Micro Madness 2019 / The Pre-Selection Topic

Predictions and Breakdown of the sign-ups; working in chunks of 15 for the next few days.  My predictions during H2H were pretty shit, but, more importantly, I'd figured I'd find something to say about the sign-ups' building styles and previous work and things I've found interesting.  I also want(ed) to look into some of the newer faces and see what they've done outside NE.

 

1-15

 

shnupz – Nominated for best upcoming player this year, shnupz has shown potential with her style focused on large, dominating layouts with unique composition.  She has mostly seemed to build in NCSO but has more recently experimented with modern benches and became a shogo protégé.  Her success in the contest will depend on how the sprawling and free-flowing layouts and composition will translate to the micro scale. Dirt’s prediction: hit-or-miss candidate; a memorable entry (or entries) either way.

 

Scoop – Most destined to fail in Round 1.  In all seriousness, his recent work has displayed very strong technical skill and has fallen into a refreshing clean style of building.  He’s one of the builders that I find needs a to work on adding stronger gestures and avoid playing it safe for this contest and beyond.  Dirt’s prediction: a Scoop park that adds more striking visuals and ambitious concepts will move onto Round 2 or beyond, but a micro that’s well-constructed but status quo may go home early.

 

CC9 – A surefire boat entry, undoubtedly.  A player who’s seamlessly become recognized as one of the more skilled builders, and has shown a easily readable and direct style that also makes some bold choices. I think he’s one of the realism builders that has shown similar senses to people like RRP.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; with a potential deep run coming at no surprise.

 

Shogo – Coming fresh off a spotlight, look for Shogo to see success in a non-collaborative competition here with (hopefully) fresh material beyond what we’ve seen built “just for the accolade.”  I’d love to see something made with soul but with the same technical perfection seen with Coors East.  Dirt’s prediction: given productivity, I doubt any forfeits; Round 1 should be winnable from a purely technical standpoint, but beyond that don’t expect a carry on that alone.

 

RWE – This guy built on Morow World.  He only recently had success in solo building in H2H8/8 with Toreador but has had solid work in collaborative efforts in H2H and beyond.  In my opinion, there’s been times he’s shown serious promise to produce something great, and other times he’s not quite pushed further.  Dirt’s prediction: RWE’s style may translate better to large scale works, but something that realizes some of the underlying promise could very well find some success here.

 

ITM – The reigning champion returns.  A versatile builder in both realism and fantasy who can, in my opinion, go toe-to-toe with anyone.  Obviously has shown previous success with the micro format and has a style that itself leans towards the micro-scale but doesn’t make sacrifices.  In different bracket placements, the variety in his work could be used strategically.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; and could easily go far especially with strong concepts.

 

CHE – A builder who didn’t find success in the last Micro Madness but has certainly progressed since. I know his work mostly from Sunfields, a low-key stellar park, but has also developed during H2H on the Heaven’s crew and participated in some of their best parks of the season.  My concern is how the new development and experience will come out on the tiny scale of the competition.  Dirt’s prediction: may have a difficult road ahead with building MM maps but embracing the laid-back aesthetic of Sunfields could have potential as a nontraditional approach to the competition.

 

nin – His work presents a unique blend of practical building, artistic intuition, and nostalgic concepts. If I recall, early on particularly excelled in clean micro, but has since stripped back to focus on larger statements in his building.  That’s not to say he isn’t one of the strongest builders on the small-scale as well. Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; however, if voters trend towards flamboyant maximalism and micro-detailing could potentially face an upset somewhere down the line.

 

BSG – Entering the competition with a style well suited for the format.  His biggest strength is fun and relatable concepts that come off as impeccably vibrant in RCT.  For him, I think it’ll come down to pushing the technical complexity within the work rather than pushing the boundaries in ambition of concept.  Dirt’s prediction: hit-or-miss candidate; a unique and undeniably fun set of entries may strike gold but could also fall flat if voters look for technical idealism.

 

ottersalad – the Strangelove floater who also was a strong performer in H2H8/8.  Previous MM performance showed ambition but lacked a definitive statement compared to other micro works.  I think the brief stint in LL has paid off, and we’ll see a huge difference this time around.  I’m curious to see a) what he comes up with here and b) where his style is going to develop.  This competition may also force in new ingredients to his work that’ll add something extra going forward.  Dirt’s prediction: might find himself an underdog but consolidating recent developments could definitely makes some splashes.

 

dr dirt – Me.  I actually don’t know how well I’m suited for building in this format and many of the things I focus on or themes I might tackle don’t really come into play for a park this size.  I mostly rely on composition of landscapes, paths, and ride interaction which are much more macro oriented.  We’ll see.

