Alice: The Ride (video, screens and park download) [Archive]

mikeyca

11-24-2004, 07:05 PM

Here's my latest ride video. "Alice: The Ride," inspired partly by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is an experiment of mine. It's less about the tilt coaster--which in this particular ride is only an "okay" track--and more about the design and concept. I wanted to experiment with a few things with this ride.

For one thing, I noticed that all my "dark rides" were rarely actually "dark" whenever wall scenery was visible because of the way that light reflections are designed in the game. So my goal was to try and create a coaster that was completely underground, surrounded only by natural terrain on the sides. As it turned out, it still wasn't as dark as I had hoped. The video will be lighter underground due to the visual effect used.

I also wanted to experiment with creating the image that my coaster takes place underground. To attempt this, I used slate blocks colored to match the natural grass terrain, and covered the ride completely at ground level. I then created paths and natural scenery on top of the slate blocks to give the illusion that that was the actual ground. I'm relatively happy with how it turned out.

Finally, I wanted to experiment a little more with video editing--which I have been enjoying very much lately--while using the soundtrack that I chose.

Click here to watch the video (http://www.meyee.net/rct3/videos/alice_ride.wmv).

To download the sandbox park that contains "Alice," click here (http://www.meyee.net/rct3/parks/alice.zip).

http://www.meyee.net/rct3/images/alice_title_black.jpg

As I mentioned, the coaster itself is only "okay" in terms of stats. You can also see my attempts at creating a "natural-looking" ground surface to hide the underground ride.
http://www.meyee.net/rct3/images/alicestats.jpg

The grounds at night
http://www.meyee.net/rct3/images/alice2.jpg

Falling down the "rabbit hole"
http://www.meyee.net/rct3/images/alice1.jpg

Bitter Jeweler

11-24-2004, 07:19 PM

Let me just say, I find your creations and videos simply BRILLIANT!
I have learned alot about making a good video from watching what you have done. Keep up the excellent work!

GiveTM_a_chance

11-24-2004, 07:27 PM

I have to say that your work is the one from a genius, the ride has a very good concept and the video is brilliant.
Keep up with the good job!:D

RTCnoob384

11-24-2004, 08:09 PM

very noce job..one can wonder how far does the rabbit hole go.(bad pun)anyway nice song, i have heard it before too.

DJDanny2020

11-24-2004, 08:56 PM

Very nice mike i love it! Your creations are amazing!

belloman

11-24-2004, 09:11 PM

Very nice!!! I had to save the movie cause my computer froze every time I tried to just load it temporarly. And I give it a:
:up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: 10/10! Your creations are so amazing... how do you do it??
By the way... I need to borrow some thumbs...

Milkdud

11-24-2004, 09:17 PM

AMAZING! That was bloody brilliant! I loved it, and i loved that song too :D May i ask what the name of the artist is? (of the song) I've read a book titles Go ask Alice before and it reminded me of it, except for the fact that the book was about a teenager who's life is ruined when she gets into drugs....:haha:

Also, you made one heck of a video, it was absolutley stunning.

Edit: OOOOH I also just noticed something in the video, you changed the screen of the video to all those wierd colors right when the song says "and your on some kind of mushroom" ROFL, that had to have been done intentionally, very funny :)

Edit2: I've just watched the video 5 times in a row and can't stop, the video editing and that song is just so amazing its addicting! I must know who sings that song ;)

tikitiki

11-24-2004, 09:34 PM

absolutly fabulous. Can you post it in this thread: http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=419868

Thanks tikitiki

mikeyca

11-24-2004, 10:14 PM

Originally posted by Milkdud
Edit2: I've just watched the video 5 times in a row and can't stop, the video editing and that song is just so amazing its addicting! I must know who sings that song ;)

LOL, thanks for the compliment! I actually credited the song (sort of) in the opening titles. It's called "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane. And yes, the use of different color filters were intentionally-timed (going from sepia/b&w to regular color to psychedelic colors, then back to regular and finally sepia), especially during the lyric "just had some kind of mushroom." The song is notorious for its subtext (as is the original novel).

