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Oblivion: General Discussion

Benjsh said:
Dont think inversions add anything to B&M Dive machines personally. It's all about the drop and Blivy delivers that with sugar on top. Barring the odd spruce up I'd leave it well alone. Fortunately change something that isn't broken.
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Absolutely agree with everything you said on there. From what I hear by many Americans online, a lot of them put Oblivion really high on their Dive Coasters rankings. Maybe Oblivion doesn't need a longer layout. Dive coasters are about the vertical Drop you Dive into, and Oblivion is still the only one that solely encapsulates on its vertical drop, and it delivers and its also regarded by many American Enthusiasts as one of the best Drops on any coaster in the world.

So, a longer layout doesn't equal a better ride all the time, and I think Oblivion fits in that category perfectly!
 
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Trooper Looper said:
Absolutely agteef with everything you said on there. From what I hear by many Americans online, a lot of them put Oblivion really high on their Dive Coasters rankings. Maybe Oblivion doesn't need a longer layout. Dive coasters are about the vertical Drop you Dive into, and Oblivion is still the only one that solely encapsulates on its vertical drop, and it delivers and its also regarded by many American Enthusiasts as one of the best Drops on any coaster in the world.

So, a longer layout doesn't equal a better ride all the time, and I think Oblivion fits in that category perfectly!
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Oblivion was too short to begin with...very large numbers said that early on, especially with the original long queues.
"Two hour queue for a ten second ride", "a one trick pony that should have done more".
The thoosies loved it, but large numbers of non thoosies, found the queue too long and the ride too short.
And who exactly is agteef?
Please check what you write makes actual sense...you have even edited your comment leaving that in!
And changing the ride so close to the park boundary would be very difficult under modern planning boundaries regarding noise pollution. They have had enough fuss as it is.
And Ryan, if you are getting bored with circular conversations on here...get used to it mate, it is the staple food on the table, the echoes last for years.
 
I hope they don't change anything about Oblivion tbh.

I could be talking rubbish here but does anyone think Oblivion feels completely different to the newer diver coasters? It's not rough but the trains feel a bit more 'loose' on the track. Krake, Baron, Valravn and Valkyria for example feel completely smooth and floaty, and it really takes away from the intensity. The drops feel like a more controlled descent despite the trains obviously free falling.

From memory Sheikra is the only other one I've done that rides similar to Oblivion.
 
I’d be sad if they got rid of Blivvy, I doubt Towers would be able to install a ride of a similar nature again and it would leave a big dent in the line up.

The racket it makes when entering the hole isn’t exclusive to Oblivion, all the ‘big’ dive coasters make that sound when they level out. Obviously the echoing from the hole compounds the issues. I suppose if they were to retrack it they could use the sand filling trick to help minimise it in the future. I’d imagine they would also go down the remarketing route… the only thing I can think of would be floorless trains but goodness knows how much that would cost to retrofit!

Nonetheless it is a really interesting time when it comes to the parks 90’s line up as we have seen lots of the rides disappear or get refreshed. Towers B&Ms are some of the earlier ones so there isn’t really a precedent for how long they are expected to last!


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rob666 said:
Oblivion was too short to begin with...very large numbers said that early on, especially with the original long queues.
"Two hour queue for a ten second ride", "a one trick pony that should have done more".
The thoosies loved it, but large numbers of non thoosies, found the queue too long and the ride too short.
And who exactly is agteef?
Please check what you write makes actual sense...you have even edited your comment leaving that in!
And changing the ride so close to the park boundary would be very difficult under modern planning boundaries regarding noise pollution. They have had enough fuss as it is.
And Ryan, if you are getting bored with circular conversations on here...get used to it mate, it is the staple food on the table, the echoes last for years.
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Yeah, Oblivion is a very short experience as said here already by many that they wished it was longer, but we have to remember, this was Alton Towers first 'worlds first' ride. The amount of money that probably went into the engineering for the vetitcle drop and the ride vehicles is probably much more that it would cost nowadays since it was still a first of its type (same with air and why it isn't as thrilling as the other flying coasters), so they probably didn't want to risk adding more to it if it increased in budget and could potentially flop, and they probably couldn't do much more thanks to the very strict height restrictions in that area of the park.

About my spelling mistake, I was barely awake when it edited that post and was more focused on removing a paragraph that didn't add anything to the discussion, so I most likely missed it out sorry, but please stop making a fuss over a misspell.

Anyway, back to Oblivion...
 
Making a fuss over a single misspell is one thing, repeated unchecked simple spelling errors make comprehension of posts challenging at times, especially when more than one letter is misspelled, it is a challenge for the reader, and a simple reread of your own post takes seconds...
Wonder what a vetitcle is???
There are no t's in vehicle.
Anyway, back to Oblivion, it was, and is, too short.
 
