Originally released in 2018, Vox Machinae is a gem of a VR mech game that’s well loved by those that have played it. Though the title looked destined to remain focused on multiplayer, the developer today made the surprise announcement that it plans to release a fully featured single player campaign this year.
Vox Machinaehas a storied history dating back to at least 2014 when the game was first previewed, well before the advent of motion controllers as the standard means of input for VR content and nearly two years before the first tethered consumer VR headsets even hit the market. Despite its very early entrance into the VR scene, indie backing, and lengthy development period, Vox Machinae defied the odds and managed to make its way to an early access launch in 2018. Even in 2022, the game stands as one of the best VR mech sims available today.
However, from the outset the game has been (understandably) limited to a multiplayer in scope. And while it’s fun, there’s plenty who have craved a narrative adventure on which to take the game’s hulking mechs—despite that kind of project being well outside the realm of possibility for developer Space Bullet Corp, the tiny indie studio behind the game. Or so it seemed.
It turns out the studio has been quietly toiling away on just that—a single player campaign for Vox Machinae—which it expects to launch this year as a free update to the base game. The update will coincide with the 1.0 version of the game which will bring it out of early access after all these years.
Space Bullet Corp indicates it has a fairly ambitious scope for the project which it says will include a full cast of voiced characters, a story spanning multiple planets, an original soundtrack, and more.
'Vox Machinae' Single Player Campaign Screenshots
1 of 9
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
Image courtesy Space Bullet Corp
There isn’t a trailer yet, but the studio shared some short teasers with us so far, including a mech ‘launch’ sequence and what appears to be an absolutely massive carrier-like mech platform which players will presumably encounter in the campaign.
A full single player campaign seems so ambitious for the tiny studio that I asked how on Earth they’re managing to pull it off.
Space Bullet Corp co-founder Jakub Czeszejko-Sochacki told me that the studio consisted of a crew of just three full-time developers at the early access launch of the game in 2018. As they’ve begun working on the single player campaign they’ve ramped up to six full-time developers with three additional contractors. And they’ve purportedly been working on the project for more than two years at this point.
That’s still quite a small team to pull off a full single player campaign, but the studio has already shown the capacity to punch well above its weight class, so they’ve certainly got our attention.
Space Bullet Corp says it expects to launch Vox Machinae 1.0 with the single player campaign sometime this year, but hasn’t given a more specific release date yet. The early access version of the game is currently available on Oculus PC and Steam (including non-VR support); when I asked if the studio had any plans to bring the game to Quest or PSVR, I was told—in a seemingly teasing way—it would “have another announcement to make in the near future to address these kinds of questions.”
The 2018 early access launch of VR mech game Vox Machinae may feel like a distant memory by now, but it still stands as perhaps the most immersive VR mech game to date. Updates over the last two years have added co-op modes, a helpful cross-platform friends list, gameplay-changing ‘modules’, new mechs, weapons, and more. Developer Space Bullet tells us it isn’t done yet; the studio teases “ambitious plans” for the game’s eventual 1.0 launch and beyond.
Fans of the genre know that mech games usually fall along a spectrum that spans from complex ‘simulator’ style gameplay to simple ‘arcade’ style gameplay, with games on each side having a distinctly different feel.
As a VR mech game, Vox Machinae strikes and impressive balance between playability and immersion. It feels like a simulator, but manages to be almost as easy as an arcade game to pick up while remaining challenging to master. It’s controls and systems are intuitive enough that you can grasp the basics in a match or two, but that doesn’t stop the game from delivering a incredible sense of immersion thanks to its interactive cockpit and unique mech control model.
Image courtesy Space Bullet
Even now, two years after its early access launch, Vox Machinae remains arguably unmatched in immersion by any other VR mech game. And that’s made for a sturdy foundation atop which developer Space Bullet has been slowly adding.
Co-op & Comrades
Image courtesy Space Bullet
One of the biggest improvements, at least for anyone who didn’t take to the game’s multiplayer-only modes at launch, is the addition of two co-op modes that let players work together rather than destroy each other.
Added throughout 2019, the game’s co-op modes support up to four players. In Convoy, players must escort three supply trucks along a route while defending them from enemy mechs. Along the way you may find a base to capture or an enemy convoy to eliminate. Bot Stomp plays out like a wave shooter with ever increasing difficulty where players will also bump into more powerful Elite and Guardian enemy variants.
While the gameplay of the co-op modes isn’t fundamentally different than the multiplayer modes, they’re a great option to enjoy the immersion of the game and feel like you’re stomping around in skyscraper-sized mechs on alien worlds with the gang.
Speaking of the gang, the game’s latest update earlier this year added a new cross-platform friends list system called Comrades. The in-game system makes it a breeze to add a fellow pilot to your Comrades list no matter if they’re playing on Steam or Oculus PC, making it easy to keep a tab on your friends and join them in their match.
