Rating in NL

how to realistically rate (how i rate):

first you must download the ride. although this should be obvious, some people DO rate without downloading. (lol)

then open the ride in the editor, look around to see if everything is allright, take a quick view of the track and try to find anything seriously worng (track not connected, lift not steraight, launch not straight, station not straight, breaks curved, etc) then ride the ride in the sim. first ride it from the front seat and look at:

banking: is it overbanked in places? underbanked in places?
g-forces: red g's make for bad rides. be sure to take off for them. yellow g's are safe unless they're sudden and hard. anything more than 1.5 negative g's is painful and unrealistic - nomatter what style. for wooden rides, the g's should be no more than 3.5 and no less than -.8.

bumps: a bump is a sudden, unexpected change in direction that would cause pain in real life. look out for these. they most often happen at verteces.

pumps: not very noticable from the front seat, but you will be able to see strong pumps. a "pump" is when the train seems to be oscilating up and down on one piece of track where it shouldn't be. they're most common in inversions and helices.

supports: there should be one support for every train - length if you look at real rides, the train is over at least one support at all times. on rides with only one car per train, you can spread them out a little more depending on track thickness but the same basic rule still applies. if there is less suports than this it is called "under supported". if there are more supports than this it can still be okay, but i consider it "over supported" when the train can be over 2 + supports at the same time. intamin supports are different. they, and arrow supports, use "box supports" which are basically like boxes stacked on top of eachother (see millenium force supports for an example). with box supports, the boxes SHOULD be roughly 15X15X15 feet. increasing by 5 in every direction after 250 feet tall so it looks like a pyramid on the bottom. (note: these stats are not 100% exact, it's just the best way to explain what i look for.) anything more than a box 20X20X20 at the top i consider unrealistic and lexx than 10X10X10 undersupported. wooden rides are generally good when it comes to supporting because of the automatic supporter in NL. however, with some coasters they are undersupported because of tracks beneath a section so that may require some manual touching - up.

collisions: if a track comes within the distance of a basic NL tunnel, it is a hazard for collisions. but the collision may never happen so i wouldn't take off too much for it. a collision where a support, trackpiece, other train, trees, or anything else comes in contact with the track or train is considered a real collision and a real danger. i often take off 1+ points for them depending on how bad the collision is.

lift speed: how fast is the lift? is it a 400 foot rise with a 2 mph lift? is it a 50 foot ride with a 16 mph lift? take notice because this can effect the tech score aswell. for rides 200+ feet, i like to have a lift 8-13 mph. for under 200 feet, 6-8 is good and under 50 feet, 4-8.

launches: there should be no more than 2.0 g's on a launch. if the ride has headrests then there can be no more than 4.0 keep in mind that launches don't feel good if they're too high. a 1 g launch is the same as you laying on your back, a 2 g launch is the same as you laying on your back with your twin laying on top of you. now, if you and your twin are both 200 pounds, that's 400 pounds of pressure your back has to deal with on the seat. so you can see that it's easey to get injured with a harsh launch. also, whiplash is very possible.

MCBR: if the track has a MCBR (mic-course break run) then you should see if it's straight, see if it can stop the ride in case of an emergency stop (E-stop) and see if the ride can make it back to the station if an E-stop is tested for. also, make sure the train isnt stopped by the break because of another train finishing the course further down the track. also make sure the mcbr is NOT speeding up the ride with friction wheels or anything. i consider a good speed for mcbr's 15-25 mph.

Jerks: a "jerk" is like a violent pump. it's not quite as drastic as a bump, but not as big as a pump. its in the middle. jerks mostly occur at transitions. a train could be jerked up to fast, jerked to the left or the right making it uncomfortable or painful for the rider. take of significantly for jerks because of how painful they'd be in real life.

DO NOT take off for using tools. most tools are hard to use and take time to get to know them. feel free to take off some points for using PREFABS THAT CAME WITH NL. don't take off too much if they fit the ride and flow nicely.


ADRENALINE: this is the easey one.

station: are you sitting in the station forever to start the ride? (measure time from when the lap bars / restraints close)

are you sitting at the breaks forever?

is the lift too slow? too fast?

do the elements suck?

does the train slow down over elements?

is the ride slow?

is the track really fast but the segments are too big, making the ride sem to drag out too long?

is the ride repetetive?

is the drop amazing? does the drop suck?

do you expect the tunnels?

are there any surprises?

do trees or landscaping add to the ride?

does 3d stuff and theming add to the ride?

is the ride too long?

are there a lot of break sections to keep slowing the ride down?

are the g forces in check? high g's make for an uncomfortable ride, which takes away from how fun it is, and if a ride isnt fun, then the adrenaline cant have been that great.

does the layout flow well?


