DiogoJ42
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- The Metropolitan Line
First off, a massive thank you to John for helping me grab all the links.
I do plan to continue with this project in the future, but it is very much on the back burner (or should that be afterburner?) for now. It was originally started after Blithering Lodge crashed, and the intention was to do something totally different, less story driven, and not worrying quite as much about continuity or realism. It is also an experiment in just how “dark” you can make the sunny world of RCT3.
As you are all no doubt aware, Blithering Lodge has risen from the grave, so my RCT effort is currently focused on getting that all wrapped up and finished. But at some point I will dust off my cold war knowledge once more, and get back to Gruntpuddle.
Videos so far:
Protect And Survive: The Ride.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0r4Ka5LZAk[/youtube]
The original teaser photo:
Watch This Space...
Allow me to present you with a brief history lesson.
1918: The RAF is formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
1924: Gruntpuddle Aerodrome is founded in the sleepy Kent village of Gruntpuddle.
1925: The first Squadron of de Havilland DH9s takes residence.
1930’s: The airfield expands rapidly. The triangular runway layout is established. Now called “RAF Gruntpuddle”.
1937: As war becomes inevitable, the airfield forms a key part of the defence of the British Isles. Hurricanes are posted to the base.
1939: War – huh – good god, y’all!
1940: The Battle Of Britain. Finest hour, so much / so many / so few, etc, etc.
1944: For D day, troop gliders and their tugs take off from Gruntpuddle.
1945: War ends. Used as a base for testing new-fangled jet aircraft.
1950: Control of the base is handed over to The USAF, under NATO agreement. Now known as “Gruntpuddle AFB, 3924th Tactical Commie Killing Bomb Group, Inglandshire.
1950’s: Massive expansion of the base, including extension and widening of the main runway. The two secondary runways are now used only as taxi ways.
1959: B57’s are posted to the base. Nuclear weapon stores constructed. Massive bunker complex begun.
1961: Bunker phase one completed.
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis. Aircraft are stationed on QRA with full nuclear payload.
1963: Fighters are based at Gruntpuddle for the first time since the war. F104’s of the 238th Fighter Interceptor Wing join the bombers.
1964: Continuing expansion. Woodland dispersal area built.
1966: U2s are spotted visiting the base.
1968: As missile tech improves, the bombers are withdrawn, leaving more space for more fighters. F106s dominate.
1973: Several squadrons now operate a variety of aircraft, including A10s and F111s of the 923rd Tactical Fighter Wing. The 238th FIW has upgraded to F4Ds.
1976: F15s are posted to Gruntpuddle. Construction begins on Hardened Aircraft Shelters.
1979: Bunker phase two completed. The base is now a major centre of USAF operations in Europe.
1980’s: As the cold war reaches it’s peak, more tactical nuclear weapons are stored on site than ever before. Mass lesbian protests outside the base.
1986: F16s join the base.
1989: Berlin wall torn down. Beginning of the end of the Cold War.
1991: The USAF decides to stand down from Gruntpuddle. Base is handed back to the RAF on September 14th.
1992: The RAF have no use for the site, and decide to decommission it.
1993: All classified equipment and weapons systems have been stripped out, and the site made safe. The buildings are left intact, but gutted.
Part of the runway is used to store materials for the Channel Tunnel rail link. Talks begin with the Imperial War Museum to convert the site for public exhibition, but these fall through.
1994: A consortium of local aviation enthusiasts, of which I am a proud member, put forward a plan to create a “cold war theme park”, combining thrill attractions with a museum. We received provisional planning permission in October.
1995: Site preparation begins.
Our initial site inspection revealed a curious mix of buildings, ranging from bland, industrial looking warehouses, through 1930s RAF architecture, to the concrete and olive drab of the cold war NATO era.
Here are a few photographs from our first visit.
The main gate:
An A10 acts as a gate guardian:
The parade ground:
1930's hangers:
1940's hangers:
Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS):
The 'Hush House', where engines were tested:
The Air Traffic Control tower:
Fire Station:
The UNITER building (left), and main bunker (right):
The woodland dispersal area:
One of the more interesting parts of the site was the WSA (Weapon Storage Area), where the nuclear warheads were kept. Although now empty, this part of the site was still off limits at the time of our visit. MOD officials want to double check for possible contamination before releasing the land to us. How nice of them! 8-[
Finaly, an aerial view of the site:
At this point in time, it is still too early to say what our plans are. But rest assured that you guys will be the first to know when we start building rides!
