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Secret Weapon 7 Discussion

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Not much to add really, just thought i'd leave this photo of the construction site from today; :)

A0AfKtBCMAITSrc.jpg:large
 
Oh My Lord... Dramatic change much!! Great pic, thanks Adam!

Things are really hotting up now, can't wait to see the track start rising up and spiraling it's way all over the newly shaped land! Exciting times!
 
Sammy said:
Oh My Lord... Dramatic change much!! Great pic, thanks Adam!

Things are really hotting up now, can't wait to see the track start rising up and spiraling it's way all over the newly shaped land! Exciting times!

Thats exactly what i was thinking!

Do we know an estimated opening date yet?
 
^ Hopefully season opening 2013, so I would imagine it would be late March.

Things are really moving now! ;D
 
Adam James said:
Not much to add really, just thought i'd leave this photo of the construction site from today; :)

A0AfKtBCMAITSrc.jpg:large

Muchos excited now! Its amazing what a bit of mud can do! And the site suddenly looks huge!
 
It's starting to take shape hopefully within the next two weeks we will start seeing some major progress with footings good time to be visiting towers
 
I've had a good look around the site today. Needless to say, having now seen the groundworks and how much they've done this is the first time I've been truly excited about this coaster! :D

The amount of Earth they've moved, and the transformation of the site in such a short length of time is astounding!

As Dave pointed out today, SW7 will only be slightly shorter than Oblivion. Factor in the drop on the ground alone and wow! The drop on this thing looks set to be great! Come on Gerstlaurer, don't fail us now *prays*.
 
Just throwing it out there. My prediction for this ride: it'll be really intense, and rough from the beginning. I'll love it but most people will be disappointed. It won't be a massive success with the public due to it looking relatively tame right next to Oblivion.
 
Sam said:
Just throwing it out there. My prediction for this ride: it'll be really intense, and rough from the beginning. I'll love it but most people will be disappointed. It won't be a massive success with the public due to it looking relatively tame right next to Oblivion.
I think people will like the ride, simply because it has lots of 'upside down parts'...
Rita is popular enough, so I can see this having long queues for many seasons, as it is something the public will love.

I doubt that it will be rough either, as it is rumoured to have lap bars, which will help smooth the ride out a bit.
It could be very intense in parts!
 
I'm still convinced that Gerstlauer will mess this up. They still haven't proved that they can build a huge, multi-inverting capacity monster without muffing up somewhere, this is their biggest project yet and I simply have no faith in them despite how much money they've been given.
 
Bear said:
this is their biggest project yet

Surely Takabisha...?

79eo002p6kgi5e1p2v5icg.jpg


I can't remember, but I don't think I've heard any reviews of that ride. But if it was like, awful, I'm sure we'd have heard by now. Anyone know of any English-language Takabisha opinions?
 
Danny said:
I have a feeling that any cocking up on this ride will come from Towers/Merlin for the majority part, not Gerstlauer.

I think the general consensus (among people who don't like the coaster) is that all of Saw that Merlin/Thorpe were responsible for was great, but it was Gerstlauer who screwed it up. :)
 
Sam said:
Bear said:
this is their biggest project yet

Surely Takabisha...?

79eo002p6kgi5e1p2v5icg.jpg


I can't remember, but I don't think I've heard any reviews of that ride. But if it was like, awful, I'm sure we'd have heard by now. Anyone know of any English-language Takabisha opinions?

SW7 is obviously going to be bigger than Takabisha though - even if only due to the throughput that will be required and the size and popularity of the park itself. Not to mention the mere matter of a world's first which they will have to incorporate on top of it all.

That image has some truly horrible chromatic aberration as well!
 
I'm finding it hard to be overly excited about this coaster for a few reasons.

1) I already know almost all of the layout.

In this day and age, it's inevitable. Planning documents are available online for the world to see. It's not anyone's fault really but I miss the times when the first time you knew what a new coaster would look like was when it was being built. Of course, I could just go and live under a rock until it opens but then I'd miss all of the discussion and construction.

2) It's a Gerstlauer.

Nothing against Gerstlauer, they provide decent rides at a relatively low price. They are perfect for smaller parks wanting to break into the big thrills market. If SW7 was being built at Lightwater, I'd be over the moon about it.

However, I don't think their rides are suited to large high capacity parks such as Alton and Thorpe particularly as the new star attraction. I don't know how well Saw does capacity wise, but I can't imagine it gets through the crowds like a B&M.

Also, whilst their rides can be very good, I have never heard of a truly outstanding Gerstlauer coaster. Looking at the layout, I don't think that Nemesis has anything to be worried about in terms of being the park's best coaster and that's a bit boring really. I could be completely wrong of course, Gerstlauer could pull something out of the bag, but I think that's unlikely.

Maybe I'm being a bit of a brand snob but a Eurofighter can't match a new B&M or intamin for excitement. It's a bit like being told you've won a mid-engined supercar only to find out it's an MR2. It's better than nothing but...meh.

On another note, (and at one point I'd never thought I'd say this) but from a coaster enthusiast's point of view I think it's time Alton stopped going after world's firsts. It makes for great marketing but it's getting to the stage where there are less and less new things that you can do with a coaster meaning Alton have to resort to gimmicks. Also, I feel that there has been a case of Alton does it first then others do it better (Shiekra, Tatsu, Verbolten).

I'd just like Alton to build another really good rollercoaster to put it firmly back on the map. Not a prototype or a worlds first, just a world class ride. Alton's had a lot of new coasters since Nemesis but in 18 years none of them have really come close to toppling it.
 
CGM said:
I'm finding it hard to be overly excited about this coaster for a few reasons.

1) I already know almost all of the layout.

