Dash League runs competitive 5v5 tournaments for the game in a league format and it’s teamed up with SideQuest and Logitech for this weekend’s tournament matches as part of the Side Dash Tournament. All the matches will be broadcast online and it kicks off at 12pm PDT on May 22.
Tournament registration was previously open to existing Dash League members but all spots have now been filled. Those who registered, of which there are currently 70, are placed into five-person teams to compete with throughout the tournament. You can see a list of all the currently registered players here.
While Dash League is running the tournament organization, it’s also being run in partnership with SideQuest and Logitech.
“SideQuest are excited about the potential of Esports in VR and how we can take the action of traditional sports married with the convenience of Esports and create really fun and engaging events in VR,” said SideQuest COO and Co-Found Orla Harris in a prepared statement. “We welcome spectators to Side Dash. We are gathering feedback on the tournament from both participants and spectators with the hope of creating further Esports possibilities for the SideQuest community.”
Logitech’s support is coming in the form of prizing and the use of its tournament management platform, Challonge. First place in the tournament receives $400 ($80/player), second gets $250 ($50/player) and third place $150 ($30/player).
The Side Dash Tournament begins at 12pm PDT / 8pm BST on May 22 and will be available to watch at www.side.quest/sidedash.
Hyper Dash is out now on Quest and PC VR with full cross-play and after spending a couple of weeks with the full release version on Quest 2, we’re excited to report it’s a great competitive VR shooter. Read on for our full Hyper Dash review!
At its core, Hyper Dash is a game about speed. Solaris does a good job of tapping into that straight-forward arena shooter feel, Onward feels like a great compromise towards a realistic military shooter, and Contractors really does play like Call of Duty in VR—but Hyper Dash is wholly unique. It’s a game about blistering fast movement and pure chaos that feels at once both overwhelming and supremely satisfying. Not to mention it’s extremely difficult with a skill curve that feels completely new, even if you’ve got extensive VR shooter experience.
You don’t want to miss this one.
Hyper Dash Review – The Facts
What is it?: 5v5 team-based competitive VR shooter with PC VR and Quest cross-play Platforms: Quest, Steam, andViveport Release Date: February 25th, 2021 Price: $19.99
Usually in a VR game you’ll have to choose between different types of movement. The most popular two forms of movement, or locomotion, right now across the industry is “smooth” movement, in which you direct your body through the game world using the analog sticks like in a traditional video game, and teleportation movement.
This was most prominently popularized originally by Cloudhead in the first Episode of The Gallery and dubbed “blink” movement because you would point to a spot and then the screen quickly fades out and back in with you in the new location. It was a great and effective method to prevent motion sickness that developers still deploy to this day.
Hyper Dash however builds its foundation on a hybrid system at the very core of its identity that has you mix and match both smooth movement and a hybrid movement called dashing. If you played Raw Data from Survios, you might remember a “dash” mechanic there as well in which you will zoom forward with blurred vision to a new location, or in other words, dash.
So in Hyper Dash, as you can assume by the name, you’ll be expected to do a lot of dashing. All the time. It not only makes traversing the maps quickly a ton of fun, but it’s a tactical maneuver that makes you really hard to hit. Quick dashes were popular in the old Quake and Unreal games as well during PvP matches and this definitely channels a lot of that old-school arena shooter charm.
In terms of content, Hyper Dash has plenty to offer as long as you’re in it for the online multiplayer. You can technically play offline against bots, but the AI isn’t really capable enough to make it anywhere near as fun as playing against other humans. Thankfully, servers seem pretty populated here thanks to the cross-platform multiplayer and I never had trouble finding a match.
After over a year of alpha and beta testing, Hyper Dash seems to have a dedicated fanbase. Although, it’s worth noting, that at least in my experience both during daytime hours and late at night that the audience seems to skew on the younger end of the spectrum. Judging from the voices I’ve heard in voice chat (which can be turned off completely, switched to push to talk, or always on) most people sound like young teenagers in most cases.
If you do have trouble finding players though it auto-fills with bots so you never have to sit there at a ‘Searching for Match’ screen. There’s also an active competitive scene known as ‘Dash League’ that broadcasts games and features tournament play already. It’s currently in Season 2, carrying forward from the alpha. If you play on PC, you can spectate matches with drones to get unique camera angles like in Onward.
Overall players seem very friendly, active, and eager to play with dozens of lobbies up at any given time. Just be prepared for lots of internet slang, meme references, and some lighthearted trash talk.
