News / The List: LL Edition

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 As the site moved on with new versions, The List became outdated, and is no longer present.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.

Further information and the RCT2 edition of The List

#50 Universal Caribbean Seas Resort (2002) by Butterfinger (#85 on Iris's List)

An early pioneer of a chaotic style of parkmaking, Butterfinger achieved his first NE Spotlight with Universal's Caribbean Sea Resort, a multimap extravaganza of organised mess. While the park may not live up to modern day standards, our favourite Platypus helped develop many parkmaking techniques that have come to define the NE style and are still used to this day. Take a stroll through this huge release and if you can get past the overly jagged landscape, you'll see a strong sense of composition and some great atmospheres that still shine through over 15 years later.



Similar releases: The Outer Banks, Troy's Ancient Resort

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#49 Mountain Beach (2000) by Mala

Mountain Beach is a park that stands as a clear example of what the RCT community looked like before New Element. As a Danimation Spotlight it exemplifies the MegaPark style of few "cheats" and a focus on huge showcase rides that are often isolated in their own thematic zones. The headliners in Mountain beach are the memorable "Mountain Chase" duelers, but it is best remembered as the first time the spotlight shone on a player who would become legendary - Adam Malawista.



Similar releases: Grovelands Bay, Canterbury Falls

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#48 Tropico Cove (2002) by Fatha (#49 on Iris's List)

After having experimented relentlessly in countless parks during Danimation days and NE1 of which most are lost or forgotten, Fatha' finally found his own style with Tropico Cove, and from then just took off into heights of LL that people had no clue existed up to that point. This park popularised the small 1/4 tree object like no other, and basically over night turned it into a defining feature of the later years "NE-style", which whenever someone used people immediately knew it was because of Tropico Cove and its younger brother Tropico Horizons. But the park had much more to offer than just foliage thanks to Fatha's premium LL layouts and devotion to ride design, always in vibrant colour pallettes full of life.



Similar releases: Ancient Pastimes II, Foreign Legacies

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#47 The Divine Comedy (2004) by mantis (#33 on Iris's List)

There were no shortcomings of instant classics throughout the first Pro Tour, and mantis' The Divine Comedy stands among them. Using "Dante's Inferno" as its source of inspiration, he depicts a lush tropical paradise with a dark and sinister hellscape separated by dream-like and towering castle walls.



Similar releases: Danse Macabre, Phoenix

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#46 Tales of Camelot (2002) by Nevis and Panther

A duo for H2H1 by the most unlikely pairing, the high speed innovator and hacking muscle flexor Nevis together with Panther (then called mp3mystro) who admired the calm and elegant works of between Danimation and NE builders like Schuessler and SA. Despite Nevis telling iris "the guy is impossible to work with", their end result is a much treasured and much remembered single-wide path gem which successfully mixes both opposite extremes, a very singular happening at the site



Similar releases: Altamont: Medieval Gardens, The Guardian

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#45 Cydonia City (2002) by Mala (#15 on Iris's List)

This park had some people thinking Mala might be an alien. Hard to argue that his style is out of this world. There's not really anything else made in his style, not then and not now. The coaster's are totally unrealistic, but fit the madness of the park. Ghosts of Cydonia and the Hyperdimensional Highway are two of the main attractions as well as a face on Mars. Great work Spaceman!



Similar releases: Thoughts, Dungeons Dragons & Drops, Snow Drop

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#44 Lost Tours (2009) by spartan

The rise of codex-based LL marked the end of era of large scale LL parks. In a sea of hyper details screenshots and overly hacked small parks by almost retired parkmakers, one new player and his park stood out: spartan. His style was reminiscent of late natelox, and his park Lost Tours consisted of original themes with out of the box coasters and clever ideas. Sadly, spartan did not manage to break the curse and his park ended up being released in an unfinished state. Despite the unfinishedness, Lost Tours has more to see and has inspired more people than plenty of finished spotlight parks, and therefore it deserves a place on this list!



Similar releases: Lake Chronus, MultipliCity

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#43 Streets of New York (2002) by Fatha and Andy Hodgson

Streets of New York is when adventure rides got their big break at NE. As one of the highlights of the original Head-2-Head contest, SoNY helped launch Fatha to the forefront of Iris' new community and ensured the Head-2-Head format would be back for more. The cinematic experience of opening the park and being treated to a need-for-speed style street race with perfectly timed stunt interactions presented a new concept for how a parkmaker could present a narrative. Streets of New York led to many strong adventure rides and park-opening "fireworks" in the coming years.



Similar releases: Miami 2040, Battlefield RCT

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#42 Kronekraft's Allure Lake (2004) by posix

While most parkmakers set out to do new things and push boundaries, posix did the opposite with Kronekraft's Allure Lake, his love letter to the more minimal traditional style of park making of days gone by. The park is very charming and elegant in its simplicity. As effortless as it looks though, anyone who has tried their hand at a similar style will know how hard it is to get right. And posix simply nailed it.



Similar releases: Universal's Lost World

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#41 Florida DisneySea (2002) by vTd (#22 on Iris's List)

Florida DisneySea is one of the oldest NE Spotlights and came shortly after Universal's Island Xtreme. vTd stayed true to the Disney blueprint by resisting the urge to have the majority of any of the major tracked rides built above ground. His version of Blad Mountain his one of the main highlights in the park. vTd also worked in some nice details like the Hydra statue, an early example of great trackitechture. This park is an NE classic and also the site's first major Disney release.



Similar releases: Shiloh Town, Troy's Ancient Resort

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#40 Nagas (2004) by posix (#59 on Iris's List)

When one thinks of simplicity and beauty, you'd be amiss to not think of posix. After his multiple Spotlight-winning parks, he produced Nagas, a wooden design. With a towering layout, nuanced landscaping, and his signature refined minimalism, posix reminded us yet again that atmosphere and class reign supreme.



