Weekly Digest for Week 3 (19th-25th November 2022)
OK, everybody; we now begin
Week 3 of the competition! There are three key points to cover this week, so let's get straight to it!
Round 1 Results
After a week of voting, Round 1's results are now in! I can confirm that I got
10 responses in the Google Form, and the winners of Round 1 are as follows:
The leaderboard for Round 1 (and currently the overall contest) is as follows:
Well done, everybody! Now let's get onto Round 2 voting...
Round 2 Voting Stage
We have finished the building stage for Round 2, therefore the voting stage must now begin!
Please vote for your Round 2 favourites via this Google Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenHmOJ_hZbGQzG3OcQogSmDrWA2pwJT6xuLBfcAClhNDt6ZA/viewform
Let me just recap a few things about voting, if you need a reminder.
- If you're not clear on how I'd like you to vote; please pick your top 5 track layouts and rank them in order of preference from #1 to #5. If you give a player a particular ranking, the points allocated are as follows; #1 ranking = 5pts, #2 ranking = 4pts, #3 ranking = 3pts, #4 ranking = 2pts, #5 ranking = 1pt.
- You will also receive the opportunity to nominate a submission for Realism or Originality if you wish. Unlike last year, these nominations are not compulsory; you can award them if you wish, but you do not have to nominate anyone for Realism or Originality. Each Realism or Originality nomination a player gets will grant them 1 Realism point or 1 Originality point.
- Please only fill out this form once. I have not mandated this within the form itself, but I'm trusting you all here.
- Please do not vote for yourself. I know that there is no way I can mandate this, but I trust you not to. Please can I request that you only nominate submissions that are not your own.
- Please judge submissions on track layout only. This is a coaster layout building contest; theming is pretty much irrelevant here.
- I know that this form of voting is a lot more anonymous than the voting process was in the last contest. If you would like to add a slightly more personal touch, you can still post a comment in this thread indicating your top 5 choices, as well as any Realism or Originality nominations, like you did last year if you would like to. However, can I please request that the Google Form be your first port of call for voting; I will only count votes cast within the Google Form, as if you post in this thread, I wouldn't like to assume whether you've already voted in the Google Form or not. Post your choices in the thread by all means, but please make sure that you log your votes within the Google Form first, as the votes within the Google Form are the votes I'll be counting.
Here are the submissions from Round 2, so that you know what you're voting for:
Voting for Round 2 will close on
Friday 25th November 2022 at 11:59pm.
Now we've covered voting for Round 2, let's move on to revealing Round 3!
Round 3 Building Stage
Right then; another week means another new round to sink your teeth into! For the Round 3 brief, I thought we'd cover our first international park... Round 3 is
Top Thrill Dragster V2 at Cedar Point! The context is as follows:
Cedar Point recently announced the demise of Top Thrill Dragster, their iconic Intamin strata coaster, at 19 years of age. All is not lost, however... a modern revival of Top Thrill Dragster is on the cards. And the park has hired none other than you to mastermind it! It's time for you to show us what you would do with the opportunity to revive this legendary launch coaster! Cedar Point concedes that the ride may be unable to maintain the entirety of its former height and speed due to the constraints of modern launch technologies compared to the original hydraulic launch, but they want height and speed maintained to a large extent. They've also said that the all important launch has got to stay. Furthermore, they've decided that they don't want too many additional bells and whistles detracting from the core ethos of the original ride; they have Maverick covering the turf of "elaborate launch coaster" already. What will your take be on the revival of this iconic ride? Show us!
The constraints for this round are as follows:
- Maximum Footprint of 340m*60m (1,115ft*197ft)
- Minimum Height 300ft/91m
- Minimum Speed 100mph/161kph
- Maximum Length 5,000ft/1,524m
- Must Contain At Least 1 Launch
For some idea, this is the area of Cedar Point that we are working within (it's the section circled in black and labelled "TTD"):
I would recommend using Scenario Editor to apply the footprint constraints if you are on PC. As per usual, I have created a Steam Workshop park with the constraints applied that I would be happy for you to download if you struggle to design a scenario yourself:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2887751647
As for console users, I would recommend setting out the footprint constraints using wall pieces or path pieces to build yourself an "area" to work within. I know it's not ideal, but it's sadly the best I can offer given that neither Scenario Editor nor Steam Workshop are seemingly available on console... sorry for the inconvenience, folks.
As for how to determine your ride height, please use Terrain Relative height markers (the option denoted by the picture of a mountain).
As for what you need to do to submit; please build your submission, film a POV and off-ride shots, and post them in this thread. You can do a brief description of what your ride is if you wish. If you have any issues with uploading your video(s), please don't hesitate to PM me.
May I once again emphasise that this is a
coaster layout building contest. By all means add some light theming and landscaping if you wish, but the
coaster layout should ideally be the focus. Quality of coaster layout is pretty much the be all and end all here; heavy theming won't gain you any points, and no theming won't lose you any points.
The Round 3 submission deadline is
Friday 25th November 2022 at 11:59pm. If you struggle for time and would like me to extend the deadline, please PM me or request an extension in this thread before the deadline. I would be more than happy to facilitate an extension for you if you would like one.
If you do not make contact with me and ask for an extension, I will assume that you are happy to forfeit this round and move on after the posted deadline.
OK, then; I think that's all I need to cover for Week 3! If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Good luck with Week 3, everybody... get building for Round 3 and voting for Round 2, folks!
