Lighting and sound really are a major thing for me in a coaster station. It should feel eventful and almost climatic (apart from the ride itself) I'd imagine seeing those massive trains depart and enter the station will be pretty impressive, with the added lighting and sound, I can only imagine it will be as impressive as Air's dispatch sequence or Inferno's when it first opened.

If anything, merlin are pretty damn decent at their dispatch music/sound/audio usually!

You mean the freelance company's that come in and design their ride audio for them? :PI can only imagine it works like a theatre production. A creative person from Thorpe/ Merlin act as the directors and provide a brief for what they want and the freelance people provide a service and work to that brief. Either way, as long as it's awesome, that's all that matters!

Okay mr pedantic, Merlin are pretty damn decent at ensuring that they get a contractor to come in and do something like this, mr slevin

Haha, too right! Everyone is guilty of generalising with the term "Merlin". I find it interesting what you say about Raptor's station audio and lighting Benin, I wonder how Swarm will compare!

^I prefer it when people generalise Merlin in a good light though, rather than being constant negative...Yeah Raptor's is very low key (indeed only the 'guns' change light, making little difference to the station), but it does work really well... It's hard to tell for Swarm really but as it's a church I would imagine say an organ and maybe a jet scream to represent the aliens if they followed a similar style... With Air like lighting of course...

Oh, I agree, it does get tiring reading it's Merlin's fault for this or it's totally Merlin as a whole at fault for that. The more we learn about the company and the way it works, the more it is becoming apparent that they have very little personal involvement in specific operation of the parks.The more I think about it, the more excited I get about the scenic elements on this project. The station is a destroyed church. That is seriously cool!

Here are my options for possible music for the swarm. Well, how I would like it to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-jrFcobLQM&feature=related

Okay, so common trends in the music proposed thus far is that there's some huge, foreboding strings section, occasional brass, and some very loud drums. I'm all for the drums idea - it's the best part of Colossus' music for me. The Misfits ones are absolutely brilliant. I love the combination of choir and synthesised backing.Thing is with mah boi's videos, is they sound a bit too... archaic, if you get what I mean. They sound like the music associated with adventure/action sequences from non-realistic worlds, whereas there's something a bit more 'real' about A-Kid's ones. All the videos are great, but I think The Swarm's music should aim to be more ominous and scary than grandiose, with eerie mechanical screeches and groans interspersing almost a kind of ambient-dubstep-lite-meets-orchestral-strings hybrid. It's often the case with choir-assisted music that it sounds a bit like the score for some magical adventure/action film hence why the lesser use of it in the Misfits score is perfect for this ride.

OK my 2 penneth on audio track. I want something totally contrasting. In films, there are some musical moments that stand out to me heres a couple that you will probably have seen. In Leon when beathoven is playing and everyine gets shot. In Fifth Element, the diva scene. You have the diva singing and them fighting. Both are examples where contrasting music is used to heighten the brutality you see on the screen and odly both have Gary Oldman in. So what I would like is loads of tv sets in the queue line with news articles playing, but with some clasical music counterpointing the violence of the ride and whats shown on the tv.

Here's a cheeky bit of speculation- could the last day of the Thorpe Advent Calendar be of Swarm's trains? I can see them presenting them to us in this way. Especially since there have been whispers of them being on site for a good while now.

it's a good idea. I hope they do it!

I really would like to see Thorpe not cash-in the island and that means NO flats for a long time ;)I'd like some new inventive rides please

I think it'd be good to have a flat ride or two to support The Swarm, as long as they're creatively themed up to the same standard as the coaster. Maybe 2013 season or 2014.

I agree that a high-capacity flat ride would be a nice balance for the ride, and will disperse a bit of crowd into two different queues rather than everyone on the islands darting for just the one ride, but I doubt that, with the current island as it stands, there's any room. I don't really see where one could fit unless they were to infill more.

And it comes to this. What flat ride could they add that would be different enough to what they currently offer.

I agree Mark, though there are several planned to be installed according to the MTDP. Thorpe do already have some great flats. I'd definitely like to see a support ride, whether it's your traditional flat ride or something a bit extra, who knows!

The MTDP states there's no plans for a 'round ride' on the island. Therefore, highly unlikely that there'll be any flats there for a good few years, if at all. Of course, there's the one near the entrance and one on the larger bit of Neptune's Beach, but personally, I'd prefer no flats there, and instead at least one flat on Island A; who wants to trek all the way to an island away from the core of the park and, in turn, loads of rides, just to go on one coaster, then have to trek back? Leaves you with a slight sour feeling in my eyes. Whatever happens, Swarm's island and entrance will be packed for the next couple of years, and beyond.The more interesting topic is what Mark brought up - what more can Thorpe add to their selection of flats? They have a wide selection of flats, far superior to any park in the UK, and to rival many across Europe I'd say, so what more could they add? I can't wait to see what they come up with. One thing I'd say is needed for these 'round rides' is a dark ride - it's something that Thorpe do lack in their line up, and certainly could work well in the park's portfolio.

I wasn't talking specifically about Swarm's area, I did mean the park in general- just to clarify.

HUSS Jump²? That could work very well as an addition to Thorpe's selection. I could see it themed easily as well, because HUSS offer as-standard themes to go with their rides. Of course, should Thorpe need another theme to what they offer then it's entirely possible that they make an order to fit the theme they desire.However, whatever they add, I don't think we'll see it until 2014 at least, or possibly even later if the next flat they're planning is for Island A - they wouldn't want to open it up then, considering they've a coaster to build for the next year.Only other option is that they remove some of their existing flat rides. Or add no new flats at all. The MTDP is only a guideline, after all. How about they don't waste any money on a flat and actually get to widening that entrance bridge they've been meaning to do for the past seven years?

HUSS Jump²? That could work very well as an addition to Thorpe's selection. I could see it themed easily as well, because HUSS offer as-standard themes to go with their rides. Of course, should Thorpe need another theme to what they offer then it's entirely possible that they make an order to fit the theme they desire.However, whatever they add, I don't think we'll see it until 2014 at least, or possibly even later if the next flat they're planning is for Island A - they wouldn't want to open it up then, considering they've a coaster to build for the next year.Only other option is that they remove some of their existing flat rides. Or add no new flats at all. The MTDP is only a guideline, after all. How about they don't waste any money on a flat and actually get to widening that entrance bridge they've been meaning to do for the past seven years?

Or move a current flat ride over there. Perhaps Zodiac as that is, compared to most Thorpe rides, a fun for the family ride.

It would be awesome to see the Swarm trains as a christmas advent treat but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them until the new year; some eagle eyed lookers will probably catch far away glimpses of them before we get to see any decent shots on the developer page.

Personally I'd really like to see a Top Spin at Thorpe, they're one of my favourite flats, but that's just me.

Aren't they moving the one from Chessington? :ph34r:In regards to catching a glimpse of the trains on Thorpe's advent, they're obviously short of anything too interesting. I don't much care for rubbish photoshopped santa's on a ride. Well, unless it's the Swarm train, at least..

I want I Huss Jump2 as well. The one in Canada's Wonderland (named Sledgehammer) is amazing and attracts a huge crowd.

Mind you - they're huge! You need ground-space equivalent to just a bit more than Rush to fit one in, and that's without the queue included.

Does Thorpe need ANOTHER maintenance nightmare of a ride though?(Yeah I'm posting on here on Christmas, and what?)