Astroland - A 20 x 20 Grid Park

[MattDownes]

Hi Everyone,

Intro may get wordy so feel free to skip straight to the pretty pictures!

Some of you may know I have been spending a lot of time working on my Parlusiana project - a map of a port/lumber town that kinda slots in to the Rose Lake Park universe - but I also have a lot of others on the go; Diznee World (three guesses as to what that's based on...), Thunder Gun Express (a wooden rollercoaster and small corner of a park), Ice Town (Section of a park with a Seven Dwarves Mine Train type coaster) to name just a few of the main ones. Sometimes I overwhelm myself as I start too much and lose inspiration for one or other of the projects for a bit and so it was I found myself needing a distraction.

Enter Hethetheth's cool 'Rustica 20 x 20' park for a bit of inspiration. 20 x 20 is a tiny area to work in and so not only presents a challenge but also should be quick and easy to build, right?! WRONG! I have spent way too long on this obsessing about little details and tweaking things BUT it's finished (at least I thought it was until I noticed some things missing/that need adjusting in these pics!) which is more than I can say for the other projects AND most importantly the challenge was a lot of fun - I'd encourage anyone to give it a go!

Now, let's take a look at "Astroland - Out Of This World Fun!"

Astroland is a small park built on a single block of a grid system town somewhere in the United States around 1969/70 (I'll be honest the back story of this park is pretty loose, I didn't put much thought in...). The owners were inspired by the space race and the first man stepping foot on the moon (July 20th 1969) to create a space themed park/entertainment centre on this small parcel of land.

Originally the park opened with the Cinema & Arcade Buildings as well as a small collection of rides. These included a Big Wheel on the roof (Space Wheel) and some small flat rides and carnival style games but also the slightly more unique People Mover type ride - the only one outside of a Disney Park. (I may have made that up... and this next bit too so please don't be offended if it's not factually correct!) Disney, having invented the People Mover ride system in the 1960s, thought they could make a few bucks selling it as a transportation system with no luck, but they did sell one to this small park and it went on to be one of the most popular and unusual attractions at Astroland.

Fast forward to the present day (there or thereabouts) and things haven't changed that much around the park, Space Wheel and Astroland RapidTrans are still bringing joy to guests, as are the Arcade and Cinema, and aesthetically the park hasn't change much other than a few lighting upgrades and a lick of paint. However, the current owners have invested in some newer thrill rides to appeal to the tastes of a modern audience including Shuttle Spin and a spinning coaster called Re Entry. The park is a mix of old and new and still retains it's space theme, although now viewed through a more nostalgic lens.

I'd like to take you on a little tour of the park, however, having taken nearly 100 Photos (and spending longer going through them than building the park!!!) it's going to have to be split in to manageable chunks, here's what I am thinking:

1. Entrance Plaza
2. Thrill Rides: Shuttle Spin & Re Entry
3. Classic Rides: Astroland RapidTrans & Space Wheel
4. Outside The Park
5. Overviews/Non-Natural Angles

Let's dive right in and pay a visit to Astroland!

Crossing the road we see the main entrance plaza of Astroland ahead of us.

From this angle you can see all four of the park's main attractions - Space Wheel at the back, Shuttle Spin up in the air over the Re Entry rollercoaster and the Astroland RapidTrans on balconies surrounding the plaza.

Welcome to Astroland!

There's plenty of places to sit and rest or eat food from one of the vendors on the plaza.

The fountains in the centre of the plaza perform a short 'dancing waters' type show every hour on the hour during the afternoon.

The whole park really comes alive at night.

The Astroland sign all lit up at night.

This is one of my favourite places to sit and take everything in at night.

The plaza sits between the arcade building (on the left/west side) and the cinema building (on the right/east side) and is home to the majority of the park's food and drink outlets.

And lastly a view from the Astroland RapidTrans looking down on the Plaza, from here we'll walk further in to the park and on to the two newest attractions Shuttle Spin and Re Entry.

See you next time!

 

[HeatherG]

I really like these 20x20 parks! Can’t wait to see more

 

[Citytrader]

Very, very cute! This is just great! Looking forward to more!

Just a thought - I would consider putting the planter circles (forget what they are called) under those palm trees by the fountain, it looks like they are growing straight out of the concrete.

 

[MattDownes]

Thank you both!

Citytrader, I used a workshop item that is supposed to be a metal planting grate for concrete paths etc. but it is a little 2D so only really works from certain angles, might swap it out as I definitely see what you mean!

 

[Citytrader]

Glad I could be of help. Are you going to be using the people mover? Seems perfect for this park!

 

[MattDownes]

Certainly am, the Astroland RapidTrans is a People Mover - it's actually up on the balconies either side of the entrance plaza, you can just see it in the background of the last image!

 

[MattDownes]

Let's continue our tour of Astroland!

After walking through the main entrance plaza the first ride you see if Shuttle Spin, this is a modern thrill ride added by the current owners having removed the old flat rides and carnival games that used to fill the main park area.

Shuttle Spin does several full loops and is the most intense thrill ride in this small park!

The other new addition was the spinning rollercoaster Re Entry which starts from this open station area to the west of the park.