And while the game’s player base remains small, Vox Machinae developer Space Bullet tells us that the game’s community is a passionate bunch.
“[…] we’re continually encouraged by the tight-knit community that is growing around Vox Machinae, with folks being particularly active over on our Discord server,” the studio tells Road to VR. “They’ve taken to organising their own league play, and building out their own backstories and skirmish encounters. It’s quite rewarding to have played a role in helping to foster that level of engagement.”
Modules for Deeper Gameplay
Another large addition to the game added in late 2019 are ‘Modules’ which are a group of active and passive mech modifications, two of which can be added to your loadout at any time. There’s 11 Modules so far, and they provide interesting tweaks which can change the way you play—like an ‘Air Brake’ which slows down your forward movement for quick stops when using jump jets, or the Coolant Flush which lets you shut down your mech to quickly cool its weapons.
Update Overview
There’s been lots of other tweaks to the game too. Space Bullet offered up a handy overview of the larger changes since the game launched (which have also included two new mechs and two new weapons):
Space Bullet tells Road to VR that the next update for Vox Machinae is due out in “late summer,” and offered a preview of some of the changes:
Bots have improved aim, will fire at targets of opportunity when their main target is out of view, and can engage at longer distances than before.
Little buildings now have dust/explosion effects when they get destroyed.
Cables interactions and movement has been greatly improved
Hopper has been redesigned to be 20% smaller, making him much harder to hit.
Optimizations to CPU usage.
Reduced load time when first starting the game.
Improved legibility of text.
The studio further says that “lots of other things still getting added, but we haven’t confirmed for them release yet.”
The Future of Vox Machinae
Image courtesy Space Bullet
Space Bullet also spoke of its longer term plans for Vox Machinae, noting that the studio has been “slowly building out our featureset and working towards our v1.0 release.” The studio itself has brought on three additional employees since the game’s launch, and currently looking to fill a few additional positions.
Space Bullet didn’t offer a timeline for the 1.0 launch of Vox Machinae, but did tease some big features in the works for the game’s eventual launch out of Early Access.
“We’re still not quite ready to talk about some of the tentpole features we plan to debut with that milestone release [1.0]. We have some rather ambitious plans and think about Vox Machinae as an evolving and expanding product,” Space Bullet tells Road to VR. So we’re building many things around that concept, and can’t wait to start being able to talk about those when we’re nearing the finish line.”
Good mech games and VR go together like racing sims and wheel accessories — it just makes sense. But don’t hold your breath for VR support in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, at least not yet.
Over three years ago back in 2016, MechWarrior 5 developer Piranha Games showed interest in VR support for its combat-focused mech simulator. Back then, the President of the company stated that it was “designed” to support VR and they actually held a single demo for the game’s VR support at and industry event leading up to release. A programmer even stated that “native VR support” was one of the reasons they picked Unreal Engine for the game. But now that release has come and gone on the Epic Games Store, there is no peep of VR support at all.
We reached out to the developer for comment on the topic and received the following statement from a spokesperson on behalf of Piranha Games:
“Officially, Piranha is still interested in VR as a platform, but no plans to consider implementation until next year.”
So that’s not a “No,” but it’s also not a “Yes!” either. My reading of this means that they’d love to get it working well without sacrificing resources for the core game, but it’s not a priority and if it does happen it won’t be for a while. That’s just my assumption on things, though.
Currently the top of the pile in terms of VR-focused design for a mech combat game is Vox Machinae, which has an elaborately intricate cockpit rife with interactions using tracked motion controllers. But even simple head-tracking support to play with gamepad, keyboard and mouse, or a flight stick-style setup would be better than nothing for VR and mech fans.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries released this week and is receiving mostly positive reviews across the board, sitting at a 75 average on Metacritic after 16 officially syndicated reviews, including an 81/100 from IGN.
Would you play MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries in VR? Let us know down in the comments below!
Putting together these sorts of lists can be both good and bad. They can be a major headache as they can’t be infinite, so there’s alway’s going to be a few people disappointed that their favourite wasn’t included, while on the flip side they can help you pick out some choice virtual reality (VR) offerings. With more videogames than ever, choosing VRFocus’ favourites has been very difficult, getting that balance between variety and just sheer awesomeness – and the fact it had to launch in 2018. So here we go, if you own an Oculus Rift then these titles should be in your library.
The Best Oculus Rift Games of 2018
Beat Saber – Beat Games
Of course, this had to feature in VRFocus’ list, it has been one of the most talked about VR titles since launch. It’s simple and addictive controls are what have made this experience what it is, who would have thought slicing away at coloured blocks in time to music would catch on like it did. There’s a version for all the main headsets, but if you’re on PC then you can make use of the modding community to greatly increase that track roster. And that would be VRFocus’ main gripe, the lack of official tracks is still very small.
