Board index Roller Coaster Games Hard Hat Area "Meteora" (Done!)

"Meteora" (Done!)

The Hard Hat Area is the place to post construction news about your ride, so this is the place to hype your future upload!

Post July 18th, 2005, 12:56 pm
cjd

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Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

Well, everyone, it's good to finally have NoLimits back. So, of course, I just had to build a coaster to celebrate. I'm sure everyone has heard of "The Rockler 2", which I have been tweaking nonstop for the last 2 years... Well, consider this as a wicked warmup. I have spent the last several months designing a slightly smaller, yet just as intense terrained wood coaster.


THE SPECS:
This coaster is a hybrid of the three main types of woodies. It begins with a very large 300 ft lift up onto the top of a big hill (the same hill from the Round 1 Hydra template...). Then, there is a terrained out-and-back section where there are 6 hills designed for great speeds, big drops, and tons of great airtime. Then, the ride gets CRAZY! You come to "The Drop", a 165 ft plunge off of the hillside with some insane ejector airtime. Then, the train banks heavily to the left at 75 mph, and pulls 4 g's through a high speed turn. Then, more airtime! You fly over the top of an 80 foot hill at 65 mph and are thrown out of your seat with the forces of -1 vertical g's. Quickly, you are slammed to the left of the train whilst being thrown in the air at the same time... and more air into the 90 degree banked turn. Then the ride gets even faster as it drops back down to the lake and throws you to the side of the train, then out, then back to the side, and a final slam of ejector air in an intense combo finale.

Lift Height: 290 ft
First Drop: 130 ft
Top Speed in First Half: 65 mph
Longest Drop: 165 ft
Top Speed: 75 mph
Angle of Descent: 62 degrees
Track Length: 7410 ft
Airtime: 24 seconds
Highest Banking: 90 degrees
Tunnels: 3


Now, how about some preview screenshots?


Here is the big lift onto the hill... 290 ft height difference from bottom to top.
Image


This is the first drop of 130 ft, followed by a floater hill with 3 seconds of continuous airtime.
Image


Here is the terrained out-and-back section. The train is barreling through these hills at 65 mph, generating some great airtime.
Image


This is it... THE DROP! 165 feet straight off the hillside, kicking you off your seat and speeding you up to 75 mph.
Image


Here is a really nice overview of the station area, lift, and intense finale. If this template looks familiar, it is. This is the same land that was used for Round 1 of the Match-up contest.
Image



Well, that's about it. This coaster's trackwork is complete, and all I have to do before I am ready to upload is to finish the support work and make a couple of 3ds objects. This ride will be finished within 2 weeks, and ready for upload. Questions? Comments? Post them up.

-"Meteora", a coaster project by CJD
Last edited by cjd on November 6th, 2005, 2:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Post July 18th, 2005, 1:26 pm

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Points on hand: 1,966.00 Points
Well, it seems like a real nice coaster to me ;) but I dont know if you want to have steel supports, beaucause you'r supports are grey. But If you want it, you can go to the NL discussion forum and go to the topic of CCI/Gravity Group... or semething like that zo you can have steel supports and brown railings and catwalks. If you dont want steel supports, well, than I have no remarks on your woody ;)

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:30 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

The steel supports, catwalks, and handrails are grey on purpose. The ride is named "Meteora", which fits the colors just fine IMO.

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:32 pm

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are you a linkin park fan cjd?

about the coaster, me likey. very nice. im starting to become a fan of gravity group

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:32 pm

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Post July 18th, 2005, 2:39 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
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Location: New Concord, OH, USA

Originally posted by ragan

are you a linkin park fan cjd?


EDIT:
Oh, I forgot about that album name... I wasn't thinking about it when I named this ride, but whatever. I just thought of a name that signified "crashing down to earth", so "Meteor" was my thought. But then, I decided that just "meteor" was too plain, so I added the "a" to make it sound cooler. And there you have it... "Meteora".

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:41 pm

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Post July 18th, 2005, 2:45 pm

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That overbank I see (or close too) should have bracing up near the track itself. It appears to have bracing near the ground which helps but better safe than sorry.

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:47 pm
ish User avatar

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Location: Germany

so you're also a linkin park fan?

don'T be ashamed, I also like linkin park.

Post July 18th, 2005, 2:49 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

Originally posted by Real

That overbank I see (or close too) should have bracing up near the track itself. It appears to have bracing near the ground which helps but better safe than sorry.


The supports aren't done yet. I'm still working on the lift, so I won't get to bracing the turns for a while.

Post July 19th, 2005, 9:30 am

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Looks really cool, especially that floater hill and 'the drop' [:)]

Post October 27th, 2005, 10:22 pm
coolbeans326 User avatar
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Premium Member

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that overbank looks..... how you say... .out of place, replace it with something else like a sweeping turn around, or something.

Post October 27th, 2005, 10:25 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

PHOTO UPDATE:

More work has been done on the supports and the 3ds station objects. Here is one final preview of Meteora... I will be uploading it on November 6, a week and 3 days from today.