After the first drop over the main entrance plaza Re Entry makes it's way to the east side of the park where the majority of the ride is located.

Looking down from the Astroland RapidTrans you get a better idea of the layout of this rollercoaster.

From the Space Wheel you can see how it twists and turns around itself to get the maximum track in to a tiny area.

At night the rides are lit up, Shuttle Spin is mainly lit in blue but some powerful white spotlights behind the ride give the impression of stars on the surrounding concrete and the beams look great in the dark.

Shuttle Spin forms the centre piece of this area, with Re Entry's station to one side and the majority of it's track to the other.

Re Entry is also lit up at night.

The white up lights on the supports match the lit up structure of the Astroland RapidTrans.

Speaking of the Astroland RapidTrans, we've already seen a few images taken from the ride looking at other areas of the park but in the next update we'll have a closer look at the two original rides still operating in the park - Astroland RapidTrans and the Space Wheel.

See you then!

 

[MattDownes]

Moving on to the older rides in the park, first up is the Astroland RapidTrans.

This is a People Move type ride that opened with the park and has proved very popular over the years as a more unusual attraction in such a small park.

The ride offers some great aerial views of the park and passes the entrance plaza twice as it loops around both the Cinema and the Arcade buildings.

You also get to see the other attractions from different angles like this view of Re Entry.

Also still running from opening day is the Space Wheel perched high on the roof above the Astroland RapidTrans station.

It's another gentle ride but also offers some great views of the park from above.

The white and blue colour scheme of the park extends to lighting too and most of the course of the RapidTrans is bathed in a blue glow.

The ride runs right up until park close at 10pm so you can experience it in the light and dark.

At the back of the Arcade, Cinema and it's own station the RapidTrans runs through short tunnels before re-appearing above the park.

A recent addition is the fan of light beams behind the Space Wheel which makes for a striking image at night.

Looking down at the park lit up at night is not to be missed!

I hope you enjoyed a look at the classic attractions still running in Astroland, join me next time when I will be taking a stroll around the outer perimeter of the park!

See you then!

 

[Fisherman1]

Nice work!!! Great to see a new park project from you.

 

[MattDownes]

Thanks Fisherman - needed a break from Parlusiana so thought I'd do something with actual rides in it!

Now we've had a good look inside the park I thought I'd take a stroll around the perimeter and show you what the park looks like from the outside.

To the south west corner of the park we can find the arcade building featuring a host of classic games alongside some more modern amusements.

To the south east we find the cinema, it's a small single screen cinema just as it was back when the park opened but it certainly makes for a nostalgic film going experience.

Walking up the east side of the park I passed a delivery truck unloading for the cinema then stopped to watch a few cars go past on Re Entry over the fence.

The rear of the park doesn't have any public access so big arrow signs point you to the east and west entrances.

The rear of the park is also where you'll find the two bus stops that serve the park.

I completed a lap of the park walking back down the west side before grabbing some food at the entrance plaza on my way back in to ride some more.

At night the cinema and arcade are lit up including their original neon signs that have been refurbished over the last couple of years.

Despite having no entrance the rear of the park is also lit up at night to match the rest of the park.

I really like how the RapidTrans supports are lit at night, the bright white makes a nice contrast to the blue paint and lighting around the park.

Well now it's time for me to get on my bus home but I had a really enjoyable day at Astroland and I hope you enjoyed following me around!

Next up I drop the pretence and show you the aerial views and a bit more of how the park all fits together!

See you then!

 

[Fisherman1]

Mmmmm...Slurm.... Looking GREAT!!

 

[MattDownes]

Onwards to the overviews - let's have a look at how this all fits in the 20 x 20 Grid!

An overview of the whole park - the space within the inner sidewalks is 20 x 20 and none of the park buildings or rides sit outside of this area.

This is the whole of the front façade viewed from further back, guests enter along this path and cross the road at the lights to enter the park.

Bringing the angle up a bit you can see how the two buildings frame the front with the entrance plaza in between. Neither building has an interior (it's not my strong point!) but the arcade does have a path through with arcade games on it and the cinema has some ATMs in it so guests do go in and out of these buildings.

This is the entire east side viewed from street level, there's an entrance to the park behind the cinema, the rest of this side is behind a short wall/fence with the RapidTrans on stilts behind it.

From slightly higher up you can see the main track of Re Entry is at this side of the park and the RapidTrans curves round in to it's station building at the rear of the park.

The rear of the park is all about the Space Wheel perched on top of the RapidTrans station, the lower level of this building is actually cut off from the rest of the park by the brake run of Re Entry so I imagined it would probably mostly be for storage and perhaps also houses utilities for the park.

The rear of the park is also home to two bus stops serving the local area. You can see from this view how the building is essentially in three levels. The lower level is storage, the Re Entry brake run and also the entrance to guests to go up to the second level. The second level is the RapidTrans station and also the RapidTrans passes through a tunnel at the rear. The top floor/roof is then home to the Space Wheel.

The West of the park is very similar to the east. You can see the doors on the building at the rear have 'Danger High Voltage' signs on them as I imagined these would be the utilities areas probably providing the power for the RapidTrans above.

