132 replies to this topic

[jusmith]

I'm going to comment on my favourite 4 so far....

Number 4: Happy Home. I loved the idea for this one. The details were amazing, as was the homey atmosphere. There were some scale issues, and I wish there was maybe like one more ride (used as like a toy or something) but overall it was amazing.

Number(i don't remember): The Inn at St. Nick's Peak. I loved the coaster in this one, even though its reliabiliy wasn't that great. The detail and architecture of the inn was awesome as well. Excellent!

Number 11: Santa's Toy Factory. I like the way how all of the space was used, and the Chrismassy atmosphere was awesome here. The use of the tubes was cool, and the coaster and all the little working details made this one go into my top 4 so far!

Number 12: This one's creator is obvious to me (I think) and they pulled off an extremely comical entry. The timed explosions were amazing, and it all fit into a "story" as well. It's obviously not the most cheery entry so far, but its creativity was amazing and the overall park was excellent!

I also really liked mice on ice, and #1, but I think I like these four better.

[Emergo]

Park # 13:

Looking good.

The architecture for sure was there (good try!) but really simple after all and a bit 1-dimensional/repetitive I think, with in fact an overload of windows (some more irregularities in the buildings and some variation in details could have helped here, as well as some additions to the balconies and a few Christmas decorations here and there....)
Still the overall result of it, with the colours used, worked really well and pleasant to my eyes!! So good job on that.

I loved how the coaster was going all over the map with soooo much track and still giving a very, very nice and non-forced impression. Great work there!
Pity yes, that the g-forces were in the red, but then on such a small map, with the goal to create the best Holidays-feeling instead of making the best coaster on a 15x15, I don't really care.....and as I am not an RCT-peep, I would like to ride it.....

Emergo

[JJ]

did you receive my park ?

Edited by joshiejack, 14 December 2007 - 11:50 PM.

[Buckeye Becky]

Yes I did...but I haven't looked at it yet...thank you!

PARK FOURTEEN is now posted

[wardillb]

park 14: something tells me you were experimenting with 8cars. I like the tram that goes round the park. would have been nice to see some rides in the park to go with the christmas theme.

i like the buildings use of the wild mice.

wardillb

[Buckeye Becky]

PARK FIFTEEN is posted

[Wolfman]

Ok! Time for me to catch up to the parks.

11: Santa's Toy Factory
While the archetecture is very ornate,
I think that the archy alone isn't what
park building, in general, is all about.

There are so many little blocks, it's just
not that realistic. (Even for a fantasy park
like this.)

Considering the archy... In my opinion...
It looks more like a castle, than a factory.
Overall, nice park. But the archy overpowers
the whole thing. I'd rope in on the "white",
and gone with some earthtones, for the main
structure. This would receed the walls into the
background. Letting the fancy stuff, windows,
layers, trim, etc... to pop out. Leaving White,
Green & Red for the contrasting colors for fences,
trim, windows etc. Would of given it a sort of
"Gingerbread Feel".

Which might of gone well with the candycanes.

The coaster is ok. I would of made the water
parts a bit shorter though. Is it a coaster? Or
some boat tour of the factory? Nice job none
the less.

12: The Night Santa went Crazy
The explosions, the violence, the bloodshed.
What's not to like? Definatly one of the most
unusual parks I've seen in a while. I found it
amusing. But not terribly funny. Definatly a
different idea about christmas. Cool.

13: Christmas in Coasterville.
Not all that colorful. Donner's Blitzen seemed a
bit lacking in the design aspect though. Nice
layout, but placement of banked turns, (and the
placement of non-banked turns,) could of used a
bit more thought. Try to use some banked curve
hills & drops. Would of made it 100% better. IMO.

Archy was too monochromatic. Christmas isn't just
red & green. It just doesn't look that great to me. I'd
definatly get some earth tones, gold, gray (silver) and
work in other colors as well. Achy was nice. It was just
that the colors that were lacking.

If ya think about it. The buildings shouldn't be
christmas "colors", but the decorations that
are placed ON them should. Gallant try though.

14: Santa's Workshop
I have no idea why there are two LARGE drab gray
parking lots in this park. It's obvious to me that the
creator has a few hacks under his belt. So what's
with the unused land? I think it's wasteful. But then
again, I don't exactly love parking facilities.

Flying Reindeer. Nice hack. Trolly Car w/o track is odd.
It's as if the build through track hack wasn't enough to
lay the track across peepless footpaths. It made no
sense to me why the track had to be invisible too.

