A good indication of just how observant I am. I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on the image seen here on the front page of the Mart.

I'm just guessing this is part of the Mart's view on the RCT community, as well as the fun, friendly atmosphere shared by a bunch of people who have likely gone completely banana's. Is there any clarification - on the RCT liberation that is, not the people who have gone banana's, there's clearly no explanation for that.




However, if I've somehow mixed myself up with a group of guerilla's set to plundering Atari's head office in response to their below par release of the RCT 2 expansion packs, then...... count me in

Nah ok. I don't really think I'm mixed myself up with shadowy characters using a mart as a front to raise money for undergound deeds... though I was wondering why it was people appeared to be disappearing into walls... just figured it was some Harry Potter thing.



If I find this topic deleted, or worse, my prize stallion's severed head staring at me in bed tomorrow morning, then I'll know that this might've been the wrong question to ask.

Oh My!!!

I just noticed that too! Obviously the RCT Liberation Front chose to plaster one of their banners here at the Mart as a sign of defience. Why, next thing you know there will be sit-in's and the sounds of folk music! "The answer my friend...is blowin' in the wind..."

I've heard about this renegade group, they seem to be bent on preserving the wide variety of indepentant voices in the RCT Community, it seems they believe that having a variety of viewpoints and offerings is so much better than everything getting crammed into some Mega-Universal Site. They seem to support QUALITY over QUANTITY...what a concept, huh?

I've recieved some mysterious unsigned e-mails listing parts of their manifesto...it's quite radical. They seem to support the idea that RCT is (**gasp**) a GAME! And therefor is something to be enjoyed. They also have some crazy idea that it was also supposed to be FUN! Where they got ideas like that I'll never know...probably on something, those radical hop-heads always are you know!

I really don't know what they are up too...everyone KNOWS there is only ONE Mega-Universal RCT site...the OFFICIAL one! "There is no RCT but OUR RCT...and ATARI is it's name!"

Subversives I tell you, malcontents up to no good!

By crikey! The more I hear of this so called RCT Liberation Front, the more... curious I get. Good to know the Godfather isn't out to get me. You know, I never would have thought that RCT was a game! Jeepers! These guys sound like nothing but bad news... That's my kind of thing.

Thanks Wagi for clearing that up. I'll be on my guard now, always looking for strange vans and odd looking fellows on top of roof tops. Bring em on I say

(There's definatly somethin' blowing in the wind....but I don't think it's the answer.)

Why did Chades and Wagi quote the same poem? Do any of you realise that it is about the Vietnam War? Oh well, the answer may be blowin' in the wind, but it smells of refried beans...

RCT a game?!? I thought it was an addiction. You mean I've been in therapy all this time for the wrong reason?!? Well this just shoots the heck out of my excuse to spend hours with my pasty face plastered to a computer screen while I stare blurry eyed at rides that go round and round and peeps that continually get ticked off because they can't find a bathroom!

A game? I can't believe it!!!!

RCT is not a game, Its a way of life ..

La Resistance lives on!! Hmm nice to see that people want our veiws on sub par expansion packs heard.

Omg... Wow...

I wonder if they question the various mergers in the RCT Community....

This group has potential... Lotsa potential.....

Hmm...your theory could be correct.

I was contacted on my tin-can telephone one night by a deep, husky (though not necessarily male) voice and asked if I'd heard about the RCTLF? When I said I hadn't, I was filled in on what may potentially become a vast underground network of true RCT enthusiasts who are more interested in seeing quality fan sites exist and thrive regardless of member numbers or post counts.

A noble idea, if I ever heard one.

I think the folks behind the RCT Liberation Front were concerned over the recent site mergers happening in the RCT community. Apparently there was some concern that other self-proclaimed "super" RCT sites were soliciting smaller sites with promises of notoriety and prestige in exchange for the heart and soul of the smaller sites (and especially for their downloads). And apparently this was under the guise that all these smaller sites had simultaneoulsy (within a few days of each other?) approached the "super" site asking to merge, not the other way around (despite an obvious paper trail).

It was one of the RCTLF's monkeys that put the graphic on the home page of the Mart. Given the skill of the monkey in writing HTML code, I decided to let it stay out of pure respect for the monkey's accomplishment.

I was told the goal behind the RCTLF wasn't to subvert the mergers or to cast shame on the "super" sites, but simply to encourage other smaller sites in the community to remain independent, to retain their individual voices and to realize that having X number of members or Y number of posts doesn't make a site great; rather, it's the quality and personality of the individual sites that contributes to the overall makeup and well-being of the broader RCT Community.

Other sites in the Community who agree with this ideal are welcome to integrate these graphics into their site(s) in any way they see fit.

100x100:


60x100:


468x60:






Viva la resistance!

**sigh**

When will people ever learn that the old saying "Bigger isn't Better" is the truth?

