Category: id Software

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New PSVR ‘DOOM VFR’ Bundle Will Include Updated Headset, Launching December 1st

Just in time for Christmas, the much awaited DOOM VFR is getting a PlayStation VR bundle too, giving you everything you need to battle demons from the pits of Hell.

Including a PSVR headset, PS Camera, the new PSVR demo disc and a copy of Doom VFR, the bundle launches on December 1st for $400. Take note: the bundle does not include PS Move controllers. Doom VFR supports DualShock 4 controllers, PS Move, and PS Aim.

Although Sony doesn’t make specific mention in the bundle’s announcement of which PSVR headset is present, as the company is selling both the launch-era headset (CUH-ZVR1) and the latest hardware refresh (CUH-ZVR2) contemporaneously, a close inspection of the box reveals what appears to be the updated version. The headset pictured in the bundle’s box art is sporting the updated headphone caddy, and on the side you can just barely make out the CUH-ZVR2 marking.

You can find pre-orders at Amazon.

While the updated PSVR is really only a minor hardware refresh, which includes a slightly lighter headset, native HDR pass-through, integrated audio, and slimmer cable – it bears mentioning exactly what you’re getting here.

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'Doom VFR' PlayStation Aim Support Isn't Perfect, but It Is Welcomed

New headset/game bundles currently on offer by Sony include Skyrim VR and GranTurismo Sport, although only the Skyrim bundle contains the updated headset out of the two despite both launching within a week of each other.

If you haven’t heard of Doom VFR, here’s a quick description of the standalone VR title in id Software’s Doom franchise:

Set shortly after the demonic invasion on the UAC’s Martian research facility, you are the last known human survivor–until your death. Under a top-secret UAC operational contingency protocol, your consciousness is transferred to an artificial brain matrix. Your designated purpose: restore operational stability and use any means necessary to stop the onslaught of demons.

The post New PSVR ‘DOOM VFR’ Bundle Will Include Updated Headset, Launching December 1st appeared first on Road to VR.

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‘Doom VFR’ PlayStation Aim Support Isn’t Perfect, but It Is Welcomed

Doom VFR, Id Software’s made-for-VR Doom franchise game, is launching soon on all major VR platforms, including PSVR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift. PSVR users better dust off their PS Aim controllers from the last time they played Farpoint (2017) though, because Doom VFR is putting its iconic guns in your own two hands.

playing Farpoint with PS Aim

Bethesda, Id Software’s parent company, confirmed with us that the game will support DualShock, PS Move, and PS Aim at a special Sony event yesterday, and gave Road to VR executive editor Ben Lang a chance to go hands-on with the PS Aim integration. Lang says that the newfound ease in two-handed shooting was a clear highlight.

Compared to playing Doom VFR with motion controllers, I quite preferred the feel of the PS Aim controller which brings more intuitive aiming and makes wielding some of the game’s massive two-handed weapons, like the Plasma Rifle, feel far more natural. Holding a weapon like the Plasma Rifle in a single hand hand (with Move controllers) just feels wrong from an immersion standpoint since (in VR) it lacks the mass implied by its form.

Although Lang calls its game engine “well suited from a performance standpoint for Doom’s classic speedy gameplay,” there are a few niggling bits that may take some time to get used to when moving around the virtual hellscape with Aim.

In my time with the game I felt like the supremely awkward control scheme on the PS Aim controller—which equally blends buttons, sticks, head aiming, and controller aiming—prevented me from feeling in tune with the fluid gameplay pace that the developers are trying to build. Sure, more time with the game would make me more capable with the controls, but there’s an immersion penalty for unintuitive interactions in VR, and it felt like a total overhaul of the user interaction design would greatly benefit the game.

To its credit, according to Lang, Doom VFR “looks absolutely gorgeous on PlayStation VR, easily qualifying as one of the system’s best looking titles.”

We first saw Doom VFR at E3 2016 where it was featured alongside Bethesda’s other big release heading to headsets soon, Fallout 4 VR (Skyrim VR was announced a year later). Doom VFR represents Bethesda’s/id’s first made-for-VR title which doesn’t retroactively support VR headsets. The story is a unique addition to Doom (2016) that lets you play as a cybernetic survivor who is activated by the UAC to fight the demon invasion, maintain order, and prevent catastrophic failure at the Mars facility.

