Category: epic games store

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Epic Games Store to Exclusively Sell Tetris Effect for PC, VR Support Will be Available

The PlayStation VR has had its fair few virtual reality (VR) exclusives, with one of the biggest in 2018 being Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect. Now the studio has announced that the title will be coming to PC via the Epic Games Store next week, with additional support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Tetris Effect

In a move that will likely annoy a few PC and VR gamers alike, Tetris Effect will be an Epic Games Store exclusive. To tempt PC players this will be the ultimate version with a few additional bells and whistles attached. For instance, the PC version is capable of running at resolutions of 4K or more with an uncapped framerate (with Vsync disabled) and includes ultra-wide monitor support.

Plus there are expanded gameplay and graphical options not found in the console release for both 2D and VR, such as adjustable particle volume and size, texture filtering, and more.

The core videogame still features over 30 stages, each with its own music, sound effects, graphical style and background that all evolve and change as you play through them. Also, there’s the new ‘Zone’ mechanic where you can stop time to either change tack to avoid losing or rack up bonus scoring rewards by clearing more lines.

Tetris Effect

Tetris Effect for PC will launch via Epic Games Store next Tuesday, 23rd July, offering a 20% launch promotion discount. That reduces the price from £31.99 GBP down to £25.59. Additionally, whether you pre-order the video or buy it before 6th August you’ll get all of Tetris Effect’s Digital Deluxe DLC bundle of extra bonus content for free (10 Tetris Effect themed 4K Desktop Wallpapers and an Original Soundtrack Sampler with 7 tracks).

Enhance Games’ was founder by legendary videogame designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi in 2014, whose renown for combining music and gameplay. Mizuguchi has previously created titles such as Child of Eden, Lumines and REZ. He then went on to create REZ Infinite a multiplatform VR videogame VRFocus called a: ‘mesmerizing experience’.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Enhance Games and Teris Effect, reporting back with any further announcements or updates.

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Tetris Effect Comes To PC VR Exclusively From The Epic Games Store

The Epic Games Store is getting Tetris Effect exclusive to its PC marketplace for a time with support listed for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Tetris Effect topped some best of 2018 game lists with its console debut on PlayStation 4 and PSVR headsets. We rated it 8/10 and Jamie Feltham praised the combination of music and visuals which “lull you it into a soothing sense of security, encasing you in a bubble of graphical splendor before ripping you out of it and into something much more demanding.”

Tetris Effect for PC is pitched by publisher Enhance as the “ultimate” version of the game with no artificial limits on resolution (“4K or more”), or frame rate. The PC version also adds new graphical options “including adjustable particle volume and size, texture filtering, and more.” It releases July 23 via the Epic Games Store with a 20 percent discount and downloadable content (a soundtrack sampler and wallpapers) included during the pre-order period and first two weeks of availability.

Enhance lists VR support as including “standard gamepads, Vive Controllers, and Oculus Remote and Touch controllers.” So while the game should be playable with the simple media controller from the original 2016 consumer Rift, there’s also no mention of support for much newer headsets or controllers. Valve’s Index VR headset, for example, can run visual modes at 120 or 144 frames per second with best in class comfort that could make multi-hour play sessions more appealing. That is, if Tetris Effect works with the system. It is possible more VR headsets, like Microsoft’s Windows-based HMDs, could work through OpenXR compatibility modes. There’s no indication that’s the case, though, so we’ll have to wait for hands-on reports.

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Epic’s New SDK Could Make Cross-Platform Multiplayer Easier For Developers

Epic’s New SDK Could Make Cross-Platform Multiplayer Easier For Developers

Epic Games today announced it will be releasing a free cross-platform networking software development kit (SDK) for games. The SDK will allow developers to leverage the same server infrastructure used by Fortnite, for free.

Players will use the same login as Fortnite and the new Epic Games store, so for many gamers no new account would need to be created.

Currently, VR developers can leverage each platform’s multiplayer networking system for free, but developing a cross-platform solution requires hosting or renting servers. For example, a developer can add multiplayer to an Oculus Store title for free. However, if they wanted their Oculus players to play with their Daydream players, they’d have to do this at their own expense. The same situation applies to Steam and PlayStation.

This leads many developers of multiplayer VR games to either release on only one platform, or to have separate multiplayer pools. But Epic’s solution could change this as it would give developers a free and reliable solution to scale their mulitplayer across multiple platforms.

The platform is planned to release for Windows in Q2 2019. In Q3 achievements and voice chat should be added, and support for macOS. Some time later in the year, matchmaking and parties will be added, as well as support for Android and PlayStation (as well as iOS, Xbox, and Switch). Though not mentioned specifically, Oculus Go, Oculus Quest, and Daydream headsets are Android-based devices.

In 2020 the company intends to add advanced features like anti-cheating measures and support for user-generated content (perhaps similar to Steam Workshop).

The SDK will be natively supported in Unreal Engine, will have a Unity plugin, and can be added to other engines with a C SDK. It runs on the same infrastructure used by Fortnite, hosted on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.

So why is Epic releasing this for free? It’s likely to entice both players and developers into their new Epic Games store ecosystem. If a developer uses the SDK their game will be already suitable for release on Epic Games, and all their players will need to create an Epic Games account. Along with the higher revenue share Epic provides to developers, this could make Epic Games a serious competitor to Valve’s Steam in the long term. For VR, it should simply make developers’ lives easier.

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