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Towers Loving Care

I'd argue the Smiler fits well, two Government/MoJ/Whoever Renny Works For projects together. Galactica on the other hand....

Anyway TLC

Let's not kid ourselves, the new signs look better and it is a true to original repaint. Hex will look fresh and the people questioning 250 hours need to remember the sheer amount of time it takes to paint something like this well. The hours of spraying, rubbing down, prep etc adds up
 
Alton Towers (or any theme park) should not be about extreme "immersion", it's about creating a look and a design. X Sector was all about its odd shapes, futuristic architecture and secretive obscurity. Simple as that. It worked really well back in the day and I remember being surprised by the feel of the area - when it was all working. But it got so badly maintained.

Black Hole always looked fine and its look suited the area very well in X Sector's early days, because it was redressed on the exterior to be in the same design style as Oblivion. Once inside, the Black Hole inside was essentially a dark ride - so it really didn't matter at all if the style changed slightly on the inside. Same as if once ventured into The Smiler the style evolved. That's half the fun of a dark ride, yes? The fact that it was Jules Verny on the inside made it more fun, if anything, I remember loving the journey inside as to what could come next.

You're all trying to dissect an area that has been pushed and pulled around the place and misunderstood because the original style just does not come across anymore. It would have been easy to properly design The Smiler to be of very X Sector look & feel, but they didn't want to do that, they simply fiddled around with the rest of the area to suit the theme they were making anyway. By using WORDS ON SIGNS (is this fun?) and a fan-fiction-style disposable BACKSTORY that adds nothing to the imagination.

So it's no longer an area about VISUAL implication and a sense of secretive storytelling, because visually - it looks tacky and incoherent now. And so doesn't achieve the main purpose of a theme park - being fun and intriguing.

Visually, the Smiler is a concrete box with a track on top of it, with cheaply built theming. It's got some nifty visual effects though. The rest of X Sector was designed from the ground up very differently. If you do not understand this and think that the area has been the same quality and effectiveness as when it opened, then you have talked yourself into it - objectively the area looks tacky, messy and evokes no feeling now. Perfect for a restoration to its opening day quality! And forget the forced, boring MOJ "backstory".

Let The Smiler be The Smiler and Oblivion Oblivion? If one didn't look so cheap and the other so worn out - then visually they'd be a happy couple.
 
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CoasterCrazyChris said:
No it looked better because it was in brand new condition and had not been subjected to neglect and numerous poor quality refurbishments.

Dated is far more preferable to downright shoddy theming like The Smiler.

If X-Sector still looked like it does in this video it would be one of the best areas on park.

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I never said it would look bad if properly maintained, just dated. I saw the X Sector with my own eyes in 1998, so I know what I'm talking about (not saying you don't). Pretty much everything about X Sector was centred around Oblivion, and how sinister and intimidating that was. Oblivion just doesn't have that same impact anymore with modern guests, even before The Smiler was built, so X Sector would never return to its past glories, even if it was identical to how it appeared in 1998 because so much of the fear factor would be gone. I'm certainly not saying that's an excuse to leave it in a bad state, and yes it could still be one of the best areas in the park (hardly saying much), but its glory days are long gone.

And I don't agree The Smiler has shoddy theming, just badly maintained theming. I may be in a minority, but I think the whole MOJ idea actually breathed some much needed life into X Sector. And I certainly don't agree with the notion that The Smiler looks cheap. Its theming maybe, but that is dwarfed by the mass of steel track that looks anything but cheap.

But back on topic, I think brief paint work on The Smiler's supports is the only TLC that's been carried out in X Sector, which would be a shame seeing as the drop zone around Oblivion definitely needs attention.
 
I really do think they should of put a nemesis monster on a planet in the VR of galactica. Maybe it could of started the quake on the one planet.
 
