New to the forums? Click here to read the "How To" Guide.
Developer? Click here to go to the Developer Forums.
Developer? Click here to go to the Developer Forums.
Diggers: Trench Experience - WOW!
cybernettr
Posts: 951 3Jane
I just downloaded this and tried it out today and ... WOW! For a free experience, it is awesome! Some may not like it because it's not sweet, cutesy or upbeat like most of the other experiences in the oculus store, but that's what makes it so realistic and good, IMHO! (The sergeant reminded me of some bosses I've had!)
When I first glanced at the description, I thought it was about miners, but since it was free and looked good, I didn't bother reading it more carefully. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it makes you a soldier on the battlefield trenches in World War I! This was edgy and raw, and really gives you a feel of what is is like in this historic but dark period in world events.
When you start start out in the shack at the beginning, you can see the battlefield through the cracks in the woodwork. The textures are great, and the uneven wood slatting of the underground tunnel is so realistic!
I like historic experiences like this, because it gives puts you in a time period that most of us will otherwise never have a chance to experience. There are some glitches and the character animation is not perfect, but I know how difficult it is to do this totally convincingly and we are still in the relatively early days of virtual reality.
My grandmother gave me a beat up old book that had been kicked around in her basement for decades, Colliers new photographic history of the World War (published in 1919), and I can tell you, World War I was truly hell, and I think this VR experience captures it effectively.
I highly recommend it, but expect it to be a somewhat depressing experience.
When I first glanced at the description, I thought it was about miners, but since it was free and looked good, I didn't bother reading it more carefully. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it makes you a soldier on the battlefield trenches in World War I! This was edgy and raw, and really gives you a feel of what is is like in this historic but dark period in world events.
When you start start out in the shack at the beginning, you can see the battlefield through the cracks in the woodwork. The textures are great, and the uneven wood slatting of the underground tunnel is so realistic!
I like historic experiences like this, because it gives puts you in a time period that most of us will otherwise never have a chance to experience. There are some glitches and the character animation is not perfect, but I know how difficult it is to do this totally convincingly and we are still in the relatively early days of virtual reality.
My grandmother gave me a beat up old book that had been kicked around in her basement for decades, Colliers new photographic history of the World War (published in 1919), and I can tell you, World War I was truly hell, and I think this VR experience captures it effectively.
I highly recommend it, but expect it to be a somewhat depressing experience.
5
Comments
Joking aside, thanks for the recommendation, this experience sounds rad.
Edit: I found it, it's in entertainment in Oculus Home.
It looks like clay and plastic.
Not even close, wow. Have you ever played Eve-Valkyrie??
Catch me on Twitter: twitter.com/zenbane
It's a decent demo that can be appreciated without over-selling its graphics (or downplaying the great graphics of other VR titles).
Catch me on Twitter: twitter.com/zenbane
http://www.vlocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Diggers-gear-vr-oculus-rift.jpg
Look at this image.
http://www.playthepast.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-05-29_00007.jpg
Now look at this image.
If you cannot see the difference, I suggest you wear stronger glasses.
In all seriousness, I agree that the textures are terrible. But those facial expressions are priceless!
Catch me on Twitter: twitter.com/zenbane
Yes there is merit in examining these topics and making sure history is not forgotten, but I think I will pass on this experience purely for the choice of subject.
Dude, totally unfair! I think the voice acting is fantastic, especially when compared to a game like EVE: Valkyrie, which is stiff and stilted. Of course, there are a lot more lines in EVE, so it's harder to keep the consistency up, but I was never able to get into the acting in it. In fact, the large number of lines in Eve makes it even more important for the acting to be stellar, which it isn't.
Also, it's not fair to compare Diggers with a standard PC game. The demands of VR are much greater, since you can walk right up to everything and examine it closely. Also, remember with VR there has to be a separate image for the left and right eye, as well as the screen, which makes it like three times more computationally challenging.
As far as the animations, I mentioned that they weren't perfect in my original post, and it seems like some props are missing, so the characters are basically pantomiming. Also, it would be nice if their eyes followed you no matter where you were standing. This is all nitpicking, however, as a main point of the experience is to give you a feel for what life was like in the trenches in World War I.
You can read the covers of a few of the books lying around.
In a couple places in the game, you can see a field telephone apparently operated by battery (the size of a car battery). A 1916 version of the iPhone?
The Victrola at the beginning of the game plays a random song each time from a selection of songs of the period, apparently all having something to do with the first world war.
As mentioned, in the shack at the beginning, you can see the battlefield through a crack in the woodwork near the Victrola.
There are a couple of dead bodies at various points in the game. Have you spotted both of them?
If you play the experience standing, you can walk up to one of the sniper rifles at the edge of a trench and examine it closely.
After you talk to the second sergeant, if you go towards the tunnel and then look back, you will see that he strolls to a different spot on the boardwalk and looks around. If you walk back towards him, you will not be able to pass him. Eventually, he will turn around and notice you and will motion for you a couple of times to go back to the tunnel. After that point, he will ignore you.
During the collapse at the end of the game, you'll not only see the collapse occurring in the tunnel, but if you turn around and look at the room you're in, you will see the ceiling caving in on that side as well!
Catch me on Twitter: twitter.com/zenbane
Half of me thoroughly enjoys and respects your analysis on the subject matter, story telling, and overall tone of this VR experience. But the other half is pretty much in shock at your comparison to advanced graphic engines.
I agree with you that this game captures something truly glorious about a piece of human history that should not go unnoticed. But I do not agree that the visual textures are on par with anything leading edge.
Nonetheless, preach it!
Catch me on Twitter: twitter.com/zenbane
As a comparison here is a VR demo from more competent developers ->
It actually runs at a better framerate, has better texturing and better detail.
Before you say "But it's closed in" here is Crytek's Robinson The Journey running on the significanty underpowered PS4 ->
Unreal Engine 4 has tools that allow optimisation for VR and allows developers to see how much memory/video/ram/CPU cycles are being used at a time and VR has only a very minute impact.
You are defending this thing like you made it yourself or are involved somehow.