CJD's RATINGS:
I think the biggest challenge in this round of the contest was in the pacing department... making each of the three launches feel like they were in there for a reason, and feel like they actually mattered. A lot of these coasters just didn't get this right. In many cases there was still too much speed left when another launch occurred, or there wasn't enough of a change in the pacing and thus the whole ride blended together, or various other things that just made the extra launches feel either weird or unnecessary. Most of the coasters had good technical and good adrenaline, so it really came down to pacing and sequencing.
Coaster "1" (Metazoanhaddock)
Overall Impression:
Good solid ride. It was butter-smooth, with only a couple of odd moments, the adrenaline was generally fast and intense through the whole ride, and the sequencing only had a few hiccups.
Technical:
Beautifully smooth track, and there were only one or two places where I felt the banking transitions were a little bit awkward. The double-humped-outside-banked thing was the most obvious of these. It just felt really weird, and un-intamin-like. The drop off the MCBR was also a bit un-Intamin, feeling like a standard force-based curved drop rather than the generally-more-sweeping Intamin drop-curves. Plus I've now officially joined the club that is just downright annoyed by the overuse of outside banking on Intamin coasters. They have never done it, and in this case it added absolutely nothing to the ride. The many times that you used it only served to showcase that you did what the force-based design program let you do rather than taking full charge and dictating the shaping to make it more Intamin-like. Still, those are my only three complaints, and they are relatively minor. G's were well in-range, and I didn't see any e-stop issues or a single tunnel test intrusion. 8.5/10 in shaping with no deductions.
Adrenaline:
One of the things I love about this coaster is the airtime. You threw in a ton of airtime sprinkled throughout the track's length, and yet every single instance of it was different... differing intensities, different ways it was executed, and different elements it came from. That's a fantastic thing. IMO, though, there wasn't quite enough of the sensation of speed and scope. The coaster was always doing ?????????stuff,????????? and had a ton of elements, so the rider never really had a chance to catch their bearings and get a true sense of speed like they do on Cheetah Hunt. The actual intensity of this coaster was in the ?????????very good????????? category. As mentioned, the airtime was great. The turns were about right intensity-wise, but the problem was that you just had too many turns and hills at your highest g amounts... lots of turns in the 3.5-4 range, and most of the ejector air was right near -.8. Plus these high-intensity moments were too evenly-spaced throughout the coaster, so there wasn't really a good chance for any of those ?????????wow, that was intense!????????? moments. This relates to both intensity and pacing. While the elements themselves were well spread-out and distinguishable, their intensity wasn't. As I have mentioned many times, the key to good pacing is contrast, kind of like a great epic movie. Take some time to set up the scope, tease the rider with some hints of high-g moments, and then when you finally do have the highest-intensity moments, they will stand out much more, and leave people saying ?????????wow!????????? This coaster, while fast and intense, just had too much stuff going on, and not enough g-contrast, so it missed out on the wow factor. But overall, a very exciting coaster.
Originality:
Here is where I have to say it. I HATE your launch out of the station. If you're going to bother to launch the riders right off the bat, at least do something. You did nothing with that speed, just taking a mid-g ground turn and then going straight into the ?????????real????????? first launch. There was nothing redeeming about that first section, and the coaster would have been just as good if it coasted out of the station and just rolled into the first launch. If it were something like Volcano: the Blast Coaster, where the first launch is the launch and then the second launch is like the overdrive, then I could have forgiven it, but this first launch was just too weak to generate that kind of feeling. So considering that this contest's biggest challenge was finding a good way to use all three launches, I have to dock you some big points here. Anyway, moving on, in general the sequencing was pretty good. There was a good variety of elements, mixing up the inversion with the diving turns and the left-right jaunt section in a way that was not the least bit repetitive or predictable, and the airtime placement was also quite good. The double-humped outside-banking hill may have been bad technically, but it did get you some originality points. So, yeah, I really don't have much to say here aside from the fact that I hate the first launch, and add in the thing I said about too much ?????????stuff????????? from the Pacing section. Oh, yeah, and the supports were fantastic as well.
Technical: 8.5 Adrenaline: 8.00 Originality: 8.25
Final Rating: 8.25
Coaster "2" (Jakizle)
Overall Impression:
This coaster is like Cheetah Hunt on steroids! The pacing and sequencing were absolutely fantastic, but the technical needed some work.
