Congratulations to Coasters for winning the Summer 2012 NoLimits contest! He created design #2, and Trackbender created design #1. You can check out the two designs by heading to this thread: http://www.lagoonisfun.com/showthread.php?tid=4230

While Trackbender did not win, I must say that his design was my personal favorite. I loved the the elements he created. My favorite element has to be the extractor. Why has that not been done on a coaster yet?

Thank you to both Coasters and Trackbender for participating!

Congrats Coasters! Your design is closer to what we'll probably see.

Thank you to all who voted for my design, even though I didn't win, and for all your enthusiastic comments.

Just a few things I've been wanting say and to respond to about my entry I call "Icarus" which I haven't been able to do up until now. I got the name idea off a Huss Condor in Mexico I saw on TPR's site. Also inspired by the trance song "Icarus" by Ralphie B. Which was intended to be the music for the contest video. I also got the idea for color scheme right of the CD jacket. A note to Nintendo fans out there. As you know the main character in the Kid Icarus games is named "Pit". That sign "Pit Row" just outside of Double Thunder and now defunct Top Eliminator would take on a whole new meaning...hmmm... I even named one of the elements "Daedalus" after Icarus' father from greek mythology. I had intended to include a replica of the "Icarus Wings" sculpture by a very talented artist I came across on the internet named Noah Z. Brock, with the name integrated into it above the what was to be a custom station. It was left out due to the contest regulations. (How many of you put this much thought into your designs?) Now I realise the length of it has been an issue for a lot of you....over 8000 ft isn't that realistic is it?...oh well, perhaps next contest, I have time to enter, I'll go for something much shorter...tis all a learning experience...this was my first contest after all.....Oh, by the way, the ride's time clocks in at just under 3:00 minutes from station to final break run. Not 4:00 minutes as falsely accused. How many real coasters with shorter lengths take longer to travers their coarses? The moderate launchs out of the station and off mid course block are intended to be a tire fly wheel. No Limits apparently has a limit when it comes to this setting, because even when you select that option for the Intamin Inverted design it only displays a linear set up...go figure. The layout was 75% complete in my head when I started construction with an idea of what elements I still wanted to include. I've learned to design my coasters this way because 90% of the time I end up changing the last bit anyway due to spacing issues that always seem to crop up. This might be hard for many of you to believe but, Icarus was actually designed to be CONSIDERABLY toned down in the wake of my unfinished intended Lake Coaster Contest entry, a multi launched B&M Inverted design called "Seagul" with 25 inversions! Featuring way more unique and extreme elements than what appear on Icarus. Remember when I wrote "That it had become more than I was willing to share" (just imagine all your complaints about the length of that one....haha!) Funny how the only carryover element was the much mentioned "Extractor".

It was a good contest and good job to Trackbender for his amazing design. I like his design its very creative and he put a lot of thought into the back story of his design than I did. The name from mine comes from the first drop and first accent. If you look at it, it resembles a big O. I wanted it to be racing themed and Overdrive fit pretty well. It had many names during its design process and even 3 different layouts. The lift and drop was always the same, it was the design I wanted. I have been wanting to use it on a design for awhile now. For the longest time I was stuff with just the lift and drop so I made all the supports for the lift and that inspired me by the way the support beams were located the drop through the lift. The Corkscrew through the lift happened by accident and I didn't have to remove any supports just add some to accommodate the corkscrew. The surf curves same last in the design process and were a last minute addition. It originally had just a large swooping over banked curve and it didn't seem to fit, so I played around with the surf curves and with much work got the g's under control. The Vertical Zero-g roll actually does pull zero g's or close enough to zero as it pulls only - 0.1 g's in the roll. I am proud of it and think it would be fun to see in reality. Some called the "boosters" on the 2nd drop, which they are in fact trim brakes making the zero g roll possible, the design of them now would not work but that's the only ones I could put on the ride. Also all g's on all turns are in the green and no deadly Vekoma turns exist in the ride. They were at the beginning but I smoothed them all out.
Thanks again for the win and thanks to Trackbender for coming up with a great design too.