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Thorpe Park | Derren Brown's Ghost Train | VR Attraction

Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

I like the idea of being in a crowd, then putting on the "specs" and being all alone - very sci-fi/cinematic ; but the tech has to really work to do that and still being able to hear the crowd (chavy-or not) would let it down I agree.

(and who let the chavs in anyway, thought this was media-night - or was it that the type of "celebs" that were invited (your good self apart, obviously) were of the chav variety? Didn't recognise 99% of the people tweeting about it at the time, perhaps that says more about my familiarity with "yoof" culture tho')

--

PS ; have a picture I took the other week for them ; been used in some of the PR (ta!).

 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Right.

I'm probably going to do a hefty review and I've already written a post about why VR doesn't belong in theme parks that explains, in depth, my issues with the VR parts of DBGT... But wanted to get down my thoughts here so hopefully it'll make for a stronger review.

The outside of the building looks awesome. I'm not fussed by seeing the shed, just looks like part of X and my brain ignored it until I was reminded of it. The build quality of the exterior, the little details, the signage. I think it's all really good. The queue is good, it's sheltered.

Pepper's ghost preshow, also good. It's too hot inside the attraction tough. Jesus it's warm. But anyway, Derren says a lot of awesome stuff about the psychology of fear and it's great and I'm HYPED! Get ready for the ****' nosedive...

Filler corridor heugh, what can you do though? This kind of attraction needs these to have a barely tolerable capacity.

The train illusion room... Wasn't even impressed with that. You enter it at the wrong angle and so there's nothing that odd looking about it. It doesn't look weird. It's only because I knew it was weird and actively looked around and over the edge of the railing, that I got to even appreciate the beauty of that room. Think about it when you go into that room; if you didn't know there was anything weird about it, would you look at it and think "that looks weird"? It just looks like it's supported by the pathway you're on and from the other side and you have no reason to think otherwise. I thought you'd enter under it and ascend to it. BECAUSE THATS WHAT WE WERE SHOWN...

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So you enter the train and... Why the **** is it a bright, contemporary, tube train on board? Outside it was a creepy ornate victorian train. I guess this is cheaper.

The VR itself. It's poo. It's utterly poo. You put it on and suddenly you're alone even though the experience until now is highly social. Rather than make me feel alone and isolated, the constant chatter of others and Lofty's arm next to mine keep reminding me that I'm not alone. I was hyper aware I had a screen attached to my face. The footage is also really poor choice for VR. Nothing happens around you, you're just watching a video that is 90% right in front of you, straight on. Read my VR post for more in depth complaining about the VR on DBGT.

Rushed to get off the train because gas or something.... I HATE THIS ****. This is exactly like Sub Terra. Can't actually make something genuinely good or scary so lets just try to induce panic in the cheapest, nastiest way possible. And Sub Terra is CLOSED THIS YEAR.

Filler corridor 2... This time with added megaphone.

Into underground tunnels room. Looks good! ...Then that train crash effect happens and, wow, it's bad. I laughed at it. OH NO QUICK RUN. NO STOP MAKING ME RUN THIS ISN'T FUN!

Rush to get on 2nd train and everywhere I go to sit the **** down there's a headset out of use. I end up being the other end of the carriage from my group so now I'm in a bad mood because the ride sucks and I'm in a double bad mood because I've been separated from my group. This next VR part is... There are no words for how irrelevant and stupid it is. And how bad the pattern repeat fire graphics look. Is this **** '98?

Derren Brown counts you back in from hypnosis and I'm glad the experience is over.

The attraction is bad. There is no cohesion, nothing makes any sense. Nothing ties together. Nothing works together. None of it is fun, except for Derren's pre-ride speech. And only then because it's Derren. And Derren is fab. And I hope he regrets this whole thing.

Ya know how attractions do that "it's supposed to look like ****" thing to excuse cheaply crafted themed worlds? Merlin are pros at it: Saw, Swarm, Scorpion Express, Thirteen, Sub Terra... But plenty of other parks do it too when on tight budgets, even Disney! Dinoland USA at Animal Kingdom being a prime example of that ****. Well, Derren Brown's Ghost Train is like that, except narratively. It's supposed to be confusing and dream like and illogical, because you were under hypnosis! **** OFF. No one is willing to suspend their disbelief that far, and thus the only people who'll enjoy DBGT are the complete opposite people to those who enjoy Derren Brown's intelligent and thought provoking concepts.

