[RCT3] Simmons Creek Amusement Park

[Matt Ice]

1988 Opening Day:

 

-Frank Simmons

Today was the grand opening of the park's newest addition, Thunder Strike. I must say that the park was twice as crowded as I've ever seen it! This new roller coaster is sure to keep thrill seekers satisfied for years to come because of its wild hills and quick transitions. I definitely think Simmons Creek found themselves a winner this time.

 

I started off my visit by riding Pinecrest Plunge. It had a surprisingly short line of only 20 minutes, so I figured it would be a good starting point for my day.

Frenzy is still just as disorienting as it always has been. It always provides a solid ride, I hope it never leaves.

Orion was yet again a fantastic ride with fairly short lines. Although it always surprised me how short the lines were for this great coaster, it means more rides for me!

Spinning Barrels was broken down for most of the day.

Alpine Village was by far the most crowded part of the park. Mountaineer Cafe got some new postcards for this year, and I couldn't resist buying this one of Thunder Strike testing.

Here's another cool postcard from Mountaineer Cafe.

Storm Express, a new restaurant and gift shop, was also added for 1988. Thunder Strike's exit leads directly into it.

Finally it was time to ride Thunder Strike.

Thunder Strike's first drop appears very intimidating as you wait in the queue. The support structure for the lift hill also looks truly astounding. I can't even fathom how much lumber must have been used to build that!

Thunder Strike begins with a couple of little hills and curves into the lift hill. The wood tunnels provide a nice touch to an otherwise generic start.

The 124 foot lift leads to a 110 foot first drop. That drop comes extremely close to the support structure and provides for some nice airtime towards the back of the train.

After the pulse pounding drop is a short bunny hill and a quick turnaround. That small hill provides for loads of airtime and shows why this ride will become such a hit for generations to come.

One of the few moments to catch your breath on this entire ride.

Two more bunny hills ensue before the large hill underneath the lift.

This hill is the largest of the ride and provides quite a head chopper.

Another view of that large hill.

Following that is yet another turnaround, this time banked. This one, however, is taken with more speed and provides for some nice lateral Gs.

A couple more small hills and a some more turns round out the rest of the ride.

The final brake run into the station. Although Thunder Strike had around an hour wait all day, its quick operations helped keep the crowds under control. The ride operates with two eight rowed trains, each holding 32 passengers.

By the end of the day I had ridden Thunder Strike at least 8 times. Its crazy and ridiculous layout is unlike anything else at Simmons Creek.

One last shot I got of Thunder Strike in action.

[liftsifter]

This park is looking really good! Your custom supporting is extremely good, some of the best I've seen on a wooden coaster and the coaster designs are relatively realistic. There's a few things I might recommend to make it even better:

 

1. Pathwork. Your paths are good, but they lack fences as well as path walls. Since you're going with angular paths, I'd recommend Shy G*y's carnival sets and planter sets. They've got some great fences that would fit in well.

 

2. Footers. The wood on your flume is going to start rotting pretty quickly without some good ole' concrete footers!

 

Again, the park looks great! Nice work.

[Matt Ice]

This park is looking really good! Your custom supporting is extremely good, some of the best I've seen on a wooden coaster and the coaster designs are relatively realistic. There's a few things I might recommend to make it even better:

 

1. Pathwork. Your paths are good, but they lack fences as well as path walls. Since you're going with angular paths, I'd recommend Shy G*y's carnival sets and planter sets. They've got some great fences that would fit in well.

 

2. Footers. The wood on your flume is going to start rotting pretty quickly without some good ole' concrete footers!

 

Again, the park looks great! Nice work.

 

Thank you for the feedback! I always enjoy reading responses, especially from other park builders, so your response is greatly appreciated!

 

1. I agree I can definitely add some fences. I originally tried to add some in the Welcome Pier area but a couple of the curves were a bit irregular so I figured it would look better to have no fences than to have some weird parts. I'll try to fix it up though as I agree that it makes it more realistic. I have both CS sets, so I'll give them a try.

 

2. Currently the supports for Pinecrest Plunge are from a mod that makes it look more realistic. However, like you pointed out, it doesn't have footers on every part of the track. I'll see what I can do with the CS sets I have to make that look more polished.

 

Currently I am working on my next update but my game is constantly crashing due to the huge amount of content in the park. I am also unable to take screenshots in this particular save file and I'm not quite sure why. I've had to work my way around a few things in order to get my most recent updates to look good but I'm not sure how much longer I can go like this. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated at this time so I can get this park working and ready for future updates. I am glad people are enjoying the park and I hope to continue working on it for many more seasons to come.

[The Coaster Ninja]

I really am enjoying this collection of rides, it looks very nice! I do agree about the paths and footers, however. I use Briantjuh94's path sets, currently. Very flexible set, with a nice collection of fences. I'm glad you're using custom layouts, a lot of people can't do those as well as you are!

[Matt Ice]

I really am enjoying this collection of rides, it looks very nice! I do agree about the paths and footers, however. I use Briantjuh94's path sets, currently. Very flexible set, with a nice collection of fences. I'm glad you're using custom layouts, a lot of people can't do those as well as you are!

 

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely try out that path set for redoing paths or adding fences.

[Matt Ice]

-Frank Simmons

Another glorious season is almost over at Simmons Creek. Thunder Strike has been running very smoothly and has continued to draw crowds into this small but growing park. A new area and pathway has since been added near Thunder Strike that connects it in a loop with Alpine Village. A small gap has been created between some buildings and the path, so hopefully a new ride will be going there soon!

 

As usual I started off my trip with a ride on Pinecrest Plunge. One aspect of this ride that I always enjoy is how it interacts with Welcome Pier, Adventure Harbor, and all the rides around it.