 

Faas – A fellow Spacecrab, who’s skill has proven to go beyond “cute.”  He still keeps a style that functions well within the scope of RCT that aligns well with the game while tackling light and digestible concepts. Also had great entries last MM, including Turtle Bay Discovery Center, a fan favorite.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; I think anything similar to last micro madness will garner an easy entry into at least Round 2.

 

Cam – The final-four-appearing original current former parkmaker is back at it.  Giving us a healthy dose of a min-max approach to MM the first time around, I’m eagerly waiting to see what is cooking this year.  Traditionally a fantasy builder who has also displayed realism chops with Haystack, perhaps some H2H goodness will spark new creativity. Dirt’s prediction: hit-or-miss candidate; just like last time we could see some wild deep run, or the approach will feel less impressive the second time or that’ll be disregarded too, or this cat he’s been talking about will get in the way.

 

Jaguar – A fantasy builder with a wild imagination that in many ways might be in the same place as Cam. Some things he’s created are out of this world (literally and figuratively), and others are bizarre and unorthodox.  Regardless, we’ll see something interesting and memorable from this corner of the ring. Dirt’s prediction: actually I think we’ll see something not hit-or-miss here and we’ll see work that can stand up to whatever it’s up against, at least partially because of how different it will be.

 

Merzbow666 – Everything I’ve seen recently (maybe ever?) from her has been LL.  I have no idea how that will do in the competition, but I hope to see it nonetheless.  The Cedar Point and Millennium Force shots have been really fantastic, and her skills are clearly coming to fruition.  Dirt’s prediction: if I had to guess, I’d say LL won’t perform well in MM just voter-wise, but I still hope to see a non-RCT2 entry here just for the kicks.

Pretty great and IMO accurate write-up. Looking forward to the others!

Great read, interesting to see what your thoughts and expectations are. Curious how you'll review me and the others.

fun read, thanks for doing this! looking forward to the rest

16-30

 

Liampie – The 2018 parkmaker of the year and the only admin (yet) signed up to play.  We’ve seen quite a bit of ideas tackled in the micro format from him in the past and is another versatile player with a style spreading from realism to abstract.  There is a history of submissions that are conceptually gaudy, namely Table with Umbrella and The Inspiration Well.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; a likely candidate to win several rounds here, but also liable to submit something memorable that could be construed as too low-brow by voters.

 

Sulakke – Another player with undeniable talent whose style I believe has been influential in the community, albeit discretely.  I remember some of the screens and work he’d shared early on in his career and was floored with the subtle yet casually complex style he’d brought to the table. I think his success here will depend on channeling that as he did in recent releases like Forum Celeste.  Don’t forget he’s tackled some quirky concepts that could go over well here, as evidenced by Krustyland.  Dirt’s prediction: last season came up with Mothman which feels lackluster compared to his other work; I think a concept more in line with his strengths would land him safely in Round 2 with sights further down the bracket.

 

Iron Rattler – A player who emerged during the Olympics contest and has been contributing to some solid releases since.  He’s worked on some rather conceptual parks with MS Office Sweet and Mictlan during H2H8(/8).  Has recently scored a bronze in NCSO work, but I’ve found his more recent screens to be much more engaging.  There’re times when you can look at a player’s work and tell a breakthrough is imminent, and he’s one of them.  Dirt’s prediction: may be looking at a battle depending on the bracket; will have to push in ambition conceptually more similar to collaborative work to be successful here as what he’s building solo might have trouble in the small format.

 

Terry Inferno – Hit a homerun recently with Raspberry Acres and has proven to be a force within the NCSO realm.  What he chooses to build in will be interesting here, but I expect a similar lighthearted and simply enjoyable style employed yet again.  I hope to see some more work solidifying the Terry-style. Dirt’s prediction: I think he’s relatively stronger in the NCSO category currently but how that will go over with voting is up in the air; I think he may go underseeded, which could result in a tough Round 1 but he’s someone I wouldn’t be surprised to see move forward.

 

Bubbsy – I think the skill that went into A Far Cry went a little overlooked and was overshadowed by other commotion during H2H.  There’s evidence of adventurous parkmaking there backed by that technical skill that will certainly benefit in this competition.  The underlying talent is there, and I think he’ll have to continue where he left off in H2H and continue to evolve and a builder.  Dirt’s prediction: very likely we’ll see Bubbsy in Round 2 but will need more than technically outshining the competition to advance further.

 

Cocoa – Showed a “sketch” of a micro that in and of itself could win in Round 1.  He’s a builder with a style focused on atmosphere, visual depth, and a hefty dash of artistry.  It’s becoming hard to look at a cocoa park and not be drawn in.  We’ve also seen set pieces within his work that alone would make for brilliant micros, just look at the Mekong launchpad.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; has a unique style within the meta that I look to carry him several rounds with atmospheric entries.

