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2016: Air - Re-theme to VR Coaster - Galactica

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AliceHL91 said:
Did it once with no audio/traffic signals once as they'd been playing up all day. Never again
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yeah, they are very important, telling riders to keep their heads back (audio) and letting them know when the trains about to launch (lights). they both help to build up the tension, too. surley the operators would do a manual announcement if the audio wasn't working?
 
skyscraper said:
yeah, they are very important, telling riders to keep their heads back (audio) and letting them know when the trains about to launch (lights). they both help to build up the tension, too. surley the operators would do a manual announcement if the audio wasn't working?
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Nope, didn't say a thing. We had to evacuate the ride literally about 5 times before that so I thought they'd just tell us to get out again and they'd close it until it was fixed, but no, off it went. I thought I would actually have a heart attack, I don't like it at the best of times
 
swalesuk01 said:
Worse on rock and roller coaster when it counts down and doesn't launch until about a minute after
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Are you on about the Paris one, every time I've been on the Florida one it has launched at the right time apart from when the staff stop the launch, it can be stopped for a number of reasons.
 
Been interesting reading the various reviews from people scattered over the web about their ride experience. All say it is very good. Common themes seem to be:

- the headsets are heavy!
- not suitable for those who wear glasses
- very good ride experience from the VR
- graphics could be a bit better (i.e. not crisp despite adjusting the focus ring)
- loading time very, very slow

So generally, positives with regards the ride experience itself. Its just the loading and dispatch which is the cause of concern. This one could be a nightmare in the summer months!!!!
 
I was quite sceptical about this, but IMO it did work very well.
I did keep worrying thinking the headset was going to fall off, even though it was very tight and it did squash my nose so couldn't breath properly through it o_O

Had no problems with the graphics, all looked clean, possibly something they are still working on with a few of the headsets.

Will definitely need to ride it more then once tho as it was a complete sensory overload, far too much to take in for such a short ride :) was over far too soon :(
 
GaryH said:
not suitable for those who wear glasses
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Towers have said on facebook that this will not be the case. If anything though, short sighted people shouldn't have to wear glasses anyway. Long sighted though (reading glasses) will need to.
 
Leah said:
Towers have said on facebook that this will not be the case. If anything though, short sighted people shouldn't have to wear glasses anyway. Long sighted though (reading glasses) will need to.
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Just going by what I read on a review where someone wore glasses.....
 
I had the chance to ride Galactica on Saturday, and despite low expectations I came off actually being quite impressed. From speaking to others who had been on over the weekend, there's a lot of bugs to be ironed out before launch day, but overall I thought it was pretty decent.
  • Loading/unloading is slow yes, but I thought it was actually a little faster than I first envisaged. That's a slight positive, but this thing is still going to gain some huge queues and very slow throughputs compared to Air.
  • The station feels a lot larger now the single rider/front row queues have gone, and that's even with the additional wall on the right.
  • The headsets are quite tight, and for me didn't quite sit right for the focus to be correct. I had to move the headset down over my nose a little for the picture to the be focus.
  • From what I heard of the audio it sounded great, but it wasn't loud enough for it to be immersive enough on the ride. I hear this is being improved, so that's a positive at least.
Overall I found the video quality to be pretty decent. I agree that this type of ride may be better suited to something that's an out and out cartoon like EP's incarnation, but still I found it very immersive. I was impressed with how great the launch animation was from despatch and up the lift hill, I actually managed to forget I was on Air. As for the rest of the ride, for a coaster which I've been on countless times over the years, it was quite jarring to be unable to figure out where I was on the ride as we were going around.

Overall I'd give it a solid 6 or 7 out of 10 providing the issues with the audio can be ironed out. Hopefully the despatch times should improve once both staff and guests get used to the boarding process. It's a type of ride that's really in it's infancy, and I'm sure the public will lap this up when it's opened next week. I just hope the queue line can cope with it, and the technology can hold up to constant all day use without too much downtime or issues.
 
