The Grand Tour '23 / The Grand Tour '23 - Round 1 Voting

Round 1 - The United States

In 1776, the United States became a country as the Thirteen Colonies that declared their independence. In 2023, the Grand Tour begins with our own version of thirteen original states, as that is the amount of submissions that we received. But are these states as revolutionary as their historical predecessors? We'll leave that up to you. To help you vote in this match, here are the objectives for this round again:

1. Your park must be set in or themed to a specific US state.

2. Your park must feature an (large) event.

3. The shape of your chosen US state must be featured in some way in your park

How to vote

Before you vote, you have to make sure you've viewed all parks with thought and care. Voting happens through the polls above. The submissions will be judged on two criteria. First, you are asked to vote for the parks that you think completed the three objectives for this round the best. Second, you are asked to judge the parks on their overall quality - separate from the round objectives. After 72 hours, the polls will close and we will add up the votes from each poll. The submission with the most votes in total will earn the creator(s) a ticket to the final round!

The Holy Texican Empire State: Texas by Ethan (100%)	Roswell UFO Fest State: New Mexico by FredD (100%)
The Holy Texican Empire grand celebration of Ophidius the snake god; the Round Rock Round Top Rattlesnake Rodeo Round-up. Today is the final, headlining event of the celebration, where the most elite wranglers will compete to take on the giant snake.	Welcome to Roswell, New Mexico. We are celebrating the crash with our annual Roswell UFO Fest! Do you believe?

Bussin' Bayou State: Louisiana by AJ- (85%) and Bubbsy41 (15%)	expo77: Worlds Fair Houston — Entertainment Complex State: Texas by alex (100%)

Waikiki Beach - Aloha Festival 2023 State: Hawaii by RWE (100%)	Gatorland State: Florida by Terry Inferno (55%) and J K (45%)

Louisiana Action Park! State: Louisiana by Babar Tapie (80%) and In:Cities (20%)	NOLA Jazz and Heritage Festival State: Louisiana by Jene (50%) and Gustav Goblin (50%)
The residents of a small town rallied together to build an amusement park after Hurricane Patricia. Located in the heart of the bayou, Louisiana Action Park is the definition of solidarity, resilience, and some good ol' fun! Bring your grandma and have a blast in the bayou!	Come on down, down to New Orleans baby! NOLA, Louisiana. The city that has it all; the people, the music, the food. Let the bon temps rouler!

Country Roads State: West Virginia by Lurker (100%)	Balloonfest '86 State: Ohio by Liampie (100%)
This park was named after the song, link here, consider it optional for viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrEljMfXYo	Fun times in Cleveland again! Come on down to Cleveland-town everyone!

Vermont State Autumn Fest 2023 State: Vermont by RobDedede (75%) and Splitvision (25%)	Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field 2023 State: Illinois by hydroportal (60%) and FK+Coastermind (40%)

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix State: Nevada by GammaZero (100%)
Well, I tried. If you wanna see the cars racing, test/open both rides called "Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix" at the same time. Same with the coaster. I guess this was one race I had to retire from.

LAP:

Great duo here. Love the Louisiana adaptation of Action Park. Hillbilly central lol. Bayou Blaster is ridiculous with the golf cart mixed in there. Great atmosphere throughout. Full of fun details, kineticism, overall very fun. The rusty bridges are amazing as well. Nice work guys.

Worlds Fair Houston

Love Gemini. Feels like a good alternative to the Cedar Point layout and thus has a lot more path interaction. Architecture was simple, but I think very period appropriate. I love your unique choices and aesthetic when it comes to architecture. Very refreshing. 

Texican Empire

Very intriguing atmosphere. Interesting blend of themes/styles. I enjoy the rockwork/landscaping.. Havent seen such a unique take since Esoterra. Confused by the regal palace looking structure thats also an oil refinery? Also, big fan of the archy outside of the arena. Very cool.

Roswell

Cool fair vibes. Simple rides, but thats okay! The coaster was neat. Going through the surrounding town was interesting - probably enjoyed the bus depot the most along with all the interiors along the map edge. Really adds a lot. 

Las Vegas F1

Bummer it appears that it was a smidge unfinished without peeps and rides being open? I could be wrong of course! Dense which is good for Vegas. Archy is cool. I like some of the track details on the circuit. Curbs, run-off areas, painted non racing surfaces. Nice work.

Jene and Gustav

Feels very New Orleans. Love the restaurants in the city area. Overall feels very lived in which I appreciate. Also, chunky paddlewheel boat!

