Eurofighters - Should Gerstlauer be more innovative?

[dropthefloor93]

I am honestly getting really sick of all of these Eurofighters. The layouts with the exception of Takabisha (which looks awesome) are all incredibly similar. The rides aren't terribly big, or fast, just slightly convoluted. The cars are cramped, the restraints hurt, and the rider capacity per car is very limited in some cases creating excessive ride times. I think these rides are a waste of space, and are not terribly innovative. I think Takabisha was somewhat innovative, especially with that strange inversion in the beginning. But regardless, is anybody else tired of these rides?

 

[Ben]

Yeah, I think they're awful tbh.

 

[madhjsp]

Would I like to see them be more innovative? Yes.
Do they necessarily need to become more innovative? No.

Simple fact is, they fill a niche for parks looking to expand and add a new ride without having to commit a huge amount of money and space. As long as there are parks out there with that demand, then Gerstlauer can keep pumping these things out. To enthusiasts, they are somewhat bland and pretty formulaic. However, to most of the GP who don't make it their business to travel all over the place and ride a bunch of different coasters, a new roller coaster is exciting regardless, especially so when it's marketed for having a steeper-than-vertical drop.

 

[gavin]

They're not that bad, and not really all that similar either if you have a look at them.

Ok, so there's now 3 of the "Rage" model, but I think that's it in terms of clones isn't it. The only other thing that's all that similar is the cars and vertical lift/beyond vertical drop. There's actually quite a lot of variety with the rest of the layouts.

Typhoon - Rage - Saw - Mystery Mine - Fluch Von Novgorod - Takabisha etc: all completely different layouts.

Ok, so there are some common elements, but you could say the same thing about B&M inverts; I'd argue that they're a lot more formulaic than Eurofighters. They're a much better quality coaster, granted, but there's arguably more variety in Eurofighters than a lot of other models.

 

[dropthefloor93]

Yes this is true and I'm just about as sick of B&M Inverts, Hypercoasters, and Floorless too, but i haven't seen many new ones of those in recent times as B&M moved onto Wing Walkers (I think they need a few more standups tbh) with the exception of the Hypercoasters (Diamondback and Behemoth were neat).

Intamin also needs to do something better as well im getting sick of their rides as well.

 

[s15c]

Well aren't you just getting sick of everything, then? I mean, there's no way if you're tired of B&M and Intamin that you could still be enjoying anything else. Gerslauter, yeah, they could try something new, but it's not something they have to do. I mean, it's a formula for a lot of rides- get on, do some flips, get off. New and ingenius ideas don't just come around every day, so we're going to see repeats and some rides will be similar.

As enthusiasts we'd like to see new stuff, but parks only want and need stuff that is different for them, the general public isn't going to go to 15 different parks a year, they'll go to the local park once or twice and be done with it. So if you're sick of B&M, Intamin, and Gerslauter, you might want to consider a new hobby.

 

[coasterdude_1]

it also costs a fair bit to design completely bespoke layouts, hence desert race at heide park, for example...

and new unusual concepts... just looks at what the 4th Dimension did to Arrow...

Gerstlauer have captured a great niche and are selling consistently with a concept that they originally found impossible to sell(!), so I'm not suprised they're trying to milk it...

 

[mouse]

Would I like to see them be more innovative? Yes.
Do they necessarily need to become more innovative? No.

Simple fact is, they fill a niche for parks looking to expand and add a new ride without having to commit a huge amount of money and space. As long as there are parks out there with that demand, then Gerstlauer can keep pumping these things out. To enthusiasts, they are somewhat bland and pretty formulaic. However, to most of the GP who don't make it their business to travel all over the place and ride a bunch of different coasters, a new roller coaster is exciting regardless, especially so when it's marketed for having a steeper-than-vertical drop.

+1

 

[ECG]

They're not that bad, and not really all that similar either if you have a look at them.

Ok, so there's now 3 of the "Rage" model, but I think that's it in terms of clones isn't it. The only other thing that's all that similar is the cars and vertical lift/beyond vertical drop. There's actually quite a lot of variety with the rest of the layouts.

Typhoon - Rage - Saw - Mystery Mine - Fluch Von Novgorod - Takabisha etc: all completely different layouts.

I agree & would add that the company is very flexible to meet the needs of any particular park, not only with the layout but also with the trains. So I would add Huracan & Dare Devil Dive to Gavin's list.
Since it's up to the park, I also don't think you can blame Gerstlauer for any lack of variety. If a park wants the coaster to have a certain layout with certain elements & certain trains, Gerstlauer will provide such. In fact, I think it's hard to name a specific type of coaster that has more variety than a Eurofighter. Certainly there is less variety with wild mouse, spinning coasters, boomerangs, loopers (Arrow or Vekoma), SLCs, dive machines or a number of other models. The list can go on & on.
I also appreciate the themeing that has gone into some of the Eurofighters like Mystery Mine & Fluch von Novgorod. I'm sure Saw can also be included, but I haven't experienced it in person yet.
So no, I'm not sick of Eurofighters yet & I'm actually looking forward to see if another park is willing to push the boundaries of what this type of coaster can offer in terms of both ride experience & themeing.