UPDATE: Download the example track at http://www.weeweeslap.com/track_exchange/detail.asp?tid=6332
I've become more and more annoyed with the NoLimits wooden support generator. My main beef is that the horizontal bracing is almost twice as far apart as it should be, which really throws off the preception of height, causing basically all NL woodies to look too short. This utility is at a very early stage, and no where near a public release, but I'm so excited by what I've got so far, I just had to post something . My focus is going to be realism, to the greatest extent possible. THIS MEANS FPS WILL SUFFER. Sorry, but that's just the way it goes. However, it's not terribly worse, and it looks so much better.
So far, the only wide support style I've implemented is the style used by John Allen, roughly equivilant to the 'steeple' style in the builtin generator. The following ride was built as a quick test bed, but even at this stage, I think the following comparison shots are pretty compelling. In each pair, the first shot is with my supports, the second with the builtin supports. I plan to have this ride posted (with my supports) on the site shortly. It's nothing mindblowing, but it should give you an idea of the detail level involved. Right now, after running each track through Buster's support optimizer, my supports contain roughly 30% more beams than the default supports (9,800 vs 6,700). I haven't figured out the catwalks yet, so they aren't in yet.
BE SURE TO CLICK THE PICS TO SEE FULL SIZE!
Overall View, from station roof
Looking at the first turnaround.
Looking up at the 108ft first drop.