Liampie

Cleveland? And it’s another thing we aren’t proud of?? Damn. Still very cool to see Terminal Tower in here. Really cool building and that part of our downtown I have fond memories of from growing up and going to Tower City Mall inside there. Great easter eggs and references. Like the train shipping jobs out of Cleveland. Fwiw we are this year one of the best metro areas in the country in terms of job growth. 

Lady Gaga

A recreation of Wrigley Field? Holy crap guys.. This is nuts. I’m not sure what to say. All the surrounding buildings, the rooftop bleachers, the ramps, walkways of the stadium.. Insane. So many details in just the architecture. I know I said another entry felt lived in, but this is the real deal. Really amazing work you both should be proud of. This should be on ESPN. 

Vermont

Nice breath of fresh air, literally. Love the fall vibes. The RMC has nice flow as well. Not really sure how to do the guess the weight thing. Changing mass seems tedious? Mass is 2800, and it takes eons to change the value with the arrow buttons. Is there a hint somewhere to know what the right value is? I assume its somewhere between 1 and 2800? 

Waikiki

Beige! Cool archy. Feels very resort-y. The rows of shops along the road that lines the beach is very cool and detailed which I appreciate… namely Burger King and Starbucks. Parking Garages are very well done too. 

Gatorland

This is very neat. Love the park shape. Some fun details that I enjoyed like the mini golf course and the gator head that peeps walked through.. Really cool. The Jimmy Buffett concert is neat. Interesting to see so many entries with food trucks and music stages. Gator enclosures were well done as well. 

West Virginia

Doesn’t feel super WV to me. But that might be the limitations of LL. Also missing the large event unless I am missing something?

Bussin Bayou

Really cool opening scene with the fog rolling through the swamp.. Really sets a strong atmosphere that ultimately seems pretty cheery with the boat parade. Speaking of which, the row of buildings facing the parade are amazing.. Wowee. Coaster layout is wonderful too. Love the glitchy yellow track trim that makes the coaster look like it’s streaking like lightning through the bayou. Thus the name.. Great stuff. 

Wow, just spent about an hour looking through all the parks, and I'm completely overwhelmed.  Kudos to everyone who entered, really all quality content.  Appreciate the range and variety of approaches to the prompts.  Just so much to look at.

Bussin Bayou:

Loved the coaster. Couldn't find the shape of Louisiana anywhere though, maybe it was in the landmass somewhere but it was a little too subtle.

EDIT: Pro tip, don't pan away and unpause somewhere else on the map lol

World's Fair Houston:

Took me a minute on the shape. Love the dueling coasters, they're kinda simple but pretty satisfying. I appreciate the effort to make the sync perfect. Also like the unique looking shade covers.

Country Roads:

The state shape is supposed to be in the lake I think? I like the classic/simple LL scenario-esque style, I don't think it's going to survive in a contest as intense as this though. Punch Mines is my favorite layout, it feels the most unique and intentional. There's a lot of "mining" and "milling" going on but I'm not getting as much of that from the stations and texture choices.

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix:

I like the idea in theory. I like the track layout forming the state border too, but something about it sort-of being on the strip, sort-of not is messing with me. The coaster also feels a little bolted on and certain spots feel unfinished. The hotels are impressive, if a little small for their scale.

Roswell UFO Fest:

Park shape is cheating. Town looks appropriately disgustingly dirty for a southwestern American city. Stage is neat.

Gatorland:

Love the soft colors in the entrance. Pretty solid layout for a park too. The concert is cute. This feels like pretty much exactly what this round was conceived to produce to be honest, and that's a mark in the park's favor.

NOLA Jazz and Heritage Festival:

I can't help noticing the overwhelming amount of southern and southwestern states in this contest... The music festival doesn't strike me as well suited to this one as to some of the others. I really liked the more prominently featured colonial architecture in this one vs. Bayou which leads them to feel pretty distinct.

Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field 2023:

Well it certainly feels lively. The field structure is insanely impressive. This one wins as far as music performances go IMO. Can't seem to find the Illinois state outline.

Balloonfest '86:

The color explosion of the balloons nicely tempers the beige of the structure. Looks like an incredibly impressive recreation of the Terminal Tower in Cleveland. I guess there's nothing saying it needs for theme park nonsense, but I do think I like the roller-coaster-y ones more than the non-roller-coaster-y ones. This was also one of the cleverer implementations of the state outline that I didn't have to go searching for IMO.

Louisiana Action Park!:
Fun, technically very impressive... makes me feel gross though. I do really like how you've done the swamp section. Foliage is nutty.

The Holy Texican Empire:

The blend of architectural styles makes for a really interesting aesthetic. I particularly love the station for Ophidius which is an excellent showcase of the new wide banked hills. I also appreciate the unique interpretation of a large event.

