Galactica - General Discussion

[Aidan Lowe]

but what's this about track on the car park?

With space you often think about the shuttle launch as we usually only see that part when any space mission is involved so some people have suggested it could possible get some type of launching system. I personally haven't seen these images they claim to have of track on the car park yet so I'm doubtful there even is any.

There has been items of interest seen in the front carriage as Air has been making circuits. And if this was analyzing the track to sync with the VR experience then an extension to the layout would of had to have been done maybe sooner, replacing a section of track which goes at the same incline for the same distance is easier so a launch section would probably be the frontrunner.

i wonder if we'll be travelling to the planet the nemesis monster originated from?

Seeing as how they are making a big deal out of it by taking the announcement to the London Science Museum I'd probably think the VR experience video will be closer to home.

[MakoMania]

If you had a launch lift hill like Lightning Rod at Dollywood then it could simulate a rocket launch. I mean how can you have a rocket launch simulated with a slow lift hill? It would also give them another world's first. World's first launched flying coaster.

[Aidan Lowe]

Following yesterdays media reveals I decided to throw this together quickly. Just basically rehashed material.

[Aidan Lowe]

[align=center][/align]

My teaser trailer for Galactica. This is my interpretation and how I personally would promote & base the new experience on.

The nemesis creature is not alone, they are very intelligent beings of enormous size & the government has known about others in our Galaxy for some time.

Now the restrained Nemesis creature is calling to her allies and they have set a course for Earth and its up to you to take flight with the aid of The Phalanx and prevent a worldwide catastrophe, the events surrounding Sub Species were just the beginning, now comes their main onslaught to end all life as we know it.

YouTube link

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Themeparksandy1981]

Maybe we could see a area rename soon to go with a new SW coaster

[Aidan Lowe]

Another promotional piece, sorry if I'm bombarding this thread with stuff! I'm somewhat bored so I put my time to use doing some creative pieces:

This first piece in the background you have a celestial figure, thought it worked well overall in the piece with hands engulfing the Earth which has been targeted like a creator. And if you look closely you can see a futuristic crosshair hovering over the UK.



Different variation of text with no figure.

[Luviico]

Now a space theme with a launch through the tunnel which would hopefully be much better themed is something I could really warm to, the chance of this happening though seems very unlikely. I'm not sure how long relevant changes to the track would take but if it is possible I'm all for it. I'm pretty sure now that whatever the changes are it will bring about a new worlds first? I think it is something AT would really want to push for to try and bring in more people, especially if they do go ahead with the rumoured ride closures over 2016. The only thing I now worry about is how the new theme will fit into forbidden valley but with the proposed SW8's location nearby we could actually see an entire area retheme in the distant future. Excited to see how things pan out!!

[Jammydodger]

They'd need to so a lot of work on the pre drop to cope with the strains of a launched lift surely?And do launched flying coasters even exist? If not surely merlin would have tacked in the world's first into the marketing by now.

[Aidan Lowe]

^ Nope they don't not yet. Winged coaster yes, flying coaster nope. It was just an idea people had I personally don't believe it will get a launch either.

[Themeparksandy1981]

I think it's quite wrong of Alton Towers saying a new ride for 2016 when it's a retheme of the current ride. I think we could be seeing a new flat ride on the ripsaw site.

[Aidan Lowe]

Without seeing what the media was sent its hard to judge on who's end is at fault for the miscommunication. I know who my guess is on. The blog post for example it clearly defines it as a ride experience.

[allijukes19]

I really hope they don't change the name to Galactica, it sounds cheesy, I like the idea of a launch however it's pretty unrealistic. If it does get a name change I will always call it Air because I love the name, the music and the theme.

[TheBeast]

I do think Air has always been fine how it is rly. I just hope the new update doesn't come off as being a little cheesy or badly done... im not looking forward to the revamp tbh. maybe if MI5 does another flyby we can see?

I sound very presumptuous that he will :lol its not intentional!