EDIT: Here's a website with a little info about the song if you're interested. :D
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1250

Milkdud

11-24-2004, 10:25 PM

Ahh ok great thanks ;) Also, keep up the great work, i want to see more videos soon! ;)

Bitter Jeweler

11-24-2004, 10:52 PM

So how much planning do you do before you start building?
Or do you just get the idea and then started actually building and tinkering till you get it right?

When you are editing your vids, Do you have specific scenes you want synced up to specific "verses" of the soundtrack, and then add "filler" clips?

WoddenWarior

11-24-2004, 11:38 PM

I always look forward to your creations. Great job as always, Mike.

omgukk

11-25-2004, 12:28 AM

Don't tell me, this song was made by your friend also and he is hording it till the ablum comes out.:haha::rolleyes: <3 good ride again. Now can you top this one?

CoasterExpert

11-25-2004, 12:40 AM

Good ride but Did not really like your music sorry But that was a great coaster

marnetmar

11-25-2004, 01:20 AM

Great work on the video mikeyca, that's an amazing creation you have there with that ride. Very original work on making the "rabbit hole", it looks like it took a lot of time to build all that.

AnkhMCT

11-25-2004, 04:29 AM

Excellet!

I enjoyed the ride very much and the video is great.

I feel old since most people here never heard of that song or group. I knew it right away.

One question, what software did you use for the video editing?

mikeyca

11-25-2004, 05:32 AM

Originally posted by AnkhMCT
One question, what software did you use for the video editing?

I just use Windows Movie Maker for the video editing (and audio clipping when necessary).

Thanks for the compliment!

dalbatron

11-25-2004, 10:16 AM

Oh my god.... That is superbly executed. I love your editing skills. There is a lot of time here, and well worth it. Cant wait to take a 'trip' round it.
Keep up the good work - you are truly the master 10/10.
Only problem is I now have to bin my poor park and start again!!!

mikeyca

11-25-2004, 01:43 PM

Thanks to everyone for such positive feedback...I appreciate it. A few people have asked me for the park, so here it is for download. Uh, psychedelic colors during the ride not included... ;)

Download the park! (http://www.meyee.net/rct3/parks/alice.zip)

This park is a pretty decent-sized sandbox, but "Alice" only takes up a small section near the entrance, so you can pretty much add whatever you'd like.

Black Spectre

11-25-2004, 03:58 PM

Originally posted by omgukk
Don't tell me, this song was made by your friend also and he is hording it till the ablum comes out.:haha::rolleyes: <3 good ride again. Now can you top this one?

:haha: That song is from the late 60's, the band has been broken up for years. Wow, White rabbit and Jane are the only songs that I ever liked by J.A/J.S. Paranoid by Black Sabbath would have worked as well.

Great video:up: :up: :up: more please:)

CWG

madmab

11-25-2004, 04:28 PM

Trippy!!

madmab

11-25-2004, 04:42 PM

I downloaded it and checked it out. Just a couple comments based on what you did as well as what was said in the readme.

I dont think a truly dark ride will be possible because if you notice all trains have a light on them to begin with.

I see you cheated a little with the lift chain at the end, but since it is at the end, no biggy. ;)

You know with the update you can use block breaks instead of the lift chain to move the train forward at the end right?

I like how you altered the color of the blocks to look like the ground. Interesting idea.

mikeyca

11-25-2004, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by madmab
You know with the update you can use block breaks instead of the lift chain to move the train forward at the end right?
You know, I completely forgot about that...I'm so used to having to use chain lifts from when the block brakes weren't working properly. I'll go in and fix that. Thanks for the tip! :D

coasterfreak00

11-25-2004, 07:14 PM

When I first saw the pic of it going down I thought it was an actual tunnel.

GREAT VIDEO!!!!!!

madmab

11-26-2004, 01:32 AM

Originally posted by coasterfreak00
When I first saw the pic of it going down I thought it was an actual tunnel.

GREAT VIDEO!!!!!!

Yeah me too... Pretty cool ride. I could almost rip it out of the ground and use it in a park standalone.

coasterfreak00

11-26-2004, 01:42 AM

Just one thing about it.

I dont think the colorful sign matches the black and white movie.

Is it just me or did the colors get wacked out once you went in the tunnel?

Other than that 10/10

mikeyca

11-26-2004, 02:09 AM

Originally posted by coasterfreak00
Just one thing about it.

