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I'll back out of this community then. But I'll leave with this: why choose to talk down to me because you think you hold a position of power? I too have been asked to be a part of the internal team, and will be getting to see the product in action in a few days. I did not mean to step on your toes - all I want to do is to clear up the rumors surrounding this product and offer your community a place to ask, freely, whatever they want to know.

I have been in contact with the team as well and I'm trying to get awareness of the game out to multiple communities - ones that haven't necessarily seen the facebook updates or twitter feed. I'm also looking for honest feedback that I can bring back to Pantera so that they can prioritize what features are most important to the user. In addition to that, I'm scouting for 3d models and build sets to bolster TPS' initial offerings. But my core job is putting minds at ease if there are nagging questions from the various videos posted - questions that I hear a lot of are: Do we have to have our paths lined with trees? Do we have to have a concrete hub to place any ride? Do we have to always have that waterfall in the park? Does the animator only work for flatrides? And these could be things that silently eat away at the confidence in the game - all things that can be easily answered but currently haven't been by the promotional material.

Hey there TPR! I am here to be your TPS ambassador. I am an enthusiast of the genre who has played RCT3 for the 9 years it's been out, attempting to uncover every nook and cranny of the program. I've created parks, coaster films, dark rides, pyrotechnic shows, custom vegetation in a number of themes and park-related long-running forum games - I mention this to show you that I'm no flash-in-the-pan fan of the RCT3 community. I've been impressed with how TPR has been receiving news of this game. It's nice to have an ally in this digital world where it's easier to tear something down for the glorification of an anonymous ego, than it is to support a venerable idea. TPS is developed by a smaller-scale company, and for many, it's promotion has raised a lot of questions. The reason I have confidence in this game is that it is the exact OPPOSITE of what we've seen from the big names lately - Pantera has, from the start, been interested in creating a gaming experience that is only limited by your own imagination. Instead of telling us what they want, they've been working tirelessly to install a series of extremely open customization modules that give the player unmatched control over their creations. However, I understand that TPS' official promotion has been a little unpolished and some gameplay demonstrations have made the product seem more restrictive than it really is. What I want to provide for TPR is clarification. If you have any nagging questions about the program, I am here to answer as best as I can. If I don't know the answer to a question, I will find out for you. You've been good to TPS - let TPS be good to you!

So you have all framed out my exact concerns! Beach Blvd is a definite no because it is a major artery from the foothills to the beach cities. Western could theoretically be possible...but you have a pretty strong NIMBY reaction from residents of the city. Not only for the construction but for the park noise. Tunneling is costly and risky - especially with most electricity buried underneath these streets (a major project that is still going on in patches of Northern Orange County) - no more telephone poles. That means all parking lots outside of the park's 4 main streets must be out of the question. Beach, La Palma, Western and Crescent. So it still makes me wonder what they can do. Pathwise, they've designed themselves into a permanent corner by having Bigfoot cap off the end. There is no possible way to expand the on-stage park. If they were to reclaim some of the employee parking, they could get enough land to put something of decent size with a station inside the park - however that immediately brings up noise and the city's unwillingness to upset their citizens for the benefit of a private company. The next major addition I'm worried will be at the expense of old Knotts. And even then..I can't imagine what they're going to do. Silver Bullet was the park's biggest potential expansion zone and it is ALL used up.

I know the "giga" is tossed around quite a bit...but honestly does Knott's have the space? If Silver Bullet wrecked Knott's scale, what would a giga do? I think there's going to be a tipping point soon where the park needs to either focus on building up a serious coaster collection or move towards more of a family vibe (moreso than it does) - It's out of room to be all things to all people...well nothing to everyone currently and might have to adopt a Blackpool philosophy to simply stay alive. I have no idea what Knott's can do - they're surrounded by city with no where to logically expand. At some point, historic Knotts will have to be demolished.

You know - sharing the old "Knotts is lost" mantra, I went and visited the park a number of times this Spring and I'm not so sure all is lost. For what it's worth, the company is doing a fine job keeping up the little pockets of charm that are left. The hardscape/landscaping is especially nice - even in newer areas. Having Oimet at the helm could push Knotts into a renaissance - you might finally see considerable upkeep on the classics in an attempt to retain that 'gem' he claimed Knotts was. The damage has been done and perhaps it's just how it is today. I am not against progress, but the park has very little logical expansion space left - I can't imagine another huge project to further upset buena park neighbors. However intelligent choices could keep Knotts on the up and up without ruining whatever charms are left. Coaster design has moved into the era of compact layouts and achieving high intensity without having to go hundreds of feet in the air. Trees would go a long way too...they don't cost that much.