Oblivion is a 90's design. Whilst the smiler is a (whatever this decade is called) design. Late 90's was keep things simple. Straight lines. Bold and confident. Look at all the millennium bug stuff from that time. Simple, bold and screams terror. Put yourself in the mind of a 10 year old now. The smiler will look more appealing. Busy, loud, bright and full of energy. Whilst us oldies, see it as a mess. (and a god awful name) nemesis screams early 90's. Emerging from the days of 80's predator and aliens. Unfortunately. Things age. Oblivion is 20 years old soon. How do Liam Gallagher, Damon Alban and posh spice look now.
 
andeyhart said:
And I certainly don't agree with the notion that The Smiler looks cheap. Its theming maybe, but that is dwarfed by the mass of steel track that looks anything but cheap.
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Oh yes, it does look impressive from around the ride on the outside, where the sheer black steel and mayhem of it really is quite fun. But once in the queue and up close, I think it looks extremely shoddy. Stained and dirty concrete cuboid. Muddy floors and peeling plastic. Garden BINS painted yellow and strapped to the spider trusses in the middle.

Fun fact, Oblivion's buildings (when you find out how they were made) are probably just as cheap as The Smiler's theming. They really weren't built to be durable, but they looked unique and had some cool design touches. The style was there, very original and it was effective when the ride was new. So it's interesting how they used the design differently given the same kind of scope, as I find Oblivion's (original) design to have a lot more substance than The Smiler.

The big loss I think is, the only decor inside The Smiler is the raw blockwork walls just painted, which is really minimal and stingy. They cut a lot of corners with its aesthetic design, which is pants and will surely mean - in 10 years time, without maintenance, The Smiler is going to seem even more dated and confused than Oblivion does now.

So this is why having an excellent design to begin with is key, and then proper scenic/effects maintenance, for a ride to stay fun & entertaining.

Maybe X Sector already had its good run of 10 years or so and the time came and went for an entirely new design on the area? Though I still found the theme fun as a youngster in the mid 2000s, despite it no longer being at all "contemporary", it had a clear weird vibe to it.
 
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Slugjc said:
Oblivion is a 90's design. Whilst the smiler is a (whatever this decade is called) design. Late 90's was keep things simple. Straight lines. Bold and confident. Look at all the millennium bug stuff from that time. Simple, bold and screams terror. Put yourself in the mind of a 10 year old now. The smiler will look more appealing. Busy, loud, bright and full of energy. Whilst us oldies, see it as a mess. (and a god awful name) nemesis screams early 90's. Emerging from the days of 80's predator and aliens. Unfortunately. Things age. Oblivion is 20 years old soon. How do Liam Gallagher, Damon Alban and posh spice look now.
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True. Oblivion suffers from this more than Nemesis due to the whole vertical drop having been outdone with beyond vertical drops. I think for anyone who saw it when it first launched, and can remember how terrifying it was, it still looks hugely intimidating. But a lot of the younger generation, who've ridden the likes of Sheikra at Busch Gardens or Eurofighters like Saw, just won't find Oblivion that scary in comparison.

Having said that, amongst coaster newbies, Oblivion is probably still the ride that scares them the most. You hear of a lot of first times trying everything yet bottling it with Oblivion. And it did look incredible in 2013 when it was repainted. Despite what I said about the theme of X Sector being dated, I still think it has the potential to look a lot better with some TLC.
 
I have a friend who absolutely refuses to ride Oblivion but will ride everything else. So it clearly still works as an intimidating ride, despite it being far outclassed by other coasters today.
 
I think its called the teenies. you look at the smiler and yeah it looks a mess but is it meant to. The whole theme is about being marmalised and i think the track has the factor of helping to do that.

If you look at Oblivion and nemesis I still think wow.
 
DiogoJ42 said:
Likewise, but you have to concede that to some people that's a wage they can only dream of... :oops:

.... especially if they work for Merlin.
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£20/hr is £41k PA. The NMW is £15k and the UK average is c£28k so I think you could concede that a LOT of people would, and do, get out of bed for hell of a lot less.

Bare in mind the average salary is much less if you work outside of London. Towers is 'up north' too, where you can still get a couple of pints with a tenner and have change for chips & gravy on the way home.

If I lived in Staffordshire, I'd probably be comfortable on £41kPA in all honesty.

So yeah, I think it's fairly accurate to base the cost on £5k. :) And Towers, if you see this, I'm handy with a spray-paint can and can start tonight. NB I only work nights and like to ware a balaclava.
 
electricBill said:
Alton Towers (or any theme park) should not be about extreme "immersion", it's about creating a look and a design. X Sector was all about its odd shapes, futuristic architecture and secretive obscurity. Simple as that. It worked really well back in the day and I remember being surprised by the feel of the area - when it was all working. But it got so badly maintained.

