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Six Flags Introduce VR to 9 Coasters

Expect a similar annoucement from Cedar Fair soon as well! I'm very interested to see how long this VR fad lasts. I think it is a great concept and it is well worth experiencing, but I'm not sure it has longevity on a particular coaster.

:)
 
So Full Throttle is obviously one of them, anyone know what the other 8 are?
 
TedTheHuman said:
So Full Throttle is obviously one of them, anyone know what the other 8 are?
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Despite the video, Full Throttle isn't actually one of them! Here is the full press release:
Six Flags said:
Six Flags and Samsung Partner to Launch First Virtual Reality Roller Coasters in North America

Samsung is “Official Technology Partner” at Six Flags Theme Parks Nationwide

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 3, 2016-- Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:SIX), and Samsung Electronics America, Inc., today announced a broad marketing partnership which appoints Samsung as the “Official Technology Partner” of the world’s largest regional theme park company. The partnership includes the debut of ground-breaking experiences coming to nine Six Flags parks - North America’s first Virtual Reality (VR) Roller Coasters, using Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus.

In partnership with Samsung, Six Flags is taking its signature brand of thrills to the next level and beyond in fully immersive, virtual riding experiences using Samsung Gear VR. Some of Six Flags’ most popular coasters will be equipped to allow riders wearing Samsung Gear VR headsets to feel the heart-pumping adrenaline of steep drops, inverted loops and powerful twists and turns as gyros, accelerometers and proximity sensors synchronize all of the action in an incredibly realistic 360-degree virtual reality world.

“This remarkable technology is a definite game-changer for theme park rides and represents everything our brand stands for - delivering the most thrilling and innovative rides and attractions in the world,” said John Duffey, Six Flags President and CEO. “With the addition of these virtual reality coasters, Six Flags will be introducing more than double the number of new coasters and rides than we did in 2015, and more than any year in the last decade. Innovation is part of our DNA, and news in every park every year is driving higher guest satisfaction and building strong momentum for our company."

“What makes this partnership so compelling for consumers and the broader tech industry alike is that both companies are committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible - and bringing a VR coaster to life is certainly a new and thrilling proposition,” said Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America. “Now, people can be immersed into a totally new universe while riding a roller coaster, powered by Samsung Gear VR virtual reality devices. This transforms the modern roller coaster into a totally new, one of a kind sensorial experience - powered by technology. We are excited to work with the premiere brand in theme parks to bring Samsung’s VR technology to nine Six Flags locations across the U.S.”

Samsung Gear VR – designed to accelerate virtual reality into the mainstream – provides an untethered, fully-immersive experience with 360-degree content for an extremely high quality mobile VR experience. Built to work with Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note5, the Gear VR headset utilizes each device’s super AMOLED display to provide the color, clarity and performance needed for an amazing virtual reality experience.

About the VR Roller Coaster Experiences

Six Flags and Samsung will launch the new VR Roller Coasters beginning this month and into the summer, totaling nine coasters across the U.S. On the six New Revolution Virtual Reality Coasters, riders are transported to a futuristic battle to save planet Earth from an alien invasion. Riders are the co-pilots in their own fighter jets as they strap in for air-to-air combat. Taking in the view around them, riders will see other aircraft in an underground secret bunker. As the aircraft moves to a landing pad, it begins to launch its thruster engines, lifting the craft straight up through the roof. During the ascent, riders can test fire their weapons using the world’s first-ever interactive gameplay technology on a roller coaster. As riders clear the roof, they realize they are on top of a skyscraper and about to launch off the edge of the building diving straight down on the first drop of the ride. The aircraft races through the city until reaching the edge of the skyline where riders see the mother ship hovering above. The mother ship is heavily protected by drones and the mission is to get past the drones, fire on the mother ship and destroy it. This elite fighter squadron experience will make its debut on the following six roller coasters:
  • Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, opening March 10 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
  • Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia outside of Atlanta, opening March 12 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
  • The New Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles, opening March 26 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
  • Ninja at Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka;
  • Steamin’ Demon at The Great Escape in Lake George, New York and
  • Goliath at La Ronde in Montreal.
On Six Flags’ three new SUPERMAN Virtual Reality Coasters, once riders take their seats and fasten the headsets, they will be fully immersed in the 360-degree comic-book world of Metropolis. Guests will be taken on a leisurely (or so they think) tour of the city of Metropolis, courtesy of Lex Corp Sky Tours. Just after departing the station riders encounter Lex Luthor who uses an anti-gravity gun along with his army of LexBots to create chaos throughout the city with cars, taxis and buses floating in mid-air around the rider’s vehicle. As the LexBots continue shooting at the vehicle, SUPERMAN uses heat vision to destroy the anti-gravity gun, causing all objects to suddenly fall, including the train as it takes the first giant drop of the roller coaster. Riders then soar alongside SUPERMAN as he battles the evil LexBots through hairpin twists and turns, loops, dips and dives before ultimately defeating Lex and the LexBots, and returning safely back into the station. This amazing adventure will debut on these Superman-branded coasters:
  • SUPERMAN Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio;
  • SUPERMAN The Ride at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts; and
  • SUPERMAN Ride of Steel at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
For more information, visit www.sixflags.com/virtualrealitycoasters and www.samsung.com/gearvr.
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Source

:)
 
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Cheers for that Rob :) I do wonder why they put Full Throttle in the video if it's not gonna have VR :p

Interesting how 3 of them are Superman coasters, sounds like a decent concept for a VR ride. Although I would NOT want to ride Ninja at St. Louis considering how rough the ride apparently is, let alone with with VR as well :p
 
Three threads now discussing VR.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

JUST NO!