Work has begun on the first stages of turning RAF Gruntpuddle into Gruntpuddle Park.
The costs involved in creating a suitable space for the public is exceeding our expectations a little. So we have had to postpone our theme park plans for a year or two, while we build an infrastructure to keep the park ticking over.
Our first job is to convert some of the existing buildings for toilets, shops and food outlets. Once that is done, we plan to buy a land train type transit system, to take people on a tour of the site.
We have also invited several showman to set up on the hardstandings by the hangers over summer. How many of them take us up on this offer remains to be seen.
The plan is to open for summer 1996.
We have been busy converting the NAAFI and Officer's Mess into eateries!
Our first proper attraction is the Airfield Tours train. The station is behind the gate guardian, by the entrance.
The tour takes around 10 minutes, and really gives a sense of how big the site is.
Although we have no permanent thrill rides yet, a fun fair has agreed to set up shop with us for the summer.
Including the Crazy Mouse! Although it is popular with our guests, it will not be here long. So if you want to ride it, come down to Gruntpuddle Park, before it's too late!
It is 1997, and here at Gruntpuddle Park, we are proud to present our first permanent rides!
The hardstanding between the barracks and hangers 5 & 6 is now home to two new rides:
Flypast is an exciting new variation on the classic 'Chair-O-planes'. As your seats start to swing outwards, they climb to the dizzying hight of 100 feet! They then swing from side to side, using the same principles of flight real planes use!
For younger guests, we have the Flying Jumbos.
The big news for us this year, is the opening of our first roller coaster! Hurricane is a triple-inverting Vekoma, weaving in and out of the hanger rooftops.
The station is located inside hanger 4, one of the hangers built just after the start of WWII. This very building was once home to the planes which gave their name to the ride! The queue has display boards giving a history of the Hawker Hurricane, and Gruntpuddle's role in The Battle Of Britain.
After the lift hill and first drop, the trains pass over an airtime filled hill, before diving into a vertical loop.
A high turn-round leads into a double-drop, which then rises to a sidewinder.
A downwards helix sends riders zooming past the roofs of hangers 2 & 3...
...Then curving downwards into a tight corkscrew. Finally, the train clips the roof of hanger 4, and dives into a last series of tight curves, before hitting the breaks, and returning to the station.
******************************************************************
Lastly, we have some good news: The Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed to give us a grant for an "educational" attraction. Although the final sum has not been decided yet, we hope to receive a significant amount of money! It is thought that a condition of the grant will be that it is spent on a museum type attraction...
... What we would like to build is a dark ride. Hopefully, we can make it "educational" enough to get that grant!
Good news! Our grant was approved in 1998, and after a year of hard work, we can finally open our new ride to the public in 1999!
Protect And Survive: The Civil Defense Story is a multi-million pound dark ride, and the first of its kind outside the US. A total of 16 cars, seating twelve people each, dispatch approximately once every 15 seconds, making this a throughput beast! The cars are mounted on a 3 DOF motion platform (yaw, pitch, roll), and can turn to face scenes as they pass, as well as tilt and 'react' to what happens around them.
Here is an ariel photo of the southeast corner of the airfield:
That huge concrete rectangle is the basement of what will eventually be a new museum building. It houses our new attraction. Please excuse the bare state of this area at the moment. The museum building itself will not be finished for another few years yet.
Guests enter the air-raid-shelter, and descend into the bunker themed station.
Please note that this ride features graphic representations of the horrors of a nuclear attack. It may not be suitable for young children.
After passing through the blast doors, a gallery of mushroom clouds greets riders.
The cars pass various display boards, then a full size mock up of one of the Hardened Aircraft Shelters found on the base.
The next scene is a regional government bunker, as found in town halls across the UK.
The car swings quickly past pages from the Protect And Survive booklet...
...Before passing an example of a home fallout shelter.
Next, riders pass through the missile deck of a submarine.
The following scene is our pride and joy... The simulated detonation of a thermonuclear warhead. How do we achieve this, you ask?
Well, I'm afraid to find out, you'll just have to ride it!
However, We can show you the devastation that follows.
The final scene is a chilling nuclear winter, devoid of life.
Riders arrive at the exit platform feeling numb.
This is not It's A Small World!
We were told we had to make it 'educational'. But we also wanted it to be scary. Hopefully, we managed both!
The ride system is the AP-DR, from Revolutionary Rides.
Hopefully we can realise our goal and complete the museum as soon as possible. We will keep you all posted!