 

zxbiohzardzx – Primarily seems to be an MP player but functioned as Ultrarealist’s floater in H2H8. It’s hard to pin down what and how collaborative players build, so what is produced by this guy will be surprising. He’s naturally worked on the UR parks that each had strong concepts that I hope will pass on here.  Additionally, some of his work on the MP parks have held up with anybody.  Dirt’s prediction: wildcard; could see something that could easily be mistaken for some of the best in the competition but themes/concepts are an unknown.

 

Disneylandian192 – A builder who’s been around for a long while but has chronically suffered from consistency. He’s someone who can apparently make something out of nothing as evidenced by his work on the disaster bench. When we do see work from him, it has a uniqueness and a sprinkle of magic that’s not unlike his namesake.  To me, it’s a big question of being around for the contest and not living in a van down by the river.  Dirt’s prediction: hit-or-miss candidate; a submission can easily have the quality to gather a clean win for Round 1, but that’s if he’s around and not living in a van down by the river.  Let’s hope for the former.

 

WhosLeon – The highly productive Round 1 draft pick for the Replacements.  Admittedly, I wasn’t a believer in his merit as a rookie first-rounder initially.  But after seeing his work in the season and (in my opinion, even stronger) work since H2H, I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t expect a good run from him here.  I’m not sure if his style’s even fully come out yet and is venturing into new themes too. Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; look for him to go through a few rounds safely before being a strong competitor later on.

 

JimmyLaessig – A player who’s flown under-the-radar since past work but has undoubtedly shown flashes of brilliance.  Most notably, Meizhou Rising, a successful and memorable H2H park that shows great potential to be translated into micro work.  His previous efforts in MM have yielded a strong entry with Wildalpenbahn that faced stiff competition.  I think he could have a nice showing here and prove he’s still ready to roll.  Dirt’s prediction: something similar to his last entry is very liable to make it through, but who he’s up against may play a big factor.

 

gdb – A previous competitor who saw success last time around with some solid entries.  He did have a recent dropout from H2H, so hopefully we get to see a performance in this competition.  Some of his recent work has been well-received and has the look of something that could perform well in MM.  There’s a style underlying in his work that I can’t quite find the words to define, but there’s something there.  Dirt’s prediction: would be surprised to see him eliminated Round 1 with previous experience in MM proving strong results and recent work easily at a competitive level here.

 

Chocotopian – This is a guy who’s been around for longer than we might realize but hasn’t received much love from the accolade panel, coming close several times.  Looking back at his last MM performance, Little Sins is actually rather excellent.  For a good number of submissions to the site, I don’t think we’ve seen his work become what it can be or seen the full evolution of his style.  Dirt’s prediction: may have a battle ahead of him, especially considering his last micro work went overlooked somehow.

 

Version1 – Our resident builder who appears to have little belief in himself.  In actuality, he’s been showing screens that show strong technical work especially at the micro level.  Recent efforts in H2H, in the role of floater for the Icons, will likely serve him well in rounding out concepts.  Right now, I think he’ll have to work on adding that element of bolder strokes in the composition and macro-awareness, even if this is a 15x15 competition.  Dirt’s prediction: likely to go undervalued in seeding which may hurt him in bracket placement, but if he can round out his skill further than the micro level, he could surprise us with a little run.

 

MK98 – Just coming off hot as the most promising builder for 2018, this fella has an inclination towards thicc vehicles and no-nonsense Design names.  He’s continued to get better, with Sheriff and some work in H2H8/8 to boot. He dipped his toes in Park Guell with shogo as well to prove he can compete on the big stage as well.  Dirt’s prediction: could very well be one of the builders who can pull of a win through Round 1 especially in favorable bracket placements; moving deeper might just require him to elevate from Sheriff, however.

 

Jappy – One of the guys behind Grand Central, a H2H park that didn’t quite receive the love it really deserved.  His love for locomotives may extend into this competition (we saw Trains by Wicksteed in the first rendition of MM) and are an instant hit with fans.  There’s a lot of love and charm that goes into his work, and Bumbly Beach is testament to the growing skill he’s putting behind it.  I really enjoy opening up a Jappy park and getting hit whatever it is that’s the secret ingredient in there.  Dirt’s prediction: wildcard; I think Jappy might be one of the dark horses this year and some heartfelt entries could make for a surprisingly deep run.

Thanks Dirt, I won't be back in the van with internet as inconsistent as my RCT career until the due date for the final round. Needless to say, I won't have any issues

Yes! It continues! Great read and again, pretty accurate if you ask me. Quite a lot of players that could really surprise us this year. I still really don't know what my own secret ingredient is though.

 

Even though it would be quite difficult, can we expect some predictions on some of the new members who joined up?

I was thinking of doing a similar write-up, but you're pretty much writing what I'm thinking. Fun read, good job! I think you're spot on for the most part.

