[The Smiler] Construction Updates and Ride Speculation

[GAGrathea]

Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

More importantly, if one is to look back at Marketing photo & video uploads from the last year, it is clear they have all been filmed in-house; there'd be no reason for the department to turn around and rope in some external photographer for the sake of a cheeky teaser photo when they can just walk down and do it themselves!

 

[Dave]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

As for the 14 inversion prediction, it's been a rumour since the plans came out. It happens to be a rumour I believe however but I don't see that as proving any claims.

There are often genuine rumours on the web and very rarely they come from Towers staff or affiliates (mostly its been through 5 degrees of seperation to a geek, or its a guess) but they never announce their roles online. Towers and Merlin take a dim view on leaks so it would be a stupid thing to admit too if your "partner" did work for the company.

My biggest issue with these leaks though is enthusiasts who work at Merlin might get targeted as the source of the leak because of their association with geeks, I would hate for forums to affect someone's career (besides which geeks employed by Merlin are the least leakiest people in the world)

I miss Leroy

 

[Sammy]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Just going to put this one out there... It was actually me that took the image!

But no, seriously, I really am baffled at how many people seem to have believed him, as James, Mags, Dave and Dan have all said it's clearly a load of rubbish and is also highly irresponsible!

I HATE Closed Season!!

 

[josht]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Just going to put this one out there... It was actually me that took the image!

But no, seriously, I really am baffled at how many people seem to have believed him, as James, Mags, Dave and Dan have all said it's clearly a load of rubbish and is also highly irresponsible!

I HATE Closed Season!!

Also hate closed season, so many rumours

 

[7thHeaven]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

As for the 14 inversion prediction, it's been a rumour since the plans came out. It happens to be a rumour I believe however but I don't see that as proving any claims.

There are often genuine rumours on the web and very rarely they come from Towers staff or affiliates (mostly its been through 5 degrees of seperation to a geek, or its a guess) but they never announce their roles online. Towers and Merlin take a dim view on leaks so it would be a stupid thing to admit too if your "partner" did work for the company.

My biggest issue with these leaks though is enthusiasts who work at Merlin might get targeted as the source of the leak because of their association with geeks, I would hate for forums to affect someone's career (besides which geeks employed by Merlin are the least leakiest people in the world)

I miss Leroy

I completely agree, the idea of leaks especially with a company like Merlin, can only end in trouble, and if anything just seem to take away from the discussions. This case though, there is no real positive, I mean if any of the leaks are true, then Merlin would inevitably investigate whoever took the ride photo, and jepardize their career. lose/ lose situation, and all you gain is a sense of "i know something you dont know"

 

[Johno]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

The ambulance that was used in the Sanctuary marketing stunt in London has been spotted in one of the AT car parks.

Perhaps this may be moving to be the 'vehicle' in the theming plans. Whilst the plans show this as a satellite truck, they weren't required to be accurate as the element is in the GDO area.

 

[AstroDan]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Or both?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TheMan]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I don't get the fuss.

It's not like this photo is private is it? It's been shown has it not, that the guy did a knock up of something other people suggested, aside from that we have the 14 inversion thing which has multiple rumour bases and of which I have my thoughts on how it will work.

I'm not interested in forum points, I shall be keeping it to myself - I have my suspicions though as to how this will work.

I just don't get how this is irresponsible, if he is genuine. The chances appear that he isn't, as the team here obviously have links to AT so I will take their word of course, but still, irresponsible?

Hardly.

 

[Josh]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I think what's irresponsible about it is that he's seen as a constant leak of information about towers, even before the revelation that he's the camera man. Over the past few months he's said the ride will have 14 inversions, standard style eurofighter cars, and even revealed that it will have an indoor beyond vertical drop. To leak that much info and then tell everyone your partner works at Merlin will paint a massive target on said partner to be under investigation for leaking sensitive information.

So yes, it would be highly irresponsible.

I for one know everything about the new ride, but you don't see me going round telling everyone...

 

[Dave]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Except he isn't the camera man, therefore his fiction could potentially get someone genuine in trouble as a case of Mis-identity.

 

[Josh]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Exactly, so he's not even being irresponsible about his, or his partner's job, he's being irresponsible about someone else's job, someone who he doesn't even know.

