2006 NL Tournament (Round 3) - RESULTS pg8

I dont wish to be...a dick but you really should have known that your work schedules would be like this. Not a person Ive ever talked too has ever mentioned anything good about the hours. Now, the other park perks yes. But hours, Im pretty sure I even mentioned that hours suck.

Ill be there tomorrow night meeting up with Da Slap around 7-8PM. I at least gotta make it there by 8 to have my pass activated and picture taken etc.

I'd really like to ask if you could get the next round up so it doesn't occur during the week of June 19-26...I'll be in Texas and won't be able to work on anything. I don't know if anyone else has some plans, but I'd personally hate to be screwed because it's taking so long to do 5 ratings. Otherwise it wouldn't be a big deal, but that possibility bothers me when I've spent so much time on all these rides, and I'd like to have enough time on the next round to compete to the best of my ability.

How are the ratings going? Got any more done? I don't mind if you haven't, it's just that we haven't heard anything from you for nearly a week now, and I was wondering if you've made any progress.

Well, I'm leaving on a trip to China tomorrow, and so if the next round happened any time before the 26th I'd miss vast chunks of it. That said, I'm not entirely sure I'm in the final round. From what I've seen, however, I'm pretty much guaranteed a slot. Even though I'll probably lose to Wing-Over (he pwns me in tech.), I think I'd pick up that empty slot from group 3 (assuming my track is legal and also assuming a certain other track is dq'd like I think it is). Fourth or fifth place wouldn't be bad, but I'd like to compete in the final.

Anyways, see you all in late June!

Seeing as what will most likely be the majority of the contestants are going to be away for up to the 26th, I doubt cjd will start the next round on that week.

I doubt he'll be finished with the ratings by then.

[Oscar]

Originally posted by Iron Man

I doubt he'll be finished with the ratings by then.

Give him a break, get a job and work the hours he or I work and then see if you have time or even the patience to do them.

I write up ratings that are 2-3 times as long as his, in around 20-25 minutes...these 5 shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 hours total, which is not something that should take a month to do. I realize that he has a lot to do (I've had plenty of school days during my first year in college where the majority of my day from 12 PM to 3 AM was doing schoolwork/classes), and I respect that, but I also know that this is a commitment he's made too...

This is an event that comes around once a year for us. It's kind of a big thing for a lot of us. Seems like CJ knew the responsibility he needed to put forth before he went into this, he just couldn't deliver like we all expected. Yes, I appreciate the fact that he is doing this for us. But it is still quite aggrivating to be waiting so damn patiently on 5 damn ratings to hear time and time again that they aren't finished because of some other obligation caused by poor planning or the only good excuse, dumb luck. If he were to have said, "I am getting busier and busier these days, I don't know when I can finish the rates." I think most of us would be happy to hear from him. But he's promised us too many times where he couldn't deliver.

Whiners.

You act like you sit on the computer and your day is bent on these ratings. It doesnt matter how long it takes you or your brother to do ratings. If you can do it in 5 minutes or 50 minutes - great. Me, it takes me at least 30-45 minutes to do a rating that I would consider a solid rating. Not packed with fluff, just quality.

DCS - with all due respect it doesnt matter if you can do ratings 3 times longer in half the time. How you do ratings isnt how he has to do them. Plus, your knowledge of NL is much, much more elevated than his so doing a quicker rating may come easier. Length has nothing to do with how good a rating is. You are a very good rater but you should not be comparing yourself to him.

Dont give him this "hes not delivered" etc. I havent met a person yet whos kept every promise they have said.


Also dont act like its poor planning. There is this thing called life. This is THE INTERNET. The internet usually comes way down the list when real life steps in. CJD is trying to make some money and get out in the world to do something interesting.

Take me for example. Did I want all of my time to be taken up by other life altering events? No. But they happened. I never finished a contest entry. Some of you guys arent even 18. You may be working but you arent working to support yourself. I have to support myself and CJD has too as well since hes on his own. Its not by choice, its by nature - its by whats right.


Some of you need to get a grip. Ive listened to this and I dont hear anything other than griping and complaining giving him a million reasons why they should be done. However, I dont hear anyone being patient nor do I hear anyone saying "Yea, Ive been there. working 70+ hour weeks trying to make a living - I feel ya" because most of you are still in high school or in college which - is ALOT easier than working jobs and trying to make a living. Ive been there and still doing that. Id much rather be going to school all the hours I work rather than work because with school theres a margain of error. I can screw up all school long - get B's and do very well. At work, if I screw up, I can lose my job.