Orion seemed to be running better today than it has in the past.

Once I walked over towards Thunder Strike I immediately noticed the new pathway. While I couldn't get any aerial shots of this loop, I was able to sneak this nice view of Thunder Strike from it.

Thunder Strike's lift hill structure still astounds me to this day.

Riders excited for their chance to ride one of the most unique wooden coasters in the world.

Thunder Strike's headchopper is one of the most intense things I've ever experienced, even more so than Howler's.

Another great thing about Thunder Strike is how it interacts with the surrounding trees. The various bunny hills on the ride do a great job of this.

There are plenty of moments for airtime on Thunder Strike's over 3000 feet of track.

Thunder Strike ends with a quick headchopper under the break run and a small turnaround.

As I sat to eat dinner at Storm Express I enjoyed watching excited riders exit Thunder Strike.

I must have been eating for a long time, because once I left the restaurant the line for Thunder Strike began to pick up.

I was only able to get one more ride before the line extended beyond the entrance.

With all the attention Alpine Village has been getting it's easy to forget how great Adventure Harbor is.

Howler has seen a huge drop in riders since Thunder Strike opened. I don't know why though, they're both great rides!

These riders look like they enjoyed it!

Turbulence was practically empty for the entire day. I wouldn't be surprised to see it go in 10 years or so.

Orion is still the big steel coaster at the park. I find it hard to believe that some coaster in the future will surpass this beast.

Another beautiful sunset to end a great day at Simmons Creek.

[TheCoasterKid211]

My wish came true! Thunder Strike looks GREAT!!!

[Matt Ice]

My wish came true! Thunder Strike looks GREAT!!!

 

Thank you! Thunder Strike is the first of a great collection of new coasters that will be coming to Simmons Creek in the future.

 

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1989 Announcement:

 

-James Wheeler

ENOLA, Pennsylvania (September 18, 1988)- After the success of Thunder Strike, Simmons Creek will continue in adding another thrill ride with Skyhawk, new for 1989. Skyhawk will thrash riders 75 feet into the air as they are spun forwards and backwards along its course. This Chance Rides "Skywheel" model will feature two wheels to optimize efficiency and will be located in the Alpine Village section of the park. Skyhawk will be colored red after the red-tailed hawk, a common bird located throughout Pennsylvania.

 

In addition to Skyhawk, Simmons Creek Amusement Park will be offering special "Thunder Strike Thursdays", where guests are allowed to enter the park an hour early to get more rides on one of our premier attractions.

 

 

Update:

I recently got the screenshots to work for the park, so that's good for future updates. However the file still crashes a ton, so I'm still trying to find a solution to that. Otherwise things are going well at Simmons Creek! Thank you for all your responses, comments or feedback always appreciated.

[Terry Inferno]

Thunder Strike is a great name. I built a wooden roller coaster in RCT2 with the same name several years ago. Mine, unfortunately, does not have a custom sign.

[Matt Ice]

Thunder Strike is a great name. I built a wooden roller coaster in RCT2 with the same name several years ago. Mine, unfortunately, does not have a custom sign.

 

Yeah I liked the name a lot too. I think that theming a wooden coaster to thunder or lightning always sounds and looks good.

 

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Family of Birds Tragically Killed at Local Amusement Park:

 

-ABC27 News

ENOLA, Pennsylvania (September 24,1988)- Today, a family of hawks were tragically hit and killed at Simmons Creek Amusement Park on the Howler roller coaster. Howler, a wooden coaster that stands just over 100 feet tall, is one of the three exciting roller coasters at this small but growing park. Park officials say that this morning the family of birds had recently completed building their nest on the bottom of one of the airtime hills when the coaster train was sent out for its daily test ride before the park was to open. Park employees in charge of managing the ride failed to walk the tracks and check for any obstructions on the coaster, therefore causing them to test the train with the nest on the track. 3 birds were killed in the accident, the father bird being the only one to survive. James Wheeler, the park president, released a statement today about the incident.

 

"All of here in the Simmons Creek family are deeply saddened by the accident that occurred this morning. From this point forward we will ensure that are tracks are 100% clear of any obstructions before test runs. As a park we must strive to move past this tragic event so we can continue to grow and improve."

 

Although the park would love to move on from this incident, wildlife groups are infuriated and upset with the employees. The park recently announced its new ride Skyhawk, a Skywheel named after the indigenous red-tailed hawk, is set to be built for next season. Wildlife supporters are now demanding a change in the name, claiming that it is "insulting to the deceased birds" and that it "will always have a negative connotation with it."

 

Howler was closed for the remainder of the day and will be closed for rest of the season. The park has announced that the employees responsible for checking the tracks this morning were fired. James Wheeler also stated that the park would make an effort to adopt the father hawk and provide him with a mate and a good living situation.

 

 

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New Poll for 1989 Season:

 

I recently created a new survey for the upcoming season. There are only 5 questions on it, but they will definitely help me for future updates. Please try to respond in the next week so I can get the next update out ASAP.

 

1989 Poll

[TheCoasterKid211]

[Matt Ice]

Thank you everyone for your responses on the poll. They will help me focus on what the park needs for the future. As for updates, the park has been very glitchy lately and I've been fairly busy, so I'll try to get out the next update relatively soon. I'm trying my best though and I will make sure to get to work. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving .

 

 

Here are some cool shots I edited in the meantime...

 

[TheCoasterKid211]

Hey, when's the next update?

[Matt Ice]

Hey, when's the next update?

While I can't make any promises, I hope to get it out within the next 2 weeks. I have everything ready to go but I am still unable to take photos and the game crashes very frequently. As soon as I figure out those problems though I will release it. Sorry to keep everyone waiting.