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Build a Better B&M Contest
Coastercrazy.com has just received the following message from Holiday World park owner Will Koch Jr.
Dear CoasterCrazy.com members and staff,
We, the owners of Holiday World, are currently in preparations for designing our very first major steel coaster, for the 2010 season. Based on the overwhelmingly positive responses we have observed from different family riders, we have decided to build a B&M floorless coaster. However, we have been dismayed to see how generally unimaginitive and tame a majority of Bolliger & Mabillard's recent floorless coasters have been, and as you know Holiday World has never settled for any coaster that isn't unique and special.
Therefore, we are once again opening up our suggestion box to all who have experience with what makes a good coaster, and we are asking you to take part in designing the coaster with us. There are three possible locations in our park where we could potentially build the new coaster, and we are open to using any of those areas if a good coaster could be built within them. Enclosed is a satellite view of Holiday World, with the potential coaster-building areas outlined in red.
So please help us build a better B&M floorless coaster. We are looking for a coaster that is still within comfortable limits for families of all ages, but we are also looking for something with edge, something which has unique features that distinguish it from the pack of other B&M floorless coasters. Our target budget for this coaster is $15 million. As long as the coaster fits those limits, we are willing to build it.
Sincerely,
William A. Koch Jr.
DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATES HERE:
Click here to download the zip file.
Well, you heard the man. Your job is to build a B&M floorless coaster in one of the three provided templates. But since this is Holiday World we're talking about, an average B&M floorless coaster won't do. This coaster needs 'edge.' What exactly that is, it's up to you. Something that will make your coaster different, and more exciting, than the traditional B&M floorless. So join the contest, and build a better B&M for our friends at Holiday World!
GENERAL RULES:
- Track must be Floorless Twisted Steel Coaster
- Station building must be completely contained within the box marked with a purple ??????x??????
- Coaster must be at least 100 feet (30.5 meters) tall.
- Coaster must have a ride capacity of at least 1200 riders per hour. You may use any train configuration to achieve this number.
- The target budget for this coaster is $15 million. For comparison, Hydra at Dorney Park cost $13 million. (More on this below)
- G Force Limits: 4.3 positive, -1.2 negative, 1.3 lateral. No disqualifications for this, but points will be taken off due to rider discomfort.
- Coaster must contain at least 5 inversions (minimum of 150 degrees)
- Original Elements are highly encouraged
- You may use launches, but launches cost about twice as much as lifts, depending on the length and acceleration. However, once the launch is over the same rules apply. You can offset some of the extra cost by having low-to-the-ground track once the launch is over.
- This contest has three templates. You may submit up to one design per template. (winners will be announced for each, as well as the overall contest winner.)
- To submit your coaster, either post it on the track exchange with a ??????[B&M Contest]?????? tag and a link to the track in this topic, or e-mail it to cheetaking@gmail.com
- Once a track is posted on the exchange, it is accepted as your final design. If you submit by e-mail, you may re-submit as often as you like.
- DEADLINE HAS PASSED! (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)
JUDGMENT CRITERIA:
Entries will be judged in four categories
- Technical [worth 10 points] (how comfortable the coaster is for riders. This includes shaping, realism, g forces, ride capacity, and things such as collisions and e-stop
- Adrenaline [worth 10 points] (how exciting the coaster is. It includes pacing and sequencing.)
- Originality/Edge [worth 13 points] (how unique the coaster is, and whether it has the 'edge' Will is looking for or not.)
- Budget [worth 7 points] (how much the coaster would cost to build.)
- Bonus Points: Give your coaster a theme appropriate to the holiday in which it resides. [You can earn up to 5 bonus points. Points will be assigned on a floating scale, like round 3 of the 2006 NLT.]
More on Budget:
This is a new category, and it pertains to the realistic build scenario. In the world of construction and engineering, the cheaper the better. So make sure your design is efficient in its thrill delivery, and wastes as little track as possible. Every element must have a purpose, be it for a certain g-force or ride sensation, or to give a breather in the pacing, or set up another element. A coaster can be taller and faster, but if it is, it must be that much more thrilling to keep a good budget score. Bottom line: don't waste your height, and don't waste your elements.
Ways to reduce a coaster's budget:
- Keep it lower to the ground. Tall track means bigger cranes, and more steel to support the track. (Hint: use the terrain!)
- Build it in flatter terrain. For every piece of track, heavy equipment has to make it there to pour footers and hoist track up. If that spot is in the middle of hills, it makes it that much more difficult.
- Keep the coaster away from heavily-wooded areas. For the same reasons as above, having to clear away forest for the equipment takes extra time, and therefore extra money.
- Keep terrain modification to a minimum. Tunnels are encouraged, but they have to really add to the coaster to make up for their added cost.
- Optimize supports. Re-using footers is recommended. (B&M does this all the time to cut costs.)
- Use less land. This is especially important in areas that are far away from access roads. Tighter track means less ground work is needed to access the whole track. Plus, it leaves more land open for the park to build future coasters, which is a big plus.
- Look to the template-specific rules for more information on how much each template costs to build on.
TEMPLATE-SPECIFIC RULES:
TEMPLATE 1: (CHRISTMAS)
- This template is partially deforested, with moderate terrain difference (40 ft,) and partially-built access roads. This means that overall construction costs are approximately 10% to 15% higher than Template 2, depending on how much of the template you use. Track on the left side of the template is slightly cheaper since it is next to the parking lot, and therefore easy to access.
