secondson

Wow, that's a good question. I imagine each coaster manufacturer uses a professional software package that is most likely not available to the public...or if it is, it's probably expensive. I used to work with AutoCad when I was in school, and that program alone was close to $1000 at the time. I'm sure the software used by actual coaster manufacturers is much more expensive because it has to calculate precise stress tolerances for each point of the design. I don't know if there is a specific CAD program for rollercoasters or not, but if you want to simply do a 3D rendering of a coaster, I'm sure No Limits would allow you to do that.

That's what I sure as heck decoded too back on June 24th in this forum. Be careful to not loop back around to the announcement topic cause people might see you as 'whining'!!! That's what secondson sure did to me. ?? What? Did I accuse you of whining or something? I'll have to go read through the posts around that time to see what I said. If I insulted you, I apologize. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: Okay, never mind. I found what you're talking about. The only reason I left that post was because it seemed like everyone was getting upset that Don didn't mention an announcement date yet. It seemed like people were questioning that decision, and I was simply trying to defend the park. I thought this thread was about decoding the project itself - not the announcement date, so that's why I left my comment. I didn't name names, and I didn't have any particular member in mind when I left that post. It was only after you confronted me about how I personally engage in decoding that I got a little defensive and indicated there was a difference between trying to decode the project, and bellyaching that the park won't set an announcement date. I didn't mean to indicate you, specifically, were bellyaching. I went on to address the subject in subsequent posts, some of which were liked by many long-standing respected members of the forum. I've tried apologizing in here, but it doesn't seem to matter to people. I'm sorry for whatever I may have said that has insulted or offended anyone in any manner. I've tried to say in the past couple of days that my position has now changed with respect to the **silly, small talk. If you guys would prefer me to eat gravel too, then I'm sorry...I won't do that. There are MANY times when you simply can't hear the inflection in someone's voice as they're posting, and I fear that is what has happened many times in my posts. I've already stated previously that I have trouble expressing myself sometimes. Whoever wants me to stop posting in here, say it now and I'll gladly leave the forums. I don't want to be responsible for bringing down everyone's moods. If my presence here isn't welcome, then I'd rather leave and allow you guys to enjoy the forum in peace. I mean that. Just let me know. EDIT: ** When I say the "silly, small talk", I'm not trying to discount anyone's opinions. I was referring to small talk which is goofy in nature, or clearly unrelated to the KI project for next year.

Maybe to a degree they all have parallel footers. But I think when you look at a lot of B&M coasters, you'll see a mix of staggered parallel footers for the supports. For instance, one set of supports for a portion of the lift hill may be positioned to the left under the track, while the next set of supports is positioned underneath and to the right. Look at an overhead shot of Diamondback and you'll see what I mean. On other B&M coasters, such as Intimidator at Carowinds, most of them seem to be set off to the left side under the lift hill. I think the difference we're seeing with KI Project 2014 is that the parallel footers all seem to be falling in line. And when you look at most B&M inverts, the parallel footers under lift hills usually seem to fall in line, or show some sort of symmetrical pattern. **Honestly, I could be gravely mistaken. But it seems the pattern of footers we're seeing matches more closely to those you find on inverts instead of above-the-track coasters. It is interesting. I just wonder if the time it takes to turn the train itself would offset the amount of time it takes to load using a dual-lane station.

I'm not sure the wood would be able to withstand those kinds of forces as the trains go through a curve. I'd think it would be a maintenance nightmare. Smiler at Alton Towers does this but its a sit down. I think the center of gravity on an invert makes it tougher. You'd have to have a significant drop out of the station to pull it off, There's a park on a mountain near Maggie valley nc, and it goes out of the station, down a hill and around a turn, then goes through a loop. The park is not open right now, but is reopening in 2014 I think. Ghost Town in the Sky? Yes, I've driven by there before. I thought it was crazy how they built a coaster on the side of the mountain like that.