The images are all billboards, using pictures nicked from the Wonderful World Wide Web. I don't think I've EVER used this many billboards in a park before, never mind on just ONE ride! One thing you can't see in the pictures above, is in the submarine.
There are 7 monitors over a work station. They are all individual billboards, with some interesting pictures on them. A couple of sonar screens, a green-on-black line drawing map of Europe with several 'targets' marked in red. And a couple of monitors with green-on-black text. I just knocked them up in MS Paint. (Kelpie did the map for me, based on an image she found online).
After all that effort, you can hardly see them in the dark! Tell you what, I'll upload them:
I wanted a page of random numbers. In the end, i found a site that listed Pi to a million places! I copied and pasted a random chunk of digits to get this:
For a laugh, this is the DOS style main screen:
If you really want to know, the co-ordinates are the center of London, the center of Essex, and Uxbridge (just round the corner from me, and a very large NATO HQ).
This sub is aiming it's missiles here (NOTE: this bares no relation to the co-ordinates above):
Now the more observant of you may have noticed that this Russian sub has an English computer...
:-$ SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :-$
All I can say is thank you to all the people who make scenery for lazy gimps like me to download. This ride simply would not be possible without their work.
Well, I decided to go ahead and film the queueline walk through without the museum being finished. I've been up all night editing it, and the Video has just been uploaded to Youtube.
A few notes:
*This is the first vid I have made using anything other than Window Movie Maker. In theory, it should be "HD" (by youtube standards, anyway).
*The audio can be a bit quiet in places. I recommend cranking your speakers up. I used clips from several of the Protect And Survive films, and some of them are better quality than others. :|
*I'm not joking when I say that this can be slightly uncomfortable viewing... mainly because of the audio effects towards the end.
Anyway, here it is:
Protect And Survive: The Ride. (on-ride POV)
EDIT: Bah! Shameful typo right at the start! This is what happens when you stay up all night to get the damn thing done! :no:
And now, a note that you REALLY, REALLY should not read until after you have watched it:
The biggest challenge was how to create the "flash" of the bomb. In the game, what actually happens is that the car is launched (to about 30mph) backwards down a white tunnel, with white doors closing in front of you. The tunnel is full of white floodlights.
But lets be honest, that just doesn't work on screen, so I cheated and used a video effect. In reality, it would be a simple affair to create this with lighting, but RCT has its limits.
Gruntpuddle Park is proud to announce the opening of The Gruntpuddle Cold War Museum!
The opening ceremony took place on the 15th of March 2000. It was attended by several of the former personnel who were stationed on the base, and the ribbon was cut by none other than Colonel Bud Chuck Eagleman himself (the base commander at the time of it's closure).
Rather than try to blend in with the existing architecture of the base, we took the decision to go for a bold, modernist design. The shape is simple and understated, but the size of the building gives it a striking presence. The large, floor to ceiling glass walls provide ample natural light inside, giving a bright and airy feel to the museum. This is in contrast to the dark reinforced concrete structures that are found elsewhere on the base.
The Western end of the building has a terrace with a food court, providing great views of the airfield.
Seen from the far side of the base, the sheer size of the museum becomes apparent!
This project represents the culmination of several years work for us. As part of our commitment to provide both a fun, thrilling day out, and an educational experience.
You asked for pictures of the interior, and here they are!
Taken from inside the gift shop.
As you can see, the west end of the museum still has some space to fill.
The only other ride in the museum is a Ventura Super X Simulator. All Aviation museums have these... it's the law. :lol: This one simulates a flight in an F4-D Phantom.
Also, an eagle eyed guest snapped this shot from the terrace outside the museum. if you look closely, you can see a new tower structure on the far side of the base. What could this be? :-k
(I just had to include this little bit of conversation between me and Blaze)
After the opening of The Gruntpuddle Cold War Museum in 2000, visitor numbers to Gruntpuddle Park more than doubled! Therefore it is with great pleasure that we announce the opening of a new area for 2001.
Situated in the far south west corner of the site is the new Test Pilot Academy.
Here guests can test their bodies in a series of high G, high thrill devices, designed to weed out those not tough enough to fly fast jets!
Since the Academy is so far from the rest of the site, we took the decision to add a second station to the Airfield Tours road train. It is of a similar design to the older station, but with a colour scheme to suite the area.
"But what crazy rides await visitors?" I hear you cry. As you enter the Academy, to your right you will see the Gyro Rings. Two sets of concentric gimbals which spin riders 360' in every axis you can think of... plus a few more you can't!
