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      Everyone likes a good read from time to time, or even all the time. That's why our team of writers is constantly at work putting their opinions and insights into words, and this is the place to find their work: the Editorials & Articles section! We write about anything and everything, from the implications of the latest topics of news around the amusement industry, to the timeless topics of interest, to just plain satire. If you can think of a topic you would love to see in the form of an article, chances are you'll be seeing it in the future!

NoLimits: Getting Started
NoLimits: Getting Started / By: Devin Olson, Sunday, March 14, 2004 -
As of recently, NoLimits has become an increasingly popular trend in virtual coaster design as more coaster lovers shell out the twenty-five bucks for what many consider to be the best thing around of its kind. And after enjoying a few pre-made layouts, chances are that you'll want to dive right into designing your own masterpieces right from the start. With many coming to this sim from RollerCoaster Tycoon, they might not expect something as complex as what they're in for. It might take a few weeks to teach yourself the basics and even longer to learn all of the little tricks that will come in handy throughout the design process, but with a little help to get you on your feet, you'll be off in no time designing your LIM-launched multilooping tera-coasters. Don't get discouraged, though, if you don't have something that you'd want to put yourself through in real life at first; perfection takes time.

Once you start up the editor, you may be puzzled with the results: a funky purple arrow amid a mess of green and white grid. Don't fear if you have no clue where to go from here. You'll soon find that the blue and red 'Add' button to the top is your friend. Just give this little guy a click. After that, move your pointer up and click on 'Segment' at the top, then choose 'Station.' This will get you all set to lay down your first piece of track. To go about placing your first track segment, you'll move your cursor to line up as best you can straight in front of the arrow you have on the grid. Go ahead of the arrow about two major white squares with your cursor before clicking. That first click is where your journey begins. So just click at the intersection of the two white dotted lines, and, like magic, there's your first track section. Brown indicates station, which is exactly what this is.

Before you go any further with the layout, you can get aquainted with more of the basic design adjustment process. Go back up to the icon to the left of the 'Add' button and click, and then you won't have to worry about dropping down track sections every time you click on the grid. Now click on the blue ball at the end of the section, a vertex point, or track node. These are the centers of control for the track. Now you should have three white balls connected with a white line. Very simply, the middle ball here will shift around the track placement on your map, and the end balls will pull it around and bend it any way you turn choose to pull it, or stretch out the effect that this point of control has on your track segments. If you screw up any track segment worse than you can repair, always keep in mind that right-clicking on a node will give you the option to delete it.

So, using these controls, you will be able to straighten out the piece of track you have so that it's a perfect line. Zoom in if you want using the gray '+' button at the top, and you can double-check if your segment's straight or not. If you see little 'steps' in your white line, pull either end vertex right or left until you've eliminated them. Your track segment should be perfectly straight as well. If it isn't, simply move the middle white vertex to the right or left as needed. After those two things are done, you'll have your station segment just about ready to go. But first, you should become familiar with a few other controls in NoLimits.

If you still have the end vertex selected, hold down on your 'Ctrl' key and click the blue ball at the bottom end. With this done, moving any of your vertexes will keep all of the track between in the shape that it currently is, and relocate all of that track anywhere you want. The other way to do this is just to click and drag your cursor across the vertexes and a yellow box will automatically select multiple vertexes once you let go of the mouse button.

Now it's time to say hello to your other views that you will use to adjust the track from a side, front, or back point of view instead of directly overhead. Those views are the four buttons to the right of the blue track already selected at the top, plus a 3-D view working much like the actual simulator that may come in handy later on for a limited range of functions. Click on one of the icons with the red car and you'll get to see your track section from the side. These side views will currently only control vertical adjustment of your track, and nothing else. With both vertexes highlighted, you will have the power to move your track piece up and down. Drag it up about three small dots just to get your station off the ground. Now just click anywhere other than the track to deselect it.

With that completed, go back to your overhead view, the first blue track button. Go back up to 'Segment' and click on 'Track' at the top. This is where it gets good... We'll make a curve out of the station now. As you will always do, click back on the 'Add' button and then click on the grid right where you want the current track section you're placing to end. In the case of a right-hand turn, it should be somewhere in an imaginary diagonal line between the center of the large square at right end of the last vertex and the upper right corner of it. The nice blue color indicates a regular track section.

Chances are that the turn you get once you click will be out of shape, so you'll have some adjusting to do. Go back up and click on the cursor icon, then click the vertex you have now at the end of your new turn. If it's anything other than horizontally straight, pull one end until you get your perfect line. This will give you a nice 90-degree L-turn. Now onto the fine-tuning. Select the vertex where the track changes from station to normal track then grab onto the top white vertex and move it down, keeping your white line perfectly straight. Stop somewhere around the middle of the turn. Now do the same to the vertex at the other end of the turn, pulling it in or out so that it's about the same length as the other. Once that's done, your turn will be a good shape.

Back to a side view, but this time a front view of the station with the non-car icons to the right of the top view. In this view, you'll probably see some variation in altitude now, with you turn going fully to the bottom. To fix this, zoom in as much as you need and select the end vertex now sitting on the ground. Pull it up until it becomes completely straight, trying not to move it right or left, and this will make it level with the station. To avoid this from happening in the future, just click on the last track vertex you have before adding a new track segment, and the next one you add will be built at the same height.