Sorry for the double posts. I'm playing catch-up this morning. I guess I should use sarcasm tags for my posts. I was totally kidding about the coaster with 22 inversions, etc. I honestly would not want something like that...at all. KI does have some family rides, but I tend to agree they need to get some more. I do think they need this new coaster, and I also think they need to get a wood twister. But after that, I really think they need to stop worrying about coasters for a while and start focusing on the family fun flat rides. They ripped out a number of family fun attractions/rides over the years which were some of my favorites: the Skyride, Lion Country Safari, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, antique cars, Ferris Wheel, Bayern Curve, Flying Dutchman, Flying Eagles, and Wheel of Fortune. I understand the reasoning for removing some, but others I don't. Does Gatekeeper have a dual-lane loading station? Is it drawing crowds to the park? I'm not sure it depends on whether a coaster has a dual-lane loading station when trying to decide on an attraction to draw crowds to the park. I've noticed that when you look at something from a distance, such as the top of the Eiffel Tower, your depth perception can be thrown off. I think someone else mentioned you can fit a dump truck between the parallel footers. I'm sure they are wide enough for an invert. Smiler at Alton Towers does this but its a sit down. I think the center of gravity on an invert makes it tougher. You'd have to have a significant drop out of the station to pull it off, What about Wicked Twister, or Vertical Velocity, or Screaming Condor? I don't think you necessarily need an inverted train to drop out of the station in order to launch it, but it's true you would need a long launch before leaving the station. Anyway, I'm just musing. Biting your tongue is no fun. It hurts! And you'll explode from all the pent up energy that comes from wanting to blurt out what you think it will be. Which is one of the reasons why I don't think KI needs a giga coaster right now. It may be much higher, but it's also too similar to Diamondback. I think the general public is going to want something different from what they currently see at the park, and in my mind that would mean something like Maverick which would hug the terrain and have a couple zero-g rolls, or a full-circuit invert with inversions people haven't experienced yet at the park, such as a zero-g and Immelman. These have been my original thoughts all along. Someone else mentioned Aquatrax. Check out how fun the coaster looks in the video at the bottom of this Intamin page: http://www.intaminworldwide.com/amusement/WaterRides/AquaTrax/tabid/139/ProductNumber/AquaTrax/language/de-DE/Default.aspx That would be cool. Perhaps one with inversions? The only reason I'm thinking it's not a dark ride is that we haven't seen any kind of foundation slab being laid for a large building....at least not yet. Where would they put it? I doubt they're going to use the entire SOB footprint for this one coaster when that would be a wasted opportunity for a whole new section to be added to the park.

Personally, I want it to be a 425' floorless in which you leave the station upside down. (A state-of-the-art, never before seen system will flip the entire track right-side up to allow guests to board the trains.) It will have 22 inversions, 15 of which are vertical loops all in a row, and there will be 11 tunnels including 5 all-glass ones which take you through a huge aquarium full of sharks. It will then go out along International Street and do a huge cobra roll around the Eiffel Tower before ultimately ending in a 540 degree heartline roll back at the station. What do I think we will get? An invert.

Yes, they could do that. But I'm just trying to think of creative ways to have an inversion straight out of the station on an inverted coaster that has a lift hill.

We were talking about how to launch an invert straight into an inversion out of the station. I suggested it could be launched into a sidewinder, which then could be followed by a helix and then a brake run right before it entered the lift hill. I'd have to start up RCT and create a coaster like that to show you what I'm talking about.

If it were a launched invert, they could launch you into a sidewinder out of the station and then perhaps into a helix before arriving at the first lift hill.

Ah..I was wrong. It wasn't John Peck.It was THE_BEASTmaster! See, I know my eyes are bad but they aren't that bad. Really, I'm not trying to dispute the reasons why the name Banshee was dropped for Mantis. I don't expect you or anyone else to repeat everything that you've already said. I was just wondering if they really want to consider using it again in light of what happened previously where there were negative connotations with it (according to that newspaper article I linked to). They had already printed up T-shirts and other merchandise which they had to destroy, so I wasn't sure if they'd want to risk losing the money they spent on that stuff. But listen...it's not an issue. Really. I don't want to cause any tension about this, and in light of the research I've done about Banshees, it's not quite the evil creepy thing I thought it was. Perhaps a bit "spooky", but......

Can they do that with an invert? Are there any other inverts which have inversions right out of the station?

Sorry for the double post. Isn't a Banshee a Screaming Demon? No, not really. A Banshee is simply a legendary female spirit that wails when someone is about to die. It doesn't necessarily imply the spirit is a demon. Banshees wail before someone's death? I did not know that thanks for sharing. This comment immediately made me think of the "B&M Roar" as the coaster rolls along the track. How fitting would that name be for a B&M Coaster!?!? Joncars05, who is probably overthinking this one. I don't think you're overthinking it at all. I also thought about the "B&M roar" as part of the theming for the coaster, if they name it Banshee.