Technical:
The actual shaping of the elements, in terms of steepness and size, was very accurate. But their execution left something to be desired. There were a lot of small pumps, one or two awkward banking moments, and almost all of the turns were under-banked. And in extremely uncharactaristic fashion for me, I really don't have much else to say here. This is the finals, so you know exactly what I'm talking about. 8/10 in shaping. Beyond that, you lose another .25 for an overhead tunnel-test infraction just before the third launch, and that's it.
Adrenaline:
In many ways, especially in the intensity department, this coaster trounces Cheetah Hunt. The numerous pops of airtime are spectacular, as is that amazingly-perfect -1.3 airtime hill. I could not have asked for a better airtime hill than that. Fantastic execution there! The beginning was much better than Cheetah Hunt's, with a pop of air and an intense ground turn, the twisty entrance to the tower was much more interesting, plus had great intense positive g's and airtime on it, the pause at the top was a great little anticipatory teaser for the insanity to come, then the long run out to the third launch was just spectacular in terms of cranking up the sensation of speed, the out-of-control feeling, and the airtime in the hill-transitions. I loved it! Then came the third launch and that absolutely-perfect ejector-airtime hill. Up to this point, I have had basically no complaints whatsoever. But then the ending is unfortunately a let-down. It's not that the elements are bad or anything, it's just that it's over too quickly. With the pacing set-up that you had, with the long middle run between the second and third launches, I was expecting one hell of a grand finale to cap off all of the fantastic intensity that I had experienced to that point. But then it was abruptly over, and I was bummed. Still, this was fantastic stuff. It had the slow sections for scope, it had the intense runs of elements, it had the teasers and the surprises, and the only problem whatsoever was that pacing error in the last section. Big points here! With a grander finale, I would easily have given this coaster a score in the mid-9's.
Originality:
Fantastic sequencing! One of the recurring problems with low-to-the-ground launched coasters is that they just keep doing hill after turn after hill after turn, and the whole thing just becomes an indistinguishable jumbled mess where nothing stands out. This was not one of those coasters. The selection and the spacing of your elements was a clear and definite sequence, with perfectly-placed pauses that subdivided the coaster into manageable sections and made it really easy to tell where you were in the ride just so that it could surprise you all over again. In general, I have few complaints if any at all. I loved your original element, and this is one of the most realistically-sequenced coasters in this whole contest in terms of element placement and making each of those elements count. Great job!
Technical: 7.75 Adrenaline: 8.75 Originality: 8.75
Final Rating: 8.42
Coaster "3" (gazag)
Overall Impression:
This was easily my least-favorite coaster in this round. The shaping was honestly just downright terrible, and unlike coaster #2 which really felt like it had a definite plan, this one just felt like it was aimlessly wandering around all over the place.
Technical:
This is just absolutely terrible. There was no flow whatsoever. This coaster almost entirely consisted of sustained banking quickly jerking to another sustained banking value. Please, watch a POV of any Intamin coaster. They NEVER do this. The only time they have done such a thing was on the beginning of Maverick, and even then the majority of the coaster was still the smooth, flowing, gradual Intamin-standard transitions. Cheetah Hunt especially is made entirely of these gradual swooping banking transitions. This coaster didn't have a single one of these. Every single transition was abrupt, hard-edged, and very jerky. Plus I noticed that there was almost no inter-turn g-force variation. This is a clear symtom of letting the easiest form of turn-creation software in Newton/FVD dictate the shaping of the coaster, with no attempt at all to ebb and flow it like a real coaster. I've said this more times already in this contest than I would like to. Just please, don't hold the g-forces like that. Look at the g-force graph for Superman: ROS at SFNE. There are almost NO continuous sustained g-forces. They increase, they decrease, they make the ride both smooth and unpredictable. Not only are they innacurate, but continuous g-forces are boring and predictable. You get the idea. Terrible shaping. 7/10. In addition to that, the g's on the first drop were too extreme at -1.6 in the back, and there was a major undercarriage support collision near the end of the ride, costing you another .25 each.