To CJD - I feel ya bro. Ignore the constant banter and slide the ratings in one at a time and then compare. Working at Cedar Point is a tall order.

I still have yet to have any free time. My last real chance to do anything except work, eat, and sleep was on May 27. I was attending the park meetup on my days off, and I have had to stay past my shift every single night for the past 2 weeks. I'm sorry that the ratings are not done, but I have had ZERO time for anything but working and surviving for 2 weeks now.

As for a time frame... it is likely that I will get to go home early tomorrow. If I do, I will post and let everyone know that the ratings will be done then. If not, I will finish them on my day off. That will either be Wednesday or Thursday. I am supposed to do 11-8 shifts all week, but I have given up on any possibility of actually going home on time during those shifts. Anyway, sorry for the backup but I really can't do the ratings until I actually have time to do the ratings.

Okay, I did get to go home early today. I'm on break for the next 5 hours, and I'll be doing the ratings the whole time. The ratings will either be posted around 6:00 pm if I get them done before my break ends, or about midnight if I don't quite finish. It will be tonight, though.

Glad to hear it, hope all works out well.

When will the next round be posted after that?

Since so many of you have other plans, we'll negotiate an ideal time as a group.

Sounds good man. Make sure to rate well, and have fun with the next round's template.

update:

1 rating to go. I finished the decision making for both groups, and now I just have to rate dcs's coaster and I'm done.

Unfortunately, closing the stand took forever tonight. (I just got back after a park closing of 10:00...) Since the rec center, and therefore my internet access, is only open until 2 hours after park closing, I cannot post them tonight. I will finish the last rating in the next few hours, and then post the results as soon as I get off of work tomorrow. I'm scheduled for an 8am - 6pm shift, so I should get them up around 7 or 8.

C'ya tomorrow... they're bugging me to get out.

I'm not worried about timing now, as I appreciate that you're willing to work with us about the timing of the next round. That was my greatest concern, not being able to do the best job possible because of something I couldn't (and wouldn't) want to skip, which would prevent progress during that week.

Just letting everyone know that I got off my shift a couple hours late (what else is new...), so the results will not be up until about 10 or 11.

Ratings done!

Posting...

ROUND 3 RESULTS:



GROUP 1 ????????? Jimmy Yoshi vs. Mikado

Close group, but the winner is Mikado by the slim margin of .04 points. Jimmy?????????s track had the slight edge in Technical, but Mikado won the adrenaline race and had much better originality and terrain interaction. Congrats, Mikado, and welcome to the finals! Jimmy, you might still get through????????? it depends if your track is better than the losing track from Group 2.



?????????Timber Rattler????????? ????????? (Jimmy Yoshi)

This coaster was good, but just not good enough. The key was that it just wasn't insane enough. The inversions were a little bit too controlled in the beginning, as well as the turns in the end, and the pacing just never seemed as wild as Mikado?????????s. Still, this was a very good track. Just not quite good enough?????????

Technical:
Very good job here. There were a few tugs in the banking transitions, but I recognize that it is very difficult to make smooth inverted transitions. Also, there was one noticeable bump just before the big rising turn. Aside from that, no real issues. The g forces were controlled very well, and the track was well done overall.

Adrenaline:
The beginning and the end were the slow parts, which is pretty bad for the pacing. The middle, with the 4 fast inversions and the 4 g turns was really awesome, though. That is where most of your points are. The first drop and first loop were both kind of lazy????????? they could have been tighter and more intense. Also, I would have liked to see a better finale. A corkscrew and some semi-tight turns just didn't quite do it for me. I would have liked to see a bigger finish. So, overall, not bad but had its flaws.

Originality:
The sequencing was rather lackluster. The spiral drop / loop / dive loop / 0-g roll beginning has been used on virtually every steel looper since the dawn of B&M, and the shaping/speed through yours was nothing special. What was interesting was the dive loop down into the rock section, with all of those fast and intense turns to finish it off. The turn variety was pretty good. What I loved about the end was the sudden pop of floater air. You just don't see that on inverts, and I think that it works very well as long as it is kept to a minimum. You used it well, so some extra points for that. So, a 2-sided rate here. Beginning was pretty standard, but the late middle was very cool. Also, props for the custom supports and station building.