I dont think the colorful sign matches the black and white movie.

Is it just me or did the colors get wacked out once you went in the tunnel?

Other than that 10/10

Thanks for the great rating.

The colors are intentional...the song, if you're not familiar with it, is from 1967 and was written by Grace Slick after she took LSD. The video is a reflection of all that. The video progresses from b&w to color to psychedelic colors (listen to the lyrics when that changes), then back to regular color, and finally black and white again. So the colorful logo is meant as a shock to the senses after all the black and white. In fact, if you haven't already, listen carefully to the lyrics throughout the video--everything in the video is quite intentional.

mikeyca

11-26-2004, 05:08 AM

Okay, because I'm so obsessive-compulsive, I've been tweaking the video here and there regularly since the first "release." If you haven't watched the video since I first put it online yesterday, there are some minor changes/updates. They reflect not only a few changes in video editing, but they also reflect a few changes in the ride itself, including new scenic design regarding the rabbit hole and block brakes at the end instead of chain lifts.

The video link is in the first post of the thread, or else just click here (http://www.meyee.net/rct3/videos/alice_ride.wmv).

TobiHobi

11-26-2004, 06:50 AM

@mikeyca

First of all great movie.

Which program did you use for this?I can't find the option to do a movie on the Windows Photo Story 3.How do you do that,I want to show my movies too.Can you explain it please?

Thanks.

mikeyca

11-26-2004, 12:45 PM

Originally posted by TobiHobi
@mikeyca

First of all great movie.

Which program did you use for this?I can't find the option to do a movie on the Windows Photo Story 3.How do you do that,I want to show my movies too.Can you explain it please?

Thanks TobiHobi. I use Windows Movie Maker, which is included with Windows XP, to create the videos. However, to actually CAPTURE video from within the game, you will need to use either the in-game video capture (CTRL+SHFT+F11 by default) or a third-party program such as Fraps (which is what I use). The only problem with the in-game capture is that during recording, the game will slow down drastically to only a couple frames per second, so trying to record a one-minute ride may take about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your computer power.

mikeyca

11-26-2004, 12:49 PM

Originally posted by Bitter Jeweler
So how much planning do you do before you start building?
Or do you just get the idea and then started actually building and tinkering till you get it right?

When you are editing your vids, Do you have specific scenes you want synced up to specific "verses" of the soundtrack, and then add "filler" clips?

In terms of the planning, there's not a lot done in advance. Usually it just starts with one idea with which I wanted to experiment, then I start building from there. As building continues, more ideas begin to form, so I continue to tweak until I get decent results.

As for editing the vids, this particular video had scenes I wanted to sync with the soundtrack, but that's not always the case at first. Most of the time, I just record lots of potential "filler" clips, then decide later which ones to use (so there are usually a handful of clips that I don't end up using...cutting room floor, I guess you can say). :D

89_formula_350

11-26-2004, 04:32 PM

Ok mike,

Forget the ride. The ride rocks and all, but....dude, that was awesome. I totally dig "White Rabbit". That was a great idea to use that song. And by reading the thread first, I expected a few cool syncs, but dayuuuum. :eek: I am such a audiophile and video geek. There was so much syncing up thru-out the song. I know all the lyrics to the song, so it was even more pleasurable for me, as I was feeling it at real time without having to concentrate on what the lyrics were saying. The editing rocked. I will say, the trippy lighting doesn't show up as good on this end as it prolly does on yours. Prolly 'cause of compression and all. I bet the uncompressed on your machine runs smoother and the trippy lighting looks great.

One small thing I just LOVED, was something that prolly goes un-noticed by many. Seeing that after the experience, we forget, or just never noticed. I love at the beginning, absolutely love, how, when we're in b&w, you had the scan lines. Man, such a subtle touch, but for those that notice or care, oh man. I caught that right away. And again, like someone else said, I would've picked up the song right away.

Kinda makes me want to add trippy music, ala Moody Blues, Doors, B.O.C. Oh man, in mid sentence, I just thought of a great nominee,..."The Chain" by Fleetwood.

"...The chain keeps us together..." :D

Anyway, that rocked.

madmab

11-26-2004, 05:05 PM

Yeah I noticed the scan lines as well. But was too lazy to really listen to the lyrics.