Here is a pic that shows off the magnitude of this coaster. Notice the ride entrance sign with the flaming logo, and the concrete queue line tunnel in the background
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This picture should give you a better idea about the sheer size of the first lift. It seems to go on forever, as it lifts 290 ft up and onto the hill top to begin the run.
Image

This is "The Drop" of 165 ft off the hillside followed by an 80 degree banked turn that pulls almost 4 positive g's and 1.7 lateral g's. The train rips through here at 75 mph.
Image

Here is the 90 degree banked turn. The train then shoots into a tunnel, and through the intense finale of the coaster.
Image

Post October 28th, 2005, 3:10 pm

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dude that looks pretty awsome, like woodieman says download the CCI suports to make it look better

Post November 1st, 2005, 1:02 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

UPDATE:

I have nearly completed this coaster after a 5 hour work session last night, and I am entering the final stages of construction. Here is what has been done since last time, and what still needs to be done. I will post a couple pictures of the new stuff tonight.

DONE:
-Car Texture (black car with flames and a white racing stripe running up the side... it's really sweet.)
-Wood beams and catwalks are now brown
-Queue line is complete
-Handrails are now wood instead of L-beams
-Coaster's colors have been darkened (it makes it look more sinister and intimidating)

TO DO:
-Final 10% of wide supports on lift
-Wide supports on MCBR
-Exit path
-Trees

OVERALL PROGRESS: 95%

There will be one final photo update tonight, and then the coaster will be posted this Sunday. Riding it against my other big projects, I can truly say that this is one of my greatest coasters ever. It feels alot faster and more intense than Cataclysm, has my single greatest work in cartextures and custom supports, is one of the smoothest coasters I have ever created, and combines just about every great element you could ask for in a wood coaster.

It has 2 big drops, lots and lots of ejector airtime and very intense laterals, 3 tunnels, a double-down, 2 lateral air hills, two 80+ degree banked turns, and the sensation of speed is absolutely nonstop. Get ready, because you are in for a real treat. Only 5 days until you experience one of the greatest wood coasters ever!

Post November 1st, 2005, 6:45 pm

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^I'll be looking forward to that. Keep going strong.

Post November 1st, 2005, 6:47 pm

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it really does like nice, one of the better woodies ive seen!

Post November 1st, 2005, 11:31 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

FINAL PHOTO UPDATE

Here is one last chance for some preview photos before I finish the coaster's last detalis and upload this monster (4 days left as of midnight tonight). This photo update is basically eye candy, as I have already shared just about every other aspect of the track except the finalization. Well, here we go. Enjoy!


This is my best work ever with cartextures... the trains feature a black background wreathed with deep flames riding up the sides along with small white racing stripes for a touch of style.
Image


Here is the work I have done on the queue line. The entrance path and first half of the queue are made out of footers, for a unique look. The second half is a stair platform which provides a tunnel for the coaster, and a wooden walkway which brings the path into the station.
Image


Here is the entrance to the queue line, composed of nearly 100 footers arranged in an artistic patters for a distinct look. Also visible are the impressive ride entrance sign, and ride regulations sign in the background.
Image


Here is one final view of the coaster's massive 290 ft lift hill, in its new colors. The handrails and catwalks now match the track color, and the supports have been darkened slightly for a more sinister look.
Image

And so ends the final photo update for Meteora. This masterpiece of thrills and intensity will be posted and ready for download on Sunday, November 6. So mark your calender (yeah right... [;)]) and don't forget to check out Meteora this Sunday!

Post November 1st, 2005, 11:57 pm

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someone has too much time on their hands [:D]
i really like how it is and i cant wait to ride it

Post November 2nd, 2005, 12:23 am

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*Gaping mouth* I really like the cartexture and the flame stripe is great. The footers do give an interesting look and I don't think you should change it if people say it is bad.

Post November 4th, 2005, 2:55 pm
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

A quick update:

The environment is finished. This coaster is quite an FPS eater, so I am using a very simple environment to maximize the frame rate.

Also to keep the FPS optimized, I have simplified the lift hill's wide supports.

The part of the queue line that used to be made of footers is now a 3ds slab, to conserve FPS and clean it up. The entrance path is still footers, because it looks cool imo, but the rest had to go for the sake of the frame rate.

Most of the coaster's wide supports are now finished. All that remains are the last 5% of the lift supports and one set of wide supports near the end of the ride.

The only thing I have yet to build is the exit path. This part will be incredibly basic, so it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes.

Overall Progress: 97%

Just 2 days remaining until Meteora is released!

Time spent so far: 52 hours
Remaining work time to finish: 1.5 hours

Post November 4th, 2005, 2:58 pm

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Post November 4th, 2005, 4:30 pm

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Cartexture=masterpiece.

If I rate this, I'm giving you like +4 points for that cartexture. That thing is good.

Post November 6th, 2005, 2:44 am
cjd

Posts: 3370
Points on hand: 4,718.00 Points
Location: New Concord, OH, USA

DONE!

Well, it's official. 60 hours, 100 Oreos, and 24 cans of Mountain Dew later, METEORA has been finished! This coaster will be uploaded at approximately 12:00pm EDT (that's 11 hours from now...)

I decided to go back and spruce a few things up in addition to the last bits of supports, so here is the final list of what has been done since the last update.


-Supports done
-Exit path done

ALSO:
-I added a "single riders" line, just for the heck of it.
-I added 3 cross platforms to allow the mechanics to cross the track safely in-between catwalks.
-The track was run through the support optimizer to clean it up a bit.
-Station timing
-MCBR speed limit was raised, giving it even more speed in the end.
-Trees were added to the out-and-back section for close calls
-Collision test (1 close call, but I think it's fine...)
-Track Packaged
-Screenshot

Ta da!

Be sure to check it out... METEORA, coming to a computer near you in 11 hours...

I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your support, and don't for get to rate! [;)]

-Posted by CJD

Post November 6th, 2005, 2:55 am

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