Since these rides are very low capacity, we have installed two of them, and tried to work as much queue as possible into a small area.
Yes, we know, it's a cattle pen, but it needed to be done. Sorry!
On the far side of the plaza sits G-LOC. This is a genuine, air force grade centrifuge, capable of producing up to 15G! Of course, legally we can't run it on this setting for the public. When you ride it, you will experience a much more sedate 3.5G.
For those of you not familiar with pilot jargon, G-LOC is short for G-induced Loss Of Consciousness... Something we hope you wont experience!
The headline attraction of the Academy is the Martin Baker Ejector Seat.
Sponsored by the people who make real, life saving ejector seats for almost every western aircraft since the 1950s, this S&S Shot Tower will blow your mind!
The queue wraps its way round the base of the ride, inside the Martin Baker Testing Facility...
...the ride itself blasts you through the roof of the building, to a hight of 175 feet, before freefalling back to earth!
So far, guests just can't get enough of these new thrill machines. We hope to add a roller coaster to the area in the near future. Stay tuned for the latest news!
Just a quick closed season update. 2002 Will see Gruntpuddle open an observation balloon, next to the Cold War museum and the control tower.
Please bare in mind we still have a few finishing touches to do before the ride opens next year.
The ride sits within a small garden, styled to resemble an RAF roundel.
The queue features victorian style ironwork and glass, harking back to a simpler time, before the dawn of powered flight.
At the moment nothing has been confirmed about a new coaster, but some say representatives from Intamin have been spotted on park. Of course, We couldn't possibly confirm or deny this.
The following planning application has been spotted online by eagle eyed enthusiasts!
Let the speculation begin!
The year is 2003. The place is the Gruntpuddle Park. The ride is... Strike Eagle!
Visitors to the Test Pilot Academy will notice that the area is no longer dominated by a simple shot n drop tower...
Instead, a vekoma Flying Dutchman looms on the horizon, and swoops over the path ahead! This exciting new ride is the tallest and fastest ride yet built at the park (although we all know hight and speed aren't everything, it sure helps with the marketing )
Named and themed after the F15-E Strike Eagle (a plane once stationed at the base), this ride promises to give you a taste of what it's like to fly high speed evasive maneuvers at very low altitude. You may be under the radar, but if you get a SAM lock on to you, it's time to start throwing your bird round the sky!
Here is an overview of the ride:
The station is in an office block located next to the Martin Baker Testing Facility.
After a short trip to the lift hill, your climb begins. On your back, facing the sky, you have no idea how high you are, or when you will drop!
When you reach cruising altitude, you are twisted round to face the ground, and your flight begins!
But before you can take in the view, you reach enemy airspace. Time to dive under the radar!
What follows is no pleasure flight. A huge, corkscrew lifts you up into the air, only to bring you back to earth... on your back!
Pulling up to avoid a hill, you enter a zero-G roll...
And dive bomb the enemy control tower!
Pulling up from this into a half loop, you the dive down again, and into a tunnel. On the far side is another "fly-to-lie" corkscrew, before you are whipped round to the flying position once more.
You get a brief moment to catch your breath, bit it's a down hill run into the ride's highlight. A fast and tight fly-to-lie...
...sends you hurtling in to a full vertical loop...
...followed by a sidewinder...
(What came first? the coaster element or the missile?
)
This triple whammy of elements packs a serious punch! So you have a moment to reflect as you lie on your back and pass under the lift hill.
As you climb gently upwards, you manage to escape the combat zone unharmed! Time for a victory roll!
Finally, you make a low and slow flypast of the Academy, just to show off!
With a final twist, you hit the breaks.
It's over... you made it! Congratulations, pilot... you just earned your wings!
Another overview of the area:
The ride seen from outside the park:
So there we go. Saved for prosperity! (once again, thanks for your help John).
I do plan to continue with this project in the future, but it is very much on the back burner (or should that be afterburner?) for now. It was originally started after Blithering Lodge crashed, and the intention was to do something totally different, less story driven, and not worrying quite as much about continuity or realism. It is also an experiment in just how “dark” you can make the sunny world of RCT3.
As you are all no doubt aware, Blithering Lodge has risen from the grave, so my RCT effort is currently focused on getting that all wrapped up and finished. But at some point I will dust off my cold war knowledge once more, and get back to Gruntpuddle.
