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VR fans take note! Oculus have announced today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that they are working on a second-generation version of their hardware the Oculus Rift, currently available only as a developer kit (called the DK2) for the moment.
The Oculus Rift has recently been making waves in the gaming community for actually being a fairly decent step forward in the process of developing Virtual Reality gaming into something that is actually feasible and attractive to both developers and customers. The apparatus is worn across the eyes and actually does a decent job in throwing the player into the middle of the gaming environment of the number of games that have support for it built in. However, there were still some issues experienced, chief of which was ‘simulation sickness’ which although mostly absent couldn’t be fully removed from the first-generation version of the hardware as well as still being somewhat bulky and wired up. The second-generation Oculus Rift is being developed with the feedback in mind.
For a start the resolution of each of the two fields of vision in the Rift have been upped to 960×1080 and includes a custom built camera that faces the player to track motion depth, which also reduces the number of wires required. There is only the one cable connected to the apparatus now which splits into a HDMI cable and a USB cable to provide both video and power through the one wire. The DK2 reduces the motion blur and judder that were pinpointed as the two main causes of simulation sickness by Oculus by employing low-persistence OLED. It will also ship with a built-in latency tester and an SDK with engine integrations available for the Unreal Development Kit, Unity 4 and Unreal Engine 4, which Epic Games has just made available to more developers through a subscription system.
Oculus say that the DK2 isn’t identical to the consumer version of the Rift that’s coming, but it is similar enough and has all the important pieces, so games that get developed using the DK2 will still play the same on the consumer version later, although Oculus is hoping to make the VR experience even better for the consumer Rift. Although there is no announced release date for the actual second-generation Rift, there’s a possibility that development might be sped up a little with the recent announcement from Sony that they are planning to make their own competing VR headset called ‘Project Morpheus’ although it too is still in development with no price or release date available.
Oculus are making the DK2 available to people who pre-order the developer kit for $350 and plan to start shipping it out to those people in July.
Epic Games has announced at the Game Developers Conference that they are planning to make the popular next-generation version of their game engine, the Unreal Engine 4, available to the public in a subscription-based model that will involved a 5 percent royalty agreement in gross sales that come from games made using it.
AAA devs have had access to Unreal Engine for a while now but now Epic Games have decided to make it available for smaller developers to use too, with the subscription set to be around $19 a month. The agreement to take 5 percent gross sale royalties also applies to free-to-play games that include micro-transactions but not to games that are totally free and for fun. Previously larger devs would be in negotiations that took weeks or even months and involved many millions of dollars but Epic’s desire to make their engine more accessible to all has required them to draft the entirely new business model they have presented at the GDC.
“You get access to everything: the unreal editor, for PC and Mac, and on those platforms you can then deploy to iOS and Android. All those platforms stay and more are coming in the future,” Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games said during the presentation.
The source code of the Unreal Engine 4 is also being released in the hopes that it will encourage tinkering and optimisation of the code by the gaming community to further improve the engine’s performance and use for better, smaller games made within it. Already it’s been demonstrated that changes to a game can be made in real-time either during test play or simulation mode.
It seems with the face of the gaming industry steadily becoming one where free-to-play, mobile and indie gaming is quickly becoming a very profitable and notable market, Epic’s bold move could be seen as their attempt to get a piece of the action through their simple but all-encompassing royalty agreement tied to the new public licensing of their engine. It is also their attempt to stay relevant in an industry where competitors such as Unity offer multi-platform engines that cover everything from HTML5 browser games all the way up to AAA titles.
Sweeney described the new business model as a “bold, new move” for Epic Games, and it’s certainly one that will get the attention and praise of many a small developer looking to make their ideas a reality.
Q: How do I play SimCity offline?
A: The new Single-Player Mode allows you to play SimCity anytime, anywhere, without the need of an active Internet connection. For the full details please read our blog post here – http://www.simcity.com/en_US/blog/article/simcity-…y-now-available-for-pc-and-mac.
Q: How do I download the Single-Player Mode for SimCity?
A: The Single-Player Mode will be included as part of Update 10 at no additional cost. This will be available to all current and future players on PC and Mac starting March 18, 2014.
Q: Will I still require an Internet connection to play?
A: An Internet connection is required to download Update 10 when it becomes available on March 18, 2014. You will not require an active Internet connection to play SimCity offline in the Single-Player Mode.
Q: Can I still play the game Online?
A: Yes, the Online game and all of its features are still intact. This includes Multiplayer, SimCity World and Online Save Games.
Q: Will my previous Downloadable Content (DLC) be playable in the Single-Player Mode?
A: Yes. All of your previous DLC is available for use in both the Single-Player Mode and Multiplayer Mode.
Q: Do I need an Origin Account to play?
A: Yes, you use Origin to download and launch SimCity. Once you’ve installed Update 10, you can put Origin into offline mode when you are playing Single-Player Mode.