From higher up we can see that Re Entry starts on this side of the park, passes over the West Entrance on to the Arcade roof then after dip over the main entrance the majority of the track is located to the East. Shuttle Spin sits in the centre of the park in the middle of Re Entry.

Lastly, as a little bonus, here's the track layout of Re Entry viewed from above, clearances are a little tight in places but doesn't feel entirely un-realistic and it was a tight space to build in - I reckon a better coaster builder than me could probably tweak it to make the clearances work in reality as well as just the game!

That's pretty much it for Astroland - I have these sorts of angles again but at night which I will share shortly to show off all the lighting but then that will be that!

Hope you've enjoyed looking around - I highly recommend giving a 20 x 20 park a go as it's definitely a fun challenge!

 

[MattDownes]

Ok, one last look at Astroland at night!

The park and surrounding streets are all lit at night - mostly blue on buildings and white on paths!

The cinema & arcade signs and posters all light up.

And the main entrance plaza is lit from above (around the RapidTrans balconies) as is the park name sign.

The side streets are darker at night with only the park name signs and the RapidTrans supports lit.

Other than the street lights it's mostly dark to the east!

To the rear the RapidTrans station is lit in blue and you get a nice view of the light beams behind the Space Wheel.

The roof top around the Space Wheel is also lit up for safety.

The west side of the park is lit similarly to the east.

Only really illuminated by the street lights.

And that is that - Goodnight Astroland!

I hope you enjoyed looking around this tiny park, I certainly enjoyed building it!

 

[HeatherG]

@MattDownes will this be put on the steam workshop?
I would love to take a ride on the People Mover and the rest.

 

[MattDownes]

Hi Heather!

Glad you like the park!

I hadn't really thought about it but I certainly can, just need to do a few little tweaks and then make a list of any TMTK items I used (I don't think there's too many on this one!) and then I will upload it and post the link here!

 

[MattDownes]

Sorry for the delay - the park is on the Workshop here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2157298448

I used more TMTK Items than I thought, this should be the full list:

Tazan's Dimensional Lumber (2x10 0.5m, 2x10 2m & 2x10 4m for road markings)
iDro's Small Font (I used most letters as this forms a lot of the signage around the park)
iDro's Light Font Glow (Used for Cinema & Arcade Signs, also us the I for any neon lines)
Cebism's CCTV Camera and Support (Used around the RapidTrans course)
iDro's Beams (Definitely used the 1m 20cm x 20cm around the posters and billboards but probably others hiding around the park - I would recommend downloading the set, they're very useful!)
Delgus's Chinese Windmill Palm Tree - Small (Palms on the Entrance Plaza)
lilibat's Tile Panel Grimy 4m (Base of the Entrance Plaza Fountains)
aladdinsboy's Generic Trash Bin (Various locations around the park)
JayReplay's Gulpee & Pipshot Barrel Coolers (Entrance Plaza and Drinks Stand)
iDro's Toilet & Locker Signs (By restrooms at back of Cinema)
SirMaverick34's Letters (Used for the main Astroland Sign)
Geekism's Safety Electrocution & Safety No Entry Signs (Various Locations around park)
Ztitus's Bus Stop Sign A (Both Bus Stops at rear of park)
iDro's Bus Road Making (Both Bus Stops at rear of park)
JayReplay's Pipshot & Gulpee Wheeled Stands (Drinks Stands)
Woody's Gulpee Plushie (On Gulpee Drinks Stand)
x-::R3DMyst::-x's Gulpee Snack Packs (All Flavours on Gulpee Drinks Stand)
Ozo's Electrical Cabinet (Around RapidTrans course)

Everything else should be in game or from DLC.

I also used images for posters and billboards around the park which can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LMfDaumTShihXGUg6

Enjoy!

 

[Cosmic Cow]

Great job! The first time I think that the space shuttle ride looks nice in a park...
I will have a look in the park when i’m at home

 

[MattDownes]

Thanks Cosmic Cow - Yeah, it actually worked for this park!

Hope you enjoy looking around!

 

[Citytrader]

Have to say I loved this park! It's not very often you find a park with just the right "space age" vibe. Really reminds me of the old Tomorrowland at Disney. A fun, nutty, Googie architecture look!

Really enjoyed walking around, and wanted the park to be bigger with even more rides!

Very, very fun well detailed!

 

[MattDownes]

Thank you so much for the kind words @Citytrader!

Definitely took a lot of inspiration from Tomorrowland at both California & Florida but also was accutely aware that such a small park wouldn't have a huge turnover like Disney so tried to get a good balance of the theme but also simplicity (things like a lot of the lighting being firehouse flood lights on sticks, not many big theming items beyond the Shuttle ride and the architecture etc.) - the new owners have clearly invested but it's still a little rough around the edges with the money mostly going in to ride upgrades (Shuttle Spin, Re Entry).

Pleased with the results and glad you enjoyed looking around!

Also, just realised I missed a TMTK item off the list, pretty sure I used Oli414's Emergency Exit Signs in a few places around the park too!