InsightedGenius

11-26-2004, 09:44 PM

Man i seriously think you are a roller coaster designer in RL.
You are seriously Pro man.
Anyways just wanted to say you rock and all *bows down mumbling "I'm not worthy"*

Keep up the KA work man Peice

ElBlufer

11-27-2004, 05:00 PM

Great Job mikeyca!

I dont have my retail version yet...can anyone do that color change thing in game, or was that done in the editing of the movie?

Cant wait to see your next work of art!

Bitter Jeweler

11-28-2004, 03:05 AM

Hey Mike!

I took the liberty of putting your movie thru a different movie editor, and upped the psychedelia. I will post it with your permission.

mikeyca

11-28-2004, 03:12 AM

Originally posted by Bitter Jeweler
I took the liberty of putting your movie thru a different movie editor, and upped the psychedelia. I will post it with your permission.

Sounds good...thanks for doing it! :)

EDIT: Do you have the most recent version of the video? I know you took a look at it shortly after I originally posted it; however, the video has undergone some edits and revisions since then (minor, but definitely changes).

Coaster Builder

11-28-2004, 03:39 AM

Wow, Im almost speechless!

That was superbly done video. I can't even fathom how long it must have taken to get all those shots and then put them all back together again.

Great job. Keep up the work, and keep us all entertained.

Superb job.

DWWilkin

11-28-2004, 03:48 AM

I also give you a 10/10. The BW sequence at the beginning was reminescent of a 40's movie and I could just see getting into an acid trip as the song started. White Rabbit is an oldie but a goodie and those too young to remember it (I am in my 40's and too young to remember it when it came out, but it had legs and if you remember the movie Platoon, Charlie Sheen got stoned to it the first time in that movie.) can now learn to appreciate the subtly with which is reflects Alice in Wonderland and the drug culture of the sixties.

What you have done with your ride is terrific and I can see it in a Halloween, or a nightmare before christmas theme park... If the boys at Atari and Frontier were to think of a good use of elements, they would use this as an example. I think that you may want to post the stats with the ride, and perhaps the entire movie thread should consider that too. Length of ride, ratings, etc. so we not only have great movies but see how they fit into the universe. The concept highlights some thoughts that perhaps we as park designers would like in the next update, or an expansion pack, building walls with movies on them, so a coaster can go through a pschydelic tunnel.

David

chazz889

11-28-2004, 12:20 PM

What abrilliant video, can anyone tell me how to make a video for my park, like what software you used, etc.

ElBlufer

11-28-2004, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by chazz889
What abrilliant video, can anyone tell me how to make a video for my park, like what software you used, etc.

The video itself takes quite a while to shoot...leave your computer for an hour or longer, depending on the length of the ride. To start the shooting, press Control+Shift+F11. When you're done, press those keys again.

If you use windows, use Windows Movie Maker to do all the editing.

Bitter Jeweler

11-28-2004, 01:37 PM

Originally posted by mikeyca
Sounds good...thanks for doing it! :)

EDIT: Do you have the most recent version of the video? I know you took a look at it shortly after I originally posted it; however, the video has undergone some edits and revisions since then (minor, but definitely changes).

Hey Mike, yup I used the latest vid.
Don't expect high quality output, I was just playing around to see what this program could do. I didn't change anything but adding a couple effects to the underground part of the ride to increase the psychedelic look. I think the result is kinda cool, but kinda over the top. I couldn't get that happy medium.

Anyways...Heres the clip.

http://www.bitterjeweler.com/Coaster/Alice2.wmv

mikeyca

11-29-2004, 03:05 AM

Originally posted by Bitter Jeweler
Hey Mike, yup I used the latest vid.
Don't expect high quality output, I was just playing around to see what this program could do. I didn't change anything but adding a couple effects to the underground part of the ride to increase the psychedelic look. I think the result is kinda cool, but kinda over the top. I couldn't get that happy medium.

Anyways...Heres the clip.

http://www.bitterjeweler.com/Coaster/Alice2.wmv

Haha...yes, I'd agree that the result was perhaps a bit over the top, but definitely a different type of psychedelic effect. If you could get the coloring like that without the track turning totally black, that would be cool. Is it possible?