Build Log: A Fresh Take on the Original Scenarios

[Freshpopcorn]

Hey guys! I've been playing RCT since was a child - probably since age 6 or so. Needless to say, the game holds a special place in my heart. However, one thing that's always bugged me is that I've never truly finished the game. I've always just meddled around in the early scenarios and in the sandbox mode of RCT2. Well, its time for me to finally finish this game (at least the OG scenarios) and video log it in the process!

I have a small YouTube channel that I usually stick to City Builders with (Cities Skylines) but I've decided to branch out and get into the tycoon genre as well! Here's the channel link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYWSuc0B481eBAOOB4pPD7g

Also, here's the specific RCT playlist link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8x2eFr4XGBO_56mSzWoq26_fOj6QRttT

I'd like to go over key points of the parks here on this build log, and save the more intricate details for the videos! 

 

So here we go. First order of business, Forest Frontiers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4vBsnJusNw&list=PL8x2eFr4XGBO_56mSzWoq26_fOj6QRttT&index=1

I mean, what is there to say about Forest Frontiers? Everyone's played it. Everyone's beaten it. I just kept things small and simple to get my wits about me since it had been a while since I last played lol! The main attraction is "Crazy Caterpillar" as an homage to RCT1, with an excitement value of 6.03. I followed the lead of the name of the park and stuck with a forest theme throughout - and tried to make a small loop before the backside of the park opened up into a wooded lake area. 

 

Next up, Dynamite Dunes:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzMsZYbi74

Here's an overview screenshot of the park. I tried to essentially make a loop around the dune to the right of the entrance and utilize it with a log flume named "Dynamite Falls" (excitement rating 7.37).  The large hanging coaster in the back is named Desert Eagle which has an excitement rating of 7.48.

This corkscrew coaster is named "Cobra" which features a reverse chainhill style shuttle loop. It's at the back end of the park near Dynamite Blaster to add some more life back there. It has an excitement of 6.13.

Another angle of Cobra, Dynamite Falls, and The pass through to get to the back of the park.

Another ride of note is the Go Karts named "Dynamite Drag". The track is just to the left after entering the park through the "entrance oasis" area. the ride has an excitement rating of 6.45.

Overall, I tried to make the Log Flume the star attraction here. Although Desert Eagle and The Go Karts were also super popular throughout the playthrough. Usually desert/barren themed parks are challenge for me looks wise, but I'm pretty satisfied with how this one turned out!

 

Moving on to Leafy Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmd8lJ9NWM&t=51s

Here's an overview photo of the park. I challenge myself not to build on the water in a barbaric fashion. I think things look much more realistic when the lake becomes a scenic centerpiece of the park, rather than a blank canvas for roller coasters.

This is the far back corner of the lake. The Steel Mini Coaster is called Gillyweed (excitement 6.05). I tried pretty hard to keep the coaster along the shore with the exception of the helix features which extend out into the open water.

The backside of the park features a Go Kart track and two coasters which are up the hill and back farther. The Go Kart track, Shores Speedway (excitement 6.29), goes underground and comes out over paths and around a small plaza/info kiosk area.

In the far reaches of the park there's two coasters. A large wooden coaster named Roaring Revenge (excitement 8.17) and a single rail suspended coaster named Tree Topper (3.36)

All in all, I love how this park turned out. The huge wooden coaster in the back draws guests to it and they spend money along the way as they walk toward it. I'm super pleased about the open lake area with the occasional gentle or thrill ride jetting out into it, marking the water a scenic companion (think of riding a top spin or ferris wheel facing out into a large lake with a view of the rest of the park!)

I'm uploading Diamond Heights now, so I'll follow up on this build log tomorrow. I'd love to hear your feedback and input on what I've got done so far. Thanks!

