I guess I'd have to know how companies are compensated to participate in subscriptions.
Such as Night School Studio's Afterparty (though they also took EGS money so IDK)
Community MetaSteam | November 2019 - You Can't Spell Steam Without EA
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Such as Night School Studio's Afterparty (though they also took EGS money so IDK)
VR is likely the only reason they're developing it in the first place. Much like Half-Life and Half-Life 2 before it, it looks like they found their revolutionary technology to push boundaries with.
As for sales, Valve probably doesn't care much. What they do care about is VR adoption, and Half-Life is certainly one of those games that would get a lot of people to jump in.
Needed a new GPU to play Cyberpunk next year
Now need a VR headset for that GPU as well to play Half-Life VR
Plus need to actually buy both games on top of that
Also think I might need a new phone soon
My wallet next year...
Now need a VR headset for that GPU as well to play Half-Life VR
Plus need to actually buy both games on top of that
Also think I might need a new phone soon
My wallet next year...
Mmh, the new Street Fighter CE and my dormant but real interest in emulation makes me want a good arcade stick. There is a good one for 100 bucks, reasonable. If I had money 
edit - Yeah, and VR...
edit - Yeah, and VR...
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If only Jedi had the timing of Sekiro it would make it even better.
Ive been running IdleMaster on and off for the past day or so because im trying to save up $11 to buy Halo Reach and i’m already at $4 from about 50 trading cards. Looks like I’ll definitely be able to pick it up before launch. So excited
But man aren’t trading cards just so useless? Just another useless steam feature from lazy Valve...
There is the support a creator thing but is it even that good? it seems to do more harm then good
oh this video......
you didn't @ me !!!!!
it will take some time but at some point it will eventually become a decent option for some people but it will not replace consoles or PC any time soon.
Not only that they also updated it for the index to allow you to do new things
I only just got into them earlier this year and they are good.
Haha, I don't have a problem with the tone of your posts. We Australians are generally pretty abrasive in making fun of one another, but like people in this forum, we're all chill people regardless!
Mivey and Ascheroth already raised some good points, but I'd like to say that getting into Trails is like reading multi-book series of 300-pages each. You get to know the minutiae of many different characters to get you invested in them, but also slowlly peeling layers upon layers of its world at the same time. You could almost tell something is amiss with the world, but you can't quite put a finger on it, somehow. You just know that it's there. And sometimes you won't see anything important happens for longer period of time, but I don't view it as a bad thing. Following the trials and tribulations of these characters is still interesting to see and discover.
I could also draw a little parallel with Japanese slice-of-life genre (iyashikei) where almost nothing ever happened. There's something quite fulfilling in watching almost mundane activities which can leave you feeling nostalgic. An example of this would be something like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.
Well, I'm on 100/40 Mbps fibre too and I consider it pedestrian since the rest of the world is already on 1Gbps with the same price bracket.
To me that is fast I only have a 15mbps down and 2mbps down. But then again I only pay $10USD a month for it. So it's decent?
People use to like Google but they have changed and even their slogan was something like "do no evil" or something like that but they don't think like that anymore. I mean look at Youtube that is a dumpster fire. It doesn't matter what kind of video and stuff you are into Youtube is just screwing over people that make videos and well there is no where else to go for that sort of content.
I can't recall what other "wrong" doing Google has done but they do have some issues though, they still at least try to fix some things though. But ya both Facebook and Amazon are just "evil"
people seem to be very mixed about the HLVR stuff. There are those that are "surprised" even though there have been rumors for a while now that have pointed to the game being a SteamVR only title. There do seem to be a number of "high profile" people that are excited about the game though, you could say some of that is because they can afford the game.
I wonder if VR devs will defend HLVR since it could lead to more people picking up VR since this will end up being the first AAA VR title? There are some other high profile VR games but those are from Sony (The Bravo Team game? Astro Bot, Blood and Truth) and even then when some people like the GT devs and Fromsoft were asked what it was like to develop a game for VR they said that they were disappointed by the limitations and well those limitations are not the same type of limitations that you have on PC. I am not sure about HTC but Oculus has secured some exclusives like the upcoming Respawn Medal of Honor VR game.
So Valve has multiple projects underway 3 of those were VR games, 1 of which we already know about. That just leaves 2 unannounced games. Is one of them Citadel ?
