Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon

[JoshC.]

The exterior music is now working. 

[MattyMoo]

My mate got on in the end - queue advertised as 90 but he was on in 60. His thoughts, FYI:

• One of the photo points isn't working 
• He very much liked the Derren preshow - to Orlando standard he said
• Impressed with the trains, interior and exterior and the whole grandeur of the ride
• Noted that there were a number of broken headsets
• Loved the first VR - and also really liked the live action section
• Thought the 2nd VR section was laughable "Very tacky early 2000s graphics"
• Didn't think the ride flowed well at all, and thought the fracking storyline should be more in your face as the GP are unlikely to get it
• Doesn't really get the Derren tie in
• Thinks it could be an awesome ride with more work - "good but so much more could've been done"
• He actually thought the "there's an emergency we need to evacuate" was real and that something had happened in the park  "they were going nuts" he said - sounds like they were good actors but I can see where he's coming from, he suggested making sure they reference the gas leak/infection when they are acting

[MattyMoo]

18 hours ago, Martin.C said:

in this attraction, but that is not a good excuse for a ride that is technically only 9 weeks old. Is this "the future for theme parks across the world" now, where half the stuff stops working after a few weeks of use?

 

Yeah but... Derren Brown... cost £95 million.... 890,000 people worked on this ride... 15 different manufacturers....

[Cian]

Have been pretty pessimistic with Ghost Train up until now...

Went on twice today, thoroughly enjoyed both. However, during the preshow on our first run, the lighting experienced an error resulting in Derren having no legs and being almost completely transparent, also, on the same run, the train in the safe room didn't move towards us whatsoever, resulting in the actors hilariously/awakardly jumping out of the way of nothing, but luckily an infected actor enhanced the experience. 

Fortunately, the VR made up for all those errors, it seemed like all the 4D effects were working, everything was in sync, I received different characters and the dialogue felt a lot longer compared to the technical rehearsal run. Second segment was still meh, however the quality seemed a bit better compared to my last run. Happy to say I went from a 4/10 to a 7/10 today  (also, didn't break down once/experienced major problems today).

[JamminGamer]

Haha the idea of the Derren projection without legs amuses me to no end! He became the only true ghost on the ride in that moment

[Owen]

Am I the only one who got the fact (or I assume) that the first induviual in the VR is a ghost as they vanish, and that the actual tube train that comes racing toward you is, quite literally, a ghost train as it created the illusion that it vanished after crashing, at least for me?

[SteveJ]

On 9/10/2016 at 4:25 PM, Martin.C said:

There might be a lot of new technology and mechanisms in this attraction, but that is not a good excuse for a ride that is technically only 9 weeks old. Is this "the future for theme parks across the world" now, where half the stuff stops working after a few weeks of use?

 

Luckily not, this is just the very cheapest and poorly managed version of VR - with the least consideration they could get away with. MMM rushed designs and made many oversights as usual, and it seems Figment were not reliable contractors. Likely Merlin didn't offer the necessary timeframe and budget for what was being demanded, judging by many similar situations they've created in recent years. And that's with this enormous "budget" in the first place, wonder where it all went...?

The ride's AV will need to be totally rebuilt over winter if they want a hope of Derren Brown's Ghost Train lasting. Maybe they could use that opportunity to make the VR content special and not feel like a Maplin demo, and do a lot of work to the show presentation of the experience.

[Cian]

I took in every detail while experiencing it today, noticed some very interesting uses of suggestion! (Posters with a deeper meaning, a particular symbol that's been used both outside in the baggage area and projected on the wall by the suspended carriage, very hard to interpret what it says but next time I go I will investigate further. Lots of Derren's work has been hinted throughout the ride (The Miligram experiment, Miracles For Sale, Trick Or Treat etc)

 

[Marhelorpe]

I have no idea why, but the thought of Derren having no legs in the pre-show section makes it sound hilarious!

But it's good to hear even more stuff isn't working just one day later..... I wonder if it will get to a stage where we will see a repeat of Smiler's projection room earlier this year where all the projectors were off but audio was still playing? Unlikely, but not impossible.

[Marc]

14 minutes ago, Archive said:

 

Luckily not, this is just the very cheapest and poorly managed version of VR - with the least consideration they could get away with. MMM rushed designs and made many oversights as usual, and it seems Figment were not reliable contractors. Likely Merlin didn't offer the necessary timeframe and budget for what was being demanded, judging by many similar situations they've created in recent years. And that's with this enormous "budget" in the first place, wonder where it all went...?

 

You do know the HTC Vive is widely considered the best (and most expensive) VR headsets on the market?

 

Cant say much for Figment but the VR seems a to work a lot better than Galaticas!

[Benin]

From what the general opinion of Galatica is that doesn't sound particularly difficult to do though...

 

VR is only as good as the content on display though, much like any media... You can have all the pixels or 1:1 motion in the world but if the animation is crap then it's all for nothing...

[JamminGamer]

44 minutes ago, Owen said:

Am I the only one who got the fact (or I assume) that the first induviual in the VR is a ghost as they vanish, and that the actual tube train that comes racing toward you is, quite literally, a ghost train as it created the illusion that it vanished after crashing, at least for me?

 

Good point about the first person, hadn't thought of that (Does that make Charlie the Dog a ghost too! :O). In regards to the train I thought the idea was that it disappeared because the monster that is projected in the shadows grabbed it or that the ground fell out from under the train and the monster emerges from the hole.

[Marc]

14 minutes ago, Benin said:

From what the general opinion of Galatica is that doesn't sound particularly difficult to do though...

 

VR is only as good as the content on display though, much like any media... You can have all the pixels or 1:1 motion in the world but if the animation is crap then it's all for nothing...

 

Agreed - I was only pointing out merlin didn't cheap out on the tech on this ride.

