H2H8 / H2H8 Grand Finals - Team Spacecrab vs Heaven's Gallery

--- POLL OPEN FROM Saturday July 21st 10:00 AM GMT To Tuesday July 24th 10:00 AM GMT ---Zerzura (RCT2)VSHeaven's End (RCT2)

Voting Rules- You should only vote if you have viewed both parks in game.- Everyone but players belonging to either team in the match may vote.- Voting will be monitored to improve fairness, and anyone found to be abusing votes in any way will be punished.

Let's get this going

Dammmn, definitely worth the wait. I'll leave a review later on both parks - right now HG's to is crashing for me (On mac) if I move to the left after opening the map. :/. Love what I can see though and I'm very grateful that there is a proper finals match of 2 fantastic parks.

Wow, Zerzura. One of the best parks this season. Loved the references to your past parks.

Two incredible parks. I can't choose. Well, I can but I just don't want to. Both teams deserve to win ! 

 

My heart is with HG because I really loved the park, it's so poetic, it has something truly special, a unique charm... It's all for the poetry and I have to say that's a form of art I'm very passionate about. On the other hand, I can't let Spacecrabs loose neither, not with that out-of-nowhere park. It has a rare and warmth atmosphere I've never seen before, even if stylistically it's not very innovative, but still very efficient. This is so close to perfection or maybe it is perfect... Only thing I don't like is the name of the park "Zerzura".
 
I will think and look at the parks again before voting but I think I already know, it's very tight ! Full reviews coming later!

Make sure to really delve into the parks guys, our team's park has some stuff you might miss on first viewings (*coughcutaway*).. Love both parks, I agree it's a worthy Final indeed. I just hope everyone respects the efforts both teams put in and not make some rash one-liner comments.

*insert rash one liner comment here*

^Iconic.

 

 

 

Great to see two fully fleshed out parks put out by both teams. Both teams deserve to be in the finals, and it's nice to see things play out the way they should with no forfeits/unfinished submissions!

 

I only briefly viewed each park, so I will comment further once I spend more time in each. But here's some initial thoughts.

 

Heaven's Retirement Home - This isn't a bad park by any means. And I'm sure it's absolutely full of details waiting to be discovered. I just feel like as a whole it's a bit hard to read. Obviously the map size is a factor, but things tend to blend together a little bit. I can definitely see what you're going for with the different races, etc. But the center of the map doesn't hold my attention for too long. I do feel like this is a bit unfair on my park though, because I definitely need to spend more time looking at this in game. I do think that if you switched this park with Forum Caeleste, the outcome might be more in your favor. Personal opinion though

 

Spicecrabs - You guys are monsters. The custom rides and stuff are cool. but have never been a deciding factor for me. They do however, set the scene and I can appreciate that. I love the whole vibe of the park, and the macro composition of the map is great. Again, like Heaven's End - I need to spend more time in this park too so I can pick out more of the details. Great concept and great execution of an interesting theme.

 

 

Congratulations to both teams for such an amazing season. I hope these two parks get the attention they deserve.

 

Josh

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but would this be the first H2H without any RCTLL parks? It's a shame we didn't see any this season, but holy moly this is one of the best competition seasons I've seen on NE. Can't wait to look at these parks after work.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but would this be the first H2H without any RCTLL parks?

 

 

You are not wrong, we haven't had a single one. I think that's the influence of OpenRCT2 showing, really. But Liam is planning an all LL informal competition for after H2H is over, so that should be fun!


This is looking to be a very interesting matchup. Can't wait to see some more reviews!

As is always difficult to decide, parks are great, genius work.
The two Parks bring incredible surprises.
I need to enjoy it several times to make a decision

So, are we supposed to vote on who won in this matchup alone? Or are we also supposed to take into account the entire body of work across the season? Like how on chopped they review the dessert and the previous two courses in deciding who should win and who gets the final chop?

^ I vote like it's a popularity contest.

Interesting idea to vote based on the entire season, but you're supposed to treat this match like any other match, regardless of the stakes. I mean, in the world cup final it doesn't matter how the team performed in the group stage either.

@liampie, I feel that's another difference a poll question could make. "Which team did best this season?" vs "Which park is your favorite?" vs "Who should win?" could result in different people potentially voting differently.

I really like both parks, but I was expecting more of a story to be told with Heaven's Fall. The burnt castle in the middle is a really cool touch, especially because the castle itself is so majestic, but then you realize it's basically just a big dark ride and the other major attractions are just standard themed rides, some of which deal with slightly "darker" tones but otherwise it's just a totally normal park. I guess from the name and concept image I was expecting... more. On its own merits though, it's a fantastic example of a fantasy park with five distinct themed zones. The entrance village is really cute and even though there are five (arguably six) different areas, it doesn't feel as cramped as a lot of the other stuff we have seen this season.