Well, the post I see by John Peck says absolutely nothing about the reason why CP dropped the Banshee name for Mantis. Apparently I'm blind. Sorry for apparently annoying you. I was just trying to ask an honest question. I won't bother you anymore.

Sorry, Terp. I'm just throwing my thoughts out there. I'm also looking at what this news article says: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uhRDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2KwMAAAAIBAJ&dq=Cedar Point announces Banshee&pg=2974%2C2972906 I've looked through the history of John Peck's posts here at KIC, and I didn't see anything where he mentioned the reasons for CP's decision to relinquish the Banshee name for Mantis. Maybe you could post a link for me so I can read his thoughts about it. Thanks! Would that mean there are already manufacturers producing merchandise for the new coaster? Otherwise, I have to agree with jcgoble3 - I don't see where it's being used in interstate commerce. EDIT: Dieselwilkey already touched on this in his post while I was typing my response. Sorry 'bout that. Never mind.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was public backlash that caused them to drop the name. I just meant there was concern for how the public might perceive the name. EDIT: Okay, here's another thought. Is it possible the name "Banshee" has been trademarked for a Haunt attraction, and not necessarily the new coaster? I mean, Don did say the old SOB station was going to be used for a future Haunt attraction, didn't he? You didn't imply it and upon reading it again I edited my post. I edited my initial post to more clearly express my thought. Sorry for the confusion.

Here's another thought: Is it possible the name "Banshee" has been trademarked for a Haunt attraction, and not necessarily the new coaster? I mean, Don did say the old SOB station was going to be used for a future Haunt attraction, didn't he? EDIT: Removed Jayblazer's quote. Edited initial post to more clearly express my thought.

I could be way off about this, but the more I read about the history of the name "Banshee", I just find it hard to believe this will be the name of KI's new coaster. I know CF supposedly trademarked the name again, but if CP already dropped it as the original name for Mantis because of its negative connotations, why would they decide to try it for our coaster when the same possibility for negative connotations might come up again? They had to destroy a lot of merchandise that had already been produced with the Banshee logo. Are they wanting to risk that expense again? (And just because it was trademarked again doesn't necessarily mean it's for KI's new coaster. There are other parks in the chain.) Plus, Dorney Park adopted the original Banshee logo for Steel Force. Original Banshee logo: http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpimages/images/images1/1/0508/04/1_5fec2fc7f629dedad53f4d3399693769.jpg Compare to current Steel Force logo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Steel_Force_(Logo).JPG

Yep. THOSE were good cartoons. Well, Bugs Bunny, too.

Cartoon friends and funny faces Jinx and those little meece he chases Ant Hill Mob, the Wacky Racers Live in my TV I'm friends with Fred who yells out Yabba Dabba Dabba Doo Bosom Buddy Barney too. And Scooby Dooby where are you. I love that mumblin' bear I laugh at him until I hurt And when it's, Banana Splits You don't eat them for dessert Bristle Hound is not a stranger. He saves Lambsy when in danger. Yogi Bear outsmarts the ranger All in my TV Those happy friends who live in my TV.

If you point out the specific posts where I've been passive aggressively insulting to other members, please show me all of them and I will issue a public explanation for why I said what I did - and, if warranted, I will offer an apology. I appreciate that you've found some of my prior out-of-the-box thinking to be "creative, intriguing, stimulating, and of the highest quality". Which posts, if you don't mind me asking? May I ask...did you see this post I left earlier today: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27275-starting-to-decode-2014/?p=525588 I was in a bad mood when I left the post you quoted, and I was going on the assumption that KIC's Terms of Service stipulated that threads were to remain on-topic. I was clearly wrong. It had been 6 years since I'd read them, and couldn't recall what they said. So after reading them again this morning, I discovered I was wrong....and apologized. I've said I'm sorry, and my position has now changed about the "silly small talk and goofing off".

Besides, I don't think KI wants to be known as the park with the most tall poles sticking up out of the ground.

Really? Where can you buy them? I never see them at Kroger.

You guys are nuts. Speaking of nuts, I need to go eat. Actually, I wish the Special Darks came with almonds. Later.

Thanks for sharing what...my preference for Hershey's Special Dark instead of Snickers or Dove? Sometimes an apple is just an apple. Not trying to drop any hints, not making any suggestion about coaster manufacturer...honestly. For one thing, I don't have the foggiest clue what this new coaster is. I'm just making silly small talk. It's a diversion.

Yeaaaahhh....I've tried Dove before, and I don't like it. Believe it or not, I find the chocolate to be too smooth for my taste.