- No track, supports, or scenery under the blue ??????x.?????? This is State Route 245.
- You may move the red parts of the template up or down as needed, but do not move the blue ??????x??????!
- No track or supports outside the template.
- Scenery that doesn't help to support the track can go anywhere except under the blue "x".
- Terrain modifications are allowed within the template only. But remember, terrain changes cost money.
TEMPLATE 2: (4TH OF JULY)
- This template is clear of trees, has a low terrain difference (25 ft,) and has access roads on all sides. This means that this template is the cheapest to build on, although fitting a major coaster within this small template will likely be a big challenge.
- No track outside of the template
- Supports and scenery can go over the red lines (owned by park,) but not over the blue lines. (They represent State Routes 162 and 245.)
- You may raise or lower the template boundaries as much as you want.
- Terrain modifications are allowed anywhere, but remember, terrain changes cost money.
TEMPLATE 3: (THANKSGIVING)
- This template is heavily forested, has the greatest terrain difference (50 ft,) and there are no access roads on the template's right half. This template is therefore the most expensive to build on; approximately 20% to 30% higher than Template 2, depending on how deep into the forest you build and how spread-out the coaster is.
- The left half of the template has less terrain difference, and is located next to an access road. It is therefore about 10% cheaper to build on than the right half of the template.
- If you cross the blue lines, which bridge the gap between the two halves of the template, you must keep all track and supports inside the blue box. (The bottom blue box represents the space under the lift hill of The Voyage. The top blue box represents the space above the gap between the second and third hills of The Voyage.)
- No track or supports outside the red boundaries.
- Scenery can go anywhere as long as it doesn't help to support the track
- You may move the red boundaries up or down as much as needed, but do not move the blue boxes!
- Terrain modifications are allowed anywhere except in the middle gap. (Re-pouring footers for The Voyage = bad...)
PRIZES:
-One contest trophy and 20,000 Slappin' Points to the best overall design from between the three templates.
-Two silver contest medals and 10,000 Slappin' Points to the best coasters from each of the other two templates.
-Three honorable mentions, worth 5000 Slappin' Points, for the second-best tracks from each template.
THE CONTESTANTS:
[color=green]1. Vid_w (T1) (T2
) (T3)
2. Tetsu
3. Kevin Brennan
4. Sobek (T1) (T2) (T3)
5. tmv8888
6. GerstlCrazy
7. Austin
8. scrubs
9. Symbiotic
10. CoastaGuy
11. strata force
12. hyyyper (T1) (T2
) (T3)
13. Calakapepe
14. coasterdave (T1) (T2
) (T3)
15. guitarplayer673 (T1) (T2
) (T3)
16. Jakizle (T1) (T2
) (T3)
17. Lewis13
18. Iron Man
19. tracksix (T1) (T2
) (T3)
20. master of hardcore
21. Stealthrider5583 (T1) (T2
) (T3)
22. Dirk_Ermen
23. MACchiato (T1) (T2) (T3)
24. gouldy (T1) (T2
) (T3)
25. Real
26. awsaws
27. Dyl (T1) (T2
) (T3)
28. Nitro27
29. gazag
30. disaster249
31. Jimmy Yoshi
32. rupsenshow
33. maxamaxam (T1) (T2) (T3)
34. co_2808
35. Adrenaguy
36. cooliocody12
37. Leafsfan33 (T1) (T2) (T3)
38. ianko66
39. TJM94 (T1) (T2) (T3)
40. rollerross
41. unfortunate_smiley (T1
) (T2) (T3)
42. hzgarfield (T1) (T2) (T3)
43. LlLucAaA (T1
) (T2) (T3)[/color]
Green = Recieved Track
Orange = Problem with track file
White = Have Not Recieved Track
Red = Dropped Out
= final track submitted
Questions & Answers
If you have any questions you can post them in this topic. I will try to answer your question A.S.A.P. Your question and the answer will be posted under this header.
Q: Is this contest actually to build Holiday World's real new coaster?
A: No, no. Alas, this is a mere site contest.
![[lol]](https://www.coastercrazy.com/forums/images/smilies/icon_e_ugeek.gif "test"){kind=icon}
It was all my idea. I just used Holiday World because they have a good story and good plots of land to make templates out of.
Q: When you say that the station must be COMPLETELY in the box, is this regarding the sim or editor?
A: The sim. The 'station' in the editor is just the station's track, not the station building.
Q: Is there a length minimum/maximum?
A: No, but length is a factor in the Budget judgment criteria.
Q: Can I add existing Holiday World scenery to the outsides of the template?
A: Absolutely, as long as it doesn't help support the coaster.
Q: Do cobra rolls, batwings, and the like count as one inversion, or two?
A: Two.
Q: Where can I use custom scenery, such as a 3ds station?
A: (added to template rules) If a scenery object helps to support the coaster, such as a custom station, it must follow all rules for the coaster's boundaries. If it does not help support the coaster, such as theming and Holiday World park objects, it can go anywhere except on the roads. (blue "x" in Template 1, other side of blue lines in Template 2)
Q: Can we use launches?
A: (added to general rules) Yes, but they cost about twice as much as lifts depending on the length and acceleration. Once the launch is over, however, the same rules apply, which means that you can offset some of the cost with the advantage of starting lower to the ground.
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