12 replies to this topic

[Sambo]

Steve is very exacting in his work. It does not surprise me that he taking what little time he has to do superior work.

[Wildman]

Hey Steve, continue the good work. You are among the best re-creationist of real coasters out there.

[Steve Franks]

Steve is very exacting in his work. It does not surprise me that he taking what little time he has to do superior work.

Greetings,

It has been a very long time since I have been here (again). As you will remember, I originally promised a new Version 2 bench incorporating many of the new scenery objects and flat rides that have been contributed by fellow users of RCT2. That was more than a year and a half ago.

Well, let me tell you that I did indeed start new benches, but it wasn't until much progress was made that I discovered they were all useless due to the sim's sign bug. It seems that while creating the new benches, and finally testing them, the sim would not allow the placement or use of signs. An error message would come up saying that the sign limit was reached, despite the fact that no signs were yet placed!

After spending six months collecting useful scenery and new flat rides, winnowing out dats to come up with the final selection of practical bits and pieices, and a batch of benches made useless, I just threw up my hands in disgust, abandoning the entire project.

Though RCT has played in my thoughts from time to time, it was not until Woodperckersdelight recently emailed me requesting an old track that finally got me back into the saddle again. A certain Mr. Panzer and his occasional inquiries contributed to my guilt and personal promise to return to my old project.

I am happy to report that over the last few months I have begun again, having to recreate all my previous version 2 benches entirely from scratch!

So far I have the following new benches nearly ready save for documentation and any roller coasters that relate to the bench.

County Fair.
A very small park set just outside a small town, surrounded farms and orchards. As its name implies, the park will cater to food, flat rides and small family coasters expected at a county fair. It small size and limitations should be challenging.

Lake Winnie.
This bench is patterned after the park that surrounds Lake Winnepesaukah. I used some aerial photos to accurately lay out the bench and lake. Lake Winnie's Cannon Ball and Boat Chute have already been updated, or recreated, for those who wish to recreate Lake Winnepesaukah's amusement park. Of course one can make his own free-form park with other coasters which is the real point of a bench.

Lake Chippewa.
I love the water and have recreated, again from aerial photos, a bench resembling Lake Chippewa Park, Ohio. Some of the park's original buildings have been meticulously recreated as has its roller coaster and scenic railway. One can either attempt to recreate Lake Chippewa amusement park from the provided map, or just free-form your own park layout. The bench includes a nice little waterfall.

Bob-Lo Island.
This was my home park. This bench was created using aerial photos. It has been a labor of love since Bob-Lo Island and the two great old steamers that transported us there is so much a part of my greatest childhood memories. The Sky Streek, Screamer, flume and Wild Mouse are finished for their own Bob-Lo Island Coasters pack. But again, the bench is meant to have fun, so one can throw away the park map and do his or her 'own thing.'

Ocean Park.
An old bench from RCT1. This park is located strictly on a pier. It will have its principle buildings recreated like the Bon Ton and Egyptian ballrooms, and structures along the main avenue. One of the two coasters specifically for Ocean Park has already been completely recreated.

Tommorrow brings a new RCT2 v2 bench project.

After hammering in the final nails to each pack and doing some additional playtesting, I will arrange for their uploading to this site.

Of course there will also be at least two v2 Master Benches that is just a flat piece of land allowing you to create your own topography. More than one may be necessary to include any future coaster tracks that I have not already worked in. Naturally, the point of all these new benches is to provide new homes for my entire collection of roller coaster recreations. Each will have to be individually examined and updated so that their stations will be visible under v2 with all its new scenery objects.

It is a giant project, but good progress has been made thus far.

Regards,
Steve Franks