DC High Heat

Just a tiny piece of somethin' I'm workin' on

Put all your files in a zip folder (if Mac has those) and upload to zshare.com...then send that link to someone to package for you.

Coastersims has been dead for months.

The cutback on Drachen Fire was not banked 180*...probably closer to 160* or so.

Also note that even with say 40 trips to the park over the last 9 years, I've rarely ever had a problem with line jumping. Line jumping used to be bad at GAdv, but now it's very rare to see people cutting the line. I also think Superman is a much more exciting ride than Batwing. Batwing is always fun, but for me hasn't stayed as thrilling as SROS. I love the sustained speeds on SROS...I think the first helix is great because you never slow down, and is forceful enough that many people (sometimes including myself) start to gray out toward the end. The second half of the second helix isn't as good, but there are some lats and that half along with the subsequent dip serve as a good setup for the fun airtime on the last 3 hills. I will suggest front 2 rows on SROS. Back does rattle more, though it's not terrible and doesn't take too much away from the ride. I think the ride is built for speed though, which is why the front is better with its lack of obstructions. Have fun!

If you want to go to the waterpark, do that between 10 and 1. After that it'll get packed on a Saturday, whereas you can ride everything as much as you want before then. I went 2 Saturdays ago, and the theme park side was not busy at all...as almost always. Superman for the last couple years has been running top form...really flies through the layout, I love it. They also allow rerides if it's not crowded and nobody is in your row...I'd ask first though. If they do allow them, you can also switch to an empty row. As mentioned before, Batwing will probably be the only ride with a line more than 10 mins long, and though it loads terribly slow, that line usually isn't too bad either. I live smack in the middle of GAdv and SFA, and often go to SFA over GAdv despite the difference in ride quality because you can ride what you want as many times as you want, whereas at GAdv you might have to wait in significantly longer lines. I think SFA is highly underrated, and because the lines are so short all the bickering about slow staff and such is pointless. I'd rather have very slow staff and wait 5 mins to get on a ride instead of waiting an hour with great staff...wouldn't you?

We're good man, no worries. Happy coastering : )

Whatever, I'm not going to get into that argument, especially since I think you only posted based on the one quote, and not what I actually said before. What I wrote are my thoughts based on my personal knowledge and experience. Whether you accept them or not is your business, not mine. I will say, please note that everything I said in the post in question is a fact as opposed to an opinion, and whether you deem it correct or incorrect is another issue which is open to debate if you'd like. I didn't say which drop I preferred, as they are pretty similar, both has its advantages, and I've only ridden one of the two. I was just stating reasons why one might be considered better than another.

Nope, but you can get a lot of information from videos and pictures, which is just what I did.

Well one degree would be insignificant...if not for all the other differences that influence the effectiveness of the drop. Note that: -T Express achieves a steeper slope over less distance and what seems like a higher starting speed (than that of El Toro in its current state). Because the shaping is still similar, T Express' drop is likely more intense with stronger and/or a quicker onset of strong negatives. -The transition between negatives and positives is noticeably smaller on T Express than El Toro. That fact also adds to the intensity by decreasing the time between extremes. Consider that the most significant difference between say Millennium Force's S transition between the second and third overbanks, and Maverick's S transition between the first and second turns on the ride is the time of rotation. Now, apply that same concept to the transitions on the drops to see why that difference can be so important. It's not a huge change, as El Toro's transition there is already relatively small, but it's definitely visible in back row POVs. Determining which drop is better is really a matter of personal preference, as some people would prefer an extra 20' or other differences and intangibles in El Toro's drop over the facts I presented. However, based on what I said, I think one can tell why either first drop might be preferred.

Thanks real. I didn't A: know that, and B: realize that jds03's ride was modelled after an Intamin wooden coaster. Way to go guy.

El Toro has wheels to drive the train into and out of the station, and more wheels before the lift.

Pleasant surprise. Thanks for uploading.

Don't forget the autosmoother jarmor, because that also does stuff for you. Matter of fact, all the math involved in making the space curves work should be eliminated too. All the user is doing is moving vertices around, and the curves get made for them. Good call...it clearly doesn't make sense to use No Limits in a No Limits wooden coaster contest

haha that kinda was the opposite of my point but I can't really be mad at anyone who says they agree with me haha : P

It wasn't so much a matter of me wanting or not wanting to join, it was just a question of the judge's reasoning. The way I see it, through years of building both ways: in Elementary, the user still has to input variables to make the element how they want it...and most don't do a very good job of controlling Elementary. That means Elementary does most of the work for these users, and the user mostly puts the ride together, though not to the extent that was implied by some. I think, however, that those who don't control Elementary very well end up having tracks that are technically worse than those from the average decent handbuilder. Having initially worked by hand for years, then moving to Elementary (and learning tons through my years of Elementary work), I've noticed that for me personally to get as much as possible out of Elementary, I have to know exactly what I want, and how to get to that point. It's not nearly as simple as some of you might think, at least if you want to do things decently. I guess there haven't been too many Elementary tracks around here, so maybe my point here would be clearer if you were to compare a weak Elementary built track to one from a real good designer, like say Jakizle. That difference I'm sure will be clear for those who have some understanding of coasters, and should help one see that there is in fact at least an equal amount of skill involved in Elementary building. Only change is it's a different type of skill. I fully agree that it does take talent to build rides well by hand, but as I just noted I think that particular talent is not the only talent involved in designing rides, and more importantly, nowhere near what I consider to be the most important talent in NL. I think the most important thing, at least for me, is to make a ride as good as possible, and that takes more talent than simply being able to smooth or shape a ride by hand. That's what I strive for...and it's something independing of building style, meaning you can achieve it nomatter how you go about it; handbuilding or through tools. Great to challenge oneself, or try to prove something...all that is lots of fun. But why limit yourselves when you know there's something that may be better for you out there? Shoot for the stars! haha Oh, and when you move a vertex, mathematical formulas for the curves determine your shaping for you...as opposed to say drawing a picture, where you make the shapes and textures yourself. In Elementary, it's almost exactly the same...except you type values in to shape the element. So the term "handbuilding" is a bit of a misnomer. I guess it all comes down to what you want out of the program. Handbuilding is completely legit, if that's what you want. If you want to make 10,000' long tracks with over-the-top forces...and you find that fun...then that's awesome, too. As jarmor suggested, coaster companies don't modify their tracks by hand at all, and that for me is a reason to do the same. If there wasn't talent involved in that, though, then the real rides wouldn't be as good and many of us may not be as interested in coasters. Agreed?

Why are Newton and Elementary not allowed? They're available to everyone...at least as much as the allowed AHG and modelling programs are...so there's no unfair advantage in their use. Is your intent to find the best track, or to test whether someone's bored enough to play with handles to artificially smooth a track for hours on end?

And those were precisely the two I was referring to...more Cedar Point though. Most lines were flying, but they were just so long that it took an hour and a half for many of them. Great Adventure's operations don't seem to be as consistent, but sometimes they move quickly too and still take a while. I live in between SFA and SFGAdv, and before KK and ET my family used to go to SFA more often because we found it more enjoyable to be able to get on as many rides as we wanted than to only get 5 or 6 rides in a day.

That would be new, because despite what everyone says about operations, average coaster wait time is probably around 10-15 minutes, even on crowded days. I'll take horrible operations and very short waits over great operations and 2 hour waits anyday, especially since overall SFA has some pretty good rides.

Awesome dude. What row?