Does anybody know what's currently going on with Arkham's VR? It's been down for maintenance for a while. And now it seems it's indefinitely being maintained?? Rather it actually being 'under maintenance' Perhaps they are only running the VR during peak periods/school holidays, due to the extra staff needed to help operate the VR?

 

2 minutes ago, Luke said:

Does anybody know what's currently going on with Arkham's VR? It's been down for maintenance for a while. And now it seems it's indefinitely being maintained?? Rather it actually being 'under maintenance' Perhaps they are only running the VR during peak periods/school holidays, due to the extra staff needed to help operate the VR?

 

Id say its closed until the Peak of the holidays come along, mainly so it doesn't malfunction before hand. As for the 'extra staff needed to help operate it" I dont think they do need much extra, just 1. My thinking for that is, while I was at Fright Nights, I used the VR headset and there was only 1 worker, and he was doing just fine. They were very busy (VR) and he handled it very well. It only took an extra 10 seconds because two workers just had to check if everything was on fine, and then we were off.

I called Movieworld, and was told is vague terms:

"Due to a software update, the VR system has been unuseable, and the park is trying to fix it/find a fix. Furthermore, we are unsure if the VR experience will ever be coming back".

Very weird  

Edited December 8, 20169 yr by Luke

Just now, Luke said:

I called Movieworld, and was very vaguely told "Due to a software update, the VR system has been unuseable, and the park is trying to fix it/find a fix. Furthermore, we are unsure if the VR experience will ever be coming back"

Very weird  

Crap. I really enjoyed it. But you never know, it could!

How can a software update have such major issues, from what I heard, the system was working fine when it was being used last holidays. I hope they don't get rid of it, because it seems like a great additional experience to the ride.

I'm sure after the money invested with it they wouldn't simply get with rid of it.

My guess, given the rough nature of AA, when you can't see where you're going, you can't brace, and therefore - people not intimately familiar with the ride layout were getting hurt.

I personally don't think we'll see it back unless they can alter the VR imagery to give some sort of 'warning' of the change of direction - i'm thinking like a 'virtual track' or some other sort of indicator, without ruining the experience.

the alternative would be to move the technology to something less violent - which in the first instance i'd probably say GL.

Having done Arkham VR I can confidently say there was literally no issues with getting sick, head-bumping, whiplash etc. etc. etc. That's in part because Movie World went and spent big money going via companies who know what they're doing and the sync between experience and screen is second to none. Compare that to the reports of Dreamworld's version and it's night and day. in fact i'd go so far as to say it made the coaster infinitely better - you definitely know where you're at in the ride (up to a certain point) so it's not like you're just flailing about hopelessly. And even if you were a new rider, I still don't think you'd be knocked about as much as folks think.

I do hope they suss out whatever tech issue they have for the summer season, this is one of the few experiences where i'd say don't knock it until you try it because everyone who does try it (specifically Arkham's VR) loves the crap out of it, myself included.

I highly doubt what Luke was told on the phone is accurate, did you speak to someone in the contact centre or Guest Services?

It is getting a software update with some changes/enhancements. It is not being scrapped. Alex B may be on the money there..

Given how long this "update" is taking though I have to assume they are delivering the update using 2G to each handset individually.

 

 

Edited December 8, 20169 yr by Jordan M.

3 hours ago, AlexB said:

My guess, given the rough nature of AA, when you can't see where you're going, you can't brace, and therefore - people not intimately familiar with the ride layout were getting hurt.

I personally don't think we'll see it back unless they can alter the VR imagery to give some sort of 'warning' of the change of direction - i'm thinking like a 'virtual track' or some other sort of indicator, without ruining the experience.

the alternative would be to move the technology to something less violent - which in the first instance i'd probably say GL.

This is the rumour I've heard more frequently from people. No idea how true it is but it's making the rounds consistently. 

3 hours ago, themagician said:

How can a software update have such major issues, from what I heard, the system was working fine when it was being used last holidays. I hope they don't get rid of it, because it seems like a great additional experience to the ride.

Depends what the update was. If it was an Android update, maybe if it was the 7.0 update that could cause a lot of issues and its a substantial change. Not sure why it would have needed the update to the OS though. Seemed to be working fine before, which leads me to believe there's some other reason for it. 

Quote

"Furthermore, we are unsure if the VR experience will ever be coming back"

I do hope they fix the bug. I was looking forward to trying the AA VR next time I visited MW.

2 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

I do hope they fix the bug. I was looking forward to trying the AA VR next time I visited MW.

I hear (churro vender at the front of the park) Dec 26 assuming VRCoaater gets the update to them by then (no idea how long that takes especially in this season).

8 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

This is the rumour I've heard more frequently from people. No idea how true it is but it's making the rounds consistently. 

Depends what the update was. If it was an Android update, maybe if it was the 7.0 update that could cause a lot of issues and its a substantial change. Not sure why it would have needed the update to the OS though. Seemed to be working fine before, which leads me to believe there's some other reason for it. 

It's true, have confirmed it with multiple internal sources. Also makes sense considering the timeline.

If it was a software incompatibility (unlikely) they could have rolled back the update or even purchased new handsets. This suggests an WHS issue with the headsets/operation themselves given it stopped abrubtly without apparent reason.

Arkham VR is back up

 

Yea we talked about that yesterday in another topic.  

But this is the correct thread to post that piece of news in.

@Gazza I didn't say it wasn't the correct thread to post it in.  Just saying we were talking about something else in another thread and it came up.  Conversations lead into other conversations all the time.

I thought I linked it for him so he would have seen what we said but my phone doesn't like Parkz.

Arkham VR is now being advertised on one of the road billboards at Brisbane Airport. It's definitely operational?

Awesome thanks for the update. It's Looking positive. 

8 minutes ago, Glubbo said:

Arkham VR is now being advertised on one of the road billboards at Brisbane Airport. It's definitely operational?

Seen an ad for it a couple of times on TV, and FB.

For those, curious, it's on Movie World's Facebook page (yet strangely it's not on their YouTube page?)

 

Bloody great little TVC. End shot where the hero female breaks the fourth wall is super cringeworthy, but sans that tiny detail, I do really dig the look and feel of it all.

Is it just the way they hold their harnesses or is there an interactive element to the VR now (unless I just didn't know until now?)?

I think you are supposed to hold the harness anyway, but, no, there is nothing linked with the harness release buttons when I rode it.

53 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

Is it just the way they hold their harnesses or is there an interactive element to the VR now (unless I just didn't know until now?)?

I'm pretty sure those handles and the buttons were there when MW first bought the trains in 2012. I haven't been to MW for years, so I can't remember exactly, but I do vividly recall those handles being there.

He's asking because there is another VR install where you target and shoot things using buttons like that. They are just harness release buttons on arkham asylum.

I rode Arkham with VR for the first time yesterday (you get one VR ride included with the unlimited fast track band), overall it was a great experience, I wouldn't say it was any better or worse with VR just a different experience. Funnily enough I found the lift hill the most enjoyable part with VR. It would be a lot more immersive if sound could also be implemented.

The only downside is the extra time it takes to load and dispatch the trains when VR is operating, a few people had to have headsets swapped out and recalibrated each time.

Not sure if it has been mentioned but TV's have been added to the queue line playing footage of Harley and the Joker in a lab talking about the treatment (in the same animation style as the games).