Thanks for the write up Dr Dirt! Really enjoyed reading these thus far

Great stuff, doc. I’m gonna need several hundred CC’s of more write ups, stat!

31-45

 

FredD - He’s a player that I think is finally coming into his own, especially looking at recent design efforts and promising screens of his upcoming San Frederico.  I think we all agree he's on the up-and-up right now, and I think he's going to be a hot player very soon. There's a history of solid but not yet mind-blowing parks that might suggest a solid but overshadowed entry, but if he can channel recent developments, he might just snag a win here.  Dirt’s prediction: I'm rooting for this guy, but I think he might be in the tough battleground in the middle of the seeding.

 

In:Cities - Underrated and has been a member of the community for a long time.  Port Disney is a phenomenal H2H effort that has clearly been undervalued. He's full of this refreshing brand of punchy realism and is another RCT concept artist which can't be taken for granted.  Something with that planned vision is sure to make for some splashes in the contest.  Similar to someone like Jappy, I find there's something within his releases that is contagious.  Dirt’s prediction: a round of 32 without In:Cities doesn't sound right, he's in a spot where I think he should gather a win but with some undervalued competition might not get an easy pass into the second round.

 

WouterVL - He's a builder who tends to push some verticality and layering which he may find suitable here, but it could also be read as unoriginal in this context.  There's good sense underlying his work and adventurous construction but there might be a missing element of subtlety. There's promise here but I think it's a bit unrestrained.  Dirt’s prediction: he's someone who’s used to a style that lends to micros and a win from that standpoint wouldn't be surprising; he'll need to further distinguish his work to press further in the scope of MM.

 

AvanineCommuter - A conceptual builder who brings visual artistry to his work to an extent few others have.  Recently Mictlan showed to be hit-or-miss with voters, but in this setting, I think it leans greatly towards hit.  He has a longstanding record of top-tier concepts and has a laundry list ready to go for this iteration of MM. Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; his style lends to consistency here and we’ll be sure to see some artistically moving work.

 

Top Gun - A guy who's been around for a good while and I have no idea how he’s building currently.  He's had some older releases all of which have an aesthetic of scenario play, but recent work is strangely nonexistent, and he surprisingly has no NE screens. He's been around long enough that maybe he's got something up his sleeve.  Dirt’s prediction: a scenario type submission could play, but I'd find it an unlikely concept to be successful in stiff competition; might be facing a hard road ahead but snagging a win is never off the table.

 

Tolsimir - A builder that has serious creativity behind his game and has an ability to make things that push the boundaries yet still have the classic RCT look.  Winkelheim was a concept long in the making that became one of the strongest ideas in H2H8. He's a collaborative player for the last several years, but his H2H work has shown a clear Tolsimir charm.  Take the conceptual edge seen in Winkelheim or even Asteroid Fields and apply it to a scale where that’s at the forefront, and we’re left with something phenomenal. Dirt’s prediction: wildcard; in my view one of the deadliest players in the contest with deep run potential but can also tackle crazy ideas that other people might not resonate with.

 

Austin55 – He’s mostly seen success in collaborative efforts and this may be the contest where he can shine solo.  While he’s displayed solid realism with his hand in parks like Tahendo, Circus Circus, and even a few big-name parks, let’s not forget he’s earned a clean design with Huracan and also showed some thematic chops with DisneyPunk.  On the micro scale, realism might be difficult to portray, but could also provide some uniqueness.  His more recent screens have continued to show more and more talent that just hasn’t fully broken through in the solo realm.  Dirt’s prediction: maybe another who’s in the trenches within the middle core of the bracket but he’s prone to give us a breakthrough and realism might paradoxically have a competitive edge in some cases.

 

Luketh – This is a name that’s been around, but I can’t quite place it as far as productivity and style goes.  Looking back on his releases, there’s been times where we might see something great from him but there are gaps in his career. Luke’s Loop is a small but dynamic little submission that showed promise. Then there was a gap until only recently with Horseshoe Lake, a fun scenario-style release.  Dirt’s prediction: I’m not sure on this guy and looking at his recent work we might be seeing a fun-factor type entry that might struggle to knock off the hyper-technical micros.

 

Mattk48 – An unfamiliar face that did in fact compete last go-around and actually managed to squeeze an invert into the available space with Saphira.  The entry suffered from lack of raw content but did indicate that an entry that isn’t crammed full can be enjoyable too.  He hasn’t released anything in three years but screens from a few months ago show a major uptick in skill from the last MM.  Dirt’s prediction: I don’t think something like Saphira will find much fortune but also has a degree of the unknown after recently honing down his skill.

 

Stoksy – One of the Strangelove crew members who’s back at it for some more MM after a very successful run in the 2014 edition. He’s gotten better and better with H2H work in Disney’s Frontierland and Fairytale Kingdom and his screen game has been fantastic.  He’s oriented to the micro side of building in many ways, which could give him a nice edge over the competition.  He’s also coming off of an award win with Great White.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; previous MM experience will go a long way on someone who’s talent continues to grow.

