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The Smiler: time to turn the music off

This generally seems like a question of “If I theme a ride to being tortured, is it in theme for it to be slightly uncomfortable or is it just poor guest experience”.

Personally, I like the music for the mechanical sound, but with a facade of happiness to it. It’s quite disorientating, and fits with the theme perfectly. However, everything I like about it in isolation is exactly why it’s horrible in practice.

It’s like crab. It tastes really good in all the same ways it smells really bad. I don’t think the stagnant puddles really help either.

The whole ride is a bit of a mess.. everything that sounds so cool on paper is really naff in reality. Perhaps the whole idea wasn’t meant to be a ride. Maybe it’d be better as a movie or a game. I mean - considering the current landscape of the internet, that little YouTube series they did was way ahead of it’s time. People love eating up ARGs and the sort now.

Clearly the theme is more popular with the “internet crowd” - I have no doubt those people who dress up in the style of the ride fit that bill. I guess it is a bit intense of a style.. I… admire the confidence though.. (I know I can’t exactly speak on this but THAT WAS DIFFERENT!)

Ultimately, it’s a catch 22. You sacrifice the.. “theme” if you tone it down, but make the ride less enjoyable when you do. I think it’s a cool idea, not one for this medium though. It was just a bad seed for this garden.

Oblivion just does it better.
 
If you don't like the soundscape, all I can say is "Ha ha haa, ha ha haa, ha ha ha haa ha ha haaa. Haa ha a ha haa. Ha ha haa, ha ha haa...."

You will be singing it as you go to sleep. Marmalised you are, Padawan
 
If the queue wasn't such a misery and it wasn't BLARING out, it'd be fine. The problem is they set out to create a claustrophobic nightmare....and succeeded, but it still left them with a claustrophobic nightmare. Compare it to Nemesis where you are in the area, can see the carnage and the alien etc but it isn't actually oppressive, so it's not unpleasant to be in.
 
The ride experience is uncomfortable. The theming is shoddy. The queue is atrocious. The music is worthy of enhanced interrogation at Guantanamo Bay. The station building is visually less appealing than a block of flats in Stoke. The restraints often stink of vomit. I could go on….

Personally, there’s nothing appealing about the entire ride. I’d rather have another memorial garden in its place.
 
Anyone suggesting The Smiler has the worst theme park music in the word has clearly been no where near Dudley Do Rights Ripsaw Falls, I hear the music from that thing in my nightmares.
 
With the sound, I think they have learned quite a bit, I was standing at the exit of nemesis, and hearing nemesis sound track, just a small walk and then pretty loud volume you could only hear toxicatior ride music, If they were to redo it I would hope they take on some of the similar sound designs in FV and make the whole queue a consistent volume and allow for multiple sound scapes in X sector.

As for teh queue, I think a big change would be remove some (or most) of it. There are 2 complaints I hear with the smiler queue:
1: it is too cramped
2: I don't know where I am in the queue (it loops back on its self, and due to the amount of people there it is hard to tell where you are in a sea of heads)

I would remove a lot of the loop backs and make it much more linear with larger gaps between queue lines (like nemesis and wickerman), with more lower fences where possible, some theming can be added in the new gaps (toxic barrels of laughing juice or what ever) to give more to look at whilst in the queue.

The larger gaps and lower fencing should help reduce the cramped feeling and the less loopy queue with more clear progression could make it easier to determine the possition in the queue (although since it is all flat ground it probably wouldn't be as easy as nemesis or the wickerman)

and I can't think of the last time the whole queue was used.
 
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Sam said:
I'm convinced that the music in The Smiler's queue makes everybody's day slightly worse: enthusiasts, casuals, the lot.
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Absolutely not. Granted the laughing part is a bit irritating but the parts with the base is the best music in the Uk imo. It’s catchy, sounds so good in the queue and has a great vibe to it. The music makes the ride it wouldn’t be the same without it
 
Dave said:
The music fits the “theme” which if it had been implemented correctly would have been an intriguing theme. Yes it makes people unnerved and anxious but that was the point and a 14 inversion coaster doesn’t have to pander to the nervous disposition.

That said I have never liked the music playing at the entrance to X-Sector, the Smiler is only 1 ride in the area (though to be fair that is 50% of the rides at the moment), so confining the music to the ride area would be a benefit.
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I started typing a post then went back to re-read others. And what you have put almost mirrors what I was writing.

The idea is great. The music is good, quite like it. The execution of both though - appalling
 
It'd certainly be far more enjoyable without the constant laughing noises. The low base tones do work for the "putting you on edge" thing.

