Nintendo partnering with Universal to make attractions.

[Disneyhead'71]

I hope you are correct. The video is honestly somewhat disorienting and I cannot honestly tell if they are really moving or just gliding along the bus bar.

I was not expecting a bus bar quite honestly, I think that's what has me most perturbed. Maybe it is moving faster than it lets on.

It is basically the MiB ride system. It moves constantly at at same speed. The first scenes are supposedly more practical, at least in the settings. The ground breaking aspect is the Interactive AR.

Is it like TSMM, I mean, yeah it's a shooter ride. Just like MiB is a shooter ride. But after riding it I don't think anyone will compare it to either.

What you are seeing in that video is about one min. of a state of the art ride shot with a camera phone stuck up inside a VR helmet showing one of the two lenses.

And everyone saying that creating an interactive video game ride based on a video game wasn't what they were expecting? What were you expecting? We have known for years that this was gonna be an AR shooter. The question for the past 2 years wasn't "What is it?" but "Will they get it to work?"

 

[Mike S]

It is basically the MiB ride system. It moves constantly at at same speed. The first scenes are supposedly more practical, at least in the settings. The ground breaking aspect is the Interactive AR.

Is it like TSMM, I mean, yeah it's a shooter ride. Just like MiB is a shooter ride. But after riding it I don't think anyone will compare it to either.

What you are seeing in that video is about one min. of a state of the art ride shot with a camera phone stuck up inside a VR helmet showing one of the two lenses.

And everyone saying that creating an interactive video game ride based on a video game wasn't what they were expecting? What were you expecting? We have known for years that this was gonna be an AR shooter.

And I remember talk that the only AR aspect would be the use of items and everything else would be physical.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

And I remember talk that the only AR aspect would be the use of items and everything else would be physical.

We have seen 1 (possibly 2 depending on how it is broken down) of 11 scenes. And it is the whiz bang razzle dazzle finale. I think more of what's in the video isn't AR than you realize. The projection mapping is pretty impressive.

 

[BrianLo]

And everyone saying that creating an interactive video game ride based on a video game wasn't what they were expecting? What were you expecting? We have known for years that this was gonna be an AR shooter. The question for the past 2 years wasn't "What is it?" but "Will they get it to work?"

I was expecting more radiator springs racers with some item management HUD.

But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because as you mentioned the video may be doing a terrible job. This is good though for me personally, I'll probably like it way better in person.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

God, that looks sooo disappointing. Where are the sets? the AAs?? why is Bowser not a AA at the end?! It looks like another Universal screen ride where you just shoot at stuff. WE WANT TO FEEL WE ARE IN THE WORLD NOT PLAY A VIDEO GAME ON A SCREEN. Hoping a full ride pov will make it look better. not a good start

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

I was expecting more radiator springs racers with some item management HUD.

But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because as you mentioned the video may be doing a terrible job. This is good though for me personally, I'll probably like it way better in person.

EXACTLY!

 

[JT3000]

We have seen 1 (possibly 2 depending on how it is broken down) of 11 scenes. And it is the whiz bang razzle dazzle finale. I think more of what's in the video isn't AR than you realize. The projection mapping is pretty impressive.

I'm not razzle dazzled. And you can tell they're using traditional projections. Bowser's head runs into the building's flat ceiling. That wouldn't happen with proper projection mapping.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

The Yoshi queue is embarrassing. Reminds me of the TSMM queue, not a land that wants to push boundaries in themed entertainment. Looks like something you’d find at a themed space for kids at a mall.

So far, the highlight of the land, imo, is the incredible amount of kinetic movement outside.

Looks like one of those Crayola stores you see in Malls.

 

[Mike S]

I was expecting more radiator springs racers with some item management HUD.

That would’ve been nice. That trick they do with Mater to make it seem like he follows you could’ve been used in full force here.

We have seen 1 (possibly 2 depending on how it is broken down) of 11 scenes. And it is the whiz bang razzle dazzle finale. I think more of what's in the video isn't AR than you realize. The projection mapping is pretty impressive.

That’s a “razzle dazzle” finale?

Projection mapping doesn’t compare to what could’ve been done with a physically built Rainbow Road set. They also picked the most boring looking Rainbow Road to boot. Couldn’t have gone with a surrounding environment like these rather than empty blackness?

