So Disappointed
Mar. 18th, 2016 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trickykittyWe stood in line yesterday to preview the "newest" ride at Six Flags Over Texas. They've taken Shock Wave and added Samsung Gear VR headsets to create the newest version of a 4-D ride.
Back in the day, they had The Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure, which had seats that rocked you around as though you were in a fighter plane. No 3-D glass (which is just as well, since this was just before the creation of the current generation of 3-D glasses we use for movies regularly now). The ride didn't affect G-forces on the body other than occasionally bouncing you in the chair, and you knew you were still in a theater.
What used to be the Six Flags Over Texas equivalent to a love boat ride was actually a slow water ride that took visitors around an undergroundgnome village. (Actually, now that I think about it, it wasn't gnomes, but little elves, like the Keebler elves in their big tree, but these guys were underground in brightly lit caves.) That has since been changed into Yosemite Sam's Gold Rush Adventure, which in turn has been added to using electronic pistols and an arcade-style shooting gallery which tracks participant hit points during the ride.
The same exact building that was used to house The Right Stuff mentioned above is now home to JUSTICE LEAGUE: Battle for Metropolis. You sit in a mini roller coaster that has timed movements combining forward-back and side-to-side rocking motions along with running along the coaster into new rooms with new scenes playing. While wearing 3-D glasses and toting the same electronic pistols used in the Gold Rush Adventure, you feel like Superman flying around the city killing off bad guys.
Now, Shock Wave + Samsung Gear VR = taking everything building up to this and adding official G-force action into the mix. The Gear VR is equipped with buttons on the side that allow riders to shoot at targets they see. Two-screen video allows for full-immersion 3-D, including the first moment you step into the coaster and find yourself seated inside a fighter jet. Even going up the climb includes video of the plane going up a lift with target practice at your fingertips.
I won't give away what you see (the story), but suffice it to say, you're in a fighter jet a la The Right Stuff, you're shooting at targets a la The Gold Rush, and you're moving around in a seat a la JUSTICE LEAGUE, but now, you're also going upside down in loops and feeling the actual forces on your body thanks to the full-sized roller coaster that you're on.
The bad - You have to be 13 or older as per manufacturer recommendations for the Gear VR in order to wear the gear that allows for the immersive experience. My middle nephew was not allowed to participate in The New Revolution. He could still ride the Shock Wave ride, as he meets height requirements, and I swear his head is bigger than his older brother's, but because of the manufacturer recommendations, children 12 and under are not given the Gear VR devices.
I was able to cheer his spirits a bit by us then riding The Batman ride and Mr Freeze afterwards, but good grief I could totally understand his disappointment after standing in line just over an hour and then getting told at the last minute he couldn't get the VR experience.
Back in the day, they had The Right Stuff Mach 1 Adventure, which had seats that rocked you around as though you were in a fighter plane. No 3-D glass (which is just as well, since this was just before the creation of the current generation of 3-D glasses we use for movies regularly now). The ride didn't affect G-forces on the body other than occasionally bouncing you in the chair, and you knew you were still in a theater.
What used to be the Six Flags Over Texas equivalent to a love boat ride was actually a slow water ride that took visitors around an underground
The same exact building that was used to house The Right Stuff mentioned above is now home to JUSTICE LEAGUE: Battle for Metropolis. You sit in a mini roller coaster that has timed movements combining forward-back and side-to-side rocking motions along with running along the coaster into new rooms with new scenes playing. While wearing 3-D glasses and toting the same electronic pistols used in the Gold Rush Adventure, you feel like Superman flying around the city killing off bad guys.
Now, Shock Wave + Samsung Gear VR = taking everything building up to this and adding official G-force action into the mix. The Gear VR is equipped with buttons on the side that allow riders to shoot at targets they see. Two-screen video allows for full-immersion 3-D, including the first moment you step into the coaster and find yourself seated inside a fighter jet. Even going up the climb includes video of the plane going up a lift with target practice at your fingertips.
I won't give away what you see (the story), but suffice it to say, you're in a fighter jet a la The Right Stuff, you're shooting at targets a la The Gold Rush, and you're moving around in a seat a la JUSTICE LEAGUE, but now, you're also going upside down in loops and feeling the actual forces on your body thanks to the full-sized roller coaster that you're on.
The bad - You have to be 13 or older as per manufacturer recommendations for the Gear VR in order to wear the gear that allows for the immersive experience. My middle nephew was not allowed to participate in The New Revolution. He could still ride the Shock Wave ride, as he meets height requirements, and I swear his head is bigger than his older brother's, but because of the manufacturer recommendations, children 12 and under are not given the Gear VR devices.
I was able to cheer his spirits a bit by us then riding The Batman ride and Mr Freeze afterwards, but good grief I could totally understand his disappointment after standing in line just over an hour and then getting told at the last minute he couldn't get the VR experience.