Q: How do I put Origin into Offline Mode?
A: To put Origin in Offline mode, log in to the Origin client and select: Origin>Go Offline
Q: Do I need to login to Origin online in order to play the Single-Player Mode?
A: No. If you do not have an active internet connection, you can put Origin in the offline Mode and play SimCity offline in the Single-Player Mode.
Q: What features are available in Single-Player Mode?
A: Single-Player Mode allows for a multi-city Single-Player experience without requiring an internet connection. All region maps are available in Single-Player Mode. Since Single-Player Mode does not require a persistent internet connection, Leaderboards, Citylog, Achievements, Friends List, Player Profile, the Region Wall, and region invites are not available in Single-Player Mode. The Global Market will be available in Single-Player Mode, but prices will be fixed.
Q: What are the requirements to play in Multiplayer mode?
A: The requirements to play Multiplayer have not changed. An Internet connection is required to play Multiplayer mode, Origin must be running in online mode and SimCity must be updated to the latest version.
Q: Can I transfer my regions between modes?
A: No. Single-Player and Multiplayer are separate modes and regions cannot be transferred between modes.
Q: Where are Single-Player regions saved?
A: Single-Player regions are saved locally, not on the server.
You can find your regions on PC here: \Documents\SimCity\Games\~ID NUMBER~\
You can find your regions on Mac here: Go->Documents->SimCity -> Games -> ~ID NUMBER~
Q: If I uninstall or change machines, can I transfer my Single-Player Mode regions to the new install or Machine?
A: If you uninstall SimCity, your saved games will still be available. However if you change machines, you will need to manually move your game files to the games file location on your new machine.
Q: Can I move my Single-Player Mode saved game from my PC to Mac and vice versa?
A: Yes, you can transfer your Single-Player Mode saved games between PC and Mac.
Q: How many regions can I have?
A: There is no limit to the number of saved regions a player can have in Single-Player Mode. The file size of your regions will vary depending on density and population of your cities.
Q: How do saves work in Single-Player Mode?
A: Autosave is on by default and saves your region every ten minutes. Your region is also automatically saved if you quit your region or switch to another city in the region. To disable Autosave, go to the Options menu > Settings > Gameplay tab and uncheck “Enable Autosave in Single-Player Mode”. Disabling Autosave will allow you to save at points you want to save at. If Autosave is disabled, you will be asked if you would like to save your region when you quit or switch to another city in the region.
You can manually save your region at any time by pressing “Save Game” from the options menu.
Q: How do I rollback my regions? How do I make a copy of my region?
A: If Autosave is disabled, you can save your region at a certain point and then experiment with your region. If you wish to go back to a previous save point, you can choose not to save your region when exiting the game. If you load that region from the main menu or resume page, it will load from the last saved point.
If you would like to make a copy of your region, press “Save As…” from the options menu. You will be prompted to name the copy of your region. This gives you the control to come up with a naming convention that works for you for your copied version. Once you submit that name, you will load the copy of the region. The original region will remain at the last saved point. You can access the original or the copy from the Main Menu in the Play tab.
Q: What cheats are available in Single-Player Mode?
A: Existing live cheats are available in Sandbox regions while playing Single-Player Mode. The following cheats are available in Single-Player Mode in non-Sandbox games.
Add §10,000 to City budget. Windows: CTRL + ALT + W OS X: CTRL + ALT + W
Add §5,000 per hour to City budget. Windows: CTRL + ALT + S OS X: CTRL + ALT + S
Add §100,000 per hour to City budget. Windows: ALT + W OS X: ALT + S
Disasters are unlocked in Single-Player Mode.
Remember we also have an active SimCity region you can join, just add Lonesamurai as a friend on Origin for an invite
Virtual Reality has been a thing for years now. Unfortunately, it either hasn’t been very good, or expensive, or more commonly both. That has seemed poised to change in recent years with the slow but steady development of the Oculus Rift, a head mounted VR display being developed for PC use. Unfortunately, the inventor of the Rift has long said that it will not be coming to consoles as they aren’t powerful enough to handle the technology.
Sony seems to disagree. yesterday at GDC 2014, the console giant unveiled what it calls Project Morpheus, a head mounted VR display for the Playstation 4. During the reveal, PlayStation head Shuhei Yoshida said that virtual reality “may well shape the future of games”. Citing the increasing immersion that comes with a VR headset, he then moved on to show the early prototypes of the headset, including a Playstation Move duct taped to one. He continued on to say “”We believe Morpheus will further enhance the world of PlayStation 4 with seamless integration with PlayStation Camera, DualShock 4, and PS Move.”
The Morpheus protoype includes a 1080p display, full 360 degree positional tracking and low latency. Sony has also apparently placed an emphasis on ergonomic design and says that Morpheus will allow the use of wireless audio headsets. As might be expected, software was a bit limited with Sony showing off an undersea demo titled “The Deep” as well as announcing compatibility for Thief and EVE Valkyrie. Interestingly, Sony stated that they were treating VR “as a medium, not a peripheral.”
