes over the past decade, Arch Angel by Titan originally started life as an unfinished QFTB-X entry. Few others were able to etch their name into the Rct history books through just a design like Titan, elevating himself to the elite category alongside other greats such as Turtle and SACoasterfreak. Drawing comparisons from Helios, Arch Angel is still one of the most impressive designs to date thanks to it’s thick, immersive atmosphere and a dominating B&M that floats across the landscape with remarkable flow. ~trav



Similar releases: Portrait of Heaven, X-Men

#33 Busch Gardens Sydney (2006) by Phatage (#37 on Iris's List)

One of New Element's more enigmatic members, Phatage has had quite the career at the site. Several designs and one runner-up later, he gave us his Pro Tour 2 gold winner: Busch Gardens Sydney, a creative and wholly unique take on the franchise -- not to mention Denali, arguably one of the best B&M inverts the game has seen. ~Steve



Similar releases: Busch Gardens North America

#32 Castle Howard (2008) by RRP

In 2008, the LL legend RRP surprised friend and foe by submitting two RCT2 designs: Valhalla and Castle Howard. Especially the latter, a massive wooden coaster set in a realistic cliffside theme park, built using JJ's short-lived RCTmodified and Amazing Earl Dream Woodie trains, proved to be significant. Castle Howard introduced a gritty style of foliage that many have tried to copy since. RRP may be the only LL great to succesfully adapt to, embrace and master RCT2. He does not have an RCT2 spotlight to cement that status, but Castle Howard is a legacy not to be overlooked. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Canyoneer, valhalla, Scarecrow

#31 The Masterpiece (2005) by X250

After a solid H2H season in the winning Flying Germans team, and helping out Artist with both his spotlights, X250 made an impressive attempt at winning the highest accolade. He barely missed out, which was instantly considered one of the biggest 'snubs' in NE history. The Masterpiece clearly finds it stylistic origin in atmospheric semi-realistic parks like Islands of Enchantment and Isole Calabria, but the more idea-centred approach X250 later became known for with parks like Internet City and The Time Machine is shining through as well. The Masterpiece hereby also represents the evolution RCT2 saw during those years.~Liampie



Similar releases: The Time Machine, Ports of Magia

#30 Fenrir (2009) by Steve

At the time of release, Fenrir was the highest scoring design submission to date. Statistically it has been surpassed by now, but it is still fondly remembered as one of the best designs in the site's history. Fenrir is Steve's attempt at exploring the country a little bit. This design has a wide range of Norwegian theming, but it's tied together by the fantastic title B&M Floorless (with a notably well designed unique station). Fenrir was not Steve's second solo park that people were wishing for, but no one in their right mind would complain about that.



Similar releases: Ghoul, Wildcat, Draca

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#29 Rift Valley (2004) by Mala (#28 on Iris's List)

After winning Hi-Rollers with his Escalante River Falls, Mala surely was one of the favourites going into the next big NE contest, the Pro Tour. He clearly went all out again with Rift Valley. Only a Mala park would have a set of dueling coasters called 'Psycho Speedway', with a top speed of 150 km/h. Supports usually consist of round steel beams holding up the track. In a Mala park, supports are intricate abstract sculptures that are as pretty as they are mind boggling. Have you ever seen a gigantic B&M invert sharing its lift hill with a river rapids? You can find it in Rift Valley. In the end it was not enough to beat cBass and win the Pro Tour, but it was enough to earn the 29th spot in this List. ~Liampie



Similar releases: A Loke Token, Twilight Peaks

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#28 Sea World Brisbane (2006) by Steve (#30 on Iris's List)

Steve got "grinched"! During the Pro Tour 2, Fatha gave his entry Sea World Brisbane a lower ranking than many felt it deserved, dooming his chances in the contest. However unfortunate, Fatha's reasons turned out to be quite simple and reasonable. If Steve showed some more originality and filled the map better, the extremely graceful theming could've carried Steve all the way to the top. Nonetheless, this was Steve's big breakthrough after a series of smaller and unfinished projects. Like a real Sea World park, there is not a lot of focus on large rides. The only two large rides are the Kraken-inspired B&M 'Hurricane', and the pirate themed dark ride 'Search for Kidd', the latter surprisingly being the biggest crowd pleaser. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Tierra Aventura, Silhouette

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#27 Kayte Ridge (2006) by Cedarpoint6 and geewhzz

