Planetrism – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

December 13, 2017

Open World VR-RPG Planetrism: Demo für Rift und Vive verfügbar

Mit Verspätung soll nächstes Jahr das Open World RPG Planetrism erscheinen. Nach etlichen Videos und anderem Material kann man jetzt eine kostenlose Demo für die HTC Vive und Oculus Rift von der Entwickler-Seite herunterladen und selbst testen, ob das VR-Spiel den Erwartungen gerecht wird.

Planetrism: Demo für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive

Ursprünglich war die Veröffentlichung von Planetrism noch dieses Jahr geplant, allerdings verschiebt sich der Termin auf irgendwann im nächsten Jahr. Um die Wartezeit zu verkürzen, haben die beiden finnischen Entwickler des Open World RPG jetzt eine Demo freigegeben, mit der man in den VR-Titel hineinschnnuppern kann. Die Entwickler erklären, dass viele Features des vollen Spiels in der Demo zwar fehlen, man aber ein gutes Gefühl dafür bekommt, wie Plantrism aussieht.

Planetrism VR

Mit der Demo kann man zudem die Fortbewegung üben. Der VR-Titel setzt Roomscale voraus und unterstützt keine Gamecontroller und keine Teleportation. Um sich zu drehen, muss der Spieler sich drehen. Für die Fortbewegung drückt man einen Button und bewegt sich anschließend in die Richtung, in die man mit der Hand zeigt. Je weiter entfernt man zeigt, umso schneller läuft der Spieler. Außerdem darf man auch schwimmend und kletternd den Planeten erkunden.

Planetrism spielt 200 Jahre in der Zukunft: Die Überbevölkerung machte es nötig, neue Planeten zu erschließen. Eine dieser Kolonien gründet der Spieler und baut sie auf. Zudem begibt man sich beispielsweise auf die Suche nach Rohstoffen und übernimmt das Ressourcen-Mangament, um auf dem fremden Planeten überleben zu können. In der frei erkundbaren Welt warten längere Story-Stränge sowie Neben-Quests auf den Spieler.

Den Link zur Demo von Plantrism findet man auf der Webseite zum Spiel, der Download ist 1,2 Gigabyte groß. Ab einer NVIDIA GTX 1060 soll der Titel einwandfrei laufen, schwächere Grafikkarten haben die Finnen nicht getestet.

(Via Upload VR)

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December 11, 2017

Visually-Stunning Planetrism Gets A Demo On Rift And Vive

Planetrism looks like it could be a new visual showcase for your VR headset, and you can get a taste of it right now.

Built in Unreal Engine 4, Planetrism is developed by Mika Laaksonen and Kimmo Kaunela, from Turku, Finland. It looks to be a sci-fi role-playing game (RPG) with survival elements. In it, you explore a new planet located light years away from our solar system. Over the course of the game you’ll scavenge the land for energy and resources, use them to build a colony with machines and gradually come to understand the planet’s ecology as you improve your skills.

Judging by some of the gameplay videos like the one below, you’ll also spend a lot of time marveling at the sheer amount of detail applied to the fantastical setting.

Want to give it a try for yourself? The demo is available for free from an official website with Rift and Vive support. Many of the key features are missing, but it’s designed to show you the game’s basic interactions as well as locomotion and performance.

Overall it looks pretty ambitious, especially considering it’s been developed by just two people. A full release is planned for 2018 and you can follow the developer’s progress in a DevLog on the official site.

Tagged with: Planetrism

November 5, 2017

360 Images from the World of Planetrism

If you’ve been keeping up with VRFocus’ coverage of Planetrism then a couple of days ago you’ll have seen some of the wonderful images and concept art that’s been created by developers Mika Laaksonen and Kimmo Kaunela in Unreal Engine 4. Well now VRFocus has some more pics for you to feast your eyes on, this time though they’re 360-degree.

Just like before these new images showcase an almost barren, desolate alien world which humanity is trying to colonise. From the amazing vistas with multiple planets, abstract rock formations and the various human habitats that’ll keep players safe as they try to survive this hostile world, the shots the developers have provided highlight the massive undertaking they’ve set themselves in building Planetrism and the potential for this sci-fi role-playing game (RPG).

Planetrism’s story is set 200 years from now, where mankind has spread throughout the Solar system as the Earth became less habitable due to overpopulation and pollution, with resources becoming scarce. You play a colonist who’s headed out to a distant exoplanet in a bid to claim new resources, but doing so is never an easy matter.

As the story unfolds you’ll need to build the colony and machines needed to run it. Collect energy and resources, growing food and nutrients for everyone whilst learning about the environment and gaining new skills to survive.

In September Planetrism was one of three winners of the Unreal Engine NVIDIA Edge Award, securing the duo an NVIDIA GTX 1080Ti. In response team said: “This award means a lot for us. This is very inspiring and gives a tremendous boost to push our effort even further. But [the] most important thing is moral support. We really are only a two man game development team from nowhere.”

No specific release date has yet been announced, but VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Planetrism.

