JoshC.

To be honest, I don't particularly think that X had a 'theme' per se the past couple of seasons. more a style. We certainly didn't have the computer virus thing going on, nor did it feel like we were in any way 'trapped'. But there wasn't really much to suggest it had a rave theme to it either. Really, it was just a ride if complete randomness, but was taken seriously. With a retheme, it needs to be turned into a ride where it's clear it's meant to be random, not serious and a laugh, and no doubt it would be better received. As a side note, X has been moved to the 'Thrilling and Fun' section of the full ride listing section of the website. Getting ready for a change of page sometime soon?

With regards to Zufari, I think I remember some people expressing concerns at there only being 3 different animals mentioned on the plans. I noticed in the press release about the giraffes arriving that it says this: So, there will also be antelope and zebras featuring in Zufari, as well as "more". Woo! And then of course, there's also the usual marketing hype: "The only theme park attraction of its kind" you say? Hmmmm...

Can we organise a TPM meet where we all have flamethrowers to test this theory please? I'm sure many members here have a 'burning' desire to try this, all in the name of science...

Yeah, I was quite fortunate there! I did get a cold over Freshers' Fortnight, but nothing serious really. And thanks!

I didn't drink before I went to uni, and I was fine with making friends (and I'm rather shy, so even better!). I have tried alcohol whilst at uni, and to be honest, everything I've tried has tasted horrible... I get why people like drinking, but getting smashed every other night / at weekends makes no sense to me at all. On a different, I've got a stomach bug, and have been feeling rotten all weekend. First time I've been ill since moving to uni, and I can't remember the last time I felt so sick. Grr, do not like

As promised, I've got round to scanning up the handed in sketch and equations. Here's the final sketch. As you can see, this differs slightly to the above, with the section after the turnaround being totally inclined, as opposed to flat and then inclined. And here's the equations! Apologises for the quality of the scan (and my poor handwriting! :S), but this was the best scan I could do, and it would be a lot of effort to type them up. (To anyone who had done / will do A-Level Maths, you may recognise these as parametric equations. ) So then, a quick explanation of the equations. As the coaster had to be sketched on a 3D graph, the equations had to show which 'coordinate' the coaster was at any given time. The way I've sorted out the equations meant that the the sketch revolved around get the circuit to be complete; so the timings / pacing of the coaster is likely to be unrealisitic. For example, the lift hill takes 9 seconds to complete, and we find that the vertical loop takes 6 seconds...just a little bit off more than likely! Each coordinate had to be given to terms of t, time, hence why each coordinate has a t in it. The coordinates are only valid between the times shown to the right of the equation - so, for example, to the left of the first equation, it reads as 't is between 0 and 9', so the lift hill starts at 0 seconds, and ends at 9 seconds. So, for any number between 0 and 9, you use the first equation. For the vertical loop (equation 5), that takes place between 5*pi and 7*pi, so to find the coordinates of some point along the loop, choose a number between those two numbers (say 16) and put it into equation 5. As you can see, some of the equations look pretty ugly. It's to be expected really, as each equation depends on the one that came before it (if one section of the roller coaster finished at the coordinates (2,3,4), the next section would need to be of the form (2+something,3+something,4+something), where the somethings are the shape of that particular section). So it gets messy quickly, and then you need to tidy it up, otherwise you've got no chance of joining it back up again (a bit like in RCT, when you've used so many different elements that you just cannot finish the track). So I ended up having to force some equations, and some shapes of the track, to sort it out, otherwise it's just going to end up like using autocomplete on RCT, and getting nowhere. Also, a thanks to Sidders for point out to me that the interlocking vertical loop and helix which features here is featured on real life coasters, such as on the B&M Inverted coaster Pyrenees - http://rcdb.com/1227.htm. And that's about it really. As I mentioned before, I have an essay to do next year about a section of Maths I'm interested in, and there is a possibility that I could extend on this. Fingers crossed ey? Again, any questions or comments are welcome!

Wow, those Experiment 10 videos...they're pretty bad. No wonder I thought the ending was ridiculously poor last year. I genuinely cannot believe that Thorpe changed the 2011 ending for THAT?

Technically, no one knows what is happening with X, but it is the worst kept secret in the theme park industry this decade it seems

Filming for the new TV ad is going on. Woo.

Don't worry, the gimmick will wear off soon enough and we'll be going forwards again in no tomorrow!

It is definitely a 'brand new' piece of theming! I don't quite get why people have said that that is redundant though? 5/7 of the train will still see it, and it will no doubt help add to the overall atmosphere and visual impact of the ride. How can that be redundant?

There's got to be plenty of other options you can think of, surely?

They class the inclined loop as an inversion for marketing purposes pretty much, even though it doesn't really invert you. So you've then got the inverted drop, zero-G roll, inclined loop, corkscrew and inline twist. Edit: Beaten to it!

Backwards? Looks like they're lying down! XD

That's a good point actually. Back row won't be able to have on ride videos now due to this as it is. If what you've heard Ryan is true, and the billboard near miss is between the zero-G and incline loop, isn't that also where the photo point is? I guess there's chance for a bit of modification / addition there to sort that out? So today has seen big announcements from Thorpe and Alton - will Chessie follow suit?

The person who Thorpe are responding to in that quote originally said this: Swarm backwards and X:\NWO forwards?

Mangled billboard as a near miss? Think that could well be on the inline twist region; only place I can see it working? Well, at least that's been confirmed. As I've said in the past, I will no doubt ride it backwards and will save further judgement until after that. However, I do have fears about this whole thing; I just hope that they do not come to fruition.

A Press Release from the park: http://press.altontowers.com/news-alton-towers-resort-baffles-the-nation-in-a-baaarmy-hoax-11714 - Source Particularly, note this: "The Smiler will be our biggest and most thrilling attraction the Resort has ever seen and we can’t wait for guests to join us in May and experience it for themselves.” Opening date seems to be in May then!

OTSRs it is then? Loving the artwork, really shows off what I think they were trying achieve!

metro.co.uk/2013/01/21/eweve-been-framed-creepy-sheep-twitter-mystery-solved-3359300/ It's official - the name is 'The Smiler'. I expect more stuff today / this coming week!

Alton Towers' ridiculous reversals last year? (Storm Surge? ) Is a ride being called 'The Smiler' REALLY that bad of a mistake that it will cause uproar amongst the majority?

I don't think that video is real personally, but nonetheless, it is exceptional. It does fit into everything we know about the ride, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was real / what we should be expecting from videos. It did creep me out a little bit as well. As for 'The Smiler' as a name. It fits with the idea of having something nice sounded, but really rather sinister. From what we got with The Sanctuary, I think it would fit. Personally thugh, it's not my cup of tea.

Well, the way some are describing, it could be literally as easy as taking the rows off and turning them around. If so, and if this is a 'trial' thing, then they may just do that. Fingers crossed they don't. Then again, fingers crossed they don't turn around the rows in the first place...