Seeing many of these cool designs out there, I thought I'd start a thread on the whole creative process we all go through when creating a track. What are some of the thought processes you all go through before you place that first node? Do you grab a pen and paper and doodle out a concept/layout? Do you watch a bunch of POVs to get inspiration? Do you do design something "on the fly" (as in blindly make up a layout as you go along)?
What I think could be a good practice I should really do...
Concept: Usually happens when I either see a random coaster that sparks my interest or somebody tells me that "You should make this ride"
Brainstorm: How can I pull off a similar ride while being unique? Do I want it to be full of twists and inversions, an airtime machine, or both? Once decided what I really want to accomplish and what manufacturer coaster to use, I go to the next step...
Research: I'll hop on Youtube, check out POVs of certain coasters from...let's say, Mack Rides as example. I'll look for traits they have in common and get a feel of what the ride delivers.
Layout: This is where I should actually stop and do this step...often I skip it. This involves going to the basics, grab my notepad, pen and start doodling away. After all, I can't really keep an idea entirely in my head. Unfortunately, a lot of cool ideas I get are done on the fly and ultimately get "creator's block" after the MCBR...not knowing how to finish out the ride.
And finally....Production: Pretty self explanatory, I start placing nodes/vertices, and test out the coaster. If it is going to involve theming, I typically test out a few things, create some supports just to get a feel of what's happening.
So, just out of curiosity, what do all of you do?