 

RCTFAN – What a great surprise to see him not only return to the game but enter the ring while at it. He ushered in a new era of detailing and resolution in building years ago and we’ve never quite seen someone around who could take up that mantle, so to speak.  The question is how much dust he’ll have to shake off before hitting his stride because no one can argue that once he’s back in form, he’ll be a threat to anybody.  Dirt’s prediction: hit-or-miss candidate; only time will tell if he can get up to speed and blow us away or will be rusty.

 

Maverix – Somehow, he seems to go underrated in contests despite being a productive player with a strong brand of realism.  He’s one of the more prolific design-makers with his most recent The Flying Dinosaur testament to the skill behind his work.  Mav’s become a familiar face in the H2H realm with work on Strangelove, The Rat Pack, and The Reservoir Dogs (don’t forget the classic that is Galaxy Geeland).  His solo work has most prominently given us KnoxVegas, proving his realism approaches the highest level.  Saw some success last MM as well, but his entries may be missing a little spark in retrospect.  Dirt’s prediction: I look for him to be an annoying person to have in your bracket as Mav will be contesting anybody for the couple spots through; might have some difficulty however due to what his typical style tackles.

 

Gustav Goblin – Here’s one of the new faces in the contest, and I believe he comes from the Deurklink multiplayer sector.  In what he’s shown at NE, we’ve got a small screen of a nano plot which shows some good instincts but might be lacking the refinement and scope we see more seasoned members bring.  It seems like he’s got a history within these small-scale contests, so a surprise isn’t outside the realm of possibility.  I hope we get a strong entry from Goblin that will give us a glimpse of things to come.  Dirt’s prediction: going up against some of the best of current players is certain to be a challenge, but a fresh and unique take could very well knock out some of the old guard as we’ve seen in the past.

 

Recurious – With a H2H season under his belt and a tendency towards ambition, Recurious has developed into a formidable contestant here.  Most notable release is The Apprenticeship which gives us a whimsical concept packaged with effective technical execution.  There’s a history of strong and innovative screens coming from this guy, something necessary for MM, but he’s also got rapidly improving technical chops.  Dirt’s prediction: very likely we’ll see him beyond the first round or two but keeping in mind his innovative work can sometimes feel a little raw in its current form.

 

Xtreme97 – The bench guy is here to play, and truth be told, I’m not sure what to expect.  There’s some recent work in H2H8/8 which gave us some of my favorite entries (Age of Dinos and Hidden Kingdom).  There’s also another work that I think shows a lot of vision in The Legend of Ching Shih.  I think he’s still figuring out his style and has room to expand but there’s an underlying talent there for sure where the willingness to give us an interesting macro composition could pay off in MM.  Dirt’s prediction: he’ll be at the hard placement in the middle with what he’s been producing as of late, but the visual senses at the core of his work suggest the possibility of an upset (or upsets) coming our way.

46-60

 

YoloSweggLord – I think this guy is one of the multiplayer-heavy players who hasn’t produced much solo work on the NE side of things.  There’s been some screens that suggest there’s some talent that’s waiting to come out, but as far as releases we’re kind of left hanging.  There’s a tendency towards original non-meta work from the multiplayer arena so we’ll see what come out of him here.  Dirt’s prediction: we might see something that we aren’t expecting here with some inventiveness thrown in, possibly blindsiding higher seeds in his pool.

 

barNID – A new player entering the competition, so commenting here is naturally difficult but I think everyone secretly hopes to see one of the new guys do well.  We got a little preview as some of our members dug up some of his past work, and it actually holds up rather well.  There’s definitely an element of “outsider-art” to what I’ve seen, but it isn’t completely outside the realm of something voters might appreciate. As I understand, he’s a reddit-based player of which we have had several successful players emerge from.  Dirt’s prediction: pleasant surprise with a solid entry that might be up against very difficult competition due to likely going in as a lower seed.

 

Steve – He’s slowly morphed from a respectable player who creates an aesthetic that very few can approach anymore into a meme.  Is his style suitable for the micro format?  Only time will tell.  He doesn’t typically tackle wild fantasy concepts or anything that is stretching the game further than what it should.  Whether or not this will be a detriment we’ll leave to the voters to decide. Regardless, I think he’ll produce something that will be difficult to vote against that might not be the most mind-blowing entry.  Dirt’s prediction: upset-prone candidate; likely to go highly seeded though his style is definitely most suitable to larger scale works leaving open the possibility of getting an early, unexpected knockout.