Similar releases: Spiritwind

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#39 Moonlight Magic (2001) by Schuessler (#60 on Iris's List)

A seminal release that transitioned the elegant and sophisticated realistic style parkmaking Joe Holland founded at Danimation to a post 2001 era interpretation, defining Schuessler's individual style as the only real rival to SACoasterFreak. Continuing his predominant interests in classical antiquity, lost civilisations and enchanted mystical places, Schuessler released a macro gem with strong coaster layouts and lots of theming subtleties spread all over the park. Although a much regarded and often quoted park in its day, few people successfully emulated this kind of parkmaking.



Similar releases: Sandia Peaks Amusement Park, Chronicles

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#38 Blood Island Adventure (2003) by Coaster Ed (#35 on Iris's List)

Coaster Ed had arguably had the greatest run in H2H history back in H2H2. In the regular season he produced two classic parks, Erwindale with Mantis and Battlefield RCT with Scarface. Blood Island capped his amazing run with a championship win for Iris's Icons. Ed delivers a great adventure ride mine train in a surprisingly fun cannibal themed park.



Similar releases: Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Damned, Kauri Cliffs

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#37 X (2009) by RMM

X, whose name is derived from the iconic X-shaped looping supports, truly stands out as a one of a kind design. RMM went above and beyond supplying the coaster with custom supports, and making the park peepable. X is an excellent example of how to combine peepability and traditional single-wide paths with NE friendly interesting design.



Similar releases: Panoptica Peaks, Valken

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#36 Cajamarca 1532 (2005) by Coaster Ed and tracidEdge (#41 on Iris's List)

One of Coaster Ed's numerous and devoted love letters to LL produced over the H2H2 and H2H3 seasons. After the equally glorious Erwindale Forest, Battlefield RCT and Blood Island, Cajamarca 1532 comes as the fourth release in this series, and obviously digested many lessons learned from the prior parks. It shows as a clearer, more structured and self-sufficient design with beautiful theming and his newfound love for grass texture landscaping, all of which carried over to his last effort, Kitabasaki Dragonland. With each of these parks Coaster Ed sought to remedy what peeved him as the boring mould of 2002 leftover 2x2-ism and neverending "NE Style" imitations, predominantly in architecture. In a pre-codex trainer time, he thus pushed LL to new levels by using trackitecture in innovative ways, at the cost of immense time and effort. This motivation was then continued by all of the major post-LL era players, but with codex as their toolset: OZONE, Loopy and Milo, and yet much later by pierrot and alex.



Similar releases: Xlapak, Tenochtitlan

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#35 Age of Empires (2003) by mantis (#24 on Iris's List)

Mantis was arguably the most popular LL parkmaker at NE back in the day. Naturally, he was one of the parkmakers iris selected for the NE Invitational contest, where a few parkmakers would build solos with a fan vote to pick a new NE Spotlight. AoE topped Candlelight Times and Dragon Realms to become one of the most out of nowhere spotlights in site history. No screens were ever shown. The park is an almost random mix of vibrant themes, from classics like the Old Coventry to the cosmic colorful Alien Factory area.



Similar releases: Europa Worldwide 2005, Portal of Heaven

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#34 The Escapist Experience (2013) by Liampie

Few people are able to float between the two Rct games as seamlessly as Liam, who seems to have no bounds to his creativity. The Escapist Experience is still considered a definitive park in modern LL, showing that atmosphere still trumps all through creating some magnificent landscapes and wonderful architecture. King Autumn's Court stands out as a gem through innovative use of colour to create an unrivaled autumnal scene while still ringing true to what makes old school LL so individual.



Similar releases: Through the Ages, Fabritius Delta

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#33 Harakiri's Islands of Adventure (2003) by bokti (#75 on Iris's List)

IoA type parks have always been popular, but few have been as outside the box as Harakiri's IoA. There are tons of Marvel superheros to name a top coaster for, but this might be the only park to highlight The Human Tourch. The Flintstones area was a standout and that's no surprise since Harakiri made it due to the results of a forum poll on the area's theme. Tempest is the top coaster in the park as the E-Ticket attraction in the Lost Continent area. This park is a true gem from the early days of NE.



Similar releases: You've Come a Long Way, Baby, WTF

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#32 The Three Villages (2004) by natelox (#50 on Iris's List)

Fresh off his Spotlight-winning park, The Aegean, natelox kept busy by giving us his Pro Tour park, The Three Villages. With a quaint theme set in a glen, the park features no large attractions and simply a sprawling rapids ride, amongst others. Regardless, it never hinders that quintessential natelox atmosphere.



Similar releases: Earth, Commandante

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#31 Legends West (2001) by sacoasterfreak (#61 on Iris's List)

A total game changer upon its release and responsible for the long lasting "4 corner" plus lake park layout popularity, as well as the over water cobra roll. Released between the demise of Danimation and emergence of NewElement, the park captured new heights in all aspects of parkmaking, especially theming, which was considered my many as the most tasteful ever seen. The park stayed #1 on iris' original list for years, and can in some ways be seen as the LL counterpart of Rivers of Babylon.



