These days, a coaster site is basically there for the coaster simulators/games. One such game, Nolimits, has become the most popular realistic coaster builder out there. Anyone who lays their hands on it preaches that it has an extremely steep learning curve, but eventually it will all pay off. I started out where we all started out, thinking,”How am I ever going to get good at this?”

Well, what happens when you get to the point where they had said that it would pay off? Many of us turn to tools. Newton, Newton 2, AHG, ASG, Elementary, etc. They make our coasters better, whether it is smoothing it using forces, heart-lining it, or even generating custom supports at the click of a button. But there are those that do not turn to tools. They say that such tools take the style and life out of a person’s coasters, that they take away the user’s building techniques and support style. They also say that it is harder to hand-build than to tool a ride. I would have to agree. It really is harder to hand-build a ride. You have to smooth it out, heart-line it by actually moving the track.

But of those that cry blasphemy at tools, may I ask why you started Nolimits? I am guessing that you didn’t want to do things the hard way, you just wanted to make a fun, realistic coaster. I was once at the point where I hated tooled coasters. I would make a coaster and put lots of time into it and be told that it had too many pumps, g’s, or too little heart-lining. I got angry, because then people could make a coaster with a tool and it would instantly be popular.

But then I decided to download Newton 2. I tried it, and was amazed. It made tracks SO smooth, and you would never have to heart-line it again. So I made my first track. I really hadn’t thought about what I would put in it, I just made it as I went. Most of it was just turns, but it was relatively smooth. Then, I uploaded it, and I found that it had low ratings on it. They all said that the ride was boring, and that it really didn’t have anything to it. I learned something that day, just because it is smooth doesn’t mean it is good. So from then on, I thought out my layout and what I put on it.

Just look at coaster history. At one point, there was no such thing as a computer to design a coaster; it was a drawn layout that was then made and shipped to the park to be put together. While putting it together, there would be errors that would need to be corrected, which would be spotted by engineers. Then, the computer was invented. It revolutionized the industry. They now are able to computer generate the layout and then construct the track with an infinitesimal margin of error. Now coasters are extremely smooth, and we are now able to construct giga’s and strata’s. How does this relate to hand-building vs. tooling? Just because it is easier to make coasters smooth and tall these days, does that make them worse than the old wooden coasters? It doesn’t make any sense to argue because the fact is that tooling a ride is like using a computer to make a real coaster. Why wouldn’t you?

Would you want to ride a massive giant like Intimidator 305 if it didn’t use a force based program? No way! The same applies with Nolimits. Wouldn’t you rather get closer to what the real designers use? Isn’t that your ultimate goal, to make a more realistic coaster? At some point with hand-building, you cannot get any better, because no one is perfect. So you must take the next step, which should be obvious now.

With something to think about,

~CPF~