Fox Studios World, my second RCT2 park

[thirstydeer]

Welcome to Fox Studios World

Well it's been on my shelf for a long time now, and it's finally time to get started on it (again).

As far as I know, there has been no RCT movie themed park using the (20th Century) Fox brand, so I consider it the first time it is being done. I have great plans for this park, and can't wait to get deep into its design. This will be my second ever custom park attempt.

Here are a few details on what I have planned:

Themed Areas:
Star Wars Galaxy - A section of park themed to the original Star Wars trilogy (I am not a fan of the newer trilogy). My planned signature ride will be a flying rollercoaster going through the Death Star trenches much like the climactic moments in Episode 4: A New Hope (the original Star Wars movie).
Thrill Sector - This area of the park will house the bulk of the thrill rides, including my most fondest idea, Behind Enemy Lines, a propelled inverted coaster that is launched off an aircraft carrier runnings its course over the lake and edging the mountainous terrain.
Old Tyme Exposition - A non-movie themed area mainly dedicated to traditional carnival and fairground rides.
Ice Age: Chill Zone- My kid's section of park themed to the popular Ice Age computer animated movie and its sequel.
Robot City - A second kid's section themed to my favourite computer animated movie, Robots.

So far, I've only got one screen shot to show you It's of the front of the park hotel, which will be used as one of the park entry points for peeps. As you can see, it's very early in the design process, and I'm still fooling around with the roadway, turnaround, and the parking lot. Even though it's still very much an "early draft", I thought I'd let everyone know what I'm working on, and see it from images of it from the very beginning.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY SCREENSHOTS (http://thirstydeer.webs.com/screenshots.html), or click on the banner below to visit my website.

While there, please take a moment to do the quick web poll on the website, which helps me focus on which RCT sites I should focus on.

Feedback is welcome.

[Ziggmuff]

Nice beginning to the Fox studios.

I'm thoroughly impressed with your Six Flags Canada park though, how did you get the Batman and Superman symbols, along with that Superman statue into the game?! I didn't know you could do that, is it something pretty simple, or is it a complicated process. If you could inform me on how to do that it'd be sweet.

[thirstydeer]

Nice beginning to the Fox studios.

I'm thoroughly impressed with your Six Flags Canada park though, how did you get the Batman and Superman symbols, along with that Superman statue into the game?! I didn't know you could do that, is it something pretty simple, or is it a complicated process. If you could inform me on how to do that it'd be sweet.

The Batman and Superman symbols are custom objects that ended up in my objdata folder after downloading a certain original park called Warner Brothers Las Vegas. That is how I got the objects to use. As stated in my readme file that came with my SFXC park, I do not take credit for those objects.

[thirstydeer]

Time for an update.

I've done some re-working of the hotel and surrounding area. I definitely think it is an improvement. In one screenshot is an overall image of the area. You can see the partially completed hotel. It uses a two-tone brown pattern with green segments (I may get rid of the green). To the upper-right of the image is the designated wheelchair parking spots. There is a large turnaround in the middle, with a walkway that gives peeps access from the edge of the screen into the park through the hotel main entrance. On the other side of the hotel is the main parking lot, which has been completely re-worked. I wanted to put some cars in various spots but it just didn't work well with the zero clearance feature.

The second screenshot is a closeup of the hotel. You can see more details such as the garden path, and the mini-waterfall.

Although the hotel is not complete, I think the area (roads, parking lot, turnaround, hotel) is much improved. I hope to have the area done in the next week.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY SCREENSHOTS (http://thirstydeer.webs.com/screenshots.html), or click on my signature banner below to visit my website.

Couple of notes:
1. I know it is a slight inconvenience to go to my site in order to see the screenshots, but I post on numerous sites, so it is a lot easier for me to do it this way.
2. If you haven't done my quick little web poll on my site, please do so as it helps me figure out which RCT sites to focus on.

Feedback is appreciated.

[Mike T]

Umm you need to start posting at least a few screen shots in this thread or I'm going to have to lock it. Essentially what you are doing is advertising your website... Thank you for your understanding and I look forward to seeing more.

[thirstydeer]

@ Mike T: I am not advertising my website. But fine, here is another update with the screenshots posted.

I have added 3 new screenshots showing the progress I've made in the past few weeks.

First Screenshot (09251)
An overview of the entire resort area. The parking lot, resort itself are done. I've added a swimming pool (complete with deep end, diving board, and umbrella covers), set of 3 tennis courts, and a climbing wall (still tweaking that to make it look better).

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/09251.jpg

Second Screenshot (09252)
A close-up of the park entrance. I tried to create a giant park sign that is reminiscent of the movie logo. I'm still working on it, as I find the sign too simple. It's far from finished.

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/09252.jpg

Third Screenshot (09253)
Also far from finished, I'm putting in a kiss n' ride section for peeps to be dropped off. This will also be one of the entry points for peeps to come onto the grid.

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/09253.jpg

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL MY SCREENSHOTS (http://thirstydeer.webs.com/screenshots.html), or click on my banner signature below.

Feedback is appreciated.

[rollercoasterfreak91]

That looks really good. I like the tennis courts, the pool, the drop-off area, and especially the logo. It looks good to me already. One suggestion: I don't like the checkerboard at the pool area. I've never seen a pool like that in real life, esp. not with 3-foot across squares. Other than that, it looks great, and reminds me why I don't usually post my stuff on here...mine'd look like crap.

[ThrillsChills]

Nice work so far. I agree if you just change the outside area to something other then the checkerboard for the pool it should be good.

[thirstydeer]

It's been a long hiatus, but I have finally returned to resume where I left off. I'm almost done the parking lot, but I'm at an impasse over something. Need your opinions on something.

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0304091.jpg
In this screenshot, the green area has some standard foliage on it... makes it look nicer then just plain land.

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0304092.jpg
In this screenshot, instead of foliage there are billboard signs of different movie titles. This is significant because one of the themed areas of the park will have these exact billboards at the entrance to each ride corresponding to the movie names.

Which way should I go? This will be the strip of land against the main roadway where the entrance to the parking lot is.

[rollercoasterfreak91]

Nice scenery. I'd say lower the logos and put trees behind them...you kind of need the trees to break up the monotony of a huge patch of concrete.

[Steelinwood]

Dude, I know that House MD is on Fox TV, but you should really make something that has to do with house! Possibly a show, or cafe or hopefully a roller coaster! ;) I'm serious!

[thirstydeer]

It's been a long time, but I never gave up on getting this park done. However, a combination of waiting for some custom scenery to be made for me, coupled with becoming a new father, and my job going on strike (visit www.saveourparamedics.com to help me out), the game simply had to wait.

Anyway... on to some screenshots. Unlike past practice, I am posting each screenshot in my posts themselves. Feedback is appreciated, as I try to make this park better then my first.

PARK OVERVIEW
http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0807091.jpg
Easily seen is the parking lot, the roadway, including the entrance into the park, and the Gated Fox Hotel and Condo Resort. Along the roadway are signs of various movie titles that will be used in the park. Also visible is the kiss n' ride, and a portion of the park itself that is very much under construction.

THE GATED FOX HOTEL AND CONDO RESORT
http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0807092.jpg
This facility welcomes guests who plan on visiting the theme park or not, although it does feature its own exclusive entrance into the park. Such outdoor resort activities include tennis, swimming, picnic areas, and mountain wall climbing.

PARK ENTRANCE
http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0807093.jpg
The park entrance has different services, including guest services, group sales, separate men and women washrooms, and the ticket booths. As said above, the portion you can see that is of the park itself has just begun.

These screenshots are also available at ThirstyDeer Online! - my lil' personal RCT2 site. (http://thirstydeer.webs.com)

Feedback welcome!

On a side note, my website has been updated, including new information about the park.

[thirstydeer]

Here is a bit of an update. I put a lot of work into every little part of the park (even if the results don't seem to show it), so even when time goes by without updates, and I don't have a large one to post after all that time, it doesn't mean I haven't been working long and hard on getting this park done. I just want to get it done right.

