Shooting through the either regions of cyberspace a person travels at the speed of light; at least their browser does. For a RCT game lover that journey takes them into the RCT universe in search of information and company from fellow cyberspace sojourners who are shooting through the same cyberspace looking for the same things. In this RCT quest there are two brightly lit spaceports on two very different worlds both circling the sun Of RCT caught in its gravitational pull. Oh there are many other planets that have life in the RCT universe circling the same star called RCT but it is these two particular larger planets that communication has been established and we are soon going to land and find out what both of these planets are like and how they relate to one another.
The spaceport we are landing at is called New Element and it was created and is maintained by a guy named Iris and a fine and talented staff that helps him. Today we meet Iris and as I Interview him you will get to share in what goes on in the back rooms of the larger RCT sites and how different sites mean different things to different people. It was a real pleasure having this conversation with someone who is in the rare position that I am in and was very surprised at how fast and professional Iris got his answers back to me.
So come with me now on this E-View rocket ride and join me as we prepare to touch down, open the hatch and see what is going on here in this strange yet familiar and very interesting place called New Element. Keep your spacesuits on and helmets ready because we may have to blast out of here at any time.
| Boomer |
It is a real pleasure having you “in the house” today Iris. We finally meet and I must say this E-View has been long overdue! Let’s start at the very beginning, that’s a very fine place to start. When did New Element first start out? |
| Iris |
"Hey, nice to be here Boomer. Long overdue is right; I’ve been hoping you’d interview me for a while now! Anyways, moving right into it, New Element started almost two years ago, right around when Danimation’s RCT content first started dwindling."
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| Boomer |
Yes, Danimation was THE RCT site when I fist discovered RCT back in 1999. What gave you the idea to start another RCT site up when there were so many going already at that time? |
| Iris |
"Well, I was a pretty prominent figure at Danimation, as far as RCT went, to the extent that I was even told I was to be given the administrator job for a “spotlight.danimation.com” website that Dan and Alex were creating, designated for the Spotlight alone. After some disputes with Dan, that fell through, but I was already in the mindset to start up a site. So, with the help from a few real good friends of mine, New Element was born. I must also give a lot of credit to a pretty unknown site, “2Stars”, a site ran by POLAR, because that’s the website that really inspired New Element more then any."
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| Boomer |
Well three cheers for POLAR then who made this all happen. I have to give that same credit to the founder of my site RCTHelp! A couple of personal questions if you don’t mind and I understand a certain amount of caution has to be used on releasing personal information, but could you just tell us the general vicinity where you live and how old you are?
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| Iris |
"I live in the greatest place on earth…the city where Anthrax was first spotted! Sounds like paradise eh? The city is called Boca Raton, in southern Florida, about 45 minutes away from Miami. It’s actually very nice here, but pretty boring. I’m only recently 17, which may shock a few people since everyone I’ve told that to has been surprised. I’m really not sure how I keep up the website, go to school, play on the basketball team, and have a social life at the same time…but somehow I manage."
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| Boomer |
Phew, you are making me tired just telling me about your schedule. Man can not live by computer alone so that being said, what do you do for a living Iris, what is your trade or profession or full time occupation?
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| Iris |
"Right now I’m a full time student. I’ll be a senior in high school this coming school year. I’m currently in the middle of looking for a job in order to finance my first car, so I’ll know more about my occupation in about a month or so."
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| Boomer |
First cars are always the best ones in your memory as you go through life, don’t get me started on old cars or old memories. Are you married with family or are you still lucky and single? (Boomer looks nervously at the E-View room door while subconsciously rubbing his head)
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| Iris |
"Well, it’s pretty unusual being 17 and married around here ;). Still, as for being single or not, I recently became single."
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| Boomer |
Being married and having 3 teenage daughters really keeps me busy, I never seem to have enough time to keep up with things at my site, how much time do you put in on an average day keeping up with things on your site?
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| Iris |
"I put in hours and hours at my site. But really, it would be completely impossible to do anything at New Element without the help of my co-webmaster Adix. He really set me up with all the technical stuff, and the site wouldn’t even exist if not for him. As for the time I put in, I keep really late hours. I’m a nighthawk so I usually don’t fall asleep until 2:30-3:00 AM, so most of my New Element work actually gets done then. Much easier, less distractions, and there really isn’t anything else to do at that time."
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| Boomer |
Late night or not, you’ve been running NE for a long time now. In time connections are made and deals are worked out. Have you ever had the opportunity to speak to or correspond with Chris Sawyer, creator of RCT, since you have had NE up and running?
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| Iris |
"Well, yes and no. I’ve spoken to a representative of Chris Sawyer on many occasions, mostly in talks of trying to get Chris in an actual NE chatroom. It would be quite an event I think. I’ve been extremely close to this happening on one occasion, but at the designated time of the chat, I had to go out of time. Talk about terrible timing!"
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| Boomer |
Oh man, so close yet so far, you must have been more then just a little upset how you almost bagged the big Kahuna himself! If he walked into this room right now and sat down, what would you say to him?
