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Hex [2024 Refurb]: General Discussion

Jb85 said:
Caught up on this thread. Are we really really moaning, again, about theming improvements and refurbishment.

If the Curse and Nemesis Reborn have taught me anything it’s to wait until you’ve actually experienced the ride.

I feel sorry for Bianca and the team if they read our forums. All the effort they are putting in - just for a brigade of moaners
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Still unsure as to what she does/is besides a face of a Theme park run on a shoestring
 
RIPCorky said:
Still unsure as to what she does/is besides a face of a Theme park run on a shoestring
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Geekbait. She's there to dripfeed stuff to sites like this, and let the teenage fanboys do all the marketing for free.
 
RIPCorky said:
Still unsure as to what she does/is besides a face of a Theme park run on a shoestring
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Bianca is divisional director. She directs, you know, divisionally…

In all seriousness there will be a lot of facets to the role but in terms of the context of Hex, it will ultimately be her decision on how to spend the cash allocated to the running of the park by Merlin and to raise businesses cases for what do to with capital expenditure for new stuff - working with Merlin Magic Making and getting approval from the Merlin board.

For example when Bianca arrived the money that has been allocated to revamp Nemesis was just going to cover the replacement of the track, she recognised they could spend a bit more and add new theming around the ride/station and across FV and successfully got sign off for the extra cash.

When it comes to Hex it will be her decision to direct cash into that attraction for these upgrades vs doing someone thing else with it. It might be money that comes out of the overall operating budget she already has, or she might have gone to Merlin with a business case to get some extra funds, same situation with the Skyride.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
I've been using this forum for close enough 8 years now, and I don't think I'll ever get used to GP standing for General Public. I still always think "Why are people talking about the doctors?"...
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I suppose Casual Visitor (CV) probably wouldn't help either. Casual Guest (CG)?
 
Steve74 said:
I got shot down in flames (sparks?) by this happy chap on Twitter last night... like I knew he was all of those things. And if he was any or all of those things he says he is then he'd understand they'd turn things up to 11 to be able to film and show it off!
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I would never mean to shoot down your opinion, but just letting you know I do understand the things you mentioned.
I previously worked in the Alton Towers AV team who have carried out this refurbishment, I was also asked to help research the repairs that needed doing to get it back to opening standard (and improve), although I have nothing to do with whatever work may have been done since then. :)


I would imagine for the interview bits the lights have been turned up to look interesting, and also to actually make it bright enough to film.
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I can't imagine the AV team would have had the time nor been willing to do this when most cameras today already film well in low light. But I agree we should wait to see what it looks like in person.


I could safely guess the reason the spark looks like that is because it's an off the shelf effect on its normal setting. Hopefully with a bit of feedback it is toned down to not look like a club DJ and made to come from inside the generator like before. The original effect was not too subtle, it just needed replacing with a new method as it was temperamental.
 
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DiogoJ42 said:
The original film was 16:9, but the projector was 4:3. If they fix that, I'll be a happy man.
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You might be surprised like I was to find it was actually mastered in 14:9 (cropped), which was sometimes used back then as a compromise to display widescreen sources on 4:3 screens with letterboxing.

But when they built Hex it was projected without letterboxing, stretched out to fill the 4:3 screen instead ( I assume as an error). Until 2021 when it was corrected.

The video was shot on film but I imagine the elements are long gone, so a real remaster in HD not possible. Next best thing to upscale the full quality master!
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Urgh! 14:9 was the devil.
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I never realised until I did a demo remaster for them and realised it wasn't quite 16:9!

The technical director coordinating this much needed update really has their head screwed on, so Im confident that behind the scenes it will be fantastic.

If the video commentary and clips shown are to be believed, it seems someone has also made a decision to make creative changes as well, so we'll have to see what it's like.

I personally think Hex did need some enhancement to the experience, so long as it stays true to the intended subtlety and atmosphere which was such a key part of the attraction.

For anyone interested in dark ride lighting, see Spirit of London or Disneyland Paris's dark rides for lighting that has been completely updated to LED, but the difference isn't really noticeable because they were done with great skill and professionalism in maintaining the creative intent.
 
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Euro Theme Park Archive said:
For anyone interested in dark ride lighting, see Spirit of London or Disneyland Paris's dark rides for lighting that has been completely updated to LED, but the difference isn't really noticeable because they were done with great skill and professionalism in maintaining the creative intent.
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yeah, I think people need to wait and see it in person, as remember cameras aren't eyes different iso settings, aperture etc can effect the brightness of the images, and they probably applied some post processing.
 
We would all love Alton Towers to prove any concerns wrong on this one too. I think it is a completely legitimate concern and I personally haven't seen fans throw toys out the pram on this one. Other than one or two fans mistakenly thinking LED = guaranteed bad (it doesnt).
 
I saw a member of staff today working on Rita with a badge that said “Ask me about a sealed vault”. I unfortunately could not ask him as he was working on the Rita exit platform! I will try and find someone else today with this badge- could be an old one from when the ride was actually open but will be on the lookout!
 
Skyscraper said:
@VerticalLoop123 It's the staff members' own badge and to do with the heritage tours, no correlation to the ride itself.
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Knew someone on here would know! Genuinely hope they get it open soon - seeing that promo today for the upcoming events made me realise that we haven’t got that long left of the season left!
Surely if they are waiting on a part it can’t have taken this long- even if Royal Mail are delivering it!
 
AdventureMe has just posted a video about the chained oak and its legend. Nothing new in it for most of us but from 10:24 there is a cool drone shot rising through the trees next to the oak tree to reveal The Smiler, Oblivion, the Towers and the Flag Tower in the distance. Say what you like about Towers and it's current [poor] season, but in my opinion no other park in the UK will ever come close to the beauty of the surrounds of Towers:

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From: https://youtu.be/CksLG0sVagM?si=CtaZLyMvZw_mau1E
 
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