Teamwork and Strategy Form the Core of Firewall Zero Hour

First-person shooter title Firewall Zero Hour has some fresh new screenshots earlier in the E3 2018 timetable, and now its developers at First Contact entertainment are following that up with a chat about what players can expect from the upcoming title.

Firewall Zero Hour involves two teams of mercenaries fighting for victory. Players can choose to control the action with either the gun-like PlayStation Aim controller, or stick to the classic feel of the DualShock 4.

Firewall Zero Hour - Screenshot (E3 2018)

Adam Orth said: “We’re really close to finishing the game now, and every engine is on in the studio right now.”

Hess Barber added: “Teamwork is super crucial. Its enhanced by VR and when you combine the pace of the kind of games that we’re talking about and the immersion there’s so many different tactical pieces that fit together to make the game its own special thing.”

The death cam is a unique feature of Firewall Zero Hour which lets new forms of strategy develop: “When you die in Firewall you’re taken out of the game, but you can cooperate with your team in death in a weird way.” Orth said.

Barber continued: “The death cam lets you switch cameras once you’re out. You can change cameras and look around and you’re still communicating with your team. Each camera has a name, so you can tell your team exactly where the other team is.”

Once the other players are whittled down, it becomes a deadly one-on-one dual, with a host of invisible spies aiding each combatant: “You know you’ve got all the other team members helping, it gets very interesting because there are very few places that they can hide.”

Firewall Zero Hour - Screenshot (E3 2018)

Teams can adopt an offensive or defensive role, as Orth explains: “There’s a laptop in each level full of crucial data, and you’re either an attacker trying to get it, or a defender trying to protect it.”

Barber expands on the role of the defender: “If you’re a defender, you’re using mines and traps and C4, getting that area all prepared, knowing the other team is going to come in.”

For future coverage from E3 2018, keep checking back with VRFocus.

Bravo Team Releases ‘Immersion’ Trailer Ahead Of Release

Upcoming virtual reality (VR) first-person shooter Bravo Team has released a new trailer ahead of its release next week.

Bravo Team E32017 (3)

Developer Supermassive Games has been hard at work on first-person shooter (FPS) Bravo Team for some time now, creating an action-packed immersive experience for PlayStation VR owners. After being delayed from last December to March of this year, Bravo Team is only a few days away from release so it’s just the right time for a new trailer to drop. Players will be trapped in hostile territory and using the titles buddy system will need to work with their teammate in order to survive.

Bravo Team E32017 (1)

The new trailer, titled ‘Immersion‘ focuses on how players will be able to experience a heart-pounding, action packed adventure thanks to the PlayStation VR headset and the PlayStation Aim controller. Together, the two will allow players to feel right there in the thick of the action as Bravo Team fight through all manner of situations that can only be solved with bullets. With a variety of weapons at their disposal and complete freedom to move around the battlefield as they wish, making anything count as cover, players will feel their heart rate rising. It has already been confirmed that the title will be bundled with the PlayStation Aim controller meaning players will be able to experience the title as it is intended from the get go.

VRFocus‘ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham went hands-on with Bravo Team when it was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017, saying in his preview: “Bravo Team feels like a safe bet. A by the numbers approach to VR FPS titles, offering more interactivity and tactical opportunities than the stationary John Wick Chronicles, but lacking that special something that makes these early reveals one to watch. The main draw of Bravo Team is going to be its buddy system, whether that’s enough for players remains to be seen.”

Bravo Team will be a PlayStation VR exclusive, arriving on 6th March for the US market and the 7th March for Europe. The latest trailer is available to watch just below.

For more on Bravo Team in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

A Guide to Setting up Your PlayStation VR – Controllers

Everything should now be switched on and ready to go with the PlayStation VR comfortably nestled upon your head – or nearby whilst you read this. To get everything setup properly you have used the standard DualShock 4 controller that comes with every PlayStation 4. Whilst this can easily navigate menus as well as being the default input device for certain virtual reality (VR) experiences, the PlayStation VR does have more immersive options available.

