NL Coasters From Blizzard: Possiedon - B&M Hyper

[Blizzard]

I've decided to do a few more no limits coasters & start uploading them for you lot to see. My first is "Possiedon" quite a sexy B&M hyper. The ride starts quite unusualy in a small dark ride section intented to be a small pre-show to the coaster ahead. The coaster later speeds under this building in the latter part of the ride. Currently, the DR section is just standard NL tunnels, but I do hope to replace them with a propper building soon.

The train the accends the 213ft lift hill before a near-vertical drop, followed by a shambahla esque cammelback. Then a hammerhead style turnaround, after which the track crosses over itsself. Then comes an airtime hill, with supports echoing that of the cammel back, which is where park guests would walk under just infront of what would be the park entrance. Now there is a series of hills before diving under the pre-sho building through a tunnel, round a tight overbank, through a 4g helix & onto an inclined brake run, followed by a curver onto the final block brakes.

The coaster is very smooth, my smoothest yet! with custom supports, (though some supports need modifying slightly). Also, there are loads of nodes! So blaze, I hope your satisfied as your fettish for nodes is very clear!

So without further ado, I present to you...


POSSIEDON

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?zbt4wv5k3bq5f89

Any form of feedback would be great, as I know there are some very talented tst members out there!

 

[CGM]

First of all, I don't mean in any way to be harsh, it's clear from the element shaping that you have the necessary understanding of the dynamics of a coaster to produce great coasters in NoLimits. It's just the technical skill that's a bit lacking. Don't let anything deter you though, keep at it and you'll be there in no time.

If you haven't done already, I'd suggest joining a NoLimits coaster exchange as this allows you to get feedback on your tracks as you develop and crucially, see what other people are up to so you can learn the nuances of track shaping, custom supports and the many ways of approaching a layout. I found it a great way of developing my skills.

So, pinickity criticisms...

The banking was off in quite a few places, most notably the pullout of the first camelback. The train feels like it's hanging off the side of the track and the banking should be much closer to level. If you're getting significant lateral forces on a straightforward pullout, that's usually an indication that something's not right. As you keep building and riding other people's designs, you'll soon develop a feeling for what the "correct" banking should be.

I also have some issues with the supports. First of all, the coaster is very unsupported in places, namely the camelback and speed hill. The other gripe is that the supports go through the track in several places. For this, there's just no excuse. Have a look at the hammerhead supports on Silverstar.

As for smoothness, it started off smooth but after the turnaround, things got a little more bumpy. I may be disagreeing with a few people here but I don't think for this kind of coaster it's necessary to split it up into that many segments. All that does is cause you a bit of an unneeded headache.

My final criticism is a really picky one. It's the fact that the penultimate brake run finishes below the level of the block brakes. This could cause a stall in the case of an emergency stop.

Despite all this, the layout is exciting if a bit short for a B&M hyper and I loved the ground-skimming final helix. Offride, the coaster is very visually impressive and the pre-show is an original idea for this sort of coaster.

Again, please take the positives from this, it's a decent track that shows a lot of potential and if you keep building, you will continue to improve. I look forward to seeing your next coaster.

 

[Blizzard]

Thanks a lot, I was hoping for some positive criticism. I too was a bit un-sure about the pullout from the first cammelback, but want sure weather it as right or not. When it comes to that kind of thing, I not exactly brilliant. I will try & ammend it.

Support wise, I will go back & add in the ones that are missing & try & prevent supports going through track. It is my first attempt at custom supporting, so it might take me some time to get it to a T. I didn't actualy notice about the brake run, I must go & check that out.

Again, thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it!

 

[Nick]

I agree with what CGM is saying, but I'll phrase it differently.

Firstly, I'll say that the shaping of the track is excellent, until the 3rd camel-back. The drop is good- but there could be a longer drop before the pull-out. The pull-out is a bit too weak, should be around 4.5 G's, instead of 3.5, but the shaping again is good.

The shaping of the first camel-back is very nice, although it should be a small bit wider (the G's should be around 0 for B&M's).

The bend into to turn-around has too much roll, and the roll starts far too early. The roll starts too early for the turn-around as well, and it's too much at the top for the speed it's going at.

The second camel-back has too much roll again going into it, and should straighten out. Shaping is good for a lower hill, and the G's are in check.

The third hill needs a more parabolic shape, and the G's problem again, but otherwise is fairly good.

The overbank's roll start too early, and is too tight at the top. This causes excessive lateral G's, which are hard to get rid of completely, but kept under ±0.5 is the aim here.

The roll is then far too much going into the helix, but the roll on the helix itself is not enough.

The layout is pretty good for a B&M hyper, although could be a touch longer- with a few more hills as well.

The supports need a track connector, which are done by placing a free node parallel to the track, and connecting this to the track and ground as before. Look at how supports are done in real life, and try to copy them- like in this pic:

B&M supports are fairly basic, and only need one free node per each support. The lift supports should have one support going down vertically, and one going down to one side of the track.

To conclude, there's a lot of positives here- like the shaping, some of the track's smoothness and the layout is good. However, small improvements on the roll of the track and supports will make your coasters much more better. Also, you should make the pull-out's tighter, to get higher G's. Try and use the heartline for better shaping.

Finally, there's no need to use a lot of nodes at all (the amounts you have are much more than enough), as it's unnecessary and can make the track twitchy and messes up the roll. You only need to use one when you're changing the roll of the track and on pull-out's for drops- for precise G's. For helix's, you only need four per 360 degrees, and for 360 degree rolls, only four are needed again.

Never listen to Blaze, he's just a Newton cheat.