Adrenaline:
Here's a tip when it comes to creative works in general: one or two extremely strong and well-defined ideas are much better than 20 mediocre ones. This coaster suffered from just being too long, and just not seeming to have a focus. It just kept doing element after element, long past the point of interest, until it ended. You tacked the 3-launch problem by actually doing 3 full-fledged launches, and in this case it just didn't work. By the end of the second launch, I was already asking myself ?????????does this thing ever end?????????? And after that point, there is nothing of interest left that the coaster hasn't done already. I think this ride would have been much better-served if it stuck with the Maverick-like beginning, and then just used the other 2 launches as ?????????you think it's over? Think again!????????? speed-boost moments to kick the intensity into overdrive for the finale. Intensity-wise, the actual value of the g's were good, but their execution and placement were terrible. Again, having a turn that just holds at 2 g's, or holds at 3 g's with no variation in the forces whatsoever is dreadfully boring and gets repetitive quickly. And the airtime... you just can't do sustained -.8 negative g's. I'm sorry. It's just not a fun experience when you're plastered to the top of your OTSR's over the whole hill. It's much more fun when it's gradual, and you suddenly whip over the top and are lifted forcefully out of your seat for just that brief moment. Moving back to pacing, there were a couple of good moments. I did really love that huge drop off the waterfall hill after the pause. The rest of the coaster was just a big jumbled mess, though, keeping the same speed and intensity far too long and just doing way too much to ever keep track of where you are and whether you should be surprised or not.
Originality:
There was some real potential here, but again, you needed to stick to one or two strong ideas and have a definite plan rather than just letting the coaster aimlessly wander around like you did. The Maverick section was a strong idea. The big drop was a strong idea. The rest of the coaster was just hills and turns, hills and turns, hills and turns. So the sequencing lost me. And at this point, I believe I've said enough already. Supports also needed some work, as they were way too basic.
Technical: 6.50 Adrenaline: 7.75 Originality: 7.50
Final Rating: 7.33
Coaster "4" (Gouldy)
Overall Impression:
This coaster had its moments, but let me down an awful lot as well. Technical needed a bit more heartlining work, adrenaline was good but missed a lot of potential, and sequencing was pretty good.
Technical:
This was very good for hand-built, although the banking execution was slightly inferior to coaster #2. There were some clear moments where turns needed more heartlining, and needed more banking (there were some .9-lateral-g moments.) It was pretty smooth, having only some occasional pumps, and overall was a very good job. The effort to emulate the Intamin style is clear, especially in the shaping of the first drop. Plus it definitely had good flow, a bit better than the other hand-built track, so in the end the two of you end about equal, and I'll give this coaster the same 8/10. Tunnel test was 100% clean, and no other issues at all.
Adrenaline:
There were two parts of this coaster that disappointed me. The first was the last section just before the MCBR. There was a series of 2 hill-transitions. The first one had no airtime at all, and the second one only very briefly jumped up to about -.1. That disappointed me a bit, especially since there were 2 airless elements immediately before it, and the MCBR immediately after it. I was expecting air in that place, and didn't get it, so I was disappointed. That was a more minor grievance, though. The second one was a pretty big pacing issue. I LOVED the way you used the third launch like a turbo-boost, but then the coaster was over within 5 seconds after that launch. You wasted so much speed and potential by ending the coaster so abruptly after that insane launch and ensuing ejector-air hill. It actually made me upset that it ended so quickly. Nonetheless, I really don't have many complaints overall. The intensity was near-perfect. The sustained g's on the turn after the drop were fantastically intense, and then the ejector airtime on the last run of hills was just wonderful, with near-perfect execution that would just briefly send riders forcefully shooting up out of their seats. There were times that this coaster bordered on doing too many airless turns, but the big payoff was worth the wait. I just wish that payoff was longer.
Originality:
Although the semi-slow section in the middle wasn't the most interesting in the world to ride, it did have one big advantage: it made that ending feel absolutely insane. After the intense beginning, the coaster stayed at the same medium intensity for quite a while. Then it sped up just a little bit, giving the rider heavy floater air instead of light floater, then ejector, and then all of a sudden, coming right the hell out of nowhere, it just went completely insane, jumping all the way up to the maximum-intensity -1.3. That is just AMAZING sequencing. I love it when a coaster gets more and more intense through the whole ride, especially when that transition is sudden and jarring and thus a big surprise. I also really have to give you props for how meticulously you managed to control the g's, making the opening ground turn just the right intensity for an Intimidator-305 feel, and the corkscrew have just the right shaping to give the rider that floating feeling like on Maverick, and then the near-perfect execution of the big ejector airtime hill at the end. I can tell you put a lot of work into this. And the only reason I am giving this coaster an 8.5 in this category is because the middle of the coaster wasn't as interesting as on coaster #2, and I gave that one an 8.75, so you have to get a slightly lower score than that. Still, fantastic work.
Technical: 8.00 Adrenaline: 8.5 Originality: 8.5
Final Rating: 8.33