****Long live the community****
I do plan to continue with this project in the future, but it is very much on the back burner (or should that be afterburner?) for now. It was originally started after Blithering Lodge crashed, and the intention was to do something totally different, less story driven, and not worrying quite as much about continuity or realism. It is also an experiment in just how “dark” you can make the sunny world of RCT3.
As you are all no doubt aware, Blithering Lodge has risen from the grave, so my RCT effort is currently focused on getting that all wrapped up and finished. But at some point I will dust off my cold war knowledge once more, and get back to Gruntpuddle.
Videos so far:
Protect And Survive: The Ride.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0r4Ka5LZAk[/youtube]
The original teaser photo:
Watch This Space...
Allow me to present you with a brief history lesson.
1918: The RAF is formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
1924: Gruntpuddle Aerodrome is founded in the sleepy Kent village of Gruntpuddle.
1925: The first Squadron of de Havilland DH9s takes residence.
1930’s: The airfield expands rapidly. The triangular runway layout is established. Now called “RAF Gruntpuddle”.
1937: As war becomes inevitable, the airfield forms a key part of the defence of the British Isles. Hurricanes are posted to the base.
1939: War – huh – good god, y’all!
1940: The Battle Of Britain. Finest hour, so much / so many / so few, etc, etc.
1944: For D day, troop gliders and their tugs take off from Gruntpuddle.
1945: War ends. Used as a base for testing new-fangled jet aircraft.
1950: Control of the base is handed over to The USAF, under NATO agreement. Now known as “Gruntpuddle AFB, 3924th Tactical Commie Killing Bomb Group, Inglandshire.
1950’s: Massive expansion of the base, including extension and widening of the main runway. The two secondary runways are now used only as taxi ways.
1959: B57’s are posted to the base. Nuclear weapon stores constructed. Massive bunker complex begun.
1961: Bunker phase one completed.
1962: Cuban Missile Crisis. Aircraft are stationed on QRA with full nuclear payload.
1963: Fighters are based at Gruntpuddle for the first time since the war. F104’s of the 238th Fighter Interceptor Wing join the bombers.
1964: Continuing expansion. Woodland dispersal area built.
1966: U2s are spotted visiting the base.
1968: As missile tech improves, the bombers are withdrawn, leaving more space for more fighters. F106s dominate.
1973: Several squadrons now operate a variety of aircraft, including A10s and F111s of the 923rd Tactical Fighter Wing. The 238th FIW has upgraded to F4Ds.
1976: F15s are posted to Gruntpuddle. Construction begins on Hardened Aircraft Shelters.
1979: Bunker phase two completed. The base is now a major centre of USAF operations in Europe.
1980’s: As the cold war reaches it’s peak, more tactical nuclear weapons are stored on site than ever before. Mass lesbian protests outside the base.
1986: F16s join the base.
1989: Berlin wall torn down. Beginning of the end of the Cold War.
1991: The USAF decides to stand down from Gruntpuddle. Base is handed back to the RAF on September 14th.
1992: The RAF have no use for the site, and decide to decommission it.
1993: All classified equipment and weapons systems have been stripped out, and the site made safe. The buildings are left intact, but gutted.
Part of the runway is used to store materials for the Channel Tunnel rail link. Talks begin with the Imperial War Museum to convert the site for public exhibition, but these fall through.
1994: A consortium of local aviation enthusiasts, of which I am a proud member, put forward a plan to create a “cold war theme park”, combining thrill attractions with a museum. We received provisional planning permission in October.
1995: Site preparation begins.
Our initial site inspection revealed a curious mix of buildings, ranging from bland, industrial looking warehouses, through 1930s RAF architecture, to the concrete and olive drab of the cold war NATO era.
Here are a few photographs from our first visit.
The main gate:
An A10 acts as a gate guardian:
The parade ground:
1930's hangers:
1940's hangers:
Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS):
The 'Hush House', where engines were tested:
The Air Traffic Control tower:
Fire Station:
The UNITER building (left), and main bunker (right):
The woodland dispersal area:
One of the more interesting parts of the site was the WSA (Weapon Storage Area), where the nuclear warheads were kept. Although now empty, this part of the site was still off limits at the time of our visit. MOD officials want to double check for possible contamination before releasing the land to us. How nice of them! 8-[
Finaly, an aerial view of the site:
At this point in time, it is still too early to say what our plans are. But rest assured that you guys will be the first to know when we start building rides!
Work has begun on the first stages of turning RAF Gruntpuddle into Gruntpuddle Park.
