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2012 CF WC SF (1) Colossus VS (6) nealbie

Who Should Advance to the Final?

  • (6) nealbie

    Votes: 9 52.9%
  • (1) Colossus

    Votes: 8 47.1%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .

nealbie

CF Legend
Thank-you Nick, it was really tight. Great contest :)

I really loved your ride to pieces too! Until the final section where it seemed that you hit the magical "auto-complete" button. The layout seemed to lose all sense of realism (which for someone as poor as me at scenery, ranks really highly on my priority list).

That doesn't stop me being VERY impressed with the five days work. I share your sentiments about liking your own creation. Despite the fact I had less than 48 hours to finish and film mine from only the track layout meant that Durin's Bane became both a pain in the arse and an illegitimate love-child! <3

Hopefully I don't get creamed in the final. Eeeeeep.
 

reddude333

Giga Poster
furie said:
Even better Colossus, they must love the work you pair are doing because they only voted in this poll, and not the other one between Reddude and deathfearsnone.
I'd like to take the angle that they just had too tough of a decision to make between our two entries ;-)

Regardless, good coasters by all and a very intense polling period.

I will post full reviews when I get the chance...probably this weekend?
 

reddude333

Giga Poster
So after a tumultuous and dramatic voting period, the results are in...and so are mine. I always like to give the contestants my full review regardless of what happens because I think it makes us all better to get opinions from peers and reflect on what we could have done better. So without further ado:

Colossus:

F7, such a simple name for such a behemoth. As wing coasters have become a new fairly new fad among RCT3 users, I was really looking for something unique that would set yours apart from the others...and for the most part, you delivered that brilliantly. I'll start primarily with the things I liked. The progression of the first 5 inversions was great. The coaster flowed so nicely and transitions were seamless. It was refreshing to see the zero-G so late (although I suppose the layout was similar to the beginning of Medusa) and in such grand fashion. Let me pause here to focus on the zero-G roll. While drawing from Gatekeeper, I thought the execution of this element was so breathtaking that everything else was just the whipped cream on top of my delicious F7 sundae. Your supporting is unique (even when compared to Gatekeeper) and the simplicity allows me to focus on the shear power that this centerpiece offers up. I also really like the elevation changes (as in going above and below "sea level") with your first few inversions. You had a good mix of in-game and CSO content which showcases your ability to integrate them both seamlessly into your design. Ride interaction with the queue is fantastic and is a great show of your attention to detail even under extreme time restrictions. Now I must regrettably move to the things I find not so appealing about your submission. As has been mentioned before, your last section of the ride (the subterranean segment) just killed the pace of the ride. What I want to mention before I get too deep into it is that I think this would have worked nicely at the start of the ride as I actually really like the speed of the elements and overall feel. But due to its placement, this section felt extremely forced. I couldn't enjoy it because everything that had built up to it was so epic that this just cut short my adrenaline rush. To continue with the sundae analogy, I was expecting a cherry on top but I got an old shoe :p Also, your color scheme was pretty uninspiring in my opinion. I would rather you had taken a chance and gone for something insane than just white, too sterile in my opinion. And finally, not a big thing, but I saw multiple points of significant clipping (for example that last bit of the right side POV that you cut off [yes, I noticed]), but that is really a moot point for me.

nealbie:

