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[202X] Project Horizon (SW9?): Planning Approved

DistortAMG said:
I am sure there are plenty of other concepts by manufactures, some known and some unknown. For that reason alone I would not hinge on an axis coaster.

While a unique design, it is not industry changing by any stretch of the word, either.
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Exactly. It could be a totally new concept that no-one can foresee, or it could be industry changing not in terms of the ride hardware but with how it combines with other elements. At this stage there are just so many possibilities and I suspect it is going to be many months, if not longer, before we have any sort of idea as to what it could be.

I'm not saying speculation isn't fun, but I think it is going to be very easy to keep going round and round in circles at this stage.

For me at the moment one of the more intriguing things is how are they going to hide, or not, the relatively large show building. If it does turn out to be 20m in height it's either going to need quite the façade (£££) or some clever landscape and integration to stop it looking like a big green warehouse. That is something we'll find out more about whenever the full planning application goes in.
 
Good point Rob, I can imagine they will try and make the warehouse hidden with the natural line of trees in that area, aka like the HH is to a degree.
 
Am I correct in recalling that the usual "below tree height" trope is actually "not visible from a set of defined observation points"?
 
Not sure if it’s been said yet but anyone think the “line” in the planning back from the ride towards TWODW will more than likely be the exit path or just me?


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NickB said:
Am I correct in recalling that the usual "below tree height" trope is actually "not visible from a set of defined observation points"?
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Generally they’re both the same. Nonetheless the idea this view on Farley Lane, should have a warehouse of any variety peaking above the treetops as wrong as it is unnecessary (if you squint you can see the top of the flag tower reasonably clearly)

There’s no reason AT couldn’t build a very substantial building which is pretty much invisible to outside the park. Which is by me and should hopefully be for the locals and council

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NickB said:
Am I correct in recalling that the usual "below tree height" trope is actually "not visible from a set of defined observation points"?
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Pretty much, yes. As part of the planning application the park will demonstrate how it can (or cannot) be seen from a handful of vantage points in the local area.
 
Rob said:
For me at the moment one of the more intriguing things is how are they going to hide, or not, the relatively large show building. If it does turn out to be 20m in height it's either going to need quite the façade (£££) or some clever landscape and integration to stop it looking like a big green warehouse. That is something we'll find out more about whenever the full planning application goes in.
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They could do something like Transformers at Universal, where the theme of the frontage sort of lends itself to a warehouse in terms of style with minimal work involved.
 
20 meter height? That is some height indeed. Approximately Vahalla building height, give or take. But close enough to give you a good idea.

Hiding that is going to take some doing, I wonder if they will take an approach similar to Duel, where the facade is on the corner of the building. That would certainly mean less of the building needs teeming. Given its height though, even that could be somewhat difficult. Maybe they will just go all out and theme one whole side.
 
One advantage they do have is that only one side of the building needs theming due to where in the park this ride is going.

It’s not like the recent dark rides at LEGOLAND Windsor or DBGT, where the ride is in the centre of the park and all 4 edges are on show. This is more like Duel, where the ride only has 1 edge of the building visible from within the park and can hide the other 3 quite well without having much impact on immersion.
 
I think we have to be careful expecting particular models or concepts at this stage. For starters I highly doubt Merlin would buy a new model from S&S, all they have to do is look at there other prototypes to see how unreliable and overcomplicated they tend to be. The axis will likely have some major major problems to iron out, which Merlin probably don't want the hassle with. I'm firmly under the belief that Merlin would only buy a prototype from certain specific manufactures who you know will get it right (like B&M). The axis coaster seems to complicated for the risk.

We could well get something new and innovative or it might not be the ride hardware that's impressive. If it is an indoor coaster than something we might want to look at it the new technology Intamin are using on DarkKoaster at Busch Gardens. Being able to use sections of the track twice could really completely transform the concept of an indoor coaster. Using special effects I reckon you could make it so you barely notice you are doing something you've done before. There are so many other options of technology we might see, I just don't think we can count on anything at the moment.
 
DistortAMG said:
I am sure there are plenty of other concepts by manufactures, some known and some unknown. For that reason alone I would not hinge on an axis coaster.

While a unique design, it is not industry changing by any stretch of the word, either.
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I mean it is a bit Industry changing given there's none of them around yet. Just because us nerds have had a sneak peak of the concept vids doesn't matter. The GP won't know what an Axis Coaster is was my point.
 
Benjsh said:
I mean it is a bit Industry changing given there's none of them around yet. Just because us nerds have had a sneak peak of the concept vids doesn't matter. The GP won't know what an Axis Coaster is was my point.
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I think you are confusing what industry changing actually means. This is just a new concept for a new type of coaster, there is nothing inherently industry changing about that.

When B&M came on the block in the early 1990's, they were industry changing. No one up until that point were able to produce coasters as smooth, with high capacity and as robust as them, period. They literally re wrote the rule book of what a coaster could be, that is game changing and is a good example of what it means to change the industry. Every other company then had to play catch up, because they raised the bar so high.

Just because something has not been built and it is a concept does not mean it is industry changing at all.

If I design a new chocolate bar or a new car, I have not changed the industry because it is new and there is non of them around yet, that is not how it works.

Either way, I would bet my money on there being more interesting and better fitting concepts from other companies, who would fit the bill for Alton's new coaster (if this even is S&S) far better than S&S. They have a terrible reliability history well known in the industry. While things are better these days, they are not great still. I am sure Merlin / Alton are well aware of this.
 
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DistortAMG said:
I think you are confusing what industry changing actually means. This is just a new concept for a new type of coaster, there is nothing inherently industry changing about that.

When B&M came on the block in the early 1990's, they were industry changing. No one up until that point were able to produce coasters as smooth, with high capacity and as robust as them, period. They literally re wrote the rule book of what a coaster could be, that is game changing and is a good example of what it means to change the industry. Every other company then had to play catch up, because they raised the bar so high.

Just because something has not been built and it is a concept does not mean it is industry changing at all.

If I design a new chocolate bar or a new car, I have not changed the industry because it is new and there is non of them around yet, that is not how it works.

Either way, I would bet my money on there being more interesting and better fitting concepts from other companies, who would fit the bill for Alton's new coaster (if this even is S&S) far better than S&S. They have a terrible reliability history well known in the industry. While things are better these days, they are not great still. I am sure Merlin / Alton are well aware of this.
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I think you're being a bit precious on this point tbh.

It's a coaster than can travel on all sides of a coaster track. It's like nothing we've seen before. It's definitely going to shake up the coaster world a bit whether you like the manufacturer or not.
 
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