Crazy Machines VR – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

October 25, 2018

Build Weird and Wonderful Contraptions With Crazy Machines VR Today

Remember Fantastic Contraption from 2016, that was a great puzzle experience testing players grey matter by building all sorts of inventive devices. Now there’s a new kid on the block, offering all sorts of Rube Goldberg machinations to build and play with, Crazy Machines VR.

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot (Oct 2018)

Crazy Machines VR is the latest installment in the physics-puzzle franchise with FAKT Software making its debut on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

“After months of hard work and polish, our whole team is excited to see players jump right into the chain reactions of Crazy Machines,” said Falk Möckel, managing director at FAKT Software. “Please enjoy tinkering around with them and experiencing in our zany story and entertaining minigames – for the first time in VR!”

Designed and optimized specifically for VR, Crazy Machines VR features forty stages divided into five chapters, where players can build unnecessarily complicated machinery to create all sorts of wonderful chain reactions. Alongside the main campaign levels the team has added new sandbox levels for players to go crazy in.

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot

To aid players in their building quest in Crazy Machines VR they’re granted the use of what can only be described as a potato. Pressing the green button will rewind time, allowing players the chance to reset their contraption and add, subtract or move objects as needed. A second press resumes time, resulting in success or failure.

Crazy Machines VR is now available on Steam for £14.99 GBP/ €19.99 EUR / $19.99 USD. The PlayStation VR release will follow at a later date. VRFocus previewed the PlayStation VR version saying: “Crazy Machines VR certainly has the potential to be a refreshing puzzle experience in VR and, given the high level of challenge offered by previous titles, will likely be a brain taxer that goes far beyond most of what the medium has yet dared to offer.”

VRFocus will continue its coverage of FAKT Software, reporting back with any further updates.

October 25, 2018

‘Crazy Machines VR’ Lets You Make Wild Rube Goldberg-inspired Creations

Crazy Machines VR, a unique puzzle game from publisher Wild River and developer FAKT Software, launched today on Steam for all major PC VR headsets.

Crazy Machines VR lets you construct and solve physics-based Rube Goldberg-inspired contraptions, the sort of machines that accomplish a relatively simple task by way of a mind-boggling set of chain reactions: the anvil falls from the shelf, it hits the fridge, the door opens, an egg rolls out, drops into a frying pan, it tilts and hits the rocket’s launch button which then takes off and hits the all important cloning device.

FAKT Software is behind a franchise of Crazy Machines games, although this is their first in the series available to VR players.

According to FAKT, the game’s 40 levels have been designed and optimized specifically for VR. Divided into five chapters, all with different settings, the game comes with additional challenges to earn achievements—all with a grumpy support robot standing by to help you along the way.

Crazy Machines VR is now available on Steam for $20, including support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets. A PSVR version is said to release at a later date.

The post ‘Crazy Machines VR’ Lets You Make Wild Rube Goldberg-inspired Creations appeared first on Road to VR.

October 23, 2018

Crazy Machines VR für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive im Test

Mit Crazy Machines VR gibt es jetzt auch einen Ableger der bekannten Spielereihe für die Virtual Reality. Die FAKT Software GmbH aus Leipzig betritt damit ein neues Territorium mit einem Konzept, was auf den ersten Blick hervorragend in der virtuellen Umgebung funktionieren sollte. Grund genug das Spiel einmal zu testen, um euch zu verraten, ob sich der Kauf zum Release am 25. Oktober lohnt. Wir haben den Titel mit der Oculus Rift über SteamVR gezockt.

Crazy Machines VR für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive im Test

In Crazy Machines VR geht es darum, verrückte Kettenreaktionen zu vervollständigen. Dazu stehen euch diverse Teile zur Verfügung, die an festen Plätzen in einem Konstrukt angebracht werden können. Damit die Reaktionen auslösen, müssen die Teile in einer speziellen Ausrichtung platziert werden.

Während die ersten Level noch extrem einfach sind, kommen schnell zusätzliche Einzelelemente hinzu, um den Schwierigkeitsgrad zu erhöhen. So werden die Spielenden, trotz fester Slots für die diversen Objekte, durchaus herausgefordert. Damit nicht zu viel Frust entsteht, habt ihr jedoch stets einen kleinen Roboter an eurer Seite. Dieser verrät euch auf Nachfrage die Platzierung eines Objektes, wenn ihr nicht mehr weiter wisst.