ORIGIONALITY:

does the ride have elements you havent seen before or that are seldom used?

do the elements that are used and used often flow well together and are they used in neat places?

theming is a biggie here. the more theming, the better the rate if you ask me. just as long as the theming works well, isn't over-done, and is done well.

this is also where realism counts. if you have a b&m looping ride in the "realistic" catergory, then i expect to see something that looks as if b&m would make it. if it's in the "fantasy" catergory, i expect a b&m track, but it looks like b&m will never make it because of landscaping or the fact that the ride may not be built because of the style. if you have a b&m ride that's virtually a clone of batman, then i'd expect it to be "realistic" if not, then i;d take off for origionality.

you CAN have a ride with a layout that's used a lot, but have hig origionality because you themed it incredibly differently.

a top thrill dragster recreation is NOT origional because of how much it's been done

a Kingda Ka recreation is not origional either.

with wooden rides make sure they've either got one hell of a layout OR if they're styled after a certain roller coaster (cyclone style, twister style) use this as an accuracy rating. if the ride looks like the style is supposed to be then give a good origionalty.

if its a recreation, split the rate between how many other recreations there are of that ride, and the other half can be how accurate the ride is. if a ride is over-recreated (dragster and i bet kk will be) then the origionality half can overlap into the accuracy half to take off more. the other half of the "accuracy" rate can be a part of the tech rating because butilding it right is going to make it more accurate.

origionality is mostly up to you and your opinion.


other: "realistic" coasters are rides that look as if the company would build them.

"fantasy" coasters the rules still apply, but the company would never build the design for whatever reason. supports can differ in this one. you could have a b& m ride with intamin supports, etc, but real world rules still apply, it just doesnt have to look like something from the specific company. most terrain coasters should be considered "fantasy" because (unless the terrain was modeled after a real place) most likely it can't be built in the real world (at least not cheaply)

"recreation" is exactly that, you're building a copy of a real ride in NL.

do you like the builder? is he / she a jerk? feel free to take off points as you see fit (lol, j/k.. dont do that.)

DO NOT EVER give a low rate because someone gave you a bad rate.

rates like "wow that was really cool, you're the best" are invalid and should be deleted. you have to be descriptive.

should you choose to rate in english, USE REAL ENGLISH! rates like:

"dat wuz da shiznit yo. u da bomb make more." should be deleted because the rater is an idiot and can't communicate in the language he or she chose to do so in and therefore are invalid. rated in other languages are fine, if you can't understand them then go to a free online translator.

custom supports look great, but if a prefab support will work (will hold up the track) then there's no reason to take off for it.

after riding in the front seat, ride again in the back. also look for g forces - they change drastically between the front and back. middle seats will be fine if both the front and back seats are fine. and this time pumps, bumps and jerks will be more obvious.

don't take off points EVER if you don't like the colors or the name. unless of course if the name is "cactus land" and its a space themed ride. or if it's marked "realistic" and its a bright pink wooden ride. but i wouldn't take off more than .5 points for either. if the color is the problem, take off in tech because it's part of how the ride is build. if theming is off, take off from adrenaline because you expect a thrilling ride through a desert and you're shot into space instead. also take off in tech for that too because it's part of how the ride is built. no more than 1 point should be deducted.

add extra points in origionality and adrenaline for really good 3ds on the track. add extra origionality for 3ds not seen from the track (queues, paths, benches, etc)

if a ride just completely blows you away, you can rate higher in adrenaline and tech than it's really worth. example:
http://www.coastercrazy.com/track_exchang ... p?tid=7189
the ride had some small bumps and pumps, but the theming and everything else easily cancelled those problems out.

DO NOT EVER give a ride a rating of a perfect 10. a ride that deserves a perfect 10 is completely flawless, does not pump, has no bumps, is supported perfectly, has amazing adrenaline with no jerks, is 100% themed, is terraformed, has a realisticly long queue, has signs, benches, trash cans, fences, trees, other 3ds, etc. it would also have to beat every other ride in the world (not just NL) buecause the ride would be 100% perfect - and as we all know, the "perfect" ride wil never be built because of differing tastes.



have fun riding![:D]

[gouldy]

"and as we all know, the "perfect" ride wil never be built because of differing tastes." Having said that though, it may very well be perfect to a particular persons taste, which is why ratings are averaged out [;)]. I still also believe that a ride should never be given a rating of 10 overall, just basically not possible.