You'll get a 60% off coupon if you own the old version
Umm, no, won't work that way - the lane formats aren't compatible, DJMax doesn't have scratches and Konami is very litigious when it comes to Bemani.i'm just here for the inevitable mods "porting" all the Beatmania songs to that thing
I have all the songs up to IIDX 26 available in a format for a separate simulator, if you need them just shoot a PM
Looking at the screenshots, I have no idea what I'm looking at.
Okay, fine, I'have put the damn thing onto my wishlist. Are you happy now?
That's a really good description about why I like Trails games, but this interwoven form of storytelling might also make it really hard for people to get it. I guess since I always like wasting my time in games by exploring everything, I very quickly understood just how import those NPCs are. After all, after every single story beat, every NPC gets updated dialogue. 90% of their talk is unrelated to what's going on directly in the main story, but collectively basically it represents sort of the soul and feel of the country itself, and individually it allows for some really neat and funny things to discover, sometimes sad stuff too, when an NPC who has been rude turns out to just be missing a loved one, to come up with an example.Mivey and Ascheroth already raised some good points, but I'd like to say that getting into Trails is like reading multi-book series of 300-pages each. You get to know the minutiae of many different characters to get you invested in them, but also slowlly peeling layers upon layers of its world at the same time. You could almost tell something is amiss with the world, but you can't quite put a finger on it, somehow. You just know that it's there. And sometimes you won't see anything important happens for longer period of time, but I don't view it as a bad thing. Following the trials and tribulations of these characters is still interesting to see and discover.
I could also draw a little parallel with Japanese slice-of-life genre (iyashikei) where almost nothing ever happened. There's something quite fulfilling in watching almost mundane activities which can leave you feeling nostalgic. An example of this would be something like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.
It's a way of writing NPC characters that I have seen in no other JRPG, or RPG in general, and I absolutely fell in love with it, straight away. I can also understand though if keeping with every or even most NPCs is just too much work, if you don't care about this way of telling a story.
As I said, everyone's tastes are different.
The new Steam Beta has a bug where it shuts down when you try to add a non-steam game.
BRB creating article 'Steam now blocking non-Steam games'
Learning to play fg with a fight stick will be like learning controls all over again. Good luck if u manage to get the hang of it :3Mmh, the new Street Fighter CE and my dormant but real interest in emulation makes me want a good arcade stick. There is a good one for 100 bucks, reasonable. If I had money
edit - Yeah, and VR...
Damn this game is massive.
Really looking forward to that home camp system. I guess I'll reach it today or tomorrow?
So something that I keep noticing is how people are comparing HLVR to Diablo Immortal. I can understand why people would feel like that, hey here is a well know IP that people have been asking for sequel for, for years and they are not getting what they were hoping for.
But isn't the difference that with Diablo that it went from a well known PC title to a mobile game? compared to HL which is also a well known PC title but it's trying to push PCVR into new horizons. I mean I have never played a Diablo game before but from my understanding it's just a cash grab with how it's just a copy and past of another game that already exist in China.
So PC and phones are very different and PC players frown upon phones, but why are PC players frowning upon VR? I mean isn't one of the benefits of PCVR that it can do more than what PSVR can do?
it's just strange
But isn't the difference that with Diablo that it went from a well known PC title to a mobile game? compared to HL which is also a well known PC title but it's trying to push PCVR into new horizons. I mean I have never played a Diablo game before but from my understanding it's just a cash grab with how it's just a copy and past of another game that already exist in China.
So PC and phones are very different and PC players frown upon phones, but why are PC players frowning upon VR? I mean isn't one of the benefits of PCVR that it can do more than what PSVR can do?
it's just strange
I feel the same way. Those NPC dialogue goes a long way to make the world of Zemuria feels like a real place, lived-in by its people. Sometimes the same NPCs will make an appearance in the subsequent game(s). And sometimes this will include NPCs who are mostly irrelevant to the story. It's something that I will always appreciate in Trails games, which definitely couldn't have been easy for a team of 50 people. Sadly, this level of dedication couldn't be easy for the English localisation team either.
It's not exclusively PC players that frown on phones and mobile games. The general gaming crowd as a whole seems to look down on those that primarily play on their phones.
Which I can understand the distaste some have when you consider the predatory practices of a lot of mobile games. That's what scares a lot of folks when it comes to the mobile Diablo game.
However there are plenty of solid titles on phones too. And if that's the best way for certain folks to play games then I say more power to them!
The reason VR gets so much push back is that it's seen as a luxury thing that most can't afford, I mean, it IS a luxury item that most can't afford if you're looking for the mid to high range sets.
Which I can understand the distaste some have when you consider the predatory practices of a lot of mobile games. That's what scares a lot of folks when it comes to the mobile Diablo game.