The AR scanner is now enabled in the Galactica app. Can't remember seeing anything to scan over the weekend though.

Seems quite buggy still as the scanner won't load at all on my phone. lol only works on my tablet (which I don't fancy carrying round the resort with me)
 
Managed to grab a ride on Galactica...there may be spoilers below so fair warning!

What can I say? The experience was interesting.

Air used to be my favourite ride on park, so this was definitely a re-theme which made me anxious of the outcome.

The Area:

Approaching the area it's mainly untouched until you walk towards the main plaza where the first descend and ascend segment of the track is and what used to be the old photo point. The portal is, quiet honestly, wonderful. There's so much detail on it and the way the audio and visual affects are timed when the craft zooms through it is wonderful. It kind of "surges" and the lights glow brighter the closer the craft reaches it. Shame the seating area hadn't been updated.

You can also tell the old Air station Bose speakers now live on either side of the portal - sadly these hadn't been camouflaged and did look slightly bizarre considering other equipment had be covered around the portal. The portal was absolutely lovely aesthetically and compliments the ride, it's going to look great in the dark...I really hope they keep on top of the effects on it though.

Shame the secondary element never came to fruition I think it would have been great for spectators and added further to the immersion but hey, the Galactica plaza looks very clean and I love the logo on the paving bricks - a nod to Air's one.

The rockwork has all been painted a dark grey and it really looks nice - but more has been removed. The station building (above the ride station) has a big blue circle on it, it currently looks slightly odd but should be finished in time for Thursday.

The ride's logo takes the place of the old air sign but is very Tron like with white strips. I kind of wish the logo board wasn't static - I would have loved some sound effects and glowing visuals/animation for the logo on the ride sign, think that would really compliment the ride plaza and also give yet another interactive feature during evenings.

The Audio:

The music is the same on the game but far longer - it also has it's own take on the Alton Towers theme subtly in it. But I wished there was more sound design. Now, this could well be the case when the ride is fully operational but the station approach and queue play the same variation and there's no music by the portal. Further to this, the station platform area had no music and neither did the lift hill.

The Photo Point:

The new photo room is weird. We weren't able to see this room in action but the concept of it doesn't sound that hygenic and will be a bit strange. However, above the door before the photo point, there's a TV telling you about other flights and their locations etc, it's such a nice touch - I really enjoyed looking at that - I gave me an element that strengthens the idea that this is an Air Space Technologies Airport, wish there was more of this but we'll get to that later.

The Station:

The bass is no more in that room...:sob: The queue line video is really short and I really don't think it gets the story or ride instructions across very well. They need to play the basics on using and adjusting the ride headsets before that room - in the queue area after the photo op area.

There were hardly any of us in the station but the audio levels were terrible and the new speakers look like they won't be able to cope with projecting louder audio (they're the same sizes as those in wood cutters bar and grill)...hope this gets addressed!

Also, I mention about the boarding screen before the photo point. It's a shame this isn't used to its advantage in the station - before and after that photo point screen, there's nothing else about the boarding info etc. I would love there to be multiple announcements in the ambience of the station for flights now boarding, flights preparing for lift off, flight changes i.e. "Air Space Technologies Nebula Flight departing from platform 5 will now depart from terminal 2", new flights preparing for embarkation and flights returning to earth.

They should have a decent length loop with announcements like this and I reckon it would be simple but definitely benefit the station atmosphere and really help in making you feel like Air Space Technologies is a bustling and busy airport because currently it feels a bit lifeless in that station with the lack of audio and the whole area doesn't give this impression...I'm being picky but I reckon it would be great enhancements from simple additions.

The Loading Process:

Simply a nightmare. It took ages to get everyone on the craft and no one knew if we had to put the headsets on straight away or wait. We only used a few rows but it took ages, a whole craft full will no doubt be worse.

They do clean the headsets but that simply means a couple of wipes over the lenses with a baby wipe. :neutral: I'm a germophobe so that was a big deal to me but others may not feel it's an issue! Once the headset is on, you need to adjust the focus by viewing the Galactica logo. This would have been simple but my headset wasn't calibrated properly so the logo was on the far left of me and needed me to turn my head, causing a few delays for a while but luckily the staff sorted it once they realised I was the only one looking right over to my left when they asked us to face the logo.