DualShock 4 Controller

First let’s look at the DualShock 4 controller as this is the input device most of you will be familiar with. As the standard there are already many videogames that have been built with the DualShock 4 controller input in mind, especially those released around the launch of PlayStation VR. With a light on the back so it can be tracked, some titles like Statik expertly bring the controller into the virtual world to create an immersive experience. However, it’s hard to deny that VR is more immersive when your hands can actually become a part of the experience, and for this you’ll need PlayStation Move.

DualShock4 Controller

PlayStation Move

Originally launched as an accessory for the PlayStation 3, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) managed to breathe new life into the motion controllers with PlayStation VR. PlayStation Move had been all but abandoned in the consumer market with less and less titles being released. Now they’ve become an essential part of the PlayStation VR experience, giving players the opportunity to directly interact with virtual worlds.

Due to them being available for so many years SIE decided to launch PlayStation VR without the controllers, reducing the initial expense whilst giving players the option of purchasing them. In the 14 months since PlayStation VR arrived more and more videogames now require PlayStation Move as the default input, hence why more bundles are appearing with them and the PlayStation Camera included for one easy purchase.

PlayStation Move

PlayStation Aim Controller

The PlayStation Aim Controller was first introduced in May 2017 to coincide with the launch of Farpoint by Impulse Gear. Essentially a gun peripheral, the controller is again one of those additions that focuses on improving immersion for players, specifically for first-person shooters. Since launch plenty of titles have added support: Arizona Sunshine, Dick Wilde, The Brookhaven Experiment, ROM: Extraction and DOOM VFR to name a few, as well as upcoming videogames like Bravo Team.

A Guide to Setting up Your PlayStation VR

A Guide to Setting up Your PlayStation VR – Headset

A Guide to Setting up Your PlayStation VR – Accessories

Bravo Team and PlayStation Aim Controller Bundle Revealed

The PlayStation Aim controller is slowly growing a list of compatible titles. Having launched with Farpoint earlier this year, the likes of Arizona Sunshine, Raw Data, The Brookhaven Experiment and Dick Wilde also added support for the accessory. The forthcoming Bravo Team from Supermassive Games will not only be compatible, but will also launch as part of a bundle package with the device.

Bravo Team & PlayStation Aim Bundle

The PlayStation Aim controller has been a highly sought after accessory since launch, frequently selling out at retail stores across North America and Europe. Farpoint is available to purchase both at retail and digitally via the PlayStation Store without the PlayStation Aim controller, however the general consensus of the virtual reality (VR) community is that it offers a far superior experience with the device.

The fact that Bravo Team would be compatible with PlayStation Aim had already been confirmed, however the retail bundle deal has been revealed via retailer communication. Bravo Team recently suffered a delay into next year, but upon launch will be available in a package with the PlayStation Aim controller as can be seen in the image on this page.

VRFocus has previously been hands-on with Supermassive Games’ 2018 releases, stating in a preview of Bravo Team: “Using the Aim controller feels very natural and intuitive. The normal face buttons let you reload, switch between cover positions and swap to an emergency sidearm in a pinch, as you might expect. While properly looking down the assault rifle’s red dot sight gives you a much more accurate targeting reticule for getting those head shots. You could also quick turn 180-degrees if you moved too far forward and enemies were behind you – also good for returning to a better defensive position.”

Bravo Team E32017 (3)No official price point has yet been confirmed for the Bravo Team and PlayStation Aim bundle, but VRFocus has been informed that a £79.99 GBP suggested retail price (SRP) is expected; approximately £20 less than the current Farpoint and PlayStation Aim bundle is available for via Amazon.

Bravo Team is now expected to launch in March 2018, exclusively for PlayStation VR. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on this and other forthcoming PlayStation VR videogame titles.

ESRB Provides Further Details on Bravo Team

For PlayStation VR owners who were looking for a military shooter that offered something a bit more in-depth than the average wave shooter, Bravo Team seems to be tailor made for that audience. Further news on what players can expect from the title has now emerged thanks to the ESRB.

The ESRB, or Entertainment Software Rating Board, is the American regulatory organisation that gives age and content ratings to videogames. As such, they get to see them before anyone else, and so can provide a good source of information on some aspects of an upcoming title.

In the case of Bravo Team, the title has been assigned the rating of T for Teen, with content warnings for blood and violence. Slightly more interesting is the description, which describes players as battling militia soldiers in a fictional country. The description also speaks about some sections allowing players to command comrades in the squad to use stealth to take out enemy soldiers.

