cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

UPDATE: Apollo 11 VR Kickstarter just launched.

WhelanWeb
Honored Guest
Hi All

Just wanted to update you on our progress as our team is growing.



More info can be found here

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1436197736/the-apollo-11-virtual-reality-experience-education/p...


Hi Guys

Please help us walk on the moon.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1436197736/the-apollo-11-virtual-reality-experience-education?r...


Got a game in development or a cool piece of VR tech you want to show off? We are looking for demos, trailers and all things VR. Just send us a mail and we would be more than happy to feature it on our site. http://www.virtualrealityreviewer.com
91 REPLIES 91

cybereality
Grand Champion
Good luck!
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | MSI X370 Titanium | G.Skill 16GB DDR4 3200 | EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 | Corsair Hydro H110i Gigabyte RX Vega 64 x2 | Samsung 960 Evo M.2 500GB | Seagate FireCuda SSHD 2TB | Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV

Enzothebaker
Honored Guest
What can I say? With an open mind and a desire to experience that moment or moments, you can believe that your are on that mission. Lots and lots of demos for the Oculus these days, but only a hand few take you away and engulf you with immersion and a subject matter that gets your emotions soaring. This was simply amazing.... Done better than most demos in style and performance, it ran perfectly smooth in DTR. This demo is to be savored. Relax, take your time, have a few drinks and enjoy the ride. I cannot wait till July..

Anonymous
Not applicable
The project seems very promising, and it's the kind of experience that can work great in VR.

In terms of graphic detail I think there's still a lot that can be improved. But I can already appreciate the attention to authenticity, and getting the visuals and sound right. It may be really interesting for the creator to hear from an actual astronaut what kind of experiences you get during a take-off (and landing).

In short, I like the idea and backed it 😉


[edit: will try the demo soon - didn't see the link first]

DevHaste
Honored Guest
"Dionos" wrote:
It may be really interesting for the creator to hear from an actual astronaut what kind of experiences you get during a take-off (and landing).

It may be far easier and more valuable to contact a fellow Game Developer who's been to space. I'm talking of course about Richard Garriott who created the Ultima Series (The Best Selling Role Playing Game Series during the 80/90's) and launched to the International Space Station in 2008, he's very easy to contact and engages daily with people on Social Media. Such as https://twitter.com/RichardGarriott

"Dionos" wrote:
In terms of graphic detail I think there's still a lot that can be improved.


This is unfortunately the reason I'm struggling to decide on how much to pledge to the project, a lot so far reminds me of 1996 game graphics, such as Duke Nukem 3D. Sure the resolutions higher but the quality is not in a lot of places.
It would be great to hear the plans to modernise the graphics, for example will you use money from the Kickstarter to buy high resolution professional textures/models? Will you incorporate shaders for reflective surfaces?
I do however appreciate that this is still a very much work in progress project, I just wish to know what the eventual goal is for graphics fidelity.

Bugs I've Found So Far
Windows Screensaver is not Prevented at Runtime
Music Audio Volume is Higher than Video/Speech Playback Volume

Anonymous
Not applicable
After trying the demo, here are some comments:


  • Direct to Rift is functional here

  • The TV room works well for giving some context. But (as WhelanWeb said) I think a 60s living room would be more suited.

  • The opening scene (seeing the spacecraft orbiting the Moon) is nice. Though the Moon's surface needs more detail (higher resolutions and more defined craters).

  • Hovering around the rocket was a bit uncomfortable for me. I can imagine it being a problem for people who are not used to VR or who are sensitive to motion sickness. The elevator works better, because movement is restricted to one dimension. Maybe "teleporting" the users through different viewports on the rocket works better.

  • The sense of scale when standing on the platform is great

  • It's nice to have the interview audio added to the elevator sequence

  • Having a scene for entering the rocket can contribute to feeling immersed (though I get that such a scene may not be finished yet...)

