Marc Posted October 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 ^ To be fair - credit where credits due Merlin bought us what is a very unique new idea - back when this was announced people were expecting little more than an immersive tunnel - in the end we got an if not perfect, unique new dark ride experience. I know its not everyones cup of tea but it does prove Merlin will look into new ideas and not just stick to the safe bets - Im pretty excited to see what this new element is and hope it addresses alot of issues people have with the ending of the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 9 minutes ago, Rach666 said: Even if it does entail a new element to the ride - what else could they do apart from a maze?!? Sure you could potentially have a Derren "post-show" but what would be the point in that?!?! Really there are plenty of things that could be done, the possibilities with an attraction like this are only limited by whats practical. If people could just come up with the final idea on the internet, then that defeats the point of most entertainment - surprise and exceeding expectations! The issue is they dont believe in doing that, and are probably going to end up giving people the usual 'scare maze' or equivalent anyway. Everything about the company points to another let down instead of properly sorting it out in a professional, fresh manner. But its also good to point out haunted walkthroughs and scare mazes can be done brilliantly too, just Merlin's idea of a scare maze is usually an embarassment to be blunt. The best ones at their Halloween events, etc, are done in house or outsourced to independent studios Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenVig Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 41 minutes ago, Benin said: Assuming it ends up with a scare corridor ending, would people think that it would be a suitable/satisfactory for a £30m attraction? No because the actors will be cut eventually. MattyMoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marhelorpe Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 If the first scenario is they fix the headset glitches, add more VR content to the ride, sort out the operations and get every effect working in addition to making the ending a little better which is not a scare maze section like Sub Terra, I will welcome this. If however they were to use this space as a cheap scare maze and do not fix the issues present on the ride, sort out the operations and don't add the missing VR footage, it's simply 1 step forward, 2 steps back and problems will still be present with the experience. One can hope the first scenario will happen, but looking at Merlin's track record, I am not going to build up any hopes until I see it for myself this time. SteveJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rach666 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I can assure you I for one was expecting a darn sight more then an "immersive tunnel"!!!! Each to their own, at the end of the day Merlin has no one to blame but themselves for the huge percentage of riders who are disappointed. Their pre-release marketing promised an attraction that it has not even nearly delivered, end of story. As I have said before, I would love nothing more than to love this ride, however IMO they will never be able to deliver an attraction that meets my expectations that were based on their marketing material. By all means, please quote this next season proving me wrong, I would be over the moon to be wrong. Coaster, pluk, SteveJ and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I wish this had been an immersive tunnel or had part of it as that. At least then you'd get a part of the attraction that actually feels like a real ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 3 hours ago, Marc said: ^ To be fair - credit where credits due Merlin bought us what is a very unique new idea - back when this was announced people were expecting little more than an immersive tunnel - in the end we got an if not perfect, unique new dark ride experience. I know its not everyones cup of tea but it does prove Merlin will look into new ideas and not just stick to the safe bets - I'm pretty excited to see what this new element is and hope it addresses alot of issues people have with the ending of the ride. I can come up with lots of unique ideas, about 10 years ago, I had lots of unique ideas on RCT......these all ended badly. The ideas seem to be there but never work in practice, that's the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 I hope they don't put a maze at the end, it just doesn't fit rides and IMO scare mazes should be saved for the Halloween season. I know the concept is completely different but imagine coming off a coaster and having to go through a maze; it just wouldn't work. My point is, with a dark ride, the ride/attraction should be good enough in itself without needing a random maze bolted onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted October 20, 2016 Report Share Posted October 20, 2016 Maybe they're installing some equipment to fix the overheating problem with the headsets? Like err air conditioning? OK, it's Merlin, I'll show myself out... Rach666 and Marhelorpe 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 16 hours ago, Marc said: back when this was announced people were expecting little more than an immersive tunnel I don't think that's quite right. People were hoping for more than an emersive tunnel, and that only really came up as a disappointing possibility once tunnel shaped structure started appearing. In the end, in terms of experience, it seems what we've actually got is less than an emersive tunnel could have delivered. When the plans for a big building went in I seem to remember a SpiderMan type ride system being what many were hoping for/expecting, myself included. How much better could that have been? And surely affordable considering the spend that has been and continues to be required on Ghost Train. And it's tested, reliable technology now, wouldn't have had all these ongoing issues. Rach666 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 2 hours ago, pluk said: When the plans for a big building went in I seem to remember a SpiderMan type ride system being what many were hoping for/expecting, myself included. How much better could that have been? And surely affordable considering the spend that has been and continues to be required on Ghost Train. And it's tested, reliable technology now, wouldn't have had all these ongoing issues. I think its worth remembering though to build a ride of that scale would of easily been 3/4 times the budget they had for DBGT - didnt Spider man / Transformers cost way over 100m dollars and thats a while ago now! I disagree we've got less than an immersive tunnel will have delivered - if Merlin can iron out the bugs with this I think they will be onto a winner. The point i was trying to make i guess is that in Ghost train they have thought outside the box and given us a fairly unique attraction - whilst the finer details of it need work it gives me hope we can still see new exciting things from Merlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 To be fair Thor's Hammer at Tusenfryd or Huntik at Rainbow Magicland could've been within the budget of this, though TH does suffer a little bit as a result... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Exactly my thinking Benin. SpiderMan may have cost stupid money, but that was largely R&D for a brand new ride type and the shear scale of what they did. I wouldn't be expecting anything of that size here, but the technology price has come down massively, as seen by its use in smaller parks, and I believe a decent example of the type is well within reach of this budget. Especially when you factor in the cost to this whole season of getting it so wrong and now the extra cost of fixing the ride, ripping out some of the best of what they've done and actually building again to try and make it decent. If Merlin want to be producing whole new ride concepts they need to be putting in the R&D money first, and having a proper vision beyond the marketing too. How can they have attempted two dark rides in recent times and make the same glaring mistake twice, of not giving any climactic or narratively satisfying ending ? They must have storyboarded both rides and got to 'and then it just sort of ends', and been happy to go with that. Crazy. I'm hoping the changes coming will be a second 'show scene' to tie it all together and give a spectacular ending in some way. I expect an escape tunnel of maze though. Cian, Mitchada04, JoshC. and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack holmes 12 Posted October 21, 2016 Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 The More and more I think about the ride the more I think of it as a disappointment 1. I wanted to be bit scared 2. I wanted a little jump just to kind of come out of the attraction and have a little fright 3. I dont want to be rushed I feel you should have more time to look at the "levitating or hung of chains" train carriage as I genuinely found that quite spectacular 4. I think they need to get rid of monsters and reinvent old classic monsters or do what they did in cabin in the woods and take old characters and change them but you know they are hinting at it. 5. I really REALLY disliked the Mid section when you get off the train (not saying what happens just incase some people haven't been on it" that certain part felt to open and not enclosed enough to be close to the action. 6. I do feel the headphones need to be louder ALOT LOUDER (I CANT DEAL WITH PEOPLE SCREAMING WHEN NOTHINGS HAPPENING ON MY BLOODY SCREEN) I would love to hear other peoples thoughts like what they should add or get rid off or even change ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted October 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2016 Went on today - train effect is back on (and had some great reactions in our group)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 I went on this the other day, and to be honest I really enjoyed it. I'm too easily pleased. For me, Virtual Reality is one of the coolest things, both with This attraction and Galactica, however 'cheap' the graphics were. I know a lot of enthusiasts were disappointed but I loved it. But no, it wasn't scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPMSam Posted October 23, 2016 Report Share Posted October 23, 2016 Come off this a little while ago- must say was much much better than my last trip! Headphones working on both sides for once. Second section of VR the actors were so much better, I almost got pulled off my seat by one! Scratching my neck and arms really added to the effects Definite improvement. Let's hope they keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkCrafter Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 New HTC vive with spoilers https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=TfuGn18JWj8 JamminGamer and JoshC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattgwise Posted October 24, 2016 Report Share Posted October 24, 2016 On 23/10/2016 at 0:58 PM, TPMSam said: Headphones working on both sides for once. Second section of VR the actors were so much better, I almost got pulled off my seat by one! Scratching my neck and arms really added to the effects Definite improvement. Let's hope they keep it up. I have been on twice. Once Sunday and once Monday. The visit on Sunday was exactly as you described but yesterday's visit on Monday was poor. Hardly any effort put into acting and low audio on both parts of VR, really reducing the experience massively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glitch Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 Does more intense for 2017 mean that they will squeeze your leg twice next year? L7123456, MattyMoo, Rach666 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marhelorpe Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Something that I have recently been intrigued by with the design of the hanging Victorian carriage is where the design of it originated from. A few months ago, I do remember a few posts on the forum showing pictures of what looked similar to the design of the one used on the ride but not quite the same as there were differences with the design and size of the carriage. Turns out after looking into it a bit more that the design of the suspended carriage is based almost identically off of a real one which still exists today as an exhibit located in Stainmore which served under the North Eastern Railway company which lasted between 1854 - 1922:http://www.stainmore150.co.uk/2011_events/clerestory.html Here are some more pictures from the front as well as the sides. It even has the same numbers 818 for the coach number on it as the one on the ride uses:https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6110/6223330249_3aa0ab4834_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8310/8024702631_15268a5eaa_b.jpg The fact the one used in the ride has the exact same writing, roof windows, colour scheme and design on all four sides as this one makes it really interesting I think and it just shows the thought that went into the ride to make it all feel genuine. The only difference I can see between the two is the real one does not have an additional blank panel above the writing "NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY" on the sides making it taller, presumably so the underground carriage can fit inside the shell properly with the mechanics beneath the wheels. This may have been posted already a while ago so apologies if it has, this was just something I recently found to be quite interesting, that's all! Cian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Doesn't DB have a bit of an interest in trains? Or is that another magician/performer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Or because it's a ghost TRAIN ride? Bet the marketing boys were patting themselves on the back for that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppyben Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 Had my first ever ride on Derren Brown's Ghost Train yesterday after trying to avoid all spoilers and I must admit, I really enjoyed it. I loved the pre-show and thought that it really set the scene for the rest of the ride. I didn't have any issues with the first VR section and I thought the live action section was really well executed. The second VR bit was my least favourite part of the ride but I still enjoyed it, despite it feeling a bit out of place with the rest of the attraction. Looking through this forum it looks like I was lucky. My VR wasn't glitchy, the audio was clear with both sides of the headphones working and I was only on the 'green mist' section for about a minute. I think TP have a great attraction here. There are a few issues that need to be ironed out (some of the VR headsets not working, audio issues, throughput, etc) but I'm hoping they will be fixed during the off season. ConnorJ and TPGG 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 On 27/10/2016 at 11:10 AM, Martin.C said: this one makes it really interesting I think and it just shows the thought that went into the ride to make it all feel genuine. Considering they spent some years designing it and had a team of designers whose job it was to come up with the look and design of the trains I should hope they did so lots of picture referencing and concept design! The finished train I had an inkling feeling was rather bland and not very memorable, its semi authentic but at the same time rather flat and undetailed. Seeing those pictures kind of takes the impact out of it as it suggests it just basically copied from a very basic period design. Out of all the concept art for it, looks like they went for the most 'normal' option. Still nothing wrong with it, just when you know whats possible with real art direction and production design, shame they didn't go further to create something more stylistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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