Re: Scw55's Thread. Guillemot has landed! (31/05/14)
It is time for the official reveal of...
Guillemot!
Situated on an off-shore rock, this coaster weaves itself around the crags. Feel the sensation of flight as you're sent into the open sky. It requires great skill to navigate this stoney hazard.
Guillemot is a terrain B&M Flying Coaster that utilises its surroundings for maximum affect. The first half of the coaster is a pre-lift hill section. But do not be deceived... a Pretzel Loop lurks here. After the lift hill, the surprises keep coming. The whole rollercoaster has been built so that you have a great view of it regardless of where you stand on the pathways (inspired how with Nemesis, you can look down into the pit as a passerby).
Point of View Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t6wUtmS9eo[/youtube]
Screenshots
The station and summit.
The station features the default bamboo set because I wanted to minimise the impact of human made structures. The intent of design on the rock was to keep it noticeably more untouched than the mainland. It still has blatantly human structures such as the Light House and the Observation Tower.
First drop straight out of the station. I think pre-lift hill sections of coasters are great because they get a pace going from the get go. If someone is hesitant about agreeing to ride, they don't have a torturous lift hill to endure. I had difficulty designing the break run which the drop goes over. Originally, it was too close and I wasn't keen. The structure covering the pathway is to protect people from being bombarded by lose objects.
An overbanked turn. I enjoy using this element on suspended coasters after the first drop because I just think it's cool. It exploits the void beneath the rider's feet very well. It works nicely on Wingriders too. The white isn't water, it's snow ground texture. I found water overflowing the park's boundaries would corrupt my game saves. So I enclose all bodies of water. I found out using snow makes the containment less obtrusive.
An instance of pathway interaction.
The unexpected Pretzel Loop. That's the great thing about building a coaster on an irregular surface is that you can place large-scale elements at unexpected points on the layout.
I like this bit of the layout because it seems very quite. It's in quite a secluded spot on the rock. It ascends the side of a cliff with its station above, and to its right is a walkway. Unintentionally quite but I think it works well. Especially since the rest of the layout is quite, hastey.
The drop after the lift hill. You get a great view of the sandbank leading up to the cliffs of the mainland.
I liked incorporating half an Overbanked Turn with an Inline Twist. It's a shame the CTR wouldn't let me do half a Overbanked Turn when in the "flight" position. Ah well. Nice view from the walkway of that element.
I do love it when it snakes around the Chair Lift pylons. It's great when you ride the Chair Lift and the train snakes round below.
That teaser image from another angle. I track elements being integrated with the park's walkways. Oblivion's tunnel observation area is a great example. It lets you interact almost with the ride without actually riding it. By being allowed to be so close to it, you get the chances to experience a sliver of what riding it would be like.
Some lovely snaking underneath the walkway.
The end. This is a lift-hill that takes the train onto the block breaks. Its functionally a break run that pulls the train up.
A lot of these path interactions are incidental. I actually started off by placing the pathways around the rock first. When I was building the layout, I would simply delete any pathway that was in the way. Afterwards I repair the pathway and tweak it so it looked "nice".