Tchu

True, but... I'm not (and I doubt anywhere here on this forum is) fully informed and armed with all the necessary information to fairly play the blame game. All we have are a few pieces to a large, likely complex, puzzle, and without a full knowledge of the situation, blaming Intamin or KD or CF is probably an unfair assumption. I305 may have been exerting unreasonably high g forces for a sustained period. It may have been chucking wheels. And it may cover only 5 acres where MF covers nearly 3 times that... but it's likely that it was CF/KD who asked to for a 300+ ft, 90+mph giga coaster crammed into a relatively tiny 5 acre space. A coaster of that height, carrying those relative speeds, placed on a plot of land so small was always going to be a very different monster than MF. People are looking too much into the term "giga" as if coaster terms really mean that much. I305, despite being an Intamin giga, is probably as different from MF as any other random coaster. If Cedar Fair and Kings Dominion wanted a 300ft tall coaster, and wanted it in a very specific location, held within very specific barriers, the challenges that result from such a design/build should rest equally on the shoulders of the customer and the manufacturer. Without all the information and full tell-alls by the parties involved, its unfair to point the finger at any one specific party. Besides, the blame game doesn't accomplish much. What's most important is that this coaster is fixed and tweaked and rounded into shape so that it is safe for all guests, isn't a maintenance bankruptcy waiting to happen, and provides an enjoyable ride. Pretty sure that's what a roller coaster is supposed to provide, and how it gets to that point isn't as important as it getting to that point.

You do realize that would require a complete redesign of the current trains and probably cost a ton of money? I rode I305 over 50 times and while, yes, there were a couple of moments where it did throw you around, I didn't have any problems with the restraints. I've certainly been on MUCH WORSE! Anaconda bangs you around more...and anyone want to remember the restraints that used to be on Outer Limits? And I'm sure that just about every Vekoma SLC I've been on has been far worse. IMO, the restraints are fine as is. There is MUCH WORSE out there! --Robb I've heard of these restraints... even been told that I rode Flight of Fear many times with the OTSRs. And yet, I remember nothing about them. Presumably because of what they did to my brain.

If they really wanted to go all out with the Nascar theme, the heck with block sections and brakes, this thing would have bump drafting.

I don't think Elissa is speaking to the actual financial structuring or cost of sponsorship in NASCAR, simply the look of this particular method used to theme the ride. Typically, slapping a bunch of stickers on a car doesn't look elegant or sophisticated. Think of all the cars you've seen covered in bumper stickers. How many of them were 12 year old junkers that probably were within 10,000 miles of the end of their service life? Now, how many were brand new BMWs, or sleek, sharp, expensive Mercedes? I'm a fan of NASCAR, and Taco Bell and Burger King, but when we're talking putting those decals on something you own? Any time you use the logo of a restaurant where the entire family can eat for nine bucks so long as you're not bothered by sticking to the chairs... kinda screams 'cheap'.

I know that these new generation B&M's don't have as much airtime as the old generation, the carts are too long to experience much. And I think they didn't add any hills because that race car driver this coaster was built for, won that many awards. I think there are 9 hills, and that race car drive won 9 awards or trophies or what ever. So I guess they didn't want anymore hills. To each his own, and I certainly can't make a blanket statement about all B&Ms, but I didn't find the longer trains to hurt the air-time at all. Comparing DB to AC, I felt DB had a similar amount of air, and more intense air-time at that. The one thing I personally felt, was that the older, shorter trains made for a better ride in the back, while the longer trains on Diamondback make for a better ride with stronger air at the front of the train. Also, based on what we're seeing with Intimidator, plus what B&M did with Behemoth and Diamondback, it looks like B&M really strives to control train speed coming out of their coasters' big turnarounds. Behemoth has three successive trims on the ascent of the three hills immediately following the hammerhead. Diamondback has its trim brake on the ascent of the hill immediately following the hammerhead turn. And now, Carowind's new coaster features two trims, one each on the hills right after their unique turnaround.

Nothing wrong with criticism, but sometimes, on this board, the criticism is a little blunt with no helpful nature to it. As a personally lousy player, looking to improve, I always appreciate to see when people say "I like this because the [insert building/ride/whatever] looks great and is very realistic" as opposed to just "I love it". The same is true (perhaps more so) for negative feedback. Saying "Your buildings/foliage/layouts suck" or "your rides need work" doesn't offer much insight. What's wrong with the foliage? What could be done to fix it? How would you do it differently? Or why does the layout suck? Too boring? Unrealistic? What changes could be made? It's those sorts of things that will actually help people make changes to better their parks. Personally TLM, I think your foliage looks good. Maybe not spectacular, but good. I know foliage is difficult in RCT2 because there's only so many quarter tile options, and if you choose custom scenery and what not to incorporate in your park, there's less spaces available for varied trees and shrubs.