 

Zerzura is interesting and weird and I kind of love it. The structure of the outside is really cool, and I think you could have gotten away with way fewer fully fleshed-out sand ships outside and accomplished the same degree of "holy shit, they actually built that?!" The sand rides are all pretty clever too, and the whole thing reminds me a bit of Avatar The Last Airbender, which I adore. The main attraction here isn't quite as strong of a duo as Wizard and Witch from Heaven's End, but it feels natural in the space and the way the track is just practically resting on some of the architecture is super cool. The water area with the weirder white palace structures is also intriguing. It makes sense with the oasis theme, but I think there are a lot of unconventional color choices in there too that help it stand out against the already fairly colorful bazaar and extremely brown surroundings. I'm not crazy about the Tea Palace building but I can't really find any faults with anything else I don't like on the entire map.

 

At the end of the day, Zerzura is just that little bit weirder and less conventional, and I appreciate it for that, as much as I love the concept of the Heaven's Gallery entry. I think Team Spacecrab surprised me the most this season (which a lot of other people could probably say as well), and they never disappointed anywhere from round 1 to the finals. Congratulations to both teams for making it this far and putting in a season's worth of lovely work, and some excellent entries for the grand finale, but my vote has to go to Team Spacecrab.

 

Interesting side note: even though I didn't vote in round 5 or the semis (started a new job and had to move cross-country on pretty short notice), the only time I didn't or wouldn't have voted for Team Spacecrab was in round 3, during their first match with Heaven's Gallery. Just thought that was kind of cool.

A very had decision (again!) from me. Both parks are awesome and both teams deserved to be in the final. The expectations were very high and I think both teams did well with two great parks.

 

Heaven's End:

From the name and screenshot I expected some kind of Wits End ripoff. A very overwhelming but super original park with so much to see. In fact it wasn't overwhelming but the ideas you had were really cool. The entrance area is so cute, I can't stop looking at it. Somehow it reminds me of the old timeline-parks  but built with modern standards. The same was for the area with the wooden coaster. So cute. The dueller was also great but I didn't understand the different colors both tracks have. The best part is definitely the castle. However I don't think it looks like that when a castle is set in fire, the excecution was good and so was the idea. The cutaway view wasn't as good in my opinion. It looked like something you did quickly in the extention period and without having a good idea in your mind. Cutaways should be planned at the same time as building exteriors because now it just doesn't fit in the shape of the exterior of the castle (plus land is visible from the inside). The area with the splash boats couldn't attrackt my attention either. It feels a bit asian to me but I'm not sure about what the idea actually is. Something something blood?

 

Zerzura:

First of all: fantastic music! Opening the park on a good spot and hearing the music really got me in the right atmosphere to view the park. The custom rides were great too and nice to have a few more to my collection now The boats were great and I'm sure they're a good inspiration for my future projects. The excecution of the park itself was good too. The best part of the park for me was the marketplace. It looked very good and I love the feeling you brought to it. Overall a very atmospheric park, however Fata Morgana was kinda bothering me. It's a very big coaster that seems to be all over the place. It didn't support the rest of the area because I'm sure it's blocking a few very good views. The idea was good but it could've been a bit more subtle in my opinion. Another weak point is the white palace near Zerzura Falls. The domes were great but the excecution could've been better. Oh and I'm also doing a road-line-roast: Why did you use road lines?! Shame on you!! So that was that

 

The reason why I voted for HG was because I think the ideas were better. It could hold my attention a bit longer and it had some real quality here and there. Zerzura was more stable overall, but Heaven's End had on some spots the best areas I've seen this competition.

Heavens Gallery

"All good things must come to an end, and that end is not necessarily always a pleasant one", did you guys predict yourselves a loss?!    First thought when opening the park: this looks like a park from years ago, feels like a throwback. Second thought: looks like a park you do like or you don't. 

 

The idea for this park is brought alive very well. I think it wasn't an easy park to produce, so props to the builders. The entrance area is my favorite area, very charming. The faeries forest next to that was also very likeable, cute. Other areas weren't very enjoyable to me, hard to explain why. Colors and taste...

 

The dueling flyers are great, nicely interwoven and they keep interacting with each other very well during the ride. Pacing bit slow for my likings. From the coasters in here I think Big Bloody Wolf is the one I'd like ride IRL the most. Lay-out seems really based on having a really fun ride. The faeries revolt coaster didn't do much to me really but it makes for some movement in that corner that otherwise would seem dead.

