Virtual Reality Reviews

[VR Golgot]

Trip Report: War Dust

Such glitchy, miraculously-functioning, fun

• Nursed a smoking stolen helicopter around the skies for 10 minutes, capping points and blasting bots, until a friendly tank cart-wheeled slowwwwly into the air, and took me out, 40 metres above the ground...
• Found myself in a support helicopter face-off, with none of us having gunners. Engaged in a wrestling match instead, with my squad mate's heli and mine blocking the enemy's path to our flag with our helicopter faces. Sparks flew.
• Watched a man spin perpetually like a sky-diving spider after death...

It's just nuts. I don't love the occasional hackers, and some of the rough aspects are absurd (I managed to store my gun permanently inside myself at one point). And it could do with more maps. (I haven't tried the custom ones because I just assumed there's not population there). But damn it's a perfect evening's gaming

 

[VR Golgot]

First Look: Star Wars: Squadrons

Check out that evil R2D2:

I spent far too long just oggling the hangars and cockpits in the various customisation screens and early campaign tutorials. If nothing else works in this, it's working very well as a 'sit in a Star Wars scene' simulator


Forget the flight stick:

I thought I was totally winning when I figured out what 'button 11' was on my stick. That meant I could finally run my ship checks and get out of the hanger.

Where I found out that roll was mapped to yaw on the stick, and yaw was mapped to roll. That was interesting in VR...

No in-game rebinding from what I can tell. So I just can't be bothered with the faff. It's not like the flight model has full '6 degrees of freedom' inputs with lateral jets and all that deliciousness, or novelty synched animations in the cockpit.

It does have lots of welcome sub-sim touches though, like lowering your speed to turn better, and shuttling energy between speed, shields & weapons etc (and 'drifting' at speed apparently). An Xbox controller should be just right


Stay on Target:

Have only just nosed into the campaign, but it's a fun form of naff so far on the story front. The missions themselves leaning towards the 'scan this' / 'escort that' / 'fly down that tunnel so far, but fine for all that.

The starter ship seemed comically slow when flying around the initial location, and the 'kill X fighters' in veteran difficulty was just... kinda ok. But it's early days.

The T-fighter cockpit view didn't really help with that, making it more of a mindless case of swivelling constantly and being surprised by geography. The visibility really is terrible, total tunnel vision. Enjoyed it a lot more once I was in an X-Wing with more situational awareness.

Not entirely convinced by the scale at points (some of the smaller big ships look... like models). The bigger ones seem decent from a distance though. Will see how fly-by attacks pan out.

 

[Cairton]

I've finally taken the plunge and bought a rift s. My wife thinks I'm mad, but she's still to have a shot of Assetto Corsa . It's phenomenal!

 

[VR Golgot]

Second Look: Stars Wars: Squadrons

Ok so I stopped trying to play this like a 'serious space mission simulator', after smearing a fragile A-Wing over one too many cruiser carapaces, and getting grumpy about the re-starts. The earnest challenge of it all wasn't feeling quite right.

Knocked the difficulty down to the 'normal' level and I'm having a lot more fun now. Just ignoring the fact that it's all super easy, and enjoying playing through the hero fantasy scenarios

https://imgur.com/Xd79Xg3

Source: https://i.imgur.com/Xd79Xg3.mp4


Here's a ponderously slow 'bombing run' in a Y-Wing, which shows off some of the fun 'fly amongst stuff' opportunities.

https://imgur.com/zx25DvC

Source: https://i.imgur.com/zx25DvC.mp4


(Don't think too much about the bombs in zero gravity )

One good thing about playing in 'wish fulfilment' mode is that you can mess about with all the different loadout options, without fear of having to hard-restart the round, and then just enjoy the cinematic flow of what unfolds.

---

As a side note, despite the flip-flopping Rebel/Empire narrative being kinda bubblegum fun, I'm torn on the character chit-chat filler in the hangars & briefing rooms. On the one hand it's all welcome context filler & characterisation in some ways, but it's also all delivered in wooden lumps of exposition.

But dammit, the locations and character models all look pretty great in VR...

https://imgur.com/VFQMSbT

Source: https://i.imgur.com/VFQMSbT.mp4


So I keep stopping by for chats anyway. And then wondering why I bothered

 

[VR StarLightPL]

I've finally taken the plunge and bought a rift s. My wife thinks I'm mad, but she's still to have a shot of Assetto Corsa . It's phenomenal!