However there are plenty of solid titles on phones too. And if that's the best way for certain folks to play games then I say more power to them!
The reason VR gets so much push back is that it's seen as a luxury thing that most can't afford, I mean, it IS a luxury item that most can't afford if you're looking for the mid to high range sets.
Yeah good points. For me still one game or handful of games do not justify a VR hardware buy, since it's still too expensive and experimental (all the current cons related to the VR HW).
But let's see, maybe they allow people to play it without VR.
The fun thing about Valve's usual radio silence is that it's always an "oh shit!" event when they do announce something.
If you're in the US, the Samsung Odyssey is generally quite affordable. And even more so on its frequent sales.
I'm going to take a guess and say that a trailer and the leaked interview will be released on Thursday. Then Valve will release a gameplay video and start preorders during The Game Awards. Possibly unveiling something else about Half-Life: Alyx (maybe Citadel isn't a separate game, but the multiplayer portion of HL: Alyx).
Any here uses "non-seated" VR, room-scale or what's it called? What's the area (in meters) you use? Valve says 2m x 1.5m is enough, does that hold true in your experience? If you use more or less space, do games scale up or down to accommodate this?
The ex valve employee on Era said they might have a huge announcement alongside Alyx. But since they havent worked there in over a year and considering Valve's history with sacking projects it might not still be planned.
Room-scale is the term. My area is roughly 3.0 x 2.7 meters. Even with a large area you always want more. I think I'd find 2 x 1.5 m restraining, but I'm sure people with even larger spaces than mine would say the same thing to me. You also have to take into account the chaperone buffer (though some people don't use any buffer). If you have solid objects (walls) surrounding that area it can be risky to put the chaperone borders right up against it without a buffer space. Even something like 15 cm gives me peace of mind to jump, swing rapidly, and make exaggerated motions without the fear I won't be able to stop before hitting something. That being said, a 2 x 1.5 m area is just fine for having a mainly stationary point while being able to take a few steps to the sides to dodge, swing your arms, crouch over to pick something up, and so-forth. Larger areas can sort of let you walk around and lose yourself.
There are quite a few games that do adjust game spaces to your active space.
If you are in the EU, what VR hardware would you point to which would be well positioned in the price / quality equation ?
And the other day I discovered that the knuckles controller is compatible with old Valve headsets, any chance it could be compatible with other brands ?
My recommendation is an Oculus Rift S for an affordable (in comparison to Index) solid solution. Some people don't like them because they fund/develop exclusive games likening them to Epic (even though generally it doesn't seem like they just pay pre-existing games to get on their store exclusively but actually fund their development, there's been no prominent game announced for VR only to be revealed as an Oculus timed exclusive later on although some older Oculus games did eventually make their way to other platforms) but the hardware works with SteamVR as well.
I have an original Oculus Rift myself, the one with the camera trackers needed all over the room, and it's been wonderful. I was reading reviews of WMR sets, Vive and Rift for hours daily before deciding back then and I feel I made a good choice. If I made that choice now, to me it seems like it's an even easier choice. If you have the money to burn on gaming you get an Index, if you want something affordable you get a Rift S. WMR appears abandoned from Microsoft for now and Vive just isn't worth the asking price unless you can get a cheaper used unit thinking you can then upgrade to the compatible with it Index controllers (which cost almost as much as the full Rift S kit on their own). But not the Vive Cosmos which appears to be a more expensive yet inferior in many ways Rift S.
With that said, you need to check if your IPD is among the common average because Rift S ditched the hardware switch and only offers software correction so the range of compatibility is slightly smaller. The original Rift has a hardware switch, the Index has a hardware switch and from WMR sets only the Odyssey and Odyssey + have a hardware switch (but I'm not entirely sure of the ranges on all of them, maybe for some it's not much different to the S). Still, from all reports and reviews (and just looking at the thing with all its cameras) Rift S offers better tracking than any WMR set (they all run off the same 2 camera standard even if they differentiate in build quality and screen quality), especially after last year's substantial tracking update. I wouldn't dwell too much on the most egregious angry posts regarding IPD, you'll find similar for every set out there, some people claim the sweet spot on the Index or Odyssey sets for the lenses is too small and hard to get to without making it uncomfortable to wear and things like that for example but I doubt Index has such a deficiency.
As with every product it would be great if you can at least try it before you buy, preferably with a friend who knows how to set it up for you so that you know you get the right experience (the first time I used my Rift it was quite uncomfortable and I couldn't get the IPD right until I fiddled around with the straps and everything to properly set it on my head and face without too much pressure) and try the right introductory software.