Doom VFR is launching December 1st, and we’ll be bringing you our review then, so set your calendars for what promises to be the hottest winter on record.

The post ‘Doom VFR’ PlayStation Aim Support Isn’t Perfect, but It Is Welcomed appeared first on Road to VR.

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More Details Emerge On Doom VFR

Bethesda’s surprise announcement of its plans to bring the DOOM franchise into virtual reality (VR) generated much excitement and speculation when it was unveiled at E3 earlier this year. Now the developers have released a new video detailing some of the features that will be available in DOOM VFR.

In DOOM VFR the players takes on the role of a scientist working at the facility where the famous BFG weapon was developed. There, the player find themselves uploaded to a computer after their human body is killed, and from there, jump around various cybernetic systems, taking on the demons that have invaded the facility. The player will be able to take control of a security robot that is completely covered in guns, offering access to massive firepower to cut down the demonic hordes.

“To be able to step into the world is the most exciting part of VR,” said Director Marty Stratton. He also spoke of the various locations that would be available during DOOM VFR, including several that will be familiar to those who have played previous titles.

DOOM VFR

Robert Duffy, Chief Technology Officer at ID software said: “We wanted to build an experience that takes advantage of the key aspects of virtual reality.” he also added while speaking of the various locations that will be available: “All of them are cool but one of them is really spectacular.”

Movement will be primarily handled using teleportation, but there is also a ‘dash’ function available via the trackpad for rapid movement and strafing.

DOOM VFR will be coming to HTC Vive and PlayStation VR at some point later in 2017. The full video feature can be viewed below.

VRFocus will bring you further news on DOOM VFR and other VR titles as it becomes available.

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DOOM VFR Developer id Software Share Developer Experience with VR

Bethesda’s press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017 played host to a bunch of new virtual reality (VR) titles from the publisher. VRFocus hashad a chance to get hands-on with the trinity of Fallout 4 VR for HTC Vive, PlayStation VR’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, and one we’re very excited for, DOOM VFR.

DOOM VFR is a brand new game from Bethesda – not merely a VR adaptation of their hit shooter. Developed internally at id Software, DOOM VFR will see the player transferred to a robot body and spraying bullets into demons in order to bring a UAC Martian facility under control.

Now, id Software’s Robert Duffy and Game Director Marty Stratton share some of their thoughts and experiences with DOOM VFR.

DOOM VFR screenshot

On the challenge of developing DOOM VFR for virtual reality, Duffy, id Software CTO, says; “Developing a DOOM game specifically for virtual reality has provided an exciting opportunity to not only surround players with the world of DOOM like never before, but also let them experience and explore the UAC and Hell in new ways, playing as new characters with totally unique tools and abilities.”

Stratton chimes in, stressing that having a satisfying DOOM experience in VR was a priority; “Since the hallmark of any DOOM game is combat, we’ve made it our top priority to ensure moving, shooting and killing demons with overwhelming force in virtual reality is as brutal and rewarding as it is in the DOOM experience that fans have been enjoying for the past year.”

DOOM VFR screenshot

As mentioned VRFocus has played DOOM VFR, and we can’t praise the VR transformation enough, saying; “Essentially a sequel to 2016’s DOOM reboot, DOOM VFR is just as gloriously bloodthirsty as its predecessor. A huge variety of guns, enemies, locations, exploration and everything that made DOOM one of the best videogames of last year is present and correct in DOOM VFR. But how does such fast and aggressive gameplay work in VR? Well, brilliantly. Yes, even the strafing.”

DOOM VFR will launch in 2017 on PlayStation VR and HTC Vive. If we have any more demon-shredding related news we’ll be sure to let you know on VRFocus.com.

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‘Doom VFR’ Pre-order Available for $30, a Separate “standalone VR game” from ‘Doom’

Doom VFR, the VR-compatible game following Id Software’s recent Doom (2016), is now available for pre-order for $29.99 on PSVR and HTC Vive, a far cry from the non-VR game’s original launch price of $59.99 just last year. You might be wondering why.