During H2H4, two up and coming parkmakers called Cedarpoint6 and geewhzz went up and barely won against Internet City in a very, very close and very, very heated match-up. While Internet City has not stood the test of time too well, being more interesting as a relic of the early 21st century internet, Kayte Ridge's status has only increased with time. Retrospectively, it turns out that Kayte Ridge may actually mark the birth of modern realism. The point in the history of RCT were parks were permanently breaking free of the aesthetic inherited from the LL period. Kayte Ridge has become one of the most important parks on the site because of this, and in 2006 no one had a clue. ~Liampie



Similar releases: [/url], Kidderbrook Amusement Park, Manhasset Meadows

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#26 Canthose Valley Theme Park (2008) by 5Dave

The Pro Tour 3 was a problematic contest. There were too many people in it to justify the 'pro' part, and too few people actually submitted a park, after too much time. However, all problems were forgotten as soon as 5Dave emerged from the rubble, with his Canthose Valley Theme Park that could've taken the gold medal in any version of the pro tour. The park is not a compilation of great set pieces and big e-ticket rides, but excells in the small scale and atmosphere found in many European parks, without forgetting to cater to the technical realism fanatics either. Fun fact: 5Dave did not use any non-building cheats. Hence why 'Canthose' is an anagram of... ~Liampie



Similar releases: Bayon Falls, Archimedes, Hoogland Park

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#25 #Götheburg (2005) by sloB (#14 on Iris's List)

While the site has seen the impact of Dueling Dragons' influence, slob's H2H3 solo effort, Götheburg, stands apart. Taking full advantage of the map with its sprawling layouts, it features simple but effective use of its elements surrounded by a lush medieval environment. ~Steve



Similar releases: Sierra Glen, Universal's Cayman Islands of Adventure, Jaguar

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#24 Thorpe Park (2014) by Airtime

A long time LL player, Airtime’s spotlight winning semi-recreation of Thorpe Park, established him as one of the most talented RCT2 players in recent times. This Merlin park oozes with atmosphere and a unique style that no one has been able to replicate since. Featuring groundbreaking detailed attractions, specifically the four custom flat rides, and three fantastic coasters. Thorpe Park is a must see for any RCT connoisseur, and a staple of modern realistic style. ~G Force



Similar releases: Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril

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#23 Hyatt's Project (2009-2012) by RCTNW

Multi-map resorts are almost as old as the game itself, but they're all child's play compared to RCTNW's huge undertaking. A sequel to his Marriott's project, the Hyatt's project is a masterclass in planning and the power of consistent parkmaking in a large quantity. The resort encompasses 25 200x200 maps, of which over half actually got done. Sadly we never got to see the triple map airport or the Entertainment District, but with two full theme parks (both barely missing spotlight!), half a dozen of massive resorts, a football stadium, a golf course and a speedway, the Hyatt's project offers more RCT goodness than most people have created in their lifetime. ~Liampie



Notable Releases: Hyatt's Northwest Adventures, Hyatt's Ocean Adventures, Hyatt's Crystal Cove Resort

#22 Islands of Enchantment (2005) by Artist

2005 was a fantastic year for NE and no one had a better year than Artist, who won not just one, but TWO spotlights by the halfway point of the year. Islands Of Enchantment is thought of as the better of the two, showcasing just why Nemesis Chris became known as Artist; areas such as The Land Before Time ooze atmosphere and almost perfect the style from this era, and with some of the most recognisable coasters in Rct history, IoE is a timeless classic that ages like a fine wine. All the more impressive when you consider it was made in three months! ~trav



Similar releases: Urchin, Ports of Magia, Paradise Island

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#21 Legacies Themepark: Europe (2010) by Liampie

Newer members of New Element may not known Liampie as anything other than the head honcho of the site. But before that, Liampie's big break came with his spotlight Legacies Themepark: Europe, ambitiously titled as if there would be a sequel someday. The park started from a failed design, which can still be seen in the park as Ikaros. You can even follow Liampie's progress as a parkmaker as you move from this area around the park, shedding some of his classic Dutch parkmaking tropes as he grew into the influential player he is today. What Legacies lacks in coaster design it makes up for in an impressive amount of detailed architecture, especially considering the infamous object limit which plagues all the biggest RCT releases. Legacies sits, in the history of RCT2 spotlights, somewhere near the beginning of the modern, detail-oriented NE style, but its colorful atmosphere and still-impressive architecture make it worth constant revisits even today. ~Cocoa



