Wicker Man - General Discussion

[cookiee_munster]

It'll look out of place like Air does in FV as you mentioned but as long as its a decent ride I for one will accept the fact the theme will probably suck. Just [-o< for a well thought out track circuit.

the park are now entering themed resort territory, well no. they passed over the threshold many years ago. the theme of the attraction should be just as strong as the ride it's self. its sloppy to plonk a ride down wherever and slap a few visual similarities from the rides surrounding it...

this is what i hated about air. the whole thing stuck out like a sore thumb, and the the dumb theme about it being "the oasis" of forbidden valley just made it even more sloppy. i've kind of given up hope now that it'll ever receive a re-theme to tie it in with the rest of forbidden valley.

if it is wood. why the hell can't it be built over in the coach park near katanga canyon? at least there it would kind of blend in with its surroundings and the general theme.

i thought they did a pretty good job with merging the smiler theme with the rest of x-sector. i guess i can only hope this'll be a similar ordeal. i hope...

[Jamster42]

They could try to make it look burnt and destroyed similar to the fencing around the swarm. That way it would kind of fit in. If its RMC track I can imagine it fitting the area pretty well.

[KoasterKraver]

SW8. Teaser.

[Altontowersbarlow]

SW8. The ride will be world first.

May you provide a source if possible? I don't currently believe this is an official Alton Towers Promotional image as it seems rather disjointed and the tagline at the bottom of the image does not make complete sense.

[Stan.H]

WOW! Looks good, what web address is it? Or is it a poster in park?

[Aidan Lowe]

I thought the winner got a free return date, I couldn't find anything on Twitter or FB so I call bs personally on that image. Plus it sort of looks sloppy even for even AT.

[MRWTHO-AT]

Well this is interesting news! Part of me is slightly surprised that they've chosen site SW8 in Forbidden Valley, but then again part of me isn't, as it seems fairly logical. It'll be interesting to see what the plans are and how it'll interact with the rest of the area. Will AT use SW8 to get rid of Ripsaw and the Blade? Will the Sub-Terra theme be tweeked or the ride removed/revamped? Will Forbidden Valley be revamped altogether, with Air and Nemesis being blended in more, while still maintaining their individual identities?
These are certainly interesting times for Forbidden Valley.

[NemesisRider]

That advert does seem very fake... especially because the advertising language seems too similar to that used on Sub Terra. They will probably want to make this ride different and unique.

[Georgie]

As an amateur graphic designer, I feel the rather cruel urge to have a game of "everything wrong with" with this advert.

1: Flat, plain boxes with ugly black outline and text that is hard to read on red.
2: Inconsistent style that can't decide if it's for a futuristic or historical theme. Having 3 completely different fonts doesn't help either.
3: Speaking of fonts, why the heck would they use the smiler font again unless the ride was going in the X Sector
4: That clip art in the middle. Why..
5: "Unearthing in 2017 to". Last time we saw wording this bad, Thorpe was serving up rocket lunches.

If you made this yourself, I apologise for ripping it apart, since it's really not that bad for an early attempt; it just lacks polish. But next time, it would be best to specify if it was a mock, or at least perform a grammar check if you're trying to to fool someone.

[KoasterKraver]

It is a basic teaser I made over the course of 5 minutes. Nothing official, I'm a graphic designer and this is similar to the marketing currently used in forbidden valley. I must say that the reason I used the smiler font, was because of the big six challenge.

[MakoMania]

I hope that annual pass holders will get a preview of SW8.

[Stan.H]

I hope that annual pass holders will get a preview of SW8.

I'd imagine that MAP holders would get that as they are doing that with TP's 2016 dark ride/coaster... O:)

[Luviico]

With hints that John Wardley is indeed fully behind SW8 can we somewhat say that the SW theme is continuing? If so, it would suggest that SW8 will feature a world first. What is there left to explore world first wise? I imagine it would be especially difficult to come up with one for a woody? The smiler was all about the inversions so AT will want to distance themselves from something similar. Could the only thing left be something to do with the length of the ride? As people have already mentioned the area selected for the new development is very large. As for the ride sticking out like a sore thumb I do agree that the best place for a woody to fit in would be in Katanga Canyon but obviously space is a massive issue here. Next to air it will really stick out but if it is made to look run down/rusty then it can definitely at least fit in a bit with Nemesis.

