August 6, 20169 yr comment_239559 So my better half and I went on this early last week, 3 times. Once early on in the day we did it with the VR and it was okay, interesting novel concept... We then ran back to it at the end of the day and we managed to do it twice in a row. We did BOTH without the VR and I have to say in my personal opinion it was MUCH better. The light up Stargate thingy they've added is really fun to ride through and honestly the VR just looks too old school video game for me to really enjoy. I made a vlog about this which I'm currently editing, I'll stick it on YouTube soon so you can see a few of the improvements if you haven't already been. I noticed toward the end of the day a lot of the riders were doing it without VR and the staff seemed quite shocked by this? I hate to say it but, maybe they should have saved the money...
August 6, 20169 yr comment_239561 I personally watch the station VR then take my headset off at the top of the lift hill and pop it in the pouch.
August 6, 20169 yr comment_239572 New for 2017 At Alton Towers: Air V2, The worlds first coaster to dedicate itself to VR, then hastily abandon it a year later.
August 7, 20169 yr comment_239578 I do think Galactica was a nice idea, and the space galaxy aesthetic is nice, but it just doesn't seem to work. Like Imindetomator said, I won't be surprised if they abandon it. I'll be going to Towers next Tuesday, so I'll see if my opinion has changed by then.
August 8, 20169 yr comment_239647 I didn't do it with VR on either of my rides - my dad did on the second go and I asked him a few questions, including the thing about the vr going out of view, he said he didnt notice it and he always had a full view of either what's meant to be happening or just space with loads of stars. So either its been fixed or he just didn't notice it. On Saturday, August 06, 2016 at 10:45 PM, cptnmingo said: I noticed toward the end of the day a lot of the riders were doing it without VR and the staff seemed quite shocked by this? That's most likely because by the end of the day 3/4 of the train doesn't actually have a working headset.
August 9, 20169 yr comment_239655 If you know where to look it's quite easy to see the edges, one section is the inline twist over the ice as it's falling away, and another is on the approach to the breakrun, also if you look backwards at the sphere in the station, it stops to quickly which spoils the effect. The ice section is the worst, once you've seen it, it'll stick out like a sore thumb thereafter. Oh and Sam, if you can do Air, do Swarm, it's very similar in feel (apart from you are sitting, not hanging).
August 9, 20169 yr comment_239661 The longer that Galactica operates the more the VR aspect hangs by a thread - I don't see it making it past 2020 at most being honest, and thats being generous! Also surely the idea the phone gets hot came into the mix when in the development stage? So why on earth put it in a black pouch that will conduct the heat? That's something a 10 year old would consider...
August 9, 20169 yr comment_239683 I don't think anything other than "it's a cheap(ish) way to market an existing ride" was considered with Galactica in all honesty, the throughput has been crippled (going by my visit, both through slower dispatch times and seats out of operation), the headsets are having their fair share of issues, and I really can't see it lasting more than a few years given the reports of a lot of people already choosing not to use the headsets.
August 10, 20169 yr comment_239747 So I went to Towers today ((initially thought I was going yesterday) and despite mixed reviews of Galactica and thus dampening my hopes for it, I really enjoyed it. I really thought it was awesome. Maybe I'm just easy to please but I've never experienced anything quite like it before. My headset didn't fit that well because it's heavy and my nose is weird but it was truly a fun attraction that for me I'd like to do again. I used a RAP for queueing and even then that is long so I can see how the queue has been damaged by it. And even though I love it, it won't last long, most likely.
August 11, 20169 yr comment_239777 Just to butt in and say - S6s aren't waterproof, but S7s are... so probably a better decision using those
August 11, 20169 yr comment_239820 On Tuesday, August 09, 2016 at 11:40 AM, Ian-S said: Oh and Sam, if you can do Air, do Swarm, it's very similar in feel (apart from you are sitting, not hanging). The thing I'm scared of on Swarm is the height and slow inversion at the top.
August 11, 20169 yr comment_239823 The drop is fantastic on swarm. If I was you go to 5th row right inner seat for a less forceful ride. Back to Galatica, I just find the layout rough at times and short.
August 11, 20169 yr comment_239825 The length is my only complaint about Galactica. Other than that its perfect and is the only thing on this planet better than Vampire
August 12, 20169 yr comment_239859 20 hours ago, ChessingtonSam said: The length is my only complaint about Galactica. Other than that its perfect and is the only thing on this planet better than Vampire Millennium Force, Expedition GeForce and Fury 325 say hi!
August 13, 20169 yr comment_239898 19 hours ago, imindetonator said: Millennium Force, Expedition GeForce and Fury 325 say hi! 2 hours ago, CharlieN said: As do 300 or so other coasters which are better than Vampire! None of which I have ridden... Also there are 3 coasters better than Vampire because I forgot about Thirteen, and also Dragon's Fury overtook Vampire yesterday so... I still love Vampy uncontrollably, I just love the others more Edited August 13, 20169 yr by ChessingtonSam
August 29, 20169 yr comment_240695 Went on Galactica for the first time the other day and I absolutely loved it! Had quite low expectations after reading this forum but I was blown away by how good this ride was and how well the VR is implemented. Gotta say I didn't try it without the headset on! Noticed on the way out of the ride there's posters for other planets to visit 'coming soon', made me wonder if maybe they'll update the VR with something different next year say...
August 30, 20169 yr comment_240726 It was pretty funny to hear how many staff members preferred Air when I went to Towers with my family a few weeks back. Whether it was a case of "the customer is always right" or not, we must have had about four different staff members say that the VR isn't anything special over the course of the day.
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244952 If I'm honest, I much prefer riding without the VR. I have nothing against VR at all and utterly love Derren Browns Ghost Train (when everything's working that is!!) but I just feel that the VR on this made it feel more like a glorified motion simulator rather than a pretty good flying coaster. It also felt like the VR was out of sync with the actual movements of the ride when I went on it.
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244959 I personally haven't experienced Galactica with VR, but judging by other people's complaints I think it needs a full revamp for 2017, and by that I mean just make it an actual 360 video instead of what you get if you use cardboard on a non-360 YouTube video.
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244960 42 minutes ago, ChessingtonSam said: I personally haven't experienced Galactica with VR, but judging by other people's complaints I think it needs a full revamp for 2017, and by that I mean just make it an actual 360 video instead of what you get if you use cardboard on a non-360 YouTube video. Yes, lets see Towers waste even more money on an expensive and temperamental selection of phone monitors. Personally I'd much rather they ditched the VR altogether and bring back Air. The station, portal and soundtrack can stay though as they're acceptable.
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244961 What's the point in 360 degree VR when you can't move your head that much?
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244962 20 minutes ago, Benin said: What's the point in 360 degree VR when you can't move your head that much? This chap wants the full experience though: I can see The Mirror headlines now... 'Backwards Facing Alton Towers! Theme park fails to provide suitable experiences for extremely flexible people; discrimination!!!'
November 17, 20168 yr comment_244963 50 minutes ago, Benin said: What's the point in 360 degree VR when you can't move your head that much? Because the ride turns over alot does it not? What is the point in VR if you just see a black box as soon as you turn over?
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