Brass Tactics – Hidden Path Entertainment
An early release at the beginning of the year, Hidden Path Entertainment saw a gap in the VR market for a tabletop real-time strategy (RTS) experience and created the rather enjoyable Brass Tactics. Featuring some gorgeous graphics, lots of troops choices and upgrade options, the title was well received in VRFocus’review, saying that it was: “a well-tuned VR RTS that fans of the genre should be easily impressed by.”
Creed: Rise to Glory – Survios
It seems that at times LA-based VR developer Survios can do no wrong when it comes to the quality of its videogames. The most recent to come from the studio, Creed: Rise to Gloryshows that movie tie-ins can work when approached correctly. One for those VR players who love to work up a sweat, the energetic experience will make you feel those shoulder muscles in no time, whether that’s in the ring or training with Rocky Balboa himself.
Echo Combat – Ready at Dawn
After the successful release of Lone Echoand Echo Arena in 2017, Ready at Dawn returned in 2018 with its multiplayer followup Echo Combat. A team-based zero-g combat experience, Echo Combat pits up to 4vs4 in an array of modes such as Capture Point, with players armed with both offensive and defensive capabilities to help win matches. The frantic, high-octane gameplay makes this title a must for fans of team-based videogames.
Electronauts – Survios
The only developer with two titles on this list, Survios released this musical gem during the summer. If you love electronic music but never had the turntable skills for DJing, then Electronautsis a great place to employ your musical passions. Thanks to its ‘Music Reality Engine’, Electronauts allows anyone to perform and produce music that’s always on key and never skips a beat. You don’t so much as make your own original tunes, instead, Electronauts gives you the ability to heavily remix tracks from some top music artists.
In Death – Solfar Studios
A roguelike first-person shooter (FPS) for those that enjoy a challenge, Solfar Studios’ In Death is a procedurally generated dungeon crawler set in the afterlife, where you have to battle demons and angels alike. Gorgeous to look at, this is a pure bow shooter, with the weapon used for not only killing enemies but also movement. The difficulty comes from the fact that there are no checkpoints, and dying means going right back to the start. When this happens any progress made in terms of the number of enemies killed or bonuses achieved will be added to your character, improving stats such as health and damage. Of course, there is a flip side. Enemies will also improve just to make sure it’s not a walk in the park.
Pixel Ripped 1989 – ARVORE
Brilliantly original in its concept, Pixel Ripped 1989was the brainchild of solo developer Ana Ribeiro. In development since 2014, there were times when it didn’t look like the title would ever see release, that was until Ribeiro joined Brazilian studio ARVORE. Mixing retro gaming with the immersive worlds of VR, Pixel Ripped 1989 is a homage to those old-school mobile platforms, where you play the role of young videogame fan Nicola, who needs to beat several classic-style videogames in order to thwart an invasion of the real world by the evil Cyblin Lord. The title will have you playing 2D videogames whilst at the same time interacting with the world around you to keep you on your toes. There’s lots of fun to be had here.
Red Matter – Vertical Robot
One for those who love a good puzzle experience mixed with a thriller storyline, Red Matteris not for the faint of heart. One of only two titles on this list that might make your spine tingle, the narrative-driven experience set in an alternate future where an ongoing cold war ensues between two superpowers. You play as Agent Epsilon, an astronaut dispatched to an abandoned base on Rhea, one of Saturn’s moons to recover top-secret information. You’re very much alone on this base, which makes the hallways and cavernous rooms even more intimidating. Red Matter isn’t overly long, but it is engrossing throughout.
Transference – Ubisoft Montréal and Spectrevision
Horror is one of VRFocus’ favourite VR genres as some of the best titles can be so intensely scary. One of the surprise’s of 2018, Transferenceis a mind-bending, psychological story that blurs the lines between live-action movies and videogame dynamics. The story which involves a brilliant but troubled scientist and inventor called Raymond Hayes. He has been collecting data from himself and his family which then congeals into a dark and twisted consciousness of its own. In doing so this new entity forms its own digital world which starts to alter the perceptions of Raymond, his wife Katherine and their son Benjamin. Weird and surreal right from the outset, there’s a lot to take in, and should only be attempted by the bravest.
Vox Machinae – Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation
Another online multiplayer, Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation’s giant mech fighter Vox Machinae is still in Early Access, but for those wanting to engage in vehicular combat then this is worth a look. Vox Machinaeputs you in charge of enormous walking robots called GDRs or “Grinders”, bristling with weaponry. You choose a chassis then customize it with a selection of powerful weapons including lasers, missiles, cannons and more to take down enemies. With detailed cabs stuffed with levers and switches, the gameplay is very ‘hands-on’, where you have to actually handle the controls, really making you feel in control of this massive war machine.