Bravo Team E32017 (1)

Though there will be a single-player mode, most likely with AI controlling the player’s squadmates, it is the co-op mode that had drawn the most attention. As was said in the VRFocus preview: “Bravo Team should really be looked at as a purely two-player experience, as that going to be where the most fun will be had. Not only will players have to pick each other up should one go down, they’ll need to carefully manage ammo, as the crates available on route only dispense to the player that opens it.”

Bravo Team is due for release on 6th December, 2017 and will be compatible with the PlayStation Aim controller for what the developers at Supermassive Games hope will make for a more intuitive and immersive experience.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Bravo Team as it becomes available.

DOOM VFR Confirmed to Be Aim Controller Compatible

Sony have been waving the virtual reality (VR) flag high during Paris Games Week, kicking off the event with a slew of announcements for the VR platform, providing updates on some titles that were already known about as well as announcing some brand-new titles. The announcement are not over yet, however, as it has now been confirmed that DOOM VFR will be compatible with the PlayStation Aim controller.

Last week an update to the US PlayStation Store listing for DOOM VFR seemed to suggest that the title would indeed be compatible with the Aim Controller peripheral, which was introduced earlier this year alongside sci-fi FPS Farpoint. Many PlayStation VR users has been hoping for Aim controller compatibility to increase the immersion of the experience. The Aim controller has proven to be a very popular peripheral with users, with several titles already incorporating compatibility, such as Arizona Sunshine and The Brookhaven Experiment.

DOOM VFR is one of the most anticipated VR titles of this year, and will be following the mechanics of 2016’s DOOM fairly tightly, though offering some VR twists on gameplay, along with a new story. The new protagonist for DOOM VFR is a scientist who was working at the facility where the DOOM franchise’s famous BFG gun is developed. Caught up in a demonic invasion, the scientist is killed, but their consciousness is uploaded into a machine, which allows the player to take control of a gun-toting security robot and take on the demonic hordes.

DOOM VFR screenshot

DOOM VFR has been available for attendees at Paris Game Week to try out, boasting a new playable build of the title which features some improvements and fixes over versions seen at previous events.

You can check out a VRFocus video on DOOM VFR below.

The title is due to be released on PlayStation VR and HTC Vive on 1st December 2017.

VRFocus will bring you further news on DOOM VFR as it becomes available.

‘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.

DOOM VFR Could be PlayStation VR Aim Controller Compatible

One of the most highly anticipated virtual reality (VR) releases of the year may have had a big new feature revealed. DOOM VFR is set to launch on HTC Vive and PlayStation VR in December 2017, and the latter edition may be compatible with the PlayStation VR Aim controller.

DOOM VFR screenshotDOOM VFR is a first-person shooter (FPS) that follows the gameplay mechanics of 2016’s critically acclaimed DOOM very closely. The player can utilise step movement, dash into enemies, strafe out-of-harms-way and rapidly teleport between locations with ease through a VR-specific control system that, on paper, sounds exceedingly complex. However, in practice DOOM VFR proves to be a compelling experience.

VRFocus has been hands-on with the videogame on multiple occasions, stating in a preview of DOOM VFR: “VRFocus was using combination of snap-moving, jet-strafing and teleportation to eviscerate over a dozen enemies in a single scene without encountering any issue whatsoever. The experience was simply thrilling, without concern of a bad feeling when removing the head-mounted display (HMD).”

The news that DOOM VFR may support the PlayStation VR Aim controller comes from an update to the videogame’s listing on the US PlayStation Store which, as can clearly be seen in the image below, denotes compatibility with the device. At present, the listing on the European PlayStation Store makes no mention of the PlayStation VR Aim controller.

VRFocus has of course reached out to Bethesda Softworks for confirmation, and will update this story once a response has been received.

Having launched earlier this year with the PlayStation VR exclusive Farpoint. Several other titles are already available for the device, including The Brookhaven Experiment, Rom: Extraction and the hugely popular Arizona Sunshine, which you can see in VRFocusguide to PlayStation VR Aim compatible videogames.

