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Galactica: General Discussion

It's really good that it has a queue but at this pace...its not necessarily a good thing, especially if we're down 15 seats. It worries me after their "rush" period how many staff will be left dedicated to the crafts, stations and VR per row.

Shame that they still haven't addressed the dispatch sequence which could really do with some working on, along side better use of the station as a whole, it just seems to really really crush the atmosphere built up via the portal interaction, the plaza design and audio and even the queue videos and audio...it's all enhancing the experience until you enter that station building where all atmosphere is just lost, followed by a poor dispatch.

Glad to see The Smiler has a queue which is only 20mins shorter than Galactica. It may be baby steps but it's progress.
 
The throughput is honestly dire for this. The dispatches were so so so slow. The VR was good but the content felt really rushed, also my headset seemed very blurry and I couldn't get it to focus at all
 
Considering opening day Qs were minimal in terms of guest numbers, the throughput was DIRE! And staff numbers astronomical. I can only assume that behind the scenes other plans are being drawn up as there's no way this can be kept up. The bridge across was full when we went for a second go, (we queued from the exit of the bridge the first time and it seemed to take forever, I'd say a good 45 mins from the bridge exit as the crafts were leaving every 10-15 mins mid morning. ( I would have refused to queue from the bridge entrance but luckily the staff member at the merge point allocated us to the right hand station - unfair on those waiting on the bridge however as that would have been at least twice as long!)

Spoiler below! (The spoiler tag doesn't seem to be working)

The bridge has chasing lights down near your feet but even on opening day, a section of these were strobing and flickering as if faulty already When the craft tipped and I think it's probably when your row hits the end of the station that the video kicks in and I just thought "Wow" the build up and lift hill were truly better than it looked from the preview and the movements were spot on, as soon as you go through the virtual portal at the top of the lift though it all becomes a little shakey, and the first inversion the headset moved so far up my head that I either couldn't see or went blurry with the lenses, so make sure you hold it down for that bit. On a positive note,I did come off buzzing the first time after experiencing something so new, but unless they sort the throughput out (which looking at it is going to take big measures, I can't see an easy fix) then this ride is going to have INSANE queues if they have a busy summer
 
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Galactica good addition to the park Good 7/10 for me. Improved air for me!

I contacted towers about the throughout and suggested trying to implement microfibre gloves so one side is sanitised and then the other dries should help them with the throughput.

They replied and said they are trying to implement new techniques on the ride regarding the throughout
 
Another option would be to get specially cut headset rings which consist of a wad of stickers, each new guest can then just pull the old sticker off to reveal a fresh new surface to place against their heads. Think disposable loo seat covers, but like when you get those sticker lint rollers, just pull the old one off for a new one.
 
The biggest problem I have with it is one of the scenes is cut in half (black all down 1 side), don't get me stated on the loading/unloading.
 
So I've had five rides on Galactica using the VR since Thursday, and now the effect has worn off. The ride has sadly lost any form of re-rideability, and queuing the full queue simply to ride Air isn't worth it. My final ride today also put me off, with the video out of sync which ultimately concluded with a sickly feeling when disembarking. I really hope that it's possible for different films to be implemented in the future to give returning guests something new to experience.
 
My one ride on Friday was GREAT! I almost feel like I daren't ride again for fear of spoiling it :p

My expectations were low (rightly or wrongly so?) and the experience was a pleasant surprise. My headset managed to calibrate just fine for me, and I genuinely loved it. I was a bit wobbly legged when I got off! Historically I have had horrendous issues with motion sickness (Hex is always a no-no) and so I was VERY pleased that I felt only a mild sense of wobble when I disembarked Galactica.

That said, the rider to my left hated it (graphics juddery/not at all believable) and the rider to my right was almost ambivalent ("it was okay"). I can only hope that the empty seats throughout the trains and the mixed reviews are down to teething problems with the headsets and graphics tech. On paper the experience is phenomenal; ride a flying coaster into space. YEAH!11!! In reality? Unacceptable throughputs for the UK's biggest and best theme park, horrific overstaffing that I believe will only increase from here, unreliable tech that results in reduced capacity, poor product consistency meaning reviews are very mixed, and.. well.. the headsets are mighty bulky on your head.

I am happy with what I experienced, but now I feel that I managed to get a golden egg... I might not be so lucky next time!
 
Had my first ride on Galactica this morning.

Firstly, I really enjoyed it to be completely honest. I havn't done a VR coaster before and didn't watch any of the spoilers so it was all brand new to me. When I first put the headset on it was out of focus, but after adjusting the twisty wheel thing on the top of the headset (under a bit of velcro) for around 10-15 seconds it all became clear and as I suspect it is meant to be.

