AHG V.S Newton 2

Which one should I use Newton 2, or purgatorium, elementary, and AGH[?]

depends on what your going for really. If you're more into making super smooth steel designs, it'd be newton all the way, but if you're more into woodies then elementary and purg are gonna do a better job as far as realism is concerned. (thats not to say you can't do it in newton, or that you can't make super smooth steel rides with elementary and purg.) both can do each, but newton is better at steel, and elementary/purg is better at wood, at least with my experience.

^ TMV pretty much sums it up.

If you are a newbie to using tools, I suggest going the easier path, and work your way to Elementary and Purgatory if you feel the need to. The easiest by far is Newton, but hand-building and using the Auto Heartline Generator is also very simple.

Newton gives great transitions and real smooth track. In my experience, AHG can be confusing and a little more difficult to use. (Color wise)

Newton's easier than handbuilding (handbuilding anything good that is) so it's probably the best place to start off.

[SauronHimself]

I say Newton 2 all the way. It was a tool designed to combined FVD's with AHG so that you didn't have waste time and frustration using each separate program. It also gives you an easier visual interface that lets you see the final product without having any guess work.

AHG.

I use Newton 2 with AHG.

^ Newton 2 has AHG built in so running it through twice might actually mess it up.

@dcs: Why?

Newton2 does not have AHG, and I'm not heartlining twice.

@boneplaya: More control.

I am pretty sure Newton2 does have a heartline generator...

Yes it "generates heartlines," but no it's not that specific program integrated as you implied.

Ah. I see. I get your point now.

Newton2 has a heartline generator, but it's not as accurate, or precise as AHG. The Newton2 and AHG combo works great for coasters, such as Intamin Inverts. AHG, though, does have it's disadvantages. It does make coasters extremely wobbly sometimes, and getting the wobble out is a pain in the ass. I am currently stuck in that phase at the moment. If done correctly though, you will have an extremely smooth coaster, with the least amount of lats possible with the given speed, and rotation time.

I'd say newton but if your good do what dcs221 does

newton2 indeed has a heartline genarator, u can also choose not to heartline.

Originally posted by dcs221

Newton2 does not have AHG, and I'm not heartlining twice.

@boneplaya: More control.

hmmm.....I see. I might have to try that sometime, see what happens. I've noticed on my newton tracks that a lot of the transitions seem really robotic, which I can't stand. I'll see if that helps. Thanks for the tip!

AHG is a great tool. And honestly should be used on (nearly)every ride. It not only heartlines your track, but it also sets your segments to nearly the same spacing. Your track will have consistant nodes allowing for smoother transitions in the banking. As for the others, you may need to use a combination of all of them. Some tracks are simple enough to be made with the Purg, elementary(specifically the H:SAK), and AHG alone. Perfect example of that is Jimmy's Bombs Over Baghdad. But, the H:SAK can only do so much. And honestly, building a track like that is very difficult. I'm trying it now and it's giving me a headache.