Terrain vs. Freestanding

[dropthefloor93]

Which do you perfer? Landscape/Terrain or Freestanding?

When it comes to woodies id say Freestanding, sorry but Boulderdash is just like any other woodie to me, just with a ridiculous amount of airtime.

I think Freestanding Rides give the developer more options to choose from and more ways to be innovative. At the same time, Rides like The Ultimate really seem cool, and I guess the whole idea of racing throug the woods on Boulderdash is cool. Dragon Mountiain, Eagle Fortress, and The Big Bad Wolf were like the epitome of Terrain rides. However, I find that Freestanding rides like Maverick and Monstre just seem to be overall more intense and fun.

So I am just a bit torn between the two. What do you think?

 

[Intricks]

I think differently on the matter. Drag and drop rides have nothing else to offer except the ride itself. No moments of "oh ****! Tree branch/surrounding foilage". Yes, some of the freestanding rides are fun and amazing (Maverick for instance, Dominator as well), but I bore of them quickly (partially due to a horrible attention span) and after one or two rides, I want something else.

Terrain coasters though, give the park a unique ride that you honestly can't get anywhere else (Voyage, Thunderbolt, Boulder Dash, Beast to an extent, Ultimate). Beast, for example, would be utterly boring if just plopped down on concrete. The winding track through the trees give a lost feeling, especially considering if you ride it in the dark. Voyages triple down was only able to be done thanks to a valley. A majority of the coasters at Kennywood benefit from the terrain. I got nothing on Ultimate cause Ive never been on it nor have I seen it. Boulder Dash's ride gives off an illusion of going faster than what you think because you are flying through the trees. Plus, the entire coaster is basically hidden from view. Same with the other terrain coasters for the most part. It give a sense of it being less than what it is...so you dont really expect certain things because you cant see the rest of the ride.

This is all my personal opinion.

 

[dropthefloor93]

^ That's what I think makes Iron Dragon a good ride.

 

[RCF]

^ That's what I think makes Iron Dragon a good ride.

Blasphemy.

Honestly, it all depends on the coaster. You know what type, what to expect. However, rides that are just so entwined with the environment (such as Beast) really seem to catch my fancy more than anything else. Granted you have some amazing ones that are free standing, but the feel of just being so close to the terrain is just, awesome.

 

[tomahawk]

Terrain all the way. I like an experience, wrapped in a full fledged environment, where you feel surrounded. Then again, I am one of the very few people who is not totally repulsed by Scream! and that is just because I find it to be a fun ride. Beast and Prowler are the definition of how I like my coasters. You are fully engaged in a forest, and I like Beast's more traveling through the woods trying to get away from being lost so to say, but I love the out of control, watch out for the tree feeling Prowler provides. That isn't to say I don't enjoy a coaster that is just freestanding, Texas Giant, Wicked Twister (granted it provides good scenery to the side) it just is not the same as racing through a forest or Ninja flying down the hill.

 

[furie]

It's a tough one really. For some rides (Boulder Dash in particular), the terrain is what makes the ride possible (The Voyage was mentioned above too). Without the crazy terrain, you wouldn't end up with quite such crazy layouts.

Having said that, it's rare that a coaster gets a complete "clean sheet" and is almost always constrained in some way, even a parking lot coaster may be stuck in an area that constrains the layout (thinking Superman at SFGAdv here compared to say Tatsu). So even a freestanding coaster will often be designed around limitations.

However, sometimes there's enough room and you end up with a fantastic ride like El Toro, but... It's just a little too predictable, too precise, too controlled. The advantage a terrain coaster has is that you have the "fear" of not knowing what's going to happen next, where the next odd turn will be - simply because a coaster designer would never usually follow those kinds of designs; the terrain forces it.

It doesn't always work. The Ultimate, for all it's love, is a hideous coaster. It's forceful, unique and utterly brutal. The terrain there forces that coaster to do things that nobody in their right mind would ever make a coaster do (they did it anyway).

So really, it erm... depends on the coaster

 

[CMonster]

Yeah, I'd say it depends on the coaster too. I absolutely love the idea of terrain coasters, swooping through trees and up mountains and such, but there are some amazing freestanding coasters out there as well.

