Combat Helicopter VR [playable demo released Nov 21st 2014]

[benl]

UPDATE :

I have just released a playable alpha test version of Combat Helicopter VR (with 4 playable test missions).

It can be downloaded from Oculus Share here : https://share.oculus.com/app/combat-helicopter-vr, or from here : http://www.vr-gameplay.com/downloads.html

Hopefully, it will be on Oculus Share soon.

Hope you enjoy it, comments and feedback greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Ben.

Updated with a new short trailer (for the released demo) on November 26th :




some screenshots :







Hi all,

I just thought I would share one of my more developed VR game projects (I am developing several VR game ideas, but this one will most definitely be my first full release). The title is pretty descriptive, but it is probably worth mentioning that this is more of an arcade game experience (lots of shooting and explosions etc..), rather than a realistic simulation. That being said, the game will have a (hopefully) interesting mission based structure, rather an "endless waves of things to shoot at" type of game.







For those interested, I will release a playable demo in the (hopefully) not too distant future, so stay tuned.

All comments, criticisms, and suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Ben.

[FictionX]

Oh boy!.. finally something to compete with the original Heli-hell! 🙂 http://www.riftenabled.com/admin/app/13

I don't see anything to criticize.. the videos look great! - but perhaps a couple of suggestions:

In Heli-hell, the thing that's still able to make my stomach turn (in a good way) is flying up or down besides either the rocket-tower or the ship. In general, I feel that having something "recognizable" and relatable in terms of size (other than generic mountains and trees) works wonders for immersion. I see you have a bridge in there, though - so I guess you already thought of that.

Another thing I noticed in other demos is that a bit of "dirt" on the windshield gives a better impression of depth, and also feels more realistic (no window is ever completely clean 😉 ).

I'm really looking forward to trying this out (and hoping for a Linux build)!

[benl]

Hi FictionX,

Thanks for the feedback. A very good point about recognizable scenery. I had originally planned the game to be based entirely at sea (taking off from and landing on large carriers and ships), but recently have spent some time trying to create more organic terrains, mostly for variety in the levels/missions. Here is a video from about 2 months ago showing this :




In heli-hell I must have spent hours flying around the battleship with my jaw on the floor 🙂

Thanks for the advice about dirt on the windows, I will try that out.

"FictionX" wrote:
Oh boy!.. finally something to compete with the original Heli-hell! 🙂 http://www.riftenabled.com/admin/app/13

I don't see anything to criticize.. the videos look great! - but perhaps a couple of suggestions:

In Heli-hell, the thing that's still able to make my stomach turn (in a good way) is flying up or down besides either the rocket-tower or the ship. In general, I feel that having something "recognizable" and relatable in terms of size (other than generic mountains and trees) works wonders for immersion. I see you have a bridge in there, though - so I guess you already thought of that.

Another thing I noticed in other demos is that a bit of "dirt" on the windshield gives a better impression of depth, and also feels more realistic (no window is ever completely clean 😉 ).

I'm really looking forward to trying this out (and hoping for a Linux build)!

[FictionX]

That last video is crazy good, too - even with the low resolution. I like that there are friendly choppers that you have time to fly next too and look at. Often in flying games you only catch a glimpse of other planes/helicopters as they fly by.
Prepare for a lot of requests for multiplayer! 🙂

I think the best example of a dirty/smudged windshield is the Delta Draconis demo. It enhances the feeling of being in a cockpit/enclosed space - and it looks awesome.

[benl]

"FictionX" wrote:
That last video is crazy good, too - even with the low resolution. I like that there are friendly choppers that you have time to fly next too and look at. Often in flying games you only catch a glimpse of other planes/helicopters as they fly by.
Prepare for a lot of requests for multiplayer! 🙂

I think the best example of a dirty/smudged windshield is the Delta Draconis demo. It enhances the feeling of being in a cockpit/enclosed space - and it looks awesome.

The friendly choppers flying in "sort of" tight formation (ie not straying too far from the player) was to give the player the feeling of being part of a larger flight group (not flying alone). Thanks for noticing that 🙂

I think I vaguely remember another demo, that had actual scratches on the windshield, can't remember if it was Delta Draconis or something else. Will definitely look into it.

Thanks again for the enthusiastic feedback.

Ben.

[jamesh2263]

Any update on this at all looks amazing

do you have a release window in mind as i am sure like myself many are eager to test this out looks like i t will be one of the best helicopter demos around

and also are you planning to include xbox gamepad support (i just prefer it to a mouse sometimes)

thank you

[FictionX]

I'm refreshing this thread every couple of days, too. 🙂 I don't know why it didn't get more attention than it did. I think the project looks awesome!

[taginda]

Want!

[jamesh2263]

"FictionX" wrote:
I'm refreshing this thread every couple of days, too. 🙂 I don't know why it didn't get more attention than it did. I think the project looks awesome!

Ditto

[benl]

Sorry for being away from this thread for so long, I appreciate the interest and feedback I am getting here.

I will probably release a demo within the next 2 or 3 weeks. The game defaults to using the xbox 360 controller, but you can also use keyboard and mouse if you dont have one. I will try to test it out with other input methods, but maybe not in time for the first demo.

"jamesh2263" wrote:
Any update on this at all looks amazing

do you have a release window in mind as i am sure like myself many are eager to test this out looks like i t will be one of the best helicopter demos around

and also are you planning to include xbox gamepad support (i just prefer it to a mouse sometimes)

thank you