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| Iris |
"I would ask him why he left the game. I think the quality of the games really dropped significantly since he left the projects. Atari has done a fine job with RCT2, but the add-on was just ridiculous. I don’t think that Chris Sawyer would have let his project become such a joke."
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| Boomer |
Amen and we are sure agreed on that one! Such a GREAT project being brought to its knees by big business, greed and lack of attention by Chris himself. Okay I want to switch gears here and get down to the heart of this E-View. I like to try to get a read what people who come to our kind of sites want to know when they read an interview like this. In this particular View I feel peeps want to know a little about the interactions between different style RCT sites and in particular how do you and I get along and how do two different, large RCT fan sites co-exist and is there any rivalry or competition between our two sites. (Boomer laughs) I’ll LET you go first and follow up with my take and that should clear a lot of myths, folklores and legends up once and for all concerning RCT sites and how they form a internet community.
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| Iris |
"I really think the people who take this rivalry stuff to heart are pretty ridiculous. There is no reason that two different large RCT communities can’t co-exist. Danimation and RCT Station did it for the longest time, and now New Element and RCT2.com are the second-coming of those two I think. I really respect RCT2.com. It’s a very friendly atmosphere and really it seems that no one person or group of people really stands out above the crowd. I think that New Element and RCT2.com bring completely different things to people. I see New Element as more of a place for park releases, etc. whereas RCT2.com offers a more varied assortment of features. You guys specialize in custom scenery, interviews, trainers, and ride exchanges, etc. while we are basically limited to a more narrow spectrum of features."
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| Boomer |
Yes, but a necessary spectrum that is appreciated by many of your members and really needed in the RCT community. Do you ever go to other RCT sites and visit in the forums?
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| Iris |
"Occasionally. I will visit RCT2.com from time to time, but usually I’m so engrossed in New Element business that I just stay there. I am a member here though, and have posted a few occasions. I used to be a member of RCT Station, and was primarily there to enjoy their RCT Survivor, which Mike Robbins was kind enough to move over to NE after the site closed."
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| Boomer |
Yes, Mike is a good guy whom I have had the pleasure of E-Viewing while at RCT Station. Before we leave this topic, a staff member at my site asked me a question that I will now ask you. How do you feel about a site such as ours, having contest that features a monthly RCT Park contest, similar to yours but different then yours also. That’s my question, his question was, how do you feel about a park that has been released and perhaps won a spotlight position at your site, being entered into other contest at other sites such as ours. Also how do you feel about accepting winning entries from other sites into your spotlight contests?
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| Iris |
"I see nothing wrong at all with your guys’ Vacation Park of the Month. I always felt that some sort of competition always enhances quality in one way or another. I loved the Wisconsin park that cbass created, and I’m really glad that it won your guys’ contest because it really deserved a lot more recognition then it was receiving. About a park being submitted into both contests, my position is pretty simple. In order for a park to win a Spotlight or Runner-Up spot at New Element, it must be unreleased/never before seen. So that would basically rule out a winning entry from RCT2.com going on to then win NE Spotlights. But, as for vice versa, if a New Element Spotlight was released, and then it won a RCT2.com award, I would have no problem with that, once the park is released it’s up to the parkmaker to decide what they want to do with their park."
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| Boomer |
When RCT Station closed down the members there all had to find somewhere to go! Some went here some went there; some went only who knows where. Now that I have my own site I have found that with this influx of new members dropping by and as new projects and ideas take shape and grow, bandwidth becomes a very important issue. Red Phoenix I’m sure, would echo that statement. Where do you stand on bandwidth and server concerns? Do you have a dedicated server or perhaps a Virtual server and/or a reliable host?
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| Iris |
"Ah, my arch nemesis: hosting. I’ve gone from host to host during my tenure at New Element. I started out on the Digital-Coaster server, but New Element got way too big to be held there any longer. Then we moved to Gearhost, which went pretty good for a while, but as the site continued to grow and grow, that fell through as well. Now we’re currently on Hostrocket, which has been very good for us so far, no problems at all. Still, I’m saving up money (as is Adix) to get ourselves a Dedicated Server and put our hosting woes behind us."
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| Boomer |
I too am looking at dedicated server and I too have had enough of so called “Hosts”! On to RCT2 now. What is your take on Wacky World and the next expansion Time Twister?
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| Iris |
"I’m extremely disappointed. I really grew to love RCT2, but the add-ons are just pathetic, for lack of a better word. I won’t even put Wacky Worlds on my computer, meaning that I won’t be able to judge any WW submissions, translating to no WW Spotlights or Runner-Ups on New Element. I’m not as up to date on Time Twister as I’d like to be, so I’m not sure if its as horrible as Wacky Worlds was, but I can only hope and pray it isn’t."
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| Boomer |
We all share in THOSE hopes! Any thoughts about Atari you would want to share with us?
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| Iris |
"I just wish they’d stop ruining such an amazing game. I think it would be a great idea if Atari went to some of the larger RCT communities, such as NE & RCT2.com, and asked for suggestions. Obviously they have no idea what they’re doing, so why not ask a bunch of die hard fans? Since the general public will buy the games regardless of what’s in it, why lose such a large demographic of buyers because of bad quality? Doesn’t make sense to me."
