No Videos and iMovie '08 is as Bad as Windows Vista

Doesn't look like I'll be posting those RCT videos anytime soon. After moving past the utter failure of iMovie '08, I tried to upload the unedited, mute video of the Jack Rabbit directly to a post on here. It was supposedly uploading all night long and hadn't finished the job by the next morning, so that clearly wasn't working either. So I tried to upload it to YouTube. That took forever, but it did finally work...except it pulled an iMovie and flipped/mirrored the video too. WTF??

I don't know why all these applications can't seem to handle a simple .mov file, but I have to redirect the bulk of my ire to Apple. You would think that a VIDEO EDITOR would be able to mirror a video without any trouble (especially since it did it on its own when it wasn't supposed to to cause this whole mess in the first place). After some more furious Googling, I found out that older versions of iMovie had such basic video effects. And they removed them for the '08 version...why? Probably to try to force people to buy an even pricier application like Final Cut Pro. Apparently, the fact that iMovie '08 was a substantial downgrade from previous versions caused such an uproar that Apple ever so graciously allowed '08 owners to download iMovie HD 6, '08's superior predecessor, for free. That is, until they released the '09 version and could start charging people for basic functionality again.

My favorite app? Easy: iLoveToRipYouOff.

So I'm SOL. I happened to get my first Mac when the Windows Vista of the iMovie series was out, and I never used it until now. No free rollback for me, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Apple any more money for functionality they screwed me out of.

My irritation with Apple has been steadily mounting for a while, and at this point I'm seriously considering switching back to PC when I have to spring for a new computer again. Same aggravation, less cost.

RCT3 Kennywood Pics: Part 2

As promised, here are the rest of the Kennywood screens. Weird business in the last post where only half of the pics were clickable, so don't be surprised if that happens again. And as for those inaccuracies...

• The second drop on the Phantom's Revenge doesn't pass through the Thunderbolt. I couldn't get the coasters arranged in any way to make that happen without other sections of their tracks running into each other.
• There is a Skycoaster in the Soaked expansion pack, but I don't have it yet. I had to substitute the Sky Sling, which looks relatively similar structurally from a distance.
• The pool with the paddle boats under the Sky Sling isn't the right shape or size. I ran out of room.
• Lots of the rides are much closer together than they should be. Ran out of room (the plot of land you have to work with isn't nearly big enough).
• Kiddieland is omitted for the sake of space.
• Many flat rides are omitted since they aren't included in the game. Among them: Whip, Turtle, Aero 360, Swing Shot, Paratrooper (can't believe this isn't included), Kangaroo. I replaced some of them with fairly reasonable substitutes and simply omitted others for precious space.
• Garfield's Nightmare is also omitted.
• Musik Express is replaced by Kara-Oki Concert thing. Don't ask.
• No indoor food courts. Just stalls, some roughly where they should be and others not.
• Moved the Auto Race to the front by the Skyrocket. I had more space there than in the back.
• No picnic tables. They're not included in the game. Not kidding.
• No old school games, either. Replaced with stuff like space arcades and laser tag.

I'm sure there are plenty more. I won't bother to list the coaster-specific inaccuracies until I post their videos. If I do. Damn you, iMovie...

Phantom's first hill

Up, up, up

Plunge into the ravine

Aerial ravine

What happened to the supports?

Second drop

Pitt Fall (and friends)

Pittsburg(h) Plunge (back)

Splash time

Bridge at front

Exterminator exterior

Exterminator station

Dark lift hill

Skyrocket

Misshapen top hat

Hang and drop

Surf turns

Auto Race (front)

Auto Race (aerial)

Grand Prix

That's all for now. Love for my virtual Kennywood and hate for Apple welcome.

RCT3 Kennywood Pics: Part 1

I was all set to post my first RCT3 video with a nice background tune, but because iMovie '08 sucks so much, I guess that's not happening. I do have a video, but I want to snip a second off the beginning before the ride actually starts and overlay some music since there's no audio right now. Although I'm supposed to be able to do this oh-so-easily with my oh-so-easy Mac in oh-so-easy iMovie '08, it turns out iMovie '08 is a giant POS. For no apparent reason, the program likes to flip videos upside-down when I import them. How to fix that? Oh, just rotate the clips. Except...for no apparent reason, that mirrors the videos. Oh, no problem, there's a handy plug-in for that. Except...for no apparent reason, iMovie '08 doesn't accept plug-ins. Well, this is all so nice and easy. iMovie '09 supposedly fixes the problem, and I can upgrade for a mere...$80. Damn. Where's Justin Long when you really need to break his face?

Keep smiling, asshole...

So I'm done defending Macs. PCs suck in many ways, and Macs really aren't any better. To justify how much simpler they're supposed to be, everything Mac costs 700 times as much as the PC counterpart. Literally. Take the PC version of RCT3 Platinum. You know, the one that includes the main game and both expansions. $30, tops. I've seen it on sale at times for $10. The Mac version? Um, there is no Mac version of Platinum since the second expansion was never even released. So you can buy the main game and the first expansion separately (that's 2/3 of the PC content, mind you) for...$21,000. Each. Awesome. How easy and convenient you are, Macs.

Anyway, on to my disturbingly time-consuming RCT-ing. It's a little sick that I'm going to more and more trouble for creations that aren't too great in the first place. I'll be the first to admit that my skills in the game are very rough, especially when I was just getting started. And still being restricted to the content of just the main game to this point doesn't help in that regard, either.

Kennywood was my first attempted park, and its coasters my first attempted...coasters. Due to my lack of savvy and the game's own limitations, you'll be sure to find plenty of inaccuracies and omissions. Lots of flat rides simply aren't included in the game, and I either replaced them with something else or left them out altogether. And constructing dark rides is the bane of my existence, as evidenced by my lulzy attempt at the Exterminator. So no Garfield's Nightmare. I know you're disappointed to hear that since it's everyone's favorite ride...

Old Mill, you say? Ha! I have fancy 3D glasses...

I snapped shots of mostly the coasters and included some below. They'll have to tide you over till I figure out a video editing solution. Or till I give up and start posting mute videos. Or just give up altogether. If I were you, I'd bet on the latter.

Jack Rabbit (front)

Jack Rabbit

Double dippage

Jack Rabbit (front, top)

Racer (front)

Jack Rabbit (back)

Racer (front, top)

Racer (back)

First bend

Log Jammer

Bend overlooking the pool

Coming up on small drop

Big drop

Final hill

Looking across at Log Jammer

Olde Kennywood Railroad

Raging River

Aerial view

Nice trees

Starting point

Thunderbolt

Paddle boats and Sky Sling

Phantom's Revenge in back

From the back

Aerial shot

Bowl section

I have more pics that I'll include in a follow-up post later. I'm getting a little nervous about the size of this one (especially since blogger went down for me for several hours). Check back for the rest. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might also list some of the many inaccuracies I'm already aware of (e.g. Sky SLING...wtf??).