Similar releases: Budapleasure, Ikaros, Avonturenpark Montferland

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#20 Isole Calabria (2005) by Turtle (#32 on Iris's List)

Turtle had already won the highest accolade with Bijou Magique, but in retrospect Bijou Magique was nothing more than a stepping stone for the real Turtle masterpiece: Isole Calabria. The park features four areas - all typical themes, but executed with that unique Turtle originality flavour. Except for one corner of the park, where Steve built an earthy looking area - which is not too shabby either, featuring the majestic Solestallo B&M. Other notable rides include the massive water coaster in the Asian area, the wooden coaster Schöri's Flight, and the majestic red painted arrow corkscrew coaster in the Italian entrance area. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Bijou Magique, Firebird

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#19 Kukuana (2006) by Turtle and RCTFAN

This fantastic looking jungle set town, encircled by an adventure boat ride and hosting a unique custom flat ride and a mine train, was built by two people, but with only one vision. Amidst two spotlights and a solid collection of designs, for a long time Kukuana was the single succesful contest park in Turtle's RCT career. For his partner RCTFAN, Kukuana even is the only succesful park in general, as his motivation and productivity and high profile project Toucan was lost in a computer crash a year later. The chemistry they show here is almost unparalleled - it's unlikely that either Turtle or RCTFAN could've made a better Kukuana working alone. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Carcassonne, Nature's Fury

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#18 Six Flags Carolina (2010) by Cedarpoint6

Not too long ago, when the current ideas of realistic building were still fresh, the already legendary CP6 released his 2nd masterpiece in Six Flags Carolina. Having already redefined the style twice before with H2H4’s Kayte Ridge and his earlier solo Waltkins Woods, SFC was no different. This epic, full scale Six Flags park, heavy inspired by the now Kentucky Kingdom park in Louisville, raised the bar yet again. Featuring eight stunning coasters and a full-size waterpark, SFC may not be the most detailed park by modern standards (and there is good reason for that!) but it still is probably the most complete feeling RCT creation to this day. One only hopes that we can see another release by CP6 in our lifetimes, as its sure to raise the bar once again higher than ever before. ~Liampie



Similar releases: BiZaRrO!

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#17 Ghost Cell Crisis (2004) by Dark Janus and Blitz (#6 on Iris's List)

During H2H3, Blitz and Janus took two recent innovations, namely black tiles and land blocks, and used it to bring the game to the next level. Literally. Ghost Cell Crisis is a surreal, unreal array of floating islands connected by the crazy, eccentric 'Pandemonium' coaster. Blitz and Janus were only able to include a fraction of theideas they had for this, but it was still enough to beat Cajamarca 1532 in a classic match-up, marking the first time Coaster Ed lost a H2H match. Fitting to beat a LL legend with a park that's absolutely an RCT2 park; even anti-LL perhaps... ~Liampie



Similar releases: The Genesis, The Afterlife

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#16 Lijiang (2012) by Sulakke, Liampie and Pacificoaster

Liam’s ‘Heaven’ brand have become a H2H juggernaut, destroying the competition at both times of asking, but Lijiang was the first real taste of what this team could do. Pacificoaster was a relatively new but promising member at the time, but came alive alongside Liam and Sulakke here as they crafted one of the most convincing Chinese themes in NE history, with beautifully realistic architecture combined with a rough and rugged terrain to create a tale of two halves, mirrored in the Yin Yang shaped map. ~trav



Similar releases: Carreira da Índia, Tenochtitlan

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#15 Dreamport (2011) by J K

Sometime after his first spotlight, Spellbrook Shore, J K became all of NE's darling. In an era dominated by realism, J K showed us what top quality parkmaking could look like if dedication to theming was priority number one, inspired by semi-realism days. Dreamport is J K at his peak. The park has six distinct areas, ranging from classic fairytale depictions to bloody horror, and from the Middle East to Mexico. In one area you can get chased by cops, in another by giant sea creatures. Whatever the theme, though, it's always jolly, warm, innocent, cartoonesque, charismatic, and packed with details. For an entire generation of players, Dreamport was the park to look up to.