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| Boomer |
I could never figure that out either, why not just go to a few fan sites, see what they want, give it to them, and the word of mouth alone would sell all the CD’s that they could roll out. I don’t think it makes good marketing sense either, must be about the short term dollars they hope to make from its past reputation. (Smiles nervously and asks in dry cracked voice) Any thoughts about my site RCT2.com you want to share with us?
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| Iris |
"Well, like I stated above, I have tons of respect for RCT2.com, and lots of the staff members you have there. I see you guys as the second-coming of RCT Station in a way. You guys bring a lot of things that New Element doesn’t offer, so I find myself wandering over there more and more often."
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| Boomer |
You have some talented and creative help on your staff Iris, I have always respected and admired Mantis’ writings and ravings; a great reviewer! Also as most members on both sites know we share a common element in our staff make up and that being Kai of the KaiBuneo Coasters and GlassHouse Garden fame, not to mention producer of future generation RCT players! So in some ways we are connected closer then one might think. All that being said…. What are the plans for you and your staff for the future of New Element, anything new coming up, any fresh inside scoop you can tell us on what’s up next at your site? (Boomer laughs) I promise I won’t copy it!
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| Iris |
"Yeah, mantis has grown to be a really important member of our site. He’s definitely one of our most popular members, a great reviewer, and has recently won our Parkmaker of the Year award, so he can basically do it all. Kai has proven to be one of the most helpful, and mature mods we have. I really appreciate all the help that Kai has given me, plus he helps scout parkmakers for me from his RCTM club. Without his help, parkmakers like mantis, ToonTowner, and Twisted may not be where they are today. As for future plans, I think it’s a bright future. We’re going to be expanding the Head2Head feature at our site (the second most favored feature behind Spotlights), and will be giving it it’s own individual site, “h2h.nedesigns.com”, and we will be adding some very cool features to that. We also have Park Wars coming up, another popular feature of the site. Finally, we will be debuting mod pages, for each member of our staff that wants one. Definitely a fun time at New Element."
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| Boomer |
Sounds like fun, I actually used to do a joint review thing with Mantis at Skippy’s old, old site but we somehow drifted off to different parts of the RCT universe. Iris, do you ever feel like just saying, “forget about it” and walking away from the whole RCT scene? I know I do sometimes.
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| Iris |
"Of course! Sometimes the site just gets so overwhelming or frustrating. Being a Webmaster, you probably are one of the few people that understand just how much work goes into running such a large community. I think most people really take all that hard work for granted, and that can get really aggravating sometimes. Other times, I will just lose my enthusiasm for RCT, and I’ll take a break from the site. Still, one way or another I always seem to get dragged right back."
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| Boomer |
Yeah me too, funny how that works. I have had PM’s demanding I do this and that and telling me I’m to old and whatever and I get upset and say, “that’s it, they just don’t understand how hard I work on my site for THEIR benefit” and am tempted to just walk away, but something always changes my mind. Well I’ve lied and I’ve pried and I’ve tried to cover everything in this long over due E-View. I’m sure someone will snarl a PM off to me yelling about I didn’t ask you this or that, so we may end up in time having to do what I call a rE-View and ask you some more questions to keep everybody happy! But until then I know both of our times are very limited and I reluctantly have to wrap this puppy up. Iris…. A real pleasure it has been and feel free to drop by and say “hey” anytime at my site, I didn’t get bitten TOO bad when I visited yours, so we won’t bite back to bad either when you come to ours. Good luck with your site, although I know that luck has little to do with it, and thank you for being open and honest with both your site and your personal life.
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| Iris |
"My pleasure. A rE-View sounds fun. As for you, everybody gets the “freshman initiation” at NE ;). You’re one of us now, so feel free to stop by whenever you’d like, and I will do the same. It’s been a lot of fun; I hope to see you around. Thanks for the compliments of my site; I wish you all the luck in the world with RCT2.com. See ya around!"
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Iris has left da house! It is starting to get late and this E-View has taken its toll on this old man. Time for some sleep and tomorrow is a new day. Goodnight to you all and sweet RCT dreams!
Outside the room that Boomer was soon sawing logs in, a sound was heard even over the loud bear like snoring of old Boomer, a whoosh sound, a booming sound, a roaring jet-like sound. Any other man would have been woke up by all this strange noise, but Boomer slept the sleep of the old. Outside a beautiful silver spaceship hovered just off the ground at window level pointed right at the window that Boomer slept so soundly behind.
Then as the trees bent from the thrust of its mighty engine and dust and flying debris rolled off into the blackness of the night forest a hand was seen briefly in the red glow coming from the ships window and it was held momentarily in salute towards Boomers window. Then with strobe lights flashing and a mighty last roar of the engine a shutter powered down over the spacecraft window and in a blur of motion and sound what was once a silver spaceship was now just another twinkle in the starry heavens of deep RCT space and also just another twinkle in the sleeping eyes of Boomer. And Boomer slept on through the night.