Fast Travel Games unveiled late last year a VR game set in the universe of critically acclaimed PC title Stellaris (2016): Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game. The single player action roguelite is now slated to arrive on Meta Quest 2 this month.
Update (March 10th, 2023): Fast Travel Games announced via Twitter that Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game is coming exclusively to Quest 2 on March 23rd. You can pre-order the game now on the Meta Quest Store, giving you a 10% discount off the game’s usual $20 price.
The original article announcing Ghost Signal follows below. We’ve also included the most up-to-date trailer, which explains how the developer are integrating hand-tracking into the game.
Original Article (September 22nd, 2022): Like the PC game from Paradox Interactive, Ghost Signal lets you captain your own spaceship and explore the universe, this time in search of the enigmatic Ghost Signal.
It’s fundamentally a single player game, although while you scan exotic creatures for your logbook and conduct research in multiple tech trees, you can also scavenge other players’ deserted ships for valuables, giving it a sort of eerie asynchronous multiplayer element.
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Image courtesy Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy Fast Travel Games
Fast Travel Games—also known for VR titles Apex Construct, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, and Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife—says the game will also let you meet mysterious aliens, encounter planet-sized creatures and engage in dynamic space battles.
“For years Stellaris has captivated players with its vast and wondrous universe,” said Christopher Smith, Lead Game Designer at Fast Travel Games. “Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game takes that universe and brings it closer like never before while giving players a completely new way of experiencing it. Both fans and newcomers are sure to discover something special among the stars in this virtual reality roguelite take.”
The game is said to include:
Roguelite gameplay where no journey is in vain
Alien species to battle or befriend
Heavy artillery to fend off monstrous creatures or defeat enemy armadas
Powerful upgrades such as freeze rays, atomic missiles, and dragon companions
Randomized maps, daily challenges, and leaderboards
Like Guardians Frontline, an upcoming strategic VR shooter announced Fast Travel and VirtualAge Games, there’s no definite launch date yet beyond the stated ‘early 2023’ window. That however matches the expected release of PSVR 2, so it’s possible the veteran VR studio is looking also support Sony’s next-gen VR headset too.
Fast Travel Games and Trebuchet just announced multiplayer VR sword fighting game, Broken Edge, at the Upload VR Showcase.
Check out the first trailer for the game below. In Broken Edge, two players go head-to-head, selecting different characters and weapons and learning their unique fighting styles. As you duel, blades will chip and break, forcing you to rethink your approach until one player manages to hit the other.
Broken Edge Announcement Trailer
“We’ve worked really hard to create a seamless and impactful experience as your blades clash and break thanks to our cutting edge fencing mechanics,” Creative Director Guillaume Perreault Roy says in the video. The result is a game that looks a little like Ironlights, though Broken Edge appears to let you swing your blade freely and not slow down the action. Visually, the game boasts a striking, pastel color palette, too.
This will be Trebuchet’s fourth VR game following on from last year’s launch of Winds & Leaves and Prison Boss VR before that. It’s also the second announced publishing project from Fast Travel Games, who released Cities: VR themselves earlier this year and published VR music maker, Virtuoso. The company will have a few more reveals during the Showcase, so keep your eyes peeled.
Broken Edge is currently confirmed to be coming to Quest 2 and SteamVR later this year. No word yet on possible PSVR versions, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Stay tuned to the Upload VR Showcase; we’ve got plenty more reveals and headlines lined up for today.
Fast Travel Games today announced during UploadVR’s Summer Showcase its next VR title, a multiplayer sword-fighting game called Broken Edge.
Developed by Trebuchet and published by Fast Travel Games, Broken Edge is a multiplayer fantasy sword-dueling action VR game where you choose your fighter go head-to-head against another player online.
The studios say each weapon and fighter offers “unique stances and movement patterns that reflect the specific martial arts, which can be performed to activate temporary perks. Experience real fencing tactics in battle, while swords will break at the point of impact and eventually regenerate to help execute a winning strike.”
Broken Edge is slated to release on Meta Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets “later this year,” the studios say.
Here’s some more specifics from Fast Travel and Trebuchet:
Embody your fighter
All characters are equipped with unique weapons, coupled with their own distinctive martial arts style. Learn to master these ancient fighting patterns to awaken the energy of your blade and dominate your foes online.
Cutting-Edge Fencing Mechanics
Move and swing your sword freely as you would in real life, then apply tactical skills to block incoming blows and break your opponents’ weapon at the point of impact!
Anybody can pick a sword
The duels in Broken Edge take place in a dream-like surreal setting with vivid colors. It’s the perfect place to hone your skills and take part in the global contest to climb the ranks online!