  • The cockpit needs much more detailed geometry and lighting-shadow effects. I think the panels should look like a modern flight sim (in terms of detail), and also the environment (chair, controls...) need more interesting details. I found it difficult to recognize the materials that are used in the cockpit. Improving the graphic quality can get people feeling more present.

  • It's nice to be able to look outside the left window and see the landscape. Nevertheless, it still looks a bit flat and undetailed.

  • G-forces are obviously missing, but other clues may help to experience the take-off more intensively. I'm thinking about visuals (will there be icing on the windows? At what levels will you see clouds, and for how long?) as well as sound (would you hear wind effects? what about the other cockpit and rocket noises?) The vibration works well already



I think there's a lot of potential for recreation of historical events/places in VR. Good luck to the creator of this project 😉

fenderf4i
Protege
This is really fantastic, and you can rest easy knowing that DrashVR, who did Titans of Space, is the VR developer working on this project. I hope everyone pledges to make this project happen!

TonyReale
Honored Guest
Supported. I'm excited to see more educational content like this.

WhelanWeb
Honored Guest
"DevHaste" wrote:
"Dionos" wrote:
It may be really interesting for the creator to hear from an actual astronaut what kind of experiences you get during a take-off (and landing).

It may be far easier and more valuable to contact a fellow Game Developer who's been to space. I'm talking of course about Richard Garriott who created the Ultima Series (The Best Selling Role Playing Game Series during the 80/90's) and launched to the International Space Station in 2008, he's very easy to contact and engages daily with people on Social Media. Such as https://twitter.com/RichardGarriott

"Dionos" wrote:
In terms of graphic detail I think there's still a lot that can be improved.


This is unfortunately the reason I'm struggling to decide on how much to pledge to the project, a lot so far reminds me of 1996 game graphics, such as Duke Nukem 3D. Sure the resolutions higher but the quality is not in a lot of places.
It would be great to hear the plans to modernise the graphics, for example will you use money from the Kickstarter to buy high resolution professional textures/models? Will you incorporate shaders for reflective surfaces?
I do however appreciate that this is still a very much work in progress project, I just wish to know what the eventual goal is for graphics fidelity.

Bugs I've Found So Far
Windows Screensaver is not Prevented at Runtime
Music Audio Volume is Higher than Video/Speech Playback Volume


Thanks for the twitter link. I'll tweet him shortly as Id like to get his feedback.

As stated this is just a rough prototype but we will be looking at improving every aspect of the final experience once funded. Every penny will go straight back into the project and if we need specialized talent to do animations or modeling etc we will certainly source the best available that we can afford to make this happen. Drash has done an amazing job and you can rest assured that the finished experience will be an amazing trip not just visually but also emotionally.
Got a game in development or a cool piece of VR tech you want to show off? We are looking for demos, trailers and all things VR. Just send us a mail and we would be more than happy to feature it on our site. http://www.virtualrealityreviewer.com

WhelanWeb
Honored Guest
To everyone who has backed us so for we want to express a massive and humble thank you to you all. We could never have imagined that within 24 hours we would have reached 10% of our target goal already and we are so very thankful.

I've read all the comments and it's been great to have such an effect on people. A couple of years ago I was on the fence about buying a DK1 as I thought it couldn’t be as good as people were saying. I then watched a let's play from a guy in the UK when Titans of Space came out first. On this video alone I purchased a Rift as I just wanted to experience it and once I did it changed my whole direction in life. It's crazy to think that something we have worked on is having the same effect on other people. I really hope that the person who finally gets to walk on mars for the first time is alive today ( likely some 10 year old kid ) and when asked the question why did they want to become an astronaut they answer "because I experienced the Apollo 11 Mission in VR and it made me believe anything is possible".

Please do continue to share and help us make this a reality.

David, Sandra and Drash
Got a game in development or a cool piece of VR tech you want to show off? We are looking for demos, trailers and all things VR. Just send us a mail and we would be more than happy to feature it on our site. http://www.virtualrealityreviewer.com