Vox Machinae has been out since late September, and while I feel it’s one of the most innovative games I’ve played on my Oculus Rift this year, what truly stands out is its beefy guns and gargantuan mechs — also known as “grinders” according to the developers at Space Bullet.
The game itself uses limited descriptions to explain what each mech class does, which boils down to tooltips such as “mid-light class with decent speed” or the like. When I first played the game, I certainly wish I had more context to go off of than that. Granted, it’s not hard to jump in and mess around until you know what each weapon does and how each mech handles. But that’s work you shouldn’t have to do. Instead, you should reference back to this guide.
Below, I’ve listed out detailed descriptions and advice on how to use each of the weapons and each of the mech classes in the game. There are even some exclusive tips directly from Space Bullet developer Josh Enes, who was kind enough to chat with me.
Catalyst Class
Catalyst is the game’s default class, and is appropriately heavy, but still is not as heavy as the Dredge. It’s nicely balanced with a small weapon slot, a large weapon slot, and an embedded 8x missile launcher.
Enes: “It is the default, and intended as the thing that starts you off in Vox Machinae. The default loadout is lasers and missiles that are pretty easy to use, and it has a bonus to cooling to help new players who tend to overheat a lot. You can think of Catalyst as your standard infantry. It can fill any role, but the others have specializations that make them better or worse at certain tasks. The missile slot is fixed, but the rest of the loadout can be configured to the player’s taste and there aren’t really any wrong choices here.”
Drill Class
The Drill class mech looks like a tall metal spider with four legs, but it can run quickly, regain fuel quickly, and has more maneuverability than any other mech class. This is the one you’d use as a light scout to get around the map without a hassle, but it comes with some added punch in the form of a built-in drill at the bottom of its chassis. It’s armed with a single large weapon slot as well, which I like equipping with the default railgun for range.
Success in close quarters is very much a matter of using your jump thruster to quickly get above other mechs and drop down on them. But since the Drill is much lighter on armor than the other mech classes, I wouldn’t recommend going into close-quarters combat, at all, unless you find yourself scraping the barrel for options. That said, the railgun is easily the best large weapon for a Drill; you can get in and out of safe vantage points pretty effortlessly, pick opponents off from a distance, and then evade (or, alternatively, drill) opponents that get too close for comfort.
Enes: “Drill is an odd beast and sort of a utility/specialist class. The playstyle is really going to be determined by the single weapon you choose. Most will opt for the default railgun and play as a sniper. Choosing flak will work great as a nimble chaos-creating device, although with a much shorter life expectancy. The fuel tank is small but refills very quickly. This is designed to let you keep changing position quickly, pop up over hills to fire, and even hover for a while.
The drill weapon is pretty tough to use. It does have a little bit of aim assistance via the downward jet that fires and pushes you a little bit towards the nearest enemy. We probably need to make this more forgiving as players find it really hard to get that drill kill. The best strategy is to coast just overtop of an [enemy] and activate the drill as they disappear below you. The drill weapon deals massive damage, and is very useful against high-health targets such as in the Salvage mode. Maybe there will be some other healthful targets to destroy in the future…”
Hopper Class
The Hopper is about as lightly armored as the Drill class, but does not come with any embedded weapon slots. Instead, it has three small weapon slots. I personally find that the extremely low heat requirements of the miniguns made for a really strong Hopper build, since the Hopper is still light on its feet and doesn’t have trouble maneuvering at high speeds.
It also has arms that can be used to scythe other mechs, but not as efficiently as the Drill’s dedicated drill weapon or the Goldrush’s cow catcher.
Enes: “Hopper gains its moniker from the pilot’s tendency to jump from spot to spot, avoiding incoming missiles and jet-strafing behind slower enemies. This is your scout class. Lightly armed and armored, you’ll want to keep out the enemy’s reticle. Keep pecking at them either by peeking out of a different cover each time, or flying overhead and poking at them from the sky. If you’ve got the skills, you can also try to run and jet circles around slower enemies. With three small weapon mounts, you will typically see most Hopper pilots making custom loadouts stacking three of the same weapon, be that missiles, cannons, lasers, or miniguns.
A missile Hopper makes an amazing aerial attacker, since missiles are computer-guided and will arc right to where you were aiming your reticle. Cannons on the other hand are more suited for the Hopper who is hopping from place to place and firing while grounded. Lasers will be for the Hopper that wants to get in close and cut a hole right into the enemy’s heart. The minigun Hopper is least effective, but you can hold that trigger down all day and be very annoying which is its own reward.
Hopper can use the arms for ramming and this will do a lot of damage, especially if you get it in their face-space; you are likely to lose your own arm in the process though. Goldrush is much better suited for the ramming role. We do have future plans to make more appropriate use of those gorgeous slashy arms, though.”
