Head-2-Head-X / H2HX: Round Robin - R3 Wrap-up

A quite memorable round comes to a close. The site not being functional for a couple of days meant that Round 3 needed longer, and coincidentally three teams also used their deadline extensions this time (Lonely Hearts Club, Hurricanes and Evergreen Gardeners). The result we see once everything is summarised is pretty staggering. There are two camps of the top and bottom three teams, each trios that are super close together. And even further, in ten renditions of H2H over 20 odd years, we have a first where after the upcoming R4, all teams could potentially end up with a 2–2 win/loss ratio. This would mean the following Round 5 would be a PlayOffs "make it or break it" moment for everyone! In terms of suspense and motivation, I can think of a worse turnout.

A trend that continues this contest is also that with each round, we see a new team emerge in first place. This time the Lonely Hearts Club overtake the Hurricanes, and just barely, by a mere 1% in average relative voting percentage. This goes to show how every single vote can count. Even the Soda Jerks are only another few percent behind, and well within reach of the top spot.

It's also note-worthy how the Jazzcats are now the only team to still hold their deadline extension. Something that could become very valuable, especially in a potential PlayOffs match. The Cats have had a rough start to the event, but sure enough are moving up one spot this time. AvanineCommuter not only ushered in a potential comeback for his team, he also achieved Elite parkmaker status at the same time with the win. An impressive performance.

Everything is very much still possible for the teams, and the added +1 week deadline shift due to the site outage is surely well-received I should imagine, given this fierce competition we are seeing.

Rank	Team	W – L	Vote %	Played	Unplayed
1 1		2 – 1	58	J K SSSammy deanosrs CHE Jens J. FK+Coastermind Hex nin mamarillas Camcorder22	Iretont RobDedede AmusementParker
2 1		2 – 1	57	Xtreme97 ottersalad Levis ballpitwarrior Bluetiful_Monday Congoy bigshootergill Kumba Terry Inferno	Splitvision kenos CoasterCreator9 Jappy
3 1		2 – 1	55	In:Cities Mulpje Maverix dr dirt Gustav Goblin Hobeon Scoop wheres_walto Ethan	Ziscor inthemanual GammaZero SensualEthiopianPolice
4 1		1 – 2	47	alex Ulvenwood roygbiv Liampie trav Thethrillman hoobaroo Recurious ultro	A n d r e w Cocoa MorganFan Coupon
play-offs cut-off
5 1		1 – 2	43	Tolsimir Steve AJ- monsterbux Jene Mr.Brightside711 94SupremePosse AvanineCommuter Suormot	WhosLeon Bubbsy41 saxman1089 spacek531
6 1		1 – 2	41	Babar Tapie Louis! MK98 Lurker Six Frags RWE BelgianGuy hydroportal barnNID	Fisch Sulakke Zarathustra Coasterbill

Things will be getting a bit more serious now in R4. Given the even ranking scenario above, there's a bit on the line here. A win in R4 should increase PlayOffs qualification likelihood noticeably for most teams. Best of luck to you all!

As always, please refer to the deadline overview for the deadline in your respective time zone, especially after the added 1 week shift.

Thank you otter for the lovely colored team names from the last wrap-up <3

 

XX.) Sambhava’s Rest (LHC) (too biased to rank this one lol, but still really proud of the end result!)

 

1.) Bugs and Bots (LHC)

2.) Void Extraction Research Base (JC)

3.) The Yards (EG)

4.) Valley of the Kings (SJ)

5.) Yucca Desert Park (SJ)

6.) Constellations (LHC)

7.) Lostileth (H)

8.) Radio Park Tbilisi (TD)

9.) Castello Altovento (JC)

10.) Millennium Discovery Museum (H)

11.) Hell (SJ)

12.) Cirque Macabre (EG)

13.) Troubadours et Baladins (EG)

14.) Naam Chalong Suu Oom (H)

15.) The Sailor (TD)

16.) Institute of Extraordinary Biota (JC)

17.) Wawel Castle (TD)

 

Quality is very, very high in general. Y'all getting crazy good

Bugs and Bots (LHC)

Lostileth (H)

Void Extraction Research Base (JC)

Constellations (LHC)

Valley of the Kings (SJ)
Radio Park Tbilisi (TD)

 

Millennium Discovery Museum (H)

The Sailor (TD)

Yucca Desert Park (SJ)

Sambhava’s Rest (LHC)
Cirque Macabre (EG)

The Yards (EG)
Troubadours et Baladins (EG)

Castello Altovento (JC)

 

Hell (SJ)
Naam Chalong Suu Oom (H)

Wawel Castle (TD)

Institute of Extraordinary Biota (JC)

Thanks Jens!

