Theme park announces "fully VR" ride

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The UK's Alton Towers has announced Galactica, a three-minute virtual reality flight through space at up to 47mph and 3.5-g. Strapped in face-down with headset on, passengers will travel through an assortment of galactic scenes timed to change with the ride's big moments.

Games in which you can see your avatar and relate virtual actions to your physical body tend to result in the best presence—the belief that you're there dogfighting or having sex with a poorly animated mannequin. Extending that principle over 840m of track incorporating 20m drops will either make for the most convincing space sim money can buy or resemble a holding pen for salmonella patients.

Galactica opens in April after two years of R&D. I'll, er, wait for the review.

Angus Morrison
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