Goldrush Class
Goldrush is the first chassis on this list that starts to taper more towards the middle ground of mech classes. It contains two small weapon slots and one large weapon slot, medium armor, and it can still move around pretty well. It’s a nice mix between the other mech classes if you’re looking for versatility.
I personally found a lot of success with cannons on this mech class, but any weapon combination works fine if not because of the middle-of-the-road versatility of this chassis. The one major feature of the Goldrush to take note of is the cow catcher stationed on the front of the mech. If you run over an enemy mech, you’ll do pretty fantastic damage to them. Likewise, you don’t want to be caught on the wrong end of a Goldrush while it’s charging you.
Enes: “Goldrush is a fan-favorite and one of the most fleshed out in terms of role. Some may say it is OP, but it’s probably more that the rest of the crew is still missing some of their special abilities that will be added over time. Goldrush is a brawler and a good Goldrush pilot uses the strong frontal armor and awesome forward jet thrust bonus to break through enemy lines, sowing confusion and forcing them to turn around, allowing teammates to advance. Weapon selection is up to personal preference, and really depends if you want to do most of your shooting before or after flying through enemy lines or smashing into an enemy to knock their limbs off.”
Dredge Class
The Dredge mech is the heaviest one in the game, and it is the hardest to maneuver overall. It takes much more fuel to move it around, comparatively, and the fuel tank also runs out much faster (with slow regeneration to boot). On the upside, it has the strongest armor in the game and can be used as a rear-guard tank. It comes with an embedded 8x missile launcher, two small weapon slots, and one large weapon slot.
Enes: “[The name implies] that you won’t see it soaring through the air too often. You gain a little extra firepower and more health. We’ll actually be emphasizing this even more with future balance changes. In exchange for a higher heat and fuel limit, you have to take a painfully slow fuel refill rate. You had better be sure of where you are jetting off to, because you’ll be there for a while. If you want to shoot a lot and be able to take a beating, Dredge is the one for you. Like the Catalyst, the large missile slot doesn’t have any alternative weapons yet. It is common to see the other three weapon slots filled with same-type weapons like triple cannons or lasers. Another popular configuration is to add even more missiles and a flak cannon to unleash a storm of munitions that blanket an area and almost literally can’t miss.”
Weapons:
Besides embedded weapons that are distinct to each mech class, here are the six basic weapons in Vox Machinae as described by Enes:
Lasers – “Lasers are easiest to use for sure. If it’s in-range and on-target, it will hit.”
Miniguns – “Miniguns fire fast-moving projectiles and are sort of similar to the ease of use of the laser. The damage is not so good though, so it’s a good backup-weapon to use when your heat is high from firing lasers.”
Missiles – “Missiles lose accuracy the longer they travel, but fire in bursts; you’re sure to hit with at least a couple of them.”
Cannons – “Cannons add the complexity of travel time, so you need to start leading the target. The reward is lower heat buildup than the laser and higher damage than the minigun.”
Flak Cannons – “The flak cannon is terribly inaccurate and has a limited range, so it is very situational, but it will shred the armor off a close-up target in no time.”
Railguns – “Railgun is basically your sniper weapon, so players who like to fill that role will probably feel at home with it. You’ll need to learn to get into the firing rhythm since the weapon needs to charge before firing. Holding it for longer than needed will quickly overheat you.”
Additional Tips from the Developer:
“A sniping loadout, especially on a light class that can maintain distance, will work great against the heavier Grinders. You can pick off their limbs from a distance, making them weaker and easy prey for your comrades. Heavy Grinders meanwhile usually tangle with other heavies and medium classes, and they’re best for holding a location. Some loadouts work better in different game modes,” Enes also mentioned to me during our chat.
“You will find a higher amount of heavies in Deathmatch, but players will often swap out for lighter classes in the Stockpile mode to capture territory. Comparing weapons is really going to be based on their ideal range. A railgun player will want to keep their distance, whereas a flak cannon user needs to get in close to deal their damage.
Lasers deal less damage over longer distances, so they’re best for mid-range. Cannons can be good at all ranges, but due to travel time it is harder to hit fast moving targets.”
When asked whether or not players of Vox Machinae could expect to see new weapons and mechs coming soon, Enes told me: “Absolutely, in fact we already have some unreleased Grinders, but want to flesh out and balance the existing ones first. New weapons are coming, and you won’t have to wait till next year to start seeing some of them.”
With Vox Machinae now entered into the arena as one of the first truly built-for-VR giant mech piloting games, people like me who grew up with Mech Warrior and Gundam finally have a place to call home in VR.
After reading, do you now have a better understanding of the frantic gameplay that’s happening in Vox Machinae? Let us know in the comments!
You have to go back quite a long way to find when VRFocus first reported on virtual reality (VR) videogame Vox Machinae, all the way back to February 2016 in fact. At the time we said it was perhaps the Oculus promoted title flying lowest under the radar while that October’s Oculus Connect 3 saw some initial multiplayer gameplay features. Fast forward two years and Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation’s mech fighter was helping to fly the flag at Oculus Connect 5 (OC5) where it also celebrated its launch – and VRFocus was there to question the developer.