On to the screen shots...

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0821091.jpg

BOULEVARD PLAZA
On the outside, these buildings appear to be separate from each other. However, on the inside, they are all inter-connected, and are home to many licensed food stalls such as McDonalds, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Popcorn, as well as restrooms and an ATM machine. My goal with these buildings was to have them themed similarly, but also have each of them a bit unique from each other.

Next screen shot...

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0821092.jpg

KINGSWOOD AMPHITHEATER AND PRIVATE FUNCTIONS AREA
Similar to the amphitheater I designed in my earlier attempt at FSW, this one is a relatively simple layout. It is named after my home park's private area (Canada's Wonderland). Beyond the amphitheater is the private functions area, including stage and audience, and covered eating area.

As always, these screen shots, other updates and information, including my other custom RCT2 park download is located at ThirstyDeer Online! - my own lil' RCT2 site. (http://thirstydeer.webs.com)

There won't be anything new posts from me over the next few weeks as I am heading to Europe to visit the in-laws... yay :-)

[ThrillsChills]

Nice work, those buildings look just great!:)

[thirstydeer]

@ ThrillsChills: Thanks!

I managed to make a bit of last minute progress before I go to Europe for some holidays. I am starting to feel optimistic about this park, and in my own humble opinion, believe my abilities have even improved from my original attempt at making FSW - but I guess that's not for me to conger.

Regardless, I am quite happy I have pretty much finished an entire section of the park, I just need to tweak a few things here-and-there. International Street is home to restaurants, souvenirs, a monorail station, and even a few rides (such as the Fox Lookout seen in previous screenshots, and 2 new rides...

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0826091.jpg
FOX ACTION 3DEATRE AND BACKLOT TOURS
This screenshot shows the monorail station (the track is not built yet), but this station is also home to 4 souvenir shops, as well as a pathway that goes right through the structure. The shops sell sunglasses, plush toys, teddy bears, and hats. Beside the station is the Action 3Deatre. Featuring a rather posh exterior, it is home to great cinesphere style 3D shows. One annoying thing I am trying to fix is getting rid of that annoying white "ghost" of a diagonal railing that seems to be immovable.

http://thirstydeer.webs.com/fswscreenshots/0826092.jpg
GLOBAL STUNT RIDER
In keeping with the flavour of International Street, which includes generic ride titles (Fox Lookout, Backlot Tours, Action 3Deatre), I gave in to temptation, and put in the first coaster of the park: Global Stunt Rider. It's your basic Vekoma Inverted Boomerang (which exists in only 5 amusement parks in the world). One neat idea I put in was moving gears at the top of the vertical towers. I wanted to use the 8 Cars trainer to incorporate the inverted coaster track to make it look more authentic, but that is beyond my abilities. The theming is designed to suggest visual warnings and safety, like yellow and black warning signs put up when a stunt is about to be performed, etc.

As always, these and all my other screenshots, as well other information about all my parks (all 2 of them) can be found at ThirstyDeer Online! - my own lil' RCT2 website. (http://thirstydeer.webs.com)

Before I sign off for the few weeks I am gone, I have two questions I need help with:

Are there any good tutorials out there on how to use the merge track feature on 8 Cars?
Does anyone know how to get rid of that white ghost railing shown in the first screenshot by the entrance to the Action 3Deatre?
Can perhaps anyone think of a better name then Global Stunt Rider?


HAVE A GREAT FEW WEEKS!

[rollercoasterfreak91]

Wow. Looking great...the buildings look amazing! one thing I would suggest would be on Global Stunt Rider, if you happen to be going for the Deja Vu style ride, to merge inverted track with the type you used, that way you can have the loop go over the station. It also just looks cooler.
1. There are...I'm not sure where, but I remember seeing them. Google it.
2. Try building the same scenery item in that spot again and deleting it.
3. Yes...but it's your park. :D

[thirstydeer]

Not so much an update as it is a question...

Even though I'm on holidays right now, I still get a bit of time to put towards working on my park.

