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VR coming to the Point

GuyWithAStick

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
Couldn't find a topic, so here:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MontanaRusa/status/741021272985894913[/tweet]

You can clearly see that the person in the down-center of the picture is wearing a VR Headset on Iron Dragon. Odd choice for VR, considering that there won't be a definitive way the VR will keep up with the swinging of the train. I wonder how it'll turn out.
 
^They could monitor the VR though.

Galactica has two sensors, one in the headset and one in the train itself. If CP could add a third to monitor the angle at which the car was swung from normal, they could easily add it in.
 
My thoughts and prayers are with the Cedar Point fanboys and their families right now.
 
I'm in a minority I think when I say I'm stoked to try it out. The Valravn VR headset I tried at CP last month was amazing. The image wasn't the clearest but it was low-end VR made out of a few lenses, Ben's phone, and a piece of cardboard. But for what it was, it was incredible. Some of that made with somewhat more sophisticated technology would really be awesome, not to mention breathe life back into possibly the most pointless coaster at CP.

If this works out, I want to see this end up on Sierra Sidewinder, Firehawk, Carolina Goldrusher, Talon, and maybe something at WoF or CGA. I think having one virtual reality coaster at a park, at least for now, would be a good move for any ride lineup.

This is coming from someone who hasn't yet tried it, however. I should have full right to talk after July. :p
 
To clarify on how VR would be able to work with an Arrow Suspended - VR headsets (and your smartphones for that matter) are equipped with accelerometers that are able to track xyz axis rotation of the device. This is for instance how your phone flips to landscape mode when you switch it sideways. In turn, the VR would compensate for the swinging of the train as a natural movement back and forth (and up and down) along these axes.

... Let's just hope the VR scenario would be able to account for that kind of motion. :lol:

Interesting that Iron Dragon would be a choice for VR, such as over Cedar Creek Mine Ride.
 
^As I stated before, Galactica actually has two. One is onboard the train that tracks the raw position of the coaster in the layout, one is in headset that tracks the rotation of the wearer's head. All I think would have to be different would be a third type of sensor in the swinging hinge of the train that can measure the angle at which it's swinging. Not a full on accelerometer, just a sort of digital protractor that can measure the angle of that hinge and take it into account in the VR headset's computer. Like tell it, "it's at this point in the layout, pitched at this angle from then angle of the bank, and the user's looking to the left."
 
Someone on reddit went and did the testing recently and here's the gist of what they said. VR is only offered on Sundays and Wednsdays from 3-6pm, although there is a chance that VR may not be offered on either of those days. The VR hardware has an Oculus Rift logo on it, but it's most likely a Samsung Gear headset in a different case since the rift requires connection to a computer. OP found the graphics to be early PS2 level, and said they were probably worse than what Six Flags' ride films look like.
 
Jarrett said:
^As I stated before, Galactica actually has two. One is onboard the train that tracks the raw position of the coaster in the layout, one is in headset that tracks the rotation of the wearer's head. All I think would have to be different would be a third type of sensor in the swinging hinge of the train that can measure the angle at which it's swinging. Not a full on accelerometer, just a sort of digital protractor that can measure the angle of that hinge and take it into account in the VR headset's computer. Like tell it, "it's at this point in the layout, pitched at this angle from then angle of the bank, and the user's looking to the left."
Click to expand...
You and Hyde are both right on this one.

Head tracking on VR simply uses a set of accelerometers (and optionally gyroscopes) inside the device to track your head's 6DOF - forwards/backwards, up/down, left/right, pitch, roll and yaw.

Once you have this information you can work out how exactly how the headset is moving, even if the users head is moving.

The tracking of the train on the track is done to synchronise the chronology of the video, the tracking of the head let's you account for any motion that may occur and adjust the view inside the glasses to suit. All you'd need to do would be to allow the video rendering to move the 'camera' left and right, and not just along a straight path (provided your rendering engine is good enough, this shouldn't be hard in a completely CGI environment).

That being said, I do wonder if you'd even be able to notice the swinging as being different to just banking, without the visual cues (similar to the Vekoma Madhouses).
 
I was at the Point yesterday (Tuesday), and able to see the VR testing around 5 PM. There was only one car (5th or 6th car of the train), which demoed VR for 4 riders during one cycle. After that, there were no other tests with the VR for the next few cycles, which would lead me to believe they run the test, and then interview the riders after the run. I swung by the Iron Dragon station (no pun intended) to see if it would be possible to volunteer for the testing, but to no avail.
 
screamscape said:
According to the local news Cedar Point will begin offering a Virtual Reality experience on the park’s Iron Dragon coaster nightly between 6pm and 9pm. The VR Coaster experience is still in the “Beta Test” stage, and all riders have to be at least 13 or older to participate. Space is limited and reservations to participate in the test will begin at noon near the coaster's entrance.
Click to expand...
 
I just don't cedar point in adding VR to any coaster.
 
sarcastic-clapping-ryan-gosling.gif
 
At least they're doing it on Iron Dragon and not something absurd like Maverick or Millennium Force.
 
Anyone know what the VR video is for this? Hopefully not that alien invasion dogfight that Six Flags have been using, the graphics on that are about Nintendo Wii quality!
 
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