387 replies to this topic

[ldw]

What happened to your style of archy at the front of the park? I still think your buildings are blocky. Pull out the bottom floor or something like this:


Good luck!

[Luketh]

Well, my archy style needed to be different for this coaster.. It's kinda hard to pull out a little stronghold's bottom floor.. they're designed to be effective, not pretty. I did my best to change it up, though. I did change the Q-line's buildings, which I think made the entrance much better. Still not sure about it, though...

[Wolfman]

The thing to do Luketh is not to rush your creativity. Take your time and give things a good amount of thought. As Disney used to say... "How can we "plus it"? That means, how can we make it better than what people already seen before?

Try out ideas and if they don't work out, try something else. I mean, look at Thriller. I changed it around so much I forgot what I started with. I tried making the structure for it about three or four times before I struck on a good theme. I didn't take screen shots until I was confident in it's final outcome. Like I said in a previous post, just jack up the roof over the entry house. You can build the rest of the roof lower. Think about that. See if you can "plus-it".

And that ghost train, WOW! It started out in another area of the park, as a tangled up mess, over by where the tea cups are. Remember that? it was totally gross! Now look at it. It runs between three different buildings AND it goes underground as well. That was "plus-ed" if you ask me. Then, how about all the re-arranging I did for the kiddieland midway? It was so ****ed up. But I kept at it. Made numerous changes, and eventually, it got squared up and straightened out.

I can't tell you how many times I had built & rebuilt the monorail layout. I even moved the structure, near the park entrance, back one tile. And it looks like it was always there from the start. Unless someone read this topic from beginning to end, they would think it was always there. Nobody would think that the entire structure was moved one tile. The route was changed beneath Stunner, so I can create an opening for it through stunner's supports. It used to run right next to Thriller's station structure. But that got moved when Excelletron went in. Then it got revamped when that zig zag midway connected to the kiddieland.

Just remember, just because it's built, don't mean it's permanant. If you don't like something, and you know what you can do to improve it. Then just do it. There's no deadline. There's no rush. And I'll tell ya, we'd think that much more highly of you, that you would change things after the fact, if you thought that the extra work was worth it. And if you want the park back for last minute touch ups, that's ok, we'll send it back to you. There is always time my friend. Always time.

Edited by Wolfman, 12 July 2009 - 04:23 AM.

[Luketh]

Thank you Wolfie, and AHHA!!

I think I found the station solution. I'll have screens sometime tommorow.

[Luketh]

Okay, screens are late, sorry 'bout that.

I haven't added trees yet, seeing if you guys like the station first.


Station.


The Evil Wizard Wolfman has taken over the castle! Go crash it and show that Wizard who's boss!

And YES, the archy IS supposed to be on the blocky side... I don't see any midevil castles with big deco-blocks on the walls.

[ldw]

Seems alot better! I would add like a tower or something though.

[Luketh]

And it'll seem less blocky with all the tall tree's I'm gonna add.

I think I will add a tower over by the first drop..

[Wolfman]

I see you adopted my A/C unit idea. Good for you. You're learning!

I's place some of that castle wall up and down the queue, to bring more of the castle theme to the queue. Just a 1/4 height block wall, with the castle roof edging, (Dental) an top of it.

The walls of the larger structures need some vines and a few windows. Be careful on how you place trees, as the vines and windows may be deleted. So use 1/4 tile trees if you want to place trees right next to the walls with vines & windows.

The walls would seem less "paper-thin", if the opening on the right edge of the upper opening in the wall for the coaster, had more "wall" to the right. See how the ground level wall has some 1/4 tile, thickness to it, while the wall on the right seems less "bulky"? Same thing with the opening in the image above that one.

BTW: you got way too many windows on that structure. While I really like the "alternating" layout. It's just overdone. Work out a different pattern, and be more conservative with the windows.

But looking at the track layout, I don't know if you can add an extra row of 1/4 tile blocks there or not. That Drop into that curve to the right, just might be in the way.

In that case, I would create a sort of lower level, where the track rests atop a roof, and the track curves to the side to enter the helix, through an opening, that's hidden from this POV. Then a good bit of the blocky roof would have to be altered, and thusly solve something about the blocky style of the structure. Creating a less symetrical design.

It's either that, or create a higher tower-like structure, to enclose at least part of the dive after the loop. So the track enters the roof, then bottoms out inside the structure, then emurges like, after 1 large curve section just after that drop.

Wouldn't a Viking, or a Roman Guard look better pacing back & forth up there, rather than some fat security guy? Besides, How did the guy get up there? You need to create some sort of 2x2 "guard shack" so we could at least imagine that there's a way to get up there from inside the structure.

What would look much better (and a bit more realistic,) is that the path was actually a single width path that encircles the roof. You can then build a bit more to the roof, like towers, smaller structural additions, and maybe a walk-through sort of deal that the guard walks through.

Remember what I said about how we should figure out ways to "Plus-It"? We should start thinking and experementing along those lines.

Edited by Wolfman, 16 July 2009 - 05:50 PM.

[K0NG]

If the placement of trees deletes some of your windows/vines, just use ZC to put them back where they were. Or, to save a bit of time...place the trees first and then ZC the windows, vines and detail work onto the structure. If you do this correctly, you won't have issues with flickering trees or anything. ZC/place a few windows/restore/ check out alignment/ZC/ place/ restore, etc. Restoring IMMEDIATELY is the key.

[Wolfman]

K_W, Not to be argumentative. Please understand that not everyone experiences ZC as
it has been intended. A few of us have a hellatious time using Zero Clearance. If we use
it, we end up having to replace all the flickering objects. And if the park is nearly done...

I've initiated ZC, and restored clearances, without adding a thing, and the trees flickered.
I don't know why this is an issue on my PC, but it's there. & it's so freaking annoying, that
others don't get the problem, yet others do. Once, I initiated the ZC, but changed my mind.
I didn't add anything, (I didn't even get as far as bringing the game window back to view it,)
and restored and it still flickered. It seems that almost anything over the height of a full wall,
will flicker. INCLUDING custom coaster supports. To me, ZC is a good way to destroy a park.

It's as if the ZC never really leaves when the restore function is initiated. Like all that missing
stuff when ZC is active, just wants to jump in and out of existence. And the only way to be rid
of it, is to replace every object that flickers. And that's quite a lot to do if the park is very close
to being finished. So I avoid using ZC, OR I don't add trees until the very last step when building.

Sorry, I know sometimes I come across as being a bitch, but I'm not being that way.
Really.