There’s good weapon variety here with your basic pistols, red-dot long range pistols, SMGs, shotguns, and so on. Nothing too exotic or surprising here. Truthfully, the majority of people seem perfectly happy just dual-wielding the starter pistols most of the time; it’s totally valid since they’re actually quite good.
Hyper Dash Review – Comfort Settings
This is one of the more intense VR shooters on the market from a comfort perspective and that’s by design. There is no option for teleportation-only movement since that would fundamentally ruin the entire premise of the game’s movement systems. You can move with the joystick, sprint, grind, and dash. The only real comfort settings are smooth vs snap turning. If you’re playing on Quest though or have a wireless PC VR headset, I just recommend physically turning your body though.
Don’t be surprised if you get blasted off a rail mid-grind from someone a football field away using dual pistols. Hyper Dash players are really good. It could benefit from smarter skill-based matchmaking since it’s not the easiest game to get the hang of, but playing against ‘Hard’ bot lobbies is a good starting point. It’s also sorely missing any kind of progression system beyond unlocking a couple of helmet cosmetics as you level up, but there’s nothing else in terms of loadouts, gun options, gear, more detailed avatar customization, or anything like that at all. It’s a big missed opportunity—something that only Population: One has really nailed out of the gate in VR.
You’ve got your basic deathmatch mode and point-capture based mode in domination, but the real standouts for me were control point, which is basically king of the hill, and payload, which works just like you’d expect if you’ve ever played Overwatch or Echo Combat. Modes that require more coordination and planning than just zipping around at breakneck speed are what I gravitated towards the most.
Triangle Factory crafted some stellar maps as well. There are only six of them, but they’re dripping with personality and feature lots of verticality. The one with the grind rails twisting across a giant water quarry seems to be extremely popular. It reminds me a bit of Lockout from Halo 2 with its large open gap in the middle. Since you can grind on rails in Hyper Dash or dash upwards or downwards, there are always a wide array of directions you can go at any given moment. It’s liberating to not feel like your feet are glued to the ground as they are in most VR shooters.
Hyper Dash Review – Final Verdict
If you’re tired of the military settings of most VR shooters (Onward, Contractors, Pavlov, Zero Caliber, Medal of Honor, and so on) and don’t care about battle royale like Population: One, then Hyper Dash is the antidote. It’s much faster and more intense than Solaris and really channels the speed and intensity you might recall from popular PC arena shooters like Quake. The learning curve is steep, but it’s got an active playerbase, full PC VR to Quest crossplay, and a good selection of maps and game modes to keep you busy.
For more on how we arrived at this score, read our review guidelines. This review was conducted using a digital release version of the game on a Quest 2 headset.
Update: Hyper Dash is out now on Oculus Quest for $20.
Original: It’s the end of an era for Triangle Factory’s Hyper Dash as the SideQuest Alpha version of the game wraps up ahead of full release.
For the past year players have been able to test out this arena-based multiplayer VR shooter for free via SideQuest, the sideloading platform. The game has built up quite a following in that time – it’s been downloaded nearly 150K times on the service. Check out the latest trailer for the game below.
You can no longer download Hyper Dash from the SideQuest page, however, as it just links to the official Oculus Store listing. As Reddit users have found, anyone with the game already installed will just get a message about the full launch at 10am PT on February 25th when booting it up.
Quest isn’t the only platform that Hyper Dash will grace tomorrow. The game’s also coming to SteamVR and Viveport, and there will be cross-buy support with the Rift version too.
Hyper Dash mixes a different number of locomotion options, including rail grinding and (you guessed it) dashing to create a fast-paced VR shooter. The game comes with four game modes including mainstays like deathmatch, as well as the ability to remix modes with mutators. There’s also offline play with bots and dedicated servers. Will all of that be enough for the game to hold its own up against the likes of Onward and Popluation: One? We’ll find out starting this Thursday.
Are you planning on picking up Hyper Dash tomorrow? Let us know in the comments below!
It seems that recently, virtual reality (VR) titles have either been sporadically launching or simply dropping last minute, which has meant this is VRFocus‘ first roundup of upcoming videogames this month. As usual, here are five new VR experiences you may not want to miss.