DBGT needed to be more conceptual and less narrative - more about the visceral, emotions, instincts, human nature. Everything Derren promised me in the preshow. Instead, there's a story trying it's damnedest under layers and layers of nonsense. It could have been a cool abstract thing that showed off illusion, technology and spectacular sets without being kept on a leash - a "misunderstanding Disney" leash, is what that is, that desperate desire to force story where it doesn't belong.

It's a bad attraction. I didn't like it. And I'd go as far to say that I think less of anyone who tries to find redeeming features in it.

Thanks Ian for the invite though I had a tonne of fun catching Pokemon and hanging out with you guys. And apologies for taking a while to get here and post a "review". I wanted to collect my thoughts properly first.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

peep said:
Visual effects are stupidly expensive and vr being a new thing costs are super high.
Click to expand...

Actually - VR first came out in the late 80s - and I can remember playing a VR game in the trocadero at Piccadilly circus back in around 1992. It was blocky 3d graphics - and the headset was VERY heavy and took a second or so to update when you moved your head. (tldr version - it was crap!) In comparison - the DBGT VR was like a million dollars!

So - my opinion - 1st vr bit -7/10, the rest 4 or 5 /10

SO - on to DBGT and I thought the first VR section was pretty good - quite a creepy atmosphere created although the mans speech could be a bit louder, and maybe SOMETHING done to reduce background noise, and make a bit more of the dog's presence.

The next bit is all about the merlin "GET OUT NOW, OMG PANIC PANIC BARK BARK" thang, with a badly executed train approaching and disappearing - followed by more "MOVE ON, BARK BARK BARK PANIC OMG RUN HURRY BARK" stuff, and then the second VR segment, which may have been ok if it wasn't on a ghost train, but on a "destructocity" ride of some sort. - the ghoulish thing who drags the guy on his mobile out is quite scary, but the explosions are dumb, and does there have to be such a long section where you're surrounded by "smoke" - feels like it lasts about 5 minutes! and bearing in mind the "PANIC BARK OMG" stuff before, why when the ride ends. are you told to remain seated?

so in short, drop the tunnel bit, and have one longer vr section where the guys story actually works with what's happening!
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

^Im very aware of 80s/90s vr (even murder she wrote contains a storyline about a VR company). But this is like a new generation of vr. All the companies have pretty much started from scratch as tech has moved on. Which is why it's still crazy expensive and stupid for parks to be getting in on the act in such a permanent way.

I laughed at Joey's review. Amazing.

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Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

caffeine_demon said:
and does there have to be such a long section where you're surrounded by "smoke" - feels like it lasts about 5 minutes!
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I thought the same. I thought it was broken tbh. It seemed to take ages for anything to happen and then the demon's face briefly appeared and then more smoke. Surely the smoke bit isn't actually that long and we both coincidently experienced a fault?
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

The smoke is basically the 'Ride' bit of it (calling the few feet it moves a ride seems a bit OTT but k) stacking - so you're waiting for it to be able to move back to the station.

Why they couldn't have put something a bit more interesting than smoke there I don't know.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

peep said:
^Im very aware of 80s/90s vr (even murder she wrote contains a storyline about a VR company). But this is like a new generation of vr. All the companies have pretty much started from scratch as tech has moved on. Which is why it's still crazy expensive and stupid for parks to be getting in on the act in such a permanent way.
Click to expand...

The price for a HTC Vive in the commercial world is around 300 quid a pop, whereas I believe in the consumer world, they're about 950 quid a pop.

It's the media that costs the most, hence why we saw some seriously shoddy work on this attraction. Hardware is cheap.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

I keep checking this topic for replies to my review but the fact that no one gives a single flying **** sort of explains it more than anything I said tbh.

I was thinking yesterday about how The Mystery of Hocus Pocus Hall was better than DBGT.