 

Kai – I remember the days when I viewed the RCTMasters as some group of untouchable gurus like the Jedi Council.  If RCTFan has a little bit of dust to shake off, KaiBueno has a metric ton.  It’s great to see one of the old masters of the craft to come back and compete with modern builders.  There’s a certain ability that was required of these players of yesteryear that is lost nowadays – making something great at its core and not relying on layers of detail to compensate.  It’s something that probably never goes away, and we’ll see if Kai can tap into that now.  Dirt’s prediction: wildcard; it could be something perceived as antiquated or, as I’m hoping, we’ll see the skills of our predecessors are really what’s most important.

 

Wacked – Was able to dig up rather little on this guy but from the sounds of it he’s a regular of the deurklink contests/server.  We’ve seen plenty of work posted from that side of the RCT community and some of the work has a quality to it of clever use of objects and fun little themes.  If he goes along with that line of RCT and style we could be pleasantly surprised with what is produced from him.  We had one screen pop up from Wacked on the Discord and it looks to have some potential with the style of working with only the basic objects or NCSO.  Dirt’s prediction: look for something that falls in line with what we’ve seen coming from these off-NE builders with a focus on clever use of objects and trackitecture; there’s potential for any of these guys to snag a win from more establish builders here.

 

StormRunnerFan – A pretty cool builder who always comes out of nowhere and posts a screen that feels just slightly ahead of its time, whether it’s pushing the boundaries of curved construction or new slick ways of building.  I look for this to be a major advantage for SRF in this competition where those small-scale innovations are going to be huge.  He’s got a couple designs under his belt, a gold, and also an old micro that doesn’t have his current level but is cool from a conceptual standpoint. Dirt’s prediction: I think he’ll find his way into a round or two, maybe even more; he exists somewhere between being a safe bet and someone who could be hit or miss if he goes for something too far ahead of itself.

 

bad – Coming in hot with a short and to the point username, this new member also has some work outside the NE climate.  He did share a screen on the Discord that has some good instincts and creativity but still is unrefined as would be expected.  There’s an element of not building like the meta here, but that could be used as a positive angle in the scope of the competition.  Regardless, a good effort here and I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes an active solid builder around here in short order.  Dirt’s prediction: he’s coming into a competition with some of the top modern builders and it’s going to be difficult; he’ll probably get placed into a lower seed and have a large uphill battle, but I’ll secretly be rooting for him.

 

Shoepert – An unknown player that seems to hail from RC&F.  Our intelligence committee managed to scrounge up just a little bit of work from Shoepert, and it’s a nice little surprise.  I think we’ve got a nice crew of fresh talent in the competition and I hope Shoepert is able to give us a great introduction to his work.  There’s an element of beginner simplicity and blockiness that probably will need to be kicked for success in the tournament.  Hopefully he can focus on delivering us something interesting and gets a chance to see the history of NE’s RCT.  Dirt’s prediction: I wouldn’t place my bets on him, and I’m more interested to see underlying natural ability rather than competitive success anyways; I hope he and others put desire to win aside and build from the heart.

 

Lightkeeper – He hasn’t quite broken through and established a name for himself around here, but I hope that changes soon.  He most prominently worked in H2H7 in a minor role on The Wild West with cocoa and a more prominent role with Costa Del Maya with ITM.  It’s been almost 4 years now since then, so we’ll see if the things he’s learned then are still around.  We’ve also been waiting quite some time (basically since H2H7) for a new screen from this fellow.  Although, let’s be honest, sometimes a nice break and coming back to the game actually improves your work better than just grinding through it.  It’s all been solid in the past, but that was now safely called the past.  Dirt’s prediction: given his absence for about 4 years I think he’ll go under-seeded to his detriment, but I still predict some good RCT coming from his end.

 

SWAGTITTIES – This guy, this guy has quite the obnoxious name.  Naturally the boys in the intelligence division did a little digging to figure out what we’re dealing with here.  I got the chance to look at his entry into a deurklink contest and was surprised so see something not outlandish and actually appropriately restrained and quaint.  Ridiculous screen name aside, I think there’s talent here that I’m glad found its way onto NE and the MM contest.  These competitions seem to only do NCSO which is fine but might not open up the full scope of possibilities for a concept-driven contest.  Dirt’s prediction: I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised with Swag’s entry, like most of the new faces, will naturally be and underdog.

 

Narc – Here’s an interesting one whose only NE screen states that it actually came from a 4chan contest, which I had no idea had an RCT interest whatsoever.  It’s great that we have so many avenues of players coming in to enter this competition.  From the screen there’s even some good work underlying this guy too.  Commonly with players starting out you expect to see some of the “noob mistakes,” but Narc (and all the new players) really don’t seem to have that problem.  It looks like he might be interested in realism to a degree so let’s see what he produces here.  Dirt’s prediction: a pleasant entry from him that might not find success as his inclination (at least from what I’ve gathered) towards a laid-back style may not be the ticket to the second round or further.