Edited December 11, 2020 by Freshpopcorn

[Freshpopcorn]

Alright, up next is Diamond Heights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q02Nn_Jp05M&lc=Ugz552ODEpLE1ybaERx4AaABAg

I love this park. There isn't much I changed when beginning the scenario besides updating the two racing coasters, Agoraphobia and Claustrophobia. Essentially, I just make some downward turns banked instead of flat, and add some helix's near the end of each track. This really helps the excitement rating of each coaster, bringing Agoraphobia up to 7.90 and Claustrophobia up to 8.08. Also, I added a Go Kart track, Tachophobia Circuit (excitement rating 7.48) that fills out the far back area of the park.

One addition I added to the park is Xylophobia, a wooden coaster that I tried to incorporate some terrain conforming elements into. Overall, I'm very pleased with how the final design turned out, with a peak excitement of 8.46!

The park generally has hilly terrain with very few flat areas to build, forcing me to get creative with my food court areas. I think digging them into the slope looks pretty natural and makes efficient use of the space.

Back behind Xylophobia, I built a Spinning Wild Mouse Coaster named Illyngophobia. I think it fit the area well and served as a nice counterpart to the wooden coaster. The final result is pretty aesthetically pleasing, with an excitement rating of 7.41.

This is just a closer shot of the heart of the park. All in all, I tried to keep the integrity of the original park while adding my own touches. Some notable upticks in excitement upon completing the park were Doppelganger (rising to 7.77), Arachnophobia (rising to 5.83), and Snake River Falls (rising to 6.06). 

This was my favorite scenario to date. An now, I'm dreading moving on to Evergreen Gardens, which is one of if not my least favorite park in the original scenario list. Time for me to drudge through it, so I'll check in with that park soon enough on this blog. Thanks!

Edited December 12, 2020 by Freshpopcorn

[Freshpopcorn]

Continuing on with Evergreen Gardens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgv7PDJQpMc&t=2166s

Historically one of my least favorite RCT1 scenarios, I went into this park with low expectations...however, by the end, I may have changed my tune in terms of my dislike for the park. Here's an overview shot of the completed park.

The entrance area (pictured above) features an old steel mini coaster in what I'm imagining would be the "old" Evergreen Gardens before it expanded into a massive thrill seekers paradise. The steel mini coaster is called Hedge Cutter, with an excitement of 6.73. Above it, atop the hill, is an old Boomerang style coaster called Beanstalk (excitement 5.60).

Moving into the park, I used the rock hill to put a launch freefall on top and the valley beside it to build a shuttle loop coaster named "Legion" (excitement 6.77). The coaster uses crevices in the rock and is decorated with Roman style theme pieces. 

One of the flagship attractions of the park (above) is a large wooden coaster named "Birchwood" - a long and monstrous ride with an excitement rating of 8.58. Winding beneath it is Evergreen Raceway, a GO Karts track with an excitement of 6.73.

  

The entrance area to Birchwood is neighbored by a Spinning Wild Mouse Coaster named "Mousetrap" (excitement 7.58) and a shuttle loop coaster named "Spire" (excitement 5.78). Different view picture below...

The back of the park, behind the large hill, has a Steeplechase coaster named "Vanderbilt" (excitement 5.77). I dont have a close up shot of it ATM but its nothing much to write home about.

Moving around to the far side of the park, there is a Classic Mini coaster named "Space Odyssey" (excitement 7.26).

Neighboring the Classic Mini coaster is "Viridian", a usual Corkscrew coaster (excitement 6.97) which brings us to the front side of the park.

Coming around toward the front, we have "Garden Mouse", a fairly large Wooden Crazy coaster with an excitement rating of 7.76. It overshadows a hedge maze built within one of the tree gardens which I thought was a decent use of space.

Lastly, underneath the large hill near the back of the park hides a small Mine Train coaster called "Mini Mine Trains" (exctiement 6.08).

All in all, I think the final result makes good use of the parks massive size. I usually only use 1/4 of the available space and as soon as the scenario is complete I move on to the next park. This time however, I pushed myself to give the park a chance, and I'm glad I did. I was put in situations where I needed to do detail work that I normally wouldn't do, which I think was a good exercise for me overall.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Freshpopcorn

[Freshpopcorn]

Up next, Bumbly Beach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4IQinz2bNU&list=UUYWSuc0B481eBAOOB4pPD7g

Hooray for Bumbly Beach! I always enjoy building this park. I think its a pretty fun challenge to fit everything in a smaller sized plot, and in this case, even fitting a racing Corkscrew coaster. The photo above is an overview of the park.