Imagine if the Rainbow Road room was done like the underwater scene in Shanghai Pirates with the walls instead showing space and a view of the Earth rather than water. That’s what I’d like to see in a theme park ride that’s supposed to bring Mario Kart to life.

 

[magicallactose]

I'm not razzle dazzled. And you can tell they're using traditional projections. Bowser's head runs into the building's flat ceiling. That wouldn't happen with proper projection mapping.

That's not the ceiling. That's the brim of the Mario hat which the visor is attached to. The person who filmed this video stuck their phone inside the visor to give us that POV.

 

[Surferboy567]

That would’ve been nice. That trick they do with Mater to make it seem like he follows you could’ve been used in full force here.

That’s a “razzle dazzle” finale?

Projection mapping doesn’t compare to what could’ve been done with a physically built Rainbow Road set. They also picked the most boring looking Rainbow Road to boot. Couldn’t have gone with a surrounding environment like these rather than empty blackness?

Imagine if the Rainbow Road room was done like the underwater scene in Shanghai Pirates with the walls instead showing space and a view of the Earth rather than water. That’s what I’d like to see in a theme park ride that’s supposed to bring Mario Kart to life.

I’m happy to see I am not the only one that thought this “Rainbow Road” (if you even want to call it that) was underwhelming to say the least.

 

[Stripes]

That's not the ceiling. That's the brim of the Mario hat which the visor is attached to. The person who filmed this video stuck their phone inside the visor to give us that POV.

That’s not the brim of the Mario hat. You can tell that it’s the ceiling because the screen is casting a perfectly mirrored reflection on the ceiling. That would’t happen if it was the Mario hat. The top of Bowser’s head is projection mapped on to the ceiling.

I don’t think it’s a big deal, but that’s what is happening.

I’m trying to figure out how they did the finish line transition. I’m sure it’s quite simple but the video doesn’t have the best clarity. It looks like they’re using AR to hide a physical transformation.

 

[Mike S]

I’m happy to see I am not the only one that thought this “Rainbow Road” (if you even want to call it that) was underwhelming to say the least.

It’s clearly based on the remade 64 version that appears in 8.

 

[Stripes]

And you can tell they're using traditional projections. Bowser's head runs into the building's flat ceiling. That wouldn't happen with proper projection mapping.

I don’t know what you mean by that. Yes, the top of Bowser’s head is projection mapped onto the ceiling, but if they weren’t using projection mapping technology, it would look terrible. In this case, it looks almost seamless to me.

Will it distract guests and take them out of the immersion by making them notice the ceiling? Perhaps, but I can’t say for sure based on a video. The light in the video could be higher than it is in real-life, not to mention the effect of a constricted pupil.

 

[Stripes]

That would’ve been nice. That trick they do with Mater to make it seem like he follows you could’ve been used in full force here.

I remember the early leaked concept art that suggested this. The proposal was apparently scrapped in favor of a less ambitious plan.

I think they were going to do something along the lines of Mickey and Minnie’s car in MMRR.

 

[JT3000]

I don’t know what you mean by that. Yes, the top of Bowser’s head is projection mapped onto the ceiling, but if they weren’t using projection mapping technology, it would look terrible. In this case, it looks almost seamless to me.

Will it distract guests and take them out of the immersion by making them notice the ceiling? Perhaps, but I can’t say for sure based on a video. The light in the video could be higher than it is in real-life, not to mention the effect of a constricted pupil.

It does look terrible. It looks like a basic projection being cast on the ceiling because they ran out of space on the wall. You can clearly see where it switches from a vertical to a horizontal surface. The whole point of projection mapping is for the image you're projecting to fit perfectly onto the surface(s) it's being projected onto, like an overlay. That's what enables the sort of "3D" effects & interactions with the actual surface. This literally just looks like a basic projection on two different flat (or possibly curved) surfaces. It isn't "mapped" to anything. So if they're using projection mapping technology, it's being completely wasted here.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I think Bowser is AR, not projection mapped.

 

[Tom Morrow]

*facepalm*

Every pitfall I feared they would take, and they took it. It's a screen ride, except you're wearing the screen. It's a game, except it looks significantly worse than the one on my Switch. I don't want to play an inferior version of the video game. I don't want simulated speed. I want to move fast through a physically realized environments. How did they not learn from the F&F backlash?