In this day and age, it's inevitable. Planning documents are available online for the world to see. It's not anyone's fault really but I miss the times when the first time you knew what a new coaster would look like was when it was being built. Of course, I could just go and live under a rock until it opens but then I'd miss all of the discussion and construction.

2) It's a Gerstlauer.

Nothing against Gerstlauer, they provide decent rides at a relatively low price. They are perfect for smaller parks wanting to break into the big thrills market. If SW7 was being built at Lightwater, I'd be over the moon about it.

However, I don't think their rides are suited to large high capacity parks such as Alton and Thorpe particularly as the new star attraction. I don't know how well Saw does capacity wise, but I can't imagine it gets through the crowds like a B&M.

Also, whilst their rides can be very good, I have never heard of a truly outstanding Gerstlauer coaster. Looking at the layout, I don't think that Nemesis has anything to be worried about in terms of being the park's best coaster and that's a bit boring really. I could be completely wrong of course, Gerstlauer could pull something out of the bag, but I think that's unlikely.

Maybe I'm being a bit of a brand snob but a Eurofighter can't match a new B&M or intamin for excitement. It's a bit like being told you've won a mid-engined supercar only to find out it's an MR2. It's better than nothing but...meh.

On another note, (and at one point I'd never thought I'd say this) but from a coaster enthusiast's point of view I think it's time Alton stopped going after world's firsts. It makes for great marketing but it's getting to the stage where there are less and less new things that you can do with a coaster meaning Alton have to resort to gimmicks. Also, I feel that there has been a case of Alton does it first then others do it better (Shiekra, Tatsu, Verbolten).

I'd just like Alton to build another really good rollercoaster to put it firmly back on the map. Not a prototype or a worlds first, just a world class ride. Alton's had a lot of new coasters since Nemesis but in 18 years none of them have really come close to toppling it.

Whilst I understand your reasons for not being even slightly excited about SW7 and I am not overly excited either, the only thing I really agree with you on is the 'worlds first' element.

In reply to your points (and this is not a dig, I'm just giving my opinion based on your points);

1). If you wanted to be surprised by this project, why go and find the planning documents/follow sw7 on here? And you do contradict yourself by saying you want to be a part of the discussion about the ride and construction lol.

2). I'm not going to call you a brand snob as the majority of people would agree with your thoughts, most of us on here would prefer a B&M however all manufacturers have to start somewhere and I believe Gerstlauer have potential to grow into a big player and this ties into your point that Alton go first and other parks follow - this could be Gerstlauer's big break if its done right.

3). I think the reason you're not that interested in this project is that Nemesis is such a great coaster that you feel disappointed when any new coaster doesn't reach that level or exceed which in my opinion is simply unrealistic....in your car analogy i'd say you're first car was a Maclaren F1 and your MR2 just doesnt excite you as much.....just be happy we have Nemesis in our park and don't compare every new addition to it.
 
manual_operator said:
2). I'm not going to call you a brand snob as the majority of people would agree with your thoughts, most of us on here would prefer a B&M however all manufacturers have to start somewhere and I believe Gerstlauer have potential to grow into a big player and this ties into your point that Alton go first and other parks follow - this could be Gerstlauer's big break if its done right.

Also, you could say that when AT invested in creating Nemesis, B&M were as new as Gerstlauer are know- with Nemesis being only the 4th inverted coaster (and only two years after the first one).

Throughout wise, I'm sure that Merlin would want to address this by using a new style of Gertlauer cars, or a better loading system.

And not forgetting that could be the SW before the inclusion of a new B&M, and the technology was not created in time. This also had to take up a very small area that was being unused, and so we couldn't have expected a major Intamin or B&M to fit here.

The Psychoaster said:
SW7 is obviously going to be bigger than Takabisha though - even if only due to the throughput that will be required and the size and popularity of the park itself. Not to mention the mere matter of a world's first which they will have to incorporate on top of it all.
That image has some truly horrible chromatic aberration as well!

Well I don't think it'll be bigger that Takabisha at all- without using a new type of car, track, element etc. Takashiba is Gerstlauer's signature coaster, with a launch, the world's steepest drop and the world's first Banana Roll.

The park is also as big as AT, with rides that were significant- or world's best/fastest- such as:

Dodonpa, which was the world's fastest
Eejanaika, which was the world's highest
Fujiyama, the second 4D coaster
And also Takashiba as well, makes this a truly impressive park.
 
Well it i what it is, its going to be a crowd pleaser and noting more. Just think, the general public don't know what Gerstlauer is and the pros and cons. What they will see is lots of "loop de loops" and what is a spectral of a ride. I mean, it is a good looking ride and will look kind of intimidating with its heavy theme and inversions.

The problem that all the GP want nower days is inversions, well that's what they think they want, this ride is based hugely on customer research, and those customers are the general public, I mean if I was to ask any randomer in the street what their favorite part of a rollercoaster is 9 times out of 10 I would get loops.

Lets face it, it isn't going to be a nemesis, A because the manufacturer isn't right, I'm not being snobby, but if you look at the stats Gerstlauer has never once made a ride the same quality as a B&M, that could change however, but I'm a skeptic. Also because nemesis wasn't really a worlds first, it was new in Europe and was a fresh concept, but because the designers weren't working to put the gimmicky element in they could really work with the ride. Th13teen was a bit of a fail in the public's eye, they were promised a major thrill ride, but they got an Intamin super light with a fun little element stuck in. Now Alton will just work to deliver something that can be marketed as a "white knuckle ride" with its many inversions, we may not like it, even thought we do probably know what it takes to create a top class ride, but the public have no room for back stories and theater (which in my opinion make a ride great i.e. nemesis) but they want huge drops and many inversions, why do you think 6 flags is such a popular set of parks.
 
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