Oblivion - General Discussion

[Jon]

On-ride speakers can afford to be quieter. Plus, they are directed towards the passenger so less sound escapes.

[Balb0wa]

[quote=""Jon""]On-ride speakers can afford to be quieter. Plus, they are directed towards the passenger so less sound escapes.[/quote]

but i thought it was the screaming when the dont look down was played that was the problem?

[Chris W]

[quote=""Balb0wa""][quote=""Jon""]On-ride speakers can afford to be quieter. Plus, they are directed towards the passenger so less sound escapes.[/quote]

but i thought it was the screaming when the dont look down was played that was the problem?[/quote]

It was. The announcement was "supposed" to make people scream more. So they got rid of it to please the Ropers.

[jmc]

I do miss the dont look down!
Cant believe I am admitting this, me and a friend rang the Oblivion guy when we found out he works at the uni nearby, and made him say it for us... recorded the whole thing on my phone...
True story! Cant get any geekier than that!

[Khanage]

The way they were running Oblivion yesterday there would be no time for the "Don't Look Down" audio. I must say I was very impressed with the speed in which they were dispatching the cars and this meant the queue was really quick. The only problem was they reduced the time of the hold at the top of the drop to about a second and on some it just went straight over without holding at all!

[Kaycee]

Thanks. We worked our arses off! ^

As for the hold time... well it was fine whenever I was watching it, and I don't think it's anything the ops would adjust!

[Dylan]

I had one ride on my last visit where it barely held at the top. I really wasnt prepared for it!
It was running very well that weekend too, as soon as a car reached the top of the hill the next would go up.

[Satch]

The drop time physically cannot be altered. Every shuttle as far as I am aware is working fine on the drop conveyor, pausing for 3-4 seconds still. There was a shuttle last year that would go straight over, but I havnt seen this happen yet this year.

Plus, a reduction on the drop time would have no impact on dispatching, as the shuttles are held on the service breaks waiting for those in front in the waiting position to move forwards, regardless of how fast/slow shuttles move up the lift/drop. As for increasing the time it takes for shuttles to leave the station so the next ones can, well it is all dependant on the time it takes to move up the lift, not the drop conveyor, as the shuttles can be on the lift as soon as the previous one has left the lift

[Gloomy Dude]

Does anyone else hate having to walk through that garish, horrible arcade after the Oblivion shop. It's like you're being punished for daring to ride the Oblivion! Noisy, tacky and just plain pants. X Sector really does need done over, and made a place of fear again.

[Meg]

Has anyone ever been on a shuttle that went over the drop of Oblivion without holding? I've heard of it but can't picture it really happening. It's quite a scary thought though.

And yeah, I hate that arcade too. The photo bit is fine, and the Oblivion shop obviously but I can't stand all those 2p machines and big glass boxes with fluffy teddies in them! Doesn't exactly fit in with the X Sector theme does it?

[stigzy]

It is happening again, me and Tom were held for no more than a second on Friday on at least one of the shuttles anyway. The other two re-rides were fine however, so perhaps it’s just the odd duff one?!

I'm not much arsed about the mile long arcade maze you have to walk through to get out, but do agree it could do with jazzing up a bit! It's a bit of a missed opportunity (story of Alton Towers' life tbh), an arcade could easily be made to look very space age, s'not hard! I'm thinking that spacey arcade in Toy Story for some reason. The one thing that really gets me though - the merchandise! It's all black and orange, but why?! Oblivion is grotty grey...

[FallenAbyss]

With regards the "Maze De Arcadia" I noticed they'd moved things around considerably on Saturday, it's quite a bit different now but possibly even more confusing, you have to kind of Zig Zag around the machines now, although for some reason I think I kind of preferred it. It's probably not much of a help if you're running around trying to get a high ride count though lol.