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Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Joey said:
I keep checking this topic for replies to my review but the fact that no one gives a single flying **** sort of explains it more than anything I said tbh.
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I'm avoiding all reviews until I ride it in September so I may respond then :p
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

And another spoilery question or 2:

At the end of the first vr scene, when they tell you to leave the train, WHY IS THE TRAIN STILL MOVING??

And - why the big rush leaving the first train, but they're all "stay seated" after the second scene?
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

caffeine_demon said:
And another spoilery question or 2:

At the end of the first vr scene, when they tell you to leave the train, WHY IS THE TRAIN STILL MOVING??

And - why the big rush leaving the first train, but they're all "stay seated" after the second scene?
Click to expand...
Because it's awfully executed, despite having massive potential. It's just one of many holes if you pay too much attention.

There's a big rush after the first scene because it's in the first part of the ride, they're tension building. After the second scene, by which I assume you mean the second VR bit, when the cartoon ends, Derren brings you back to reality so the ride has ended. There's no need to rush off after the second VR section. The ride is over and all that's left to do is wander in a disappointed daze around the fab shop.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Your review Joey is spot on really.

Although I'll add that I really don't think the merge from VR to actual reality works well at all.

Tons of ott screaming and shouting to get back on the train... then sit, put headset on, adjust focus, and then wait for a bit for it to get going again.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Joey's review is one of the finest pieces of literature I have ever had the pleasure to read.


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Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

I finally rode it yesterday, and it's rather poo.
I liked the pre-show, as I got a front row view, but I imagine being stuck at the back would ruin it slightly. I wanted to spend more time looking at the suspended carriage but you get maybe 5 seconds before being ushered in.

The first VR was ok, it was quite tense, especially with the diseased girl bit. But straight after that the screen went black for around 2-3 minutes with screaming from the speakers before being told to take the goggles off. I assume this was the stacking someone spoke of. If stacking is a real issue then in P1 there should be additional diseased people getting on the train, all around, not just right in front of you.

I got a awful spot for the Merlin shouty part so didn't see the train crash.
The 2nd VR piece was absolute garbage, there's nothing about that which was scary, or exciting, or real. The monsters look awful, the smoke stacking sucks, so, so bad.

There's so much about the ride which has been poorly designed or implemented, and I appreciate this is a new type of Ghost Train, but call it something else then. This is not a ghost train, it's Derren Brown's Fracking Adventure.
If you want to market it with scary kids and refer to it as ghostly, then put some effing ghosts in it. Use the 1st VR section with the dolls and ghosts at all ends of the carriages, change the train crash scene to a larger Bla Taget Ghost effect and put absolutely anything in place of the bald Schwarzneggers and you would have a reasonable scary dark ride. All the good bits from the pre-show and the first VR are ruined by the shouty run participation and 2nd VR section.

Hugely wasted opportunity, like most of Merlins recent investments, this will fail spectacularly.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Still haven't ridden it, but going by reviews it seems DBGT has been an overall failure. On Google reviews it is rated 2.9 out of 5.

To spend £30million and then get reviews which are basically just "meh"... what a colossal waste of money.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Jamesss said:
To spend £30million and then get reviews which are basically just "meh"... what a colossal waste of money.
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This.

It's getting to a stage now where serious questions need to be asked of people who are signing off these investments.

Storm Surge
Sub Terra
The Smiler
Angry Birds Land
I'm a Celebrity
Derren Browns Ghost Train

What an awe inspiring list from the last 3 years.

And there's the closures;

Sub Terra
Hex
Wobble World
Driving School
CATCF
The Flume
Loggers Leap
Ripsaw
Submission
Wet Wet Wet

By all means, close stuff to make way for newer better attractions, but all prior evidence is pointing towards SW8 being a letdown too. The fact that they haven't installed anything above average for over 10 years is quite galling, then add one train operations on and you've got a company running things very poorly. I sincerely hope Blackpool can shove a rocket up Merlin's arse.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Lofty said:
It wasn't £30m...
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I'm sure I read it was somewhere around that?

Regardless of how many million it was, the point still stands.
 
Re: Derren Brown's Ghost Train (WC16) | Thorpe Park | May 2

Yeah, I remember earlier on in the topic that the budget was B&M Hyper levels.

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