Absolutely fantastic work, DBru. Land of the Lost looks amazing. Great scenery and landscaping, and an excellent atmosphere. Probably my favorite update I've seen from any of your parks.

This is a really tricky subject... but I can't believe some people are completely dismissing it and acting as if ADHD isn't a "legit" problem to have. There are varying degrees of ADHD the same way there are various stages of cancer, or varying degrees of autism. One autistic child may have symptoms as minor as a bit of a speech impediment. Another might be completely incapable of forming sentences, conveying/retaining ideas, and may frequently cause bodily harm to his/herself by repeated punches or clawing at their own flesh. Some children with Autism would be capable of waiting in line at an amusement park. Others would not. It's the same thing with ADHD. Some people with this disorder would be fine waiting in line. Others would not. Definitely a tricky subject and a fine line. Certainly some would abuse the privilege. But treating ADHD with less concern or attention because it doesn't show up on a blood test or a CT Scan isn't fair to those with the disorder. You could argue that persons with physical disabilities should just "suck it up and deal with the pain/exhaustion" or not come to the park at all. If we did that, we'd be ripped to shreds as insensitive, vile neanderthals. The same sort of respect should be shown for those with mental handicaps and disorders. Just because the disability doesn't manifest itself physically doesn't mean it isn't a disability. The best thing to do is to offer a policy that works to eliminate the disadvantage these individuals suffer, without handing them all sorts of benefits and bonuses on a silver platter. The goal should be to provide an even footing for these individuals, not give them a leg up, but not leave them to fall behind. The above mentioned CP policy is a good example in my opinion. Something in the spirit of a Six Flags flash pass, that requires a waiting time, but does not require it to take place in a confined, slow moving line is a step that will help those with disabilities without hurting or punishing other guests.

How is it, that we can tear apart individuals who claim a ride that hasn't even been built yet "sucks", but we can praise it for all the air-time we "know" it will have? Nobody has any idea how awesome/craptacular I305 or Intimidator at Carowinds is going to be. The most we can do is take guesses based on our experiences with similar coasters. And that only takes us so far. Speaking of which... have you been on any of the new B&M hypers? If you've not been on either Diamondback or Behemoth, I'm quite curious how you can be so down on "anything B&M". DB > Apollo's Chariot... and it wasn't even close in my opinion. Just because they were both B&M hypers... they were a league apart. New track elements and designs, entirely new trains... made for a very different experience.

Stated so perfectly. It boggles the mind how someone can get on this forum and rip apart another poster for saying terrible things about the ride because "you haven't ridden it!". Then turn right around and say "this ride is fantastic! This ride will be a top 10! This has OMG ejector air!" We've seen a few renderings, just a couple pics and a POV. From this, no one has the ability to decipher whether the ride will be great/good/ok/lousy. Nor can anyone look at a POV and feel any possible air-time and know how intense it is. All the irrational claims being made on the positive end of the spectrum are no more acceptable than the negative just because they're positive and upbeat. And just for the record... speed does not equal air-time. You can travel pretty fast over a 'hill' or 'hump' and still not get much or any air-time. Angle of ascent/descent, quickness of the transition... all those play a heavy role in providing air. Anyways, I think this looks like it will be a fun coaster. First drop could be fantastic. I'm curious how many of those claimed 6 air-time humps will actually provide any real air. The restraints... I haven't really had any problem with them on Maverick. But, I have a friend who was smashed against them during the transition and ended up having to make a trip to the First-Aid building with a swollen jaw. I think its a combination of body size, track layout, ability to anticipate transitions, and sheer luck when it comes to avoiding smashing your neck/head against the shoulder straps that hover around you. Personally, I prefer these OSTR to those of Vekoma, Arrow, etc. But they certainly don't offer up the freedom and vulnerability that a simple lapbar leaves you with. I think a lot of coaster enthusiasts really enjoy that open/free/vulnerable feeling that the lap bar offers. It makes the ride more thrilling or... intimidating. All in all, hope to get down to Virginia next summer to visit some friends and maybe check out this cool new addition to KD.

Diamondback's air blows AC's air outta the water. I just road Apollo's Chariot a couple weeks ago... front of the train, back of the train... and while it was a really fun coaster, I sure didn't feel any air-time on it nearly as forceful as the air you get in the front couple rows of DB. Given the fact that DB and Behemoth seem to be the highest rated of the B&M hypers, I think its safe to say that this new one for Carowinds will hold up well.

