Gravity Group Family Coaster

[gouldy]

It's been a long time since I've posted a thread in the Hard Hat Area (seriously, I think it was about 2009), but I still spend a lot of time creating on NoLimits. For the most part, anything I produce stands as just personal amusement and rarely goes further than the basic support structure stage. This is partly because of a perception that anything which fails to exactly replicate an already existing coaster company's track construction style is seen as the worst thing to have ever landed on the exchange, and partly because I'm lazy. But for a few months now I've been missing being part of the NoLimits side of the coaster community - posting construction updates and seeing that other people have enjoyed something that I made, etc. So, with all that said:


My 6th creation this year has been a small (50ft tall lift hill) wooden coaster, primarily aimed at families and younger thrill seakers, but that would hopefully not disappoint the seasoned enthusiast. It's intended to be a Gravity Group and it's still at an early stage so I'm here for your opinions on how I might get it closer to their style.

To put it into better perspective; it draws most of it's inspiration from Wooden Warrior (Quassy) and Fireball (Happy Valley), and is almost a combination of the two coasters. It's also like a midpoint between the size of the two coasters (although obviously a lot closer to the size of Wooden Warrior). I'm intending full custom supports, so this may not be hitting the exchange for a little while! You'll have to imagine that the trains are Timberliners and also ignore the fact that the track is white, for now

Anyway, here are overview images of the layout in it's entirety:



























I have my own criticisms, for example; there is a station fly-through, which is really more in keeping with the style of GCI - not that GG couldn't or wouldn't do it, of course. But it's something I wanted to do simply because of the enjoyment I take from constructing things using the NL support structures and the ideas I have for the supports/station in that area. I could yet still be dissuaded from including it, if someone could suggest something interesting that still makes sense within that part of the layout.

Primarily I'm interested in improvement, so objective criticisms are more than welcome! Also, despite having the majority of the support structure planned out in my head, I'm very much asking for tips on GG support structure.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Coasterkidmwm]

If you want to make a family coaster wouldn't it be easier to just make a GCI?

[gouldy]

True story. I suppose I meant "family coaster", in the same sense that Wooden Warrior is a family coaster, in that it's not 200ft tall and doesn't reach 80mph. There are still laterals of around 1, negatives of around -0.6 and positives of around 3.5. So it still packs a punch, but equally a child is not going to stand in front of this and flatly refuse to ride it.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Ah I see the initial vision now. Nevermind, sorry for being a jackass.

Looks pretty good BTW I don't see anything "stupid" at all.

[TheArchitect]

I really like the layout, good job. Cant help but feel the trains could be longer though. Give me a shout if you want a hand with 3D's.

[gouldy]

Yeah, I'm glad you said that because I'd decided in my head it would be best to add another car to the train, to make it the same as Wooden Warrior's trains. I don't know why I started with 5 cars, to be honest. I'll do it and see what changes it makes to the pacing, see if it's not an issue without altering too much.

I hadn't thought about 3Ds, to be honest. In the past I've enjoyed building everything from supports. I'd still prefer to do the station and transfer shed mostly that way, but when you look at some of LeFlo's rides, for example, you can't help but admire what even some of the simple 3Ds and a good .env can add to the ride. So, basic things like pathways, benches, bins, lamp posts, transfer track, etc. would be a sweet addition I think - I'll perhaps tie up with you later on, cheers!

I really like the idea of this coaster. Looks like it'll still pack a punch even though it's small. I like these types of rides.

BTW I think you should increase the number of cars to 6, since apparently that's the number of trains Gravity Group uses on their coasters.

EDIT: nvm, just noticed that what I've said has already been stated lol.

[gouldy]

Yeah, I've switched it to 6 cars now. Only minor tweaking was needed later on in the ride where the pacing seemed to drop off slightly. I lowered the last couple of turns (which actually improved the ride in other ways, too), and altered some of the banking and tightened some of the shaping.

I've begun support work on the station and laying out of the track supports.

I've come across some issues with the NL wooden support size: Nothing really matches the size and shape of the actual supports. The flat section is perfect for the handrails, but you need a flat section that is twice the thickness for pretty much all the rest of the support structure. The large square section wood is too chunky in one direction, and the small square section wood is too small in the other direction, what you need really is a combination of the small and the large, i.e. as wide as the large (and the flat section), but as thin as the small.

I've gone for using the small square for verticals, and then the flat section for all tie bracing. I'll get a better idea of how this will look as I build up the supports more. I will still have an issue with the ledgers though, it doesn't seem to matter which section you use for those, they still look horrendous - so that may have to be a standard 3D model... Archy?

This is why one of the top things on my wish list for NL2 is a custom support generator. You define the cross section and texture, and NL does the rest.

But this looks like a really cool ride. For some reason, small rides that pack a punch always appeal to me, even though they're not particularly fantastic most of the time. Looking forward to seeing this, though!