[mezza]

[quote=""Gloomy Dude""]Does anyone else hate having to walk through that garish, horrible arcade after the Oblivion shop. It's like you're being punished for daring to ride the Oblivion! Noisy, tacky and just plain pants. X Sector really does need done over, and made a place of fear again.[/quote]

Agree. X-Sector should be terrifying. Tacky arcades and the 'duck pond' in the middle really don't add to that, and the backdrop of trees and fields don't help either. I want more blackness, more steel fencing, more themeing features, and, if you must have an arcade, make sure the machines are chosen to fit in with the theme, not the crappy mishmash there is now. X-Sector could be SO much better with not too much work.

[rightbackgranty]

[quote=""mezza""]Agree. X-Sector should be terrifying. Tacky arcades and the 'duck pond' in the middle really don't add to that, and the backdrop of trees and fields don't help either. I want more blackness, more steel fencing, more themeing features, and, if you must have an arcade, make sure the machines are chosen to fit in with the theme, not the crappy mishmash there is now. X-Sector could be SO much better with not too much work.[/quote]

The thing is, X-sector hasnt changed since the place opened - the arcade has always been there - the majority of the arcade games have remained the same. In that respect, X-Sector has never really been "terrifying" in that respect - its fear factor came from the screams on oblivion or energiser - screams that have long since died down. I think its tired appearance takes away from the experience.

More steel fencing around the area might add to the atmosphere, but I just think that the whole area needs a revamp - give oblivion a lick of paint, removed submission, bring in one or two new flats and the area could be as good as new.

[furie]

[quote=""FallenAbyss""]With regards the "Maze De Arcadia" I noticed they'd moved things around considerably on Saturday, it's quite a bit different now but possibly even more confusing, you have to kind of Zig Zag around the machines now, although for some reason I think I kind of preferred it. It's probably not much of a help if you're running around trying to get a high ride count though lol.[/quote]

I hate the new layout. It's really tight and claustrophobic. Trying to keep a group together is a nightmare. It's clearly just designed to force people past as many things to spend money on as is possible.

[quote=""Meg""]Has anyone ever been on a shuttle that went over the drop of Oblivion without holding? I've heard of it but can't picture it really happening. It's quite a scary thought though.
[/quote]

I was on one last year and it's actually really great fun. You get a much better pop of airtime as you go over, and it's such a brilliant shock

[Skumfidus]

There is a way to force a shuttle to go straight over, a friend of mine who was oblivion op at the time did it, pretty sure it's just a push of the ride stop as the drop conveyor slows the shuttle down....makes an epic noise though!

I also hate the arcade, it forces you to brush past flashy money-grabbing machines much like the games units in Mutiny Bay....and to me that's bad customer service!

[Big Dave]

Yeah Im still certain its a faulty motor to blame for t just going over the top without pausing. Might be some sort of glitch in the system or something, but meh. The arcade is really annoying but I can see why they have done it. They reallllllllly need to take a few machines out as its so packed in there with stuff.

[Satch]

that may be true Ryan, but if ride stop were to be used to stop the shuttle from holding then there would be disciplinaries ahoy and a 5min wait to restart it...

Post made via Mobile Device

[Vik]

There appears to be an issue with some major queue jumping from the Single rider queue to the ordinary queue. Having decided to use single rider on Oblivion today, a group of around 6 people joined behind us, after telling the batching host they wanted single rider. Once out of sight, the ducked under and joined the main queue. I witnessed at least another 15 people do the same during our wait.

Unfortunately with the single rider queue being rather narrow, in the middle of the 2 main queues it is difficult to raise the issue with staff, as the queue jumpers are in the station and on the ride in a matter of minutes. And of course no one in the main queue battered an eyelid when pushed in front of.

[Skumfidus]

[quote=""Satch""]that may be true Ryan, but if ride stop were to be used to stop the shuttle from holding then there would be disciplinaries ahoy and a 5min wait to restart it...

Post made via Mobile Device[/quote]

And there was!