A new kind of contest?

I've had this idea for a contest for awhile now. Instead of a contest with the usual restrictions, The only restriction is a budget. Theres a set style and theres a price for aspects of the coasters. The prices is like for x amount for 10 feet of track used, x amount for every footer and support columns. Is this a challenge everyone would be interested in. Ideas on how to implement such a contest? Or is it simply too much math too be worth it

[TTD03]

I can't build for my life but I really like the idea of this project, I think people would be very into it. It's not too much math as long as you don't make it like 1 support that is 12 feet long is 1234.56 dollars

I had thought about doing this a long time ago, but I wasn't sure how many people would go for it. I have some ideas if you're interested.

[Turbo]

I might actually join this one, it would be a LOT of fun

I'd be willing to help run it and deal with the math part, as well as judging

Of course I think that there should still be a bit of a template, just not too restrictive of one. I'd also go with a pretty high maximum budget but with the amount under budget serving as a multiplier to the final score of the track.

Another element to consider would be that each coaster type would have a different cost, as well as adding base costs for each train, of course counteracting that by making high capacity a favorable aspect of the coaster.

[Turbo]

I'll help build the template, we could have like a simple park getting their first big coaster. Want me to get to work on it? I could also help with judging

Too much trouble, and it's going to be impossible to calculate costs in a way that is at all fair. For instance, higher track costs more to install than lower track (need to use a bigger crane, etc).

This seems really cool and I would certainly join.

[Turbo]

Well it'd be impossible to calculate real cost, however calculating simple cost by length of beams and track should be no problem. The real difficulty of this would be to find a fixed budget.

just seems like a pain in the #%@ to measure all the supports and count footers and stuff.

[TTD03]

Yea, this seems quite confusing, maybe the crane related stuff should just have a flat rate between 2 heights. For example, $1000 for a track piece between 100-150 feet.

[Turbo]

this is actually something I'm going to take on. anyone who is interested in becoming a host along with me of this contest send me a pm

^^ That was my intention where supports are concerned, just have a flat rate for columns between certain heights such as 0-50 ft 50-100 and so on. What I was thinking was having everything be in multiple of $100 or $1000s such rather than deal with a specific amount that goes to the last place holder ($500 is easier to calculate than $497). It was an idea I had and couldn't quite figure out the specifics on my own so I decided to just throw it out there and see what you guys thought of it, I like that most people have taken a liking to the idea, and I hope someone more experience in running this stuff than I am can help make it happen

^ I think just adding a cost based on the coaster's maximum height should work as support taller increases the total length of supports and makes tall elements more expensive.

[Turbo]

Hey guys, this is the beginning post for the contest so far. I've been basing these numbers off of current coaster costs to make the ride with wiring and station cost not included. What do you think so far?

Welcome to a new breed of contest: Budget Building. The idea is simple, you have a budget and cannot cross it. This does not mean however that this is the only rule, there are also other similar rules that you will see on other contests such as area limitations. The template will start with a simple park looking to expand and your job is to meet their limitations while providing an original thrill.

Now then, How much are we allowed per park? What are the values? How is this all calculated? Every foot of track is worth a certain amount, every foot of steel supports is worth a certain amount, every section of wooden supports is worth a certain amount. Tube diameter and track height will also be accounted for with different pricing for each piece.

These are the current values that may be subject to change prior to the contest starting depending on the discussion following these early rules.

---------------------------------------

Track:

This is the simple part! Each track piece will be worth the amount below, and track with catwalk will be worth more as well.

~Only Track~
below 50 feet: $300/foot
55-149.9 feet: $600/foot
150-249.9 feet: $900/foot
250-349.9 feet: $1200/foot

~One Side Catwalk~
below 50 feet: $360/foot
55-149.9 feet: $720/foot
150-249.9 feet: $1080/foot
250-349.9 feet: $1440/foot

~Both Side Catwalk~
below 50 feet: $420/foot
55-149.9 feet: $840/foot
150-249.9 feet: $1260/foot
250-349.9 feet: $1680/foot

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Supports:
The diameter of each tube will determine the cost per foot. the diameter cost will go up by each .1 foot. so say you had a 1.6 foot diameter support that was 5 feet and it was $5 for each diameter, that would be [(1.6 X 5) X 5]. I know there's a lot of math but this is what adds a really different challenge to NoLimits! and of course height will still be a factor

I track cost is the same no matter the height, just add a cost for the max height of the coaster to try and account for the increased cost of construction. I do like the idea of charging supports by both size and length.

[Turbo]

The height will always be a factor even in track pieces.

Supports:
The diameter of each tube will determine the cost per foot and will be determined by a multiplier of $5. So say you had a 1.6 foot diameter support that was 53 feet and it was $5 for each diameter, that would be [(1.6 X 50) X 53 = $4240] or [(Diameter X Multiplier) X Support Length = Total Support Cost]. I know there's a lot of math but this is what adds a really different challenge to NoLimits! and of course height will still be a factor which I will list below

~Diameter Multiplier Per Height~
below 50 feet: $50
55-149.9 feet: $60
150-249.9 feet: $70
250-349.9 feet: $80

~Footers~
15 X Connecting Diameter Multiplier

my idea was to charge track for length rather than height, this way its more realistic as you spend more for the amount of steel used rather how high you put it

So a medium length jet coaster with one sided catwalks and low simple supports will win the contest in terms of cost? Or would a dragon wagon coaster beat them all in cost savings?

I was thinking different tracks are different cost B&M track Is $300/foot and arrow track $260/foot. after you make the coaster look at the length and multiply. catwalks add $20/foot/side.

[Turbo]

cool5, note this before building a jet coaster

Turbo wrote:

... The template will start with a simple park looking to expand and your job is to meet their limitations while providing an original thrill. ...

As for the realistic cost, I am also considering the additional crane height required for higher track pieces which is why they will be more expensive.

The catwalks are a 20% increase from the flat rate of just track and 40% for both sides which I think is fair, though I'm posting it here so we can figure out how to do this. From what I've tested so far this seems to bring a healthy balance to the cost when building a ride.

And for the different manufacturers I don't know. That's taking this to another level of detail and a lot more to calculate when we already have a good bit that people will need to be aware of.

I was thinking of winning the whole contest with this cheap to build coaster. It goes up to 8.3 MPH.

[mkingy]

Might be worth making an excel spreadsheet (I'm willing to do this) to give people a little help / guidance into the total cost of their ride? Interesting idea though - template is going to be tough to test!

[TTD03]

This sounds way too confusing for me, good luck with this everyone!

I think in terms of realistic cost, you have to consider labor costs.

Here's a list of things that cost money when building a coaster or any free standing structure

- Design engineers
- Manufacturing costs (materials, labor, machine use)
- Transportation of materials
- Construction labor
- Heavy equipment use (cranes, etc.)
- Loss of profit from closed portion of land
- Hiring/retraining park staff
- Maintenance
- Annual state inspection


I'm sure I'm missing something, but that's just about it from start to finish.