Contest ended

[falkon2]

Congrats to Calis, it seems that triangle spamming has been beaten silly by those smelly old cables =)

Ah well, even Gray got beat, so I guess you're way out of our league. =)

[Sauron]

Calis,

Congrats on the best Bridge.

My expensive attempt @ 114948

[Andy24]

I like to think that the asemetric twist is intentional. It is more realistic that way anyway.

but I do not think it is random because then some bridges would only fail some of the time

[Calis]

Yeah, triangle spamming age is over http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

You can get my bridge at
ftp://ftp.complang.tuwien.ac.at/pub/herbert/maximus1.zip

I" target="_blank">ftp://ftp.complang.tuwien.ac.at/pub/herbert/maximus1.zip

I have included two other bridges, both do interesting collapses:

badtumbl is my first try, over optimized.
I had rectangular supports and tried to remove the lateral links at the bottom to save $. But this design seems to need the weight of these (There shouldnt be any other forces there.). Just re-insert another lateral link (to make it symmetric again) and it will work.

ok8not5 is even more interesting, as it can withstand 7 and 8 cars, but it collapses with 5 and 6. So if you ever wondered whether it is possible to build a bridge that gets more stable with more weight on it, look no further ;)
(on the other hand, it is probably the higher speed of the lighter train that brings down this bridge, not sure about this...)

[beaujob]

Tip for next time:  don't use heavy steel.  If you need heavy steel, you're probably doing it wrong.  I'm intrigued by the wide range of pricing and strength in the subtle variations on the arch design.  Looking forward to a longer span next time....

[tjensor]

Wow. I really thought I was getting better at this game, but piffling effort was so expensive its embarasing! Oh well, must practice more!

[Calis]

Gray: It doesnt matter to me if they forgot to change my subtitle over implementing pretensioned cables :)

...actually just posting crap to check my current subtitle again :D

[panther]

Just wanted to add my congrats to Calis....nice work. Contest was a blast, looking forward to the next one.....

regds to all :biggrin:

[falkon2]

Calis, oh yeah I forgot:

CONGRATULATION TO YOU, LUCKY POST ,Calis, IT TRUELY SI A MAGIC APARITION INDEED!

[Calis]

OverClok: I looked at your designs and wonder what kind of dead end you run into?
Actually, first I thought, you want to make a joke and append my winning bridge to your rejected designs ;)

Your number 5 is basically what I had before I started to optimize..
Or did you use heavy steel for the supports?

[Gray]

Congrats to Calis! His design both impresses and surprises me (I'd never have thought of that!)
Guess I'll have to live forever now... Wait! What restrictions? Noooooooo....

P.S. I felt that the Contest Bridge thread was getting too long... Let's start a post-contest thread...

[street]

Here is a screenshot of my bridge, along with the actual bridge itself.  Just put my bridge into your bridge folder.  I built mine for 93094 (notice the strategically placed cable.  Congrats to Calis for an awesome design.  I tried some like it, but didn't quite pull it off.  Way To Go!!!!

Go here for my screenshot and bridge:

http://home.pacbell.net/monster9/93094.zip

http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':cool:'>

[Calis]

Thx all for the grats :)

Of course, I will make the bridge public, so we all can optimize it further. I really spend only a few hours to get the cables into place, so there should be at least some hundred bucks still to save :)

BTW: the design applies well to some other levels, e.g. normal level 12 can be done around 55k that way :)

[beaujob]

I must say, your bridge is the bomb.  After I submitted a bridge very similar to Gray's I toyed around with the monkey bridge concept, but alas, I couldn't even keep all the links from breaking, let alone break the 90k barrier with it.  I must say, you downright smashed through it, and never looked back.  I look forward to duking it out with you fellows again in Contest 2.

[baggio]

Just wanted to share my efforts. The first design here is what I submitted. I thought it was going to knock the socks off of everyone. ;) Click on the picture to d/l the pxb.
http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-1.pxb" target="_blank">http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-1.JPG" border="0">

This second design was my best effort prior to the contest end. This is what I wish I'd submitted. http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> Still wasn't enough to get an honorable mention I'm afraid.
http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-2.pxb" target="_blank">http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-2.JPG" border="0">

My last bridge I designed after the contest was over, and before the results were in. I was inspired by Gray after discussing what method he used to design his bridge. I never came close to approaching his score.
http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-3.pxb" target="_blank">http://pontifex.mendelsohn.de/baggio/Contest1-3.JPG" border="0">

I hope you all enjoy my failures, I know I've learned from them. I look forward to seeing everyone elses designs.

I want to extend a thank you to mendel for hosting these pictures and the bridges.