The costs involved in creating a suitable space for the public is exceeding our expectations a little. So we have had to postpone our theme park plans for a year or two, while we build an infrastructure to keep the park ticking over.
Our first job is to convert some of the existing buildings for toilets, shops and food outlets. Once that is done, we plan to buy a land train type transit system, to take people on a tour of the site.
We have also invited several showman to set up on the hardstandings by the hangers over summer. How many of them take us up on this offer remains to be seen.
The plan is to open for summer 1996.
We have been busy converting the NAAFI and Officer's Mess into eateries!
Our first proper attraction is the Airfield Tours train. The station is behind the gate guardian, by the entrance.
The tour takes around 10 minutes, and really gives a sense of how big the site is.
Although we have no permanent thrill rides yet, a fun fair has agreed to set up shop with us for the summer.
Including the Crazy Mouse! Although it is popular with our guests, it will not be here long. So if you want to ride it, come down to Gruntpuddle Park, before it's too late!
It is 1997, and here at Gruntpuddle Park, we are proud to present our first permanent rides!
The hardstanding between the barracks and hangers 5 & 6 is now home to two new rides:
Flypast is an exciting new variation on the classic 'Chair-O-planes'. As your seats start to swing outwards, they climb to the dizzying hight of 100 feet! They then swing from side to side, using the same principles of flight real planes use!
For younger guests, we have the Flying Jumbos.
The big news for us this year, is the opening of our first roller coaster! Hurricane is a triple-inverting Vekoma, weaving in and out of the hanger rooftops.
The station is located inside hanger 4, one of the hangers built just after the start of WWII. This very building was once home to the planes which gave their name to the ride! The queue has display boards giving a history of the Hawker Hurricane, and Gruntpuddle's role in The Battle Of Britain.
After the lift hill and first drop, the trains pass over an airtime filled hill, before diving into a vertical loop.
A high turn-round leads into a double-drop, which then rises to a sidewinder.
A downwards helix sends riders zooming past the roofs of hangers 2 & 3...
...Then curving downwards into a tight corkscrew. Finally, the train clips the roof of hanger 4, and dives into a last series of tight curves, before hitting the breaks, and returning to the station.
******************************************************************
Lastly, we have some good news: The Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed to give us a grant for an "educational" attraction. Although the final sum has not been decided yet, we hope to receive a significant amount of money! It is thought that a condition of the grant will be that it is spent on a museum type attraction...
... What we would like to build is a dark ride. Hopefully, we can make it "educational" enough to get that grant!
Good news! Our grant was approved in 1998, and after a year of hard work, we can finally open our new ride to the public in 1999!
Protect And Survive: The Civil Defense Story is a multi-million pound dark ride, and the first of its kind outside the US. A total of 16 cars, seating twelve people each, dispatch approximately once every 15 seconds, making this a throughput beast! The cars are mounted on a 3 DOF motion platform (yaw, pitch, roll), and can turn to face scenes as they pass, as well as tilt and 'react' to what happens around them.
Here is an ariel photo of the southeast corner of the airfield:
That huge concrete rectangle is the basement of what will eventually be a new museum building. It houses our new attraction. Please excuse the bare state of this area at the moment. The museum building itself will not be finished for another few years yet.
Guests enter the air-raid-shelter, and descend into the bunker themed station.
Please note that this ride features graphic representations of the horrors of a nuclear attack. It may not be suitable for young children.
After passing through the blast doors, a gallery of mushroom clouds greets riders.
The cars pass various display boards, then a full size mock up of one of the Hardened Aircraft Shelters found on the base.
The next scene is a regional government bunker, as found in town halls across the UK.
The car swings quickly past pages from the Protect And Survive booklet...
...Before passing an example of a home fallout shelter.
Next, riders pass through the missile deck of a submarine.
The following scene is our pride and joy... The simulated detonation of a thermonuclear warhead. How do we achieve this, you ask?
Well, I'm afraid to find out, you'll just have to ride it!
However, We can show you the devastation that follows.
The final scene is a chilling nuclear winter, devoid of life.
Riders arrive at the exit platform feeling numb.
This is not It's A Small World!
We were told we had to make it 'educational'. But we also wanted it to be scary. Hopefully, we managed both!
The ride system is the AP-DR, from Revolutionary Rides.
Hopefully we can realise our goal and complete the museum as soon as possible. We will keep you all posted!