The Flight:

I missed the dispatch change and "that feeling" on Air. This was silent and I really hoped we would hear "Air Space Technologies, Galactica Flight 240316, is now ready to take flight...prepare for dispatch to launch bay"... but it's all silent. The headsets do nothing here so there's no interaction at all. The screens are black, there's no audio and the only thing that happens is the lights turn blue in the station but you can't see that with a headset on. The whole concept of what Air was about is lost in that one moment. I really hope they rework that element.

After you leave the station the headsets spring to life. This was the moment when I started smiling like a cheshire cat! The film was great, no matter how you adjusted the screens, it was still a little fuzzy but my goodness was the animation great and the new technology fun! The audio was a little too quiet but again, it was lovely to have the audio enhancements as you fly!

I really love the timing of the footage with the station departure right up to the lift hill. The whole experience was fun. The headsets are fairly comfortable but one good tip is to tie the headsets almost too tight. When you fly on your back they can slip and you'll frantically try to pull it down like I did!

I was so engrossed by the ride journey and the visual elements that I lost track of where the location of the coaster was on the track. It does a great job of immersing you into these new galaxies and it's such a fun addition.

I won't say much about the environments you fly in but they are really cool and echo the game nicely. The storyline was lost for me because the dialogue was on the quiet side. However, before you get to the stations the announcements to remove your visors are a little too loud!

Returning to the station, I didn't feel nauseous or unwell at all and I'm super sensitive if in a car and reading or being spun!

Overall:

The area was still work in progress and there were still lots of builders on site too and clearly stuff was still being done. I understand they will be ironing out some of the issues with it in the next few days and I hope these bugs settle and get fixed sooner rather than later. It's good to see Alton Towers trying to perfect the experience and not rushing the ride by bringing the opening forward.

I really hope they learn from the first few weeks of operation and continue to improve and perfect the experience. The new uniforms are lovely and the station does look great. The ride aesthetics also look wonderful too and the pressure washed track does help the area to look clean and fresh. They just need to work on the atmosphere a bit more.

I was cautious with this replacing my favourite ride, but I must say the flight itself was brilliant. It gives Air a whole new meaning and dimension. The technology is fun and great and it's definitely something to try at least once. With the ability to ride it without VR means you can still interact with the surroundings and also the portal too and gives guests the option and freedom which is another plus.

Sadly yes, the tunnel hasn't been dealt with which is a massive shame. There will be guests that want to ride the ride without the VR and so it would have been great if they realised this and gave the tunnel a lick of paint, some lights (and in an ideal world some cool projection mapping) just to improve the ride for the guests who will be viewing this.

VR wise will this last? I'm sceptical, it's like a games console, they eventually loose their appeal and this experience, VR video and concept will eventually become outdated. I really feel that the shelf life of this new incarnation will be much shorter than the amount of years it was as Air.

Definitely give it a try at least once. It was certainly better than I expected.
 
Great review! I'm GUTTED there are no sound effects as "assume the position" I hope they implement something, I remember going on Sea World'a Manta years ago when it first opened and that futuristic noise that plays as the crafts turn made it super exciting... they're missing a trick if they don't do this here!

 
The updated Galactica app, like The Smiler app, now features an AR scanner as @Mikey:SubTerra says.

See spoilers below.

Digging into the app, there appear to be 4 styles of #spaceselfie photos that can be scanned to bring to life, along with the park map, AT logo, Galactica logo and some generic portal images.

qg9QHun.jpg


Full gallery of spoiler screenshots on Imgur.

EDIT: I tried the scanner on a #spaceselfie that another member posted to Facebook, but it didn't work - perhaps because the picture in question was cropped off at the edges?
 
Thanks for these Russell. I've tried it with my Galactica photo too and it doesn't appear to do anything with that either.
 
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