 

1.) Bugs and Bots (LHC)

2.) Void Extraction Research Base (JC) (pretty much tied with B&B)

3.) The Yards (EG)

4.) Constellations (LHC)

5.) Lostileth (H)

6.) Yucca Desert Park (SJ) 

7.) Castello Altovento (JC)

8.) Sambhava’s Rest (LHC)

9.) Radio Park Tbilisi (TD)

10.) Hell (SJ)

11.) The Sailor (TD)

12.) Troubadours et Baladins (EG)

13.) Millennium Discovery Museum (H)

14.) Cirque Macabre (EG)

15.) Institute of Extraordinary Biota (JC)

16.) Naam Chalong Suu Oom (H)

17.) Wawel Castle (TD)

 

Getting to the point where this contest is beginning to genuinely scare me with what y'all are making.

ok theres gonna be some motion and flux since last time as parks get settled in my brain and i revisit them. again i still think even C and D tier are gold level, its an absurdly high level of craftmanship this year. no internal order whatsoever in tiers

 

Really after thinking though, I'm not sure we have a truly S tier park yet. I remember what I felt when I opened la reve, DAW, le couer, etc. and I haven't felt it...quite. almost. blockbuster parks as they say

 

S

 

A+

VERB

Lostileth

A-

Valley of the Kings

Troubadours et Baladins

Hell

Bugs n Bots

Radio Park Tbilisi

B

Sailor

Yucca

Yards

Sambhava's Rest

Cirque Macabre

C

Millenium Museum

Institute of Extraordinary Biota

Wawel Castle

Constellations

Castello Altovento

D

Naam Chalong Suu Oom

E

Not including VERB due to bias:

1. The Yards
2. Valley of the Kings
3. Lostileth
4. Yucca Desert Park
5. Bugs and Bots
6. The Sailor
7. Cirque Macabre
8. Sambhava's Rest
9. Castello Altovento
10. Radio Park Tbilisi
11. The Royal Institute of Extraordinary Biota
12. Millenium Discovery Museum
13. Hell
14. Troubadours et Baladins
15. Wawael Castle
16. Namm Chalong Suu Oom

VERB vs Yards was the best matchup this time around for me, mainly due to nerves

Cocoa…I think I agree with you, but I think it’s because the floor is so high now we don’t really a massive gap from bottom tier to top tier. Every fucking park (for the most part) is an A-Tier plus park from any previous H2H.

I think VERB, Yards are all the best so far, but a notch below from the tippity top from the past few years.

Not including VERB due to bias

laaame. put it in!

^agreed strut your stuff

 

Cocoa…I think I agree with you, but I think it’s because the floor is so high now we don’t really a massive gap from bottom tier to top tier. Every fucking park (for the most part) is an A-Tier plus park from any previous H2H.

I think VERB, Yards are all the best so far, but a notch below from the tippity top from the past few years.

 

I wonder if its a bit more subtle. I think that absolutely the quality of construction, execution and 'rct2 skill' is higher than its ever been---almost everyone in this competition is operating with a fluency of objects, understanding of detail and layering, and 'hacking' ability (in the old-school usage) that is honestly unbelievable. However, I'm not necessarily sure we've grown nearly as fast in terms of composition, imagination, and narrative. Many of my favorite parks this year have glaring composition... quirks, or are based around quite simple concepts. I'm not saying that hasn't always been the case, since this is arguably the hardest part of the game to master---but in that sense, an exquisite concept from many seasons ago could still hold its own against a great park today which has put all its skill points into execution. Maybe its because a truly great idea takes just as long to crystallize in its conception as it does to build, and there just isn't time for that in the early rounds of h2h.

