I've joined the Eve Valkyrie alpha test using the DK2. Keep in mind it is ALPHA at this stage, so it's a massively stripped down version of the final game.
The menus and staging are designed uniquely for VR, relying on headlook to select menu items in a 3D space. It emphasizes turning your head and moving/leaning, but plays just fine seated. I'm impressed with the way they've implemented the UI/UX in VR. They can do this because it is exclusively a VR title AFAIK. I felt it was a little more difficult to get info from the cockpit position (e.g. power, weapons stats, etc) vs ED, but functional nonetheless. One aspect I really enjoy is being able to target missiles simply by looking at a ship, so it's easy to fly in one direction and target a ship as you fly away perpendicularly.
The graphics at "EPIC" setting are nice. Not Elite Dangerous in 2D gorgeous, but very cool. Text and objects - even starfields - are objectively much easier to read/discern than Elite Dangerous Horizons using SteamVR. It gives hope that with the right attention, EDH will have much more legible text with less shimmering/distortion. There are no config settings for graphics other than low, med, high, epic, so I do not know if they're implementing AA, supersampling, etc. Framerate is solid and I've not experienced any lag, judder or tearing. Colors are a bit washed out and will surely look much better on the CV1 hardware. So, overall, highly satisfying graphics performance and I expect it will just get better.
Gameplay is arcade-ish. The flight model is very different from ED and I experienced some motion sickness until I switched to an Xbox controller from my Logitech 3D stick. With the Xbox controller, it was easier to control, but I'm an old school 'X-Wing with a Thrustmaster' gamer and avoid using a controller for anything put platform games, so others may make the switch more easily. There's no real throttle control. You can brake and boost, but as far as I can tell, you're always moving. So no camping behind wreckage to surprise an enemy like in CQC. Multiplayer game matches is at the heart of this title and I saw no lag or drop in performance with a fully occupied map (16 players I think). If you haven't seen it yet, the launch sequence is exhilarating, especially emerging from the launch tube into a chaotic battle. Reminds me of Battlestar Galactica. (https://youtu.be/DZ4gpjwJa08)
Final initial thoughts: Eve Valkyrie has been years in development with VR first in mind. They've got a solid performing game with exciting arcade gameplay. The UI is different enough to wow a VR vet. For VR virgins, this should blow their mind. I can see why Oculus would want this game in everyone's hands - it is unique to VR and a re-playable showcase for what can be done. Once they incorporate squad chat and add more maps/ships, I can see this as a fun game to jump into for a quick match or a few hours of leaderboard boosting battle. For me, this could be the 'Team Fortress 2' title for VR.
My Rig (relevant specs):
i7 5820K @4.5GHz
16 GB RAM
GTX 980ti / 1440p monitor @60Hz
Oculus Rift DK2 / 0.8 Runtime
.M2 system drive / Samsung PRO 950 Games drive
Windows 10 (consumer Threshold build)
The menus and staging are designed uniquely for VR, relying on headlook to select menu items in a 3D space. It emphasizes turning your head and moving/leaning, but plays just fine seated. I'm impressed with the way they've implemented the UI/UX in VR. They can do this because it is exclusively a VR title AFAIK. I felt it was a little more difficult to get info from the cockpit position (e.g. power, weapons stats, etc) vs ED, but functional nonetheless. One aspect I really enjoy is being able to target missiles simply by looking at a ship, so it's easy to fly in one direction and target a ship as you fly away perpendicularly.
The graphics at "EPIC" setting are nice. Not Elite Dangerous in 2D gorgeous, but very cool. Text and objects - even starfields - are objectively much easier to read/discern than Elite Dangerous Horizons using SteamVR. It gives hope that with the right attention, EDH will have much more legible text with less shimmering/distortion. There are no config settings for graphics other than low, med, high, epic, so I do not know if they're implementing AA, supersampling, etc. Framerate is solid and I've not experienced any lag, judder or tearing. Colors are a bit washed out and will surely look much better on the CV1 hardware. So, overall, highly satisfying graphics performance and I expect it will just get better.
Gameplay is arcade-ish. The flight model is very different from ED and I experienced some motion sickness until I switched to an Xbox controller from my Logitech 3D stick. With the Xbox controller, it was easier to control, but I'm an old school 'X-Wing with a Thrustmaster' gamer and avoid using a controller for anything put platform games, so others may make the switch more easily. There's no real throttle control. You can brake and boost, but as far as I can tell, you're always moving. So no camping behind wreckage to surprise an enemy like in CQC. Multiplayer game matches is at the heart of this title and I saw no lag or drop in performance with a fully occupied map (16 players I think). If you haven't seen it yet, the launch sequence is exhilarating, especially emerging from the launch tube into a chaotic battle. Reminds me of Battlestar Galactica. (https://youtu.be/DZ4gpjwJa08)
Final initial thoughts: Eve Valkyrie has been years in development with VR first in mind. They've got a solid performing game with exciting arcade gameplay. The UI is different enough to wow a VR vet. For VR virgins, this should blow their mind. I can see why Oculus would want this game in everyone's hands - it is unique to VR and a re-playable showcase for what can be done. Once they incorporate squad chat and add more maps/ships, I can see this as a fun game to jump into for a quick match or a few hours of leaderboard boosting battle. For me, this could be the 'Team Fortress 2' title for VR.
My Rig (relevant specs):
i7 5820K @4.5GHz
16 GB RAM
GTX 980ti / 1440p monitor @60Hz
Oculus Rift DK2 / 0.8 Runtime
.M2 system drive / Samsung PRO 950 Games drive
Windows 10 (consumer Threshold build)
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