Aircar - Need alpha testers for new game

[aircar]

Hello!

Just uploaded an alpha build of Aircar to the Oculus alpha channel. It's been in development for awhile and It's ready to start testing. Looking for people to test it out. Game-play video here... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-0y31YNK6o&t=6s ;

Update Edit 3: Hey again! I've uploaded a new build of Aircar to the store. Thanks to all the testers who played the last test. I have fixed many of the bugs found and have added a few more features, including support for Oculus touch controllers. If any previous or new tester would like to try the new build let me know! Thanks.

New survey here https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XB5MJD5

Update Edit 2: Thanks again to everyone who has downloaded and tested Aircar. 36 invites have been sent out so far. 31 have been downloaded and installed. To those that have had trouble downloading - check your spam folder and also make sure your invite was not buried in-between your forum activity emails. I have received 15 survey responses so far. Trying to get to 30 survey responses so please fill out the survey if you played! Survey below.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XB5MJD5

The survey responses help me gauge Aircar's technical quality level. I have also received many great suggestions and bugs to be fixed through the survey - some of which I have worked on fixing each night this week of alpha testing. There are plenty more fixes/polish tasks planned for next week.

I have received questions about where the game is going and what features are planned for the future. It has taken me one year (started January 2016) to get the game from scratch to where it is right now. The initial goal was to create an immersive futuristic city flying simulator and I feel the game has now achieved that basic goal. I work a full time day job and also have a family. Aircar is my hobby side project. Giant Form Entertainment, my game company, is more or less just me. I've had a concept artist create designs for more Aircars and an Engineer friend give me technical advice. They both also work full time and can only provide limited support to Aircar.

One option is to hold the game for another 12 months and implement all the great ideas people have asked for like combat, racing, multiplayer, story and taxi missions. On top of those I would love to add additional full city levels, underground city cavern levels, new aircars with an upgrade/purchase system and customization. I also want to create a fully 3D AI driven traffic system with 10x the density of the current build (no more 2D ships at low altitude) but fully 3D ships everywhere that react to you. I also want a true physics model for the flying mechanics and a dynamic weather system.

These are all things I plan to do whether Aircar is released in it's current state or not. My plan right now is to release Aircar in it's current state as a proof of concept demo. Price (if any) and the release date are up in the air until I get further into the submission process. I also need to start testing on the Vive and Steam VR which will be a separate alpha test build for Steam.

Thanks again to everyone who has tested and provided feedback. HOTAS support and control remapping are my two top features to add if the game hits the store. That work has already started and will hopefully be present in an Beta bulid in a few weeks.

[DarkTenka]

aircar said:

Added support for touch controlers

Pabbert said:

Well it got an update today, not had a chance to see whats new........ but I expect its another layer of polish to an already stunning experience 🙂

Hey, unfortunately not much new, just a minor back end update to get the "game" ready for the store. I'll try to do any further updates behind the scenes so you don't have to keep downloading the game again.

Honestly, I think your current "experience" is an extremely solid proof of concept/demo and you should consider just flat out releasing it as a free app on Oculus Home. I think it is solid/polished enough to warrant a public release.

Whether or not you choose to pursue turning it into anything bigger (I really .. REALLY hope you do), you could release that as a completely separate app.

[Jamesparker_1]

Is there a more recent version? I'm running alpha.2 and don't have touch support.

would love to try the newest version if I can please?

[beyondinfinity]

This looks awesome! I love anything to do with the 80s, cyberpunk, and the new retro wave. Any updates on a public release? I would love to test this if possible.

[SkScotchegg]

How do we watch the youtube video trailer in our Rift? Do we have to use virtual desktop?

And can I try this demo too please? I'll definitely give you feedback on your survey! 🙂

[aircar]

Hey, thanks for the continued interest in testing Aircar. I'm getting ready to submit a final build to Oculus this week so hopefully it will not be long before you can play the finished game.

[vannagirl]

aircar said:

Hey, thanks for the continued interest in testing Aircar. I'm getting ready to submit a final build to Oculus this week so hopefully it will not be long before you can play the finished game.

great to hear

this is such an awesome little exp, relaxing and blade runnery to just sit there listen and fly around

i really hope it does well and you are rewarded

[aircar]

Aircar just launched on the Oculus store in the gallery section, its free! For anyone who tested, you may need to uninstall the test version (which won't work anymore) before you download the release version. Thanks again to the testers and check out this release trailer. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2qqWej30ZAs

[andysonofbob]

This is stunning!

So much potential.

What are your plans for it?  I would love to see the left analogue up down used for up down.  I would also love to see more of a sim setting.  Could you add an option for a quasi Newtonian flight model? Like in Elite Dangerous, where you turn off the flight assists?  I appreciate there might be some air resistance but the car really doesn't look aerodynamic.

Great work

[TomcatMVD]

Man I just got my Oculus this week and found out this gem on a random youtube channel, you sir, have an amazing opportunity on your hands. Don't let it fade away and keep at it, this was by far one of the best VR experiences I had in my crazy "try everything you can find" vr frenzy. Like everyone said, SO MUCH FREAKING POTENTIAL. Kudos to you and the people helping you out.

[Zenbane]

Great work on this game @aircar

Some recommendations on "where to go next,"

1. This game reminds me very much of iOMoon; which I spent hours playing last year (http://www.iomoonvr.com). I think aircar could easily do something similar without needing too much time commitment in terms of adding features outside of the scope of the currently implemented Demo. There are lots of good ideas offered between here and reddit (escort missions, quests, etc); but based on what has been released it would seem that adding all of that would entail adding elements outside the scope of the current codebase.
   
2. What I would suggest is to push an update similar to games like iOMoon and Farlands. Where the player simply travels around trying to discover new/secret locations. This update would simply involve taking the current demo and adding exploration and environment unlocks.
3. Future updates could add all the other nifty features (escorts, missions, and puzzles) which would bring it closer to something like Robinson the Journey, which has all 3 of these elements.
   

Just my thoughts. This game could be taken to many new heights. I'm excited to see what comes next.