This video was originally published on March 30, 2018
Excerpt : Family test of the Sébastien Loeb Racing Xperience, Futuroscope’s new VR 5D attraction
Back to Futuroscope for the first time since the inauguration of The Extraordinary Journey. We were really looking forward to this trip, primarily because we love this park, but also because we were impatient to test the new attraction designed around VR 5D and a driving experience with Sébastien Loeb rally driving legend (not to go into too much detail).
Virtual reality in theme parks is an ongoing discussion. But while the idea seems good on paper, it doesn’t really deliver on its promises, not even at Europapark which has put a lot of work into VR. Would Futuroscope be the park to win us over with this new experience? The concept is really good: an investment of 6.5 million euro for an attraction for the general public (starting at 1.2 metres), 108 simulators with VR HTC Vive headsets, with its sensory effects (wind, branches, and dispersed sounds). And as a bonus, a film with a world champion, with some really cool psychedelic moments!
The verdict? Mixed! While this is a welcome new attraction (VR definitely has a place in Futuroscope, and “the 8th continent” was beginning to be technically outdated) there were a few things that let us down. The waiting line was way below par compared to previous productions, the rendering is pixelated (just like on our Playstation VR so no surprise – for the 6K resolution we’ll pass), 177 seconds is just too short, the simulator is pretty sluggish (compared to a Vienne Dynamique – which we prefer – for example), and I have some doubts about the attraction’s flow, hygiene, headset maintenance (fragility of the audio module in particular) and aging. We fear the same results as for the augmented reality of The Future is Wild (ahead of its time).
The general public will probably be happy enough and it will enable this new technology to be tested by a maximum of people. But for those of us with a VR headset at home, or who have already been on attractions such as Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom (for sure, it’s not the same budget, but the technology is very different) it is more of a problem. I had imagined, that if they were going to use VR headsets, they might as well use a Ubisoft game like Eagle Flight, which is a bit long and with interaction between players. In any case, the mass technology doesn’t appear to be quite ready yet and Futuroscope will no doubt have to make several updates to technology and possibly to the film too.
Come on board with us in this video episode of the Revo-Rama for a mad race with Sébastien Loeb!
Learn more : https://papacitoyen.reves-connectes.com/the-revo-rama-tests-the-sebastien-loeb-racing-xperience-attraction-vr5d-in-futuroscope-video/
