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The Daily Grind: Would you buy a VR headset for MMOs?
Not that I have $500 or so to drop on an Oculus Rift when it comes out, but I must say that there's a part of me that would love to have one if more MMOs sign up to support it. Already we're seeing titles from Elder Scrolls Online to EVE Valkyrie lending support to this virtual reality headset, which makes me wonder whether this is just a fad or if it's the next big thing for gaming. After all, we've been down the VR headset road before, particularly in the '90s. I mean, that picture up there? That's Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote in 1993. I might also bring up the topic of Virtual Boy if it didn't depress me so much. Man, I really wanted VR to be real back then... but maybe its time is yet to come. Would you buy a VR headset for MMOs? If so, what would the cost need to be and what level of service would it need to supply to get you to go for it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Oculus VR co-publishing EVE: Valkyrie, exclusive to Oculus Rift
EVE: Valkyrie, CCP Games' space dogfighting game, will be co-published by Oculus VR as an Oculus Rift headset exclusive. EVE: Valkyrie started life as EVE VR, an Oculus Rift tech demo built by a small team at CCP. The experience snowballed from there and snatched up several awards at last year's E3 and this year's CES. EVE: Valkyrie is being developed by CCP's Newcastle, UK studio. "The core purpose of CCP is to make virtual worlds more meaningful than real life," CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said during his DICE 2014 talk. Pétursson's talk mostly revolved around EVE Online, but near the end he talked about how "super excited" CCP is by Oculus Rift. "It is much easier for people to accept as reality," he added about the implementation of Oculus Rift. "It's a much shorter leap of faith to really accept that we really have the ability to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life." Oculus VR still hasn't announced when it plans to launch the Oculus Rift at retail, but EVE: Valkyrie will be there on day one. [Image: CCP]
EVE: Valkyrie to be co-published by Oculus
It's fairly obvious to interested observers that EVE: Valkyrie is intimately tied to the Oculus Rift. Its biggest selling point is creating that feel of really piloting a nimble little starfighter yourself, after all. And it looks like that's obvious to the team at Oculus as well, as the studio behind the VR headset has announced it will be co-publishing EVE: Valkyrie along with CCP Games. The net result is that Valkyrie will be an exclusive launch title for the Oculus Rift, making it one of the first AAA titles developed specifically for the device. Oculus is also reaching out to other development studios interested in potentially introducing more titles designed with the VR experience in mind. While there are still no firm details regarding launch dates for the title, expect to see more information about it as the headset moves toward completion.
Play EVE: Valkyrie at Sundance Film Festival
If you want to strap on an Oculus Rift headset and give EVE: Valkyrie a spin, head to the Sundance Film Festival this weekend in Park City, Utah. CCP will be demonstrating the virtual-reality game as part of the festival's New Frontier presentation Friday, January 17th through Saturday, January 25th. Besides experiencing the game for yourself, you'll get to hobnob with CCP staff; CCP t0rfifrans, CCP BADCOP, GM Nythanos, and GM Ukulele will be on hand to answer questions and just chat with EVE fans.
EVE's CSM8 summit minutes released
From the better-late-than-never department, CCP brings you the minutes for the first scheduled summit of CSM8, which is shorthand for the eighth incarnation of EVE Online's player-run Council of Stellar Management. The meeting happened in August, 2013, and even though it's now January 2nd, 2014, there's plenty of info to wade through including bits on the economy, the state of balance, and EVE Valkyrie.
Massively unboxes EVE Online's Collector's Edition
Sci-fi MMO EVE Online initially launched as a physical disc sold in stores back in 2003 and saw limited success in the fledgling MMO space. A decade of regular updates and digital distribution has seen EVE grow organically into the largest sci-fi sandbox on the planet with over half a million subscribers, but until now something has been missing: EVE has never had an actual collector's edition box. To celebrate 10 successful years of operation, last month CCP officially released the EVE Second Decade Collector's Edition box. I recently received a review copy of the Collector's Edition from CCP and have put together an unboxing video with my general impressions of the items within. The collection comes in a sturdy presentation box and contains a 192-page commemorative hardback book looking back on the first decade of EVE's history, along with an anniversary re-release edition of CCP's board game Danger Game and a physical Rifter model that doubles as a USB hub. The pack also comes with a new account key with 60 days of game time, a soundtrack CD of the EVE music played by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and keys to unlock billions of ISK worth of virtual collectables in-game. It's pretty expensive at around €150 or $150 US, but the virtual items can be sold in game to claw back some of the cost in the form of PLEX. Enjoy our look at the new CE!