Oh, sure...having a big one can impress everyone and make some even swoon, but let's be realistic, a lot of people just aren't comfortable dealing with something that size, and there's not much pleasure in it. Oh we all claim we want a big one, but what do you do with it once you have one? Too big and it just become's cumbersome...you just don't know where to start! And for most of us, a big one soon loses it's attractiveness...the thrill just isn't there anymore. Why, I think many of us would rather deal with a wider variety in many shapes and sizes than some huge monolith that just ends up chafing you the wrong way...you could probably try several smaller ones before you ever worked your way through a big one. Variety is the spice of life they say!

So, sure...cast the occasional admiring glance when spotting a big boy, but save yourself for the myrid pleasures offered by the smaller guys...after all they have learned how to make the most out of their small size and work a lot harder making sure you enjoy it...

I agree whole-heartedly, and you can count on my support



Edit: please would you make a matching avatar for us to use in forums?

2 Avatars added. Just let me know if you need any special sized graphics and I can see if the monkey knows Photoshop, too.

Well, OBVIOUSLY none of you people were around in the 70's!

Avatars? Trained monkeys? Pledges of support? Please, people!!!

The whole purpose of any self-respecting "Liberation Front" is to be an anonymous group protesting against something (even if we haven't always figured it out yet) by slapping up posters, raising our fists in the air as we yell and shout, then all heading over to someone's apartment to have pizza and grape Kool-aid afterwards. You certainly didn't identify yourself (unless you wanted someone's number to ask them out later). That would not be seen as cool. I mean, look at Patty Hearst...35 years later and she still only gets celebrity apperances on "B" movie titles...you just don't want to go through life labeled as a Libber...trust me.

You also certainly make sure while you are railing against "the Man" , you do so in a nice, tasteful way...remember those protesting against Ford and GM 30 years ago for polluting the earth now expect to get their SUV's for 0% Interest.

You certainly don't want to go dragging people through the mud...because it's very difficult to do so without covering yourself as well. Do you KNOW what mud does to a nice Afro and bellbottoms? Not to mention my best finged leather vest and the platform shoes!

The best way to support the aims of this RCT Liberation Front? Visit and support the smaller sites as well as the larger ones. Make constructive comments and recognize good work. There is not a single RCT site that doesn't have something valuable to share...not a single one.

And for gosh sakes remember this is a spoof!

Absolutely! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Every RCT site out there has it's good (and bad, perhaps) qualities. But each site should be encouraged to foster the good things and to retain that individual voice that makes the canvas of the broader RCT Community such a diverse and wonderful thing.

The point of RCT Liberation Front isn't to protest anyone; but to encourage everyone.

Visit the smaller sites. Visit your favorite sites often. If you don't like a site, don't visit it. But don't go to other sites and bad mouth the sites you don't like. As Wagi said, that makes you no better and doesn't help the greater good of the community.

Or so the monkey told me...

I left a big site to come here, and I haven't looked back. I decided to have a peek the other day and see what was happening, but was only met with disappointment. It seems some sites strive to get so big and greedy they fail to see what sort of monster they've become, hidden by a mask of percieved good intention.

A wise academic told me "Don't see a negative comment as a complaint, but rather a means to improve."

The success of the RCT community I believe is to support the new-comers to the game. They may not be producing brilliant pieces of work initially, but some positive encouragement, and giving tips where needed is the only way to go. However, at this monolithic site, I saw one track designer pumping out a whole lot of tracks, but none I would ever find a use for in my parks. To bump up excitement, a multitude of trees were added (of the same type) to completely surround the ride. And yet, the comments were the same as I read in other threads (literal copy + paste, and maybe a quote with a blatant "ditto") by most of the same people. If RCT were a way of life, then that sort of attitude would be reminiscent of being thrown back into the dark ages, and it would take some time before human's could re-emerge as a shining civilization. It seemed that designer was focused on quantity rather than quality, and couldn't see that bumping up excitement with trees says little, or that long water rides can cause more trouble than its worth.

The smaller sites however, people grow on each other. Even though my initial sign up was a while ago, and its taken so long for me to really become an active member here because of a thing called an outside life, it really feels like now I know the regulars here, and what sort of personality they have. And it is here where both praise and positive criticism can be given, without being taken as an insult to the person's work because everyone gets along, despite whether they post once a week, or once an hour. And that in itself is a tribute to the staff and members here.

So yes, I support the RCT Liberation Front, as it is the best method to keep the RCT Community fresh and moving forward. It is far better to see quality work which takes months to complete, which introduces something new to the community rather than a whole lot of something that took a few minutes to put together with no thought at all, and being passed off as good work. It may sound harsh, but it is that attitude that makes the game look and feel tired and well past its used by date.

Every small site has something to offer. One example was RCT HQ (reasonably small) Though I never was very active in RCT HQ's forums (it was really for the club I guess) the park reviews and interviews and the like were what kept me going back, and those will be greatly missed, for as always, they were well written and very humourous.

Woah! I didn't even know about this until today LOL. What great idea that I support whole-heartedly.