The Lab (free on Steam, https://store.steampowered.com/app/450390/The_Lab/ ) and puppy robot dog will be better than boring cars. That said my wife tried VR in early dk2 days and was flabbergasted (so was I) by the simple VR demos back then

 

[Cairton]

Cars aren't allowed to be boring. If they were I'd have to justify my wheel and wheel stand to my wife . I'll have a look at The Lab. Thanks.

 

[VR Golgot]

This is a crazy good deal:

Humble Fall VR Bundle

Grab your headset and hand sensors! Pay what you want for awesome VR games worth over $200 and support Movember, or a charity of your choice!

www.humblebundle.com

Was was worth it for me just for Saints & Sinners, but IEYTD, Creed etc, there's some great stuff in the middle tiers. (And I've had the first tier ones on my wishlist for ages. Hopefully they're the right type of horrible )

 

[Dooguk]

The Lab (free on Steam, https://store.steampowered.com/app/450390/The_Lab/ ) and puppy robot dog will be better than boring cars. That said my wife tried VR in early dk2 days and was flabbergasted (so was I) by the simple VR demos back then

Going back to those DK2 days, I liked that strange operatic boat journey through a weird landscape, Senza Peso. Another good one was Sightline: The Chair. That really freaked me out when objects would creep up on you when you looked away. My question to the the panel is, is there anything like that now?

:edit Senza Peso and SightlineVR are both available free to play on Steam.

 

[VR Golgot]

Going back to those DK2 days, I liked that strange operatic boat journey through a weird landscape, Senza Peso. Another good one was Sightline: The Chair. That really freaked me out when objects would creep up on you when you looked away. My question to the the panel is, is there anything like that now?

:edit Senza Peso and SightlineVR are both available free to play on Steam.

Soz missed this!

I feel like I've played other narrative experiences like Senza, but just like Senza, I can't really bring them to mind now

I'd certainly recommend these ones as narratives:

Age of Sail - 4(-) - A strangely moving short journey with an old ship hand, played by Ian McShane. I can't quite pin down why 'being there' elevates this, but it does. The painterly style looks rough initially, but the overall production values smooth that all away. [Free]

Bonfire - 3_5+(+) - Closest thing to a 'VR cartoon' I've seen to date. Lovely toy rocket style and cute characterisation at points. Minor 'heroic' interactions. Short but sweet.

Pearl - 3_5 - Sit in the passenger seat throughout the life of a family car, as a father and daughter go from the Spring to the Autumn of their relationship. That's it. It's kinda hokey, technically solid, but gave my parental heartstrings a twang by the end. [Free]

Dear Angelica - 3_5 - The painterly style and dark spaces work well enough for these melancholy traces of reveries and daily debris. Geena Davis adds some cinematic sheen. Doesn't take off completely, but does brood. [Free]

I haven't tried Sightline, but if you want something that really pushes the boat out on the weird front, you could try A Ton of Feathers. It is very much on the scratchy, itchy, odd end of things though.

Some stuff I've played recently that sits more on the 'trippy puzzle game in a fantastical narrative-world' end of the scale, would be Paper Beast and The Under Presents. Both very cool.

I feel like there are a lot of short experiences out there that mix narrative, tone, place (and interaction) neatly. But as they're often so short they fall off the radar just as quickly. Maybe try some of these?

Quanero 2 - System Release 3.5++ - A slick 'analyse the crime scenes' future-punky set of scenarios. Surprisingly good for a student project, if ultimately unfinished. [FREE]

Blade Runner 2049: Memory Lab 3_5+(+) - Too short, and slight on a gaming front, to even rate if it wasn't free. But as a demonstration of what full actor capture could do, and for slipping into the Blade Runner reboot neatly enough, it's definitely worth a reco. [Rift Freebie]

The Price of Freedom 3_5(++) - Neat budget noir interactive about the CIA's MK-ULTRA project. Feels like a step towards involving VR stories. [V short, v cheap]

1943 Berlin Blitz 3_5(++) - Visually smudgy but ultimately effective framing of audio recorded during a bombing run. A moment of history brought slightly more to life. [Free]

Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel 3_5(++) - More BBC history, this time with slightly clunky narration but a fairly lovely painterly style to evoke the contemporary audio. [Free]

Welcome to Light Fields 3_5(++) - Posed 19thC photos meet the 21stC. Lightfield 3D world capture is very intriguing indeed. [Free]

Kismet - 3_5+(+) - A slight but slickly-presented collection of Tarot reading, Astrology, & a fun little board game from Ancient Ur... well worth a sale snag, if missing hand control.