Similar releases: Chateau Lake Amusement Park, Ancient Ruins

#30 Candlelight Times (2003) by Evil WME

After coming off Glyphindel Oasis Dunes, possibly his most widely appealing park, Evil WME started to toy with a more minimal style, later resulting Universal's Lost World. Candlelight Times sits in the middle. Despite the simple look of some areas (definitely not all areas), there are plenty of unique clever ride arrangements you can only find in a WME park: an immelman out of a waterfall, a multi-level maze, or an incredibly ballsy asymetric cobra roll. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Glyphindel Oasis Dunes

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#29 City of Dreams (2004) by x-sector, mantis & Toon

As LL began to fade into the background in favour of RCT2, iris conceived LoS, or Legends of Old School, a multi map collaboration project. City of Dreams was one of these maps, and the only one to see the light of day. The park is notable for multiple reasons. First of all, the unique theme of five surreal cities sets this park apart. Yes, it's a high concept park, with high concept features such as a hot air balloon landing pad entrance in the centre of the map. The park was a joint effort by mantis, x-sector and last but not least Toon, whose LL work is a rare sight. As intended, LoS made LL shine again, despite it being only one map. So what happened to the rest of LoS? With how optimistic this park portrays the future, maybe someday the unreleased LoS work might make it to the outside world as well. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Hanson, Amity Cove

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#28 Tropico Horizons (2002) by Fatha

The Grinch is known for being an expert at ruining Christmas for everyone. In 2002, the only person whose Christmas he ruined was Natelox's, as on the 25th of December his park Tropico Horizons was released, knocking down Natelox from the #1 spot on Iris's list. Tropico Horizons, a sequel to Fatha's first spotlight Tropico Cove, may lack some originality - it's a typical four corners + centre lake park, with not the most imaginative themes. However, that's exactly what Fatha's intention was: take four themes, and perfect them. Which he did. Notable rides include the majestic Paladin B&M Floorless Coaster, greeting visitors at the entrance gates, Spider Mountain in the infamous Old Arizona area, and the masterfully integrated B&M hyper Demeter. ~Liampie



Similar releases: DreamWorks Great Australia, Tropico Cove

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#27 Universal's Outrage (2003) by x-sector

With PyroPenguin retiring, and Fatha and Natelox developing their own individual styles, x-sector remained as the sole parkmaker still building within the classic 'NE Style', while also expanding that style with bigger terraforming and big architectural structures. X-sector was always a quick builder, but this time he took a bit of a productivity blow, completing the park in... still only four months, with some help from posix. The result is, as x-sector himself said, hit or miss. Sometimes it doesn't come together as well, but wherever this park works, it really does work, like in the unique and warm looking Port of Discovery area. ~posix & Liampie



Similar releases: Disney Extreme Orlando

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#26 Audrix Towers (2004) by x-sector & posix

Audrix Towers is the fruit of an unlikely partnership between x-sector and posix. While the former was pushing for a contemporary, progressive style of LL, the latter emulated more traditional RCT styles. It may not be the most cohesive spotlight, but both players were on top of their game, hence why Audrix Towers is still considered a top tier spotlight. From x-sector's African themed Redrock Village to posix's graveyard themed Terranus, from the central Audrix Towers castle complex to the iconic Rigor Mortis wooden coaster, this park is stuffed with memorable content. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Anuradhapura

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#25 Luna Park (2016) by alex

Reminiscent of Coney Island or Blackpool Plesure Beach set in the early 20th century, along with the respective classic ride line-up, Luna Park displays an astonishing level of creativity. Being restricted by all the common trainers not working, combined with the unique setting and alex's usual strong colour scheme, Luna Park truly is an eccentric one of a kind park. Long after the golden age of LL, a miraculous breath of fresh air to the site. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Visions Amusement Park, Delphic Shores

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#24 egypTopia (2002) by Coaster Ed

Before Ed was pushing the boundaries of architecture and theming in his iconic H2H parks, featured earlier here on The List, he was known for his creative full scale solos. egypTopia represents a time when pre-NE "mega parks" and the newly forming NE-style were still intertwined together and it is Ed's macro skills that really shine here. As the name suggests the park is broadly themed to various aspects of Egypt's history and mythology. The park layout stands out as very modern looking compared to the "themes around a lake" IoA clones that dominated this period. Several unique ride choices stand out even after 15 years: Virginia Reel tubs on a rapids ride, self driving go-karts and trackless rally racers set egypTopia apart and foreshadow Ed's future H2H success. He even iterated on the luge coaster type pioneered by Adix, NE's admin at the time. A final note is that egypTopia was the subject of a hilarious Walkthrough by mantis, a short lived feature where a member would give an in depth tour of one of their favorite parks. It is worth checking out and is archived here. ~Milo



Similar releases: Cataclysm

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#23 Battlefield RCT (2003) by Coaster Ed & Scarface

Nobody was more shocked than Ed at both the nearly unanimous positive reception and long lasting legacy that his second H2H2 park, Battlefield RCT, recieved. Alongside Scarface, Ed created a unique H2H park that featured both theme park elements and a high-concept, cinematic approach. Timed explosions and sclupltures of hangars, aircraft, big guns and fortifications along with two distinct architecture styles tied together to create a world simulating entrenched warfare. Ed was an early adopter of adventure rides and shooting for H2H parks that were vibrant, full of life and more of an experience than a single themed area or scaled down amusment park. This park was an inspiration for me and it really cemented a new approach to the game within the community. Members like Corkscrewed would quickly adapt this type of style in future H2Hs and other contests with heavily themed adventure rides in RCT2. ~Milo



Similar releases: Battle for New Elementia, Assault on Earth Base Gamma Gamma 2287

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#22 Slime Meridian (2006) by Fatha & bokti

H2H4 could be described as the headline event of a bittersweet time for LL fans. It falls at the tail end of the career of some of the all-time greats. Coaster Ed, famous for his H2H minis, finished strong with his last ever project, Kitabasaki Dragonland. And if that wasn't enough Slime Meridian is the final LL park of both Fatha and Harakiri (aka rainbow connection). It is a continuation of the style Fatha perfected in BGSS only this time tackling an ambitious sci-fi Western theme. The park layout is chaotic and densely packed with fantastic ideas, showcasing the peak of pre-codex hacking skill in LL. A hoverboat casino, giant water tower and spaceport are only a few of the highlights. ~Milo