Black Hole always looked fine and its look suited the area very well in X Sector's early days, because it was redressed on the exterior to be in the same design style as Oblivion. Once inside, the Black Hole inside was essentially a dark ride - so it really didn't matter at all if the style changed slightly on the inside. Same as if once ventured into The Smiler the style evolved. That's half the fun of a dark ride, yes? The fact that it was Jules Verny on the inside made it more fun, if anything, I remember loving the journey inside as to what could come next.

You're all trying to dissect an area that has been pushed and pulled around the place and misunderstood because the original style just does not come across anymore. It would have been easy to properly design The Smiler to be of very X Sector look & feel, but they didn't want to do that, they simply fiddled around with the rest of the area to suit the theme they were making anyway. By using WORDS ON SIGNS (is this fun?) and a fan-fiction-style disposable BACKSTORY that adds nothing to the imagination.

So it's no longer an area about VISUAL implication and a sense of secretive storytelling, because visually - it looks tacky and incoherent now. And so doesn't achieve the main purpose of a theme park - being fun and intriguing.

Visually, the Smiler is a concrete box with a track on top of it, with cheaply built theming. It's got some nifty visual effects though. The rest of X Sector was designed from the ground up very differently. If you do not understand this and think that the area has been the same quality and effectiveness as when it opened, then you have talked yourself into it - objectively the area looks tacky, messy and evokes no feeling now. Perfect for a restoration to its opening day quality! And forget the forced, boring MOJ "backstory".

Let The Smiler be The Smiler and Oblivion Oblivion? If one didn't look so cheap and the other so worn out - then visually they'd be a happy couple.
Click to expand...

You have just expressed far far better everything I wanted to say and more on the previous page.

Thank you.

You come across as the most intelligent person on these boards.
 
I think its right to say that nemeis still has that wow factor. This may seem daft to some and i apologise if it does. BUT, i think nemeis' has something over Oblivion, The Smiler and Air That is that no matter how much they spend on TLC. It cant beat what mother nature can do to enhance the experiance. Grimy walls. Over grown grass. Yes you do need to control her abit. But she till adds more then a paint brush and a good artist can. Plus.Ive always thought that Nemesis/Thirteen themes are much better suited to a drizzly night during scarefest. Then a warm sunny glourious Staffordshire summers day.
 
I'd never think I was better than anyone else - but I do think sometimes too much of the internet's viewpoint can distort the bigger picture - theme parks are about fun after all and I've witnessed a lot for myself how maintenance can really take its toll on an effective theme or attraction, a lot more than datedness or style. So thanks :)

I think if X Sector had been professionally maintained, its design would have remained more fun to experience in the present day. It would feel quite millenial, but in a good way, not a dated way. The Smiler could have also been better designed as part of the area as a result - while still being its own take on a theme. You'd not want to stay in the past, but part of that is keeping the area looking bold and fresh.

Currently X Sector is full of blistering paint, plastic falling apart buildings, garish orange & yellow (the original was slick black, polished & mysterious). It should have been kept fresh and got more cool and bold, instead of more amatear.

I'd say Duel has the same problems, at the moment it reeks of datedness and entertains probably very few. The obvious thing would be to call it old fashioned and rip it out, BUT if the effects and scenes had been maintained to their opening standard (there has been a LOT of detail and illusion removed over the last 15 years!) then it would actually seem surprisingly modern, a fantastic family ride and really good fun. There's case for better practical effects too.

Imagine if Hex had opened in 2000 in the broken state it was when it closed last season - no one would have praised it as a classic, because the effectiveness wouldn't be there. Once the polish drops, the experience quickly becomes naff, but UK parks rarely recognise this.
 
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DiogoJ42 said:
Well if you think about it, it's in the park's interest to let the trees grow as tall as possible. Makes you wonder why they haven't planted a few giant redwoods round the edge of the park...?
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Or maybe plant some redwoods on top of the towers themselves in massive pots

PJ


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
All good stuff! Hoping there's a couple of new show elements they're keeping secret too, nothing major...just maybe a couple new surprises.

I'm presuming the air conditioning is just a general fixture of the building and not actually meant as a show element, as suggested by the blog post?

Seems like lots of you got your wish of wanting the Hexagon AV screens replaced...
 
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