PaulPaul - 3_5(+) - A short, strange comingling of Moon and 2001. Perhaps. Decent tone, simple contextual 'puzzles'. [FREE].

The Tear - 3 ( + + ¯\(ツ)/¯ + + ) - More art installation than puzzler, sitting on the floor with indie inter-dimensional experiments was still intriguing though.

 

[Dooguk]

Soz missed this!...

WOW! Thanks for the recommendations. My G2 should arrive soon so I'm really looking forward to trying all of these.

 

[VR Golgot]

Stride: Arena Mode

Had a quick go with this update. Goddamn. If they manage to build the story mode around these mechanics (prior to getting sued), this could be pretty epic.

Source: https://youtu.be/ag3KaenYU20


For now this race-to-the-guards-and-tag-them mode will have to do

I could see there being fun in both a 'sneak around the back' thoughtful stealthy mode, and the full gun's blazing escape / attack variant that this mimics. Damn good when it works.

(Caveat: Doesn't always work. I had some glitches like getting stuck in walls.)

(Other caveat: I don't always work. Wall running generally = death for me )

 

[Arioch]

I’ve just been trying the recent update to War Thunder (which I normally play against bots or just for a fly around) and the new cloud tech is glorious!

[Development] New skies in War Thunder - News - War Thunder

Play for free with friends in the most realistic online game

warthunder.com

Probably the best clouds I’ve experienced in VR so far and hopefully a taster of Elite’s future

I took my Spitfire up for a jolly around Kent, starting off in rain and crappy visibility. When I finally broke through the cloud cover at about 17,000 feet into a fantastic (though still slightly blurry) cloud scape, all I could think about was doing this with a Cobra III in a gas giant’s atmosphere. Next, I set the weather for a sunny but cloudy day and was very impressed at the clouds reflected in the Channel and the cloud shadows over Ramsgate and Broadstairs, as well as the clouds themselves.

Well worth the download (it’s free-to-play) just for messing around in test flights, in my opinion. They’ve just added Harriers as well, so that’s me sorted for a while

 

[VR Golgot]

I’ve just been trying the recent update to War Thunder (which I normally play against bots or just for a fly around) and the new cloud tech is glorious!

[Development] New skies in War Thunder - News - War Thunder

Play for free with friends in the most realistic online game

warthunder.com

Probably the best clouds I’ve experienced in VR so far and hopefully a taster of Elite’s future

I took my Spitfire up for a jolly around Kent, starting off in rain and crappy visibility. When I finally broke through the cloud cover at about 17,000 feet into a fantastic (though still slightly blurry) cloud scape, all I could think about was doing this with a Cobra III in a gas giant’s atmosphere. Next, I set the weather for a sunny but cloudy day and was very impressed at the clouds reflected in the Channel and the cloud shadows over Ramsgate and Broadstairs, as well as the clouds themselves.

Well worth the download (it’s free-to-play) just for messing around in test flights, in my opinion. They’ve just added Harriers as well, so that’s me sorted for a while

Wow, some pretty gorgeous touches in there. Def tempted to give that a go.

(Cute that they simulated Mars in their engine as well )

 

[Cairton]

Does anyone know if they've fixed the HOTAS issues with Star Wars Squadrons yet?

 

[VR Golgot]

Does anyone know if they've fixed the HOTAS issues with Star Wars Squadrons yet?

I heard they fixed the locked-FPS issue. Not sure on HOTAS. I've set it down for now.

 

[Arioch]

I’ve had an hour with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge today - Quest exclusive, and from the same lot that did Vader: Immortal.

Pretty good so far, feels very much like Star Wars Does HL:Alyx-lite - the blaster fights have a similar rhythm; small amount of baddies, occasional small flying attack drones, wrist-stored health packs, slow walking pace but can use the teleport function to “dash” into cover, same sort of weapons (but not slug throwers, it’s SW after all). Normal difficulty lets you take a small number of hits, Difficult is a one-shot-you’re-out deal.

The tone feels lighter than V:I, from the music to the aliens I’ve met so far. More Ewoks getting dragged behind an AT-ST than Luke vs Vader in the Throne Room, if you know what I mean

 

[VR Golgot]

I’ve had an hour with Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge today - Quest exclusive, and from the same lot that did Vader: Immortal.

