Astro Bot Rescue Mission

ruckage

I know this isn't a retro game but I'm just wondering if there are any other PSVR owners here who got 'Astro Bot' today. I'm sure most people who own PSVR are already aware of the game but if not you need to buy it.

I'm only on the second world but its such a great game - I've had the biggest grin on my face the entire time I've been playing it. We don't get many good platformers these days so to get one this good and in VR is fantastic.

cyperghost

;) Для летеи старше 6 лет

Children under an age of 6 will surly not know anything about retrogaming ;)
But this remeber me to ...

ruckage

@cyperghost
I love WALL-E, I need to watch it again sometime. Yeah, I think EVA must be Astro Bots mum :D
And Johnny 5 is definitely Wall-e's dad.
alt text

PSVR is only recommended for children over 12 so the 6+ rating is a bit redundant. Kids would love the game though (Luckily I'm a big kid myself).

Not sure if you've tried PSVR but if not you should give it a go. I've owned mine since around March and have had so much fun with it. 2d videos can't do it justice - the sheer scale of everything and the sense of being there never fails to impress me. Those bosses may look pretty big in the video but in VR they literally tower above you.

BobHarris

@ruckage I had a PS 4..was really excited about Project Morpheus (PS VR before it was called PS VR)...it was actually a major reason for me to buy the PS 4 in the first place. Then they came up with the PS 4 Pro and I read the Pro would be a better fit for PS VR. I felt somewhat backstabbed by Sony, so I sold my PS 4 and focussed on retrogaming instead. So I'm thankful as well...otherwise I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't own a Pi 3 which quickly became my favorite piece of tech in the house. :)

But I'm still curious about PS VR. I've never tried any VR headset. At the end of this month I'm going to visit a friend who has one, so I'm pretty excited. For me I think I will wait it out a bit longer.. I'm sure Sony will announce the PS VR 2 (or whatever) for the PS5 with a higher resolution and higher field of view..two things I hear that are somewhat disappointing on the PS VR.

ruckage

@bobharris
I wouldn't worry too much about the pro being better for vr. I only have the base PS4 and I've been really happy with PSVR. I think the pro probably does improve some games but sony insists that all games have to work perfectly on the base PS4 as well. Personally I wish they hadn't release the pro as all it does is cause confusion and makes people think they are missing out.

Trying out PSVR at a friends is a great idea, that's exactly what I did and then ordered it myself the same day. I played the Arkham Vr game (great game but criminally short) and I knew I was going to buy the headset as soon as the title screen appeared (you're standing on top of a building and you can peer over the railing and see the streets below.)
Sony should have more public demos available as the only reason I didn't order at launch was because it was a lot of money to spend on something that I couldn't even try beforehand.

Resolution and viewing angles do get criticised. The headset resolution was actually better than I expected, it will certainly be improved in future headsets but it's not as bad as some would lead you to believe - and the depth and scale make up for it. The main problem currently is that the PS4 itself isn't the most powerful machine so that's why visuals sometimes take a hit. It's doing a lot of work as the games have to be rendered solidly at a bare minimum of 60fps and on top of that it has to render 2 views - standard ps4 games only target 30fps. Luckily there are plenty of devs who understand the limitations and strengths of the system and produce some truly amazing looking games.
Viewing angles could definitely be improved and would be my number one improvement request, but it's similar for all current consumer headsets, and once you're actually involved in a game you rarely notice.

BobHarris

@ruckage The experience sometimes can be significantly better on the Pro. I read that The last guardian has quite a bit of framerate problems on the og ps4 and not on the Pro. To me mid generation consoles really is a bad thing. But I don't think it's going away and maybe soon we don't get consoles at all anymore and it will all be streaming and you own nothing anymore. That will be a sad day for physical media fans.

I'm curious if I will get as excited as you were trying it for the first time. I'm sure it will be impressive.
I know the PS VR is very demanding for the PS4. I'm sure the next headset will have eye tracking so the image focuses only where you look..games will then look at least as good as they look on the tv, if not better.

dankcushions

@bobharris

The experience sometimes can be significantly better on the Pro. I read that The last guardian has quite a bit of framerate problems on the og ps4 and not on the Pro.

PS4 pro owner here - TLG super has frame rate problems on the pro too :)

love PSVR. don't use it very much but it is such a step forward. i don't think the technology holds it back, really. the best PSVR games are the more abstract things like rez, thumper, polybius, superhot, etc. i don't have too much interest in the graphical showcase type games in VR. astro bot sounds great!

ruckage

@bobharris said in Astro Bot Rescue Mission:

@ruckage The experience sometimes can be significantly better on the Pro. I read that The last guardian has quite a bit of framerate problems on the og ps4 and not on the Pro.