Similar releases: Spellbrook Shore, Mythos

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#14 Disney's Shadowlands (2006) by Xcoaster and Steve

One of the best matches in H2H history saw the wonderful Alice in Wonderland by Emergo and JKay lose to Disney's Shadowlands, by Steve and XCoaster. It's not even fully finished - I'm looking at you, castle-y area near the entrance - which should tell you how good the finished portion of the park is. Disney's Shadowlands still feels relevant from an RCT2 detailing perspective, highlighting its impressiveness at the time. The park is a classic idea brilliantly executed, especially the gaudy, 80s aesthetic future area with the brilliantly named Cyberspace Mountain. Every area shines and is full of great theming and vibes. ~Cocoa & Liampie



Similar releases: Worlds of Tim Burton, Disney's Fairytale Kingdom

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#13 El Encierro (2008) by geewhzz and disneylhand

“Greatness + greatness = great greatness.” With this line, the newcomers geewhzz and disneylhand introduced their upcoming design. Call it arrogant, but they delivered on their promise when El Encierro was released. El Encierro was a big leap forward for realistic parks, as it married hardcore realism with atmospheric and innovative design,. Levis gets the credit for inventing the thrill lift in RCT2, but it was geewhzz and disneylhand who first properly implemented it. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Salga, Busch Gardens North America

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#12 Dimensions: Realms of Creation (2007) by Kumba (#46 on Iris's List)

Dimensions: Realms of Creation is a sequel to Kumba's earlier Dimensions park in name, but more of a sequel to Bayfront Parc in spirit. With Dimensions: Realms of Creation, Kumba went all out, and it resulted in an undisputed spotlight winner. All the Kumba tropes are here: giant Casino, jungle fences, new objects, bikini babes, easter eggs, crazy colours (other than brown), and an overload of creative ideas. The park isn't all gimmicks though. The jurassic area, for example, would not look out of place in an artist spotlight, and even the Kumba skeptics should be in awe of the dramatic landscaping of Mt. Morbid. This is a park that you can explore for hours and still discover new things to enjoy. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Bayfront Parc, Darwood Grove

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#11 Belmont Shores (2009) by geewhzz and K0NG

In the midst of perhaps the greatest H2H season one player has ever had, geewhzz set out to do justice to the classic American boardwalk park. As with everything else that H2H5 season he attacked the challenge with a bottomless reserve of hacking knowledge and an incredible amount of drive and energy. The only person who could match his momentum was K0NG, chosen to handle the restaurants and surroundings. The end product was a park of peepable rides, games, and attractions universally praised as the "most realistic ever." Belmont firmly established a "gee style" that carried the torch for increasing standards of realism and peepeability, firmly cementing his position as a site leader. The map remains a high-water-mark of hacks and Americana and marks a corner turned for NE towards more elaborate and high-effort rides, architecture, and realism in park design. ~][ntamin22



Similar releases: Comet, Southport Pleasure Beach

#10 Zippo's Wacky World of Wonders (2009) by Xophe

When Xophe started advertising Zippo's in the spring of 2008, despite highly positive reception, no one suspected that this would become such a monument of a park. When I say 'fun', you say 'Zippo's.' It's easy for a realistic park to become very clinical and serious, and when you try to make a 'fun' park it quickly becomes ridiculous or fantastical. Against the odds, Xophe managed to seamlessly combine fun and realism. The punny shop names and wacky themes, such as a sewer-themed dinghy slide, are not just there to provide us with a giggle. They're part of the park's in-universe brand, and it's completely credible. But even without the wackiness, there are enough fantastic coaster layouts, original themes, and exquisitely landscaped areas to make Zippo's stand out as an exceptionally well crafted park. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Spacetopia

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#9 Le Rêve Parapluie (2012) by Turtle, Wicksteed and AvanineCommuter

H2H has always been a bastion of creativity and ingenuity, and perhaps no park better represents that than Le Rêve Parapluie. Set in a Parisian landscape, an umbrella maker dreams of a simpler time where personality, individuality and the finishing touches mattered above all else; the park mirrors this perfectly, with so many hidden details and little touches added by each of the three builders that it becomes a fantastical medley of grand architecture, beautiful atmospheres and a level of originality that has been hard to match ever since. When looking through the park, make sure to do so with the custom music turned on, as the classical tune becomes almost haunting as it drifts through the dreamscape. ~trav



Similar releases: Wit's End

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#8 Basics of My Brain (2004) by cBass