Still though, you have explained a good rating very well and I think that quite a lot of people on this site need to read this thread!

I disagree with your rule on launches, coaster992001. There are several real coasters with much more intense launches than 1.5 g's on them that don't hurt people. Dodonpa launches with a force of 3.5 g's (0 to 107 in 1.8 sec). Top Thrill Dragster launches with about 2 g's (0 to 120 in 3.7 sec). Hypersonic XLC launches with 3 g's (0 to 85 in 1.6 sec). Once I hear a report of whiplash or g-related injury on these coasters, then you can say that 3.5 g's are not safe on a launch.

Originally posted by coaster992001

g-forces: red g's make for bad rides. be sure to take off for them. yellow g's are safe unless they're sudden and hard. anything more than 1.5 negative g's is painful and unrealistic - nomatter what style. for wooden rides, the g's should be no more than 3.5 and no less than -.8.

Where did you get that information from?

Yeah, there are several flaws in this guide. I also disagree about the recreation rule about coasters that have been previously recreated. If you make a great recreation of a coaster, it is really not fair if points are taken off just because some other member made a recreation before you did. The fact that someone else did it does not mean that your coaster just got worse.

SAFETY TIP: Rather than calling it a "guide" -- I would make it your opinion so the onslaught will stop ...

the thing with g's: wooden rides have less g forces than steel rides in all directions simply because they are made out of wood. their structures (or track) simply cannot tolerate more than 4.5 g's (they might be able to - but the wear and tare on the ride would be amazing). also on wooden rides, the restraints arent as form-fiting as steel rides, making it harder to have high negative g's. with steel coasters, anything more than -1.5 g's would be uncomfortable. that would be the equivalent of hanging upside-down with a 22 pound weight in each hand. not fun.

about recreation rule: would you consider another ttd recreation origional? i dont think so. the tech and adrenaline can be amazing but origionality would be crap. but like i said in there, combine it with accuracy and you can have a somewhat decent origionality.

and where the hell did you find that dodonpa launches at 3.5?! last i checked it launches at 2, and it has the strongest launch in the world (0-107 in 1.8 secs). and considering that, i just noticed a typo.. i meant to write "2.5" instead of "1.5" lol...oh btw: hypersonic and dragster have had tons of injuries. nothing serious on hypersonic, but dragster has had launch problems.

Simple physics.

107mph = 157 feet/sec
157 ft/sec divided by 1.7 seconds = 92.3 ft/sec/sec. (Aka average acceleration)
92.3 ft/sec^2 = 2.86g.

That's *average* accelaration. Peak could easily be as high as 4.
There's really no problem at all with that. The body tolerates longitudinal g-forces extremly well, quite a bit better than verical g's in fact. Also, as far as wood goes, while I agree that positive vertical g's should be kept to no higher, than, say, a bit over 4, verical g's can be WAY stronger than -0.8 and not cause problems.

hm. well, i dont think i'd enjoy a wooden ride with more than -1.0 g's. and i have no idea how dodonpa's launching g forces can reach 4 g's (?) although with that equation it would seem that i heard wrong about its forces. still, if i saw a ride that launched over 2.0 g's and did not have some sort of restraint for your head, there would definatly be a risk for whiplash. ttd, dodonpa, hsxlc, all have headrests. the only styles in nl with headrests are the ones with shoulder restraints and then shuttle + schwartzkopf. oh.. and b&m hyper. so i'll change it so that a ride can't have more than 2. whatever i said up there unless it has headrests.

Dude, ever seen a Gravitron or Roundup Spinning ride? Those pull 4g+ *sustained* into your back. Even a scrambler pulls over 3.

no scrambler i've been on / seen pulls 3+ g's lol.. and even those are lateral g's. roundup feels like more around 3, but again headrests. same goes for gravitron. without a headrest, those rides would hurt like hell!

http://www.premier-rides.com/specdex.html

Scroll down to where it says "Wooden Coaster Specifications".