Vermont State Autumn Fest 2023:

A little light on the stuff, but I am a sucker for fall foliage and also anything pumpkin related. Black Diamond is a great little low-to-the-ground forest sprinter. The snow poffs are a little weird in tandem with everything else.

Waikiki Beach:

Another music festival. The architecture on the lower levels I like, everything up from there is a little too samey, and this one is also a little light on rides relative to the others. The technical details on the facades, recognizable franchises and parking garage in particular are great, I'm just generally less of a fan of "city" focused parks and entries.

Yeah, I guess I should address the elephant in the room. My entry is unfinished. I sadly didn't manage my time well, so I had to send it in at like 90-95% completion. To be honest, I'm a bit glad at least that some of you don't think it's instantly obvious that it's unfinished, but I thought I should let everyone know to avoid confusion. Don't worry, I do plan on finishing it eventually, because I really believe it deserves to be seen in its full glory, but I'm obviously a bit bummed that I DNF'd so close to the finish line (yes, pardon the motorsport pun).

That said though, these maps are absolutely insane! Reviews coming soon-ish.

EDIT: Also I obviously don't mean to try and sway voters at all but I just need to mention that the random flame object on the pit building roof was not something that was supposed to be in the finalized entry lol, I swear I'm not THAT crazy

Forgot to mention, I tested my park in OpenRCT2 as I was building it to make sure it looked right in it, As long as RCT1 is linked it should work. Even without RCT1 linked don't worry too much about voting, screens can be posted and it's not like I'm going to be all that competitive with how great the other parks all are. 

Bussin Bayou

Yeah this entry is buzzin! Great atmosphere, portraying the nightlife really well. There were some really great buildings like the facades near the boat parade, the boat house... I also really liked the island with the diagonal pirate ship. Good stuff! Coaster is neat too. Wasn't a big fan of the clouds/mist ride, looked a bit too cartoonishly compared to the rest of the map. I had a hard time finding the state shape, but then it hit me when I re-opened the park with pause on... very subtle!

Expo '77: Worlds Fair Houston — Entertainment Complex

This once again shows why you're so good at this game. Eveyrthing is there, without too much details, not too less detailed... with the exact right amount of detailing. Very clean and very distinctive archy style you've went with it. I love it, that skyride station is something else. The Gemini station is also super. Loved the coaster choice as well, thought I'd was at Cedar Point first. I had to search quite a bit for the state shape but when I noticed.. very subtile sir Alex! 

L.A.P.

All this time we're laughing "haha Josh, you'll just send FAP back in"... and you basically did that with another state haha. Together with our French genius, this park is just as genius and lovable as its Floridian counter part. The coaster is neat and the custom train parts really make it great! This park is so full with details, so much to see and love here. I also love the custom music you guys added, it really makes it shine! 

The holy Texan empire

Holy shit... this entry is really insane. Gorgeous archy, gorgeous landscaping and foliage, awesome coaster, Roman amphitheatre with the snake show in it... Can't say anything else. I love this. Awesome. Ethan, you're insanely good.

F1 Las Vegas GP

Clearly a shame you didn't got this done in time. I really appreciate the effort you did put in, you clearly went with an ambitious entry and given the limited time & you doing this all on yourself I think you did really well. I like that someone went with a F1 GP. Las Vegas is a great backdrop for a F1 race. I hope you'll finish it someday. One minor complaint is that the start track is not so visible from any angle.

Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field 23

That stadium is insane! It is so big and also so detailed. Making big buildings interesting is a talent. Love the event and how you handled it. Super stage and that Budweiser sign is excellent! But let's not forget what's out the stadium too. The houses are so well done, super archy there! I also love the ugly backdrop for the L track. A little bit easy-go on the state shape but as I did NM I shouldn't be the one to say anything about that haha

NOLA Jazz and Heritage festival

Lovely entry, good atmosphere and some nice buildings. I really like that garden in front of the beige church?. That stage is also really done well. Overall a pretty neat entry and however I didn't feel the lack of a coaster, I do think I miss a bit more content.

Gatorland

Love that someone did Gatorland! That entrance is so fun. Really feels like a small Floridian theme park that would be really fun to visit irl. Love the coaster and how realistically crap it is made. Lovely entry overall.

Balloonfest

I hate it how you can put something together 2 days for the deadline, and it still looks cool and interesting. Cool event you went with, kinda brutal on the balloon cut-outs but at the same time so funny. 