Da es ohnehin keine Punkte für die Level gibt, ist es relativ egal, wie viel Zeit ihr letztlich benötigt oder wie oft ihr nach Hilfe fragt. Das Spiel ist nicht auf Wettbewerb ausgelegt, sondern auf entspanntes Knobeln. Belohnungen gibt es in Form von funktionierenden Kettenreaktionen, an denen man sich ohnehin kaum sattsehen kann.

Obwohl die Rätsel gelungen sind und die Kettenreaktionen toll inszeniert werden, vermissen wir jedoch Grafikeinstellungen und weitere Optionen. Hinzu kommt, dass in unserem Test die Performance nicht immer überzeugend bzw. das Erlebnis nicht immer fließend war. Es sind nur kurze Momente, in denen das Nachladen stört, aber wir spürten diese immer deutlich. Die Welt funktioniert und läuft großteils flüssig, aber die Übergänge könnten etwas mehr Kaschierung vertragen. Eventuell hätte man auch auf metallische Oberflächen verzichten können, da durch die Reflexionen viele Linien entstehen, die zu dünn sind und flimmern. Durch die Linien treten die Schwächen des Displays der VR-Brille deutlich in den Vordergrund, was man hätte vermeiden können.

Was uns außerdem negativ auffiel: Die Ausrichtung der Hände ist bei Verwendung der Rift unter SteamVR nicht optimal. Uns persönlich gefiel sie jedenfalls nicht. Zwar kann man hier mit den Advanced Settings für SteamVR nachjustieren, aber diesen Aufwand werden sich die meisten User wahrscheinlich nicht machen.

Fazit

Crazy Machines VR ist ein tolles Spiel für die Virtual Reality, was jedoch etwas polierter daherkommen könnte. Es gibt keine Einstellungsmöglichkeiten, das Menü ist hauptsächlich Fassade und etwas mehr Glättung hätte dem Vergnügen sicherlich nicht geschadet. Dennoch macht das Knobeln großen Spaß und wer eine kleine Pause von der Hektik des Alltags braucht, ist mit dem Titel gut bedient. Crazy Machines VR ist ab dem 25. Oktober auf Steam für Oculus Rift, HTC Vive und Windows Mixed Reality erhältlich. Eine Version für die PlayStation VR wird folgen.

Der Beitrag Crazy Machines VR für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive im Test zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

October 9, 2018

Crazy Machines VR Whirrs Into Life On PC VR Later This Month

You’d not think it but the Crazy Machines franchise has actually been around for 13 years. Originally released in October 2005 for PC and Mac, as well as on both the Nintendo DS and Wii. We’ve known that the creation crafting title that sees users manufacture elaborate machines in a Rube Goldberg style to perform various tasks was due to make the leap to virtual reality (VR) for some time.

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot (Oct 2018) However, there’s good news for any would-be VR inventors out there, as the wait will not be for much longer.

Created by the original developers, FAKT Software and published by Wild River, Crazy Machines VR will be debuting on PC through Steam; with VR support for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality later this month on October 25th 2018. A PlayStation VR version is also planned, although no release date has yet been confirmed for this.

Bringing Crazy Machines into the equally crazy world of VR has, as you might have guessed, led to some developments in the title. Particularly with the amount of control you now have to assemble components, what with VR’s intuitive controls. With users able to truly get hands-on with their creations for the first time.

Crazy Machines VR will come with five chapters and encompass forty levels worth of mind-bending puzzles and physics challenges. With assistance from what the title’s PR team term “a surly robot” – so perhaps you won’t get that much assistance after all.

A bunch of new screenshots has also been released and you can see them all below. VRFocus will have more news about Crazy Machines VR nearer release.

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot (Oct 2018)

August 24, 2018

Gamescom 2018 Hands-On: Crazy Machines VR Needs Just A Little More Invention

Hit the button, let the cogs whirl, twisting the arm. The arm taps a domino that topples into another, causing a chain reaction that ends with a pressed button that launches a rocket that flicks a switch that drops an anvil. The anvil sets off a car which crashes into a final button, activating your invention.

And that, in a nutshell, is Crazy Machines VR.