Vox Machinae is a mech combat videogame, where players take on the role of pilot to a gigantic walker, customising a ‘standard’ frame with various weapons before taking it out into combat. Joining an ever-escalating war between two rival corporations.
“Sitting inside the any of the five mechs looks awesome, there’s a beautiful level of gritty detail to the cabs – as if you’re inside an actual JCB or Caterpillar – with all manner of buttons and switches to look at.” Explained VRFocus‘ Peter Graham in his preview earlier this year. “It may seem like over kill to begin with but each lever and screen has its purpose, some of which are more useful than others.”
At OC5 VRFocus‘ Video Producer Nina Salomons spoke to Space Bullet Co-Founder Jakub Czeszejko-Sochacki about just what you can expect getting into a Vox Machinae mech, as well as the various ways you can play the title, such as Salvage Mode.
“That’s where you basically start off, you find a gigantic broken-down robot, you take it over and then you protect it for as long as possible against the other team. And this thing is like- armed to the gills, it’s four times larger than the rest of your mechs which are already pretty big by the way(!)”
Czeszejko-Sochacki also discusses a number of other topics such as cross-play.
“We like to say that it is a ‘VR Trojan Horse’, because the game is great in non-VR. So, we support Oculus Rift, we support Vive as well, we support Windows Mixed Reality and addition to that we’re also available on desktop. So basically, you can grab your friends who don’t have a VR headset, and hopefully they’ll be able to see how much fun it is in a VR headset and maybe consider picking one up for themselves.”
Films like Pacific Rim prove that even when gigantic fighting robots don’t receive the best reviews, there’s still a market for hulking war machines scrapping it out. When it comes to virtual reality (VR), strapping yourself into a giant mechanised robot to fight others seems like a match made in heaven, and titles like Code51: Mecha Arena and Archangel: Hellfire have both brought their own unique take on the genre. The latest to try its hand is Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation’s Vox Machinae for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift (previewed), which could be the best one yet.
Currently in Early Access, Vox Machinae is a pure multiplayer combat title, where players face off against one another in three different modes, Deathmatch, Salvage and Stockpile. There are five maps to play on with five different robots and ten selectable weapons. While there’s no single-player as such, offline there’s a training mode to learn the basics and AI bots fill in the gaps if you don’t go online or when online matches are a little bit light on players. This works well enough although the AI isn’t the most tactical, tending to barrage straight in rather than staying back or flanking like human players tend to do.
Sitting inside the any of the five mechs looks awesome, there’s a beautiful level of gritty detail to the cabs – as if you’re inside an actual JCB or Caterpillar – with all manner of buttons and switches to look at. It may seem like over kill to begin with but each lever and screen has its purpose, some of which are more useful than others.
Designed to support both motion controllers and gamepad layouts, the latter is certainly a little easier and more instinctual to use, but far less immersive. Using Oculus Touch there’s a lever on the right hand side for turning with another on the left for forward and reverse momentum. These need to be constantly gripped to use and in the heat of battle the urge to use the controller sticks does happen, where you’ll suddenly realise nothing is happening.
The mechs also have aerial combat abilities allowing for greater strategic manoeuvres around the battlefield. Certainly helpful when trying to get around the rocky levels, this does mean you can put yourself in harms reach when flying too high, letting the whole battlefield see where you are.
As mentioned the mechs come in five varieties, nothing too unusual, from the heavily armoured which is very slow, to the lighter machines which are speedy but easily destroyed. All of them are fully weapon customisable, starting with standard loadouts which can then be switched if you die, constantly evolving your strategy throughout the fight.
Vox Machinae is by no means an easy videogame to get into, in fact the battles can be quite brutal as the mechanics aren’t geared towards a more arcade style of gameplay like that found in Code51: Mecha Arena for example. You could make use of its non-VR mode and play on a screen but that just takes away from the immersive spectacle of the whole thing. That being said, having the flat screen feature does open up the experience to more players, which should minimise the need for bots.
If you’ve been after a more hard core style mech experience for VR then Vox Machinae already seems to be ticking most of the boxes. It’s comfortable to play, with a reasonable selection of customisation options at this stage. The levels don’t quite live up to the impressive cockpit designs, but with the ability to have up to 16 players on one map there’s plenty of opportunities for some carnage. VRFocus will certainly be keeping an eye on Vox Machinae’s progress.
It’s that time of the year when Oculus grabs all of the virtual reality (VR) attention with its fifth annual event, Oculus Connect 5 (OC5), taking place in California over the next couple of days. Of course VRFocus is there to bring you all the latest news and announcements from the conference so we caught up with the head of Oculus Rift team Nate Mitchell to find out more.