 

[Naemuti]

sorry but Boulderdash is just like any other woodie to me, just with a ridiculous amount of airtime.

^ That's what I think makes Iron Dragon a good ride.

I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that.

 

[dropthefloor93]

^ Hey maybe I'm just spoiled. I've ridden the Boulderdash several hundred times at this point. I would ride it nonstop out of the thirty something times I've been to Lake Compounce.
Maybe my memory is faulty (I haven't been on it yet in the last 24 months I think, I don't remember last season at all) But I remember Boulderdash just being a bunch of hills and nothing else.

I watched the recent mounted POV by TPR and it looks cool I guess, It just doesn't look better than Monstre at La Ronde which was just insane.

 

[Naemuti]

I'll just say you're the first person I've ever heard rank Iron Draggin above Boulder Dash. :wink:

Anyways, to be on-topic. I love terrain coasters. Conforming to the land around you and being surrounded by trees generally makes a more intense ride than something plonked in a parking lot. When people say the trees being close by adds a sense of speed, they aren't kidding. The woods part of Boulder Dash feels so much faster than 60 mph. Of course, being well designed in the first place helps a lot, which is something Iron Dragon...isn't. In my opinion of course.

 

[Hyde]

There always seems to be something special about a terrain coaster, especially with layout. Through Freestanding coasters are fantastic by offering massive hills and wild inversions, terrain coasters offer the thrill of adventuring through landscapes and elements. Ravine Flyer II, my favorite roller coaster, wouldn't nearly be as thrilling if it wasn't built on a ... well... ravine. :razz: Other famous coasters, such as Beast and Nemesis too gain their thrill from their settings, hugging terrain.

As furie said, it depends on the roller coaster (there's no denying the brilliance of say Bizarro or TTD). But given ideal circumstances, the ability to build anything at any cost anywhere, everyone would undoubtedly select a location based on the ability to interact with terrain.

 

[dropthefloor93]

Everyone is too absolute. I would however agree that most people would.

 

[michaellll]

There always seems to be something special about a terrain coaster, especially with layout. Through Freestanding coasters are fantastic by offering massive hills and wild inversions, terrain coasters offer the thrill of adventuring through landscapes and elements. Ravine Flyer II, my favorite roller coaster, wouldn't nearly be as thrilling if it wasn't built on a ... well... ravine. :razz: Other famous coasters, such as Beast and Nemesis too gain their thrill from their settings, hugging terrain.

As furie said, it depends on the roller coaster (there's no denying the brilliance of say Bizarro or TTD). But given ideal circumstances, the ability to build anything at any cost anywhere, everyone would undoubtedly select a location based on the ability to interact with terrain.

Yep. If you built the best freestanding coasters in an area where it interacts with terrain it would only become better.

Terrain ftw.

 

[dropthefloor93]

I wouldn't want a Spaghettibowl coaster such as Jokers Jinx to be a terrain coaster.

 

[Intricks]

That, kind sir, is what we call a challenge! Put it all underground except all the **** storm ball...have that be in a quarry of some form, or crater....then go back underground or the station. Have loud ass rave music blasting from outside and random strobe lights to confuse and disorrient you.

 

[furie]

I wouldn't want a Spaghettibowl coaster such as Jokers Jinx to be a terrain coaster.

I wouldn't either, they're rubbish!

 

[Tony]

Terrain coasters.

Well they definitely aren't as common as free standing but terrain coasters can get more creative with the layout and it can add so much to the ride experience. I love how Nemesis uses it's terrain which really makes the ride what it is.

 

[Colossus]

Terrain

I like to look at a coaster not see the entire of the layout, adds some mystique to it i feel and certainly adds to the ride ride experience whizzing thought tunnels and past trees, I must say that freestanding coasters look far more imposing, but the edge goes to terrain for me.

 

[TTDfan52]

I think there needs to be a mix. I like how Iron Wolf is set up. The first half is freestanding (for height and speed), and the second half is terrain (for low-to-the-ground effects). Cheetah Hunt looks to be set up that way too.