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) still hasn’t put virtual reality (VR) gamers out of their misery and revealed a launch date for PlayStation VR2 but that hasn’t stopped developers from dropping teasing support. The latest comes from Fast Travel Games, the studio behind futuristic bow shooter Apex Construct.
— Fast Travel Games (@fasttravelgames) May 24, 2022
The VR studio left a less than subtle hint about its intentions to develop projects for PlayStation VR2 over on Twitter. While there was no mention of what videogames it might be planning – could it be a new IP or maybe Apex Construct 2? – there was one additional teasing bit of info, a hashtag saying “more than one”.
So by the sound of it, Fast Travel Games is currently working on at least two VR titles for PlayStation VR2; which is exciting. This adds to a steadily growing list of videogames confirmed for the upcoming headset. These include Medieval Dynasty,Pavlov Shack by Vankrupt Games, Maze Theory’s Engram, anime-inspired Runner, an unannounced one from Coatsink; and, of course, Horizon Call of the Mountain.
As well as Apex Construct, Fast Travel Games has also released The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets and Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife, both in-house developed titles, whilst its new publishing arm has released both Virtuoso and Cities VR.
The long-awaited follow up to SIE’s first VR headset released in 2016, the PlayStation VR2 is expected to offer a sizable leap over its predecessor. It’ll house a 4k HDR display, a 110-degree field of view (FoV), headset haptics, eye tracking (for foveated rendering), inside-out tracking, a new vent design, IPD adjustment, new controllers, and a simpler set-up with a single cable going to the PlayStation 5.
Fast Travel Games’ timing is interesting as it comes just a few weeks ahead of what would’ve been E3 2022. The annual videogame extravaganza has been completely cancelled this year but that hasn’t stopped companies from preparing their usual press events. Maybe they’ll be sharing more regarding the VR project around then? If that happens then gmw3 will keep you updated.
Cities: VR and Wraith: The Oblivion developer Fast Travel Games is working on multiple PSVR 2 projects.
The studio confirmed as much in a tweet today. A teaser image showed the back of Sony’s upcoming VR headset with the company logo in the lenses. The message ‘#morethanone’, meanwhile, confirms it’s working on more than just one game for the device.
As for what Fast Travel could bring to PSVR 2? It’s a good bet that some of its older VR titles get an upgrade for PS5. The Quest 2 release of Cities: VR was just last month but the studio has already strongly hinted that it’ll come to other platforms, too. The team also operates a publishing division that has so far released Virtuoso. Some of these games are likely to stem from those efforts, too.
What other Fast Travel Games titles would you like to see on PSVR 2? Let us know in the comments below.
Cities: VR and Wraith: The Oblivion developer Fast Travel Games is working on multiple PSVR 2 projects.
The studio confirmed as much in a tweet today. A teaser image showed the back of Sony’s upcoming VR headset with the company logo in the lenses. The message ‘#morethanone’, meanwhile, confirms it’s working on more than just one game for the device.
As for what Fast Travel could bring to PSVR 2? It’s a good bet that some of its older VR titles get an upgrade for PS5. The Quest 2 release of Cities: VR was just last month but the studio has already strongly hinted that it’ll come to other platforms, too. The team also operates a publishing division that has so far released Virtuoso. Some of these games are likely to stem from those efforts, too.
What other Fast Travel Games titles would you like to see on PSVR 2? Let us know in the comments below.
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (community@gmw3.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
There’s already been one city building announcement today in the form of Little Cities and now there’s another. Fast Travel Games’ upcoming project Cities: VR has now been earmarked for an April launch, exclusively for Meta Quest 2.
Originally unveiled later last year, Fast Travel Games is taking Paradox Interactive’s Cities: Skylines and giving it a virtual reality (VR) makeover. That means you’ll get a similar level of interaction as its flatscreen cousin just with all the extra VR goodness of being able to switch from a god-like overview through to getting down into the streets and seeing what all the residents are up to.
You’ll be able to realise those civil engineering dreams by creating interwoven streets, building emergency services, education facilities and entertainment areas. Of course, this being a city management simulator you’ll also have to manage all the finances, making sure there’s enough money coming in to pay for vital services, taking loans to afford expansion projects and more.
“When we got the opportunity to reimagine Cities: Skylines for VR, we knew we had to jump at the opportunity,” said Erik Odeldahl, Creative Director of Fast Travel Games in a statement. “We’ve taken heavy inspiration from what the teams at Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have created over the last seven years. We think that Cities: VR will be a great introduction to this franchise for new players, as well as a compelling new interpretation for Cities: Skylines veterans.”
