Almost instantly, an alien aircraft smashed into my jet fighter, disabling my weapon and sending me hurtling toward earth as the coaster reached a peak speed of 55 mph. Just before the coaster’s first drop, a massive mothership appeared above a high-rise metropolis.
PLANET COASTER FUTURISTIC THEMES SERIES
On the lift hill portion of the coaster, my jet fighter rose up from the lower deck of the aircraft carrier while I fired my virtual weapon at a series of practice targets. Touching the side of the headset pulled the trigger and fired a blast of artillery rounds. Looking left and right controlled the twin-barreled gun above my head. Sitting in the cockpit of a virtual jet fighter, I glanced around the lower deck of an aircraft carrier as I waited with other pilots to begin my universe-saving mission. It was at this moment that I forgot that I was at Magic Mountain and found myself in an alternate universe. Since riders can’t see where they’re going, the point-of-view perspective banks, dives and climbs to signal upcoming direction changes.Īfter stepping into the coaster car, I lowered my goggles and synced the headset to the on-board VR system. The trick is syncing the steep drops, airtime hills and G-forces of the ride with the visuals in the VR headsets so that riders don’t experience motion sickness. The VR headsets synchronize with the motion of the coaster to fully immerse riders in a virtual world of nonstop action. Six Flags employees sanitize the antibacterial VR goggles between each use. A tether looped around my neck ensured the goggles wouldn’t hit another passenger should they somehow fly off my head anywhere during the ride. Putting on the VR headset while waiting to board the coaster required me to adjust four Velcro straps to ensure a tight fight.
Getting ready for my ride was not an easy task.