Boneworks VR - December 10th Release

Looks like this is out...$30. I'll wait for reviews, it looks good but I wonder how much of it is predicated on having Index controllers.

 
Someone on Reddit was saying that if you use the OG Vive wands, you have to hold the side buttons to grip. Which, if true and is not able to be changed, is a hard pass for me.
 
Only had time to try it for like 30 minutes, and so far I have to say I like the controls. My favorite thing about it is that you can pull down on the right joystick to crouch instead of forcing me to actually physically duck in games like Budget Cuts. I don't mind crouching occasionally, but lately between my back and knees that have been acting up so I have been avoiding those games. So far it's mainly all tutorials like how to climb, jump, etc... I also like the way how some things really seem as though they have weight. Will definitely be playing more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Youn
like this
I hope it's super successful for them so they continue with it. Are fingers tracked in any meaningful way that warrants knuckles over other controllers? Is there a story or is it more like old school games: just plop you in and you go?
 
There is a story. They plop you down in a museum about the history of VR. And that serves as the Tutorial level also. As you go through it you then escape and then the main game begins. If I were to guess it's basically kind of like half life. You are in a VR Museum and something goes wrong type story. As far as the knuckles, the fingers are tracked, but I don't know if they really do anything special over other controllers other than letting grab things more naturally instead of having to keep pressing a button to grab stuff.

I found a VR helmet in the game, and I could put it on. It has the fake VR OS on it. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Youn
like this
This game is pretty fun. I picked up an Oculus Quest recently and played this a bit today over link. The controls feel very natural to me with the Quest controllers. The snap rotation with the right joystick was driving me crazy so I set it to smooth motion and it made it much better.

I do still have some issues grabbing stuff when doing the climbing portions. Hoping I'll get better at that after playing some more.
 
Game is a ton of fun, though the arms just feel like noodles sometimes.
 
Game is a ton of fun, though the arms just feel like noodles sometimes.
Yeah, hate the arms. They are stupid. Wish it was hands only.

They are missing an auto-save-game feature as well. Having to start a section over because I only had time to play through 90% of it is pissing me off a bit.
 
Yeah, hate the arms. They are stupid. Wish it was hands only.

They are missing an auto-save-game feature as well. Having to start a section over because I only had time to play through 90% of it is pissing me off a bit.
Oh yeah that shit. Even worse, it's possible to fuck up a puzzle to the point it's unsolvable...requiring you to start the entire fucking level all over again, and you lose your ammo, items, etc.
 
Yeah, hate the arms. They are stupid. Wish it was hands only.

They are missing an auto-save-game feature as well. Having to start a section over because I only had time to play through 90% of it is pissing me off a bit.
Discovered this gem after I went back in. I thought if I exited out properly like via the menu (exit to main menu) instead of shutting down the game via the steam menu it would save but it doesn't. :(
 
Spent a few multi hour sessions to complete the game. Lots of fun and I can see this getting a sequel/DLC in the future. ~10 hours to complete the main game. Haven't touched anything else and there were definitely puzzles that I didn't even attempt to complete and areas that I didn't or couldn't access.
 
Sounds like you can setup vive wands to grip with a toggle instead of the default side buttons and other config changes making it easier, but some are okay with the wands as-is probably cuz that's what they're used to.
 
OK, finally got a good long play in, about 4 hours....great stuff. I love the movement, I love the control of the character, and I love the gun play mechanics with the Knuckles controllers.

The arms are STUPID. They get in the way more than anything, and end up in goofy immersion breaking positions. If you are going to do arms, you need elbow sensors...period.

Some of the jumping mechanics are a bit awkward and hard to get control over, but it all comes to you as you move through the game.

The way the Knuckles work with guns is freaking incredible. It gets to be tremendously intuitive, and I have never once had the controller get in my way for gun play the way the Vive wands do sometimes.

Inventory system works very well too.

And it seems the entire damn game is a Half Life 2 tribute. Lots of Easter eggs.
 
sold 200K+ in a few days... pretty darn good for any game let alone one from an indie dev on a new niche platform (VR) within an already niche platform (higher-end PC)
 
Might pick it up, I am still a bit worried about an inferior experience on the OG Vive and the wands.
 
I decided to bite the bullet and pick this up. Hopefully it doesn't suck too bad on the Vive wands. I've heard a lot of mixed reports.
 
Been playing this a bit. So far not too bad, though I can't play it too long without starting to feel a bit queasy. Speaking of - if you can't handle locomotion in this game, don't bother. There is no other option and the game has you running and jumping all over the place.

Jumping kind of sucks, it's hard to do precisely and there are some jumping sections where you do have to be semi-accurate.

Not having as much trouble gripping with the Vive wands as I thought. The side buttons don't require a ton of force and I've found it easy enough. having your 3 fingers grip with the side button and index finger grip with the trigger feels kind of weird in-game, but it's not too bad. There is some sort of weird thing where if you just lightly touch the touchpad, the thumb closes, but if you push it down further you do the locomotion. Doesn't feel too great but I haven't really needed the thumb grip so who knows.

Would this be better with the Index controllers? Maybe a bit, or at least it would look and feel more natural.

Not a fan of having your whole body by a physics object in the world. Too often the arms will get stuck in an object or you'll run into something you can't really see because you virtual legs decided to do something weird. Without actually tracking your body, it just doesn't quite work with the IK implementation. That said, it is fairly impressive they got it to work as well as it does.

So far my main gripe is just not being able to play too long without having to take a break. I finally got past the tutorial stuff and that even took two sessions.

Also, no checkpoints or mid-level saving? Kind of a joke in this day and age, and some of the levels (even in the tutorial) are LONG.
 
Sadly, I don't think this game is for me until they implement some sort of save system. I can't get all the way through a level without starting to feel nauseous, and some of the physics / body physics puzzles are just fucking frustrating.
 
Yeah I ran into the same issue. I played like 2 hours exploring and got pretty far past the tutorial level, started feeling a bit nauseous so I quit, then I came back I was right where I was after the tutorial level ended and I never started the game again.
 
Ultimately I decided to refund, at least for now. Even thinking about the game today makes me feel queasy, and sadly I wasn't super impressed with what I played of the story mode, which admittedly wasn't much but it felt kind of bland in general. The gun handling feels really good, but if I want to shoot some guns I'd probably just go to H3VR.

I've heard good things about the Walking Dead game, maybe I'll check that out.
 
Thanks for the write up. The lack of a save system kills it for me, as locomotion tends to wear me down after an hour or so.
 
Thanks for the write up. The lack of a save system kills it for me, as locomotion tends to wear me down after an hour or so.

I usually don't do too badly with VR "sickness", but this game really makes me feel dizzy after about an hour or less. Too much sliding around with the locomotion, coupled with having to do running jumps and stuff... :vomit:
 
Back
Top