Once upon a time, cBass was just another good new player. A month later, he beat a whole garrison of seasoned veterans in the Pro Tour with a park that no one saw coming: Basics of my Brain. Can you even call it a park? It's autobiographic. It's a brain. Not anyone's brain, but cBass's brain, divided in four areas that reflect four prominent aspects of cBass's personality: hiking, music, computers and sex. This right here is the RCT2 equivalent of a Tinder profile, although that makes it sound cheap. Basics of my Brain is not cheap, nor basic. It's ingenious in both the general concept and the execution. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Zodiac Thrills, Internet City

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#7 Starpointe (2013) by Pacificoaster

At the time of this being written, Starpointe stands as the highest rated park on New Element. Pacificoaster's first project ever, it saw multiple overhauls during its construction, which would bear a result of an atmospheric yet incredibly real Cedar Fair-style park. Establishing the theme right at the park gate, the viewer finds themselves on a bustling Main Street, branching off to the park’s premier B&M looper and the classic Coaster’s Diner. In addition, the guests also experience some quality Pacificoaster theming in a quaint Western town, flanked by the park’s unique shoot-the-shoots attraction and more. Still considered to be a main point-of-reference in modern realism building, Starpointe excels at maintaining credibility while still giving the viewer the warmth Pacificoaster injects so naturally into his work. ~Steve



Similar releases: Westwinds, Baker Lake Amusement Park

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#6 Watkins Woods Amusement Park (2007) by Cedarpoint6

Arguably it was with Kayte Ridge (#27) that modern day realism started, but it was with Watkins Woods' release that it took the main stage for the first time. It inspired many to join the realism genre, luring them further and further away from the traditional NE styled parks. Watkins Woods still shines thanks to Cedarpoint6's attention to detail and deep real life park knowledge, to an extent that we hadn't seen in any park until then - detailed interiors for all the buildings being one example of such meticulousness. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Woodfall Park, Kidderbrook Amusement Park

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#5 Busch Gardens Asia (2016) by robbie92

Something of an urban legend realized, robbie92’s Busch Gardens Asia was a passion project of over four years in the making. While the park had its advertising in the traditional sense, it was thrust into the New Element mythos as being one of the first big projects to take advantage of live streams. Regardless of its adverts, the park flourished into a modern classic, further cementing Robbie’s status among the elite at the site. The park is a testament to what can be achieved in heavily themed realism, and what we see is nothing short of just that. Boasting an impressive coaster lineup based on many Busch classics, the map explores lush Asian environs with its rides, shops, and even a few animal exhibits. With that, it’s hard to ignore a couple of the park’s exemplary coasters: Jagganath, a B&M invert featuring a beautiful mess of brown supports in India, as well as Shinobi, an Intamin launcher featuring an indoor portion of the ride. These are but a few bits of what the map has to offer, but overall it’s hard to ignore what Robbie brings to the table here: staggering yet readable detail, atmosphere, and simply an overwhelming sense of mastery in the game. ~Steve



Similar releases: Tubiao Action Park, Rangda

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#4 Rivers of Babylon (2004) by sacoasterfreak

Arguably the most well know park in New Element's history, sacoasterfreak's Rivers of Babylon was his first release at the site since his days at Danimation and his first foray into the sequel game. The result? A beautiful and atmospheric park that laid the groundwork for all other parks succeeding it. The park relishes in it’s macro design, leading the viewer through themed lands that still rival modern builds. Babylon, the entrance area, has intricate pathways through stone structures and lush gardens featuring a river rapids attraction and Arrow looper inspired by the renowned Drachen Fire. And who could ignore the land of Lemuria? A theme that envelops you in its organic forms, broken aqueducts and all. A true classic in theme, with Eversio Lemuria, its Hulk-like launched B&M looper, taking center stage. There is also Lhasa, a unique take on the strange land of Tibet, that even has billboards written with a strange alphabet. ~Steve



Similar releases: Seas of Antiquity

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#3 Lenox Mall (2009) by geewhzz, egg_head and Fr3ak

Geewhzz capped off his legendary H2H5 streak with Lenox Mall. Cedarpoint6 played around with the concept of a mall coaster in Micro Madness a year earlier, but it wasn't until now that the realism movement on New Element had progressed enough to make the perfect execution of a mall park possible. The opponent's park, the coincidentally also urban Alumwell Bay, stood no chance against the endless highly detailed and distinct shop interiors, the groundbreaking hacks, and the main ride, an Intamin looper with the name Nebulocity. Even a decade later, Lenox Mall still stands tall as one of the most realistic parks ever created. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Thrill Zone, Circus Circus & Adventuredome Atlantic City

