How do you rate your coasters?

[monkeyonatable]

Well,

10 point system
5 poitns for smoothness
3 points for layout/ride design
2 points for color scheme/theme

100 points system
50 points for smoothness
30 points for layout/ride design
10 points for forcefulness
5 points for color scheme
5 points for pace of the ride

Letter grade coincides with the 100 point system
A- 100-93, Incredible coaster that succeeds at everything it does
B- 92-85, Great coaster that has 1 or 2 problems with it, but overall delivers at what it tries to do
C-84-77, Average coaster that has some problems, but it is a "forgettable" ride
D-76-69.6,Below average coaster, this has major problems that cannot be overlooked
F-69.5 and below, FAIL, this coaster has major issues that will never and can never be over looked. This grade of coaster is one of those rides that people wouldn't even send there worst enemies on.

EX. I will grade two coasters
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st coaster, Storm Runner (which I got my first ride on this past June so the grade is fairly fresh in my head)
10 point scale
10 out of 10

100 point scale
50/50-Smoothness
28/30-Layout/ride design
8/10-Forcefulness
5/5-color
5/5-pace of the ride
96 out of 100

Grade: A
This is a fantastic ride that I had to go back for another spin. Okay make that 15 spins.This is my favorite launch/accelerator type coaster, because it is incredibly forceful, smooth as glass, has a fantastic layout, and it has great pacing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coaster #2, Ninja (SFOG)

10 point scale
3 out of 10

100 point scale
10/50-smoothness
30/30-layout/ride design
8/10-forcefulness
4/5-color
4/5-pace of ride
56 out of 100

Grade: F
It has a fantastic layout, it is very forceful, has a nice paint job, and has nice pacing. BUT this is where the complements stop and the suckyness of this ride begins. For example, this coaster is about as smooth as 40 grit sandpaper. That is what kills this coaster, is the fact it is anything but smooth. If it was smoother, it would be a fantastic ride. This is a piss poor example of a roller coaster because of the fact it is so rough. Did I mention that this coaster is rough?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Jackrabbit

Jackrabbit is redunnkkk. The doubledown in the back is like WHOA!

But anyway, I have a mixture of both. Some are just plain quality coasters, like El Toro, and some in my top twenty-thirty are just beacuse they were fun, like Mr. Freeze and Exterminator. By no means are they fantastic, but I think they have a great rerideability factor, and both made me giggle.

It just reallly depends, it definitely has to be a mix of both though because frankly, if you have great fun with friends on a tiny kiddie coaster, you're not gonna rank that in your top ten plain and simple. So you can't necessarily say you rank your coasters based on pure fun.. But, if you have a great time with friends on say, an average coaster, then I could see it being in the top ten for BOTH quality and fun, alike. If that makes any sense?

 

[rollermonkey]

^That's why being a solo rider helps me. I'm never riding kiddies with a group of friends.

 

[Rush]

There are three stages to my complex way of "credit" collection and ra(n)ting system, so read carefully.

Stage 1 - Pre-ride Judgement

For every theme park I go to, it is essential I put on my smartest attire. When arriving at the park, I immediately head to the biggest "credit" in the park to get there before the crowds do. I then begin my off-ride examination where I inspect every piece of track and note down any signs of paint peeling or non-working effects on my "credit checklist". If the surrounding area looks aesthetically pleasing, the "credit" will gain bonus marks.

Once fully satisfied, I enter the queue and inspect the fences, walls and any scenery there may or may not be. I note EVERY piece of chewing gum and write a reminder to complain about the state of the queueline. Once in the station, I assess the ride attendants' efficiency and if it is not up to scratch, I write a reminder to complain about them. Excellent theming, soundtrack and atmosphere increases the score.

I then take my seat and should the restraint be slightly worn, I move to another row and write a reminder to complain about it. Once sat, I assess how comfortable the seat is and should the ride attendants staple me, or take away my clipboard, I shall demand a re-ride at the exit.

Stage 2 - On-ride Judgement

Armed with my clipboard and "Force Meter"; I assess the experience through my own eyes. I tick off any forces I happen to feel and any highlight moments. Interaction gains bonus marks as well as pops of airtime.

However, should I feel the slightest vibrate or should my head touch the restraint once during the ride, it is too rough and can only gain a maximum score of 7/10.

Stage 3 - Post-ride Analysis

Unlike the first two stages, the final stage is carried out back home. This is where I collect my checklists for all the rides I have ridden that day and I add up all the positive and negative aspects of the ride. I also analyse the results from my 'Force Meter' and award bonus marks for forces held for at least 4 seconds or for strong negative forces. G-Spikes are considered to be anomalous results and therefore are not to be counted.

Using my secret formula, a score out of 10 is provided and a formal report of each coaster is written up. This report, the checklist and the "Force Meter" results are copied and sent in a letter to the park which highlights good and bad points about the coaster.

The original copies are then placed in folders each coaster. Previous coasters' files are removed and placed in order of how well they have scored. These are then filed away in a secret filing cabinet which is padlocked and requires my fingerprint to access it.

Not to worry though, I only do this for every new "credit", I'm not sad enough to repeat this process for every time I ride the "credit". Just remember though, "credits" are ridden to be collected, NOT for enjoyment.

 

[Jools]

I just sort of go by:
10 - Bloody Brilliant!
9 - Cool!
8 - Cool! But not really worth a 9 :lol:
7 - Fun
6 - Quite Fun
5 - Meh
4 - Meh
3 - Not fun, got a few good points
2 - Boooring, I can name 1 good thing
1 - DEMOLISH THE BUGGER!