Count me amongst the (very) few who don't really see what the fuss is about. While it'd certainly be nice if parks could hold on to all there coasters, only expand and never demolish... that's just not reasonable. When it comes to BBW, its an old coaster that really didn't offer much in my opinion. Finally got down to Busch Gardens on Thursday while visiting some friends who live in Virginia, and I was pretty disappointed in the ride. To me, BBW offered an awesome swing down over the river and that was about it. The ride offers no momentum, constantly being broken up by brakes and lift hills. And, outside of the big drop and swing over the river, I can't say that I felt the ride was all that forceful. The best thing BBW had going for it was the height requirement and the way it allowed families to ride together. It was the only coaster my wife and I were in line for all day that wasn't filled with endless teenagers and twenty-somethings. It was great to see a coaster that allowed the 4 and 5 year old kids to ride with mom and dad. I think Busch Gardens should definitely replace one coaster with another, but I think those that feel it should be something that carries a 42 or 48" height requirement are right on the money. The last thing the park needs is another B&M that's going to turn away most children and their parents.

The awnings on the buildings are custom scenery, as well as the glass corner-roof pieces. Otherwise, I believe its all in-game scenery. I have a few pieces of CS (mostly corner-roof pieces) but for the most part, this scenario is being played with in-game scenery and custom-supports. And thanks for the kind words! And now for a detailed look at Carnivore, Branson Lake's B&M Hyper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rides entrance and queue area. Its never full because of the rides awesome capacity. The station building for Carnivore. Since the ride is located in the heavily wooded "Wilderness" section of the park, and is themed to the legend of a half-man/half-bear creature that roams the forests... the station is done in wood with a pioneer (or even a bit of a western) feel to it. One of several monstrous hills on Carnivore that rise (and plummit) well over 100 feet! Roaring through the hammerhead turnaround. You can see just a bit of Branson Lake in the upper corner of the picture. Rising up through the intense 360 degree helix. This thing is forceful. Also, you can see that very little of the grass has grown back under the ride. Bit of a mud pit right now. The fantastic splashdown finale. The park wanted the splashdown to look like an actual pond. Before tearing through the water, the coaster goes through an 'S' shaped hill and drop that pulls some nice Gs. The overall layout of Carnivore (minus splashdown and station). You can just make out the 'S' turn/drop in the bottom right corner. This coaster marked my very first attempt at using custom supports. Took me forever. Supporting a coaster is time-consuming (especially when you're a beginner). Comments welcomed and appreciated!

This is a new park I've started... sorta an update of Kings Lake. The park map is very similar, and the entrance/main street is also of the same mold. Basically, I took Kings Lake's entrance, main street, and Mammoth coaster and re-did them. Only this time, I'm taking my first ever crack at custom supports and the use of trainers. Vista is a pain in the butt. A small restaurant and The Candy Shop along Main Street. The other side of Main Street. On the left side of the screen is the Main Street Cafe. Wild Ride... the park's first attraction. In the next update, I'll unveil the first of two coasters currently operating at Branson Lake... The logo! Cresting one of the massive hills on the B&M hyper named Carnivore Splash down finale in the pond!

8Cars + Vista = headache. New park I'm working on (new laptop!)... downloaded some custom supports, so this park will be my first ever attempt at custom supporting the coasters. A sneak peak

8-Cars doesn't actually pull up or open in RCT2. When you hit Alt+Tab and it minimized RCT and brings up the Trainer menu, its working correctly. The 8-Cars menu doesn't actually open over the screen with your RCT game still running. Just hit Alt+Tab to jump from RCT2 to the 8-Cars menu, select whatever function you'd like (say... Zero Clearances, for instance), then go back into your RCT game and the function should be operating. Unless you have Vista... in which case just cross your fingers and hope it works. If not, close 8Cars and try again. Rinse and repeat.

Of course it isn't testing yet. Didn't you hear about the epic fail where it smashed into the Ghostbusters headquarters during the pull-through? Peter Venkman was even quoted as saying "This is ridiculous. We're trying to do our job, keep the city safe, and we've got coasters smashing into the side of our building. It's a headache, and we don't have time to deal with that... we're too busy out there fighting 100ft tall marshmallow men and lockers.

I'm not so sure that was the intention with MF. If you look on Intamin's website, under their listing for Giga Coasters, it reads... he layout is characterised by steep hills and drops, high speed horizontal turns at, or tremendously close to, ground level and various over banked curves. Nowhere does it mention air-time as an intended or featured element of this style of coaster. Conversely, under their description for Mega Coaster, the first thing it mentions about the layout is that it is designed for maximum air-time. That's why I'm more curious about the KD coaster, but more excited about the heavily rumored B&M hyper going in at Carowinds.