While the non-VR Doom has since gone down in price (now $29.99), it comes to us from the same parent studio, Bethesda, that just priced the upcoming Fallout 4 VR at a full price tag of $59.99. Bethesda confidently writes this in the first line of the Fallout 4 VR description:

“Fallout 4 […] finally comes in its entirety to VR. Fallout 4 VR includes the complete core game with all-new combat, crafting, and building systems fully reimagined for virtual reality. The freedom of exploring the wasteland comes alive like never before.”

Unlike Fallout 4 VR, what we’ve read in the product descriptions across the various digital marketplaces about Doom VFR’s doesn’t make it clear whether the VR game is going to be the full base game or another entirely separate experience all together. Only in a recent blog post does Bethesda call Doom VFR a “standalone VR game.”

Doom VFR Product Description

  • Experience DOOM combat and its iconic weapons and demons from an entirely new perspective
  • Physically interact with the DOOM universe as you seamlessly traverse across the UAC facility and Hell using tele-portation and jet-strafe movement
  • Explore all-new UAC Martian research facility areas and discover the unique abilities of a cybernetic UAC security operative
  • Set shortly after the demonic invasion on the UAC’s Martian research facility, you are the last known human survivor – until your death. Under a top-secret UAC operational contingency protocol, your consciousness is transferred to an artificial brain matrix. Your designated purpose: restore operational stability and use any means necessary to stop the on-slaught of demons.

Id Software CTO Robert Duffy says its “a DOOM game specifically for virtual reality [which] has provided an exciting opportunity to not only surround players with the world of DOOM like never before, but also let them experience and explore the UAC and Hell in new ways, playing as new characters with totally unique tools and abilities.”

The game is currently available for pre-order now through the PlayStation Store, Steam and Amazon. Published release dates appear to be placeholders, as Bethesda’s only mentioned a Q4 2017 launch window.

We’re currently reporting from E3 in Los Angeles, so check back for more news surrounding new VR games and experiences.

The post ‘Doom VFR’ Pre-order Available for $30, a Separate “standalone VR game” from ‘Doom’ appeared first on Road to VR.

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DOOM VFR is a New Game; Story Details Revealed

Today’s reveal of DOOM VFR has been met with significant praise, given that the publisher is targeting both PC and console formats through HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. However more details on the highly anticipated release are coming thick-and-fast, as Bethesda Softworks has now confirmed that DOOM VFR is not simply a remastered version of 2016’s DOOM for virtual reality (VR), but an entirely new entry in the franchise.

 

DOOM VFR screenshotDeveloped by id Software, the studio that created the DOOM franchise, DOOM VFR casts the player as the last known human survivor of the demonic invasion of the UAC’s Martian research facility. That is, until you yourself are torn from the mortal coil. As part of a top-secret UAC contingency protocol, your consciousness is transferred to an ‘artificial brain matrix’, or in layman’s terms, a robot body. It’s then your sole purpose to restore stability to the facility by using any means necessary. Including a great deal of violence.

Players of DOOM VFR will be able to explore entirely new areas of the UAC facility not seen in last year’s DOOM, as well as use the new abilities of the cybernetic UAC operative. According to Bethesda Softworks:

”DOOM VFR brings the fast-paced, brutal gameplay fans of the series love to virtual reality. Immerse yourself in the UAC facility on Mars and the depths of Hell, as your skills are put to the test through intense combat and challenging puzzle-solving. Play as a cybernetic survivor who is activated by the UAC to fight the demon invasion, maintain order, and prevent catastrophic failure at the Mars facility. Lay waste to an army of demonic foes as you explore and interact with the outlandish world of DOOM from an entirely new perspective.”

DOOM VFR will launch late in 2017, alongside Fallout 4 VR, as part of Bethesda Softworks’ first step into VR. Already available for pre-order and confirmed for launch at physical retail, DOOM VFR will be priced at $29.99 USD. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on DOOM VFR and Fallout 4 VR.