I also like the Oculus software itself, it's simple, to the point and functional, especially after they gave us the option to disable the actual Home area and simply get a blank space with the Oculus dashboard and stuff in it. Plus the first set up and tutorial experiences like First Contact were the best intros to VR I've seen.
Plus, other than Valve's new Half-Life: Alyx game, Oculus is the only one to have funded high production value games that help push VR and its marketability from day 1. Though most all of them are playable with any VR set (the hand tracked ones ideally with an Index as it matches the controller layout better) thanks to the Revive software (new games might have issues, like Stormland, but it's probably going to be worked out soon enough).
Lastly, if you also want some stand alone VR games without being tethered to a PC then the Oculus Quest might be a good choice (it has plenty good ports of lower end games like Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Apex Construct, SUPERHOT VR and others that don't really lack much from the PC counterparts but other ports aren't as good or ever exist at all as it's still running off a mobile chipset) but only after people test and approve the newly-in-beta Quest Link service which allows it to tether to a PC and, theoretically, function almost like a Rift S for PC VR games. The software only just released, the official 5m+ cable has yet to release and the currently recommended 3rd party cable is only 3m so it's not a known factor until people test with other longer cables. The Oculus Quest also uses a hardware IPD adjustment just like the original Oculus Rift, unlike the S, which may be a contributing factor for your decision.
I should note the original Rift has a 90hz display, the S 80hz and the Quest 72hz. Index goes from 90 to 144 (good luck running high end VR games at 144fps).
Of course we should wait for confirmation on exactly how Half-Life VR plays because for all we know it might only work with Index. I doubt it, the only reason that was the case with Aperture Hand Lab is because it was exactly that, an Index controller tech demo. They wouldn't ban ~50% of the VR market share products (that is Oculus going by Steam hardware surveys, then Vive at ~35% then pitiful amounts of the rest) from playing their flagship VR title but you never know. The current Index poster child, Boneworks, appears to work just fine on Oculus controllers too so hopefully, most likely even, that's the case for Half-Life VR too. They both probably work with the limited Vive wands, even if that makes the controls clunkier as they don't have enough/good enough inputs.
Edit: and no, no chance of Index controllers being compatible with anything that doesn't use Valve tracking. So, Index, Vive, Pimax, ie, nothing budget concious.
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I would say 0.
By the way I just finished the main campaign of Destiny 2 Shadowkeep without even knowing it. This level of storytelling fail is spectacular.
If I'm going to spend money on hardware next year, it'll be to upgrade my current build for Cyberpunk and other future games, when the new GPUs are out.
I'm sure Valve VR game will be interesting, but I can't afford both and upgrading my build seems more important to me at this point than buying a VR headset for a single game.
I'll be giving it a try... in a few years... probably.
I'm sure Valve VR game will be interesting, but I can't afford both and upgrading my build seems more important to me at this point than buying a VR headset for a single game.
I'll be giving it a try... in a few years... probably.
I have a 3.2x2.5 m VR area and I always prefer to play "non-seated" (I don't even have a chair in my VR space
), primarily since I hate artificial rotation in VR.In terms of games, in most larger-scale games it's really more of a "standing + rotating + reaching" space requirement, so 2x1.5 should be enough.
There are indie games that adapt to your play area size and offer "true" room scale, but while these can be very interesting experiences that type of adaptation and space usage is the exception rather than the rule in terms of total VR games available (by far).
Inverse kinematics are hard. But some games you can see them or it's an option to see them or not and people playing choose the latter because inverse kinematics can look wrong/off so only your hands looking spot-on is more immersing than your hands being spot-on and your arms all weird and off or with unnatural poses. Other games get it weird though and have neither full arms, nor hands only, but some kind of part of the forearm that doesn't have any IK which looks/feels even more wrong, like a log attached to your wrists. If it's only hands then it's best to only show up to the wrist.
It's different when you're just watching a video of someone playing than when you experience it yourself.
