How good is scream machines?

I've never used SM, but I absolutely adore NL. The tracks I've downloaded for SM seem very amateur-ish to me, very dissimilar to the real rides they were intended to simulate. Either the problem is that nobody using SM has enough experience, or it's that it's incredibly difficult to make realistic rides in SM. I honestly don't know, but I have tried many an SM track, so I'm not totally bs'ing this reply.

I saw the video for Tatsu by Ballerboi in the exchange here. I was very impressed with how accurate it was. Graphics really don't seem that bad at all IMO. I've used NL now for 3 years, yes I love it, but I want to try something new. I purchased SM based on his re-creation. I'll be able to give a better answer after I start using SM. Like many of the above posts', it comes down to user preference. I'm roller coaster junky, so I don't care.

I realized after playing the NL demo that the editor is actually easier in NL!

I wonder why I thought otherwise?

Both games are quite enjoyable, however!

Can you edit the transitions into banking in NL without having to split segments?

SM feels too dated at the moment. There is no WASD functuality, and the overall viewing system takes some time to move around. (the lack of a fly-by view for those who want to adjust their position in a seat, for example) Some of the editing is a bit odd too, and most of the trains are completely untextured. It's options of coaster types and moddability are what makes up for that and makes it worth buying, particuarly if you want to work with rides that NL doesn't have. Plus, there's muitiple coasters per scene, though hardly anyone ever uses that feature.

Back to graphics, in NL, stations, lifts, and catwalks can be replaced via 3ds. In SM, you can't simply map textures onto the train, nor somehow get reflections to work. The process of importing models can get to be very annoying as well, since the object disappears from your track/park if the file is changed in anyway.

Oh, and plus, NL has dozens of 3rd party tools. SM does come closer to WYSIWYG though, since the preview functuality activates faster in most cases.