Tickets now available for EVE Fanfest 2014
It's time to pack your bags and get ready for a trip to sunny Iceland if you're an EVE Online fan. Yes, the EVE Fanfest isn't until May, but the tickets are now available for purchase if you already know you need to be there. Tickets are normally $175, but there's a limited number of early bird tickets available for $150 if you jump on the deal fast enough. As it has in previous years, the fanfest will contain an assortment of panels and revelations for the games under the CCP Games umbrella, including EVE Online, DUST 514, and the upcoming EVE: Valkyrie. There will also be pub crawls, dinner with the developers, and the Party at the Top of the World to finish it all off. If that sounds like your sort of deal, grab your tickets now and start budgeting for the trip in a few months.
EVE Evolved: Merging Valkyrie with EVE Online
Ever since its release in 2003, EVE Online has been bombarded with requests for direct flight controls and dogfighter-style gameplay. Most ships in EVE are huge lumbering hulks compared to real-world aircraft, more akin to large sea-faring ships than nimble jetfighters. Even tiny agile Interceptors can't be controlled directly, instead having the player issue commands to fly in a particular direction or move toward or orbit an object. As a result, combat in EVE has become much more heavily about the strategy of directing fleets of dozens or hundreds of ships than any kind of piloting skill or twitch control. This year's EVE Fanfest gave players a glimpse into the world of immersive twitch combat with the announcement of a new dogfighting game set in the EVE Online universe. Originally starting out as an virtual reality experiment by a few developers in their spare time, EVE Valkyrie has now become a full game in its own right and an example of what's possible with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. It was always assumed that Valkyrie was an EVE game in name and theme only, but recently developers have revealed that they'd like it to tie into the actual EVE Online universe itself. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at recently revealed information on EVE Valkyrie and speculate on how it could be integrated into the EVE universe.
CCP adds Owen O'Brien to EVE: Valkyrie roster
CCP has announced its new Executive Producer for the multiplayer dogfighting shooter EVE: Valkyrie; Owen O'Brien is joining the team based at the company's Newcastle studio. O'Brien previously hails from the development studio DICE (owned by publisher EA), where he had a long tenure leading the production of the first-person action game Mirror's Edge. EVE: Valkyrie, set for release in 2014, utilizes virtual reality to give players the sense of being a real pilot in an EVE Online spaceship. On his appointment to this new position, O'Brien said: "The opportunity to work with a focused, talented and passionate team at the forefront of game-changing technology is a dream scenario for me. But it's not just about the technology. This was a project born out of a genuine passion for gaming, and that shows in what the team has already achieved." [Source: CCP Games press release]
EVE: Valkyrie, formerly EVE VR, sets sights on Oculus Rift in 2014
EVE: Valkyrie, previously known as the EVE VR tech demo created for Oculus Rift by five CCP employees in their spare time, is a multiplayer space dogfighting game coming to the PC in 2014. EVE: Valkyrie is currently in development at CCP's Newcastle, UK studio, IGN reports, though not much else beyond that is known at this time. Though CCP has yet to issue a formal announcement, the description on the announcement trailer above says the game will focus on multiplayer. EVE VR was first revealed at this year's Fanfest, an annual celebration of the EVE universe created by CCP Games. CCP CEO Hilmar Veiger Peturrson told IGN that ever since its unveiling, the biggest question regarding EVE: Valkyrie has always been: When can I buy this? "What started as a passion project by a small, incredibly talented group of CCP developers became one of the most highly anticipated games of the year – before we even announced it. We have big plans for EVE: Valkyrie and I can't wait to share more details later this year."
CCP Games reveals EVE Valkyrie
There's another game on its way to share space with EVE Online and DUST 514. EVE: Valkyrie is the official name for what had been referred to before now as EVE-VR, what was described as a tech demo assembled with the Oculus Rift and a few fighter craft. Yes, that high-speed dogfighting sim in a virtual reality headset turned out to not just be a brief bit of playable speculation but a peek at the next game from CCP Games. CEO Hilmar Petursson stated that as soon as players got their hands on the demo, they wanted to know when the whole thing could be purchased -- and that was when it was just a concept demo developed by a handful of people during some spare moments. No official statements have been issued on what format the game will take or whether or not there will be components other than multiplayer dogfights. But there will be spaceships zooming around and shooting one another, and that's what attracted people in the first place.
