Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread

[bigboy]

Backstage area, but the pic was taken from a public path. If he panned up and to the left, you would see the top of Shockwave's lift. The road goes around the back of the amphitheater to the park's ice plant and eventually dumps out by the warehouse and maintenance shops.

[Vonni]

I love how SF has been incorporating Harley Quinn into their parks this last few seasons.

[TexasParkman]

Gotta give a shout out to SFOT. The new entrance process was MUCH better yesterday. It was a fairly busy day and getting into the park was a breeze. The park looks good as there is some new paint, etc. More is needed but at least things are headed in the right direction. Every line at the Park was long yesterday. Business looked pretty good- and not many Buses either. Other than some nasty streets- the Park is looking nice.

[BrandonR]

I felt like the new entrance procedure was much easier too. Not sure if it's because it was staffed at high amounts or what, but it seemed faster. Maybe waiting in 2 smaller separated lines just feels better than waiting in 1 long one?

[chadster]

Today was media preview for The New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster on Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas!

 

I realize a lot of you might be on the fence about this new technology, heck I was one of them, until I tried it! The Samsung VR Head Gear totally blew my mind out how well the graphics are rendered not to mention how well designed the overall storyline is, and how well it flows with the contours, curves, and g-forces Shock Wave produces.

 

Each seat is sync'd with the onboard computer which tells the phone what to do. There is a wheel speed sensor on the train to keep the timing perfect. No matter where you sit on the train you get the same ride experience. For example, if you sit in the front you will start your ascent on the elevator before the back of the train, after all it wouldn't make sense to look like you are rising but not feel like you are rising. The interactive portion keeps you entertained on the way up and until the drop before the loops. This is where the action heats up as you dive through streets, slice around buildings, and blow stuff up before safely returning to the aircraft carrier.

 

After your return, the headsets are picked up by the ride attendants after which your seats are unlocked, so no trying to take a set home. They then individually clean the antimicrobial leather straps and face gear with physician approved sanitization products. The VR Gear never touches your eyeball either

 

In the future they will add additional features to keep it fresh. With the technology coming to a park near you, I strongly encourage you to try it out, you'll probably love it, and probably want to ride with the VR Gear all the time.

 

Thank you to all at Six Flags Over Texas for having us out, we had a great time!

 

And now, "I think I'll go embarrass myself with Goose." - Top Gun

 

Here we are for the the Media Preview of The New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster which you can conveniently find in the Shock Wave courtyard.

Looks like the makings of a party!

Every type of sandwich you can imagine. Now that's how you kick off a party!

Ran into TPR member Johnny Chen so naturally we had to take advantage of the rockstar background!

Ohhhh sexy.

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Sexy Samsung VR Gear featuring the NEW S7. No need for your spectacles with these bad boys, there's a focus wheel right on top. In fact, I would strongly advise that you NOT wear your glasses with these.

See those yellow things on the back of the seats? More on those in a bit.

But for now, enjoy some fighter pilot G's

Hey, shoot that thing and get it out of the way!

That's better!

The construction workers on the highway were all, what in the world are those people wearing on their heads?!?!

Its VR Gear! And they are totally bad ass. The graphic rendering is done on the phone and it's phenomenal.

Ok, so those yellow things, those are QR codes. Each seat has its own. Strap on the Samsung VR Gear and look straight ahead, the unit will calibrate to your seat position and time the ride motions to your seat! The system also has wheel speed sensors to make sure you don't get motion sickness!

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Fly past building and battle big ugly hairy creatures!

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Slice through city streets!

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Nick from Samsung and I had an absolute blast! Total 360 immersive experience

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But all things must come to end with a landing back on the carrier.

Need a phone charger?

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This is Sam from Six Flags Corporate Design explaining the cleaning process of the goggles as Bossman Matt shows us how it's done.

 

Basically the goggles are collected before your restraints are unlocked and returned to this area to be cleaned. They leather is antimicrobial and along with the mask are cleaned individually after each use using medical grade cleaning supplies recommended by physician who consult for Six Flags Corporate.

 

So no need to worry about pink eye, crusty eye, stink eye, or sock eye. (Hey, isn't that a tuna?)

For you upskirt pervs.

The new queuing area outside of the go-karts and formally a basketball game years ago has been covered for your protection. They'll go ahead and hold you here so as not to cause skin cancer and dehydration in the intense Texas sun. See, they're not only looking out for your eye health but your skin health too! maybe those other vital organs you have as well...

Season Pass holders were lined up as far back as the oil derrick to get a preview of this incredible experience.

Steve Martindale talks briefly about the VR technology with members of the Air Force, after all, this is a fighter pilot virtual experience!