[Aidan Lowe]

I really hope they don't change the name to Galactica, it sounds cheesy.

im not looking forward to the revamp tbh.

I understand where your coming from, I sometimes hate change but in this case I feel its worth it. I've always felt Air to be very tame, very lackluster and overall a rather boring coaster which somehow still gets longer queues than most of the other big coasters.

With the new theming, enclosed station, VR experience, overall different feel from my point of view its breathing new life into the coaster, I'd rather have this change than a season with absolutely nothing. 2015 was a difficult season with only Octonauts being new and obviously the horrendous season that it was.

As for the fly-by still think its relatively early to see any huge changes just yet imo.

[Aidan Lowe]

Have another short video here: YouTube

Brief run-down of this video and what I was going for:

It starts with a woman who has bionic eyes (symbolizing Virtual Reality), they are red to begin with and turn green as she then enters the VR world.

Cuts to a meteor / ship coming to earth, sirens blare, a worldwide threat is upon us and a young boy sees destruction rain down through the reflection in his eyes.

Some cut scenes later an old man is narrating now, its the young boy from previous. Basically saying as people on earth we dream of visiting the stars, but for people in space (fighting intergalactic like, stopping the alien threat) their dream is to one day return home.

Obviously this is my interpretation, it may not involve anything of the sort regarding fighting. But seeing as at Freedom Flyer riders were shooting at objects in the VR world using the headsets it is a possibility.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[razgriz33]

Loving the ideas and content Andy I wonder what ties it may have with the restaurant, perhaps that will be space themed and it will be spaceships that roll along rails delivering food?

[Aidan Lowe]

No doubt it will. Imagine sitting in a restaurant around a table with touch screens to order, in the center you have a hologram (people can make their own) as seen here but on a large scale given Merlin's funding.

And the food comes down in shuttles with planets attached to wires and twinkly lights acting as stars in the ceiling and the track and shuttles go around and orbit those planets / stars and descend to your table.

[Aidan Lowe]

For anyone who saw my post about Sky Force and Blackpool I delved into the idea of bringing more interactivity and competition for future attractions and is the way forward. For anyone not familiar, Sky Force tracks how many revolutions you complete and there is a leader board.

Going back to Fun Spot's Freedom Flyer VR Coaster demo where users can shoot stuff. Do we think its at all possible that this interactivity within the virtual reality world could be tracked and for example track the best pilot for Galactica.

Obviously until we know the exact details this is all still speculative as to what we'll be experiencing. But how cool would it be for users to take on a mission in virtual reality (much like a game) and have an overall leader board. Some people love competitiveness and if this was a paid for premium experience it may make some individuals pay for another go to try and beat their score or the highest score overall.

Merlin is all about making money and imo that idea would be a gold mine, its like gambling but for gamers and competitive individuals.

Could be totally wrong however and the VR we'll experience is simply a flight into space. I'm hoping it has something more to it though, having a space battle with the new Star Wars trilogy & spin off movies would fit perfectly in the current market and perhaps entice people to experience it.

In regard to the announcement on January 12th I couldn't think of a better place to hold it than the London Science Museum, it currently has a cosmonaut exhibition which started on 18th September and lasts till 13th March 2016.

In regard to the announcement date, I had a quick look to see if it held any significance in space history and it was the date Nasa sent a probe on a fly-by mission called Deep Impact and earlier than that space shuttle Columbia launched on the same date, short mission to deploy a communications satellite.

[Aidan Lowe]

I don't think there was much doubt about VR but taken from this article from Attractions Management the date that has been set for the London Science Museum reveal coincides with whats written in that article.

There is some indication that the January announcement would be for a rollercoaster at a major theme park in the UK, though Mack would not confirm this.

Now its just a case of waiting for hopefully some further information reveals and perhaps an advert / teaser on January 12th.

[ASturge21]

Mack? Is that an events company or the coaster manufacturer?

Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk