RCT3: A Few More Pics

Well, I finally got my copy of RCT3: Soaked! the other day. I was kind of secretly hoping that would remedy some of my graphical and technological woes with the game via some magical under-the-hood updates, but that hasn't been the case so far. In fact, the in-game water, for one thing, actually looks worse. Which is a slight problem when the biggest new feature in the expansion pack is the ability to make water parks. Damn. I think I'm just gonna need a new computer for this kind of stuff, and that's all there is to it. Unfortunately, I won't be getting one for at least a few more years. So I'll have to make do with this game-retarded iMac for now. Hey, at least the hard drive hasn't crashed yet.

That being the case, I won't really be able to make any new videos for my current Kennywood re-creation. I guess the only thing left to try is plopping individual rides into mostly empty plots and just adding the scenery in the immediately surrounding areas, hoping to get a good video capture before I end up with too many objects onscreen. Though there's certainly no guarantee that'll work, either. My system might not be able to handle even mid-level graphical settings with any amount of objects onscreen. But I'll see what I can find out with some more experimenting. Even if I'm successful with that, though, I'd pretty much just be doing what I could do far more accurately with a coaster simulator like NoLimits. So it seems the joke's on me.

In any case, my first Kennywood re-creation here is basically defunct as far as sharing goes. So I snapped a few last photos with my added trees and scenery tweaks. Check 'em out below.

Jack Rabbit, Racer, and Log Jammer

Dirt under the very inaccurate Skyrocket

Overhead view of the park

I was also working on a Cedar Point re-creation a while back, but I put that on hold till I got my Kennywood one right. There were so many rides I had to split them across two plots of land, and I never even got to the second one. But since I don't have the technical capabilities to handle Kennywood, I obviously can't hope to take on Cedar Point. Especially since it's SURROUNDED BY WATER. Not gonna work.

Another Snag

The roadblocks to sharing my RCT creations never cease. In my previous post about the game, I was excited about finally gaining access to a proper video editor. With that problem finally solved, I was ready to go. So, naturally, now I'm having problems even recording the videos in the first place. Now when I play back a raw video (without any edits), it jumps ahead a second or two in the clip every few seconds. In other words, it skips. The time doesn't skip ahead, just the segments in the ride. Which must mean that those missing spots weren't recorded at all. And that renders my videos useless.

That about sums it up.

I didn't have this problem with my Jack Rabbit video, but I've added some more scenery to the park (mostly trees) since then. The only thing I can figure is I now have too many objects onscreen for my game-inept computer to handle. I was already having problems before with that damn flickering water, but I chalked that up to my video card. Now I just don't know. Even with my two-year-old iMac, I appear to at least double the recommended system specs in every category (and I would hope so, since the game's about six years old). But, apparently, that's still not enough.

Are Macs really THIS bad with games, or is the game still THIS buggy even with all the patches? Hell if I know. Gaming was about the last thing on my mind when I was looking to replace my dead-in-the-water Dell two years ago, but as I said, my hardware does measure up for RCT3 (at least on paper). I saw the other day that Atari is seriously considering making an RCT4 after all these years. I was initially excited at the news, until I realized I would need a computer from five years in the future to play the damn thing properly.

I'm mad as hell, and I'm...gonna continue to take it
till I acquire a computer from 2015.

So not sure what I'm gonna do about this one. I guess I can try deleting a bunch of scenery, but that kinda defeats the purpose of making a good, reasonably authentic-looking video. I'll give it some thought. And while I'm at it, I'll also think about why I didn't give up on this a long time ago.

RCT3 Kennywood Videos: Jack Rabbit (Supplemental)

Using my magical powers, I managed to get my hands on a copy of iMovie '09. So my video editing woes have been (somewhat) assuaged! I know you were losing sleep over it, but now you can rest easy. Like the previous versions, iMovie '09 stubbornly flips and mirrors my RCT3 videos on import. But, unlike the previous versions, it also lets me flip and mirror those sumbitches back to normal without taking a hit in picture quality or playback fluidity. So, for now, at least, it'll do.

With these newfound abilities, I should be able to post whatever RCT3 videos I bother to record in their intended form with some rockin' background tune. After my initial problems with my first video, I didn't bother to record any more. But I can remedy that now. At the moment, though, you'll have to settle for my third and finally acceptable video of my Jack Rabbit re-creation. I hope the wait was worth it for you (Hint: it's not).

Jack Rabbit (Fixed)

Up we go. The crisp way. The right way.

Which ride do you want a video of next? Your choices are: Racer, Log Jammer, Thunderbolt, Phantom's Revenge, Skyrocket. Speak now, or I'll have to decide for you.

RCT3 Kennywood Videos: Jack Rabbit

UPDATE: I took the second video down on YouTube, so that link will no longer work. Check my next post to see why (I replaced it).

If you followed my rants from a couple weeks ago, you know that I was having problems getting good-quality, correctly oriented videos of my RCT3 Kennywood ride re-creations posted to YouTube. Well, I've finally gotten around the problem...sort of. I went ahead with my mirrored video I got out of iMovie '08 and posted it a couple weeks ago. The picture quality is decent, but it's mirrored, so everything's going the wrong way. I didn't go out of my way to call attention to the video, though, since it's literally ass-backwards (and I didn't misuse "literally" there, since I'm defining the video's ass as its correct horizontal orientation).

I feel I can call attention to it now because I managed to get my hands on an older version of iMovie and finally turned out a non-mirrored video! So everything's great now...except the picture quality is terrible. There are a couple HD options on this older version of iMovie, but, interestingly enough, this version ALSO FLIPS AND MIRRORS THE VIDEOS ON IMPORT WITH THE HD SETTINGS. Hmmmmmm, that is interesting. I guess it's not just an iMovie '08 problem, then. Fortunately, though, this iMovie HD let me flip and mirror the video back to normal. Unfortunately, however, doing so effed up the quality horrendously and made the playback unbearably choppy. W...T...F? Either iMovie really doesn't like RCT3 .mov files, or the software is utterly, hopelessly useless. Though I guess those two options aren't mutually exclusive for my purposes. I would say I just have to plunk down the money for iMovie '09 if I want a cure for my video editing woes, but I have absolutely no confidence that it will be any better at handling these issues.

Anyway, I digress. Below I've posted links to both my good-quality, ass-backwards mirrored video and my bad-quality, ass-forwards regular video. Let me know which one sucks less.

Jack Rabbit (Mirrored)

Wrong way, buddy.

Jack Rabbit (Normal)

That's better. Um, kinda.

Also, as promised before, I've made note of some inaccuracies in my re-creation I'm already aware of. Some can probably be fixed, while others can't really be helped.

• I included a few speed boosts (block brakes) to prevent the cars from stalling (including after the very first bend). You can spot them on the track.
• The tunnel's a little shoddy. There are a number of holes, and the walls aren't the right type of material.
• The trees in the center are too low. Even the tallest ones don't reach as high as they should alongside the track.
• The surroundings aren't quite right. No random buildings on either side.
• The station's too open. Its lack of enclosure probably has to do with my omission of the bordering buildings.
• The queue line isn't curved (can only do right angles) and probably doesn't extend as far as it should around the first bend in the track. Ah, but you don't really see that here, anyway.

And others, I'm sure. You'll also notice the water flickering and changing colors in the background. I guess my graphics card doesn't quite cut it.

If I have the time and patience, I might redo some or all of my Kennywood re-creation when I pick up the RCT3 Soaked expansion and make use of its added features. Who knows, though? Plenty of inaccuracies will remain regardless. But some of the stuff could surely be improved.

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??).