Country Roads

Seeing the park name already put the song in my head. So I immediately know the state. Lovely atmosphere, feels very classic. Love that you went with some older coaster types like the side friction coaster and the wooden wild mouse. I also really liked the dam. Not so much fan of the landscaping, I prefer a bit smoother landscaping than those jagged rocks. I think it's hard to compete against the much more detail filled rct2 entries, but that doesn't make this entry not lovely.

Vermont State autumn fest

Colored trees! So you know I'm gonna dig that. Loved the pumpkin spinner and all the little stands. That Pumpkin guessing game was also really fun, and it had some effects I did not see coming. Great extra touch to the park! Coaster was ok, I think you could've gone a bit more wacky with it. 

Waikiki Beach Aloha Festival

Glad you were able to finish it, great effort. I like the stage, but it's really high. The backdrop city is done really well, very clean. The texturing on the beach is great and I like how you curved the sea. Also like how you filled the beach so that it feels alive. With a bit more time I'm sure there would be more but given the time restraints I think you did very well.

Well this first round proved to be excellent! A lot of great entries and I think every contestant showed great parkmaking. I also liked the many custom music in the parks, love how OpenRCT made that so much easier. It really adds a lot to the parks and I hope we'll see that trend continue into the other rounds. 

Formula 1 : I've seen a lot of progress since your last park. The architecture is really cool, the buildings look great, it's the park's biggest strength! The circuit fits well into the city (I don't know why I really liked the lace-up at the bottom). Considering you haven't finished, it's a very good entry, especially for a park built alone.

Waikiki : Great job RWE, I was really hoping for a park with a Hawaiian theme. The architecture is solid, I love the work on the parks and paths, it's so fluid. It may lack a bit of detail, but I'm keeping in mind that you built it all by yourself. 

Vermont : Very good state choice here too, I love the diagonal ski-lift and its landscape work. The coaster looks very cool and fits well in the landscape. Overall a park full of charm, there are perhaps just a few too many orange trees, I would have at least diversified the type of tree!

Balloonfest : I love the theme, the execution is simple in a way but it's very accurate and full of great ideas. I love all the little details on the map. I really liked this big sculpture. There's definitely something very coherent overall.

Gatorland : Ahah, we had the same idea for the boats. Sometimes it lacks a bit of detail, but there's a lot of cool stuff to look at. I loved the different variations on the aligator, especially the mini-golf which is simple but brilliant. Great work on the curves in the alligator pit, and great integration of the shape of the state! The interactive-map is a very good idea too !

NOLA Jazz : I really like the theme, what I like about this map is that you can clearly feel the spirit of Louisiana: the architecture, the landscapes, the music, the whole thing makes it easy to understand where we are. I really like the capitol/building with the park, and I also like the big colourful poster on the wall !

Lady Gaga : A duo like that should be banned, they're not humans but machines at this point. The theme is so well found, the stadium is magnificent, the use of diagonals and lines is a masterclass, overall the architecture is incredible! On top of that there's detail and interiors, a really great park, congrats !

Ufo : A great theme here too, flyins saucers are so cool! Lots of little details and humour that bring a lot of charm and personality to the park. Plus I really like the way the map has been designed and organised, it's complete and very coherent. Really really cool Fred !

Bussin’ Bayou : Very interesting to see your personal vision of the bayou, the atmosphere that emerges is really unique and interesting, especially with those dark, slimy colours. The architecture and foliage are really good too, and I also really like the coaster ! 

Expo77 : This bold rock music made me laugh a lot, it's very cliché but fits wonderfully with the general atmosphere of the park. In fact, that's the park's great strength: its atmosphere. The choice of colours, the architecture, everything is really well considered.

The Holy Texican Empire : Classic Ethan park, I wouldn't expect anything less, I love your unique vision of Texas, it's full of personality and unique, this way of mixing different references is really cool. I love the rock work, the diagonal shops, it's visually very pleasing. In fact, I really like everything about this park, but it's really this unique and singular vision that I love, don't change a anything in your approach to the game, it's perfect and it's a breath of fresh air!

Country Roads : Like Ethan, I like your vision of rct2, you have a unique and recognisable flair. It's not my favourite style, but that doesn't stop me enjoying your parks and the way you deal with a theme. It always takes us back to childhood, congrats !

Formula 1 : Very nice and clean park. I would have loved to see it finished, and clever trick with the state shape. 

Waikiki : Cool entry, a bit more breathing room than the rest. If you had more time you could have added more typical Hawaii stuff, and maybe done some more with the objective. 

Vermont : Cool trick with the pumpkin weighing. Maybe the foliage colours were slightly overdone. 

Balloonfest : Funny to see somewhere I have actually been represented, and definitely the best application of the objectives imo, it has the coolest and funniest event, and also the most original and clever way to include the state shape. A bit understated, but I get it. 