 

The vast majority of the complains regarding VR seem to revolve all around the 2nd train - I've no doubt the park will be taking on board the feedback and working on ways to improve it - the fact the first train seems mainly well received shows the Figment / merlin etc are more then capable.

[SteveJ]

44 minutes ago, Marc said:

 

You do know the HTC Vive is widely considered the best (and most expensive) VR headsets on the market?

 

Cant say much for Figment but the VR seems a to work a lot better than Galaticas!

 

You have misunderstood. The headset is different to the computer and A/V tech feeding it, is different to the installation work, is different to the content production, is different to the application. They are all different things. It's as if you had a high end TV screen playing a faulty, wrong-spec DVD player. Playing a dodgy quality demo DVD. Or imagine that badly installed, locked in a hot hot cupboard and frequently dying. One of the ride's many issues. Apply it to a functioning ride that has to operate hours on end, every day, and you have an enormous problem, HTC Vive or not.

 

Merlin points the blame at Figment, and they may be a shoddy company, but they themselves also rushed the development of virtual reality for use on theme park attractions. The Ghost Train is riddled with design oversights and inherent difficulties, leading to the confusion to get on and off while finding another headset to use, and the faults in the latter half when the train is resetting. They also employ many shoddy contractors, because they're cheaper than other professionals.

[Marc]

2 minutes ago, Archive said:

 

You have misunderstood. The headset is different to the computer and A/V tech feeding it, is different to the installation work, is different to the content production, is different to the application. They are all different things. It's as if you had a high end TV screen playing a faulty, wrong-spec DVD player. Playing a dodgy quality demo DVD with barely working sound. Or imagine that badly installed, locked in a hot hot cupboard and frequently dying. One of the ride's many issues.

 

Im aware of that - but then I'm not sure what Merlin / Figment would have to gain from installing the highest end headsets without the power behind them to run it.

 

Up to now it seems most of the rides issues are actually not VR related - that said I'd agree there's room for improvement!

[Project LC]

Galactica is using mobile phones and is so poor many would not even consider it as a VR option. The HTC vive is the best on the market and they certainly didn't cheap out on the headsets, what they have evidently cheaped out on is the things running the headsets. The pcs seem like the minimum requirements (probably lower) and the headsets run as if its on the minimum however it is quite hard to tell if that is down to the very poor video its playing. 

[SteveJ]

16 minutes ago, Marc said:

 

I'm aware of that - but then I'm not sure what Merlin / Figment would have to gain from installing the highest end headsets without the power behind them to run it.

 

Up to now it seems most of the rides issues are actually not VR related - that said I'd agree there's room for improvement!

 

Only you've brought up the headsets, I have no opinion on HTC Vive or otherwise and havn't mentioned headsets. I'm speaking of the ride's AV and technican design, for which there are many layers and it's not a simple 'this model or that' and not limited to the VR as the guest sees it. It's a special application of virtual reality and automation, applied to a theme park ride. And all those layers had oversights or lack of consideration for factors which led to its delay. It will also mean the ride continues to suffer technical issues, it also has some fundamental flaws which would require the VR elements to be rebuilt in order for the ride to last more than ~4 years.

 

If Merlin don't use Figment or the related contractors again then they will have to end up reverse re designing their designs, and this always leads to further bodges, especially when its decided they don't want to keep paying thousands into the ride every year.

 

Had a wiser attraction operator built these things they'd have been extensively tested in the final conditions, better built to a specification more appropriate for a high-maintenance, high guestage theme park ride. Universal were already building much more complicated show control and AV things 20 years ago, when they were much less experienced than Merlin is now.

[Jormerod18]

1 hour ago, Owen said:

Am I the only one who got the fact (or I assume) that the first induviual in the VR is a ghost as they vanish, and that the actual tube train that comes racing toward you is, quite literally, a ghost train as it created the illusion that it vanished after crashing, at least for me?

After my first ride I assumed that both the person sat opposite me with the dog and the infected person coming through the window were both ghosts but I guess that's open to interpretation as there's no definite answer

[Coaster]

So Merlin have essentially left Thorpe with a white elephant?

 

My issue with Ghost Train is that it already feels like it's been neglected for years in terms of the condition of the ride, yet it hasn't even been open fully for three months.

On my most recent ride the VR kept glitching out showing white/grey patches, this has happened on previous rides but to a lesser extent. The screen sometimes tilts when you move your head, and the audio was inaudible. Other aspects weren't functioning but that has already been mentioned.

For the audio, IMO a sound system on the train would work better, but there couldn't be any different scenarios then so it's not really viable.

 

Operationally it's a nightmare, and I know new rides have issues but this is the worst I've seen since starting to pay attention to theme parks. Has it actually opened on time once?

[Project LC]

I don't think it has. It might have opened on time the day after it reopened otherwise it's always opened at 11 or later.

[Matt10]

I've had issues on it twice, where it inverts the axis on the vr and it really throws you off and makes you feel a bit sick in all honesty as its going against your motion.

[StevenVig]

Well, I have finally ridden it, twice. It still needs work, but overall its good. The story has not been setup properly though and there were a lot of people that came off confused about what the gas was and why there were creatures and monsters. 

 

Its interesting as most people will come off that ride and have no idea of the sheer extent of what just happened and the system and technologies behind it all, its all quite fascinating. 

 

7/10 from me

[planenut]

2 hours ago, StevenVig said:

Its interesting as most people will come off that ride and have no idea of the sheer extent of what just happened and the system and technologies behind it all..........

 Much like riding The Smiler then!

[Benin]

Or Hex, if it were open of course...

[KingNemesis]

1 hour ago, Benin said:

Or Hex, if it were open of course...

 

Let's not forget Sub Terra!