BUT, my sisters method is so funny to me, basically she combines her score with the scores of others to try and gets the score that the ride has got from others, then gives a ride say 10 if it got like 5 from someone, to get it up to atleast 7 or 8 basically, is that mistreating the system?
For the MHP, she has loads of files on this computer on excel and she rates coasters by; Fun, Thrill, Theme, Atmosphere, Comfort, Experience (I assume that means like if its a different experience like standing up or flying etc) and I think thats it, so she gives them all score up to 10, then adds them u, then rates all of them 1 to whatever on what scores they got, if the scores are the same she then desides which she prefered in memory. Yes, I watched her doing it last year, girls are so bloody indecisive (sp?) XD.

 

[Snoo]

Well.. I just go by how much airtime it gives (as that is my most redeeming quality), how much fun I had, and how it stacks up against my other coasters.

For instance:

Shivering Timbers

Airtime was 6/10, Fun was 7/10, and it really doesn't roll too high in my favorite rides.. mid 40's.

 

[kimahri]

Awesome, Cool, Fun, Alright, Meh, Poor, Bad, Ouch.

Simple.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Rush.. Please tell me you're just joking?

 

[A-Kid]

Tom(Rush), your crazy and over complicated.

 

[Inverse]

10 - Love it. Brilliant.
9 - Great fun.
8 - Good fun.
7 - Slightly less good.
6 - Not too bad.
5 - Border line.

4,3,2,1. Depending how much I don't like it.

This is pretty much what I do, too.

I will add, however, that I always try to rate a coaster by my first ride experience of it. I think back to how I felt and what i experienced my first time around, otherwise good rides would get lower scores as I get more blasé about them. Colossus, is a good example of this; when I first rode it, i really liked it, with the exception of the last couple of twists. Now I get very few thrills from it, because I've ridden it god-knows how many times, still worth a higher score however.

 

[rollermonkey]

Tom(Rush), your crazy and over complicated.

While he may be joking, there are people out there who are that meticulous. I try to maintain at least 100 meters separation from them.

 

[Naemuti]

I simply take into account how each coaster was when I was riding it. It's pretty useless to compare one coaster to another in my opinion. A lot of people may use one ride as the measure of what is good and isn't good (how close it is to that ride that was good), but I like to just measure how enjoyable the ride was. You can compare other wooden coasters to El Toro until the cows come home, but the fact is, other coasters are NOT El Toro, not even by name.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

While he may be joking, there are people out there who are that meticulous. I try to maintain at least 100 meters separation from them.

I also try to maintain at least 100m of separate between people who travel to Halifax on a nine hour boat ride to get a kiddie credit

 

[Mr Nash]

Awesome, Cool, Fun, Alright, Meh, Poor, Bad, Ouch.

Simple.

Sounds about right for me as well.

Plus,I only ever have a top 3,anything after that,just goes into limbo.

 

[furie]

You can compare other wooden coasters to El Toro until the cows come home, but the fact is, other coasters are NOT El Toro, not even by name.

Thing is, a lot of people go on Balder and say "That is the BEST ride ever! Easily 10/10".

Then they go on T-Express (or maybe El Toro) and it's much, much better. Does Balder still remain a 10 and T-Express become an 11 because it's just like Balder ONLY BETTER!!!

This is the problem. I can have El Toro and Boulder Dash sitting with a ten each. I still give Megafobia a ten too. However, El Toro seriously makes me feel Balder is worse than the 9 I gave it. The ride on Balder that gave it a nine was good, but compared to El Toro, it's actually not that good at all. So Due to my changing experience and comparisons, Balder moves down a rating.

I don't know how it could be any other way? Corkscrew at Alton would be a 10 otherwise. As would Cyclone at Southport. Just because I first rode them when I was 8 and there was nothing better around at the time.

Of course you have to compare rides - you'd have to be a fool to put each ride in a sealed container forever...

 

[Naemuti]

Thing is, a lot of people go on Balder and say "That is the BEST ride ever! Easily 10/10".

Then they go on T-Express (or maybe El Toro) and it's much, much better. Does Balder still remain a 10 and T-Express become an 11 because it's just like Balder ONLY BETTER!!!

This is the problem. I can have El Toro and Boulder Dash sitting with a ten each. I still give Megafobia a ten too. However, El Toro seriously makes me feel Balder is worse than the 9 I gave it. The ride on Balder that gave it a nine was good, but compared to El Toro, it's actually not that good at all. So Due to my changing experience and comparisons, Balder moves down a rating.

I don't know how it could be any other way? Corkscrew at Alton would be a 10 otherwise. As would Cyclone at Southport. Just because I first rode them when I was 8 and there was nothing better around at the time.

Of course you have to compare rides - you'd have to be a fool to put each ride in a sealed container forever...

I suppose when you put it that way it makes sense. There is a tendency to think rides are better when you haven't actually ridden anything good I suppose. Thinking before posting's never been my specialty. :roll:

 

[marc]

I do recon I will get a new number 1 woodie in germany though.

 

[nealbie]

Nomnomnom, Colossos

 

[jokerman]

I try not to compare too much, but comparison is the basis of judging things, so it's difficult to avoid.

 

[Almost]

I'd say it's impossible not to compare coasters against each other. Especially if you've ridden a coaster of the same exact type (manufacturer and type). And to a lesser scale just the same manufacturer or type. You have to draw conclusions from other rides.

In terms of the actual rating fun level definitely comes into alot of my 8's and 9's on my list. I'd have a hard time giving a fun coaster a true 10 (though I can make a case for Phoenix as a fun coaster). Intensity is huge when it's used right. If the coaster doesn't completely kick your ass intensity is a great thing (sure SOB is intense...but who cares if you can't walk after).

I've always had an extremely hard time ranking most coasters past 9th or 10th on my list. They all kinda have redeeming qualities that make them comparable.