STEEL. THRILL. AIR. WIND RUSHING IN YOUR FACE. SHARING WITH YOUR MATES. RAW. UNFETTERED. ACTUAL REALITY!!

You hear that...

ACTUAL. REALITY.
 
You and Diogo need to get a room. :p

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I’m all for a bit of plussing. They’ve been turning trains around to run them backwards, adding loops to wooden coasters, now they’re adding VR. None of these are bad things per say. Turning trains backwards has probably been the most controversial.

In fact building a roller coaster is flipping expensive. As Six Flags knows too well it often doesn’t make financial sense to build them too frequently. Sometimes you have to sweat your assets or build on what you’ve already got. But you’d have thought they’d reach a point soon where they need to start building more rides from scratch. They’re lucky a lot of their parks are in areas with limited competition.
 
The original concept behind theme parks was that you could experience what you see in the movies in real life. So I find it ironic that more and more in modern theme parks, real set pieces and theming are giving way to digital media and film.

These days, we spend practically all our waking hours surrounded by screens. Theme parks offer the rare chance to escape that and experience something real. The chance to be enthralled by something that is actually happening in front of your eyes. Now instead, they want you to strap a screen to your face.

Looking to the near future, it is already possible to buy a motion platform for your home and VR headsets are pretty widespread now. If you can create a similar virtual reality experience at home where you don't have to queue and you can choose from an endless library of media, why would you go to a theme park? The thing that rides have going for them over games, movies etc. is that they are real, physical experiences. In fact, many of the most popular virtual reality games are roller coaster simulations so in many ways it seems bizarre that the real thing should be pretending to be something else.

This also goes for the trend of 3D screens in dark rides. I haven't been to Orlando and I haven't been on the billion dollar dark rides at Universal. I gather they're rather good. I have however been on a few poor imitations and they are beyond awful.

The main problem with the 3D rides I've been on is that I simply don't believe what is supposed to be happening. Everything on the screen is complete mayhem. There are thousand foot drops, your craft hops between giant boulders as they fall away from a cliff face. There's lava, explosions and near misses all happening at a million miles an hour. But all the while, you're just sitting there in silly glasses being lightly shuffled about. I couldn't help but think I'd rather they spent the money on a proper dark ride instead of a fancy ride system , some 3D screens and a poorly rendered animation.

I don't want to give the wrong impression, I'm not a luddite. I think VR in general is great. I have all sorts of Google Cardboard apps on my phone and an Oculus Rift will be on my wish list as soon as a production version is released. The effect that it could have on gaming in the short term could be massive. Looking to the future, it could change the way we use computers, watch movies and the way that we experience the internet.

I think that the technology does have a place at theme parks but it shouldn't be a flat out substitute for real life. A slightly ropy 3D movie with suspect physics simply can't replace seeing a real object with your own eyes. The point of VR is to make the virtual world appear to be real, not to virtualise the real world. As TheMan said, it also isolates you and removes the social aspect which is a huge part of enjoying rides.

I personally would like to see augmented reality implemented into a shooting dark ride. A ride with real set pieces but with 3D laser effects, explosions, HUD targets and scoring superimposed over the scenery using AR. That to me would be an appropriate balance.
 
As I excited as I am, it was still advertised as some sort of first. It looks alright but I believe Galatica will look better.
 
@CGM gets it.

Totally.

The thing with theme parks, and businesses in general, is you don't pay attention to what's in front of your face - you watch TRENDS.

If you track back to some of my earliest posts, I predicted the demise of F&B based on the manner they were operating the business (not that this was hard lol!) - but this is similar.

AR, as Diogo, myself, and @CGM mentioned would ADD to an experience, not replace it.

And sure, some coasters may be pretty cool with this stuff on so I'm far from blanket against it.

But when I see these mass roll outs suddenly being strapped to some rather good coasters... this concerns.

Glad to see there's others who share the purist aspect of theme parks, I can't believe I'm calling ACTUAL reality of riding a damn coaster as PURIST now.

WTF?
 
I have to laugh really, with Merlin/Towers going on about how they'll have the word's 'first' VR coaster, it's not going to be the case now even before the damn thing opens!

But in all seriousness...enough with the VR gimmicks already.
 
MattyH said:
The resemblance to Diogo is uncanny...
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Congratulations, you have just earned yourself a move from the "kill slowly" list, to the "keep alive for decades in a state of constant agony the likes of which have not been seen since the middle ages" list.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Congratulations, you have just earned yourself a move from the "kill slowly" list, to the "keep alive for decades in a state of constant agony the likes of which have not been seen since the middle ages" list.
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I'm honoured.
 
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