[Altontowersbarlow]

I have been thinking of theming possibilities in terms of SW8 and how the attraction could blend into Forbidden Valley. There is one route I feel Alton Towers could explore and I feel it would also tie Air into forbidden valley slightly more although I believe Air will always be an anomaly in the general atmosphere of the area. I will describe the general theme of my SW8 concept and the benefits of the storyline in terms of blending the new (wooden/ RMC) roller coaster into Forbidden Valley.

My concept is a ride exploring an unstable volcanic wasteland located inside Forbidden Valley. An area of Forbidden Valley has started displaying volcanic activity beneath the surface and has been cordoned off for the safety of the public. A monitoring system has been integrated into the volcanic craters and terrain in Forbidden Valley but has been severely twisted by intense heat produced in the area. The riders objective is to observe the progress of volcanic activity and the severity of destruction within the area, while being subjected to the heat warped track. I feel that this concept would fit into Forbidden Valley due to the rocky type terrain that is consistent throughout the area, and the desolate/apocalyptic undertone.

This theme for SW8 could also cause a juxtaposition/contrast with Air and create a battle between the serenity of Air(a stabilised area) and Ferocity of Fire (two elements of Earth). To make the concept of an unstable volcanic area evident throughout the ride, I would propose the consistent theming element of scorched wood in the queue-line and on the ride supports. If the tunnel element of SW8 was used as the plans suggest, the use of water vapour/mist and blackened rock could create the effect of underground caverns that are tectonically active. I also believe the station should remain natural and absent of military theming to differentiate this attraction from Nemesis Sub-terra.

The whole ride area could be littered with broken exclusion-zone blockades and scorched "road blocks" to give the impression the area suddenly became unstable and was abandoned, being left to rot in the following years. If Alton Towers believed they could afford/maintain large scale effects, I think it would be a nice touch to add physical fire effects along helixes to add an element of interaction with the train. Upon reaching the station I believe it would be very effective to have a voice over announcing a sudden spike in Volcanic activity, followed by a smoke effect and consequently the train dispatching to fulfil its' objective. There would be no volcano structure as all the dangerous activity is meant to be below the surface of Forbidden Valley causing the harsh and uninhabitable terrain evident throughout the area.

In terms of marketing and a unique selling point, I would like to see The Alton Towers marketing team revert back to marketing styles as seen in advertisements for; Oblivion, Nemesis and Thirteen as oppose to the Smiler's advert. Inevitably Alton Towers will make this ride a worlds first but in my opinion, this is not needed.

I would like the name of this ride to be "Torrid", meaning blisteringly hot.

[dazza4783]

I think when it comes to the theme they could incorporate the idea of the tree infection into it. Maybe the coaster will be themed to a virus spreading out throughout the trees, or possibly an antidote distribution system. They could even have the virus being contamination caused by the Nemesis monster. Although it is also just as likely that the whole area will get a re-theme to incorporate the new ride into.

[Georgie]

I like the volcano idea. Maybe they could tie it into Nemesis and call it Nemesis Inferno.

All joking aside, I am intrigued to see what approach they take with the theme and how they tie it in with the rest of forbidden valley. I do agree that a more natural theme is the best way to go, as another Nemesis-style creature would probably cheapen the appeal of the original. Alternatively, it would be nice to see UK Merlin try a OTBH-style theme that suits a thrill coaster and gives opportunity for great theming elements without being overly dark.

[NemesisRider]

Perhaps the theme could be that the ride is a makeshift machine created by a survivor of the destruction caused by Nemesis. The trains on the ride could be themed to look industrial and made of various pieces of debris, and the station could easily keep the same theme. The backstory would be something along the lines of the weapon being launched but misfiring, causing you to be sent down the course. As for the name, they could call it something like "Omega" (which in context can be used to mean the end) or even just "The Secret Weapon" :lol

[TheBeast]

Im not sure that they would try and tie it in with the Nemesis monster- I worry that if they do that with a wooden ride it could just end up seeming a little odd, and I doubt they would risk combining wood and fire...historically not a good combo. However, I think it would be pretty impressive if they did, we will have to see I guess.

[MerlinFan]

I hope it's not volcano or ruins theme - too similar to Nemesis Inferno and The Swarm. I want something totally different and unexpected. Alien theme is now a bit too overdone. I remember Dynamo which was in FV had quite a rusty, industrial style theme that I thought worked well. Maybe they could go more down that route?

[sw7nutter]

A rusty theme of a ride made of wood...
Theme in my opinion is useless, I would much prefer the money to be spent on the ride than a theme you get bored of after 10 minutes.