Similar releases: The Siege at Castle Grijs, Lava Creek

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#21 Baiht Oashyr Vel Thalloo (2005) by Twisted

Twisted had the admirable ability to stay in the shadows and then pop up unexpectedly during major events with some fantastic LL work. He cultivated a dark, lush style for several years in 3 solos and a PT1 entry that got progressively more impressive. The park with the unpronounceable name, also known as 'Soggy Sock Land', is Twisted's 4th and final solo and was released out of nowhere after a particularly quiet period at NE. The War of the Worlds area is reminiscent of Battlefield RCT but the rest of the sections are a step up in quality for his signature trackitecture heavy architecture, darker color schemes and dense foliage. Unfortunately RCT2 had taken prominence over LL for major releases and the vast majority of newer members commented that they didn't even own an LL disk. Because of this the Land of Soggy Socks flew under the radar and never seemed to get the proper amount of attention it deserves. Twisted would cap his RCT career off with admirable appearances in the next two H2Hs before permanently disappearing into the shadows... perhaps he is reading this now. ~Milo



Similar releases: Continent Traasok, Wasted Years

#20 Universal's Island Xtreme (2002) by Nevis

If NE had a national anthem, UIX would have been the very first occasion for it to be played. Released for the launch of the site, the park was a shock moment coining NE's identity as the best of the best of RCT players. With LL trainers still relatively fresh, Nevis was the first to put them to real creative use. A lover of flat rides and driven by the desire to innovate ride design in RCT, he created new types of trackitecture and enabled coasters LL hadn't come with, like a 4D. He also put hacks to more conceptual use, creating a snowboarding course with convincing jumps using track merges - a totally new idea. Add to that the then still pleasant to look at 2x2ism as a new formula for architecture that seemed doable and easy to imitate, his trademark custom supports, jagged rocks and shrub clutter, Nevis created a style of park that would become iconic to NE, and that was ruthlessly copied more than anything else the site has seen. ~posix



Similar releases: Spitfire

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#19 Silver Valley Theme Park (2008) by Loopy

I had the pleasure of working closely with Loopy throughout the construction of Silver Valley providing critique, half a coaster layout, and playing cheerleader with regular encouraging remarks. He initially showed me the prehistoric area which was a potential Design submission and, after a burst of inspiration, rapidly expanded outward with new areas. The Codex trainer was still new at the time and Loopy made big strides in developing the post-modern stacking and hacking style. Innovative ideas in architecture and an enormous trackitecture dragon became centerpieces for each new area and the ease at which Loopy could now execute his ideas seemed to feed further into his inspiration. Each area isn't individually the greatest version of its particular theme (except perhaps Babylon where Loopy and I cross pollinated a lot of ideas which helped my inspiration with Tempest) but the park itself comes together as a great example of the power of Codex. After many years of being a stalwart LLer with tons of micros, H2H minis and Designs to his name Loopy finally achieved a much deserved and hard-earned Spotlight. Even hitting the object limit couldn't stop him. ~Milo



Similar releases: Islands of Adventure Rome

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#18 Islands of Adventure Hollywood (2002) by Schuessler

The day NE2 was launched, Schuessler's farewell park 'Islands of Adventure Hollywood' was released. It was a much anticipated release since people expected another shock moment like Universal's Island Xtreme when NE1 was launched. Yet in comparison to UIX's exuberance of hacks, colours, and the trademark "clutter" of shrubs on jagged rocks, IoAH's features of soothing elegance and powerful macro were met with very mixed opinions. At the time it was considered almost taboo to leave a tile completely empty, and people were in disbelief how a park like this was made spotlight. Yet there were also those who felt it was totally untouchable, and who would show major influence later. IoAH is perhaps the pinnacle release and true bowing out of a small group of first generation parkmakers who sought a style of elegance and deep natural atmospheres over everything else in RCT, something which was never fully carried over to RCT2. ~posix



Similar releases: Sunshine Gardens

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#17 Discovery Bay (2016) by alex

Not soon after his first spotlight, Alex upped his game once more with Discovery Bay. From the Jules Verne inspired Port of Discovery entrance, through Tortuga, and around to Coral Cove Waterpark, no area in this park disapoints. An incredible expression of creativity and awe inspiring design, this park is post-codex LL at its best bar none. ~G Force



Similar releases: Lake Chronus, Swoopasaurus, Lumbini Point

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#16 Busch Gardens Lichfield (2002) by RRP

Busch Gardens Lichfield was like a blend of RRP's influences of the Danimation age with the modern look of LL at NE he himself helped to grow. RRP built the park in a mere couple of weeks, sometimes exchanging entire areas in just a few of days if he wasn't satisfied with them. There are some designs which are later found in Sea World Atlanta, mainly the "tropical" and "pirates" themes. Still today the park strikes with its unique colour vibrance and powerful theming, a trademark quality of RRP many players never reach. ~posix



Similar releases: Disney Extreme Orlando

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#15 Disney's Forgotten Kingdom (2003) by natelox

Disney's Forgotten Kingdom is Natelox at his finest. Natelox took on a more minimalist approach here, compared to his earlier parks, and it really helps to make the superb composition and ideas shine. What the park lacks in coasters, it makes up for with interesting adventure rides and a strong theme park atmosphere. Disney's Forgotten Kingdom is a design masterclass, and all but forgotten. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Corozal, Disney's Discovery Island, Archipelago

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#14 Raindrop Riviera (2003) by posix

Do you build what you like and have everyone tell you it's too simple and boring, or do you kill yourself detailing and piling shit together to impress? This is the question (paraphrased) posix asked himself when his main project NSpheres Empire was wearing him out. He made a choice that was fatal to NSpheres, but gave birth to a string of fresh, nostalgic parks of which Raindrop Riviera was the first. Long after it died, posix gave the minimal style perfectioned by Schuessler and sacoasterfreak a face again. This influence is obvious when you look at the B&M Floorless 'Mercury', which clearly is an homage to 'Leviathan' in Legends West. The park is not without its flaws, most infamously the gargantuan size of the Arabian Marketplace, or the inclusion of a high-tech area squeezed into a tiny corner, but the fact that this park is still considered a great spotlight speaks volumes about how much posix actually nailed. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Atilus Republic, Machete

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#13 Mount Sinister (2002) by Mala

This is the ultimate Mala park, and also his last LL effort. Predictably unpredictable and over the top with gigantic inverted duelers, a hyper-woodie, and the infamous monstrocity with the very Mala-esque name 'Soul Harvester'. Mount Sinister is the final form of the traditional mega park. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Snow Drop

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#12 Ouest (2006) by natelox

Natelox has won spotlight a record four times. Ouest would've been the fifth, if it weren't for progress stagnating. 'Ouest', a park uniquely themed to industrial heritage in British Columbia, was natelox's excersise in maximalising the amount of detail one could put into a park. Before he lost steam, natelox managed to build enough of the park with enough clever little things for the park to have gained a large following upon it's eventual unfinished release. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Favela, Congo

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#11 Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2002) by Nevis

After releasing the game-changing Universal's Island Xtreme, Nevis was under a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations with his next park. Maybe that is why Nevis didn't advertise this one much, if at all. Of course iris knew about it though, and he kind of hyped it a bit anyway. Whether or not this park is better, it surely will have taken most people by surprise when it came out. Though unmistakably a Nevis park, the setting could not be more exotic. Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a one of a kind park, largely consisting of 1x1 sized buildings sprouting from a vast sprawl of jagged rocks, complemented by rough trackitecture sculptures like a giant scorpion or Poseidon's trident. It resembles the impressionist brush strokes of Vincent van Gogh more than a video game. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Everquest: Waters of the Past

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#10 Disney's Movie Magic (2004) by Fatha' (#45 on Iris's List)

In his third spotlight, Fatha let go of 'four corner center lake' cliche park format, making a park that is absolutely filled to the brim with content. Disney's Movie Magic has a whopping ten areas, each oned themed to a (usually animated) Disney movie. The park is so stuffed with creative content and aesthetically pleasing theming, that it's barely noticable that the park is extremely light on coasters. The park doesn't need that. Disney's Movie Magic may not be the most memorable Fatha park, but it may very well be the most charismatic one, as it balances between the readable parkmaking style of Fatha's earlier spotlights, and the creativty and density of Fatha's later LL work. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Illusion Isle, Tulesian Islands

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#9 Disney's Discovery Island (2002) by natelox (#10 on Iris's List)

In the long and increasingly-forgotten history of LL, Natelox is known as one of the legends of the game with an impressive five (five!) spotlights to his name. Discovery's Discovery Island is not his best, worst, or most novel, but it has a special place in my heart as the park that made me "get" LL. You can probably still find my comment to that manner on this park's page somewhere. Discovery Island is atmospheric, warm, and a little bit dark, fitting in a sort of transitional period for Natelox from his grimmer, older parks, to his lush and beautifully composed newer work. Old school LL aesthetics don't get much better than this though, and the simplicity of the architecture and detailing don't diminish the "feeling" of the park. This project is also an impressive double-mapper, with hotels and waterparks filling up the second map. I learned a lot from blatantly copying parts of this park, which I'm still accused of (fairly) today. ~Cocoa



Similar releases: NE's Masters Isle, The Other World

#8 The Siege of Jerusalem (2012) by pierrot & Louis!

Pierrot is one of the few players of the late-LL era that is not out of place when you list him alongside RRP, x-sector, natelox or Coaster Ed. Jerusalem is crowning achievement. Using impossible to understand hacks as well as brilliantly simple tricks, he pushed LL to its limit, achieving a level of detail and cleanness that most RCT2 players can't even achieve with all the tiny custom scenery in the world. As if perfectly executing the ancient city of Jerusalem wasn't enough, depicting the city in a besieged state adds an extra dimension and an excuse to build some incredible looking siege engines, armies made of frozen staff, ruins and explosions, and countless little jokes and scenes spread throughout the city. It must be said that Pierrot had some help in the form of Louis, who supplied an excellent B&M invert and an equally great custom flat ride, as well as some theming. Oh, yeah, and djbrcace1234 placed a bush. ~Liampie



Similar releases: Tempest, Siege at Castle Grijs, Musket

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#7 Erwindale Forest (2003) by Coaster Ed and mantis (#13 on Iris's List)

Not a surprise that two legendary parkmakers got together and created this now legendary H2H2 park. Coaster Ed and Mantis teamed up to earn the Icons their first victory in H2H2 with Erwindale, an enchanted forest theme with magical elements. The duel is the result of a splitting hack that cuts the coaster train in half and sends it on to an icy or fiery battle. The Tree-Fall blast ride, Swing-a-long-tree and Glitter Magic are the supporting rides in this forest. Most of the buildings are temples to the elements and the park offers endless hidden Easter eggs. At the time of its release, Erwindale didn't get that much love and Evil WME's team's IsoMania RCT2 park scored a few votes off it. Still, this was the first in the trilogy of Coaster Ed parks that are arguably represent the strongest showing by a player in a single season of H2H. ~Kumba



Similar releases: Spirits Bay

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#6 The Aegean (2004) by natelox (#17 on Iris's List)

The final of natelox's record five solo NE Spotlights, the Aegean showcases his mastery of the game. The park is classic LL at its best, but nate created some very innovative and realistic rides for this park that had not been seen before. Tuscany showcases three of these rides with wild go karts race along the canals, Macciato a custom flat and the rapids of Monoceros. Marrakech is highlighted by Palio, an S&S blast coaster packed with all the realistic details down to the air canister. Cartagena contains what might be the first version of Intamins box track made in RCT on the Voyage of Sirius water coaster. The area shows off yet another great custom flat in C-IV. Athina is home to one of the best trackless adventure rides in LL as the Odyssey goes on a wild ride that features a climb over a peak and a pair of fallback hacks. Epirus is one of the many great custom flats in the park. In Tunisa, Ras El Arada is the park's wooden coaster and most thorw-back ride. Natelox, a true legend of the game. ~Kumba



Similar releases: Troy's Ancient Resort, Archipelago, EverQuest: Waters of the Past

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#5 Kitabasaki Dragonland (2006) by Coaster Ed (#67 on Iris's List)

The final park in an epic streak by Coaster Ed spanning three H2H editions. The fact that the park at first got mistaken for being unfinished, proves how unorthodox Kitabasaki Dragonland is. No dense foliage clutter, but lots of open space. Wooden supports showing on track that is used for achitecture; accident or deliberate wooden lattice work? The bold choices did not pay off, as the park lost against Mamba Kilima, in an infamously close and controversial match. More than its rival though, due to its uniqueness and timeless qualities Kitabasaki has stood the test of time very well. The park is themed to both a Chinese dragon festival, and a traditional Japanese garden. Some notable features on the map are the incredibly original fireworks ride, the main coaster 'Year of the Dragon' with two clever dragon sculptures, and the water coaster Totomo Falls that is somehow more tangled than my earbuds when I get them out of my pocket. What personally amazes me is that every time I look at the park, I discover a new detail - even when I think that I've already seen everything. Kitabasaki Dragonland is more detailed than it appears at first. And then it turns out to be even more detailed than that! ~Liampie



Similar releases: Dynasty, The Lost Samurai

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#4 Sea World Sydney (2009) by Geewhzz, ][ntamin22 and jusmith

Even as early as H2H5, choosing to build LL competitively was potentially a handicap - unless you had a plan. Geewhzz 's draft strategy involved grabbing a few players he believed could bring the "wow" factor and win over the reduced voter pool of players who could view H2H parks in both games. The success of Sea World Sydney was a memorable one for h2H captains, with others attempting the same feat through H2H7.

Gee would play his LL hand in r2, working together for the second time with Jusmith. The round concept was a Sea World park they had brainstormed while co-building on Jusmith's recent design. After Jusmith's entry area and Gee's coasters were laid down, map progress stalled. Through a weeks-long string of late-night AIM messages, we workshopped ideas. I contributed an endless string of hack ideas I was sure I could never implement myself; animal shows, a rhino rally, a working Shamu ride. Gee made them all work. His dedication to making the park run seamlessly for the peeps (and viewers) was a foreshadowing of the later successes in Lennox and Belmont, and would become his trademark. Thanks to that, Gee's LL strategy paid off. SWS won the round, and the incredible creativity, skill, and dedication it took to realize the rides would serve as a standard for all LL contest maps to follow. ~][ntamin22



Similar releases: Tomb Raider, BlackBriar Amusement Park, Monsoon

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#3 Busch Gardens San Simeon (2005) by Fatha (#4 on Iris's List)

The absolute apex of micro style LL, Busch Gardens San Simeon is the magnum opus of New Element Legend, Fatha’. After a few failed attempts in the realm of RCT2, Fatha’ went back to his preferred medium of LL. The result was a breathtaking blend of every element one could ask for in an RCT park, a truly iconic work that would cement Fatha’s spot on the Loopy Landscapes Mount Rushmore for all of eternity. Released on Christmas Day 2005, featuring eight epic themed areas and 8 epic coasters, BGSS is still impressive nearly 15 years later. Few parks remain as iconic in the minds of New Element as BGSS, but it has stood the test of time and remained a must see park for any and all RCTLL players. ~G Force



Similar releases: Sicily, BGSS (RCT2)

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#2 Sea World Atlanta (2003) RRP (#2 on Iris's List)
RRP lost countless unfinished gold nuggets along his way during his relentless LL productivity in the early 00s. One was Sea World Atlanta's pirate themed entrance, which received rave reactions when advertised. Building strictly only during creative peaks, RRP had rapidly produced the area left to the entrance and the big main coaster. The project then died for him and was left unfinished for almost two years. Eventually x-sector stepped in to save and finish the park as a favour to RRP, and to show his immense admiration for his work. During a day when RCT2 was still catching heavy momentum on NE, it was finally released and considered the best LL park of all time by most despite its obvious age, including iris. It marks the end of RRP and LL, and with that closes the chapter of one of the site's main drivers of the early days. ~posix



Similar releases: Khalma Cove

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#1 Walkman of my Brain (2004) by mantis (#1 on Iris's List)

We all know this one big project you start with the clear conviction you're going for NE's highest, the NE Spotlight. For mantis, this park was "Walkman of my Brain" (WOMB). A part of the community from day 1, the Brit most friendly with iris, and an omnipresent forum personality, mantis became heavily involved with NE as both a player and moderator. After several projects developing his RCT, WOMB was mantis' park to let loose and go for what his instinct told him. Taking only his favourite music acts of the time as thematic basis, out came a fervently built, dense and massive mutation of all he had done to this point. You can see older influences of 2x2ism, very ambitious trackitecture, bold colourfulness, and fantastical composition, that while not loved by all, was clearly inimitable, and is still worth looking at today. It was a very well received park despite coming during the days of a mostly established RCT2 at NE. ~posix

Normally, I'm in the front of the critical LL brigade, always saying that LL pretty much all looks the same. Whereas quite a lot of players can see a screen of an old park and instantly pinpoint the exact project, I can't. Creating something different in LL was in my view very difficult and happened rarely.