A Wake Inn – VR Bros
First up is horror title A Wake Inn by Polish team VR Bros. Set in the creepy Silver Inn Hotel, you wake to find yourself in the body of a mechanical doll. Unable to walk you have to explore the hotel in a wheelchair, searching the rooms for clues and useful items whilst trying to avoid the very deadly residents – the dolls.
This frantic, team-based first-person shooter (FPS) offers ten players (5v5) to go head to head across a range of gameplay modes including Payload, Domination, Control Point and Deathmatch. Match parameters can be altered with mutators plus there’s an offline bot-mode if other players aren’t available or you just want to practice.
Originally due for release in 2020, Naau: The Lost Eye comes from Turkish indie team Studio Gamebit. Combining action, adventure, and puzzle gameplay mechanics, the Early Access title offers physics-based combat so players can use bows, crossbows, swords and other melee weapons. Or utilise magic when confronted by wizards, monsters and even dangerous flora and fauna.
The swinging puzzle title has hit every other headset and now it’s finally PlayStation VR’s turn. Set in a space station orbiting Jupiter, you have to save yourself and the complex by navigating its dangerous structure using a pair of grappling suction cups attached to each hand. Yupitergrad isone of those indie surprises of 2020.
Supported platforms: PlayStation VR
Launch date: 25th February
Pickup Basketball VR – Revog Games
Another PC VR Early Access title, Pick Basketball VR offers both single-player and multiplayer modes supporting up to four people. Test your skills in 1v1, 2v2, 3 Point Contest, HORSE, and Free Shoot across Gym, Street, Paris, and Skyrise Rooftop courts. Fully supporting sim-style mechanics you’ll be able to dribble and dunk or practice those layups, jump shots, blocks, passes, and rebounds.
Oculus Quest already has some great multiplayer shooters which are native to the headset like Population: One, Contractors, Onward and Solaris Offworld Combat. Next month that competition will increase with the arrival of team-based 5vs5 FPS Hyper Dash to the Oculus Store.
Developed by Triangle Factory, Hyper Dash has been available through Sidequest since April 2020, receiving plenty of positive feedback from the community. Now the title has appeared on the Coming Soon section of the Oculus Store with a release window indicating next month.
This is a pure arena shooter where teams compete across a range of gameplay modes including Payload, Domination, Control Point and Deathmatch. They can further alter the parameters of each match with Mutators to mix things up.
There are an array of options to ensure all players are catered for, from left-hand support and rebind-able controls to voice chat so teams can communicate and an offline bot-mode if other players aren’t available or you just want to practice.
The Oculus Store launch will support cross-buy between Oculus Quest and Rift, although the Oculus Rift listing isn’t dated so may arrive at a later point. Hyper Dash is also scheduled for a Steam launch in Q1 2021 supporting Rift, Valve Index, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality. It could well be the case that a multiplatform lunch will take place to ensure adequate player numbers.
Triangle Factory’s Hyper Dash is the next game to get a full launch on the Oculus Store after initially debuting on SideQuest last year.
The multiplayer shooter is now listed in the coming soon section of the Oculus Store. The game’s open alpha build launched on SideQuest back in April 2020 with cross-play on PC VR headsets. Watch the trailer for that early release below.
Hyper Dash Oculus Quest Trailer
Hyper Dash offers 5v5 arena-based VR multiplayer similar to Solaris or, as we mentioned when we reported on the game’s reveal in 2019, RIGS. The game caters to a range of movement styles but establishes snappy pacing with rails to grind along, dual-wielding weapons and more.
The full Quest launch will keep cross-play support and throw-in cross-buy across Rift and Quest, too. The game will launch with four multiplayer modes, an offline option with bots and dedicated servers.
But this isn’t the first game to launch fully on Quest after an initial release on SideQuest. Contractors, another multiplayer FPS, did the very same last year after running a beta that had to be sideloaded. Along with a place for tech demos and experiments, SideQuest has become a destination for titles that don’t get approved for sale on the Quest store, but clearly some titles go the other way.
Quest isn’t the only store to be getting Hyper Dash soon, though; it’s also pegged for release on SteamVR in Q1 of this year. We’ll let you know when we have a final release date for both versions of the game. Will you be checking out the Hyper Dash Oculus Quest version? Let us know in the comments below!
Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know what you think is the very best VR shooter available on Oculus Quest natively?
The Oculus Quest 2 is out and it brings with it improved performance and slightly upgraded visuals for many Quest games. Now with the news that Contractors is finally officially releasing on the Quest store, I started wondering: what’s everyone’s favorite shooter on Quest?
