Hydro Thunder (Final Update [2/23])

I'm back in business... and I'm now working on a string of projects that are knocking even my socks off. Hydro Thunder is now virtually finished, and will be posted within the next few weekends. After analyzing my own work, I must say that this coaster is right up there with my best. It is by far the smoothest coaster I have ever made, and has quickly become one of my personal favorite builds. So, here is a preview.

HYDRO THUNDER:
(Adrenaline Land's premiere attraction)

Track Type: Terrained Intamin Giga-Coaster
Height: 325 ft
Drops: 245 ft, 230 ft, 165 ft
Speed: 88 mph
Airtime: 26 seconds
Length: 8015 ft

Ride Features:
-Speed, speed, and more speed due to the terrain
-INSANE airtime, unmatched in the giga-coaster department
-4.5 g double helix
-Two underground tunnels
-No boring overbanked turns... the turns are all fast, insane, and intense!


SYNOPSIS:
This coaster is the first, and perhaps the star, attraction in my Adrenaline Land project. The challenge here was to create a terrained giga-coaster that could retain the non-stop thrills of a smaller Intamin coaster. The result is absolutely outstanding!

This coaster represents a ton of firsts for me...
-It is the first time I am attempting to break away from the drawn-out transition style found in Cataclysm and Meteora, which has created a much quicker, more intense, and more realistic coaster experience.
-It is the first time I am unsing AHG as part of my arsenal. It has been irreplacable in helping to capture the quick-transition intensity in the coaster's second half.
-This is the first time I will have an underground tunnel in one of my coasters. My 3ds skills are finally good enough to make it look realistic enough for inclusion.
-This is the first time that the supports on my coaster will have phalanges. I am making them all by hand, so that they are more realistic and so that they only go where I want them.
-This is by far the smoothest coaster I have ever created. The hills are as smooth as glass, and the turns have nearly perfect shaping and heartlining. Yet, it has still all been shaped by hand. AHG was used sparingly, in the ride's last 5 turns, and absolutely NO Elementary was used. Neither were Track Smoother, Auto-phalanger, or any other outside tools that I personally find unnecessary.
-Full set of 3ds station, queue line, transfer track, entrance, exit, and ride scenery.


PREVIEW PICTURES:

Unlike most giga-coasters, where the majority of the ride's energy is wasted in overbanked turns and spirals, this coaster is all about the airtime! Here are 2 pics that show some of the series of hills, which provide some true airtime mastery. In the first picture, there is a rather large ejector air hill in the foreground, and the second hill, which generates 3 seconds of floater air, in the background.

In this picture, you can see a total of 6 airtime hills. 3 are around the double helix, one is leading into a tunnel, and 2 are way in the back, out by the second drop and diving overbanked turn.



This coaster has two of the best drops on any coaster... Here is the big one, 325 feet tall at a 76 degree angle of descent. Also notice the brilliant look of the classic Intamin tower supports.

And here is the second drop, a whopping 230 feet at a 63 degree angle, which drops from the hills out over the river. Over the top of this hill, there are 4 seconds of airtime. This is one heck of a second drop!



Even though this coaster is all about the airtime, I have not completely neglected the turns. There is a diving overbanked turn after the second drop, and a very fast half-overbanked similar to the one on Cataclysm leading into the first tunnel, shown below.



Here is one this that I just have to show off with every single coaster I make... the panoramic view. Note the intense 4.5 g double helix in the foreground, and the big hill / floater hill combo in the background.



PROGRESS:

Trackwork: 100%
Supports: 50%
Terrain: 75%

Scenery: 85%
Station/Queue: 20%

Estimated Time Remaining: 2 weeks


Quenstions? Comments? Criticizms?
Post them up and let me know.

-"Hydro Thunder", a project by CJD

Boo!!, Overbanked turns Rock!!!

Lol, looks nice.

Another amazing coaster from CJD. What else is new?

When will we be able to download it?

^It should be done in about 2 weeks, if not sooner.

PROGRESS UPDATE: (2/23/06)

For a change, I am actually running ahead of schedule. Since the initial post, I have completed the basic supports, added a 3ds station and queue, built a complete transfer track section, changed the chain lift into a cable lift (you'll see...), and ironed out a few bumps. This project is going incredibly well, and the time frame for upload is now either Sunday or Monday night. (yep, just 3-4 days left on this one...)

PROGRESS:
Trackwork: done
Station: done
Queue Line: 85%
Custom Station: done
Scenery: done
Terrain: 75%
Phalanges: 25%

WORK LEFT TO DO: (estimated time needed to do it)
-Ride Entrance, regulations, and height restriction signs (2 hours)
-Exit path (15 minutes)
-Terrain (30 minutes
-Phalanges (8 hours)


PHOTO UPDATE:

I'll start this photo update by showing off my first ever custom 3ds station. I decided to try and do some cool architecture on this one, and I am personally very happy with the result. Check it out.


Here is the exit station, along with the transfer track.


Now, on to showing off the support work I have done. Here is the final look of the 230 ft second drop and the unique double-up / diving overbanked turn combo over the river.


Here is a closer look at the diving overbanked turn. The train enters the turn almost 150 ft in the air, then dives back to the ground while changing direction to the left. No steriotypical giga-coaster element here.


Another close-up, this time of the intense double helix. The train enters this element at 65 mph, and pulls over 4.5 g's.


One last picture to show before I upload this coaster... the title image. The first drop looks amazing, and this is the image that will go on the front of the upload.


See you on Sunday! [;)]
-posted by cjd

For a second when I saw the title, I thought you were talking about that ancient arcade game I played constantly when I was a kid. Anyway, this ride looks great! That diving overbank thing looks awesome!

Looks nice.

it does look nice cjd, but, as what i would do, i would make my own base for the station. it looks alot better, and you can get everything to match up on YOUR turms, not the SIM'S turms.

wow looks awesome cant w8 to download it

Totally looking forward to this thing.

weee looks great esspically the supports! cant wait till you post it

oh wow I love the transfer track and the 3ds cant wait

A slight update...

I am cancelling the phalanges.

Reason: once all the scenery was all in place, the frame rate of the coaster on the return trip dropped down to 15 fps. Since this coaster is heavily dependant on the sensation of speed through the parallel hill design, I had to make a choice of either deleting the phalanges or the custom station. When it came down to it, I figured that the station and transfer track were more important than the phalanges. (after all, the supports on 'Cataclysm' didn't have phalanges, and nobody seemed to care.) Therefore, there will be no phalanges on this coaster. Even without them, the supports are by far the best and most precise that I have ever done, so I believe that it really doesn't matter. Sorry about that, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

Everything else is on schedule, and I can now confidently say that this coaster will be finished within 24 hours, and posted on Sunday morning. I finished the elaborate ride entrance sign, the cartexture, the queue line, and all the traditional height restriction and warning signs that would accompany any real coaster. All that remains to do is finish the terrain, and work on the coaster's screenshot and post description.