Being the consumer focused event that OC5 tends to be there are plenty of videogame announcements from some of the biggest developers in the field, with the likes of Insomniac Games showcasing its upcoming sci-fi adventure Stormland, Phaser Lock Interactive with Final Assault and Ready at Dawn with Lone Echo II and Echo Combat.
While 2018 has certainly been a big year for Oculus with the launch of Oculus Go back in May, Mitchell predicts an even bigger year ahead saying: “2019 is going to be the year of some of the best content that we’ve seen to date. And I think that’s showcased here [OC5], but it’s the development community taking everything to the next level. And so if you’re a gamer there’s never been a better time to jump into VR.”
Alongside all the videogames to play over the two days there will be plenty of talks and sessions for guests to attend, teaching developers the latest VR practices, and how to make awesome immersive content for Oculus Rift.
Check out the video below to see learn more about what Mitchell has to say regarding the VR industry, not only just for home users but also for the industry at large, whether that’s training and simulation or location-based entertainment (LBE) which has been rapidly growing over the past couple of years thanks to companies like The VOID and its Star Wars: Secrets of the Empireexperience or Zero Latency and its territory expansion.
VRFocuswill be bringing you the latest hands-on from OC5 so stay here for further updates.
Having grown up with FromSoftware’s mech arcade series Armored Core and the more simulator-style multiplayer Chromehounds, I have a special place in my heart for the lurching mech goliaths. And now Vox Machinae is here, promising to bring an immersive twist on the classic genre that aims to not only stuff the servers with VR players, but also players on traditional monitors as well.
Publisher: Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation Available On: Steam (Vive, Rift), Oculus Store (Rift) Reviewed On: Oculus Rift EA Release Date: September 26th, 2018
Note (September 26th, 2018): This game is in Early Access which means the developers have deemed it incomplete and likely to see changes over time. This review is an assessment of the game only at its current Early Access state and will not receive a numerical score.
Gameplay
As a multiplayer-focused game at this point, the only way to effectively play solo is to go against bots, which automatically fill out with some not so-terribly-competent AI. That said, the developers have seemingly geared up for launch with an expansive number of dedicated servers that offer up to 16-player battles; three basic multiplayer styles are on offer at the moment, including free for all, team deathmatch, and two waypoint capture modes.
A host of mech styles are available, ranging from pure tanks that are predictably slow but have great armor, to light walkers with drill attachments and even ramming rods for devastating surprise attacks. Weapons are modifiable, even during mid-game so you can change up your tactic depending on the need at the moment. Yes, you can snipe too with an optically magnified in-game monitor, although I personally found the sniping railgun to be a bit under-powered to be a truly useful weapon. Choosing a weapon for your mech will allow you to bind it to a specific button on your controller, so it’s really up to you how your load-out will work and respond.
Image courtesy Space Bullet
Much of the game is about striking a good balance. You can go in guns a’blazing, strapped with the most powerful missiles, but heat will successively build up to the point that your mech will physically stop, close down the blast doors, and wait for the heat meter to go down, leaving you defenseless as other mechs come around to pop off yours arms and legs. Once those are gone, you might as well just eject right there and reformulate a better weapons setup for you next spawn, so figuring out what’s right for you will predictably take some time.
As for controls, if you use Oculus Touch or HTC Vive’s controllers, mech movement is dependent on in-cockpit controls, meaning you’ll have the ability to physically manipulate levers and buttons that control forward movement, left and right movement, and directional booster jump. You can alternatively use an Xbox One controller, which personally seems more intuitive, albeit less immersive than using your hands. Some other perks of using Touch/Vive wands include the ability to re-position informational screens such as your radar, honk a big rig-style horn, and physically use a CB radio to talk with team mates.
Playing in a multiplayer match stocked nearly a quarter-way with human players, it slowly became clear to me who was a bot an who wasn’t. Human players tended to skirt around large masses of mechs and stay back for farther shots, while bots tended to have no issue with marching into the fray three at a time. It’s still early days though, so it’s hard to say just what sort of tactics more adept players will follow, and if AI will adapt to higher skilled players.
Since it’s also open to non-VR players, I decided to give it a go in desktop mode, which can be launched via both the Oculus Store version and Steam by right clicking the title in your library and selecting ‘Desktop Mode’. Having played many matches in VR, I found that it was easier in the desktop mode to acquire a target picture using mouse or gamepad. This is balanced somewhat by the lowered peripheral awareness in desktop, as its much less intuitive to get a good sense of what’s around you since the cock pit is basically still the same, replete with a tiny radar screen that you physically have to look down at in either mode to determine if anyone’s nearby. Having the ability to look down at that one screen quickly while keeping an eye out for gunfire is an ultimate boon in VR.