Even more interesting, perhaps, is the fact that Sony is apparently working on a virtual space walk on the surface of Mars in partnership with NASA. It was also revealed that the ttacking for Morpheus can be handled not only by PlayStation Move technology, but also the PlayStation Camera. It will also take advantage of the DualShock 4’s sensors.
All in all, it was an interesting showing, but it remains to be seen what the final price point will be for Morpheus, or how much traction it will gain among gamers who already see, to be weary of gimmicky peripherals.
Titanfall is here. If you haven’t heard of this game, you’ve been under a rock for the past three months. But, just to be thorough, I’ll go ahead and break it down for you.
Titanfall is the first game by developer Respawn Entertainment. Founded by former members of Infinity Ward, the team responsible for the modern Call of Duty franchise, the team has been creating the first killer app for the XBOX One. The hype has been intense leading up to Titanfall’s release. But does the game live up to the colossal expectations or is it the victim of a hype train headshot?
Happily, Titanfall delivers in almost every way. Placing you in the shoes of agile pilots fighting in and around towering mechs called Titans, the game is a sheer joy to behold. Make no mistake, this IS a true next generation game. On XBOX One, it looks fantastic. Launch it on a high end gaming PC and it just gets prettier. Once you drop into a match, the sheer scope of the levels is breathtaking. Fleets of spaceships fight overhead, strange alien creatures swoop and dive in the skies and colossal beasts stride across the background. Couple this with the attractive, intricate level design and the slick animations of the pilots and Titans, and Titanfall is a graphical powerhouse with few rivals.
Thankfully, the game plays just as wonderfully. Controls are intuitive. The major readjustment to Titanfall comes from scrubbing the level traversal lessons of ten years of Halo, Call of Duty and Battlefield from your mind. Titanfall plays at a speed not seen in shooters since the days of Unreal Tournament. Your pilot is FAST. Add to that the freedom of movement your jump gear gives you, and Titanfall redefines the way you move through a FPS play space. Almost every surface you can see is a playable surface. Want to reach the top of a building? Run up the wall, double jump up to a ledge and continue on. See a handy zipline? Leap up and ride it across the level, firing as you go. Even Titans become stepping stones to loftier heights as you latch on, pull the cover off to blast at their insides and then leap away.
Herein lies the wonderful balancing act that Respawn has crafted in Titanfall. As fast and fluid as the pilots are, the lumbering Titans are slow and more cumbersome. Strap into one of these walking tanks and your paths through the levels are inherently more limited. Titans can move at speed, particularly the speedy Stryder class, but the don’t have the same vertical range as the squishier pilot. What Titans lack in mobility, they make up for in sheer power. Pilots are swatted like bugs when you are in command of a Titan. Shooting, punching or even stepping on a pilot gives you an immense feeling of power. The massive weapons and tactile recoil you get from firing them are wonderfully crafted. Titan battles are less about the free-running glee of a pilot and more about careful tactical decisions. Using a vortex shield to catch incoming enemy rounds and fire them back requires precision timing. And while Titans are powerful, the aren’t unstoppable juggernauts. A pilot with a anti-Titan rocket launcher can end your joyride very quickly, making you focus your attention on getting the most out of your Titan’s inevitably short lifespan. The constantly shifting flow of Titan and pilot fights give a hectic, raw feeling to matches in Titanfall, leaving you with little time to do anything but react to the sheer madness and spectacle taking place.
This also shines a light on one of the only weaknesses of Titanfall. The game’s story is told through a multiplayer “campaign”. In reality, this boils down to scripted audio heard while waiting in match lobbies and video windows and radio chatter that pop up during matches. The main problem with this is that you don’t have much time to pay attention to the story being delivered in match. While a character may be explaining why it’s imperative that you get to this particular hardpoint and hold it for story reasons, you might be fleeing from an enemy pilot, dodging a Titan and trying desperately to reload. It’s a poor way to deliver a story and an odd choice on Respawn’s part. Add to this the fact that to unlock all the available Titans for your custom load outs you have to beat the campaign twice, and the story mode of Titanfall is probably one of the only things in the game that I found disappointing.
There are a few other nitpicks I could make with the game, such as the total lack of private match lobbies, no option to vote on map rotation, and the inexplicable choice not to allow custom names for custom loadouts. But really, all they are are nitpicks. The death match based Attrition, capture and hold Hardpoint Domination, Capture the flag and Last Titan Standing modes are all great fun. Loadouts are fully customizable to any situation for both your pilot and Titan. And, if you need an extra boost “Burn Cards” can be played on respawn to give you enhanced weapons or more XP for mowing down enemy AI. All in all, Titanfall is a stunning game and one that has incredible gameplay mechanics. It may just redefine online First Person Shooters.