I assume you've never had a pond before? Hehe - algae is just a sign that there are too many nutrients in the water and too much open sunlight. I have never seen the bay look quite like that...you don't really expect things like this to happen at a Disney park - but it makes sense. Big show with a platform that can't go down, being hyped up so severely that they can't possibly take it out of service for at least another 4 months, damaged from seismic rattles, in a stagnating pool of unfiltered water that can't be drained, getting ready for another busy holiday season where the show is supposed to play to many international tourists who have never seen the bay or the show in its prime season. Oh and also using the mechanisms to promote a heavily-hyped movie. This is a comedy of errors! I have my thoughts about World of Color - I think it's a fine addition, although poorly designed for anyone outside the center. But I think the Disney company will fare just fine with this added stress in DCA. There's really not much you can do. If you make repairs to World of Color, you're taking the show out of its freshmen year where millions of dollars have been thrown at marketing to make sure everyone knows about it. It won't be pretty for a while, but if the show, the lagoon, and the guests can bear with it for another 4 months, everything will work out fine. Things break, stuff happens. It's just that...major things broke on a very important season. Once WoC gets its rehabilitation...we might finally see the platforms disappear underneath the surface of crisp blue water. Of course, that's assuming that the company would be proactive in repairing the mechanisms for the show.

Didn't they do that when Steps in Time was shut down? I think they were planning to put in another show of the same theme. Then, they brought in an abridged version of Blast! to fill the theater before they could get the technical bits worked out for Aladdin. The Hyperion has had a rocky history - it was supposed to be the theater of all theaters to envy...but the productions fell short immensely, not using the stage's intense technological advancements...so they were torn out to make way for more specialized effects (like the carpet rig for Aladdin).

Even Disney has to stick to budgets. Sometimes, money for things falls short of estimates...and it's a highly bureaucratic process to get more. I'm impressed with what's been done so far, and you can expect that Disney won't be skimping on Buena Vista Street - since that's the big money-maker. The red car attraction doesn't seem to be chopped much at all. TLM doesn't seem to be affected, WoC's budget hasn't been noticeably cut. What's been done with the 1.1 bill so far is actually quite pleasing. It's probably not in the stars for the Hyperion to get funding for a new show right now.

Still better than Golden Dreams' 1-5% showings. There's no need to change out Aladdin for a new show. If it isn't broken, don't fix it...especially in an area that has yet to go through its aesthetic makeover. Why add a new show and try to attract people towards the part of the park that's eventually going to be closed off as a giant construction mess? Wait until these changes are done, then re-energize the land with a new show. There's no need to jump the gun on this one. Everything that's been in the Hyperion (with the exception of Blast!) is pointless dreck to me...so better they leave semi-popular dreck than potentially disastrous dreck.

To all the nay-sayers out there. Don't expect Fantasmic 2.0...don't expect Illuminations...these kinds of comparisons are completely irrelevant and damaging to the show that is being produced for DCA. World of Color will not be a new experience - the entire basis of it is a bunch of tightly synced movie-moment vignettes set in a watery environment. Ok, the story doesn't sound that innovative...but who wants innovative? I've come to terms that World of Color is story-less and like a moth to a flame, I'm entranced by the velocity and the vibrancy of this watery rig. I haven't quite seen a fountain show as jaw-droppingly creative or nearly as exciting as World of Color - even by the really terrible youtube vids. I can't see the projections at all...and I can still get the feeling of the scene with just the grid fountains, water whips and blow pops. It's amazing how many textures they've been able to achieve with just water and nozzles. Then I saw the Disneyblog promo - the depth of the projections moving into the 3-dimensional water field is going to make this show truly unique. It isn't going to be like watching a video on water...you're going to feel like it's there happening in front of you. Did you see how awesome that EAC effect looked!? Gah, that had me sold. That and they're using the Pines of Rome in the soundtrack...AND they're using music from the Hunchback of Notre Dame...one of the best rarely-used soundtracks of the Menken era of Disney Animation. I think there will be plenty of cheese to go along with the more intense moments in the show...but hey, it's Disney. Even Illuminations has plenty of cringe-worthy moments in its soundtrack. Here's to DCA finally getting a show worthy of the Disney name!

HA! I finally got felled by an April Fools prank. Though seeing unexpected executive turnover (especially recently) - it didn't seem all that farfetched.