The ribbon was cut and off went the balloons! Straight into the tree! Where they almost stayed!

But a huge gust of wind came by and decorated the sky in red white and blue signifying the opening of the ride to the public.

And off went hundreds upon hundreds of smiling faces eager to try out the new VR Coaster.

 

You know what they say, don't knock it til you try it! I tried it and now I'm hooked! Get out and ride!

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Just like a real aircraft carrier your plane loads onto an elevator. Unlike and air carrier, you can practice firing at targets! (the resolution is much better on the headsets)

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And then you rise out of the carriers belly and blast off into the skies to help the forces fight it out

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

I like the part where you crash through a building while in the real world, you're on the brakes

[The Geek Mojo]

Seeing this done on Shock Wave at SFOT, it makes me wish they would have done this to Mind Bender at SFOG which is a similar ride. Dare Devil Dive's load time is horrible. I can see Shock Wave moving people through a lot quicker.

[Idontkno]

Just to be clear, the phones that go inside of the VR headset are provided by SFOT themselves, correct?

 

IMO going with the Samsung VR was the wrong choice, an Oculus rift or an HTC Vive setup would have been a lot simpler, but I imagine Samsung wanted to do this.

[aeyrolet]

I also attended the Media Day Event, and I have to say that the technology and the ride exceeded my expectations. The HD graphics were beautiful. I rode it about 20 times and several in a row, and I never felt sick or nauseous. The whole experience was a lot of fun!

[Fooz]

Just to be clear, the phones that go inside of the VR headset are provided by SFOT themselves, correct?

 

IMO going with the Samsung VR was the wrong choice, an Oculus rift or an HTC Vive setup would have been a lot simpler, but I imagine Samsung wanted to do this.

 

Yes, they're provided by six flags.

 

Why would that be easier?

 

You'd need to power the trains, and have a ~1000$ desktop computer (hardware that isn't meant to move) powering each headset. You'd also need to install the tracking cameras/emitters, and you'd have a harder time cleaning those headsets.

[chadster]

Just to be clear, the phones that go inside of the VR headset are provided by SFOT themselves, correct?

 

IMO going with the Samsung VR was the wrong choice, an Oculus rift or an HTC Vive setup would have been a lot simpler, but I imagine Samsung wanted to do this.

 

The phones are locked into the headsets, you cannot bring your own headset or phone, it won't work. Samsung has provided the park with the S7 phones which coincides with their official release last Friday.

 

The VR Gear was developed in conjunction with Oculus who was onsite to preview the technology in use themselves. There is a computer onboard the ride that emits a signal to the phone. The onboard computer feeds information to the phones throughout the ride. The computer knows how many people are using the VR Gear and at what position they are being used from so as it feed the phones the proper information. The graphics are then rendered on the phone.

 

That's about as technical as I'm going to get with how the setup works.

[Idontkno]

Why would that be easier?

 

You'd need to power the trains, and have a ~1000$ desktop computer (hardware that isn't meant to move) powering each headset. You'd also need to install the tracking cameras/emitters, and you'd have a harder time cleaning those headsets.

 

I see what you're saying now. Still, the concept of a cell phone powering your ride experience still seems a little janky to me. At least cover up the phone bit.

[Vonni]

I personally thought that was really cool that it was a cell phone

[thrillseeker4552]

Thanks for the report! After seeing this video and the one from SFOG, I have a little more confidence in this concept. Six Flags seems to be handling this pretty well, and it looks like a lot of fun. As long as people aren't stupid (try to take them off mid-ride, which is probably inevitable), I could see this being a hit. Can't wait to try TNR at SFMM in a few weeks.

[DoinItForTheFame]

At least cover up the phone bit.

 

The Gear VR has a cover that you can put over the phone...

 

 

And I'm sure Six Flags considered using the covers on the VR head sets, however...

 

1.) It's not that secure. It kind of just loosely snaps in place. Which I am sure on a roller coaster that provides decent g-forces the cover may not stay in place, and Six Flags probably didn't want random covers flying off mid ride.

 

2.) Using the cover causes the phone to over heat much faster. My partner and I have a Gear VR for our phones, and if we use the headset with the cover on the phone, the phone will over heat after about 30 minutes of use. We will get an error saying "the Gear VR has over heated, and needs to cool off," and the phone will shut off. If we use the headset without the cover on the phone the phone will not over heat at all. I'm sure almost continuous use of the Gear VR at Six Flags with the cover might have caused over heating issues. This may be another reason Six Flags decided NOT to use the covers.