Gatorland : Cool addition of the bridges over the gators, but I thought it was all a bit too bright, especially the path. Content wise this is also maybe a bit heavy on water. 

L.A.P. : Very funny and well made, and cool that it is a sequel to an earlier contest park. I liked the idea of the coaster trains, but I didn't like the fact that none of the cars could make the banks and inversions. 

NOLA Jazz : Pleasant, but maybe a bit understated objectives-wise and a bit disjointed. You could really see this was made by two different builders. 

Lady Gaga : Obviously very skillfully made, and a good representation of Chicago. Lovely urban theming! I like these more diorama entries, but they also make me wish for a coaster or a ride. I didn't like how the state shape was an afterthought. 

Ufo : Very cool, but to me this screamed for more crazy theming. Maybe an actual alien invasion or other weird unexplainable things going on. It nails the American surroundings though. Lots of concrete . 

Bussin’ Bayou : Very nice landscaping and foliage. The archi was also very effective. The smoke didn't really add anything imo, except maybe a reason to include the state shape (and I only figured that out because of the ride naming). 

Expo77 : Best coaster and coaster station of the round for me. Also loved how it's shaped like the state without taking away from how good the layout is. Very effective classic alex design submission, which would somehow suit a "normal" design submission more somehow than this contest format. Except from the shape it didn't scream Texas to me. 

The Holy Texican Empire : I liked this park the most in terms of what was there. I think I'll vote for this for highest overall quality. Just a fun quirky theme park. I think the coaster would look better as a different coaster type, considering the layout (intamin?) and I couldn't find the state shape. Otherwise very lovely. Very effective landscaping with the rocks! 

Country Roads : Lovely and heart warming. Never stop making these kinds of submissions! 

When I opened half of these dixie's land started playing on my computer.

ALEX

I love the layout of the coaster, thats a supercool way to incorporate the state shape! I’ve been wanting to build a Gemini for a while and this is great. I like the awnings across the whole map, theyre super slick. The little rocket shape climbing gym is cute. Nice entry, very clean and inspired, super alex! 

LURKER

Making the lake the shape of WV is very clever! I like the dam and power themed mine train station. The two lift hills are cool, the interaction with the train and river is great. The the wild mouse mine ride is my favorite part of the entry. The italian banners and arch help carry the event! I like the references in the read me!

GAMMAZERO

I like how the park is in the shape of Nevada but the map is not! I really enjoy the layout of the coaster, is wiggles so satisfyingly across the map. All this architecture is insanely ambitious and its pulled off well! The Standouts are the Mandalay Bay and the train station. Also that cvs is so recognizably CVS!! 

FREDD

Classic map shape of New Mexico! The event is shown clearly too. Having been to Roswell, i really enjoy this. The ufo flying saucers is my favorite of the rides. 

TERRY AND JK

Wow! Just like Gamma’s map i really like how yall made the shape of florida! This is my favorite this round! Its insalenly immersive, i loved that i was loosing myself to the music! This is forsure a park ill be coming back too for a long time, The colors and all the gator shit at the front is too cute. 

GUSTAV AND JENE

Classic to do the shape of Louisiana for the map, bonus points for the diagonal! Also bonus points for doing the same state as me! The city district at the top is really well done, i love the backs of them alot! 

I love the concert, thats super fun

FK+COASTERMIND AND HYDROPORTAL

This has to be the craziest thing built so far. Its so good, its wow, yas, werk. Like offensively good. I like the audio so much. Ate. momma. Well done. 

LIAM

All of the balloons are super satisfying to look at, what a textural delight! Nice to see ohio out in the balloons. 

JOSH AND BABAR

Bitch we in louisiana. The music in this adds so much i freakin LOVE IT. This is my other favortie, so cute, so FUN. The LAP sign on the lift hill is great, i love the bird there. Its another park ill be coming back too a ton. ‘

ETHAN

Nice subtle texas! I am sucha  fan of texas too. The battle was so fun to watch! Worship the snake man. This is my favorite single rail ever built! Its so good, i like the two across seating. Also the best coaster this round,  This might also be my fav ethan work too, really well done. The log flume is so cool too. 

ROBDEDEDE and SPLITVISION

This is super cute, i loved the guess the weight mini game, it took me a while but i eventually got it! The black diamon coaster is great, i love that its an old ski lift, given the old poles! The bird songs are too die for! Relly great stuff!!

RWE

This is sick! Really well done, the backdrop for the stage is a great idea! This is so fun and lived in. The buildings are done super well too! Great entry. The beach scene is done well

Some comments on the park in no specific order:

Gatorland: A very pleasant and and relaxing park, with some great color choices. A nice selection of rides, cool to see a Hopkins coaster, complete with all the odd thing that those have. Also, really nicely done map shape.