The images are all billboards, using pictures nicked from the Wonderful World Wide Web. I don't think I've EVER used this many billboards in a park before, never mind on just ONE ride! One thing you can't see in the pictures above, is in the submarine.
There are 7 monitors over a work station. They are all individual billboards, with some interesting pictures on them. A couple of sonar screens, a green-on-black line drawing map of Europe with several 'targets' marked in red. And a couple of monitors with green-on-black text. I just knocked them up in MS Paint. (Kelpie did the map for me, based on an image she found online).
After all that effort, you can hardly see them in the dark! Tell you what, I'll upload them:
I wanted a page of random numbers. In the end, i found a site that listed Pi to a million places! I copied and pasted a random chunk of digits to get this:
For a laugh, this is the DOS style main screen:
If you really want to know, the co-ordinates are the center of London, the center of Essex, and Uxbridge (just round the corner from me, and a very large NATO HQ).
This sub is aiming it's missiles here (NOTE: this bares no relation to the co-ordinates above):
Now the more observant of you may have noticed that this Russian sub has an English computer...
:-$ SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :-$
All I can say is thank you to all the people who make scenery for lazy gimps like me to download. This ride simply would not be possible without their work.
Well, I decided to go ahead and film the queueline walk through without the museum being finished. I've been up all night editing it, and the Video has just been uploaded to Youtube.
A few notes:
*This is the first vid I have made using anything other than Window Movie Maker. In theory, it should be "HD" (by youtube standards, anyway).
*The audio can be a bit quiet in places. I recommend cranking your speakers up. I used clips from several of the Protect And Survive films, and some of them are better quality than others. :|
*I'm not joking when I say that this can be slightly uncomfortable viewing... mainly because of the audio effects towards the end.
Anyway, here it is:
Protect And Survive: The Ride. (on-ride POV)
EDIT: Bah! Shameful typo right at the start! This is what happens when you stay up all night to get the damn thing done! :no:
And now, a note that you REALLY, REALLY should not read until after you have watched it:
The biggest challenge was how to create the "flash" of the bomb. In the game, what actually happens is that the car is launched (to about 30mph) backwards down a white tunnel, with white doors closing in front of you. The tunnel is full of white floodlights.
But lets be honest, that just doesn't work on screen, so I cheated and used a video effect. In reality, it would be a simple affair to create this with lighting, but RCT has its limits.
Gruntpuddle Park is proud to announce the opening of The Gruntpuddle Cold War Museum!
The opening ceremony took place on the 15th of March 2000. It was attended by several of the former personnel who were stationed on the base, and the ribbon was cut by none other than Colonel Bud Chuck Eagleman himself (the base commander at the time of it's closure).
Rather than try to blend in with the existing architecture of the base, we took the decision to go for a bold, modernist design. The shape is simple and understated, but the size of the building gives it a striking presence. The large, floor to ceiling glass walls provide ample natural light inside, giving a bright and airy feel to the museum. This is in contrast to the dark reinforced concrete structures that are found elsewhere on the base.
The Western end of the building has a terrace with a food court, providing great views of the airfield.
Seen from the far side of the base, the sheer size of the museum becomes apparent!
This project represents the culmination of several years work for us. As part of our commitment to provide both a fun, thrilling day out, and an educational experience.
You asked for pictures of the interior, and here they are!
Taken from inside the gift shop.
As you can see, the west end of the museum still has some space to fill.
The only other ride in the museum is a Ventura Super X Simulator. All Aviation museums have these... it's the law. :lol: This one simulates a flight in an F4-D Phantom.
Also, an eagle eyed guest snapped this shot from the terrace outside the museum. if you look closely, you can see a new tower structure on the far side of the base. What could this be? :-k
(I just had to include this little bit of conversation between me and Blaze)
”Blaze” said:Is it just me, or does the dining area look like it has HAARP dishes keeping peeps dry?
”Gruntpuddle's marketing director” said:
After the opening of The Gruntpuddle Cold War Museum in 2000, visitor numbers to Gruntpuddle Park more than doubled! Therefore it is with great pleasure that we announce the opening of a new area for 2001.
Situated in the far south west corner of the site is the new Test Pilot Academy.
Here guests can test their bodies in a series of high G, high thrill devices, designed to weed out those not tough enough to fly fast jets!
Since the Academy is so far from the rest of the site, we took the decision to add a second station to the Airfield Tours road train. It is of a similar design to the older station, but with a colour scheme to suite the area.