Anyway to avoid drifting too far off topic, I think this photo has just been edited to look like surveillance footage, and we're looking into it too much. Hopefully we will get a few more photo updates in the new year from different angles, each with a different camera number to make it more obviously that it is the camera number, and not the amount of inversions.

The Phalanx Twitter account appeared at the end of January last year, so I'm hoping for the same thing this year, maybe a Ministry Of Joy account?

Also, I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, the van is not the only bit of theming on site, apparently bits of the spider are being stored at studios north.

 

[TheMan]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

Hang on lol, we are talking about a massive company here in Merlin.

The guy is either leaking information, which is genuine, or he isn't, in which case there can't be anything traced back to anyone.

Unless it is true, he is fibbing about having clearance about what can/cannot be said, and thus everything afterwards falls down.

Personally, his speculations have made me chuckle, and have provided some interesting conversation.

If someone gets into trouble, because someone else leaks some false information, and Merlin decide to take action against someone random (which it would have to be, as there is no actual facts involved, perhaps good guesses at best) for that - then they are worse than even I thought they were lol!!

Think about it guys. If Merlin/Alton are annoyed by this, they need to take action against the person involved directly - that is the only course of action they can take, and even then, they would look a teeny bit petty.

I got into trouble along with a colleague earlier this year, for some misunderstanding in regards to how I was working with, well, someone I wasn't supposed to say anything about. There was a genuine misunderstanding, and this person is a fair bit more well known than Alton Towers/Merlin, and over something a bit more important than some twisty steel. One phone call sorted it out, so I just don't buy this irresponsible rubbish sorry.

(I should also add, that the call from LA first involved talk of litigation against us, and stemmed from somebody posting false information in a public place - very similar to this in many ways, it was easy to show it as false, such as this will be for any employee of Merlin!)

These are big companies we are talking about here, it's laughable to think they'd be so petty as to start throwing their weight around and costing people their jobs over some supposedly false leaks.

Oh, and if they do, then perhaps they should call me in to help manage their company procedures as they clearly need my help lol!!!

 

[Andrew]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

TowersTimes haven't said anything about not using this image, so here it is:

I can't see a dish on top of that van...

 

[Josh]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

I think it's widely believed to be the ambulance from the marketing video, you can see a slight lump at the back of the roof, which could be the blue flashing light.

And if it was supposed to have a satellite dish on it, I guess they would be storing that elsewhere, and would fix it on later.

 

[Dave]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

It's an old fashioned ambulance, you can see the sign at the front.

Or it could be an ice cream van, that would be amusing if its got bog all to do with SW7 and was just one of the ice cream vans

 

[GAGrathea]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

The issue with anyone posing as a member of staff is that there is almost certainly only 1 person who would have taken this photo, who will know sensitive information as part of the marketing process, and if Merlin were to see someone essentially claiming to be him by claiming to have taken the photo and 'leaking' other information online, disciplinary action would obviously be taken. Potentially losing someone their job is not cool.

 

[DannyJames]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

TowersTimes haven't said anything about not using this image, so here it is:

I can't see a dish on top of that van...

I can see this being added for something to do with next year, I wouldn't understand if they'd cover up an Ice Cream van. Plus it'd make sense if they're covering it up so nobody see's it until next year...

 

[Joseph]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

There covering this van because of the rain..... Gosh the closed season strikes again.

 

[cotda]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

The issue with anyone posing as a member of staff is that there is almost certainly only 1 person who would have taken this photo, who will know sensitive information as part of the marketing process, and if Merlin were to see someone essentially claiming to be him by claiming to have taken the photo and 'leaking' other information online, disciplinary action would obviously be taken. Potentially losing someone their job is not cool.

Yeah, and of course impersonating staff is very wrong! But in reality you could just do an IP comparison to prove that the member of staff is innocent.

Anywho, nice looking van!

 

[Josh]

Re: Secret Weapon 7 Discussion Continued

There covering this van because of the rain..... Gosh the closed season strikes again.

Why would they need to cover the van because of rain? Does this mean that while its set up in X-sector next year, when it starts raining the staff will all come running out to throw some tarpaulin over it to preserve it?

I think vehicles are built to withstand rain without the help of a cover...