FAKT Software’s inventive little series has always coasted by on the simple satisfactions of the Rube-Goldberg-Machine. I could watch those things for days as they spilled from one momentary spark of ingeunity to another and, clearly, millions of other people could too. A VR version that brings the physics funhouse to life was surely a no-brainer, then.

The good news is that it is indeed a lot of fun to watch Crazy Machine VR’s puzzles unfold with a headset on. Calculating how objects will react to each other has an extra dimension to it you just couldn’t have before, and it no doubt makes the series’ tried and true mechanics much more complex than before. In fact, FAKT even told me the game was built on a new engine so that they could get the most out of the physics system. The slightest nudge of a domino sends it tumbling in exactly the way you’d expect.

It’s still in need of a bit of polish; some interactions didn’t look natural, while the PSVR version as a whole looks literally rough around the edges, but those reactions are undoubtedly the game’s biggest draw right now. As embarrassingly excitable as it is to watch Crazy Machines VR, though, I’m a little concerned the actual game may be a little on the light side.

For starters, the two levels I played simply asked players to put missing objects in marked locations, filling in gaps of a pre-assembled sequence. The pieces you need are all put to one side for you to pick up and slot into place; solving the puzzle is simply a matter of putting the right bit in the right place. Swapping around parts in trial and error puzzle solving has a playful kind of joy to it, but it can’t help but feel restrained.

Bare in mind that these were the earliest levels of the game and Crazy Machines is all about escalation. It’s very possible new elements are introduced, but the small slice I’ve played doesn’t feel like the truest expression of what this series can do. Even simple things like throwing in objects that had no place in the puzzle as red herrings would engage your brain a bit more.

Undoubtedly the biggest omission, though, is the lack of a level editor. You’re not going to be able to assemble your own sequences in Crazy Machines VR and I can’t help but feel that’s a mistake. I definitely understand FAKT’s plight; there’d be no end to potential bugs if you left players off the leash and fine-tuning the placement of objects would be finicky, but it’s surely better to let players discover that for themselves.

There are, however, a handful of sandbox levels for you to play around in, and FAKT is promising 40 levels in this edition. I have no doubt Crazy Machines VR is going to be an entertaining VR puzzle game, I’m just not entirely confident it’s going to reach its true potential. There’s still a ways to go before launch and a heck of a lot of content to dig into, though, so I’d be more than happy to be wrong.

Crazy Machines VR is set to release on PC later this year and PSVR in early 2019.

Tagged with: Crazy Machines VR, FAKT Software, Gamescom

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August 22, 2018

Physics Puzzle Title Crazy Machines VR Assembles For Release

Way back in 2008, developers at FAKT Software decided to experiment with a top-down physics puzzle title called Crazy Machines where players could play with pulleys, gears and rubber bands to create inventive contraptions. That concept has undergone a great deal of development to become an immersive physics experience that will soon be making its way to virtual reality (VR).

FAKT have been working with EuroVideo for the VR version, Crazy Machines VR, which will bring the many intricate parts and components into the Zero-G environment of space, where players will be able to use motion controls to assemble the gadgets.

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot

Gameplay involves putting together an intricate, and often quite Rube Goldberg-style of device in order to solve certain challenges and puzzles. The VR version has been completely rebuilt from the ground up to work in VR, with the motion controls designed to be intuitive enough that users can feel like they are handling individual components with their own hands.

Players will need to use logic and reasoning to decide which if the many unsorted objects need to be placed where in order to fulfil the requirements. A grumpy robot assistant is on hand to lend a hand, though is unlikely to be particularly happy about it.

Time is a somewhat mutable concept in Crazy Machines VR, as players are granted the use of a controlling… potato. Pressing the green button will rewind time, allowing players the chance to reset their contraption and add, subtract or move objects as needed. A second press resumes time, and will result in success or failure.

Peter managed to get hands-on with a preview of Crazy Machines VR at Gamescom, where he said: “Crazy Machines VR certainly has the potential to be a refreshing puzzle experience in VR and, given the high level of challenge offered by previous titles, will likely be a brain taxer that goes far beyond most of what the medium has yet dared to offer.”

Crazy Machines VR - Screenshot

Crazy Machines VR will be heading to PC VR platforms, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality in Autumn of 2018, while the PlayStation VR will be coming in Early 2019. Further news on Crazy Machines VR and other upcoming VR titles will be here on VRFocus.