"But what crazy rides await visitors?" I hear you cry. As you enter the Academy, to your right you will see the Gyro Rings. Two sets of concentric gimbals which spin riders 360' in every axis you can think of... plus a few more you can't!
Since these rides are very low capacity, we have installed two of them, and tried to work as much queue as possible into a small area.
Yes, we know, it's a cattle pen, but it needed to be done. Sorry!
On the far side of the plaza sits G-LOC. This is a genuine, air force grade centrifuge, capable of producing up to 15G! Of course, legally we can't run it on this setting for the public. When you ride it, you will experience a much more sedate 3.5G.
For those of you not familiar with pilot jargon, G-LOC is short for G-induced Loss Of Consciousness... Something we hope you wont experience!
The headline attraction of the Academy is the Martin Baker Ejector Seat.
Sponsored by the people who make real, life saving ejector seats for almost every western aircraft since the 1950s, this S&S Shot Tower will blow your mind!
The queue wraps its way round the base of the ride, inside the Martin Baker Testing Facility...
...the ride itself blasts you through the roof of the building, to a hight of 175 feet, before freefalling back to earth!
So far, guests just can't get enough of these new thrill machines. We hope to add a roller coaster to the area in the near future. Stay tuned for the latest news!
Just a quick closed season update. 2002 Will see Gruntpuddle open an observation balloon, next to the Cold War museum and the control tower.
Please bare in mind we still have a few finishing touches to do before the ride opens next year.
The ride sits within a small garden, styled to resemble an RAF roundel.
The queue features victorian style ironwork and glass, harking back to a simpler time, before the dawn of powered flight.
At the moment nothing has been confirmed about a new coaster, but some say representatives from Intamin have been spotted on park. Of course, We couldn't possibly confirm or deny this.
The following planning application has been spotted online by eagle eyed enthusiasts!
Let the speculation begin!
The year is 2003. The place is the Gruntpuddle Park. The ride is... Strike Eagle!
Visitors to the Test Pilot Academy will notice that the area is no longer dominated by a simple shot n drop tower...
Instead, a vekoma Flying Dutchman looms on the horizon, and swoops over the path ahead! This exciting new ride is the tallest and fastest ride yet built at the park (although we all know hight and speed aren't everything, it sure helps with the marketing )
Named and themed after the F15-E Strike Eagle (a plane once stationed at the base), this ride promises to give you a taste of what it's like to fly high speed evasive maneuvers at very low altitude. You may be under the radar, but if you get a SAM lock on to you, it's time to start throwing your bird round the sky!
Here is an overview of the ride:
The station is in an office block located next to the Martin Baker Testing Facility.
After a short trip to the lift hill, your climb begins. On your back, facing the sky, you have no idea how high you are, or when you will drop!
When you reach cruising altitude, you are twisted round to face the ground, and your flight begins!
But before you can take in the view, you reach enemy airspace. Time to dive under the radar!
What follows is no pleasure flight. A huge, corkscrew lifts you up into the air, only to bring you back to earth... on your back!
Pulling up to avoid a hill, you enter a zero-G roll...
And dive bomb the enemy control tower!
Pulling up from this into a half loop, you the dive down again, and into a tunnel. On the far side is another "fly-to-lie" corkscrew, before you are whipped round to the flying position once more.
You get a brief moment to catch your breath, bit it's a down hill run into the ride's highlight. A fast and tight fly-to-lie...
...sends you hurtling in to a full vertical loop...
...followed by a sidewinder...
(What came first? the coaster element or the missile?
)
This triple whammy of elements packs a serious punch! So you have a moment to reflect as you lie on your back and pass under the lift hill.
As you climb gently upwards, you manage to escape the combat zone unharmed! Time for a victory roll!
Finally, you make a low and slow flypast of the Academy, just to show off!
With a final twist, you hit the breaks.
It's over... you made it! Congratulations, pilot... you just earned your wings!
Another overview of the area:
The ride seen from outside the park:
So there we go. Saved for prosperity! (once again, thanks for your help John).
I do plan to continue with this project in the future, but it is very much on the back burner (or should that be afterburner?) for now. It was originally started after Blithering Lodge crashed, and the intention was to do something totally different, less story driven, and not worrying quite as much about continuity or realism. It is also an experiment in just how “dark” you can make the sunny world of RCT3.
As you are all no doubt aware, Blithering Lodge has risen from the grave, so my RCT effort is currently focused on getting that all wrapped up and finished. But at some point I will dust off my cold war knowledge once more, and get back to Gruntpuddle.
****Long live the community****