Waikiki Beach: Such a well done beach scene, excellent texture work and use of curved pieces to make it all look natural. More nice texture work in the city itself too, knowing how time crunched it was it's impressive how polished it all looks.

Vermont State Autumn Fest 2023: Love the fall foliage, great atmosphere and the guess the weight thing is a cool interactive feature. Also nice ride design with the RMC, the custom shoestring and the old and new skilifts.

Balloonfest '86: Great implementation of the festival, also pretty funny knowing the video that's referenced with this. (Also, that one balloon scene was pretty dark considering, also showed the research). Nice way to do the state shape too. 

Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field: What an impressive recreation, so much attention to detail (And research to get everything right) in the stadium and the surroundings, and the atmosphere is fantastic. Also, I love how the interior cut-outs were done on the edge of the map.

NOLA Jazz and Heritage festival: A very charming entry, I like the stage and festival (And those trucks and kiddie rids, nice stuff). The whole park is pretty lively and has some nice variety with the different areas. Also, the state shape map being sideways is interesting, unique and kind of breaks the grid.

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix: I really like the overall layout of the map as well the as structures themselves. A shame it was time crunched but makes sense with how ambitious this is, especially for a solo, Would love to see a complete and polished version.

Roswell UFO Fest: A nice fairground, really like how the theming was done and especially enjoy the booths.A nice variety of architecture in the surroundings too. Also a nice portable coaster centerpiece, especially the support work.

The Holy Texican Empire: Definitely has the surreal feel I'd expect from and Ethan park. An interesting scene to start it off, and some great architecture and rockwork through the park. Centerpiece coaster is great with all the interaction with the terrain and paths. (Also, nice diagonal riverboat)

Louisiana Action Park: This was a lot of fun, looking through all the wacky and sketchy rides. Tons of great little scenes and a lot of character in the run-down architecture, I was a fan of F.A.P. so I loved seeing another over-the-top Action Park like this.

Expo77: World Fair Houston: A great centerpiece coaster, love track layering and support work (Great supports on Corkscrew too), also that sign is so cool. Also, it took me a little bit to see the state shape, that is such a good way to do it.

Bussin' Bayou: Love that intro and way to do the state shape. A really nice use of a dark/night palette, park has some great atmosphere. The coaster is really fun, the shuttle layout, the supports, the theme and the intentional track clipping for that lighting effect.

Awesome stuff overall. I don't know that I have much to say that hasn't been said, but I do believe certain entries accomplished the goals in a better manner than others. The classification of "event" is pretty varied among all the entries, with some accomplishing both goals in some nice ways - others a little less clear to me. State shape inclusion was nicely varied - though I'm a big fan of doing it with the park shape personally, that's not to say I wasn't pleasantly surprised by the manner in which other entries pulled it off. Excellent work from everyone involved, and it seems we're off to a wonderful start.

You can expect my delayed entry in a month or two. Life got in the way of ambition; but I'm excited for everyone to see what I've got cooking.

Holy Texas - Typical Ethan. Great architecture, nice shapes. Also really enjoyed the landscaping. Great coaster too.

Country Roads - So lovely to see LL representation. Cute park. Really liked the wild mouse.

Louisiana Action - Is it a chain now? Park is wonderful, loving all the attention to little things and details in this. Wonderful landscaping and water.

Bussin Bayou - Nice opening scene, really enjoyed the idea. Park was very nice too, enjoyed the night theme.

Roswell - Nice theme choice. Enjoyed all the rusty buildings. Fair was nice too, cute UFO ride.

Lady Gaga - wtf, i just love everything.

NOLA Jazz and Heritage festival - lovely entry, composition felt a little off, but i enjoyed the street scene and the castle. Great representation of a variety of cultural aspects from the state.

Gatorland - Pretty cool park, enjoyed all the shaping work and really liked the looping coaster. Also great entrance!

Balloonfest - Nice idea, really liked the architecture. Loved the giant art sculpture. Balloon spam i didnt like, but crazy how fast youve built this.

Vermont - Cute design, nice foliage work and nice coaster. Also really a pretty cool atmosphere that comes across here.

Expo - Very Alex, nice coaster, i also really enjoyed all the sculpturing architecture work. Also really liked the playground.

Formula 1 - So sad to see this unfinished. You can be proud nonetheless. I think many people are underestimating you, this really shows a lot of potential!

What a strong opening round. Had a blast looking at each park here.