Obviously we have a few different genres to pick from here. There are the multiplayer competitive shooters like Onward, Contractors, Pavlov: Shack, Hyper Dash, Rec Room Paintball, Laser Tag, Rec Royale, and so one. Then you’ve got co-op shooters like Arizona Sunshine, Crisis VRigade, Drop Dead, etc. And finally there are the single-player shooter adventures like Phantom: Covert Ops, Espire, and Robo Recall.
That’s a lot of games to pick from and I’ve definitely forgotten to include several I’m sure. So, based on what’s out there, what do you think is the very best VR shooter available natively on the Oculus Quest? This excludes games that are not available natively on Quest, like Zero Caliber or something else on PC that you can only play via Virtual Desktop or Oculus Link. We’re talking native only via the Quest store or Sidequest.
Hyper Dash is a new fast-paced multiplayer shooter available on SideQuest featuring cross-play with PC VR.
You can try the alpha testing release right now and Hyper Dash is free while still in development.
The game supports up to 5 versus 5 player matches in VR with spectators who can log in without a headset. The non-VR participants control a drone that can be seen in game. There are eight weapons currently in the game that are all one handed so you can dual wield. It features three modes:
Payload is like Overwatch and Team Fortress 2
Domination challenges teams to capture three points and hold them for five seconds to score and the first team to three points wins
Capture Point is a mode where you try to hold a point in the middle of the map for 300 seconds
The game combines multiple movement systems including smooth locomotion and rail grinding that gets you around a map quickly after a respawn. There’s also a dash/teleport mechanic described as the main way of moving around in the game but it is limited to three dashes at a time. The dashes recharge and you can boost the dashes to five with a pickup located around the map.
“You can point your dash preview arc to where you want to dash. If you let go of the button you dash to the highlighted location in a fraction of a second,” Triangle Factory developer Jeroen Dessaux explained in a direct message. “The dash leaves a visible trail so players see where you went and it’s not too disorienting.”
The alpha release available now publicly also includes new sprinting features the developers are testing where “if you click the joystick button you will use 1 dash bar, but start sprinting for a few seconds,” Dessaux explained. “This is useful in a few situations. Some players wanted this and using the dash bar to restrict it seems like a good tradeoff. It also leaves a dash trail to make you more visible.” You can also sprint on the rails as well.
No price has been decided for the final game yet but it will be a paid title when it is finished and the developers say Facebook gave them the go ahead for eventual release on the Quest Oculus Store.
“We’ll keep working on the game and take in community feedback, and release new builds at the end of each month until we release,” Dessaux explained in an email.
Check out the latest trailer here:
You can find the PC version of the game — which should work with both Oculus Rift and SteamVR headsets — in the game’s Discord server. You can also find the development version of Hyper Dash on SideQuest here.
The issue of virtual reality (VR) induced nausea – or simulator sickness – is a tricky one. Not everyone suffers from it and those that do can find different things trigger it. The main cause is movement, which is why teleportation has become a standard feature for many titles. VR software solutions company Fantom Fathom has announced development of another solution, Hyper Dash.
The locomotion system aims to solve VR nausea by matching a player’s actual movement to their characters virtual movements by software alone. Without using controller or gesture input, users control their in-game movements by shifting their center of gravity, able to move around with speed because Hyper Dash has been designed to match their sense of balance with their in-game motion.
“We began the process to solving this problem by interviewing and observing participants playing VR games that made them dizzy,” said CEO and Founder, Douglas Liang in a statement. “After deriving that the core problem of VR sickness is caused by visual and sensory dissonance, we started brainstorming on every angle, speed, input, output, designs, and mechanics. We reiterated this process with over hundreds of Concept Solutions before honing in on what we finally have today.”
“Considering motion sickness represents the largest obstacle in virtual reality, the launch of this technology is one of the greatest advancements for the VR gaming space,” explained CMO Cynthia Salarizadeh. “We hope to see the VR industry open up to increased investment and player participation after the industry gets its hands on this algorithm. Our confidence in its game changing ability is unparalleled.”
The technology is agnostic, working on VR platforms including HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and mobile VR. The first game to utilise Hyper Dash will be Fantom Fathom’s APEX Tournament, a multiplayer (6v6) team-based shooter that will be available for purchase later this fall on Steam.
For any further updates from Fantom Fathom, keep reading VRFocus.