 

RCT2Day – One of the most skilled NCSO builders around the site along with a few other loyalists.  His design Steppenwolf is his most prominent release and stands as one of my favorite bits of NCSO I can think of, or, hell, designs in general for that matter.  Let’s not forget he had at least some hand in Pridelands and Paradise Pier along with having a run in the last edition of MM with a couple strong entries with interesting map-cutoffs.  I’m not sure if his style is fully fleshed out yet or if he’s done improving at this point.  Dirt’s prediction: hit or miss candidate; it’s going to depend on how NCSO plays in the contest; if the best NCSO stands up to the best CSO, he may very well be a strong contender this year.

 

6crazy6king6 – All I can say is this dude has got a creepy looking avatar to say the least.  He’s produced some solid stuff including a bronze win with Attractiepark De Korenaar just this year.  His style in many ways reminds me of an early Sulakke or Dimi which is a good thing.  I think there’s still some room to expand in terms of macro vision here, but there’s a very solid foundation.  Crazy’s someone that I think will benefit from MM by forcing on some more ‘difficult’ construction in his work, which may be the next step to elevating as a parkmaker. Dirt’s prediction: might be facing a lower seed coming his way and it’ll take some pushing to compete with entries that are better than just ‘solid.’

 

ICU – He’s actually been around the site for 3 years and had a couple releases but primarily seems to be participating in other places.  It looks like the intelligence committee found some work in at least another micro contest and his submission was something that could easily compete here as well.  There’s a classic look to his work that could be received well assuming he can nail the underlying aspects of parkmaking (see Kai’s breakdown).  Dirt’s prediction: of some of the lesser known players, I think ICU has a pretty decent shot at gathering an upset early on.

 

mamarillas – Yet another fresh player coming into the arena.  As I understand it, he’s participated in some of the deurklink contests which focus on minis or micro work.  I got the chance to take a peek at one of his entries, and similar to Swag, I saw happy to see some good senses in the work.  There’s a willingness to include negative space and areas without content, which is important especially in parkmaking on a normal scale.  We’ll see how it goes here, but I think I can see some talent in macro and building with gesture.  Dirt’s prediction: some of the natural talent in the foundation of the work has the potential to overcome some of the middle of the pack contestants here and snag a little upset – look out.

Great predictions Dr. Dirt, especially with the newer players. I always enjoy reading these and the summaries are quite nice. Hopefully we'll see a lot of interesting work.

Nice read.  Thanks for doing a breakdown. 

Woo, he said he found something on me. I wonder what  

61-72

 

Ling – He’s been a consistent producer of solid RCT for what now seems like forever.  Recently, we’ve seen some micros from him as well that went very well received including Rift.  These new micros bear resemblance to players of yesteryear and hightlight Ling’s adaptability and success in the format.  His work in H2H8/8 showed some chops in the LL realm as well as delivering a fun macro.  I think he’s still waiting to breakthrough in his work in CSO, but when he does, we may be having another Ride6-style parkmaker around.  Dirt’s prediction: recent success with micros will likely land him in the second round; I’m not sure his fun and punchy style will back him to the end, but we’ll see.

 

ThemeParkManiac – came out with Tranquility Park, a festival themed number released for RC&F.  It has some strong ideas with a bit awkward macro design which I think led it to go a little overlooked here at NE.  I think his Paradise Palms Resort is quite a bit more successful and showcases some stronger sense of composition.  His screens of some multiplayer plots fall into a similar category as Tranquility Park, some strong movements but is still lacking in elevating the complexity of composition.  Dirt’s prediction: he’ll need to break out of a small amount of the beginner habits that remain in order to gather votes, even if he builds something adventurous.

 

Fisch – one of the behemoths of the contest and a highly successful H2H player, not to mention his solo work that elevated him to the top level.  Riverland continues to mark the advent of a new era of parkmaking and has inspired many builders to push their work.  His previous MM performance included some type of unfinished pirate ship, but it appears he’s finally wrangled in his skill to actually deliver a finished product.  He’s one of the strongest architectural players in the game, so look for him to bring us something that features that category, but we’ve also seen him excel in ride interaction.  In this competition it could make for a deadly combination.  I’ll be very curious to see what Fisch produces here.  Dirt’s prediction: I’d say he’d be a safe bet, but he’s been rather inactive since H2H and he has a history of submitting a stinker of a micro entry; if he manages to put together a few micros done on his level, he’ll definitely be one of the contenders for the title.

 

roygbiv – a player who’s come around in the last couple years and played with Strangelove during H2H8, working on parks like ACGTH and Grand Central.  He seems to tend towards the realism side of things but throws a little bit of adventurousness in the mix.  His style is clean but unrefined and I think he’s yet to quite solidify. I’d say his style tends toward the micro end of the spectrum which may prove to be beneficial in this competition. Along with the rest of the new wave of realism builders, I’ll be curious to see what Roy produces in the coming weeks. Dirt’s prediction: could get through the first round using the background skill that’s there, but I think he’s then looking at a tough battle for the second round and on.