Bussin Bayou - Great snakey coaster! LIvely atmosphere and murky vibe. I love how precarious the paths and buildings feel.

expo77 - The retro architecture is cohesive and has strong form, and the subtle details throughout are just enough to keep things fresh and interesting. You really captured the Houston vibe here, great entry.

Louisiana Action Park - I love this! Everything is so full of life and has a great deal of thought put into it. Truly excellent architecture and building everywhere.

Holy Texican - I can't believe how much you managed to squeeze in here. Everything is vivid and there are so many great details tucked into every corner. My eyes got distracted a lot but it was fun.

Roswell UFO Fest - Great scene of the town and I like the idea for the theme. The buildings and recreations are sweet, and lend themselves to a good overall atmosphere.

Formula 1 Las Vegas - Such a shame to see this unfinished, yet this is still a great entry even without peeps. Very grand scale and lots to look at. I'm excited to see this finished!

NOLA Jazz - What a great series of vignettes of New Orleans. Each area has its strengths, and I especially love the streetcar area. I do wish that some parts were given more focus and space to show off its features.

Lady Gaga at Wrigley - Yeah... Okay this is insane. How did y'all manage to pull this off? This is some of the best rct I've ever seen. Maybe it's my familiarity with the area, but it's captured perfectly. Every detail is spot-on. I could look through this for hours.

Balloonfest - What a great idea! Love the little nods to the hastily made Cleveland tourism video, and the details make it hard to believe this was a last-minute entry. Especially loved the corner with the hotel.

Vermont Autumn Fest - Lovely entry, strong northeastern autumn vibe. Love the details of the old ski resort, and the coaster layout is fantastic. I only wish there was more!

Waikiki Aloha Fest - Another place I've been in real life, and quite well you captured it. Very lush feeling, while still incorporating many city elements. Hard to believe this was built quickly, though I wish there was more to chew on.

Gatorland - Well done on this! So much packed in, while still having enough space for everything to breathe. Love the zoo aspect combined with the hokey theme park feel. Such a well executed environment.

Country Roads - Having been to West Virginia, the aspects of the state are seemingly well represented with the mountains, mining, and rivers and dams. Full of classic Lurker charm, but with stronger ideas executed well. Good work on this!

Alright, GT23, let´s go! 13 entries in the first round. That´s huge.

Bussin' Bayou by AJ- and Bubbsy41

That opening is sick. Big ‘Gangland’-vibes and with the timing of that coaster it’s so spectacular. Great way to incorporate the shape-objective. Very interesting choice of palette. The very deep dark surroundings with the bright white and beige. I like the way it pops, but it also has something unnatural to it. A lot of music blending. The archy is top notch, the foliage doesn’t feel typically bayou to me. Fire-Flyer really grabbing my attention with that double layered lighting on the tracks. That’s so creative! And man I love the floats.

expo77: Worlds Fair Houston — Entertainment Complex by Alex

This park is clean, with a capitol C. Those shaders are fantastically done, works so great. The coasters feel very Alex, the rest feels like Alex re-imagining G Force’s Mahoning Gardens. I mean that in a positive way. Colours are very dull in macro, but on micro-level there are so many fantastic transitions and subtle nuances. Pro-skill.

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix by GammaZero

Like you mentioned it is an unfinished project, and, in being so . . . it feels quite dead. But looking past that, I think it’s incredible how much you got done as one person. I think Scenery Manager could have helped you in adding interiors in those hotels in a quick and not work-intensive way. It’s all there, just needs some time to polish this diamond.

Country Roads by Lurker

TAKE ME HOMEEEE! The title is enough to turn me into full lunatic-mode and just screaming the lyrics. I like that you went old-skool. The standard palette still exists! It looks really good in comparison to similar style maps. But, if I’m honest, it doesn’t really sell me the specific state. Could be my limited knowledge, though.

Roswell UFO Fest by FredD

Loving most of the archy and the music is a perfect choice. The carnival is awesome. Loved Invasion and Starcruiser. I think Flying Saucers would’ve worked better with 3 or 4 less cars. Those ‘alien head’- signs work so good around the park. So cool that you even thought about the choice of cars driving around.

Gatorland by Terry Inferno ands J K

Ow for the love of G, that is a great entrance. Those teeth! Very Floridian architecture around the entrance. Love that airboats ride in the back, the scenerypiece airboat and the coaster. That animated q railing in the lighthouses is smart. Gatorwire is so much fun.

