Negative-G - Six Flags Over Texas 2016

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The Shock Wave / New Revolution Virtual Reality Rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas

Finally making it back into the station sweaty, feeling claustrophobic and sick our "New Revolution" experience was over with. I do have to applaud Six Flags because after mentioning to the ride op who came to take out helmets (another 5 minute process) that it made us sick we were given a jump to the head of the line pass so we could ride Shock Wave with actual reality and not a virtual one without the three to four hour wait that it had quickly built up.

When we did come back four our second ride (still moving at 100 PPH) when we eventually made it into the station we were seated in the front of the train in the no-VR seats. Up there next to the queue is The New Revolution's tech support guy. It is his job to charge up the phones, fix the headsets and keep everything going which is no small task.

In the middle of all of the helmets that he was working on he was able to track the progress of both trains and the data being sent to the headsets on this display.

The VR is a cool gimmick. I mean it is nowhere near as investment heavy as building a new coaster and as it gives the riders a new experience. It is almost like adding a new ride to the park at the fraction of the cost which is something that makes massive sense to corporate. Where the concept needs work is in the implementation. Taking 15 minutes to dispatch a train while the second train load of riders sweats with an uncomfortable helmet on is not good. Then there is the issue of motion sickness like Bond and I experienced when our displays went awry. My final issue with it is you can't see your friends. Part of what makes each coaster ride a unique one is a large part due to who you are surrounded with. People can make a ok ride into one that is memorable and with the person you are sitting with blocked out of the picture are you really sharing an experience with them?

What I would like to see is some sort of not virtual reality but augmented reality where for example the alien ships that we are battling are projected onto some sort of a Google Glass type headset where they interact with the reality around us. Not relying on 100% virtual reality removes the problem of motion sickness and roughness. Having a small glasses type headset would eliminate the insanely long dispatch process needed to make sure the VR helmets are secure. Also make the "game" cooperative so the train load of riders experience something together as you battle it out blasting the aliens with your fellow riders. Finally throw a score onto it. Add in that little bit of competition and the ride becomes tenfold more fun as everyone tries to have the highest score on the train.

In the end after riding both The New Revolution and the classic Anton Schwarzkopf designed Shock Wave what did Bond think? Shock Wave rules...

While The New Revolution got a big two thumbs down.