As @dankcushions said both versions had framerate problems but I think in different ways and it was improved in a patch. I played through Last Guardian on my OG ps4 and the framerate wasn't bad - the controls however were another story. PS4 pro is more aimed at those with 4K TVs, if they were to offer more games with a 60fps at 1080p option on the pro I'd be more inclined to want one.

I'm curious if I will get as excited as you were trying it for the first time. I'm sure it will be impressive.

I hope you'll like it. To get an idea of Astro Bot ask to have a go on Playroom Vr - its free and one of the games is essentially a prototype for what became the Astro Bot game. For games that show off the system well other than Astro Bot try Wipeout, Farpoint with the aim controller, Arkham VR, and Playstation VR worlds (particularly the London Heist).

I know the PS VR is very demanding for the PS4. I'm sure the next headset will have eye tracking so the image focuses only where you look..games will then look at least as good as they look on the tv, if not better.

It is demanding but it's often just a case of playing to the strengths of a system and unlike developing for PC every PS4 will be the same so they can optimise the games better. Before it was released there were so many people saying VR on the OG PS4 would be a terrible experience and they have been proven wrong.
No one know what the future holds yet and cost will always be a factor in deciding what features will be implemented so we'll just have to wait and see. And honestly I think it will be a while before we even hear about a new headset.

ruckage

@dankcushions said in Astro Bot Rescue Mission:

love PSVR. don't use it very much but it is such a step forward. i don't think the technology holds it back, really. the best PSVR games are the more abstract things like rez, thumper, polybius, superhot, etc. i don't have too much interest in the graphical showcase type games in VR. astro bot sounds great!

Rez and Thumper are both amazing, You wouldn't think that VR could make such a difference on a game like Thumper as you barely have time to look around but it's just incredibly hypnotic. I haven't played Polybius yet but it's on my 'to buy' list. Stylised graphics definitely work well, games like 'To the Top' and 'Ultrawings' also have very simple looking graphics but still look amazing in VR.
Horror game also work really well (if you can handle them). The darker environments hide graphical flaws and I've never been as scared playing a game (I still haven't finished RE7 as I have to take breaks to calm down :D ).

You should definitely consider getting Astro Bot, I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's genuinely fun and inventive and on top of that the graphics and animation are amazing. Has some great catchy music as well.
The price is also really good, I paid £25 which for a new release game is great.

BobHarris

@ruckage I will try out Playroom VR.. he is quite fanatic so he might have Astro bot as well.

I know he has Resi 7 and that he is too scared to play it in VR. Doesn't surprise me... at age 15 I was too scared to play Silent hill in the dark, late at night on just a regular tv. It's a powerful medium.

BobHarris

@ruckage I got to try out PS VR yesterday. It is quite an experience. :) I tried Kitchen first and just kept staring at that video camera; so close and it felt like it was actually there.
Then I delved in the ocean (PS VR worlds) and my stomach told me we were really descending (no nausea whatsover). The last game I tried was Resident evil 7. My friend was on the couch next to me, but even then it was already a bit scary, but also highly enjoyable. I think I could play this alone and like it.
The lack of sharpness did put me off a bit (broke the immersion), but you do get used to it. My guess is PS VR 2 is 2 or 3 years away and will feature 4k so I think I will wait it out untill then. I also don't have a PS 4 at the moment so it would just be too big of an investment for me. But I certainly get the appeal! It really changes how we experience games..at least as much as going from the 2D to the 3D consoles.

ruckage

@BobHarris
I'm glad you enjoyed. It is a bit expensive when you need to buy both the PS4 and the headset but at least you got to give it try. I just upgraded to a PS4 pro myself as I've had VR long enough now and still use it regularly so the upgrade was worth it for me. It does make a big difference in many VR games - Resident evil 7 is much clearer, not perfect but far better than on the base PS4.

Speaking of Resident evil 7 - how far did you play? There is a section fairly early on (just after the first video tape) where you have to walk through a flooded tunnel underneath the house. The water level is just beneath your chin and it seems so convincing I always find myself holding my head up slightly so I don't get the filthy water anywhere near my mouth. During this section the decomposing corpse of Andre bursts to the surface and I was amazed by the detail in that model - I spent far too long examining it complete with all the writhing maggots (it's as disgusting and brilliant as it sounds).