Crazy Coaster's Dev Topic: UPDATE pg. 8

[Crazycoaster]

Thanks for the comments

As for the actual production of the trailer;

The trailer was made using Adobe Photoshop, Premier and After Effects. I did use Final Cut Studio in the past as CCJared said, however after swapping my iMac with a new laptop I had to sell my copy of Final Cut Studio and get Adobe's equivalent software for windows. The software are very similar and so the same results could be achieved with both.

I'll be hoping to post a sort of 'photo tour' of some of the areas of the ride in the next couple of days to show off some of the areas of the park.

 

[Hixee]

Told ya!

 

[Jared]

I did say "I believe" meaning that I do not know for sure.

 

[Xpress]

So AE and FC?

 

[Hixee]

^No, AE and Premiere. I thought you could read.

I did say "I believe" meaning that I do not know for sure.

It came out wrong.

 

[Crazycoaster]

Lets get the park tour under way

Okay starting out, heres a view from the Park Entrance, just through the turnstyles. Ahead is the centerpiece area of the park, themed around a bustling Port town, inviting visitors to come and create their own 'Adventure of discovery'.

Entry into the port is through this large gate. Every morning the park has an opening ceremony at these gates before opening to let guests in.

Inside is the entrance plaza. In the centre is the Compass Fountain, surrounded by a restaurant, customer services and the megastore.

On the left side of the entrance plaza lies 'The Cheeky Monkey Pub', a great place to grab a bite any time of the day.

Heres a view of it from customer services.

Further to the left is a great view over a waterfall. This building in front are toilets.

Here is a view from the bridge which crosses the river out into the mysterious forest area of the park. The large building on the left is the Belltower, one of the first sections of the park I designed.

The architecture of this part of the park is very heavily influenced by the italian port towns, built onto steep hills. There are also many other influences from other places too, as the port represents a 'coming together' of many different nationalities and heritage's meshing to form the town. The queue line you can see here is one of the final things I need to finish.

A view of the main section of the town facade, from the same queue line.

Here is the Grand Hall, also known as customer services. Provides some great views of the park and Aeris.

This is the biggest store in the park, selling all park merchandise. In the background, the port has a much more mexican/middle eastern mix of architecture.

This area is the marketplace of the port, featuring a number of smaller stores.

This area is also the way towards the Wild Canyon area of the park. More toilets here.

A small overview from the marketplace.

Also another great viewing area of Aeris

More coming soon

 

[Hixee]

This looks absolutely stunning.

How long does it take you to make something this detailed?

 

[Crazycoaster]

Been working on it on and off since june 08. I'd do loads in one go then wouldn't touch it for months but ALOT of time has gone into it haha.

 

[Brookes]

Wow this is fantastic. That last pic with the turn over the water looks amazing!

 

[Hixee]

^Almost a year and half! That's mental. I couldn't stay interesting in something like this for as long as that! Good effort.

Do you have the 3Ds as one object, or loads of smaller ones?

 

[Crazycoaster]

The majority of it is all one object, but with a couple 'special effects' as separate objects, because the Object Creator can't handle working with PNGs.

 

[Jared]

Does the park have any other rides in it like you did with Atlas, Corsair and Xibalba?

 

[Crazycoaster]

^ Maybe

On with the tour!

A shot from the back of the Grand Hall, looking towards the fortress. Guests will be able to explore all around the hall.

A shot from inside the fortress ground. The grey beams would be used to hold nets to keep riders safe from falling objects, while still getting to walk really close to the ride.

Heres a shot looking up towards the watchtower.

An overview of the fortress area.

On the other side of the main Town facade building, is the Sea and Sky port.

Guests queuing for Aeris will do so around the airship

Further round we have Aeris' entrance plaza

Which is where you can pick up a fast track for the ride.

And we also have the main locker area for the ride. No loose articles will be permitted onboard Aeris, to save time with loading and unloading, so all loose baggage must be put into a locker, much like Universal or Seaworld. This is also where guests can see a large Aeris crystal on display.

A wider view of the Aeris queueline, showing off the Sky port building and station. The port town and sky port are kept seperate, each side hidden by the rockface on which they are built from the other sides view.

Here we can see the harbor wall for the sea port. This would be where shuttle ferries could be picked up to transport guests around the park.

A view of the skyport from Hightower lighthouse. The entire ride was built and designed around this very lighthouse, and the previously mentioned Belltower.

The lighthouse was heavily inspired by a building in Islands of Adventure:

A view inside the station, including the control room. Unlike previous megalites, Aeris uses three trains to boost its capacity. There was no room to put enough transfer track next to station, so a lift system was introduced, and the entire maintenance area is located underneath the station. This is also where access to the cable lift mechanism can be accessed.

Looking out of the station, the clocktower in the background, and the photo building to the left.

Finally an overview from the entrance

And the entire area.

 

[Ollie]

I can't get over how amazing this is. Do use use 3Ds Max for the 3D's?
Where did you get your textures as well?
It just looks stunning having the whole area. Must of taken ages to plan and build.

 

[Crazycoaster]

I actually mostly used The Object Creator, pretty much pushing it to its limits. I got the textures from a number of different websites, such as http://www.filterforge.com/ and http://www.cgtextures.com/.

There were a couple of things made using 3ds max, but I cant make heads or tails of the program, so that was limited to the Mist, bushes and a couple of extra 'special effects'. I would really like to learn more about the program and utilize it in my next project, which will also be set in the same park.

As for the designing of the park, it did take a long time. I'd find that I would draw out sections, or buildings when bored and the ride has had alot put in and taken out again. I have a couple of old screenshots to show what it started out as and how it developed:

This is how it started:

..and developed:

Loads of stuff was added and designed that never made it, such as this design for the station area.

Or this one, but the structure wasnt lost, and was instead turned into the photobooth.

This shows one of the original designs for a observation tower that was scrapped

and finally a shot of one of the many different versions I have of the actual main section of 3ds in the OC. if you look closely you can see a completely different area where the fortress is now, with windmills which were incorporated elsewhere. The front buildings had a much more arabian twist, and there was even a german Blackforest house in the mix behind the customer services building.

 

[Uncle Arly]

Wow. I wish I could build something like this. It's so detailed and amazing. And even if the track isn't spot on, (Which I'm sure it is!) the detail and theming will make up for it.

You have quite a bit of patience!

You mentioned about your next project. Do you work on more than one at a time?

 

[Crazycoaster]

No I usually like to stick to one project at a time. If I then don't like how the ride has turned out, I dump it and stop playing until I get a new idea. With the designing of tide, I'd pictured out a number of different themed areas to put into the park around the lake, usually inspired by things I've come across.

I havent even started on the design of my next ride yet, but I have a general image of the theming in my head to work from. Now I just need to fit it with the perfect ride!

 

[Crazycoaster]

Something new is brewing up from me

 

[Xpress]

Cool.

 

[Crazycoaster]

No texture work has been done yet at all really.