August 21, 2018

Preview: Crazy Machines VR – Crazy Like A Fox

The Crazy Machines series has made a name for itself as a popular problem-solving experience across multiple formats. Having begun life on PC, we’ve since seen instalments on Nintendo DS, Wii and iOS formats, each making use of the unique input devices hosted by the platform. Now, with the forthcoming Crazy Machines VR, it’s the turn of virtual reality (VR).

Crazy Machines has always been about experimentation. The player is given a non-working contraption, inspired by the Rube Goldberg-style of un-associated items with unique properties cobbled together for a singular outcome, with the task of using a small selection of additional components to fix the machine. While on the surface Crazy Machines VR may look and sound like a Fantastic Contraption clone, the truth is that the experience is in fact far closer to Coatsink’s Esper.

It’s a videogame about using logic. Players must examine where the contraption is failing and what function is needed to fix the issue, while also looking over their available components for items that offer said functionality. Assisting the player are catch-points on the contraptions to which objects must be attached, but ensuring they behave correctly is not necessarily a straight-forward affair.

To enable the player to perform all of this constant assessment they are granted the use of a time-controlling potato. Pressing the green button on the potato will remind time, resetting the contraption and affording the player unlimited time to add objects as required. A second press will release the control and allow time to advance as normal, with the contraption either seeing success thanks to the player’s interference or providing new clues as to how it may be fixed.

Crazy Machines VR plays very similarly to the Wii edition of Crazy Machines, with motion-control affording the player direct interaction with the contraptions which – in the playable build available at Gamescom 2018, at least – are displayed on an almost 2D plane. Whether or not later levels will make greater use of the great depths of immersion VR offers or even a simple sense of scale remains to be seen.

There are other issues that need to get addressed before this however. While the development team assured VRFocus that the PC build is further along than the PlayStation VR version on offer, there’s no denying that the hit-and-miss physics on many objects were a disappointing problem. While the team seem confident that they can entertain PlayStation VR owners with an expansive core experience, dozens of mini-games and a playground of construction as an alternative gameplay mode, getting the fundamentals right before any of this is a much greater concern.

Of course, Crazy Machines has been established within the videogame world for more than a decade now, so there’s no reason to believe the team can’t fix the issues that remain prior to launch. Crazy Machines VR certainly has the potential to be a refreshing puzzle experience in VR and, given the high level of challenge offered by previous titles, will likely be a brain taxer that goes far beyond most of what the medium has yet dared to offer.

March 8, 2018

Rube Goldberg Machines Get The VR Treatment In Crazy Machines VR

For budding engineers and designers, physics-based toys like Lego Technic or K’Nex were an inspiration towards a future career, and a great way to create incredible projects. Developers FAKT Software are bringing this experience into virtual reality (VR) with Crazy Machines VR.

The Crazy Machines series began in 2008 as a simple top-down physics puzzle title which let players play with pulleys, gears and rubber bands to create solutions to challenges. Since then, the developers have increased the sophistication of the available components, and are now bringing the concept into VR by working in partnership with EuroVideo.

The VR iteration of the franchise will bring the intricate puzzle pieces into space, allowing for freedom from gravity along with motion controls designed to be simple and intuitive to allow users to feel like they are interacting with each component with their own hands.

All the puzzles in Crazy Machines VR have been specially designed for VR, and new features for the VR entry into the franchise are being introduced, such as a grumpy robot assistant.

“The very first moment we entered a virtual Crazy Machines world we knew: This is THE game for VR! We have to do this!” Falk Möckel, Managing Director at FAKT Software says. “We will help shape the future of virtual reality with this amazing experience.”

“For more than 10 years, Crazy Machines has been the premier physics puzzler, and taking this classic franchise to VR is more than an evolution. It is so impressive that not only fans of the series will love it, but all those interested in VR will be convinced by the technology”, adds Marc Wardenga, Head of Games at EuroVideo.

Attendees PAX East on 5th-8th April 2018 in Boston will be able to try out Crazy Machines VR by visiting booth 10054. The title is due for release some time later in 2018 on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR.

Further news on new and upcoming VR videogames and experiences will continue to be reported here on VRFocus.