 

I'm not sure there has yet been a park this year that has made me stop and think 'how did they even think to do this??' Maybe Stardust Jubilee is the best example from last season for that---the whole is far greater than the sum of its (also excellent) parts.

laaame. put it in!

wanted to say the same about gustav and kings lol 

I for one, haven't heard Gustav talk about Valley of Kings nearly enough

Always moving parks up/down, and will do so again after the builder talk back today!

 

90 - The Yards - macro composure, vibes, feels like a Lowry painting with a theme park inside it.

89 - Sambhava's Rest - massively underappreciated IMO, the detail of the landscaping and architecture is ridiculous, and a top 3 coaster of the contest so far

88 - Constellations - JK's tower and interiors, Sammy's rides, CHEs touches and grind - someone else did some plugin nonsense for it too I think

 

 

85 - Lostileth - not my favourite IP, but familiar enough with Star Wars to "get it" and the amazing touches throughout

84 - Bugs and Bots - similarly, not my favourite type of video game, but the macro composition, rides and sculptures are undeniably out the top drawer

83 - Castello Altovento - town area and vineyards are the highest quality areas of the contest so far

82 - Yucca Desert Park - really good tone, vibes, half diagonal usage, and wonderful plugin work to bring it to life

 

80 - Radio Park Tbilisi - has really grown on me since the vote. Just really strong vibes for its theme worked into the park throughout.

80 - Troubadours and Baladins - flawed in places but generally brilliant. Some wonderful areas down below in the village.

79 - Institute of Extraordinary Biota - my favourite theme of the contest so far, just so peaceful and inspiring to look at. Miscast as an H2H park.

79 - Millenium Discovery Museum - overflowing with content, just so much crammed into the map without being too busy, great coaster. Dated exterior is the only downside.

78 - Hell - best opening scene of a park so far, full of great little details.

77 - Wawel Castle - another miscast for H2H, now I've seen the IRL version in more detail a lot of respect for how true to it the build is.

76 - Valley of the Kings - didn't "get" this like others did, but love the sculptures and wonderful narrative ideas

75 - Void Extraction Research Base - prime candidate to move up after builder talk back. Didn't immediately "get" the theme again (I just don't really like futuristic space stuff) although appreciate the technical proficiency

74 - The Sailor - lovely, colourful ideas throughout, just lacking cohesion and an ordered narrative for the viewer

73 - Cirque Macabre - this one has slipped down a little just due to the relentless quality of the contest. Coaster is the highlight, it hits hard when you first view it.

 

 

70 - Naam Chalong Suu Oom - appreciate the wonderful hacks throughout, super impressive. The NCSO build style will just always be a little too messy for my eyes given how cleanly it was executed by Age of Sail.

I think my ranking would go something like:

 

Personal enjoyment as much as technical skill is HUGE for me in terms of rankings. But both play a factor. To be honest, I probably enjoy MDM more than the Yards, but it's too hard to ignore the technical skill of the Yards.

 

1. The Yards

2. Bugs & Bots

3. MDM — yeah, I said it.

4. Yucca Desert Park — yeah, I said it.

5. Valley of the Kings
6. VERB
7. Radio Park Tbilisi

8. Sambhava's Rest

9. Lostileth

10. Constellations

11. Castello Altovento

12. Troubadours et Baladins

13. NCSO

14. Biota

15. Hell

16. Wawel

17. Cirque

18. The Sailor

 

Yet not a single one of these parks are bad. They're all great.

1.radio park

2. sailor

3. whatever im working on next

4. the rest

wanted to say the same about gustav and kings lol

#0 Free Pack It Up I Win H2H

Haven't had time to review the last 2 rounds really. Great parks all around. MDM is underrated imo. Strong worldmaking all-around, though given the insanely high build quality, I would nitpick both B&B and Yards and say their rollercoasters could've been better and easier to see (more of a Yards issue).

 

Very minor nitpicks through. Looking forward to R4.

favorite park of a very strong round was The Sailor, just felt the most up my alley. Verb and the Yards likely more technically impressive, but i enjoyed The Sailor the most. STRONG round

cp6s review reminded me how good tbilisi was, so i moved it up