DOOM VFR is set to launch for both PlayStation VR and HTC Vive on 1st December 2017, joining Bethesda Softworks’ impressive VR line-up of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR (17th November 2017, PlayStation VR) and Fallout 4 VR (12th December 2017, HTC Vive). VRFocus will keep you updated on all three titles as they approach release this winter.

Is It Time to Move on From the PlayStation Move?

When the HTC Vive was launched to compete with the Oculus Rift, many critics and analysts noted that the Oculus Rift was not at a disadvantage without its own tracked motion controllers. Oculus answered with the launch of the Oculus Touch. It seemed clear that virtual reality (VR) needed motion control as an option, so the PlayStation VR launched with compatibility with the PlayStation Move. Technology has moved on, however, is what was once an asset now a liability?

The PlayStation Move was originally launched back in 2010 for the PlayStation 3, essentially acting as a competitor to the Nintendo Wii and its Wiimote, which was dominating sales at the time. The device has an accelerometer and the glowing orbs on the end could be tracked using the PlayStation Eye camera. While it reviewed well among critics of the time, response by consumers was lacklustre, and it never achieved the support from developers of consumers that Sony had hoped for.

When the PlayStation VR was announced, the need for motion control meant that Sony dragged the PlayStation Move out of whichever dusty closet it had been thrown in in the hopes that integration with VR would revive the technology. Along with the improved version of the PlayStation Camera, Sony hopes that brand recognition and the lower price compared to its rivals on PC would attract customers. Which was largely true. However, there is no escaping the fact that the PlayStation VR often ends up relying on motion control technology which is a generation out of date, and is lacking in accuracy compared to the HTC Vive wands or the Oculus Touch.

PlayStation Move

Indeed, titles which have been ported to the PlayStation VR from other VR platforms often suffer in the accuracy department compared to other versions. Part of the effort to address this problem, which frequently cropped up in shooters where accuracy was key, led to the creation of the Aim controller, which offered true 1-to-1 controls in titles such as Arizona Sunshine and the title it was released with, Farpoint.

There’s another issue that is less commonly addressed: Ergonomics. The Vive Wands and Oculus Touch controllers are designed to be ergonomic and comfortable to hold for long periods. This is not something that can be said of the Move controllers, which due to the design and lack of contour ridges, can be difficult to hold for long periods, and can get slick with sweat, making them slippery. Many users prefer to simply use the Dual Shock 4 controller instead where the option is available, pointing to its superior ergonomics, and often to its improved motion tracking due to updated technology.

Farpoint plus Aim Controller PSVR

With the upcoming Vive Knuckles controllers, which are offering individual finger tracking for a more immersive experience, the PlayStation Move begins to look like a relic from a bygone era in comparison.

The PlayStation Move integration with the PlayStation VR was an excellent solution for the time of launch, but VR is one area where technology is moving so fast that companies have to run to keep up. Sony may want to at least consider breaking into a jog before they get left behind.

Multiplayer FPS With Aim Support Planned For PlayStation VR

Independent developer Mardonpol Inc. have announced on Reddit that the company are working on an online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) for the PlayStation VR that will feature support for the PlayStation Aim controller as a major feature.

The spokesperson on Reddit described the upcoming title as a blend of the Call of Duty series with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, two of the world’s most popular videogames. Further details are sketchy, with the developers so far only releasing a few examples of character models and animations, but have promised that a teaser trailer will be revealed in the next few weeks. So far, the developers have not confirmed what the title for the videogame will be.

Developer Mardonpol Inc. have previously worked on another virtual reality (VR) title, a multiplayer trivia quiz for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift that was released on Steam in March of 2017. The trivia title, called Quiz Night Tonight! Has largely received positive reception on Steam, with players praising the atmosphere of being on a TV gameshow.

It has been noted that the jump from VR trivia quiz to realistic military shooter with online multiplayer is something of a large jump, but several posters on Reddit have already offered to Beta test the title when it gets to that stage and have begun offering suggestions and support to the developers, with many asking for features such as bot support.

Mardonpol Inc. have a challenge ahead of them to develop such a complex title and keep up with the expectations of a high-end VR FPS.

VRFocus will continue to report on this unnamed project and other upcoming PlayStation VR titles.