 

But these parks on the list, dug up from the dark and dusty archives of the site have stood out IMO. They all share a common something that make them stand out from the usual LL crowd. I don't have time to talk about all of them, hell, I don't have time to see all of them, but a few things stood out.

 

Tropico Cove’s entrance is fantastic, so is the foliage. Anyone who has seen my work can see that I'm a big fan of the hedge object, and this one used it extensively. I loved Mako’s look and feel, so close over the water.

 

The Divine Comedy might just be my favorite piece of LL ever. This is something different IMO. I’ve never seen something like this before and it screams creativity. The mix of steampunk and fantasy works really well here. The restrictions of LL make this so interesting for me. I doubt you could pull this off in RCT2.

 

Not that big a fan of Cydonia City. Lot’s of creativity but it just didn’t look good IMO. The coasters, even though I can appreciate non-realistic ones, were waay over the top and blocked a lot of the view. This almost felt like Historyfreak’s work but turned up to crazy mode.

Lots of favorites on this list for me.  I'll point out a few of them here:

 

Tropico Cove - Although I prefer Horizons, this park just great all around parkmaking and has such a fresh feeling with the usage of 1/4 tile foliage pieces.  Fatha's ride design is just top notch, making every attraction feel special and important.  His parks just have a fullness that probably wasn't reached again in LL for a few years.

 

Florida DisneySea - Pure Disney goodness here.  I love the archy and epic feeling of this park, each area draws you in and feels unique but not out of place.  Perhaps a bit square, even for the time but he more than makes up for it with some fantastic all around parkmaking.

 

Harakiri's Island of Adventure - This park is near perfection, a perfect balance of detail and macro building.  While also featuring some fantastic coasters and attractions that feel very much apart of a IoA style park.  Once again portrays the epic feeling of this style park very well and does a great job of feeling independent of many of the mainstream LL cliques at the time.  You can very easily put yourself in a peeps shoes in this park and really take it all in in a way that few parks can.  

Tropico Cove's entrance was such a shock moment for the site I think. It sure as hell was for me. I hated the 1/4 trees, and suddenly I abolutely loved them. The theme he managed to create with those cheap fences and tropical look is still unique today. A total breakthrough release for Fatha'. His devotion to every individual little ride is indeed admirable. A quality similar to SA.

Divine Comedy showed mantis at his height before leaving the community. It's a beautiful abstract semi-realistic work of RCT that is indeed difficult to perform in quite the same way in RCT2. Good observation.

There was always a lot of opinion on Mala's work. The coasters are usually unique and incredibly fun, and everything screams gigantism. But a lot of people couldn't get over the ugliness. Myself included.

HIOA is totally special too, I agree. His releases, and this one particularly, helped me to understand and accept much more organic shapes in both landscaping and architecture. There's hardly any symmetry or straight line in his design, and so everything is smooth and feels interconnected. And alive. To me one of the deeper macro skills. It was also a very important park for Harakiri as he finally won spotlight after trying several times before. He was also notorious for creating the joke of naming a peep 'iris' and having him drown just the moment as you opened the park as a welcome message.

Legends West..... too meaningful of a park to speak about it. It was one of the first parks the then German NE generation, who also first introduced me to the site, sent me. Funnily I didn't like it that much on first open. This was a time when you had to work out the Drexler patch for the first time, etc, and when your internet was so slow that it would take a minute or two to even download. This park became super meaningful to me at the time after my NSpheres Empire project, which was my last effort trying to live up to community expectation and "NE Style". From then I just tried to build classical elegant styles, and SA's work along Schuessler's were like my bible. This park still is so damn consumable, and pretty. Things really click together in an unpretentious way, and he makes the game look easy.

Escapist Experience really impressed me because it was so aesthetically unique, in 2013. It didn't attempt to do RCT2 in LL, like pierrot had done pretty successfully by that time, it was its own thing, its own personality, paying homage to the past but adding new looks and atmospherical feelings. That made a deep impression on me, even if some parts felt perhaps a bit messy and incoherent.

Moonlight Magic..... like Legends West a park that used to be ridiculously important to me. I've explored every tiny bit of this, and really tried to distill rules of design from Schuessler which I would then try out in my own parkmaking. Thankfully I unintentionally inserted some of my own perception and taste to it, otherwise I would've been even harder of a copycat.

Nagas, I must say I am still pleased with the entrance. I just like the flow of it making a slight turn onto a waterfront where the wooden can be observed. I clearly remember having that vision for it. And at that point I had done so many entrances that I could kind of watch myself play and see what I'd alternate and perhaps find out stylistcally this time. The theme was initially quite bright, but then turned out to be really dark. I was happy with it though. I tried to break the 2x2ism and kind of did buildings that were like snakes with awnings on them. I also remember being extremly sensitive towards the amount of grey rock texture I would apply, as I felt this balance was crucial to the overall look.

Streets of New York, is perhaps the very first H2H concept park. In the beginnigs of H2H, people weren't sure what to do with the mini format. It was unusual, and you were kind of forced to waive real park concepts. So you would see a lot of imitations of projects that people would otherwise usually do on a larger map. The brief iris had posted was also clearly to build a park, not a design. But then they created a story in RCT which was amazing. We've seen this ever since in H2H that people do very conceptual and at times very fantastical stuff.

Tales of Camelot is an absolutely beautiful little park from two very interesting parkmakers. Needless to say Nevis was Nevis, always wanting to innovate ride design and hack together newish coaster types in RCT. mp3mystro (Panther) was into SA's and Schuessler's parks like me, and wanted to create beautiful and detached theming. So usually you would expect a big clash between them, but it really worked out super well.