Pretty good so far, feels very much like Star Wars Does HL:Alyx-lite - the blaster fights have a similar rhythm; small amount of baddies, occasional small flying attack drones, wrist-stored health packs, slow walking pace but can use the teleport function to “dash” into cover, same sort of weapons (but not slug throwers, it’s SW after all). Normal difficulty lets you take a small number of hits, Difficult is a one-shot-you’re-out deal.

The tone feels lighter than V:I, from the music to the aliens I’ve met so far. More Ewoks getting dragged behind an AT-ST than Luke vs Vader in the Throne Room, if you know what I mean

I'm still waiting on the Vader set to hit a price drop, then I'm def up for some Star Wars fun. (The free Tatooine demo that ILM put out def gave me a taste for swanking around a SW VR world )

GE looks fun, but I've got to admit the graphics drop looks like it hurts on Quest, compared to shiny chrome R2D2s & C3POs on PCVR etc. (But I think in part that just my fear of a mobile-VR-dominated marketplace for the next few years :/)

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Thanks for the War Thunder prompt by the way!

First Look: War Thunder

I've sunk 15hrs in already, just playing the arcade battle scenarios mainly. (Although I've taken some jaunts in my new rides as well, and just enjoyed the scenes and the flying scheme ). Will definitely get to some of the single-player scenarios, but for now I'm just enjoying the sharp nippiness of my starter Spitfire. (And working on pimping out the Mk II version, and a fleet of foolhardy bombers )

The environmental settings are definitely very cool, and I love how the time of day can shift things. Mist-shrouded paddy fields, slanting sun over arid valleys, crisp white Russian expanses. (And there's nothing like flying a smoking Hurricane back over the white cliffs of dover as rain encroaches on a blue sky I guess )

Also the tree density is grand. Just realised last night that you really can juke amongst them to lose pursuers. Chaining ravines and tight mountain gaps doing that in VR was something else

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

I'm still waiting on the Vader set to hit a price drop, then I'm def up for some Star Wars fun. (The free Tatooine demo that ILM put out def gave me a taste for swanking around a SW VR world )

GE looks fun, but I've got to admit the graphics drop looks like it hurts on Quest, compared to shiny chrome R2D2s & C3POs on PCVR etc. (But I think in part that just my fear of a mobile-VR-dominated marketplace for the next few years :/)

---

By for the War Thunder prompt by the way!

First Look: War Thunder

I've sunk 15hrs in already, just playing the arcade battle scenarios mainly. (Although I've taken some jaunts in my new rides as well, and just enjoyed the scenes and the flying scheme ). Will definitely get to some of the single-player scenarios, but for now I'm just enjoying the sharp nippiness of my starter Spitfire. (And working on pimping out the Mk II version, and a fleet of foolhardy bombers )

The environmental settings are definitely very cool, and I love how the time of day can shift things. Mist-shrouded paddy fields, slanting sun over arid valleys, crisp white Russian expanses. (And there's nothing like flying a smoking Hurricane back over the white cliffs of dover as rain encroaches on a blue sky I guess )

Also the tree density is grand. Just realised last night that you really can juke amongst them to lose pursuers. Chaining ravines and tight mountain gaps doing that in VR was something else

Ever since the news came out that it will support DLSS in VR I'm toying with the thought to invest time and get to know the game. I'm just undecided given the F2P nature of the game, especially as I'm already playing one (World of Warships).

 

[VR Golgot]

Ever since the news came out that it will support DLSS in VR I'm toying with the thought to invest time and get to know the game. I'm just undecided given the F2P nature of the game, especially as I'm already playing one (World of Warships).

The FTP aspect hasn’t been too steep so far. I did buy a credit block for £6 to unlock an extra crew birth (more planes in my roster) and have creds for future. But it’s felt totally worth it so far. Generally enjoying working the planes up without shortcuts (even if definitely outgunned along the way).

Would say stick your nose in. 32G DL, plenty you can do for free as far as online arena and free flies. (If in starter biplanes initially. Haven’t tried the single-player missions, they may offer more choices?)

 

[Arioch]

By for the War Thunder prompt by the way!

Glad you’re liking it - my last few jaunts have been in the starter biplane, Dawn + Cloudy, over the Ruhr and the winter map. Great “Dawn Patrol” vibes

If you own an aircraft you can set up a custom scenario from the Test Flight screen - the option is in the lower left.

I’ve also been taking the Harrier up over Kent (free preview of a paid-for vehicle) and I can’t get over how good the clouds look. Performance is rock steady 80fps with my Rift S, GTX 1080, which impressed me too!

Source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ijBRsM1vmWg