Interaction:
It was decent, but I don't think that the interaction was as good as the other coasters. The problem is that you felt like you were going through an elevated rock structure rather than through the ground????????? like it was going through scenery rather than going through tunnels and trenches. It could have been done much better. Still, the sequencing that the terrain created was very good. So, you get 1.5 bonus points.

Total Score: 26.5 / 31.5

Technical: 9.0 Adrenaline: 8.0 Originality: 8.0 Interaction: 1.5 Overall: 8.41



?????????La Tortura????????? ????????? (Mikado)

Very nice track. The adrenaline was a high point, as it was very intense throughout the ride????????? almost too intense. The technical was a touch off, but still generally good. The sequencing was amazing, with nothing at all being predictable, and the terrain interaction was very nice.

Technical:
Some strange things going on here. One, the banking transitions were very strange in several places. They didn't have the proper flow to them, with too many flat and spots. The key to smoothness on inverted coasters is to flow from one turn/element to another, rather than the traditional method of making an element and then making a transition into the next. You did use this sometimes, and those were the smooth parts. However, most of the ride didn't flow well, and was jerky. Another issue was that there were two g-spikes through the track. There were red vertical g?????????s flickering between 5.6 and 5.9 for almost a second straight in the back car going into the tunnel. Then, in the immelman, there were 5.4 verts for another full second in the front car. Plus, there was an overcarriage support collision halfway through the ride, where the wheel housing smacked into the supports. These are pretty bad problems, and would make the coaster potentially unsafe. 8.25/10 in shaping, minus ????????? of a point for the sustained red g?????????s, and minus half a point for the support collision.

Adrenaline:
Very nice. The speed in the middle was absolutely fantastic with all of the rapid-fire inversions and terrain interaction mixed in. That part was awesome. I loved the first drop, and the sequencing you created for the middle was wonderful. However, the end of the ride was a bit of a let-down. The speed suddenly died in the last 200 feet of track, and the last inversion was a dud. If you had kept the insanity of the first half of the coaster going all the way through, this score would easily have been around 9.5. With the lazy ending, though, it drops down quite a bit.

Originality:
This coaster had absolutely wonderful sequencing. The drop was very cool, and I liked the fact that the coaster turns, turns, turns, and saves all of the inversions for later in the ride. That was very unexpected, and it gave the coaster a nice original feel. The inversion selection was nice????????? dive loop, 0-g roll, immelman, loop, 0-g roll. The only problem is that I think a corkscrew would have worked better at the end than that tiny, slow zero-g roll. Still, the sequence was wonderful. I also really enjoyed the pop of air. As long as it's floater, air works really well on inverts. (Talon proved that?????????) Anyway, great job making the coaster unexpected. Big points here.

Interaction:
Very, very nice. I'm not sure if I liked the whole thing with the station buried on the inside of the hill, but the rest of the terrain interactive parts were brilliant. It was just about exactly what I was looking for. My only gripe is that your texturing was really bad, to the point that it was distracting. ????????? point off for that. 2.25 bonus points total.

Total Score: 27.25 / 32.25

Technical: 7.0 Adrenaline: 8.75 Originality: 9.25 Interaction: 2.25 Overall: 8.45




GROUP 3 ????????? Wing-Over vs. unfortunate_smiley

This group was pretty much a blowout. Smiley, the real contest here was you versus Jimmy Yoshi to see whose track would get to slip in to group 3. Your track was no better or worse than Wing-Over?????????s in adrenaline or originality, but the plain truth is that he absolutely slaughtered you in technical. Wing-Over is on to the finals for sure, so now it is all down to whether you can get an 8.41 or higher, smiley. Here goes?????????



?????????GunMetal????????? ????????? (Wing-Over)

Wow, just wow. Great all around. It had awesome tech, great adrenaline, and a superb ride setup. This was pure proof that a coaster doesn't have to be uber-big to be incredible. Not much to complain about other than the inversions being fairly standard. This coaster gets some of the highest marks I have ever given during a contest.

Technical:
Wow! Just about perfect. The vertical g assault might have been a tad intense for the average rider, but it didn't bother me one bit. This one was definitely not for weak stomachs, though. The banking transitions were perfect. No other words. This is how to shape an inverted coaster. The only issues were one minor tug in the 0-g roll, and the abrupt slam of lateral g?????????s between the brake runs.

