Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Fed up with physical VR controllers? A groundbreaking demo at the recent SIGGRAPH conference shows off brain-controlled virtual reality. And it's apparently coming to an arcade near you.
The post Put down the controllers! Players navigate this VR game using only their minds appeared first on Digital Trends.
Oculus announced back in March that it would be rebuilding Oculus Home to reduce load on devices that powered the Samsung Gear VR. Alongside that update would come the introduction of Oculus Avatars, now Gear VR title Fusion Wars is introducing support for Avatars and the Gear VR controller.
Fusion Wars will be integrating Avatars into the gameplay experience by allowing players to see their teammates virtual faces and gestures inside the cockpit. The upcoming update will also introduce full support for the Samsung Gear VR controller, where before the title had only supported gamepads. The controls are fully customisable with the new update, so the gamepad or Gear VR controller can be mapped to the layout that the player finds most comfortable.
Once the title gets its full release in June, it will support cross-platform play between Gear VR and Oculus Rift users, with cross-buy also available. Avatars can follow users who have both Gear VR and Oculus Rift between platforms for a smoother transition. The final version of Fusion Wars is expected to introduce numerous new features, including the much anticipated PvP arenas.
Other improvements have also been introduced with the new update, including improve netcode that offers a smoother online multiplayer experience that aims to reduce lag and disconnections wherever possible. Leaderboards have also been implemented, allowing users to compare their performance and several new skills and combat ships features have been included to make sure the experience remains rich and challenging for experienced players.
Developer EstudioFuture launched the new update on 25th May, 2017. The full release is expected in late June for both Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.
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Being dropped into the cockpit of various vehicles is one of the most fun and immersive experiences of VR. Whether in competitive arenas or in outer space, throwing on your VR headset and settling into your powerful ship or mech is empowering and fun. Estudiofuture specializes in 3D animation, video production, and VR experiences across educational and entertainment disciplines and their new game, Fusion Wars, is aiming to bring a white-knuckled arena shooter to the Samsung Gear (with an eventual Rift release also planned).
In Fusion Wars you pilot a tank in a futuristic arena with a very Tron-like aesthetic to it. Those aware of the PS VR exclusive, Battlezone, will immediately recognize the aesthetic. There are bright colors and sharp edges with not too many layers to the visuals, so it maintains a degree of simplicity and sameness across the levels. The sound is dominated by laser beams and rapid weapon fire coupled with explosions over the top of a song that is likely influenced by the most recent Tron: Legacy film. It seems a missed opportunity not to at least have a slight design difference and different music on the various levels.
The game has full (required) controller support, so you pilot a propelled tank that you can move forward and backward with your controller’s triggers. You boost and fire with your hands while you aim at your targets by turning your head and you take out enemies with two firing modes you switch between while seeking out an objective. It takes some getting use to, especially when attempting to move, aim, and fire in reverse, but it became second nature overtime.
Within the levels, you take on waves of different types of enemies and even a few boss-like tanks and structures as you return fire and pick up health to stay in the fight. You seek out fusion cores in order to move on to the next level, but you’ll have to take out all the enemy spawn gates in order to do so. The flow of gameplay takes place across four difficulty settings: Cadet, Agent, Legend, and Insane.
Fusion Wars is a co-operative experience on multiple levels. Immediately, the base experience is an online co-operative one and you can fuse with a teammate to create a super tank that one player fires from within while the other drives. In addition to that, the game is cross-purchase and cross-play, so once it’s available on Oculus, players can play on both devices and team up with players on either platform. While listed as only in Early Access right now, the game is mostly feature complete. It’s already looking like one of the better multiplayer titles on the Gear VR and it still has potential to grow further.
There’s a solid effort to tailor the comfort levels to different players via a moderate and high comfort setting in the options. With the moderate option, your sight is dimmed and narrowed as the tank turns and the max setting narrows your field of vision to an even higher degree. I experienced slight discomfort when moving at high-speeds on the middle setting, but none at all on the higher setting though it was annoying to have a reduced field of view when turning. The option can be turned off if you’re better acclimated to virtual experiences with this type of movement.
Right now you have a capable and fun game that doesn’t sacrifice speed and excitement but includes design that makes it a comfortable experience for players at different points of acclimation to VR and on different platforms. I didn’t come across a great many players online, but the eventual Rift release along with the PvP patch should change that in a big way. At is there’s already a solid amount of content available and with the further updates and new players entering the fray from the Rift, the value will certainly be there.
Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score. You can purchase Fusion Wars on the Oculus store for Gear VR at the price of $6.99.
Tagged with: Battlezone, estudiofuture, Fusion Wars, gaming, review, tank
Estudiofuture has today launched the highly anticipated Fusion Wars on Samsung Gear VR. A multiplayer-orientated combat simulator, Fusion Wars features co-operative gameplay modes that allow players to merge their units as they take the fight to the powerful Mother Queen.
The Spanish developer first revealed the title back in June, then in October released several new screenshots for the upcoming title. A multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS), Fusion Wars doesn’t pit players against each other, instead it requires them to work in teams to destroy hordes of enemies.
Previously VRFocus reported on Fusion Wars featuring up to 16 players but that’s now been reduced to four players per battle for this initial release. The unique feature of Fusion Wars comes form players being able merge their tanks together to become a stronger and more powerful combat unit, in which pilots will split their roles to take the driving seat and handle the heavy weaponry of the turret. A varied array of weapons will spawn around the battlefields in strategic spots, and combat pilots will need to rearm with more powerful arsenals as the matches progress.
Fusion Wars will also support cross platform gameplay between the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift head-mounted displays (HMDs) in the near future, with the added bonus of cross-buy compatibility. So players purchase the title on one headset, but can play the videogame on the other at no extra cost.
Gear VR owners can buy Fusion Wars for £4.99 GBP now, and for any further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Just prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June, Spanish developer Estudiofuture released the first screenshots for its upcoming title Fusion Wars. At the time the studio expected to release the title for Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift over the summer, but with that time now passed Estudiofuture has released some new screenshots to showcase the on going development.
Fusion Wars is a multiplayer shooter which supports cross platform gameplay between the Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift head-mounted displays (HMDs).
Up to 16 players can wage war in head-to-head battles or form teams before heading into battle. Team mates can fuse their ships together, thus enabling co-op gameplay whilst granting special abilities to gain the advantage in battle. A varied array of weapons will spawn around the battlefields in strategic spots, and combat pilots will need to rearm with more powerful arsenals as the matches progress.
The eight new screenshots showcase the visual improvements and redesign of the combat arenas that Estudiofuture has implemented since June.
The developer will be taking Fusion Wars to next weeks Oculus Connect 3 event in California, where new features will be announced.
For all the latest news on Fusion Wars, keep reading VRFocus.