There will be some differences between Cities: Skylines though, namely because of the processing power on offer. Areas won’t be as expansive to build upon whilst terrain editing and natural disasters won’t feature, with a press release stating: “VR does not allow for the size and scale the PC version offers, choosing to emphasize more intimate experiences set in smaller areas.”
Cities: VR will be available from 28th April 2022 via the Oculus Store for £22.99 GBP. There’s a 10% pre-order discount in the run-up to launch. In addition to the released date announcement, Fast Travel Games has published a gameplay walkthrough, so you can see Cities: VR in more detail. For further updates, keep reading gmw3.
Paradox Interactive hosted a stream on Twitch last week celebrating seven years of Cities: Skylines, along with new information and gameplay footage of the upcoming VR spin-off, Cities VR.
Creative Director Creative Director Erik Odeldahl spoke to Paradox about what to expect with Cities VR, as well as the differences between Skylines and the new VR version, before jumping into some gameplay live on stream.
You can watch the stream VOD here — the Cities VR discussion starts at around the 52 minute mark, and gameplay starts around 1 hour and 9 minutes.
This is the most in-depth look we’ve got so far at how the city management game will transfer across to VR. Notably, you can see how tool selection will work in Cities VR — you’ve got access to the same suite of options from Skylines, but spread across a wheel-like option selector on your Touch controller.
You can also see city requirements — like demand for residential vs commercial zones — by turning your left controller to the side, almost like viewing a wrist watch.
There was quite a few interesting tidbits revealed in the pre-gameplay chat as well. Odeldahl consistently reminded viewers (and existing Skylines fans) that Cities VR is not a straight port, but a VR adaptation and ultimately “a different game.”
“You shouldn’t pick up Cities VR and expect it to be a full blown port of Cities: Skylines,” he said. “VR is a different medium, it’s a medium that is very… We basically need to stay on frame rate 100% of the time. The simulation in Skylines is amazing, and also pretty heavy, so we’ve had to basically find what we feel is a good mix between the visual fidelity, the simulation etc.”
The simulation is the same in Cities VR, but it runs on a smaller scale — players will be limited to just one city tile, roughly 2km x 2km in size, so you won’t be able to build giant expansive cities over multiple tiles like you can in Skylines.
Odeldahl was also hesitant to call Cities VR a casual experience on Quest, as it’s a pretty in-depth city builder, but admitted it would be slightly “more casual” for those familiar with Skylines. To help those who are new to the franchise, Fast Travel Games has put a lot of work into the initial tutorial and made sure new players will be able to become familiar and comfortable with the game’s systems.
There’s a full day-night cycle in Cities VR, just like Skylines, and a lot of the same management options and tools are available, just on a smaller city canvas. As you might have guessed, mods (which became a big part of Skylines on PC) will not be supported in Cities VR.
Nine maps will be available at launch — all brand new for Cities VR — and the studio plans to support the game extensively post-launch.
When asked about other headsets, Odeldahl said the studio “will be talking about that in the future, but we have nothing to say about that at the moment” — a very similar response to previous answers.
Virtuoso bills itself as a “music creation sandbox” but that may be selling it a little short: it’s actually a very intuitive set of training wheels for someone who’s never made digital music before while at the same time being a fun way to make music. You’ll need to go deeper into the practice of music creation if you want to get pro results, although if you’re just looking to just mess around, or pursue a new hobby making music, Virtuoso has plenty of smartly-designed tools to get you started recording your own tunes in no time.
Virtuoso Details:
Available On: Quest, Oculus PC, SteamVR Release Date: March 10th, 2022 Price: $20 Developer: Really Interactive AB Publisher: Fast Travel Games Reviewed On: Quest 2
Gameplay
Virtuoso isn’t as simple as Electronauts, which sterilizes the music making process somewhat with a heavy focus on syncopated instruments—meaning they automatically react as if you’ve hit them perfectly on strong beats. You can select your instruments to syncopate in Virtuoso, although this isn’t a default option, which makes it feel a little more targeted at people who are interested in fiddling around until they make something truly unique.
To be clear, Virtuoso didn’t get me in the same futuristic DJ-flavored flowstate as Electronauts: it expects you to learn about making music with a suitably reduced number of VR-friendly instruments and a microphone. There’s six instruments in total, each of them with multiple sound settings so you can squeeze out something that doesn’t just sound like it came straight out of the default options featured in any old music-making app. You can just as soon forget about the options and jam away though and still get some pretty cool results, but just know that you can go deeper.
