No Limits or Scream Machines

Which one do you think is better?  I still cant try scream machines because when i install the demo, i need a .dll file that is missing...write back!
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Scream Machines was so unimpressive that I don't remember a single thing about it. ;)

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow!

That dll. problem is Direct X. It requires Direct X 8, but unless you have a 1.5 Ghz processor, its not worth it. Scream Machine is also as buggy as an anthill.

SM was pretty good, but it had a few things that needed fixing.  from the updated page it seems like a few things were fixed, but I have a feeling that NL is going to be the better game.
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Jay and Silent Bob have left the building ~Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

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Velduanga said:
That dll. problem is Direct X. It requires Direct X 8, but unless you have a 1.5 Ghz processor, its not worth it. Scream Machine is also as buggy as an anthill.

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What do you mean?  I run Scream Machines on a P2-350, and it's smooth!  For the most part, SM is easier to use, but doesn't have the graphics or sound that No Limits has.  No Limits also seems to have a much more powerful editor.  They're both good, but I think No Limits will end up being better in the end. 

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Jman
Webmaster: Gravibulb Coasters
http://balder.prohosting.com/gravibulb/coasters/

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Velduanga said:
That dll. problem is Direct X. It requires Direct X 8, but unless you have a 1.5 Ghz processor, its not worth it. Scream Machine is also as buggy as an anthill.

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What does DirectX have to do with processor speed? Every new version has additional API calls available to developers, it doesn't strain your system anymore. In fact, many benchmarks made when 8 came out seem to indicate a lot of optimization in code.
Even then, it doesn't matter, since the game talks to OpenGL, not Direct3D.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow!

The DLL error is, in fact, because you must have the latest version of DX installed.  That'll solve that problem.  If not, e-mail support@screammachinesgame.com and we'll work toward figuring out what's going on.  At least SM gives you all awesome tech. support :)

The demo release was buggy, but you can't imagine how much things have improved.  Brian was a bit regretful about releasing the demo in that state, and has since vowed not to bow in to pressure from eager fans.

As for performance - unfortunately, it's all over the map.  Scream Machines (especially in it's earlier builds) is a memory hog.  The more available memory you've got, and the more RAM you've got, the better things will be.  Processer speed isn't really going to affect your gameplay too much at all.  I run SM on a AMD K6-2 533 with 312 MB of RAM and GeForce 2 MX PCI (32 MB) and I get a consistent frame rate that's above 50.  With all of the new graphical enhancements on, it runs at a respectable 40-50 fps.

And, after all is said and done, keep in mind that both developers have done all of this work because they wanted to, and for no other reason.  They're not trying to make a fortune off their work, but they were kind enough to release it for everyone to enjoy.  So, please, remember that when you create some sort of false competition between the two games.

~ Michael ~

I found Scream Machines to be a hate-ful program in my opinion. I spent a week with that program, and still couldn't master simple layouts because it doesn't work as smooth as I'd like it to. The biggest beef with Scream Machines is the horrid camera system.

Even more hateful on Scream Machines is that when I had my Voodoo 3500, it was completely missing ground textures. Also, the sound very quiet & some ripped from RCT it felt.
Once I got the GeForce3, the problems with the ground textures were fixed, but still... it was a very frustrating program with its building interface.

I found that just with one day playing around, I really got to enjoy No Limits. I sincerely cannot wait until the full version comes out.
I DEFINATELY cannot wait until the additional downloads come out, such as different trees, objects, water, and land height adjusting.

If all those come out as seperate downloads, I bet that you can create your own coaster that may even rival Badnitrus!

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Proud to be an American!!

I have to have the worst graphics card in the world.... an ATI Rage Turbo 2x, but with 384 megs of ram SM runs ice smooth...I have never had any problems that everyone else has had accept the support glitch,which a patch was released to fix. No lLits runs at 7 fps for me! With its editor that cant make nearly as smooth of transfers as easily as SM, it has since been deleted :) . Check out the new screenshots on www.screammachinesgame.com , they show how much it has progressed. ms696969, you press F6 to make it go, F4 to get a first person veiw!
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Land and height adjustment, a train builder and importer, water, trees(with dowloadable packs of more of them), a nifto speedometer, screenshot capability, and a new 2-d editor from different angles will come with the full version of Scream Machines. The 2-d editor is optional and you can still use the 3-d one with it, so don't fret. Once again check out www.screammachinesgame.com for screenshots and capabilites to come!
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My Coaster Creations: www.angelfire.com/extreme/screams/smcoasters.html

Scream Machines can be harder than NL at times, and certainly doesn't run as well on the ol' Intel 810 video card. If you play around with NL's editor, you will probably find it very easy to pick up, and easy to make realistic creations. It took me a few minutes to grasp it, but just the thought of my coasters running on the screen like Ole's do makes me drool all over my keyboard.
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Personally I liked Scream Machines better. I have an AMD-500MHz  processor and SM works very nicely. Only all the bugs it has makes the game bad. As for NL, I finally got it to actually run a coaster and the graphics are very nice but it runs on like 7fps. I don't know if I should get a better processor or more MHz. I am not buying No Limits until it runs atleast simi nicely
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"The opposite of war isn't peace, its creation," Rent.