Don't take what Al Lutz says like waters from the fountain of truth. Many times, he tends to mix real gossip with his own bias. I do not doubt that Maliboomer will be out of the skyline before 2011. But what I do doubt is that Steve Davidson will get his entire wish...considering he no longer works for the Disney company. Even so, it was probably Davidson that mentioned that he wanted the entire area shut down for his show - but imagineers are intelligent enough to know that's not going to fly. And Team Disney Anaheim (TDA) will NOT let a piece of entertainment overshadow sales on the midway. High profile rides will have to be shut down at least 30 minutes before showtime - maybe more considering the movement (or lack of movement) of the line. But I doubt Midway Mania will be shut down - probably silenced and dimmed. However, on the inaugural night, Paradise Pier will most likely be completely shut down. Though this ideal condition for the show won't last long - DCA will figure out how to make it work. The absurd mention of staff obscuring the view of the show from the pier sounds like good ole Al Lutz - While it might not be an attractive view, and the entertainment division will probably keep people from stopping on the bridge to gawk at the awesomeness, they won't actively shield the show from guests. Careful what you read - you're all smart enough to draw your own conclusions from the information provided...don't take one Disney prophet's blog as truth. Al Lutz also reported on New Orleans Square getting 'collapsible chimneys' for sharp shooters on Pirate's Lair. That didn't happen - it was probably an idea that developed out of an imagineer meeting that leaked out to one of his 'sources'. The parachute model in the Blue Sky Cellar isn't going to happen - it was developed when the pier's theme was still undecided (they toyed with a Toy Story theme...but settled on an elegant Victorian theme) - just like the ferris wheel's wrap around boardwalk or enclosed queue didn't happen. Just like King Triton's Carousel's cover structure won't happen. I guess the imagineers were just too lazy to change it...because they left all of these ideas on the scale model. The BSC is deceptively optimistic...just like the concept art that covers its walls. But a lot of the imagineer's ideas are just that, ideas.

The platform is ingeniously simple. It's not on a giant mechanized system to lift and drop it - which is what I thought originally. It's activated by floats...like a submarine system. When they want the platform to be up at maintenance level, they fill the floats with air. The platform has dozens of floats and it's flexible so that each piece can lift and drop with relative ease. When they want it to be at rest, they fill the floats with water. When they want it to be at show level, they half fill the floats. It's incredibly smart. And not nearly the maintenance nightmare that the actual show elements are. This show will be unlike any other...and I know it's cliche to say that...but there's no other way to put it. The use of projection on various water surfaces will give the show a style and a look that I don't think has been seen before. And I'm not just talking about screens...but moving, whipping water. The immense grid of water nozzles gives them the ability to create dimensional water effects across the lagoon. Kind of like the fountain show at the Wynn, but on a much grander scale. Then water whips, fire whips, blow pops, and a seamless 300 ft wide water screen projection complete the techy goodies. It'll be amazing if Disney figured out a way to create a heartfelt show amidst this technology - but from what I've heard and seen and what Disney's intentionally leaked, it's pretty spectacular. What has me excited is that the animation used in the show has been redone - sometimes in completely different mediums. (Alice's segment has been done in paper stop-motion) Will it be a technical disaster its first year? Oh you bet. But what precedent-setting piece of technology hasn't? I can imagine it will be scaled back by its second year...that's just the way it seems to go. I plan to see it in its first few months - and I would advise everyone else to do the same. Stuff will get cut. Nothing is safe from tweaking.

gisco - The colors will reproduce just fine, it's more a matter of personal opinion and taste. Jcrouse's design is my current favorite as well. I would agree that it does run the risk of being too generic looking...but I think that as long as we all have a platform of what TPR is looking for, we can shave down to something more distinguished and unique. One foreseeable problem is the use of gray for the text - If I remember correctly, ribbon printers can do opacity, but it's not at all recommended. With the white ribbon already being finicky, I wouldn't risk having it do 3 different levels of opacity. What you're going to end up with is cards that still have the ribbon attached because there wasn't enough heat on the print head to cleanly press and remove it - so you'll have your white ribbon getting caught on rollers...sucked up into the body of the printer...it's a mess when things go wrong. I'll keep tweaking my design - looks like we're moving into a more neutral pleasing color scheme. Time to retire the color blocks me thinks.