Adrenaline:
The adrenaline was simply awesome! My only real gripe with it was that the first drop was kind of lazy. Everything after that was simply brilliant. It didn't have the ?????????completely insane????????? feel of dcs?????????s coaster, but it was still at a generally superior level. The speed was nonstop, the inversions had great pace to them, and I loved how the whole coaster was just feet off the ground, going from trench to trench and racing inches off the ground. It was wonderful. Great job here!

Originality:
Pacing was incredible, the trench design was incredible, and the detail on the supports was completely un-matched. The sequencing was fairly standard, inversion selection wise, but the incredible pacing and brilliant trench / tunnel design use more than made up for it. This is the only area where you lost any significant points. The coaster was just amazing.

Interaction:
Brilliant use of tunnels and trenches. This is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Not much more to say. This one gets a whopping 2.75 bonus points????????? well earned, and could only have become a 3 with a deep trench like Nemesis.

Total Score: 30.0 / 32.75

Technical: 9.5 Adrenaline: 9.25 Originality: 8.5 Interaction: 2.75 Overall: 9.16



?????????Bird of Prey????????? ????????? (unfortunate_smiley)

The speed and intensity of this coaster were awesome, but the technical was a huge negative. Compared to the other tracks, this one felt really rough. The adrenaline and originality were very good, however. Your coaster had incredible sequencing! Now, we play the waiting game????????? will it get an 8.41?

Technical:
Here is the area where you lost almost all of your points. If the technical was a bit better, you would have beaten Jimmy for sure. But the fact is that this coaster was plagued with lots of pumping and several noticeable bumps coming in and out of the inversions. 7.75/10 in shaping. The other issue was g forces. I personally think that airtime works on inverted coasters as long as it is floater????????? but I think that the double-down and ejector air pop coming into the station were just a little bit too much. -.1 or -.2 are actually good for an invert, but I think that the -.9 you had on the double-down was just a little bit too much for riders????????? shoulders and laps to handle. Half a point off. I like airtime, don't get me wrong, but you just need to tone it down a little bit next time. Aside from that, no real gripes. You just really needed to work out the kinks in the coaster?????????s transitions, and work on getting rid of the pumps.

Adrenaline:
Very nice. The inversions had very good pacing to them, and the whole coaster felt like it was actually going somewhere. There was so much intense and unexpected looping, and I loved it. The only problem I found was that there were not enough small inversions. I would have liked to see a more of the coaster tightly hugging the ground rather than soaring in the air. This is not much of a complaint, because the track was a twisted knot overall, and was pure fun to ride, but it kept you from getting a premium score here. This issue will appear again in the end?????????

Originality:
Inversion selection was great, but the sequencing as a whole was just good. You had great inversions, and then almost every single one of them had a large turn connecting it to another. The one exception was my favorite part of the ride????????? the pretzel loop / intense vertical loop combo. More of that, please! Link several inversions together with tighter and smaller turns to create a truly out-of-control and unique feeling. Still, the great pacing helped to cover up some of the flaws. It was still a great track overall. And like I said, I loved the addition of the pretzel loop. Too bad B&M doesn't use it on real coasters????????? Also, the airtime added to the coaster even though it was a little bit abrupt.

Interaction:
Here lies the problem. The coaster did have terrain, but it didn't really use it. The ride is basically flat, and everything was elevated into the air rather than whizzing around the ground like was needed for big points here. Try lowering the track, and have it whiz through tight trenches and tunnels to enhance the sensation of the ride next time. 0.75 bonus points.

Total Score: 26 / 30.75

Technical: 7.5 Adrenaline: 9.0 Originality: 8.75 Interaction: 0.75 Overall: 8.46

^ And there you have it????????? you have squeaked into the finals by a margin of .05 points over Jimmy Yoshi. Congrats!




GROUP 3 - ????????????????????????????????????

Neither Real nor MF2001 submitted a track. Therefore, the highest rated of the 2 losing tracks from groups 1 and 2 will take the spot of the winner.

And the winner is????????? unfortunate_smiley! You had the highest rated losing coaster, so welcome to the final round! So, assuming that dcs?????????s coaster isn't disqualified, we have our four finalists.

Mikado
Wing-Over
Unfortunate_smiley
Dcs221




GROUP 4 ????????? dcs221

Since Thorazine did not submit a track, dcs221 advances to the finals by default. I really don't think it would have mattered, though. Dcs had the best coaster in the round once again, so I believe that he deserves to make it for sure. Dcs221, welcome to the finals! Here is your courtesy rate?????????