You guessed what track section comes next. Your lift hill should always be divided up into three sections: the transition from the bottom level to the slope angle, straight lift section, then your transition out of the lift angle. All consecutive lift segments, however, will be counted as one with the last one of these controlling all. To start the lift, head back up to 'Segment' and choose 'Lift.' Now before clicking 'Add' again, make sure that you select and deselect the current last vertex. Doing this will ensure that the next piece is in a perfect line with it. Then click 'Add' and move your cursor to a point say half a dozen grid dots ahead of the end of the current track and about half that amount of dots above. Once you click, you'll get your first lime green lift piece. If it doesn't look just right, select your new end vertex and move things around which ever way you see fit.

Remaining in the side view, you will have some zooming back to do now in preparation for placing your next piece of track. Now keep in mind that each light dotted line represents around 30 feet, so a good four of them from the bottom of the map, and you'll have an decent-sized coaster to start out with. Lift steepness is up to you, so once your cursor is at the desired height, it can be as far ahead of the bottom lift segment as you want. After you click, chances are that your main lift won't be too pretty, but that can be fixed easily enough. To straighten it out, just select the actual track section, not the vertexes, and then just press your 'i' key or right-click and hit 'Make straight.'

Now select the end vertex again so that your next piece remains straight. You will have a general idea of how large the lift crest should be if your bottom vertical transition is still in view. Click 'Add' again. Now we'll want the lift to hoist the train generously enough beyond the top point, so just move your pointer eight or nine grid dots ahead of the end vertex, remaining at the same height. Click. Once again, probably not the shape we're going for, because the last vertex is stretched too far forward. To solve this, click the vertex before last and drag the top white end vertex back to shorten it. Select the end vertex now and adjust it to the correct steepness, trying to make it the same length as the one for the lift top. This will give you a near-perfect curve. The lift probably shifted as a result of this, so just select that track again and use the straighten function a second time.

We're done with the lift, so under 'Segment' go back to 'Track.' Once again, select the last vertex, then click 'Add.' We'll try a vertical drop here, so you should get ready to place the end of your next segment at right about the next white dotted line down and three grid dots ahead for a nice smooth transition into the vertical position. This new track piece will definitely need some adjusting. First off, select the new last vertex point and pull it down so that it's completely vertical. While you're on this vertex, go to the top right of the screen and find 'rel Roll.' Clicking this will eliminate the twist in the track. The next problem to conquer will be getting a smooth shape to it, so go back to the second-to-last vertex and pull the bottom adjustment node in a little less than twice the length of the other end.

The next step is the same as before: click select the end vertex and click 'Add' again. We'll add a short section of track heading straight down now. So, staying in a line with the last vertex, head most of the way down to the next white dotted line and click. Placing vertical track can be a trick, and results can vary. But most likely, your new piece won't be satisfactory, and you will have adjusting to do. First thing is to go back to the previous vertex, select, and pull it in most of the way. Select the end vertex again and apply the 'rel Roll' to it, and move the adjusting points around. You may have to rotate them 180 degrees and then some if the track was placed wrong, and then pull in the adjusting node for it most of the way. Sooner or later though, you can get your vertical track perfectly straight, and you might want to use the 'Make straight' feature to double-check.

Now for the bottom of your pullout. Repeat selecting the last vertex and clicking 'Add' once more. Now where should you place it? For the best curve on your pullout, try and move your cursor in a diagonal line along the grid dots until you reach the bottom, and forward a few from there, then click. Your results probably don't look to bad. The first modification to make is to adjust the last vertex so that it's completely horizontal, then you can go between the last and second-to-last vertexes adjusting the lengths until they're similar and your curve looks smooth.

We're done with the vertical action for now, so click back on the overhead view of your track. Next, we'll add a straightaway for a tunnel. So it's 'Add,' then clicking maybe two dotted lines ahead of the end of the track, and then any straightening to get your perfect straightness. To tunnel then segment, select the track and head up to the icon with the blue line across the top. When you drag over it, you'll get the text 'Segment settings.' Click. All you have to do here is check 'Tunnel,' then click 'OK.' You won't see the tunnel in the Editor, but you will in the Simulator.

Now for the fun part: a banked curve. There's an art to transitioning into banks, and two approaches that might be used: the heartline bank transition, or the bank-and-curve technique. We'll go with the latter, since it is the easiest and most commonly used. The bank-and-curve transition will gradually pull into the bank as the curve begins. Get set to add your next node by moving the cursor ahead of the current end vertex about the same distance as the length of your straightaway. Now, head down about five grid dots, and click for your new track segment. A nice curve of about 40 degrees will appear, with some minor adjusting to do to get it perfect. Next, select the end vertex and go up to the top of the screen to the area where you see the various degrees. Now click the one on the far right, '-45º,' twice, to get a 90-degree bank.

