A.J.

I'm the exact opposite. I like intense positive Gs over airtime, which is why I like Schwarzkopf coasters so much.

Hm. It was just working yesterday.

Not too shabby. You'll want to get rid of the exposed edges of land though. Where did you get the Huss Breakdance/Magic CFRs?

I use the term "Suspended" the same way Intamin uses the term "Mega Lite". It's not necessarily what the coaster is, but it's what the enthusiasts would relate it to. It's a very controversial project, because of the rise of the fixed-train inverted roller coasters coming from Bolliger and Mabillard. I believe the accepted term for a coaster that runs below the track is "inverted". The biggest reason why I chose to revive the suspended coaster was because there are no other inverted coasters like them. Not because they would swing from side-to-side, but because the coasters could go through narrower areas and didn't have the kind of reach envelopes that modern inverted coasters have. Eliminating the swinging does in fact enable the use of inversions, comparable to an Intamin Suspended Looping coaster. Losing the swinging also gets rid of the swing guide on the bottom of the train, enabling the coaster to get even closer to the ground. Like I said, the main advantage of this kind of coaster over normal inverted roller coasters is that it it can tolerate much smaller clearances, which is great for terrain coasters and zig-zagging.

With all the recent ho-hum about Big Bad Wolf and the death of the suspended roller coaster, I decided to take on a new project. The REVENGE of the Suspended Roller Coaster The new-age Suspended roller coasters would be designed for parks who want a high-speed thrill ride on a hillside or low on the ground, or for parks who want a roller coaster that can zig-zag between narrow spaces with little danger to the passengers. While I won't say much, I will say one huge detail about the ride. The trains are fixed - they will not swing. I've done research and concluded that the swinging would put too much stress on the track itself to be viable in the long-term. Phase I - Model of the Train and Track Train Model Seating - 100% complete Restraint System - 100% complete Anti-reach Guarding - 100% complete Outer Shell (front car) - 100% complete Outer Shell (rear cars) - 75% complete Chassis - 30% complete Wheel Assembly - 0% complete Train Assembly - 15% complete Track Model Track - 0% complete Track Nodes - 0% complete Supporting - 0% complete Track Assembly - 0% complete Phase II - Example NoLimits Track Trackwork - 100% complete Terrain - 0% complete Supporting - 0% complete Scenery - 0% complete I'm really excited about making this project. Stay tuned! Phase I. flyingmachine-110101112913000.bmp Phase II.

Revenge of the suspended coaster. flyingmachine-110101112913000.bmp Coming soon, from AJ.

I think the Coney Island development is the biggest disappointment this year. Not because of what is happening now, but because of how promising the project seemed. Then, the biggest disappointment of that disappointment for me is that all of Luna Park's rides are all off-the-shelf. I mean, Europa Park is the same kind of park (a manufacturer showcase), but their rides are fantastically themed and you wouldn't be able to tell they were off-the-shelf rides under the skin.

I'm going to have to go with the hydraulic launch system.

The ride is -partially- powered, mainly because there is no lift or launch of any kind, and that the ride has to end at the same height it started at. Some say the Sky Plaza Comet (as it was known in the Sky Plaza in South Korea) was well-maintained, and that it did not generate enough revenue for the mall it was in to justify its existence. All we know is, it's SBNO now. Brownie points to anyone who can figure out who I sound like in that paragraph. IMO, the Sky Plaza was a much better location, mainly because riders didn't have to climb a flight or two of stairs to get to it, because, they would be already there doing their shopping. The Intamin Spiral Coaster was essentially a better version of the TOGO Ultra Twister that could take lateral turns. It, and the Arrow Dynamics prototype pipeline coaster, inspired the "Pipeline Coaster" RCT3 roller coaster type.

Yes. Explained in the rules, the downward-sloping track counts as straight, because there is no lateral change in direction.