 

Overall a park that shows skill. Personally it's not my cup of tea, I enjoyed the other HG parks more (except for Metropolis ). But this is of course just my humble opinion, taste and preference is very personal so please don't take it too bad. 

 

 

 

SpaceCrabs

First impressions matter and dudes, what a first impression the viewer gets when opening the park! I love the use of custom music and you guys took that feature to level the park up. Best use of custom music ever?! I dare to say so. 

 

The sand ships are amazing, the little ones make for life in a lifeless environment and the big ones near the quays are stunning. The city is amazing, wonderful architecture and you guys managed to make it so full of life without it feeling too dense. 

 

The coasters... Fata Morgana is pure awesomeness! Just pure from the ride lay-out I get a Taron feeling: fast pacing (finally a coaster with fast pacing, so bored of the slow ones) going trough multiple corners in changing directions with little height differences. Yeah, really my sort of coaster <3  It's also brilliantly worked in his environment. Zerzura Falls is a great addition to the park, it's also glad to see an Intamin version of a watercoaster into rct. Well if ya captain named himself after Intamin it should be an Intamin-only park when it comes to coasters   Loved how you tackled the station of the ride.

 

There are so many great details: the tracks in the desert of the sand ships, moving camels, praying to Mecca, air balloons, thief on the roof, market stands,... I probably have more to discover. Overall this park is conceptual really great and the level of execution on a technical standpoint is also very, very high.

 

Crabs, for me this is your best park of the contest. Right at the place where you want it and need it. I think its brilliant and for sure on the most memorable parks out of H2H8. It kept my attention for a long time and I think i'll reopen this more in the future, it's just amazing.

 

 

 

Will HG win for a third time on a row?! Interested in how NE will vote. Crabs, I think you can hold HG from doing that with Zerzurza. Crabs got my vote. May the best win! 

Zerzura

- Love the camels, merchant boats and kite skiers
- The Intamin that "duels" is an awesome idea
- The overall atmosphere is magnificent
- The Marketplace is fantastic
- In general, the park is both technically impressive and fun, full of life and full of detail. Great work!

Heaven's End

- Overall this is an amazing display of architecture. In some places I actually found myself wishing it was more spread out and less sensory overload to help bring out the detail, but such is the nature of H2H so I certainty can't hold that against you.
- The Witches / Wizards station is awesome
- Big Bad Bloody Wolf is really weird with those awkward banks, but aesthetically I still love that area
- Even though I feel like it's the focal point, feel myself focusing away from the total sensory overload in the center and near bloodfall river. I do like the loading area for bloodfall river and the addition of those circling birds/bats in the back though
- The area near faerie's revolt is really cute. +1 for the butterflies

This is a tough one. I'm leaning towards Zerzura but both parks are really fantastic.

Two days into a solid H2H finals match-up and this will be the 6-7th review post and not even get us to a second page... really pathetic.

Heaven's End - I loved the witch-wizard duel. It was kinda jammed in, but that happens in H2H. Didn't like any of the coaster track colors, but otherwise it was a genius theme pulled off very well. The Big Bad Wolf area was a miss for me. I didn't like the layout and the bloody track seemed unnecessary and to be too much for the theme. I really liked the combo custom mushroom swinger/swans ride and the giants attacking the gnomes. Sorry, but the Enchanted Rail was a really pointless ride. It did look kinda good in some spots, but it was really dull and just goes area to area. The Orc fortress was just hard to look at. I think it was a combination of the white trees and bones everywhere, plus the messy path textures. Loved the birds flying around the towers. Pretty good water ride here, nice cutaways too. The fairy village with the orc attack was very nice overall, much easier on the eyes. Loved the butterflies/faeries flying around everywhere. The centerpiece castle didn't do much for me. It seemed repetitive and I don't think the landblocks fit. Overall a very nice park was some really good ideas. 80/100

Zerzura - Loved it. Probably my favorite park of the season. It was like Siege and Testament put together and that's saying a lot. Sand surfing was a great idea and you owned it. The Arab theme was pulled off very well too. The ships were great, loved the tracks in the sand. Great hookah place and praying on the sand scene was awesome. I did think a few things could have been better. Overall the rides were very good, but none really jump out or are as innovative as the themeing elements, except the rides on the sand which were just crazy. The buildings were all nicely done, just all around the same size/scale, would have liked to see a few larger buildings, moreso than the palace, but it was very nice. I have a lot more "little things" I want to point out, but I have another idea for that I'll mention below. Overall an outstanding fully finished H2H finals winning park! 95/100

Admin request... on the Discord H2H, could you add a "Little things" subforum? When I have some free time I would like to spam it up with dozens of screens from some of my favorite things from this season. Snipping tool + RCTOpen + Discord drag-n-drop = fun!