Okay, I decided to adopt JCrouse's awesome banner design for my next set of revisions. The separation of the three colors within a manageable and orderly space allow this design to go both ways (light or dark) - something I was desperately missing from the jagged nature of Gadzooks. Some notable changes to JCrouse's original design - the scalloped bottom and the use of Carlisle for 'club' instead of Gadzooks. Works equally well on white making the brand much more versatile than my previous design. The seemingly unchanging version. And a new lighter version in case white ribbons are out of the question - also good to explore a new avenue. Ironically, the typeface here is "Simpson" Big thanks to JCrouse for his original concept and William for his graphic screens I've used on these cards.

William - I like the transformation your design is going through...but I can't help but feel it's a bank card that is trying to be a membership card. Part of that is the ribbed texture gradient. Part of it is the sans=serif block fonts you're using. Bauhaus is a very fun font if you break it from its baseline, but you're keeping your text boxes very formulaic for a series of typestyles that don't naturally have a relaxed tone. Try and move away from sans-serif typefaces, or find ones that don't have such a formal look to them.

It wouldn't make for higher printing costs - it would just be confusing overall. The first thing that comes in to my mind when I think of a vertical card is a hotel digital key. I love non-traditional layouts, but I think in the end, for something thousands of people will carry in their wallet, landscape is the way to go. William - I really like the vector treatment done on this one. Perhaps we could collaborate and come up with a card that has both of our design ideas on it. Jcrouse - Wow, I really really dig that card design. I agree that the three colors popping out of the club are distracting, and even the club could use some toning down, but I like the banner approach - it would replicate really well on t-shirts. The card design - I would not mind having that in my wallet! Looks very clean and it reads well. EDIT - I decided to just do a quick mockup of how William's logo and artwork would look on my design: ******LOGO AND VECTOR ARTWORK ARE ANGRY GUMBALL'S - NOT MY OWN******

Decided to try out a lighter card just for a different flavor. Don't quite know how I feel about it. It's always good to explore a different option though. Even if it doesn't immediately result in a better product. And if you had a really long last name, you could always split the text box up and make the last name smaller to fit the card space. However I doubt many people have last names of Nahasapeemapetilon or greater. William - I like the design. The only thing that bothers me is that the amusement park rides are so picture-y...if that makes sense. I'd like to see them abstracted like you abstracted the little coaster carts. It'll give you a really nice sense of unity and continuity.

Alright Elissa - here's a quick solution. It needs a lot of work though. Darker design with changes First design w/ black text Second design w/ black text If it's an issue of fidelity (I know white text ribbons are sometimes sketchy when laying down the text) then I need to go back to the drawing board and design one with a lighter text area. Red, Green and Blue are set off well by black, but a white base may take a bit of thinking.

Here you are sir: EDIT - I'll get that in just a sec Elissa!

William, I LOVE the little coaster cars on the T. They have been simplified down, but it really communicates! The less-is-more approach fits that icon well. Ok - a few design tweaks: Basically the display model themeparkreview at the bottom of the card A little more of a type-as-line approach in the TPR colors. Same approach with the 'club gold' instead. One thing you could answer me - what does the "family" textbox mean and what does it indicate? BTW - the font I used is provided in the attachment. Carlisle REGULAR.zip Carlisle typeface

But the design of the card would remain the same - just the information like "membership" "screenname" and "expiration date" would change. That could all be done on one roll of ribbon. By having just the blank design printed on the cards, you'd save yourself a lot of time and unless you're getting your CMYK ribbons at wholesale, a lot of money. Companies that do bulk printing also offer price breaks when you reach certain levels - for a thousand cards printed with just the blank graphic, you could save somewhere around 25%. EDIT - ah, you're too fast.

I think it's more cost effective to get all of the fronts and backs printed in bulk offsite. That way when he makes the cards for however many thousand people there are here, he'd only have to order White/Black ribbon for the necessary text. If he does choose to have them bulk printed, the color and fidelity of the card won't shift from print to print. As the print head on a card printer gets hot (after being used for long periods), it begins to transfer the ribbon differently. The hotter the head is, the darker the print is. In addition to all of that, the card printer uses 4 panels of color: Yellow, Magenta, Cyan and Black - whereas a single color panel for text would just use one. Those ribbons really add up.

Haha, alright guys - still got 10 days left and I'm sure there are some intense talents here. Back on topic of printing - it's a lot like basic paper media. If you buy an EPSON, there's a better chance you're going to get phenomenal prints. Same goes with cards. If you get or are loaned a good printer, you shouldn't have an issue. Zebra is the most common brand...but it's really one of the worst brands for good card reproduction. BTW - the best card printers are definitely Evolis's. They are truly the EPSON of the card world.