Monochromatic red/green structures. Already touched
base on that. It just doesn't look all that great to me.
It's like "flat". No contrasting colors.

Nice entry though. I'd work on adding details, like 1/4 tile stuff.

15: Sleigh Ride
Even though it might not have "Christmas" written all over it.
I have to admit, I love the archy, color choices and the layout of
the coaster. It all seems to be together, nothing half-thought-out.
The coaster was very well planned out. The archy had enough
variation between buildings, that it made it interesting to look at.

Just my personal opinion. No biggie.

[Buckeye Becky]

Catch up time again....

Park 11 - Santa's Toy Factory - This is just how I might picture it, one of my favorites so far, colorful, playful, FUN!

Park 12 - Santa going crazy? I wasn't crazy about it. I understand that it was meant to be humorous but its not my thing...sorry.

Park 13 - Christmas in Coasterville - wintry/Christmasy with the red and green buildings but a bit boring

Park 14 - Santa's Workshop - Liked the use of 8cars for reindeer, mice and trams but all around, just OK for me

Park 15 - Great job here of packing in a park with rides and buildings, even though the buildings were all lined up in a row from the entrance and nice job on the coaster!

[OrlanDude]

Before I review the last three entries, let me mention how I judge all of the "Happy Holidays" parks. The way I see it, designers approach their entries in one of two ways. The first is as a Holiday 'Post Card' or 'Scene'; these entries usually have no regard for peep access, contain multiple hacks (like invisible track) and usually don't have regular rides or stalls. Entry #4-Happy Home & #12-The Night Santa Went Crazy are good examples of this type. The second type of entry is simply as a Holiday themed mini-park with complete peep access; these entries usually have multiple rides, bathrooms, and food/drink stalls. Entry #6-Santaland Express & #3-Christmas Factory are good examples of this type of entry. Of course, an entry can contain elements of both type of parks. Now on to the reviews.

As others have mentioned before, park THIRTEEN has overused the red/green Christmas colors to the exclusion of all other colors. Also the coaster's use of flat, unbanked turns at high speeds leads me to believe that the builder may be somewhat new to RCT and may have not yet discovered the nuances of building a good coaster. While the building designs are pretty decent, they could have used a better variety of color selection.

I absolutely loved park FOURTEEN, which could have been alternately named "Reindeer Flight School". I liked the use of tarmac path as runways, but the builder could have place flashing blue lights along the sides to better define it. While the building overuses the red/green color scheme, it seems more appropriate than the previous entry. The control tower is also a nice touch. This is another good example of the first type mentioned above; Definitely one of the best entries so far.

I really liked the coaster in park FIFTEEN, including it's well-designed station building, but I'm not so sure about the entrance structure (I do like the hanging plants, though). I also liked the use of the tin roof on the 'restaurant' building, but the building looks a bit blocky. If the builder had the coaster go through another building (in the front-right corner maybe), this might have been a top entry. But this is still a decent entry and a good example of the second type of entry mentioned above.

[FK+coastermind]

my favorite so far have been

#1-very cute and well detailed. the raindeer was a very weel done and a creative idea. it had a very nice atmosphere that helped add to the whole piece

#4-im very sure i know who made this because of the distinct style and super attention to detail. ive seen a good number of room creations but this by far takes the cake. attention to slight detail's beyond measure, creative fresh ideas with a good, believable scale. rides and people to keep some action going despite not needing them becuase of the levels of intrest in the room itself. also, unlike other giant room creation it had a back to it that was also very detailed, leaving no part of the 4 views of the map boring.

#6-great atmpshere with wonderful coaster/archy interaction. the buidlings were detailed but did not distract from the bright coaster which stood out. the foliage was nice, perhaps excessive at points, but worked well to counter the snowy ground. the coaster most off all was fun and somewhat easy to whatch as well as well fit into the small screen.

#12-while alittle bare, and somewhat vulgar, this park was very fun to look at. first the idea was great, although the parkmaker (i have my guesses at this too) already acknowlegde it wasnt thiers. still the idea was pulled off very well and had the right effect. all the raindeer exploding were great. the elfs and guards and drive by car and santa were also well done. i didnt like how bare, and almost battle field like it looks though. it seemed almost like santa was building toys in the middle of war. maybe a nicer building, something more cute and toyland-ish would help add to the effect and build a better atmosphere.

those were just my favorite, great parks everyone!


FK