I think the amusement industry's biggest blunder was the bastardization of Vekoma suspended looping coasters (and several other kinds of coasters) by Chinese manufacturers.

What kind of trains does it have now? Intamin stand-up trains. I think they're Intamin stand-up trains that B&M modified with the restraint system used on today's stand-ups.

A little off topic...why is it that everyone thinks Vortex at Canada's Wonderland is awesome, and Flight Deck at King's Island isn't? They both have the same layout!

The last time I was there was in 2008. I saw the lengthy line so I went over to Festhaus to grab a quick snack, and went back out to BBW's line to see if anything had changed, and it had just got longer. So, I decided against riding it unaware of its fate the next year. I then walked back over to the garden in front of Festhaus and turned toward its lift to take a photo. A train had just gone over, so I held my camera up to catch the next one. My arms got tired holding it up. I don't remember exactly how long it was...

I'm going to go ahead and give this a +1. The most prominent reason I never got to ride Big Bad Wolf was because the line was so long and trains were dispatched so slowly. I've only ever gone to BGW four times in my life though.

Well... XLR-8 operated for 21 years. Big Bad Wolf operated for 25 years. Iron Dragon is on year 23. Ninja is on year 22. Vampire is on year 20. Vortex is on year 19. There is some credibility in the "25-year service life" after all. Arrow Dynamics is out of business, so there is no way to get standardized parts if a suspended coaster needs repaired, and recycling trains only works for so long unless the coaster is given the Vekoma treatment like Vampire was given. I think... Track stress is also a factor, because of the insane lateral force exerted on the track when the trains swing to either side. The passengers wouldn't necessarily feel the lateral force that the track does because the naturally-swinging car is trying to find the point where the lateral force is closest to zero for the passengers. The train frames and the track, however, would be under stress because the roll of the track doesn't match the "ideal" roll where the lateral force is zero. Big Bad Wolf had all sorts of back-to-back turns where the swinging trains sagged up to 15 degrees below the track's normal roll, and the famous river drop. Eagle Fortress had the same kinds of turns. Iron Dragon doesn't have near as much stress on the track and train frames because most of the turns are banked at the ideal roll, and the trains don't swing as much. I'm probably wrong, but I hope I'm at least on the right track.

Ding ding ding! Most of the new roller coasters built today are either extremely intense and thrilling OR extremely dull and boring. IMO, the closest thing Busch Gardens Williamsburg has to a a "family" roller coaster now is Loch Ness Monster. Grover's Alpine Express is just plain boring. (A credit is a credit though...) Like I said before, Big Bad Wolf's removal makes me more excited for what's to come.

There is no specific map size limit. However, if you use a really big map and leave a lot of empty space around your coaster, you're going to lose points.

Must not have made it clear - two stations is what you are supposed to do, and any amount of block sections are okay in the lift section.

Yes. However, the coaster itself cannot be hacked in any way (aside from renew/reliable). You're welcome to hack the surroundings though.

They're all separate applications that you have to download and install.

I know I can't open the SV6 because RCT2 isn't made on a Mac, but when I download the file on my Mac, I am getting a notice "Decompression Failed".

After quick review of typical bobsleigh tracks, K&M, you are right. I am now allowing a maximum of two crossovers.

Yes. It won't help or hurt, unless the other coaster is another bobsleigh or flying turns. If that is the case, each coaster will be judged separately with the same 60-point scale.

Here's an explanation of the map size rule. I've placed Flying Dutchman Gold Mine on a 25x25 slab. Since an entire 5-space wide ring of empty space is around the coaster (the BROWN land), 1 point would be deducted from the Map Size score. The TAN land would not deduct any points, because a 5-wide ring will NOT fit, even though there is a section of 5-wide land. It all boils down to this - if you use a big map, make sure you take advantage of the space, or you're going to get points deducted. PLEASE NOTE!!! I actually showed my example wrong. In the actual judging, scenery will be turned off and a 5-wide ring will be traced around the track's perimeter.