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#2 Kumba (2010) by Kumba

It had always been inevitable that one day, Kumba would recreate his godfather coaster. With this design, Kumba, who rose to stardom with dense, bright fantastical parks like Bayfront Parc, Dimensions: Realms of Creation and Roman Vice, showed that he could excel in the realism genre as well. This instant classic not only shattered all accolade panel records. It also reinvented the way realism could look in RCT2, thanks to its unparalleled dedication to accuracy, as well as the large collection of new scenery objects, many of them becoming staples on any workbench since. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Son of Kumba, Montu

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#1 Disney's American Waterfront (2012) by Pacificoaster

Disney's American Waterfront took the site by storm during its sixth season of H2H. Boasting themes from America's waters, it provides the viewer a lush urban landscape with atmosphere and detail in a truly Pacificoaster fashion. Referencing American locales such as Los Angeles and New York City, Pacificoaster puts a new spin on some classic Disney attractions in a studio park setting. A break out of Alcatraz is the setting for a launched indoor Arrow, while the Tower of Terror gets a downtown New York makeover. Not to mention a clever trick: forced perspective to show off the city’s bustling skyline. At the top spot of The New List, “DAW” further solidifies its status as one of the most prolific releases in New Element history, and in turn, perhaps even making Pacificoaster a little more legendary. ~Steve



Similar releases: Paradise Pier, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Florida

Really varied list so far. Intrigued to see how the rest pans out.

Also haven't seen Rosetta Sphere, Fantastic Wonders or Unfriendly Invador before so I'll check those out now. And Westwinds?? Must have overlooked that one.. was it like a precursor to Starpoint?

This section of the list is quite Phatage heavy. If you ask me, Epica could've been left out. I don't see the appeal at all. Unfriendly Invador is similarly rough and weird, but it has more good stuff to make up for it and I can see how it's a milestone release. Epica? No.

Also not a fan of The Pridelands, but lots of people seem to love it so whatever.

On a more positive note, I'm glad Asteroid Fields, The Rosetta Sphere and Roman Vice made the list. I also think that Djinn is still the standard for that kind of architecture.

Fantastic idea to bring this list to fruition, it must have taken a ton of work to comb through all the parks over the past 15 years to come up with a solid group of groundbreaking parks. I'm going to have to check out some of these parks in more detail, see what I can learn. Since I've only been on the site for 3 years, I don't have as much passion about these key parks in NE's history, however the parks listed that I am familiar with definitely stand out as unique and impactful.

 

Just wanted to thank the admins and the 10 judge panel that took the time to prepare this list, I'm sure it took a ton of time to get it ready, it's look pretty polished to me.

 

Also, it's exciting to still see NE picking up new members and to see the many quality releases even 15 years later. I wonder what NE will be like on it's 20 year anniversary...

Couldn't be happier to finally see this being rolled out. It was great fun being apart of this!

I haven't been here the entire 15 years that the site existed, but almost. I have to say, a good chunk of it shaped my high school years and I made some great friends along the way. Can't wait to see what the next five years bring for the 20th celebration!

I wonder what NE will be like on it's 20 year anniversary...

too many babes

love you too steve

I get the feeling Liam has been waiting for MONTHS during this List preparation to use that picture because someone was bound to ask.

Or he took that picture yesterday when he was visiting his grandma... right after he read my post

Great to see the list come back!

 

I definitely agree with your sentiments about these first 15 list places. Some choices that surprised me as I wouldn't have thought they'd make the list. On the other hand there are probably others where in the end I'll be sad if they've been left out.

 

Overall:

 

Great presentation, and especially cool to see the "similar releases" below the listed parks!

 

Well done!

Second Fisch about the similar releases. Excited to see more, massive props to everyone who did write-ups - although short, they add a lot!

Any predictions?

 

I think these are safe bets for somewhere in the top 10 RCT2:

Rivers of Babylon, Starpointe, Disney's American Waterfront

Interesting to see how/if Grona Lund fits in. I guess it's difficult to tell how much of a milestone park it is until some time has passed.