Time Machine is a new gen Vekoma Coaster inspired by Drachen Fire, Goudurix, Lech Coaster and to some extend, Moonsault Scramble. Please note that this coaster isn't optimized and framerate may be low.
The story behind the ride is that of a scientist in the early 20th century who managed to create a time machine. By dropping a weight down an abandoned mineshaft he's able to generate a power surge with which he's bend space and time itself. Now decades later the scientist has long passed away but the machine is still operational and still sometimes comes to life.
POV can be found here:
Special thanks goes to:
MylynPoddly for providing the train and carriage models on the Sketchup warehouse:
I'll keep my comments brief here, focusing on the technical aspects of the ride I wasn't able to comment on previously.
I also deleted all of the scenery to save frames and reverted the roller coaster back to a rocket coaster. This was the only way I could seem to get a g-force read-out.
Technique: My only issue outside the ones I brought up previously comes with the roll over the station. The high lateral entrance (1.0g) I think would be perfectly acceptable on this coaster type if it weren't followed by a sustain of 0.5g through the roll. A slower roll rate would likely have resulted in a roll that 'crashes through' the station wall much higher at the start than at the end, which may have added to the effect while standing in queue, and made it just a bit more comfortable. Forgive the run-on. I feel that the distance between the clearance envelope and the brick wall/tunnel after the bat-wing element is begging for an inappropriate joke, but I'll let you use your own imagination there. But hoo-boy, it's super close on both sides! I really liked the ejector hills; -0.4g and -0.2g demonstrate good pacing if you ask me. A bit intense to start, but slowly easing you into the final breaks.
Adrenaline: The pacing (look, a segue!) allowed the intensity of the ride to keep up without exhausting riders. 4.0g+ is pretty good during the second element, but can get old by the fourth of fifth; you managed this well, save for the roll through the station. I particularly like the bat-wing. It rode differently in the front and in the back, but were equally intense for both riders.
Final notes: Just some minor clean-up in the technical department and you might've gotten a ten out of me somewhere in there. I look forward to seeing more of your designs in the future. Maybe just a little less taxing on the GPU next time?
I understand that the individual contributors may not want their proprietary material freely shared, but not having access to many things because the package is encrypted means I can't give a full rating. But, I definitely thought this ride was worth praise, so here are some kind words, and bit of constructive criticism.
Technique: By far the biggest contributor to why I can't rate this ride; I can't see the construction of the track and supports, the speed at which the train is moving, or the g-forces throughout the ride. It does appear to be well done, and using FVD without a doubt, but some questions remain. Did you get your friction coefficient as close as you can to match FVD to the editor? If you kept constant 0 laterals in FVD, but they start to show up towards the end of the ride, you're either going to slow or too fast as compared to the intended design. Maybe a nit-picky detail, but one an enthusiast, such as ourselves, may care about. (The devil is indeed in the details.) And my confidence that this was made using FVD shows up in the second element: there's a 'jitter' in the vertical section. Easy fix though, just delete the node or two at the problem area, and an additional one in either direction if the problem persists. No Limits does a pretty good job filling in the gap there without the nodes. The train models are decent, though there is a gap between the car and the chassis. The seats look really nice.
Adrenaline: Not being able to see the g-force readout is unfortunate here as well. I really like the airtime element over the path, the one that's a bit tilted (there's a name for everything, I'm sure) but without knowing what the normal forces look like through that element, I can only say it looks nice, but not if it would be fun (or comfortable). It reminds me of the one on Formula 1, but does look like it extends out a bit further. Those minor complaints aside, the track interaction not only with itself and its own supports, but with the paths and station were really nice. The sounds going up the lift hill were a nice touch. And the station fly-by is fun to watch while in the queue, and head over heels (under heels, technically).
Uniqueness: Starting off on the path upon load up was a good choice, and I would encourage anyone to take the time to walk the queue. A lot of love was put into this part of the ride, and I think it was the most well-done part of the project. The various sounds, intricate mechanisms, and well done animations make this ride a joy from the start of the queue to the exit and right back 'round into the queue. I liked the rider storage idea. I don't think I've seen that before; clever. All in all this ride is a joy to walk around and watch. My first time through the queue I got stuck at the gate and was pressing the space bar for joy while waiting and found that you can jump over the gates. XD I didn't notice the station fly-by (fly-through?) at first, but it sure does roar past your head!
Realism: Same notes as technique for the most part. Only additional comment is that after (I believe) the second element, the train comes mighty close to the brick wall. Without being able to place scenery, I couldn't do a proper clearance envelope test, but it does look close. The train models are decent, though there is a gap between the car and the chassis. The seats look really nice, though.
Rider Value: It's the little touches that make this ride something special. From the squeaky/creaky pulley system on the lift hill, to the back story and how it ties into the ride, a job well done. I wanted to reiterate my comments from 'Adrenaline' here as well. I'll have to go back again sometime to buy one of those t-shirts. And the burgers there are pretty darn good too.
Lastly, and you may have done this, but running the track through depump can lead to some silky results. Once I've finished a ride in FVD, I like to select everything that isn't part of a straight section, hit 'depump vertices' and make a cup of tea. It can take well over an hour for longer tracks (or more dense nodes) but often times it's worth it, and rarely compromises the shaping you were going for.
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