Maybe someone can help me out here... I downloaded the 8 Cars Trainer and have been trying to use it (Mountain tool is a life saver). But I'm having major difficulties with the Zero Clearance function. If I click to "Zero Clearances", it will allow me to build through things, so I can have a coaster rushing through a waterfall. But it also makes the coaster glitch and sections of track disappear from different angles while in Zero Clearance mode. When I choose to restore all clearances... nothing happens. I get no message saying that clearance has been restored. I can still build through things, and coasters/flats/rides still disappear in chunks as I zoom in and out and rotate views. It's quite possible that I'm just an idiot. Am I missing something simple? What's the trick to restoring clearances so that I can no longer build through rides and watch sections of items disappear? Also, I notice there's the option under "MISC" to Zero all clearances, or the option under "EDIT RIDES" to select a specific ride and check a box marked "zero clearance" which seems to zero clearance only for that particular ride. Which method is best to use? I've tried both and in both cases can't seem to be able to restore clearances.

I actually like sticking my junk in a locker. Sure beats keeping it in my pants and having to worry that it doesn't fall out on the ride

Things are looking really nice, and the stadium for the sea lions show is perfect. I'll take something like this any day over 90% of the stuff posted on NE.... with there 50,000 seat stadiums in the middle of parks, and their 400 foot tall 4-d coasters and entire city skyscrapers encasing a ride. I prefer something you might actually see in real life. This parks looks good and it looks realistic. The one criticism I can find is that I'd watch out over-doing all the blue. I know its a SeaWorld park and the sea is ya know... blue and all... but there's a whooole lot of it in the park. Other than the Lighthouse, it appears every building has blue as a major color in it. But the structures look great, landscaping looks good, can't wait to see more in the way of rides. All in all, very nice start, guys.

Really? I thought there were only a couple two or three Dive Machines and now Diamondback that feature a splashdown. Are there more I'm missing? At this moment, I think they're a fresh, new element in the world of coasters. Functional and amazing to watch. People kinda just gather around the splashdown of Diamondback and watch. It's pretty incredible to see in person. Plus, it can be a nice way to cool down in the summer depending on splashdown location/train location etc. If B&M starts putting splashdowns on everything they build... the effect could wear thin. But so long as only a handful of coasters in the world have a true splashdown, I think it's a great element, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Cedar Fair has it included on the next hyper they receive (whichever park it might go to). If nothing else, I look at it this way... the splashdown is a lot better than a slightly shorter section of track with nothing. Diamondback had its 10 'vertical drops' (same as Behemoth, Goliath etc)... there was probably never going to be another bunny hop or helix there. It was likely either drop outta the helix, and pop up to the brakes, or drop outta the helix, hit a straight section of track, skim the water, and rise into the brakes. I'll take the splashdown every time in that case.

LMAO! I always love it when people tell me stuff like this... "Well, in order to get the REAL experince you need to ride it at a certain time of day, in a certain seat, when the moon is out, and a witch doctor has cast a spell on the train..." C'MON! GIVE ME A F**KING BREAK! If the ride only delivers said "amazing airtime" when the stars are alightly properly that IMO is a MAJOR FAIL on the part of the ride and how it was designed. Magnum can be very moody so this is one time it is a fact, even if it doesn't sound believable. I have had some rides where Magnum feels almost as smooth as MF and I have had rides where I really thought Mean Streak was smoother. It really does depend on when you ride it. I don't think Robb was doubting that Magnum is moody and can be more enjoyable in a specific seat at a specific time when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east... ...I think he's just saying that a moody coaster that takes just the right (insert list of necessities here) ISN'T a good or truly enjoyable coaster. A great coaster should be enjoyable front of train or back. It should be fun in the morning, the afternoon, at night... in the spring or summer or fall. That's the mark of a successful coaster. And thus, all the love Magnum gets can be puzzling.

The first time I rode Magnum, I loved it. Then again... height and speed are elements I love on a coaster, and at the time, it was the tallest/fastest coaster I had ever been on. The air-time on the home stretch was a blast, and my brother and I rode it over and over again. Then I started riding more coasters and suddenly.... Magnum was a whole lot less appealing. God bless Intamin and B&M, who have created coasters with wonderful bursts of air that don't break/bruise your legs in the process, leaving you unable to walk the next day. Magnum is still a decent (though painful) ride. The first drop is still fun, and it has one of the best views you could ever ask for on a roller coaster. No amount of age or wear&tear changes that amazing view. But, the coaster has become outdated and for me... too painful in the airtime department. At this rate, Magnum is only the third best hyper coaster in the state of Ohio. #2 is just across the park, and #1 is a few hours drive south.

If people are allowed to say the trains look fantastic and fit perfectly, people are allowed to say they look ugly/silly/etc and don't seem to fit the coaster. Fair is fair. When people complain that a roller coaster has no air-time, or is too slow, or not intense enough... before the coaster has even opened... that's stupid and without merit. But criticizing the look of the trains? Fair game. We've seen up-close, detailed pictures. Either you like how they look or you don't, and there's nothing unfair about holding either viewpoint. The coaster looks gorgeous and seems like a layout that will be a lot of fun. The entrance sign is incredible (if those spotlights on top are working, and not just for show... that will be phenomenal). But the trains... don't care for the look of 'em at all.