I'm trying to make this park a more realistic one, so that means trying to improve the supports that go with the coasters I design. As I've placed my inverted boomerang coaster in the park, I find myself having a difficult time replacing the game's default track supports with some more realistic custom ones. As you can see in the below screenshot, I've started putting the custom supports (look at the vertical loop) in, but when I try to add the custom supports between the vertical loop and the cobra roll, I can't seem to get rid of the default supports. If the coaster track wasn't inverted, it'd probably be a lot easier, but since I need to have the supports go above the track, that seems to be what makes it tough.

That being said, I did make some changes to the ride, namely changing the queue line (replaced the tented area), adding a station building, and tweaking a few custom objects on the ride.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me, please?

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/090309.jpg

[coastermatt]

Absolutely AMAZING.

BUTTTTT, I'd change the color of the catwalk under the cobra roll and station to black like the rest of the coaster. Just sayin' :p

[ThrillsChills]

Looks nice, makes me want to fire up rct2 and work on my park again.

[thirstydeer]

It's been a really long time, but I finally do have some screenshots to post. Even though they are incomplete, they at least give you an idea of how things are unfolding in the park.

On a different note, if you have been going to my website for the past number of weeks you'll see it wasn't there. This was due to the website hosting service moving the files over to a new server and somehow a bunch of files which didn't belong to me suddenly appeared in my folder, thus messing up the website. The problem has been fixed.

On to the screenshots...

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/1002201.jpg

STUNT RIDER

This is an updated screenshot of Stunt Rider. The update comes in the form of custom supports used for the ride. This is the first time I've tried doing custom supports for a coaster.



http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/1002202.jpg

X-WING VS. TIE FIGHTER

An incomplete screenshot of X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, a pair of dueling suspended mini-coasters. As with Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios, there are three times that the coasters pass each other by a narrow margin. Theming is not finished.



http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/1002203.jpg

DEATH STAR ASSAULT

An incomplete screenshot of Death Star Assault, a flying coaster that at its peak, simulates the trench run in the original Star Wars movie. Still working on the trench run portion, as well as theming, but at least you can see the track.



http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/1002204.jpg

BOARDWALK CARNIVAL

Another incomplete screenshot of the Boardwalk Carnival section. This area is a throwback to the traditional traveling carnivals that go from town to town. Even though it isn't themed yet, it will not have much theming when it is done. This will be a "simple" section of the park.



http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/1002205.jpg

PARK OVERVIEW

An overview to see how the park has been expanding. Not a lot of detail yet, but you can see the path layout so far.

As always, these and all my other screenshots, as well other information about my parks can be found by visiting ThirstyDeer Online! - my own little RCT2 site. (http://thirstydeer.co.cc) You can also click on my signature below.

[Brandon]

Stunt Rider looks great with the custom supports. It's amazing how custom supports can bring the visual appeal of a RCT2 coaster up to a whole other level. The loop looks way undersupported. I would try adding two sets of A-Frame supports to the loop in order for it to look more realistic.

Death Star Assault looks cool, however I feel as if the ride would work much better as a Invert. Granted, you already have a GIB in your park, however if you are including a trench section, you would think more people would be able to see everything sitting down, rather than in the flying position.

I'm not exactly digging the Boardwalk section all that much, but I do realise that it's a work in progress. I'm dumbfounded at the pre-made Wild Mouse (Flying Dutchman's Gold Mine). Theres so much more you can do custom building a Wild Mouse, but hey, what do I know. For all I know that could be a WIP too. I'm glad you included a Chance Skydiver in that section of the park. Those rides scream throwback to classic carnivals, and even today they are extremely fun, not to mention still are vomit machines if spun properly!

Good job thus far on your park, albeit going at it slowly. Looking forward to the next update!

[Night Trapper]

Nice park. Like Brandon said, I think Death Star Assault would look better as an invert.

[thirstydeer]

I have specific plans for a different ride being a large inverted coaster in the park. That's why I chose flying coaster.

[Night Trapper]

Ok. Sounds reasonable.

[thirstydeer]

Not much, but here's a bit of an update.