The fix for unnatural poses is physics systems like Boneworks uses but that can lead to other gameplay issues, I still worry the feel of handling the weapons in that game might not be as intuitive as in Onward which is a still realistic tactical FPS but doesn't try to simulate you holding a physical stock up to your physical shoulder which may slightly differ to your in game shoulder, size of weapons, and so on (no current affordable VR uses full body tracking after all, it's only extrapolated from limiting points, your head and your hands). Ie, the in-game physics system will limit your real life range of movement, which might be more realistic for the in-game scenario yet give you more of a disconnect between your real life free movements and in-game constrained by the scenario movements. Things like that. It's going to be a tough balance and for now I tend to prefer games that don't simulate such things in their mechanics, like the mentioned Onward. The best inverse kinematics I've seen in Batman: Arkham VR and after that Lone Echo/Echo Arena/Echo Combat. They're quite clumsy in FPS games like Contractors and in Stormland they're kind of alright but there's already some disconnect that I fear will be more prominent in Boneworks.
Edit to explain the physics I mention above, it's the difference between punching thin air in real life, and your hand clipping through the wall in game, vs punching in real life, and your hand stopping at the wall with a nice punchy thud in game. The former keeps controls 1:1 but clipping isn't a great look, the latter doesn't have clipping yet your hand is no longer properly tracked but rather ignored as soon as the rendered representation of your hand hits the in game wall. Now for some things, the latter is definitely better. After all if you're just punching you're only briefly extending your arm and quickly return to a neutral position so it all looks great without any real disconnect from your movements. For other things however, like constantly holding a rifle type long weapon with both your hands, your real life movements where you don't hold such a thing can remain free, yet the in-game weapon, if physically simulated alongside your whole body, will constantly bump into things like the wall, floor, your shoulder, different parts of your arms, or other objects and therefor stop moving as you expect it to since it stops following your real movements once anything else interferes, which is obviously realistic for the game but can completely disconnect the controls. Now imagine it also bumping into things as you're not only moving it around relative to you or the environment, but also as you're simply moving your whole self, and therefor the object, through the game environments. Already I got into annoying situations in an existing dungeon crawler as my melee weapons while my hands were neutral kept clanging against walls, occasionally getting lodged and flying off as I just ran past. Yet when I'm actually in combat it adds a layer of strategy if weapons can clang against objects requiring you to use smaller weapons or more thrust attacks as in the Souls games (as long as the enemies also can be affected like you so it's fair). Again, it's going to be tough to balance so you both feel in control and it looks right.
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Samurai Shodown Switch delayed to Q1. I suppose the dream is dead for PC as well.
SNK prioritized Stadia over Steam and Switch releases :V Like I'm down for the conept of game streaming but come on...
Man, that poor user on Era who decided to start a "Valve makes no games" thread literally hours before they announced a new Half-Life game. Talk about bad timing.
Well it's a BAD thread about BAD premise at a BAD timing.
It's a VR game and probably PC exclusive, so it's still doesn't matter.
Well the only games that is accepted there is single-player-console-exclusive-cinematic-walking-exposition games. Everything else doesn't exist.
What is the best value VR solution these days?
Index sounds amazing of course but it's too much money and I've not the scope for a full room set up.
Is it best to go for something cheap like a Windows MR headset, or jerryrigging a PSVR to a PC?
Go with second hand Rift/Vive headsets?
Or the Oculus Quest with Link?
On first glance the Quest sounds most intriguing to me, but I'd be concerned about it's capabilities if it's designed to be a solo headset first?
Index sounds amazing of course but it's too much money and I've not the scope for a full room set up.
Is it best to go for something cheap like a Windows MR headset, or jerryrigging a PSVR to a PC?
Go with second hand Rift/Vive headsets?
Or the Oculus Quest with Link?
On first glance the Quest sounds most intriguing to me, but I'd be concerned about it's capabilities if it's designed to be a solo headset first?
Tracking seems like such a core component of good VR. If I had a budget for it, I would probably focus on whatever system got me the best tracking for the price over the best screen. I’ve only briefly experienced VR in art exhibitions, but the difference in screens wasn’t all that big of a deal apart from the ones where they tape a phone to your face.
Here's my view:
- WMR is cheap, pretty great screens for the price (especially on Samsung!), but mediocre tracking.
- Rift S is decent if you have an "average" IPD. Unexciting but decently competent in all aspects.
- Oculus Quest with link hasn't been out there long enough to get a good idea. In theory, if the link works well with 5m cables, it should be a good alternative and a good deal if you also get use out of the portability feature.
- Second-hand Rift CV1 / Vive might actually not be bad if you find a decent price for it. Both have drawbacks though: CV1 needs 3 trackers connected to high-speed USB ports, and the Vive controller diverges quite significantly from everything else now out there.
- Index is, well, the best at almost everything (except display contrast compared to OLED HMDs), and sadly very expensive.
- Everything else (like primarily Pimax) is even more expensive and more for enthusiasts/tinkerers.
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