If you want to review the results of this, click the red '3d' track view button. To move around in this view, right-click on the screen and then hold down on your left mouse button. Once you find your banked curve, you can go to the second or third view from the left which will give you a side-view of the bank. Zoom in as much as necessary. Now, find another view button labeled '3d,' this time the green one. When you click it, a small window will appear that will continue to show you a 3-D view while you edit the track piece.

We'll create the actual curve now in the next segment, which will be just over 100 or so degrees. For this section, move your cursor in a straight line heading down from the last vertex, about the distance of three large grid squares. Add the new node, and then adjust it so that you get circular curvature, then hit '-45º' again twice for the 90-degree right-hand bank. For the transition out of the curve, just do your best to recreate the transition you made into the curve, making it the same length as it and just as many grid dots down from where it begins, about five. After the next segment is added and adjusted, you may have to go back to the side view still to make sure that things are completely horizontal.

While the ride construction is still moving forward, we can take a quick trip around the track just to see how things are coming along. To do this, go up and click on the red '3d' button, then go over to the right of the gray 'Stop' sign where you see a blue track icon, and select it. Now you will find yourself under the beginning of your track. By right-clicking and then holding down on the left mouse button, you'll move along the track. Holding down on the 'Shift' button will increase the speed. This can help you get a feel for what you're designing and also expose problems in the trackwork.

Just one more element to this ride - a vertical loop - and we'll wrap things up. For this element, you will need to be in the side view again. Select the last node so that things stay in alignment for now, and then get set to add the next track node. We'll conquer this element in fourths, so 90 degrees at a time here, meaning that the next track section will end facing completely vertical. The bottom of the loop will need to be a good width, so place the next node about two large grid squares ahead of the end of the bank, along with two large squares above. Turn 'rel Roll' on here and pull the track vertical, then adjust things for some good curvature. Place the next vertex one large square above the current position as well as just over one large square in back. Turn 'rel Roll' on here as well, then do any adjusting as needed.

Before we go any further with the loop, you'll need to head back to overhead view to make a needed adjustment. Since the loop needs to veer to the side, we'll need to pull the top piece over to the right or left and angle it a few degrees, say around 10, in that direction as well. Line up the node adjustment bar with the track's centerline the best you can for a smooth direction change. Then there is the possibility that you might need to add a few degrees of roll to this node, perhaps '-10º,' if the track veers to the side at all coming out of the loop.Going back into side view, from here it will be trying to clone the first half of the loop back to the ground. You can't use the 'Save Element' feature in this case. So select the top node for the loop, and try to place the next one the same distance from the center as the other side, and on the same level. You will need to use 'rel Roll' once more for the next node. Try to get your adjustment bars for the nodes the same lengths as the first two loop nodes.

Back to overhead view again. You will need to make an adjustment to the second vertical node by shifting the three white nodes so that they overlap each other, making this section completely vertical as it should be. Then drag the last half of the loop to where it needs to be to align with the previous vertex and straighten out the end node. Your loop is complete now! Now all we need is a hop up onto the brakes with some nice air, and a final L-turn back into the station. In side view, select the last node and add a new one only one large grid square ahead and up one grid dot, which is half the distance we need to go to get to the level of the station. Adjust the beginning and end nodes to this track section to get it smooth and gradual, then add one more track piece one more large square ahead and one more grid dot up. You will have a few adjustments to make to this segment as well.

Go up and select 'Brake' under 'Segment' and click ahead exactly in back of where you see the end node for our turn out of the station, so that the curve back to the station will be the same size. After your pink track segement for the brake run is in place, straight and level, you can pat yourself on the back for making it to the final track segment. Just switch back to the 'Track' segment type, and then you have two ways of going about adding the last track piece to connect your track in a complete circuit: either right-click and hit 'Connect,' or go up to 'Edit' and click 'Connect.' Either way you do it, you last track piece probably won't be a pretty sight at first, so pull in or pull out your node adjustments on either side until perfection is achieved. If your curve is stretched out from the second leg of the layout not lining up right with the station, just select the first station node and stretch it back a little.

With the trackwork complete, it's time to take a spin on your ride to check the speeds of your machine. Go to '3d' view and select the blue track icon again, but this time you will click on the green light button to start you on your journey as test dummy. This will give you a full ride on your coaster, just without any of the detail that loading it in the Simulator will provide you. If everything works okay and you don't have any adjustments to make, such as lowering your loop if you built it too high, then just click on the black, red, and yellow icon and you will be taken directly to the Sim to experience your ride!

There are still some obvious tasks to be completed - such as constructing supports, making adjustments to perfect your ride, and setting options, but that will all be covered in the next tutorial. After that, you might even want to get into building terrain for your ride, or surrounding it with 3-D objects. All of that will be covered in the third tutorial. Hopefully this little tour of the NoLimits Editor has provided some help for getting started in NoLimits. It might be a challenge to get through your first ride, but give it a few times, and you'll surprise yourself at how easy creating a realistic ride, or even recreating an existing ride down to the smallest details, will become.

To compare your coaster to the one that was actually built for this tutorial, click here to download the ride. And also, feel free to check out our collection of downloads for NoLimits in the Download Extras including a number of original and recreated coaster tracks! Stay tuned for the next tutorial!


Images will hopefully be added soon to accompany the tutorial