01-14-2022 10:04 AM - edited 01-14-2022 10:08 AM
Launch trailer:
Not long ago the devs questified the game - thus turned the PCVR version into what looked like a Quest port - removing grass, high-poly trees and all dynamic shadows.
Now the nice graphics are back 😃
Get the game here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086850/Garden_of_the_Sea/
Interesting that even Oculus is now directing customers to Steam 🤔 - instead this game should have been in the Rift Store too, but it is not:
"There are few things in video games as relaxing as watching a colorful garden of plants and flowers bloom under the digital sun. Garden of the Sea from Neat Corporation is a lovely VR take on classic gardening and farming games full of simple (but responsive) interactions to build out a lovely, bright garden across tiny and cute little islands. You can till the soil and sprout happiness on PC VR via Steam and Quest 2 starting today for $24.99."
Source: https://www.oculus.com/blog/cultivate-your-oasis-in-garden-of-the-sea-out-now-on-pc-vr-and-quest-2-/
After spending some time with the new version, I am enjoying it. Great thanks to the devs for bringing back the great light and shadows.
Index finger tracking is working perfectly - that's great too.
Earlier the Steam version did not support native Oculus drivers - but you don't need a fast gpu for this game. I'm getting solid 90 fps using res 500% - that's about 45 million pixels per frame for both eyes with the Index (2 x 4500 x 5000 pixels) - so surely devs can add even more details without having GTX 1060 owners complaining about bad performance.
Some shots - also this may be a great game for supervised kids:
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-14-2022 02:05 PM
Btw, if some want to see the original version with the high-polygon trees, it's here:
Maybe some might consider it amusing that I'm posting about this simple game - knowing I care much more for the most advanced VR experiences like Lone Echo 2 and Alyx. But Garden of the Sea is close to my favorite app/game for relaxing - you can really not do anything but to enjoy yourself in that game.
Exchanging the beautiful trees with dead low-poly trees was a big deal - and the loss of all real-time shadows - so I'm happy that the devs did listen to the many complaints.
Compared to the original version the high-poly trees have been trimmed, but there're now 2-3 more islands to explore - and the real-time lighting does look better than ever.
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-17-2022 01:50 AM - edited 01-17-2022 02:06 AM
Been enjoying the game - it's like a smaller adventure/puzzle game. And nice to get out and get some sun for a change 😎 😄
Sunlight brings dynamic shadows and nice reflections in the water
Just to show again that the detailed shadows and the grass are back - but only in the PC version
View distance is nice - but I'm still getting 90 fps using Index res 500% (45 mill pixels per frame for both eyes) - so the RTX 3090 is on holiday too 😉
This is just to show the transparent water - see the bottom of the boat is under the water?
Just a nice image - and what's shown in the water aren't reflections but vegetation below the the surface
The game consists of acquiring items, which can be transformed to solve puzzles. Some puzzles do require a bit of thinking - even if the game looks simple, it may be too hard for young kids - but may be great fun for teenager and adults - and for kids receiving help by a teenager or adult.
The graphics kinda remind me of some early Zelda game - but with no fighting.
Btw, some time ago I talked to a very depressed lawyer, who had been considering suicide more than once. He told me, to escape from worries he would often close his eyes and imagine being alone on an island. With Garden of the Sea we can now get our own islands to stimulate positive thoughts and to relax 😉 - can't think of a much better way for escapism. And I do believe that such games may work wonders for the soul, stress reduction and quality of life.
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-18-2022 01:04 AM
Much happened yesterday, but only had 45 min to visit my islands 🙂 Got the boat fixed, so now I can sail between islands - got the house fixed (but first level, it can be upgraded, now it's just a tent) - and got my fishing rod 😃
This vid isn't bad either:
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
01-30-2022 05:02 AM - edited 01-30-2022 05:03 AM
A small patch just arrived - then again, doesn't look that small to me, lol, from the devs:
Into consideration is as always your feedback, thoughts, ideas and wishes! We have gathered a ton of information from Discord, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, email, Steam forums and reviews, Quest 2 reviews and of course our very own survey - which is still open and perhaps waiting for your input?
The survey is open until Jan 31st, go check it out here: https://forms.gle/jb8VhdF4AGF9YwoE9
Full Patch Notes 1.001
Features
Bug Fixes
Things we’re working on for future updates:
Currently we do not have support for adding new recipes to saves from 1.0, but heres a screenshot of the recipe for the craftable chests! They show up as intended in new saves.
...now what else? Yes!
All plushie revenue for our part goes directly to planting trees - this is for Puffkin fans and the planet. We still need a bunch more pre-orders to wrap up the campaign! Grab yours here: https://shop.makeship.com/3FG2qMd
Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for all support and help in spreading the word about Garden of the Sea! Your tweets, posts, pictures and videos MATTER. Not to mention your continued invaluable feedback and opinions. ♥ Thank you for that, as always.
You can always join our Discord if you need help of want to talk to us!
See you all again soon!
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
07-17-2022 08:48 AM
Garden of the Sea just got a very large patch - now you get one more island and a ... whale!
More info here:
Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"