The results can be awesome, but it’s worth noting that instruments can feel a bit imprecise when playing. Virtuoso gets around this somewhat by allowing you syncopate beats and then record and loop instruments. You may not be able to play a long and complicated tune on the harp or drums, but if you can manage to get a couple notes in, you can go back and loop something behind it to add to the complexity.
Image courtesy Really Interactive
Looping is really simple. Hit the circle (seen above on the left, labeled ‘Looper’) and as soon as you start playing an instrument or singing into the mic, you’ll record a little section of your song. You can select how long you want the section by default—at anywhere from 1/4 to 32 beats—and whether you want a haptic metronome to fire in your controller to keep you synced.
You can start, stop, and change the volume on each loop or loop cluster once you’re happy with the result, and input name tags to keep everything straight. Once you’re ready, you can queue your loops (or clusters) and live mix them during the final recording process, which can output in either .wav or .midi formats. You’ll also be able to share your tracks to greater Virtuoso community for them to hear and mix.
To be clear: I’m not a musician. As a fan of both Reggie Watts and Bill Wurtz though, I just knew I had to make something strange off the top of my head as I put Virtuoso through its paces. The distressingly weird 7-song album that resulted over a few hours makes that pretty apparent (named after the contents of my spam folder).
Note: ‘Metaverse Investment Scheme’ was mixed in-headset and exported to wav. None of it was touched up outside of VR, which is easier to do with midi. I found you can get a pretty decent result doing it this way, although being able to better control with a third-party program would make for a cleaner, and likely more refined result. Some tracks are louder than others, and would no doubt benefit from increased control in general.
If you listened to any of the tracks above, you probably heard some looping issues. This is because I was creating them while learning the interface. The last track, ‘Chaos Hussar’, was my earliest attempt and is objectively a terrible, off-putting cacophony of guttural noises. If you know anything about music creation, I’m confident you will make better music than me.
Still, I’m left a little dumbfounded at what you can do with Virtuoso, which requires just a VR headset and two motion controllers. No special equipment.
Image courtesy Really Interactive
And even after spitting out a bunch of tracks, many of them bad, I feel like there’s a lot more to learn about recording instruments and playing back through the looper. At times I wished I had the ability to cut and paste, or shorten loops and put them in sequential order like a 2D interface might provide, but that’s probably not be the point of Virtuoso.
Like any tool, learning more about the app’s quirks will only give you better results, and really exploring each setting to produce just one song (not seven hastily made songs) will undoubtedly feel like, well, you made real music that you wouldn’t be ashamed to hang up on a real SoundCloud account. It’s about getting your feet wet and experimenting with a new way of creating music.
Immersion
Virtuoso only offers four immersive environments, which seems a little on the low side. At least on Quest, one of those backgrounds is passthrough mode, so you place down virtual instruments in your room and keep an eye on the physical world at the same time.
Virtuoso however manages to cram in such a respectable number of settings and instrument variations that you’ll be focusing on playing and recording and less on your environment, I found. A plane white background is available if you just want to zone in on music.
Image courtesy Really Interactive
Because VR is missing physical resistance —a big component in the sense of touch—playing instruments can generally feel a little transient and imprecise. This inherent issue can be mitigated in three fundamental ways. You can resize instruments and drum heads to be larger targets, which make them easier to hit individually. You can syncopate beats to make them ‘snap’ into where they need to be. And you can focus more on looping so you can generate repeating riffs that you can slowly layer to built more interesting tunes.
This last method is a little more fiddly than getting something slick all in one go, since it means you’ll have a giant list of loops to categorize and adjust before hitting the final tape recorder button. Keeping track of things is a bit annoying since it relies on a virtual keyboard, but that’s just the state of things I suppose.
Again, I know if I spent more time with Virtuoso focusing on just one song, I may be able to come up with something that might approach a professional sound—that’s with no real experience outside of knowing what music sounds like (more or less). As it is, all of my songs feel like they have very similar loop progression, something you can automate better by selecting when loops fade in and out, and how. That part is less intuitive, and requires a visit to the tutorial to really grasp.
Comfort
Instruments can be as big or small as you want by grabbing them with both hands and stretching them out, and can be positioned anywhere in space, meaning you use Virtuoso in an conceivable position, seated, standing, or even laying down. I found myself switching between sitting and standing, because standing naturally gives you more real-estate to fill with instruments.
Since there’s no artificial locomotion to speak of, Virtuoso proves to be one of the most comfortable experiences out there.
(only in limited campaign sequences)