I dunt no wat ur problem iz rob. But in all seriousness I don’t know where this re track talk for oblivion has emerged from. I’m sure the track had scaffolding last closed season just for usual maintenance, but when the day comes I’m sure it will be looked at with the same lense as Nemesis, but it all comes down to marketing and wether they deem it will bring the influx of guests in to pay for it and make it a worthwhile investment.
 
An issue with updating the trains to be floorless - would there be enough room for the retracting floor in the station? Just thinking about how the queue loops around and underneath it, which would mean that would need rejigging if it were to happen. The cost and logistics of it would potentially sway things to be a "not worth it" investment - combined with the fact that it wouldn't necessarily add a whole lot to the experience - or more importantly for such a project - marketable.
 
mo237 said:
An issue with updating the trains to be floorless - would there be enough room for the retracting floor in the station? Just thinking about how the queue loops around and underneath it, which would mean that would need rejigging if it were to happen. The cost and logistics of it would potentially sway things to be a "not worth it" investment - combined with the fact that it wouldn't necessarily add a whole lot to the experience - or more importantly for such a project - marketable.
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I was thinking about that myself the other day. I'm not sure there would be enough space without rerouting the queue somehow.
 
Would probably be a fairly cheap re-track if they ever decide to do it. They wouldn't need to replace the majority of the track. Just the drop to the break run you'd think and maybe not even every section.

As others have said they wouldn't get permission to build something as big as that again so it would be a huge loss if it was taken down.
 
RicketyCricket said:
I hope they don't change anything about Oblivion tbh.

I could be talking rubbish here but does anyone think Oblivion feels completely different to the newer diver coasters? It's not rough but the trains feel a bit more 'loose' on the track. Krake, Baron, Valravn and Valkyria for example feel completely smooth and floaty, and it really takes away from the intensity. The drops feel like a more controlled descent despite the trains obviously free falling.

From memory Sheikra is the only other one I've done that rides similar to Oblivion.
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It would be interesting to compare the length of drop on each of these, speed attained, and the angle that you come out at after the drop. I’m a big fan of Valkyria and I think that the rest of the ride after the drop is great but it just doesn’t have that same feeling of a plummeting free fall that Oblivion has.

I wonder if perhaps Oblivion‘s train (2x8 floored) might add to the sensation or speed compared to the newer 6x3 floorless dive coaster trains?
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
It would be interesting to compare the length of drop on each of these, speed attained, and the angle that you come out at after the drop. I’m a big fan of Valkyria and I think that the rest of the ride after the drop is great but it just doesn’t have that same feeling of a plummeting free fall that Oblivion has.

I wonder if perhaps Oblivion‘s train (2x8 floored) might add to the sensation or speed compared to the newer 6x3 floorless dive coaster trains?
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Could have something to do with the weight of the trains. Maybe the old gen trains are significantly heavier and pick up more speed on the drop.
 
QTXAdsy said:
Actually, if Oblivion and by extension the rest of X-Sector would see a revamp to bring the theme up to date (X-Sector 2.0 let's say), what would you all like to see personally if that day happens with any changes?
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I think the basic, vague premise of the area could still work really well - it's the aesthetic that's become a bit tired.

One problem all parks have is making something appear modern or futuristic...it dates so quickly. Disney tackled this issue in Discoveryland at DLP - an historic view of the future. I'd like something like that for X-Sector.

Double down on the retro VIBES

I'd love to see a revamp that's not a retheme as such, X-Sector 1998...but even more so 😅
 
Ryan said:
I think the basic, vague premise of the area could still work really well - it's the aesthetic that's become a bit tired.

One problem all parks have is making something appear modern or futuristic...it dates so quickly. Disney tackled this issue in Discoveryland at DLP - an historic view of the future. I'd like something like that for X-Sector.

Double down on the retro VIBES

I'd love to see a revamp that's not a retheme as such, X-Sector 1998...but even more so 😅
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Or we could just have Port Discovery like we should have. The Smiler would lend itself well to the steampunk theme.
 
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RicketyCricket said:
Could have something to do with the weight of the trains. Maybe the old gen trains are significantly heavier and pick up more speed on the drop.
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It can't be this as acceleration due to gravity is independent of mass. In the absence of air resistance, all objects regardless of how heavy they are will accelerate at the same rate if they are in free fall.

I'd agree that the lack of spring loaded wheels could give a more wild ride though.
 
There is definitely something, but I can't imagine it's the wheels. I rode Yukon Striker last year and while the extra height added to the thrill, I just didn't experience the same umph with the initial drop and acceleration.

The only physical things I can think of is possibly more drag with the floorless design or the extra row.

Other than that it can only be the rapidly approaching hole. Yukon has a tunnel, but it is further away.
 
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