MAXIMUM VERTICAL ?????????G????????? FORCES
+ 6.0 G, including gravity

MINIMUM VERTICAL ?????????G????????? FORCES
2.0 G, including gravity

And if you want a list of some real g-force limits, check out this topic:
http://coasters2k.com/forums/viewtopic. ... 87&start=0

And don't look around the ride first, it may spoil surprises. Instead, start with the front seat, then ride the middle and then the back, then when you're done, you might want to look it over in the editor. (or you can just look it over in the sim)

If most of this doesn't work well, at least start by riding the front, otherwise you may miss out on something.

okay. that says a wooden ride can stand 6 g's. although this may be true with the proper supporting, a wooden NL ride wouldn;t realisticly be able to. not to mention i think any sensible rater would take off for 5+ g's considering that's well into the red.

Did you take a look at the G-limits I linked to? Those are the ASTM standards. Of REAL coasters. They're red in NL, but what do you trust more, NL's limits or limits of REAL COASTERS?

Good thing there's a way to configure the NL red-yellow g settings, because the default ones for positive g's are really off. It reds around 5 g's, it should red at 7.

[Brtnboarder495]

Well the color of the g forces in NL actually stand for the timing that they can be sustained. Green G's can be sustained longer than yellow, followed by red. Of course a sustained vert 4.4+ helix would be more painful than a vert 1.5+ helix, so you really cant compare colors, but numbers. Every coaster type has its limits, but nowadays with the new technology, you can push the limits further, because we can simulate rides before they are built. Also because they are smoother, we dont have to worry about little G pops on bumpy coasters, which also allows near boderline G's.

[coolbeans326]

you people suck at rating. You rate so hard and crush the self esteems of people. Just because your rating in a nice fashion doesn't mean your rating good. Your suppose to also build up the person and ecourage them. I know I get mad when I see low scores. And that's because I used to get higher scores. And I'm thinking how do I get lower scores when I improved? You people take off so many points for minor things, this is how I rate my technical.
1 - for making a piece of crap with high g's, no custom supports, or an extremely bad design.
2 - for trying to build something, but still is the same piece of crap as 1.
3 - I don't give out 3's.
4 - for making a decent track, but its bumpy, and it has one or 2 red g's, and pumps, and no custom supports.
5 - same as last one, except some custom supports, and maybe a little smoother, and stuff.
6 - shows work, and thought put in, but just doesn't quite make the grade, usually bumpy, and has pumps. Yellow lats, maybe 1 red g spike, and maybe 1 or 2 track hits.
7 - a little smoother than 6, no track hits, (unless if it was a good ride, and the hit knocked you down points) More custom supports. Pumplessness not expected.
8 - smooth, some minor pumping, no track hits, g's are all below red, and lats (except on woodies) are below yellow.
9 - Near pumpless, and extremely smooth. G's are realistic. Everything flows nicely. Most lats under are 1 g and under, except of woodies.
10 - an award for having a 9 track, plus some extra stuff like 3D work, and me liking your ride very, much.
and that's more so how you should rate, not this, OMG pump!!! Pump!!! 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 on techie crap!
/rant

yea i agree with you

Don't go into that self esteem crap. Hell, why not just have everybody give everybody else 10s and call it a day?

[Kev]

I really don't see why some of you feel the need to post these long winded 'guidelines' for how to rate coasters. It is not up to you to decide how we should all feel about any particular ride we download. If I happen to really like a coaster and want to show my appreciation by giving a generous score, despite any flaws it may have, then I will do it...I really don't give a rat's ass if you like it or not. Sorry to be so blunt, but it's how I feel about it. I'm betting that there are many others here that feel the same way.

Too many people to quote so Ill just do it here?????????

First, the NL color code doesn't measure how long it can be held, its just a VISUAL representation of G?????????s. If it did measure the length, after 6 seconds of 5 G?????????s you should be pretty grey or blacked out. That?????????s some pretty heavy G?????????s to sustain for that long.


Also, wooden coasters can pull more than 4.5 G?????????s. Since when does everyone here think they have a built in Accelerometer and can determine how many G?????????s a ride pulls to a tenth of a G just by riding? I've found most humans cannot be that accurate.


So, follow the ASTM guidelines. Most people here or anywhere are designing for real life, so, use real life guidelines. Duh.

[coolbeans326]

rating system will be the downfall of weeweeslap and other coaster sim sites.

jeez i just posted how i rate...

[coolbeans326]

well, obviously this was gonna turn into a big issue, you little Road Islander!!!