Fond and warm memories.

I thought i was pretty well versed in old parks but theres a few suggestions here i hadnt seen. Very exciting for me!

Lovely write-up, posix.

 

Like the RCT2 list, this one too has a few interesting and seemingly abundant ones. Whereas the RCT2 list, at least for the first batch that went online, was too heavy on crazy Phatage adventure rides, this one is more heavy on the crazy Mala parks with both Cydonia City and Mountain Beach, knowing that Mount Sinister is yet to come (inevitable, so not really a spoiler). These parks have their place in the game's history, but listing three on a list of fifty may be a bit too much. I've also never liked vTd's or Butter's parks and I think there are some parks out there more worthy of being on the list, but I don't think it's a disgrace to have them here anyway. They're historical and by no means bad.

 

On the more positive side... Legends West is great and foreshadows Rivers of Babylon, especially with the classical area in the back (shown on the screen). Moonlight Magic is also a beautiful example of that minimal style. Kronekraft is perhaps the most refined, clean and modern park of the genre, so it earned its place too. I love it.

 

Tales of Camelot is in my opinion the first great H2H park, and it has stood the test of time very well I think. Unlike Streets of New York... The ride is great but that's all the map offers. A well done gimmick/novelty, but a gimmick nonetheless. Cajamarca is in my opinion one of the best LL H2H parks, a real highlight that's probably very accessible for modern crowds too (Julow, check it out), although not so much the realism-crowd.

 

Three Villages is a one of a kind. One of the most tasteful parks on the site. Just beautiful.

 

It's an honour to see Escapist Experience immortalized on the list. Posix describes well what I set out to do with it. I don't think I'm a better player than all the classic legends, but I can see how it earned its place and I'm proud of it! Good to see some modern work on the list in general. For this reason I'm also glad X and Lost Tours made it. X is so special and good. A shame we barely got to see a park in that style. Maybe in the future? Anyone? Alex maybe? Alex and ][ collabo?

 

Nagas, I must say I am still pleased with the entrance. I just like the flow of it making a slight turn onto a waterfront where the wooden can be observed. I clearly remember having that vision for it. And at that point I had done so many entrances that I could kind of watch myself play and see what I'd alternate and perhaps find out stylistcally this time. The theme was initially quite bright, but then turned out to be really dark. I was happy with it though. I tried to break the 2x2ism and kind of did buildings that were like snakes with awnings on them. I also remember being extremly sensitive towards the amount of grey rock texture I would apply, as I felt this balance was crucial to the overall look.

 

This is super interesting to read. Nagas has always been my go-to example of anti 2x2. Snakes with awnings perfectly describes the look that you achieved, in my mind. And you made it look so easy. Maybe the next time I try I should keep such a poetic style description in mind, it speaks to my imagination.

holy shit, streets of NY has the twin towers in it. fuck this game is old haha

 

also, the Evil WME universal park is underrated af. I think he out-posixed posix. that entrance area is amazing.

Haha, I can see why you would say that. He was the antithesis to my style though. His Universal park is as close a crowd pleaser as you'd ever see WME build. Have to love iris' comment on people submitting to other sites at the end of his post. Classic iris

I never understood the visual of Mala and WME's works, but now it looks glorious than ever.

Maybe WME is a bit overlooked in general. The first WME park anyone would naturally check out is his spotlight, which is easily his weakest park and not a great park in general. Not very inviting. His more recent RCT2 stuff is good, but not great. So why would anyone get around to checking out Glyphindel Oasis Dunes, Candlelight Times or Universal's Lost World? A shame, because it's fantastic, and one or two of those could've been a spotlight in a not so crazy alternate universe in which Lost Era Resort is only a silver.

 

The Lesheban Wilderness is also not so bad to check out. Stylistically kinda like Mount Doom and Chaos of Time, except it's actually spaceous and readable.

If we are talking about overlooked members, I think its got to be PyroPenguin.  Two of the most groundbreaking spotlights ever and barely anyone talks about them, or him anymore.

Yeah it's true. Back then he was revered as one of the top 4 builders on the site next to Fatha', x-sector and Natelox. He invented the use of mini golf glass stations in architecture, which a lot of people copied. He also made prominent most of the Virginia Reel awnings in LL which a lot of people used. But today you will hear more about Fatha or Natelox rather than him. I guess some of his parks will come in the higher places though.

I've checked out almost all the pyropenguin parks and I just like them significantly less than the other old greats. For me, I think he just misses the aesthetic, atmospheric mark that others set. It just feels a bit blockier, more uninspired, less well-composed for me.

 

Regarding Mala, posix, I think I like it not for the gigantism, but for all these small moments of amazing interaction and depth that you have to look harder for. When I spend time looking at his parks, I always find lots and lots of amazing bits of path, dramatic landscaping, small structural details, etc. that are both original and easily overlooked. But when you consider how many of these good 'moments' of atmosphere and small architectural forms there are, it think it means that it can't be accidental (like how you could usually find a couple good moments in an amateur park). It must be all planned in some sort of (drug-addled?) way. So it makes me really impressed that he can put together these gigantic, ridiculously-layed-out parks that still are filled with beautiful details in an intentional way. Thats definitely not something I could pull off.

oh, LoS... *tugs at collar nervously*

 

some awesome parks here. slime meridian is probably my favorite on the list, but audrix towers and city of dreams are both amazing too. I used to hold city of dreams in very high regard- i should probably revisit it.

To all newer members who haven't looked, my recommendation of this update is to check out BattlefieldRCT.

I remember when I first saw egypTopia. It must've been shortly after its release. Totally blew my mind, my idea of what this game could be would never be the same again. It was really quite an epiphany.