 

Anyway, after using our own personal Gear VR, and knowing how immersive the headset is, and I can not wait to get out to Six Flags and try this out. It really feels a lot less like "Strapping a phone to your face..." and more like "entering a whole new world." It's really amazing at how realistic the VR headset is.

[Vonni]

Has Riddler's Revenge began to rise yet?

[cfc]

The system also has wheel speed sensors to make sure you don't get motion sickness!

 

I was wondering how they were going to handle this potential problem.

[linearinduction]

Has Riddler's Revenge began to rise yet?

I haven't been able to track down a definite bill of lading for a "Giant Discovery," but have tracked down 2 shipments of "Machinery" from Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. and Soriani S.r.L. that have over 100 pcs each and up to 6 Shipping Containers, that have come into port from February to Now. Those could be for the Soriani Endeavor and Giant Discovery for SFOT. Otherwise, there are just Bills of Lading for lots and lots of Plush.

[edgeboy]

Hey, I'll be visiting from out of town with an unusual situation. Due to my work schedule, I can only get to the park in the final hour (from about 5pm till close at 10pm) this Sunday. That seems to be the final day. Does the park generally empty out, or remain crowded?

 

I've been to the park before, so I don't have to get on everything... but I've yet to ride TNTG or Justice League. Will the lines decrease as it gets later into the night on Sunday, or will they remain long all night? When do they close off the lines?

[aeyrolet]

The system also has wheel speed sensors to make sure you don't get motion sickness!

 

I was wondering how they were going to handle this potential problem.

 

You know I was surprised that I didn't get nauseous or feel sick after riding the coaster with VR several times in a row. I usually get a little grayed out during the two loops but I felt fine after several cycles. I'm not sure how it all works, but I don't see people getting sick being a problem.

[chadster]

Hey, I'll be visiting from out of town with an unusual situation. Due to my work schedule, I can only get to the park in the final hour (from about 5pm till close at 10pm) this Sunday. That seems to be the final day. Does the park generally empty out, or remain crowded?

 

I've been to the park before, so I don't have to get on everything... but I've yet to ride NTAG or Justice League. Will the lines decrease as it gets later into the night on Sunday, or will they remain long all night? When do they close off the lines?

 

Being as its the last day of Spring Break you can expect many of the locals to drop out of the park between 6 and 7 leaving shorter lines (not walk on, but 15-20 minutes)

 

JL keeps a 30 minute line all day so if you are by your lonesome just use the single rider line. Closer to 9pm the lines will be their shortest and the perfect time to hit up NTAG. Use your SP and grab a ride time to check out the VR Coaster, it's well worth it.

[RollerManic]

At least cover up the phone bit.

 

The Gear VR has a cover that you can put over the phone...

 

 

And I'm sure Six Flags considered using the covers on the VR head sets, however...

 

1.) It's not that secure. It kind of just loosely snaps in place. Which I am sure on a roller coaster that provides decent g-forces the cover may not stay in place, and Six Flags probably didn't want random covers flying off mid ride.

 

2.) Using the cover causes the phone to over heat much faster. My partner and I have a Gear VR for our phones, and if we use the headset with the cover on the phone, the phone will over heat after about 30 minutes of use. We will get an error saying "the Gear VR has over heated, and needs to cool off," and the phone will shut off. If we use the headset without the cover on the phone the phone will not over heat at all. I'm sure almost continuous use of the Gear VR at Six Flags with the cover might have caused over heating issues. This may be another reason Six Flags decided NOT to use the covers.

 

Anyway, after using our own personal Gear VR, and knowing how immersive the headset is, and I can not wait to get out to Six Flags and try this out. It really feels a lot less like "Strapping a phone to your face..." and more like "entering a whole new world." It's really amazing at how realistic the VR headset is.

 

A) Gear VR and Six Flags could have worked together to re-engineer the cover's latch or simply have found a way to drill a set screw into the cover.

 

B) Drill holes into the front of the VR. The inflow from the coaster's speed should cool them greatly. Not to mention they are cleaned after every use anyway.

Edited March 17, 2016 by RollerManic

[edgeboy]

Thanks for the advice! With all this talk about the VR, is there any update about the new flats? Are they open yet?

[chadster]

The new flats won't be open until around Memorial Day.

[DoinItForTheFame]

A) Gear VR and Six Flags could have worked together to re-engineer the cover's latch or aimply have found a way to drill a set screw onto the cover.

 

B) Drill holes into the front of the VR. The inflow from the coaster's speed should cool them greatly. Not to mention they are cleaned after every use anyway.

 

True. I guess Six Flags just wasn't that worried about having the phones exposed. However, I do think it would look better if there were some kind of cover over the phones. But. . . Not the end of the world to me! As long as it is an awesome experience then I'm happy with it!