The visuals were at least adequate for a newbie like me to this kind of thing and it was nice that you could look around a bit and see extra details etc. Didn't really try to concentrate on where I was on the actual physical track but it probably would have been tricky to do so anyway, I just enjoyed the experience and it honestly brought a little smile to my face. I suppose that's what it's meant to do so thumbs up on that count :)

I have read other reviews from yourselves about how long it can take to dispatch, but I felt they got it as short as they possibly could on my run today. It will obviously bring large queue's in the summer etc but I think they'll probably get dispatch as quick as they physically can by then, although still taking a while just by the nature of the operation.

I didn't get any feelings of nausea but I held the headset by both sides so that it didn't move around too much if that makes sense. Maybe I'm just not that susceptible to this kind of nausea, others may be more so.

Overall, it's a thumbs up from me for ride experience. It would be nice if they can develop different video content in future for a bit of variety and re-rideability. Would I queue an hour and a half or something for it? Probably not but I doubt there is much I would queue that long for. Made sure I got there first thing anyway so this was not a problem.

So yeah, pretty happy with the experience really. Will defo ride a bit more at times when I don't have to queue too much :)

Edit - Just want to point out how important it is to adjust the focus a bit so that it's set up properly for you. I suspect if I hadn't taken that bit of time to adjust the focus before leaving the station, the whole experience would have been ruined. So yeah, you have to take a bit of responsibility here and make sure it's working as well as it possibly can.
 
BarryZola said:
Edit - Just want to point out how important it is to adjust the focus a bit so that it's set up properly for you. I suspect if I hadn't taken that bit of time to adjust the focus before leaving the station, the whole experience would have been ruined. So yeah, you have to take a bit of responsibility here and make sure it's working as well as it possibly can.
Click to expand...
yesterday I touched the focus wheel, the screen went black and I rode round in total darkness, so that was fun.
o_O
 
delta79 said:
What did they do when you reported it?
Click to expand...
Gave me a Priority Pass to get back on :)
X3r5OTp.jpg
 
OK so went to the park on Saturday. Was absolutely dead to be honest, hardly any queues with most rides being walk on. Got my first go on Galactica. Queued first thing in the morning and the queue started near to where the queue line goes down to the left towards the car park along the side of the final bit of the ride. Took about 30 minutes from here. Photo point, pretty Meh to be honest.

Liked the new blue lighting in the station, music, hmmm, not bad. Ok so on the ride, handed the headset which you then adjust yourself, all fine and to be honest I found it comfortable and not as heavy as I was expecting based on what others had said. Focusing was fine using the ring on the top.

Spoilers ahead from this point.....

Whilst sat in station you just stare at the Galactica logo through the VR headset. Then, without warning, you assume the position. Personally, I think this could be improved to show some sort of galactic departure station or something so you can look around while waiting to take off. Then you get a warning for departure, assume position and go. But no, nothing.

So, off we go. My headset didnt kick in with the visuals until my row reached I would say the operator cabin, then it appeared as going through the launch tunnel. Now this was the most weird sensation. I felt a bit uneasy, hard to explain but the graphics really do make you feel like you are lot higher than you know you are, and your brain and vision are telling you two different things. I had to almost tell my body to just accept what I was seeing, and forget what I remembered Air to be like.

Going up the lift hill was good, with space underneath you, and I really did feel the excitement building as we reached the top. Partly as you didnt quite know when it coming but also the sound and visuals getting more intense. The drop I have to say was just incredible. You fly over Earth and you actually feel like you are so high and flying. Totally weightless. It was an amazing sensation.

The rest of the ride, well, I said "oh wow" a lot! Onto our backs looking up at an asteroid belt, into another worm hole, over some lava, another worm hole and ice, then some panic from the audio that we were off course and you fly around some space stations, which again felt great. Only section I found poor was the ice fields because when I was looking up, the screen was actually black. Maybe that was space, but it looked more like they hadnt put graphics there!

Spoilers over.....

Overall, I found it really impressive. Better than I thought and I forgot I was on Air. I didnt feel sick, though the very start made me feel a little weird as my body adjusted to its new virtual environment.

With regards loading times, wasnt too bad, but seeing all the staff there just made me laugh. Probably 18 or so in the station running the ride. And no quick exit either. You remain seated with the harnesses down until the staff member comes over, takes the headset from you, wipes it, puts it back in its case in the seat, then once every staff member is done, they raise the harnesses. They are getting quicker according to the guy we spoke to, but, its gonna be a nightmare in the summer.

So yeah really enjoyable, though i'm not sure how long the novelty will last to be honest. I would say after 2 or 3 rides I would get bored of it. If they change the film often then it would be interesting.....you could even revert back to Air and fly over landscapes and between skyscrapers etc..... there is a lot of possibilites there, but who knows if Merlin will take advantage of them.....

Still miss the Air music though!
 
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