 

L3mmy – here’s a player I know nothing about. I don’t recall the scouts pulling anything up on L3mmy either, so I hope for an entry from this corner.  More importantly, I hope L3mmy will stick around after the contest. Dirt’s prediction: no idea; I think it’s perfectly likely no there won’t be a submission here, but equally likely we’ll see something.

 

BBT – the background crew reported that this guy is a true Hail Mary recruit into the competition.  Apparently, he hails from a Belgian coaster enthusiast community and Liam’s deep recruitment process pulled this guy.  How familiar he is with the game and RCT is a huge unknown and I’d also say there’s a good chance he forgets or doesn’t care to submit an entry.  Though it would be the greatest Cinderella story if BBT pulls out a win.  Dirt’s prediction: probably the biggest outsider in the competition; so I’m not sitting at the edge of my seat to see if he’ll take part in MM.

 

Wonterra – someone who came up for the contest and has been relatively active on the Discord and has shared some screens with the community.  He seems to be an RC&F member, which I think we’ve gathered quite a few of them to play in MM.  The stuff he’s shown has a good sense of macro and landscape along with some fun themes. Pirate island feels very classic and also adventurous.  Dirt’s prediction: he’s probably lumped in with the other new competitors whose styles are an uncertainty as far as voting goes, but I think Wonterra is one of the more promising newcomers this season.

 

hoobaroo – with a fun name and some great debut screens, I think there’s some people who believe hoobaroo could be a fast-rising talent in the near future.  Will it be during MM or will he take longer to develop on the prodigious skill and sense he’s recently shown us to have?  Only time will tell, but I have high hopes he will develop into a prolific builder with an original style.  Some say he’s a favorite dark horse in the tournament, I believe he might need more time and patience.  Dirt’s prediction: wildcard; we could see a meteoric rise to a major new builder, but I predict he needs more development.

 

alex – an enormous talent who in no time rose to be one of the best builders at the site, earning two spotlights, designs, an NEDC win, and getting the nod to be a H2H captain. His performance in H2H8 was rather spectacular with EVIL and Mandala, the latter of which won the award for best concept and best idea.  He has a macro-oriented style with a big dash of ‘just plain cool’ that we haven’t seen since some of the titans of the past.  A completed park here is sure to have an idea backed by great execution that will be very difficult to compete against.  He’s one of the very few prodigies of the game that have emerged during my time at the site.  Dirt’s prediction: safe bet; assuming his inactivity between H2H and now does not extend into another contest, I think he’ll be incredibly difficult to overcome despite being predominantly a macro builder.

 

maddkattunge – there was some buzz going around about Madd at some point since he signed up.  There were members that were quite impressed with what this guy has done in the past, and anticipate some solid work coming from Madd in MM.  It looks like he’s built on the Deurklink server and found a successful little style with daring landscapes in laid back themes.  It’s still early to say that this is Madd’s definitive style though, but I hope he makes a good addition to NE down the road.  Dirt’s prediction: he’ll be in the big battle to get through the first round and how he does outside the benches provided on those server competitions will be curious to see.

 

wizard_IRL – joined for this rendition of MM.  The sources pulled up a screen of his work featured in a mini contest.  Wizard is yet another deceptively creative builder with strong natural gestures in his work that will serve him well going forward. Maybe a little unrefined currently, as to be expected, but not afraid to be brave in his use of large buildings, big landscapes, and difficult builds.  Most of these guys who have been competing outside of the scope of NE really have so much potential, and I hope they become NE regulars to foster that talent. Dirt’s prediction: I don’t want to keep grouping this bloc of players together as their all developing an individual style, but he’s yet another who’s showed the potential to snag a win as an undervalued seed round 1.

 

Impulse – a face that’s becoming increasingly common around the site and the Discord.  Most recently he backed up MK98 on Sheriff, but he’s also released his entry from a Tycoon Paradise contest.  His screen suggest NCSO might be his underlying interest and talent, but there’s some CSO stuff in there that’s just as strong (showing a Herculean effort on custom supports).  I’m not sure which he’ll choose to utilize for MM.  We’ve certainly not seen all that Impulse can do and maybe this contest will serve as a springboard to push further.  Dirt’s prediction: looking at his work, I think he hasn’t gone full throttle at NE yet, so I think he’s a big possible candidate to bring on an upset.

Dr. Dirt good reading, i liked

So much new talent from RC&F and the Deurklink servers. Great to see them enter and I do hope they stay when the contest is over. Always great to welcome talented new members.

Excellent read.