I totally agree with this statement fully. Human's behavior is timeless. You'll alway find that the downfall of civilizations (and in this case, sites) it is ultimately because of the pursuit and conquest of power. Soon the empires will become to big for the government to reign over and the empires will implode on themsevles...

Taking something I learned from Aristotle:

Monarchy will eventually turn to Tyranny
Aristocrocy will turn to Oligarchy
and a PURE Democracy (everything is controlled by the people [or in this case, members]) will turn to Anarchy.

I'll step off my soapbox now...
(That stuff made sense in my mind LOL, it just came out kinda confusing )

Viva la revolucion!

No... you HAVE to be kidding... rct.... a game... it's the end of the world I knew it.............

I "grew up" on small sites. I dont even know which sites all of you are specifically referring to but I support the RCTLF anyway. Hell, I support most any kind of radical group you can think of!

Fortunately, the 60's were an exceptional detour!

hmm those do no gooders of the liberation front have stuck my site as well.

[word automaticly filtered] them!!!

They fly in stick their dang posters on sites then zip out faster than a ride on TTD.

Quite honestly, as positive a thing as this could be, I think that one point still needs to be made.

RCTHQ was a fun site to run, but after four years of not making much of a real jump in members or anything, I grew discouraged. As time went on, I had less time to work on it too... That was a bummer. That's also why I merged with RCT Depot.

One thing that has to be remembered is that while RCT is a lot of fun and great friendships can be formed, real life absolutely has to be the most prevalent task on one's "To-Do" list.

I do realize some sites just close from discouragement, and I don't think that's a reason to merge, since hey, I stayed small for 4 years, lol!

So consider this post to be my support of this measure to an extent. I don't think small sites should give up, but there are just times where you can't do much and discouragement comes to take over.

And hey, if they wanna merge to be with a bigger site so that they can have more fun talking with people and such, then more power to them! I do think that whatever the webmaster finds more fun should be the first action they make!

- Freak =)

I have been through it all with Ultimate RCT. Started small and grew quickly only to level off just as quick. New ACTIVE members became few and far between. Then one day it seemed that even the regulars disappeared, so it came to the point that I could not fund the site and stopped supproting it. I am lucky that I am friends with my host and he did let the site stay up so long as it was not heavily used. I did have several offers for a merge but refused them all, and in fact made sure I told people that the downloads could not be posted on other sites unless they got permission from the creators of the rides and parks.

On a side note I am very glad that Fossil found another good guy to host his site that was the one thing I was most sorry to have lost.

In my opinion, the problem with the big RCT sites, is that they after a while reach a point when they doesn't seem to care what their designers post. In some cases, it even seems as though the designers themselves don't care. This inevitably results in drastically lowered quality. Still, people give it good comments, mostly just to boost their post count than to express their real opinion on it. I've seen this on many sites. I've also noticed that the "quantity not quality" stuff often have far less negative comments than the "quality not quantity" stuff, since if something's really good, people take time to look at it, and they discover things they do or don't like. If something isn't good, and people just post for the sake of posting, they don't really look at the things.

I've been to several small sites where I've found some really good stuff, though in small quantity. The bigger sites go on about how many members and downloads they have, at every new site they see some of the senior members register, one of them posts a big advertisement about how great their big site is, and the others agree. This makes the people at the small site leave it for the big site with all their downloads, most of which aren't actually that good - but what the heck - they only hear good things from people with huge number of posts, and they hear it all the time, get swamped by it, and completly forgets about the really good stuff on the small sites, leaving the owners of the small sites with a completly empty site. Far too many small sites have gone under because of this.

Once, I ran a small forum with a guy called Colonel Custerd, and when we finally decided to close our site after around five futile attempts to get people there by posting really good work, the majority of all posts were advertisements for big RCT sites.

When I make stuff to share in the community, I try as hard as I can to focus on quality instead of quantity, and when I comment other peoples work, I try to explain what I like or don't like, why I like or don't like it, and, when I don't like something, try to explain how they could improve it.

I'll happily support RCTLF, since preserving small sites and focusing on quality is very important.

/mint

What happened to the avatars?

All the images still appear in the post on page #2... so not sure what you're referring to rpncreator. Hopefully it was just a glitch that's been resolved.

Will there be a place for the RCTLF logo in next weeks Weekly Flyer?

Well... there's really nowhere for it to link to. RCTLF is everywhere... in each of us, surrounding us... binding us to the universe.

And the "weekly" wasn't literal. That took a week to design, I can't imagine updating the whole thing each week. LOL

We'll update as we have new content to promote.

Eh, Brad, eh....while you're updating...you may want to remove the "Happy holidays..." message from beneath your avatar. That is unless you put it there for Valentine's Day.

Brad's right. RCTFL lives in all of us. I'm so happy it lives in me! (Eek! Not another personality! Velvet shut up. Eh...okay.)

Okay. I admit it. I'm in a weird mood.

Rather like the 'force' then? I'm glad because I've been looking for new aspects of geekiness to implant into my psychi!

Velvet, honey... can I please talk to Sybil?