"Gee, our guests were really let down by the fact that we created a Fast & Furious ride - a franchise about racing, where you sit in a bus that only simulates speed. Let's not make that mistake again. How about a Mario Kart ride - a video game about racing, where you... don't actually go fast... and everything is simulated?"

Some of you are going to continue to spin this as a positive, but why try? You know what everyone wanted, and what everyone wanted was Radiator Springs Racers But Mario Kart. I feel like this is going to open up comparisons to Smuggler's Run or something, so let's compare the two. SR is also an interactive screen ride/simulator/video game. However, there's a big difference between simulating something that can't physically be done, such as piloting the Millennium Falcon, to simulating racing go karts, which unquestionably could be done with a non-simulated thrill ride concept. I'm not saying Smuggler's Run is great - it isn't. It plays like a bad on-rails Star Wars video game. However, the Star Wars franchise is not synonymous with its video games, even though they exist. Mario Kart is only a video game franchise, so what they've also done is open up comparisons to the experience of playing the actual games. There's no way whatever interactive element we're seeing here in any way holds up to the fantastic Mario Kart 8.

I'm glad to see @Mike S on the same page here because I know he's been super hyped about this since day one.

Personally I REALLY wish parks would give up on interactive rides. They're NEVER great, you just get an inferior ride AND an inferior video game experience. The one exception, IMO, would be MIB.

I learned a long time ago that one man's tacky is another's classy. Just like Disney Parks© fans think water slides any color other than mud tan or snow white are tacky and inappropriate regardless the theme of the park. End of story. Don't @ me!!!!!!! And dear God don't mention visible coaster track.

I have no issues with visible coaster track and have never said otherwise. I will say though, that those colorful slides at Volcano Bay already look grungy and faded. They wouldn't be looking that way already if they had gone with earthy tones.

 

[SplashJacket]

*facepalm*

Every pitfall I feared they would take, and they took it. It's a screen ride, except you're wearing the screen. It's a game, except it looks significantly worse than the one on my Switch. I don't want to play an inferior version of the video game. I don't want simulated speed. I want to move fast through a physically realized environments. How did they not learn from the F&F backlash?

"Gee, our guests were really let down by the fact that we created a Fast & Furious ride where you sit in a bus that only simulates speed. Let's not make that mistake again. How about a Mario Kart ride... where you... don't actually go fast... and everything is simulated?"

Some of you are going to continue to spin this as a positive, but why try? You know what everyone wanted, and what everyone wanted was Radiator Springs Racers But Mario Kart. I feel like this is going to open up comparisons to Smuggler's Run or something, so let's compare the two. SR is also an interactive screen ride/simulator/video game. However, there's a big difference between simulating something that can't physically be done, such as piloting the Millennium Falcon, to simulating racing go karts, which unquestionably could be done with a non-simulated thrill ride concept. I'm not saying Smuggler's Run is great - it isn't. It plays like a bad on-rails Star Wars video game. However, the Star Wars franchise is not synonymous with its video games, even though they exist. Mario Kart is only a video game franchise, so what they've also done is open up comparisons to the experience of playing the actual games. There's no way whatever interactive element we're seeing here in any way holds up to the fantastic Mario Kart 8.

I'm glad to see @Mike S on the same page here because I know he's been super hyped about this since day one.

Personally I REALLY wish parks would give up on interactive rides. They're NEVER great, you just get an inferior ride AND an inferior video game experience. The one exception, IMO, would be MIB.


I have no issues with visible coaster track and have never said otherwise. I will say though, that those colorful slides at Volcano Bay already look grungy and faded. They wouldn't be looking that way already if they had gone with earthy tones.

Until we get a full high-quality POV, I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm more than happy to join the bash train once we get the full POV, but right now, I don't really see a reason to hate it. We don't know if the mechanics are fun, or if the AR is convincing, or the other components of the ride, so my criticism is going to wait.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Until we get a full high-quality POV, I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm more than happy to join the bash train once we get the full POV, but right now, I don't really see a reason to hate it. We don't know if the mechanics are fun, or if the AR is convincing, or the other components of the ride, so my criticism is going to wait.

I'm hoping that the rest of the scenes look better, but this is the finale, and it's freakin' Rainbow Road. It should have looked fantastic, and it most certainly does not. We know what the mechanics are, it's MIB, only the things you shoot at are on your glasses, and projectors create wooshy images on the walls to simulate speed.