As you can see in the photo above, I completey removed the coaster that you start with, Big Dipper, and rebuilt it from scratch. I think the original Big Dipper goes too fast and is generally too intense for the guests of Bumbly Beach. My new version has an excitement rating of 7.20 and is a smaller, more compact design.

Another angle of Big Dipper and the jam packed heart of the park. One ride worthly of feature is Dune Buggie Drag, the small Go Karts track (excitement 4.68) tucked in between the space rings and bumper cars.

Tucked on the far corner of the park is a Spinning Wild Mouse named "Wild Wombats" (excitement 7.12). Outside of that, there is a small lagoon area with shops and a pirate ship and Ferris Wheel. I was actually super happy about how that lagoon area turned out, as it breaks up the jam packed scene of rides throughout the park.

Tucked back in the corner is the Little Dipper, the Big Dippers smaller cousin coaster. Its designed to be a kids ride with extremely short trains and gentle hills. The excitement tops out at 3.41.

On the other side of the park, there sits a Steel Mini Coaster named Beach Hopper (excitement 5.57). It's not my best work, and its often too fast which gives it a high lateral G rating. I decided to let it slide as it was still pretty popular with guests, and I think aesthetically it looks pretty good.

Now, the feature attraction of the park, a racing Corkscrew coaster called "Na-maka" and "Kaha'i" respectively. The full name represents the Hawaiian goddess of the sea. I thought the name was fitting for this coaster being in a beach side theme park. Each one loops and twists through the backside of the park and thanks to the ignore clearances option, I was able to fit the track through some pretty tight spaces. Na-maka hits an excitement of 8.08, while Kaha'i hits an excitement of 8.22.

I'd say this is my best effort so far in the first 6 scenarios. The detail level surpasses my previous efforts including Evergreen Gardens which I easily spent 5 times the amount of time on. Bumbly Beach isn't one of my favorite scenarios, as I prefer parks with more elevation differences, but I think the final result is great none the less. That being said, I'm ready to move on to one of my favorite parks in the game, Trinity Islands!

Edited December 22, 2020 by Freshpopcorn

[Freshpopcorn]

Next, one of my all time top parks, Trinity Islands - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOHrGyZDFSM

I love this park for a lot of reasons. I really enjoy the challenge of sticking to each Islands available land and not lazily building flat rides on the water. I also like that each island can be themed or have one "star attraction" each, allowing for a nice spread of entertainment throughout the park. I also love tropical themed stuff so yeah.

Here's an overview shot of the park. I'll basically go over each island individually for this build log. The park has a gold / brown theme which I like in contrast to the water.

The first Island has a couple flat rides and two coasters. The Steel Mini Coaster is called "Whirligig" (excitement 7.01) and travels around the entire island which was my goal for the ride. I wanted to have the trains glide along the shore past other attractions to give a sense floating or flying, for lack of better terms. 

The Wooden Crazy Mouse is called "Agouti" (excitement 7.64). I wasn't sure what I wanted to put at this entrance area of the park and after debating with a few flat rides I decided to go all out with this coaster.

Another angle showing the rest of Island 1.

Now on to island two which features a large Mine Train Coaster named "Gold Miner". The ride has an excitement of 8.38 which reflects its winding and jumping hills throughout the entire island. The coaster doesnt have much of a lift hill but its not needed as I was able to use the terrain to my advantage. Sprinkled throughout the rest of the island are regular flat rides and a go kart track.

The third Island has another large attraction - a steel coaster named "Tropico" (excitement 8.27). I wasn't planning on having a large coaster on this island but it just sort of happened I guess. It was originally supposed to be a small coaster with one loop but the design just kept expanding. As Island 2, this island has various flat rides alongside the large coaster.

In closing, here's another overview shot of the park from a different angle. Up next is Katie's World!

Edited January 4, 2021 by Freshpopcorn