In all, it’s a well-polished game that offers most of everything I want as an avid mech pilot, save the rad paint jobs and true ‘stick anything anywhere’ modularity that mech sims like Chromehounds offered, but Vox has clearly shied away from with its uni-textured mechs and specific weapon slots.
Immersion
Maps vary depending on the planet size and type, offering lower gravity in some, higher gravity in others, lava, rocks, weird formations, etc. While well-crafted, I found the render distance on smaller foreground objects like rocks and plants to be somewhat short, which introduced some noise into my goal of keeping a keen eye out for bad guys.
Maps are large, and offer enough variability to suit most player types, with high ledges for snipers and weird rock features for those more sneaky fast types.
The cockpit itself is like a fun mix between micro space-miner and 18-wheeler cabin, what with its dingy bed in the back and charmingly anachronistic CB radio. It is by far one of the coolest bits about Vox Machinae, and Space Bullet have really nailed the feel, control, and look of it all.
Comfort
Because Vox Machinae provides the user with a solid a cockpit (which at times can be quite bumpy), movement is mostly grounded in the user’s point of view, making it a reasonably comfortable experience.
That said, the cockpit does shake some and also uses smooth turning, which can be slightly uncomfortable for a fraction of susceptible users. To address this, Space Bullet have included an optional blinder mode that applies a vingette to your field of view when turning, and an optional nose rendered on your face to give you a more grounded feel even when the cockpit is chugging along.
Final Thoughts
Vox Machinae will no doubt attract the mech enthusiasts among us, and keep us playing the deathmatches for a while yet to come. I would love to see a single-player campaign though so future buyers will be more enticed into purchasing, therefor keeping the servers packed with a healthy flow of players. The developers have done a smart thing by allowing non-VR users to play the game too, which should hopefully keep the numbers up as well.
In all, Vox Machinae is a well-polished, classic mech arena that would do well with more customization, a few more maps, and some more interesting mission types to keep us coming back. It’s a really promising jump off point though for the Early Access title, and it’s clear the basic functionality is there – and boy is it solid.
This game is in Early Access which means the developers have deemed it incomplete and likely to see changes over time. This review is an assessment of the game only at its current Early Access state and will not receive a numerical score.
I’ve played a lot of Archangel: Hellfire, Rigs was one of my favorite PSVR launch titles, and I still fantasize about a real Gundam VR game. But to date, Vox Machinae may have my favorite VR mech cockpit. It’s just the most perfect interpretation of how to do a cockpit in VR that takes full advantage of tracked motion controllers like Oculus Touch.
What you’ll find is that with most VR mech games, the cockpit is a visual ornament. It looks nice to sit behind some controls, it helps alleviate motion sickness, and for the most part people it really does sell the immersion. But then you end up just miming the robot’s arm movements or using the joysticks on your controllers to move and it defeats the purpose. Vox Machinae is different.
When controlling my mech in Vox Machinae, I had to actually interact with my cockpit. Want to go full speed ahead? I’ll need to reach down to my left and push the throttle forward. Boosting up in the air and spinning around to shoot someone behind me? I’ve got to pull up on the boost control at my left, then reach down to the right to turn the stick around to face behind me.
It sounds cumbersome, but what you lose in speed and finesse is more than made up for in sheer immersion. These are absolutely enormous robots and they certainly feel as massive and powerful as they look in a game like this. It’s a bit awkward, but that feels by design rather than because of control issues.
I only got the chance to play a single match, but it lasted about 15 minutes and had my palms sweating by the end. Because of how deliberate everything is in Vox Machinae, the skill ceiling is very high. Not only will you need to learn the weight and physics and jump speed and so much more of your mech, but the maps are enormous and there appear to be lots of weapons to juggle in customization menus — although I didn’t see any of that first-hand.
In recent years it feels like mech games have evolved to be more about a power fantasy of letting you go bigger without having to sacrifice going faster, but anyone that remembers old-school MechWarrior titles will recall the lumbering controls in those releases. With regard to that, Vox Machinae could almost be seen as a return to form in a way, while still iterating on the genre and pushing it forward with VR.
Vox Machinae’s bright, vivid color pallete are also a great contrast to the otherwise muted steampunk designs and it gives the experience a personality all its own.
All in all Vox Machinae has a lot going for it that really makes it feel special in the VR space. You won’t find another game that lets you interact with so many elements of the combat to have actual, immediately results in terms of gameplay like you do here. While playing I quickly forgot about the controllers in my hands and honestly felt like I was piloting a giant, hulking robot death machine.
Vox Machinae releases today for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. There will also be support for non-VR players on PC. This is reportedly a multiplayer-only focused title. Let us know what you think of the game down in the commentsdown below!
Vox Machinae is a mech combat videogame, where players take on the role of pilot to a gigantic walker, customising a ‘standard’ frame with various weapons before taking it out into combat. Joining an ever-escalating war between two rival corporations.