Right off the bat, your entry was massive! It was the perfect first impression to get my attention. Fit the theme and put me right into the world of your coaster. LOTR is known for being epic, and the setting for Durin's Bane is by all means of epic proportion. Your texturing was pretty nice for the most part especially in the mountains. Really, the surrounding mountains may be my favorite part of your entry...just put everything into great perspective and made me feel so insignificant. The second "act" of the ride was very action-packed and offered so much in a relatively small portion of the coaster. I particularly liked the loop and I'm not totally sure why but I think it had to do with the fact that I just didn't expect it. And the mist/steam/smoke (who knew what it was, but the mystery made it all the better) made me so unsure of what was to come...really raised my suspense pretty much throughout the ride. Alright, now for the not so good. Your presentation skills definitely need some work. First hint, if you didn't make a complete park/themed area, don't show the incomplete part. Seeing a path just leading nowhere is not attractive and pulls me right out of the story you worked so hard to get me invested in. And the rocks...this was the most off-putting part of your ride. From an exterior point of view, the rocks were just atrocious. Too much of the same thing and it just made the mountain/cave unrealistic in so many senses. Recently I have been working on varying my rockery and I think it looks much better when executed correctly. When the fog obscured my vision, the scenery looked great but when I could actually see all those rocks...ugh! Also, quick thing since it has already been mentioned, the station could use more effort (although I do like those steps you used). At times your coaster seemed like a cheesy Asian coaster: excessive catwalks, too many helices, and more chain lifts than any of us care to be a part of. It was like you were giving us the LOTR trilogy in three lift-drop segments, with the first one being by far the weakest. I felt there was virtually no point to it as the elements were nothing particularly unique. In fact, the second act was pretty much all I cared about. If the coaster had been shortened to just that, I would have liked it much more. Like the movies, this ride droned on for far too long in my opinion (no hate intended toward the LOTR trilogy).

So my vote went to Colossus. Much better layout and pacing (even with the ending). The centerpiece was so great I just can't explain haha...truly overwhelming. And as always, awesome presentation which always gives you brownie points in my book. Reminds me I really need to get around to writing that tutorial on presentation skills (maybe after the final?).

That said, congrats to nealbie and I look forward to taking you on in the final!
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
furie said:
So congratulations Colossus, you've managed to make the games section popular beyond the normal reaches with this competition - an astounding effort all round and I look forward to the final.

I'm completely in agreement with you Furie! I cannot stress more how beneficial (and fun) this competition has been and partaking in it was undoubtedly worthwhile. This competition has certainly improved the sense of this being an 'rct3 community' and everyone who commented has been helpful, constructive and comprehensive, so much so that my reviews are compromised due to everyone else already saying exactly what I would've written anyway. The competition has really embellished my rct3 skills too; the deadline really forced me into actually completing a coaster, filming and uploading it, which is something I would struggle to do without the deadline.

Quick reviews:

Nealbie - Durin's Bane - To win a round, you must be bold and strive for that 'wow' factor from and do something unprecedented, and your entry was certainly visually impressive and most of your ride was immersive, especially with the mist as Portemime stated. However, the frequency of the rocks, effects and track pieces made it somewhat predictable, with the tilt section (although I adored the 'fake' track leading off) and the station needing to be ameliorated and be a little more stunning.

Colossus - F7 - As aforementioned, the 'wow factor' wasn't quite there for me. The layout, up to odd ending segment, was fast paced and elegant (if you can say that). But the theming wasn't particularly original, although brilliantly crafted in certain places such as the station and other elements including the Gatekeeper - esque towers, there wasn't much that was 'strikingly awesome' and the integration of CS and the original game scenery didn't quite work, such as the satellite dish and fences. Saying that though, we all know you could do better and it was, of course, rushed.


Unfortunately, I did not arrive at a decision and didn't end up voting. Both are brilliant entries but share equal flaws.


Good luck to both entrants in the final! :--D
 

reddude333

Giga Poster
To think that someone part of the RCT3 community actually didn't vote for this matchup is astonishing to me considering the large turnout...wish more people would give opinions so I could get a better idea of how the results turned out as they did.
 

scw55

Hyper Poster
My vote was based off the 'experience' of the PoV rather than the technicalities.

I just found nealbie's more interesting to watch. Colossus was practically flawless, but it didn't excite me.
On second watch there were elements that looked like none-near-misses which were unfortunate.

It was close (to use that cliché expression), but I just voted under subjectivity.
nealbie did have a lot of repetition with scenery pieces and track elements, but the bit I did like, I really liked.
 
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