November 2, 2017

Creating An Alien World: Check Out This Concept Art For Planetrism

When it comes to Earth there is incalculable creativity everywhere you look. Buildings have a different appearance depending upon how old they are, even the style between recent decades is noticeable. Such variety. Then there are the people and cultures, even more variety. How many different types of vehicles, how many colours and styles of each? What about the animals? The plant life? The geography? The geology? The forests and oceans? What about the weather and sky itself?

When you’ve considered that you may want to consider what it must be like to have to create all of that from scratch. Create a new world. So, how would do you go about creating a brand-new world?

Last week we discussed Planetrism, an open world colonisation videogame set two centuries from now which is being created by Mika Laaksonen and Kimmo Kaunela in Unreal Engine 4. The title will eventually be available for both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive head-mounted displays (HMDs). To show you just what kind of thought and design goes into creating a new world – here’s Planetrism’s take on things.

Below you can find an array of art and concept pieces showing plants, guns, tools, and equipment and even some alien worms that look like they might be a cousin of the mind-altering ones from Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. Will they burrow into your brain and make you a slave or will they cultivate the land and make it suitable to grow the food you will need to survive on this new world? Maybe they’ll make food of you instead. You’ll have to wait to find out.

“Mankind’s future leads to the distant stars. You have an opportunity of your lifetime to lead colonization as a first-hand experience on an uncharted planet far away from Earth.” Explains the Planetrism official website. “Explore the environment, secure necessary resources and energy for survival, build your colony one building at a time and manage your infrastructure. Encounter unknown phenomena and mysteries while carving a future for you and generations to come.”

VRFocus will have more information relating to Planetrism very soon.

October 29, 2017

Planetrism Touches Down With New Screenshots From A New World

Thanks to virtual reality (VR) you can find yourself immersed in any number of fantastic locations real or fictional. In the last week alone on VRFocus we’ve discussed escaping the clutches of a demonic clown in a dangerous haunted house and partaking in gunfights in a version of the Wild West. We’ve had rocking out in a virtual music studio, battling pirates, weaponised cybernetic apes and becoming a race car engineer to becoming a warrior in a sword and sorcery fantasy land, Even being a basic wage slave, thanks to the latest update from Job Simulator.

Perhaps the most popular genre for VR gaming, at least critically, is that involving the subject of space. Be it dogfighting with spaceships or exploring alien worlds. The latest to be revealed in the latter category this week was Planetrism. Being built with Unreal Engine 4 by a two-man team (Mika Laaksonen and Kimmo Kaunela) Planetrism is expected to launch ‘in the near future’ for both of the main PC VR head mounted displays (HMDs) – the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

Planetrism is an open world experience set some 200 years into the future and follows how the human race has fared following leaving the confines of an overpopulated and over polluted Earth. One struggling to cope as humanity realises Earth’s natural resources are all but exhausted. The human race is always moving, and move on it must, spreading out throughout the solar system.

“It is very harsh frontier life full of hard work, dangers of unknown territories, but there are also adventures filled with wonders and mysteries of universe.” Kaunela explained to VRFocus. But with the Earth all but reduced to a husk has humanity truly learned from their mistakes? Or is it doomed to repeat the process in its new home? The open world adventure is yours to decide.

We’ve now got a full array of screenshots for the title to show to you, with underwater scenes, oases in a dusty desert landscape, vibrantly coloured plant life and deep mysterious cave systems. Navigate through the gallery below and click on an image you want to see a larger version of. VRFocus will be back with more about Planetrism very soon

October 23, 2017

Open-World RPG Planetrism Heading to Oculus Rift & HTC Vive

Planetrism is a story driven role-playing game (RPG) currently in development for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The ambitious science-fiction videogame is being developed by a two-man team, Mika Laaksonen and Kimmo Kaunela, with a view to launching in the ‘near future’.

Planetrism screenshot Set in the future, 200 years from now, Planetrism tells the tale of how mankind has spread throughout the Solar system. The Earth has become overpopulated and polluted, and is in sociological-economical turmoil due to scarce resources. As new colonists head to distant exoplanets in a race to claim new resources, an important question is almost silenced: will mankind establish a paradise or just repeat its past mistakes?

Planetrism is an open world experience filled with long story arcs, small side adventures and problems to solve. According to the development team, the open world structure ensures that the player may choose his or her own path and experience an alien world at his own pace, regardless of the main story. The player can determine his or her own goals, although there is also the need to consider and plan actions in the context of survival and resources management.

“Planetrism is a virtual reality science fiction role-playing game where you experience the life of a colonist on an exoplanet light years away from [our] Solar system. It is very harsh frontier life full of hard work, dangers of unknown territories, but there are also adventures filled with wonders and mysteries of universe. Planetrism combines personal experience of adventurous colonist life with leadership and management of whole colony,” stated Kaunela in an e-mail to VRFocus.

Planetrism screenshot The player can create a unique character with different attributes and skills; learn new skills and improve through progress. Mastering certain skills may prove crucial to surviving on an alien environment, and the player has to choose carefully how to use his time and what to learn.

Built with Unreal Engine 4, Planetrism is expected to launch later this year for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The HTC Vive version will support both Windows 10 and Mac OS platforms. No specific release date has yet been announced, but VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Planetrism.