?????????Aiolos????????? ????????? (dcs221)

This coaster was completely insane! Enough said. The adrenaline was simply amazing, and there was only one real technical problem. The inversions were unique, and did I mention that the adrenaline was amazing?

Technical:
Definitely good here, but the coaster wasn't without its flaws. I'm not too sure about the whole straight drop thing, and the airtime moments that you had were just a little too intense for my tastes. Floater is good, ejector would hurt. Also, there was some slight tugging through the turns. Very minor gripes, but enough to bring the track down a bit.

Adrenaline:
Wow. That was awesome! It had the insane and out-of-control feel that it needed, and even did some great trench/tunnel interaction along the way. It was a little short, and the exits to the air hills were just a bit drawn out a couple times, but this coaster still gets the highest marks in this round. Not much else to say????????? that section near the end, through the corkscrew, was just completely awesome! It was almost like an inverted section of The Voyage?????????

Originality:
The best thing here was that the first three inversions were really fun, and had unique shaping that surprised me a bit. I liked the little toss of laterals in the flip, the intense speed through the dive loop, and the utter whip effect from the corkscrew. That was one insane beginning! The helix, spiral, and loop that followed were actually the low point of the ride. They were very good, but lagged a touch and lacked originality when compared to the rest of the coaster. Then, the finish was wonderful! The banking transitions, the rapid-fire 0-g roll and corkscrew, and the tunnels were a fantastic end. Great work! Terrain use was also a plus, as it was constantly going downhill, into trenches, and picking up speed the whole way through. This was just a great coaster. Not much else I can say. Wonderful job.

Interaction:
Not quite as good as Wing-Over?????????s coaster in this department IMO, but it was still very well done. The coaster was constantly gaining intensity, ducking underground, and was wonderful. 2.25 bonus points.

Total Score: 29.75 / 32.25

Technical: 8.75 Adrenaline: 9.5 Originality: 9.25 Interaction: 2.25 Overall: 9.22




ROUND 3 SUMMARY:

1. dcs221 (9.22) advances
2. Wing-Over (9.16) advances
3. unfortunate_smiley (8.46) advances
4. Mikado (8.45) advances
5. Jimmy Yoshi (8.41) eliminated
6. Real (DNS) eliminated
7. Thorazine (DNS) eliminated
8. MF2001 (DNS) elminiated




Please post the times when you are all available, so that we can schedule Round 4 appropriately. Three rounds down, one to go. It's time to decide the champion of champions! Stay tuned?????????

I'm available from the 27th (the day after I get back from Texas) until the 10th of July, at which time I start Calc 2 which I'm not great at, meaning I must devote most of my time to that. Thus, best time for me would be to start right on the 27th.

Thanks for the comments cjd! I'll take all of them into account on my next round entry.

How did you calculate the final ratings? Because by adding in the bonus to the max amount the person could have earned makes them unfair. The bigger the number, the lower the amount of times another number will go in. Everything should have been taken out of the same amount. That's how academic tests are kept fair.

Lots of edits on this post, but I think I found how they should have been rated. Everything out of 33.

Tracks will be judged in each of Technical, Adrenaline, and Originality aspects with a maximum score of ten points for each. Then, up to three bonus points can be added depending on how well the coaster interacts with the ground in the form of trenches, tunnels, and other ground-related scene objects.

So I'll calculate those and we'll see who wins. The numbers will be divided by 33 because that is the max points that can be earned by everyone.

EDIT: Here goes the rates done the way they should have been done. All have been multiplied by 10 so that there is single digit in front of the decimal point. Additionally, they have all been rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Jimmy Yoshi: 8.03
Mikado: 8.26
Wing-Over: 9.09
Unfortunate_Smiley: 7.88
DCs221: 9.02

I was thinking the same thing, but then I checked out both tracks again. I think Jimmy's track is really awfully built, if you look at it, its possibly one of the tooled tracks ive ever seen. It also didnt have as much of a layout as US's track did. It was very close....But I think US does win of the two tracks.

Some very close results there, only 0.05 points between the last three entries.

I'm available whenever, I don't really have anything major going on the next few weeks. My only preference is that you start it on a Friday, that way we'll have two whole weekends to do it, and I always have so much more time on the weekend. That'd be great. Apart from that though, any time is good.

Edit: I'm a little confused about the way the ratings were calculated too. I got a higher total score than dcs, but his rating was higher? I'm not complaining, I'm just curious as to how it's worked out. Are some catagories weighted higher than others?