There are a number of indie developers that have found genuine success creating virtual reality (VR) titles, one of which is strategy specialist E McNeill. Last month saw his fourth title, Astraeus, launch for Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR, and today McNeill has confirmed a PC version is due to be released soon.
Like E McNeill’s three previous VR videogames, Darknet, Tactera, and Skylight, Astraeus is another deviously simple looking real-time strategy (RTS) experience that becomes a lot more complex the longer you play.
“You play as an AI who is “awakened” on an asteroid mining control ship after the captain has died. Unfortunately, his corporate bosses on Earth don’t seem to have realized this, and they keep sending critically important missions,” McNeill states. “In each level, you’ll need to build a network of dozens of bases and command thousands of ships as you attempt to corner the market (or eliminate the competition through more… direct means).”
So Astraeus is a VR asteroid mining RTS title where you need to build a mining network from dozens of bases, and watch as hundreds of ships swarm around you. Your job is to control these swarms of mining drones, create the bases, and outpace the competition in Campaign, Skirmish, and asynchronous multiplayer modes.
Originally created as a prototype for a VR development reality show, the VR Developer Challenge, Astraeus won 1st place and a $20,000 USD prize. Arriving in May as a launch title for the Oculus Go, Astraeus will be launching for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality headsets next Thursday, 7th June with a 10 percent launch discount off the usual price of $14.99. Additionally, the Steam version will also include a non-VR build.
E McNeill has created some of VRFocus’ favourite RTS titles for VR headsets, with Skylight achieving a full five stars and Tactera gaining four stars in their reviews. For further updates from the indie dev on his latest VR project, keep reading VRFocus.