Samsung’s Galactic Attack roller coaster takes VR to a new level
As the coaster gears up the hill, the VR experience immerses you in a space world until you drop and the ship sets sail. Weaving through space, narrowly missing asteroids, you’re quickly thrust into this VR world quite jarringly. Random asteroids and alien ships dart in and out, it’s hard to locate yourself in this new world. Trying to get a grip with the surrounding its a lot easier said than done and the high speeds of the coaster don’t help at all. The coaster lasts only a couple of minutes (if that), so there’s no time to waste in the virtual world.
Through Gear VR touchpad on the side of the headset, you can access the gun you will need to shoot down asteroids coming at the aliens that are trying to obliterate Earth.
During the mission, there are three different paths you can take that have different turns and twists that provides a different experience every time you use the Galactic Attack coaster. The VR experience is calibrated with the trajectory of the roller coaster so the turns and drops align with the space world making it a much more immersive experience. This is the next frontier of VR and it’s really exciting. I’ve never experienced a more immersive VR experience than this. From shooting down aliens to feeling every turn the coaster offers, the thrills are definitely present.
But it’s not all good with the VR coaster.
It might seem pedantic, but this VR experience still felt a little underdeveloped. One of my main gripes with mobile VR, like what you find in the Gear VR (or Google Daydream), is that the virtual world you experience is watered down due to the hardware’s limitations. The Galaxy S7 is powerful, but not to the degree of a gaming console or computer. The graphics of the VR world are passable, but not anything to brag about. It doesn’t compare to what I’ve seen from PlayStation VR and HTC Vive whose VR worlds are much more polished and engaging.
The VR experience that Samsung and Six Flags tried to create is ambitious and really cool, but falls short of its ultimate goal. It still has a ways off to really be something to be excited about. A VR experience requires more than slightly modded headsets meant for living room usage to immerse the users in a world. It’s a fun experience to try once or twice, but the commodity wears off quickly.
I hope Samsung and Six Flags don’t lose heart with this experiment though. If VR will ever reach the potential we see in it, it largely depends on ambitious projects like this that push it to new levels. As devices become more powerful and VR programs continue to enhance, the sky will be the limit. Unfortunately, that moment just isn’t here yet.
Disclaimer: Six Flags invited TechnoBuffalo to try out this new VR experience at its Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, Calif.ÂÂ
Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/03/26/samsungs-galactic-attack-roller-coaster-vr/