NoLimits (Coaster Simulation)

[maxairmike]

Surprised there's not a thread for NoLimits around here (that I could find), so I guess I'll start one!

I toyed around with the original release of NoLimits at various points for much of it's life but always found it too complicated for my abilities at the time, and recently grabbed NoLimits2 as I had heard from several friends that it was easier to use even if you hadn't used CAD software or weren't good at physics/math. I've now managed to build 3 coasters that successfully complete their courses, look at least somewhat attractive, and have even somewhat figured out the supporting for steel coasters to make it at least semi-realistic. The wooden support generator is a god-send, as those can get ridiculously complex and I'm not ready to even attempt to tackle that beast of a task. Anyway, here are a few screens of two of the completed coasters (the wooden I literally just finished).

Anyone else here use NoLimits? I'm debating if I want to spend the coin to upgrade it to the Pro version.

 

[MrRoamer]

I got Theme Park Studio which seems super powerful and has quite a few options. Admittedly, I haven't messed around with it nearly as much as I would like or had thought I would. It is still in beta but has a whole lot of options but I would definitely put it in the complicated camp.

http://www.themeparkstudio.com/main.html

 

[natespf]

The Themepark Studio concept is a little exciting, but it seems there are aspects where they sacrifice realism in favor of making it play more like a game. I do not believe I have heard of NoLimits before, but on first sight it looks like it would be more for me. On their site there are 2 paid options for NL2, Standard and Pro. But the Pro version seems to basically just give you more options for making screen shots. If anyone has more information, because this program seems to be worth looking into.

 

[MrRoamer]

Theme Park Studio doesn't play like a game at all, it is more like a CAD type program made to simulate and build theme parks. I believe they plan to work with Occulus to allow you to ride the coasters that you build.

I really wish I could find my copy of 3DS Max to build my own custom models for things like the ride cars and some of the more specific items within the areas. One day I swear I will find it.

 

[maxairmike]

Decided to fire up NoLimits again and managed to make a halfway decent little Intamin mega coaster. It's only about 105ft. tall and goes about 50mph, but I have a fully functioning steel coaster complete with supports (except for a section of the final helix that needs custom supports) and a transfer table, so I'm happy with it. Next project will probably be a twisted wooden coaster.

 

[maxairmike]

Worked on a new project yesterday and today, a twisted wooden coaster with Millennium Flyer trains. Haven't thought of a good name for it yet.

@natespf, the main difference between the Pro and regular versions is basically features like video and screenshot enhancements, password protected tracks, etc. that make it a viable program for professional uses. I'm considering upgrading to the Pro version for those capabilities, though, as it makes sharing better and easier.

If you have any interest in coasters (not just design/building), this is a great program. Beyond the actual design of rides, you can have full manual control of the ride systems through a pretty thorough Allen Bradley style control panel (looks pretty darn close to how things were laid out on most of the Cedar Point panels I used and saw. Side note; sitting at the Top Thrill Dragster launch panel is pretty fun). It can be hard to get the hang of at first, but it's much easier than v1 was. Hopefully there'll be more than just myself posting projects.

 

[universal_fanatic]

Would love to check out this program if it came out for Mac! I see you can get the original for Mac, but having no experience building (beyond Roller Coaster Tycoon) I'd want something a little easier to start out with.

 

[maxairmike]

Yeah, the only bad thing is switching over to my Bootcamp Windows partition to play with it. I could try running it in a VM, but I've tried a few VMs before for other uses and the experience was less than stellar. I think they were at one point working on a Mac version, but maybe people stopped asking for it.

 

[WillQ92]

Major bump for any NoLimits fans. The game updated yesterday to include RMCs- launched and regular. They majorly updated the wooden supports generator for all of your RMC inversion needs.