Lady Gaga at Wrigley Field 2023 by hydroportal and FK+Coastermind

*Morgan Freeman voice* There is a lot to say about Hydro’s and FK’s Wrigley Field entry. But the one thing, that matters most, that is, the quintessential essence of all that is to be learned and taken from GT23, is that there is . . . not only, a Lady Gaga peep, but in addition, an enormous Lady Gaga wall. And from this day, NE will never be, nor ever will be, the same again. *exit Morgan*

I don’t think anyone will doubt that this is the winner of this round. It’s incredible work. The stadium, the surroundings, everything. Top notch.

Balloonfest '86 by Liampie

‘This is art?’ asks the entertainer in the elephant suit. ‘Yes’ is the answer that the entertainer deserves, because the contrast between the enormous phallic beige tower and the playful colours of the balloons brings such an interesting visual tension. A tension only playfully broken by the ironically regressive melodies of the candy style music.

Louisiana Action Park! by Babar Tapie and In:Cities

Is that CCR and Dwayne Dopsie I’m hearing? That’s so great dudes! The highly micro fun filled style of Babar combined with the epic crunch of In:Cities. This park is a blast!  So much to love; the Frankenstein-coaster, all the little shacks and the riverboat to name a few. I think the highlight is the way you guys nailed the swampy foliage and those trains . . . hot damn.

The Holy Texican Empire by Ethan

That opening! My god dude, how long have you been working on that? That’s amazing. The archy is great too. I have double feelings about the rockwork: I like the aesthetic and the dynamic nature near the water, but it feels a little blocky on the higher area’s. The coaster and oil-theme is so nice.

Vermont State Autumn Fest 2023 by RobDedede and Splitvision

So, that’s a very different choice of colours compared to the other parks. I like it in macro view, but if I zoom in, the foliage feels a little . . . unrefined, maybe? The coaster and flatride are fun. I also like the ‘guess the weight’-game. Brilliant how you guys got this to work. The melting snow is a nice idea, but a little to sparse to really sell it, in my opinion.

Waikiki Beach - Aloha Festival 2023 by RWE

Music choice is ace! Really nice to see Hawaii represented in this round. That boulevard is jaw dropping. The beach, foliage and street. Some object-choices don’t seem logical to me; like the six frags garden or the argonath windows for music-towers. I think that using some more modern objects for that, would have lifted this park even higher than it already is.

NOLA / personal reflection:

So sharing some background: Normally, I’m not too much into competitions, because my family/life/work balance is difficult to manage and I’m not a very fast builder. But the objectives of this round struck a chord.  Around five years ago, I did a USA-roadtrip with my wife through the East- and South East of the USA. The city that had the biggest impact on us was New Orleans. I’ve played in European Zydeco and Cajun bands for some years and thought I knew something about the culture, but when I was there, the warmth and personality of the Louisiana people was incredible. Not to mention the food and the historic culture that was all around. Ever since it is my (and our) favourite city. When this match came up, I knew, I wanted to use this opportunity to share some of my personal memories and my love for this city. I am glad Gustav joined me in this endeavour. Working with him was fun and relaxed. We had this enthusiastic energy that was uplifting, without becoming forced. Committed and learning from each other. I’m so glad we pushed eachother to what it has become.  

I hope our park will make you interested in the places, people and food of New Orleans that we tried to translate into GT23.

 

Is that CCR and Dwayne Dopsie I’m hearing?

 

It is! Glad somebody picked up on it! Had a lot of fun doing some research when making the soundtrack for this map. I probably could have used those hours to build on the day before deadline, but I think spending them on finding relevant music was worthwhile. Glad to get that validation! Dwane is an absolute beast haha. Ended up listening to his entire live set while building.

So many entries. Well done everyone very exciting start to the contest. Thank you very much!

Here are my faves on each aspect:

Themed to a state:
All the Louisiana ones were super easily recognizable as such. As was Las Vegas for obvious reasons. Also shoutout to Gatorland.

(Large) event:
Liked how diverse this interpretation was. But I preferred the ones who made it standout. Thought the Lady Gaga concert was by far the best one with Balloonfest and Waikiki coming second and third.

State shape:
Map shape was an easy way in but Gatorland made it feel very naturally given the odd shape. Shoutout to FredD for making it funny. Best one was probably Ohio by Liampie. Very clever way of ingraining it in the concept.

Overall quality / US entry:
3. Third favorite was Bussin' Bayou. Always had a thing for Louisiana although I've never been. Glad there were three entries. This one was great. Think it captured a lot of interesting LA aspects well. The architecture and foggy vibe stuck out.

2. Second favorite was Louisiana Action Park. Both funny and fitting to the contest. That scrap coaster was fantastic.

1. My favorite entry was Waikiki Beach. Felt most recognizable to me as the US even though I've never been to Hawaii. Huge buildings and open space probably did the trick. Loved it!