I find No Limits much more satisfying since I have a 1.2 GHZ processor and it just looks way better than SM and I can't wait until the real thing comes out. I absoloutely love the editor since I find it so much more powerful than that of SM and waaaaayyy more than RCT since like the game says; it has "No Limits" and the learning curve is quite steep but I'm 12 and it took me around 20mins to learn everything about the editor in terms of dive loops and interlock loops. Fave coaster sim ever.
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I have a photographic memory... I just forgot to put film in.

ok, for the people who are complaining about 7fps, upgrade your card if you havent already. the same thing happened to my friend with a ge-force 3, and when he upgraded, he was over 100fps.  but i like the BOTH games, i hate how people say "oh SM sucks, the graphics suck, and the editor is hard"  my god people, SM's editor is the simplest thing out there, if you learned NL's editor "in a snap" then how the hell did you not get SM's editor, at least give it a try.  like pki-goer said, if you look at the new screenshots instead of being stubborn and for some reason thinking that the way the demo looks is gonna be how the full version looks and thats that, then your wrong.  SM looks awesome now, and the graphics have improved as well.  i do love NL, but i also love SM, to me, they are awesome games in their own ways.  if you want a really custom coaster with land, water, etc, make it in SM, if you want to just have a different ride, go for NL.  they are basically the same thing almost, just at least try the programs to their full extent before bashing them....

You don't even need a GeForce3. I've been able to run the thing on a "lowly" and outdated TNT2 card and it looks great. I credit Nvidia's outstanding OpenGL driver. Anything from there on up in Nvidia's product line will do you well. The GeForce2 MX is the best bang for the buck, without question, as my wife and I both have them in our machines to play Max Payne and Everquest.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow!

Right now I'm torn.  First off, I know the demos are only partially representative of the final products, so my comparisons have to be tempered. 

No Limits seems at this time to be graphically superior.  Scream Machines isn't bad looking mind you... but No Limits is friggin' pretty. 

Both run decently on my machine, though I wonder how much No Limits takes advantage of the T&L capabilities of the GeForce line of cards.

I must admit that I've only edited with Scream Machines becuase I can't stand not being able to save my work... it's a veritable pet peeve of mine.  That said, I find Scream Machines to be a very good editor that I can control rather handily.  No Limits we'll just have to see about...

Scream Machines appears on the demo surface to be much buggier than No Lmits... but I attribute a great deal of that to its pre-release nature (the new screenshots already look light years ahead in terms of user interface if nothing else).

Scream Machines has one ace in the hole, however, in that it has the terrain editing feature.  I just love being able to build terrain coasters.  No Limits dropped that ball on not having terrain, IMNSHO.

So putting the two up side to side... I'd say it's a draw.

That said... I plan on buying both :)

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Give the NL editor time. I'm very adept at it now, and I can't wait to be able to save some stuff. :) It's much easier than you might think.

I like SM's editor based on the fact that you can play around with text and numerical values. I like to build a 160' coaster and know that it is 160'. I guess NL wouldn't have this problem once Ole puts the American (or Medieval) system in there for all of us crazy yankees...

Both have their ups and downs, but at this point, if you take the time to really understand NL's editor, you would find it more satisfying than you do now. As for the camera system, NL has this one down outright...

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Loopscrew.com: Your brand new, and only, editorial based coaster site!
6/8/01

If I may, let me quote the creator of Scream Machines from a recent post over at Scream Machines Central...

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Just to let everyone know, SM supports the bezier curves just like NL. You edit them in a different way, but they are there. The SM demo only included one of six editing modes. And that one mode was missing a couple of major features. The only thing NL has that SM doesn't as far as editing features is the custom supports. I had them in a while back, but dropped them when I switched from OpenGL to DX8. As far as kinking in the track, that is caused by using the Z Axis rotation when you aren't supposed to. The correct way was stated in the help files that came with the demo. The game now has code to totally block using the Z Axis in the wrong way. The current version of SM is A LOT better than the released SM demo. I know everyone wants to compare the two, which is unfortunate. But you should at least wait until the final versions of each game are released

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This just leads me to believe more than ever that we havn't really yet seen what Scream Machines has to offer.

*** This post was edited by FloridaCoasterRider on 10/10/2001. ***

I think we have seen most of what SM has to offer in the editor (not counting other train/track styles).  The only editing mode in the original SM editor was the 3D mode, and since he added the top, front, back, left, and right orthagonal views bringing the mode to 6.  NL has those same modes already in place and working quite well.

Terrain can be nice, and it might be something Ole would look into for a future release.  Terrain does also cause a bigger framerate hit for all those extra land polys.  But do remember that terrain doesn't make or break a coaster, and in fact most of the best coasters ever built were built on flat land.

-Ride_Op

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Visit my old Ultra Coaster page: www.geocities.com/ride_op

I don't think you can really compare them until they are both released; right now you're basing everything on demos which, from past history, are not always indicative of the final product.
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