I'm redoing the boardwalk section of the park, but at the same time got the idea to put in a live show in an area that had good space to fit it.

SEA COAST SPECTACULAR

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/0309101.jpg

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/0309102.jpg

A live show of sea lions, dolphins, seals, and other marine life. Not just a space filler, there is a circus embedded in the seating so this acts as an actual ride.

Again, not much of an update, but I am actively working on things. I've also done a lot of updating and some tweaking of my website.

Go to ThirstyDeer Online! (http://thirstydeer.co.cc) for all my screenshots, and other information on this and my other park.

[monkeyonatable]

It looks great!

[thirstydeer]

Not an update, but a question...

By far my biggest weakness when it comes to park creation is architecture. Whether it's design ride station buildings, restaurants, or "fillers" throughout the park. I made sure I chose a wide variety of custom objects that could be twisted and turned into different things (such as NE's ProTour objects) but I just can't seem to do it.

I was hoping there are any suggestions out there so I can work on this. I've tried the basic suggestion of doing a basic building, then changing one thing at a time, making it less boxy and more "shapey". I've looked at many custom parks made by others as inspiration but in the end, I can't seem to translate this into success.

Any help is appreciated... I'm very serious about making a good park.

[thirstydeer]

It's been a while but as I've had to do in the past I put RCT off to the side as other parts of life got in the way - namely switching jobs and moving cross-country.

I wish I had a huge update that justifies the vastness of time that has elapsed since my last update but I'm afraid that since getting back into RCT I've had a nasty bout of "creator's block". That is, I've been unable to do solid architecture.

That being said I wanted to show a screenshot of some custom supports I've been working on a flying rollercoaster to see how you think it looks. It's the first time I've attempted semi-realistic supports on a large coaster.

This is for my Death Star Assault coaster in the Star Wars section of my park.

DEATH STAR ASSAULT

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/061210.jpg

I'm not showing the whole coaster intentionally as I'm still working on some of the architecture - namely the station, but other then that the ride is done.

This and other screens can be viewed in previous threads or by visiting my site (banner is below).

Opinions are appreciated.

[The Storm Runner]

I really like the supports! Good job! It brings me back quite a few years, when all custom supports were similar to these. Except, yours have the square block where the vertical and angled supports meet, which I think it s a very smart move. I like them and am looking forward to more! :)

[Steelinwood]

The supports are quite realistic!

[thirstydeer]

Thanks. Am still debating if I can improve the supports or not.

[thirstydeer]

It took a while, but I finally managed to put together some architecture to complete my Death Star Assault coaster. Most of it has been done for months but I've had the most difficult time putting together some sort of station building and supporting architecture.

After many different attempts, I settled on the following structure to be my "inspiration" for the station. To see the image I used as my main reference, CLICK HERE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Massassi-Temple.jpg). I decided to build a station similar to the Massassi Temple that was the Rebel base that launched the attack on the Death Star. The temple is located on the moon of Yavin IV, and is named after an older civilization called the Massassi who worshipped an old Sith Lord called Naga Sadow who enslaved the people.

DEATH STAR ASSAULT

http://thirstydeer.co.cc/fswscreenshots/100626.jpg

The Death Star Assault is a flying coaster and it was one of the first ideas I envisioned when I originally thought of the park. Many have suggested an inverted coaster but I have other plans for one so that's why I didn't make this coaster inverted. Essentially you leave from the temple and make your way through a semi-forested area until you hit the trench run in the Death Star. At the conclusion of the trench run the ride pretty much ends as you enter the transfer station. Another popular comment is that the supports are too close together. I am leaving that for now, but may come back to it later and adjust them. Just a note that the open space beside the lift hill will be filled eventually.

[thirstydeer]

Just a quick announcement that the park has been lost due to an unforeseen computer problem. Unfortunately, the backup file isn't working either. I am going to start over again so you'll be hearing from me down the road again. It is a mixed blessing as parts of me wanted to start over again anyway - guess I got the push I needed.

[Steve K]

^Aww damn. I was just looking at your thread earlier today at work too. It sucks when **** like this happens! I look forward to seeing this develop again! :)