Best ride music in UK though? Nah.
 
The_bup said:
Oblivion just does it better.
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Fantastic point. Both rides intend to make you anxious and nervous and overwhelm your senses.

It’s rare these days you’d be stood in a long queue for oblivion but the audio throughout the queue line has peaks and troughs. Throughout the bottom half you have the audio regarding being “designated for oblivion” as if it’s not your choice. You then get the videos telling you how safe/unsafe it is. When you reach the bunker it’s again blasted with the soundtrack. Once again towards the upper half the audio is quieter again until you reach the station and the audio blasts you again.

Smiler on the other hand is 100% assault on your senses from the moment you arrive in x-sector.

I prefer Oblivions approach but you can’t deny Smilers experience was the brief and it works. Wether you like it or not is irrelevant.
 
AltonLover123 said:
It’s rare these days you’d be stood in a long queue for oblivion but the audio throughout the queue line has peaks and troughs. Throughout the bottom half you have the audio regarding being “designated for oblivion” as if it’s not your choice. You then get the videos telling you how safe/unsafe it is. When you reach the bunker it’s again blasted with the soundtrack. Once again towards the upper half the audio is quieter again until you reach the station and the audio blasts you again.
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The queue like video is ominous - until you actually listen to it and it’s the funniest thing ever - I mean really;

“This is not enough to experience a black out, a grey out, or even a red out… but it is enough for some to experience what is known by some as.. A Cop Out”

Had me rolling. It’s more entertaining comedically than it is ominous. Although, I can’t tell if it’s intentional. The Smiler doesn’t actually have any interesting queue videos like that. Maybe it would be interesting, and more entertaining. As much as it is meant to be dystopian, a few jokes and such wouldn’t hurt. It is THE SMILER after all..
 
AltonLover123 said:
Fantastic point. Both rides intend to make you anxious and nervous and overwhelm your senses.

It’s rare these days you’d be stood in a long queue for oblivion but the audio throughout the queue line has peaks and troughs. Throughout the bottom half you have the audio regarding being “designated for oblivion” as if it’s not your choice. You then get the videos telling you how safe/unsafe it is. When you reach the bunker it’s again blasted with the soundtrack. Once again towards the upper half the audio is quieter again until you reach the station and the audio blasts you again.

Smiler on the other hand is 100% assault on your senses from the moment you arrive in x-sector.

I prefer Oblivions approach but you can’t deny Smilers experience was the brief and it works. Wether you like it or not is irrelevant.
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Queue line video 3What annoys me the most is since the crash they’ve messed up the video order and get rid of this one- which honestly was my fave. A man who was once on The Bill has an argument with himself?! Camp comedy chaos.

I honestly loved how last year’s fireworks similarly lent into this silly humour with Mr Phalanx man.

Whereas the Smiler’s queue- the only funny thing in there is the roller stuck on the ceiling by the baggage hold acknowledging how long it took them to get the thing open!
 
VerticalLoop123 said:
Queue line video 3What annoys me the most is since the crash they’ve messed up the video order and get rid of this one- which honestly was my fave. A man who was once on The Bill has an argument with himself?! Camp comedy chaos.

I honestly loved how last year’s fireworks similarly lent into this silly humour with Mr Phalanx man.

Whereas the Smiler’s queue- the only funny thing in there is the roller stuck on the ceiling by the baggage hold acknowledging how long it took them to get the thing open!
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It is a shame they had to change the dialogue but it’s the perfect amount of late 90s camp.
 
What I don't like is the tone of the original post of this topic. I may have read it wrong and I apologise if that's the case.

But to me it reads as, "I don't like the music, so everyone must not like it, it must be turned down".

When the reality is very, very different.
 
I see two issues:

1) Either they have turned the music volume up, or the speakers have been slowly destroyed over the years - the current experience is ear splitting though. The music clips horrendously on some of the speakers, particularly the one in the far right corner and the one on the outer corner edge of the station. It's quite simply a poor sound system that worsens an already very heavily compressed score.

2) IIRC IMAScore delivered 90 minutes of music for The Smiler, yet the park continually use only a fraction of this for the area loop. There needs to be more of this used with a lot more dynamic range variety. As it is, you hear the same sections over and over and over - even when only queueing for a short while.

Echoing the thoughts of others though, I too will avoid The Smiler nowadays but in the case of a very small queue or the occasional single rider. It's simply a misery to stand in the pit and endure not only the obnoxiously loud music crackling through speakers on their last legs, but the noise of the actual ride itself.
 
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