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ZED (from the Creators of Myst) could be released Tomorrow

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
If you're a fan of Cyan's work, then this week will be mighty fun for VR Gaming. This is coming to PCVR.

Chuck here, Been at this for three hours now and I've got to take a break. I'm in Manchester, New Hampshire at our sister studio Skymap Games and we're getting prepared for our big launch of ZED tomorrow! Keep in touch with Eagre Games on our Twitter and Facebook to follow along and check out our Steam Page - wishlisting helps us gain traction on Steam too if you're so inclined :0) We'll be checking in over the coming days and doing our best to respond to each and every one of you. We had a great time hearing from all of you. Thanks for your great questions!

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/bwcgvs/we_are_chuck_carter_and_rand_miller_creators_of/
17 REPLIES 17

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
This review on Steam convinced me to buy the game:

"Only two games have ever made me cry like a little ♥♥♥♥♥ when I got to the end: What remains of Edith Finch, and this. Holy crap. Here I was expecting a hard core puzzle solving game. I already had my pad and paper out and was drawing maps of recurring areas and taking notes, only to have an all too soon unexpected ending expose myself as a total emotional wreck.

Very well done. It's games like these that remind us all that games are truly art. Just wish it hadn't ended so soon."

Edith Finch is one of my favorite games, pancake or not  B)

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"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Devs are working overtime - second patch in just two days:

Update 1.2.0 Now Live!

8 JUN @ 12:47AM - VICKI
This minor update fixes a few graphic related issues that were introduced when VR improvements were made for the last update.

Thank you again for your feedback everyone!

The ZED Team

Fixes and improvements:

  • Fixed misbehaving decals
  • Lighting issues in affected levels fixed
  • Kid House lighting fixed
  • Sewer lighting fixed
  • Fragment highlight modified 
  • VR: Improved graphics in Alice Hall
  • VR: Fragment sticking to hand when journal is open fixed

Known issues: 

  • End of credits roll is still a bit abrupt
  • Light switch in Root Cellar does not work
  • VR: Pushing fragment objects directly into the players own face may trigger the "You are in wall" warning
  • VR: Occasionally game loses focus when at the main menu using the Oculus Rift. Can alt+tab back to the game.

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"

pyroth309
Visionary
While I prefer when Devs get it right before release, in VR I understand that's just not feasible because of the budget they're working with. So I'm glad to see the rapid response patches. I wasn't really interested in Zed as the trailers didn't appeal to me, but since you two like it, I'm gonna grab it and give it a go. 

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Some screenshots (click to enlarge): 

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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"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Many textures in Zed are (close to) photo realistic in quality. Yesterday I was so happy for the game, at one point I may have rated it 11/10, simply awesome, but then I entered another level where the teleport controls didn't work well, but I could still finish the level without great problems. I'm probably down to 8/10, which still is a great score, but let's see how everything turns out with full locomotion. To me teleport controls are the main issue in-game, and although it's not as perfect as Robo Recall it's not much worse than other games using teleport controls. I'm just not a fan of teleport controls unless such controls are needed like in Sacralith. I verified that I got 45 fps and about 15% headroom using ss 2.0 (using OTT Pixel Density HUD, SteamVR res set to 200%), which is nice.

And do remember to read everything - including the 10 framed pages in one room, it's a great story and part of the content  😉

Zen is focused on the very core of VR - namely being in an alternate reality. Often I just sit down and enjoy a room - trying to let everything soak in and to notice all the different objects and the story hidden in the room, like what year is this, who lived here, what did these persons do - how were their lives etc.

People who hurry through locations looking for puzzles have already lost everything this amazing experience has to offer. It's not really a game, it's art.

Zenbane's first post contains the latest trailer - here's an older trailer, still true to the game:

https://youtu.be/y5bVwPZzrD8

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"

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

Neawoulf said:

Btw. this game was afaik not made by Cyan, it was made by Eagre Games. Cyan (Cyan Ventures, not Cyan Worlds to be precise) is just the publisher and Cyan Worlds are currently working on a steampunk game called Firmament:

So anyone who's disappointed by ZED because you expected something like Myst, Riven or Obduction: Don't give up, this was not made by the same people.



This is not accurate. You're talking about differences only in the name of the organizations. This was made by Cyan Ventures, as you said, where Rand Miller is the CEO. And Rand Miller is also the founder and CEO of Cyan Worlds. The overall staff working on each project may be different, but that's just as common as Blizzard having one team making StarCraft and another team making WarCraft. It's still all Blizzard.

Go to https://cyan.com and you can see ZED, Firmament, and Obduction (along with the entire Myst legacy) on their front page.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

I just finished ZED!

I love the worlds. While this game doesn't play as intricate as other puzzle/adventure games, it certainly does provide some of the most artistically unique settings that anyone can experience. That's part of the great mind and creativity behind Rand Miller's work.

So while the other games I listed play as better puzzle/adventure experiences overall (Annie Amber, Nevermind, Torn, Transference, Xing), from a visual perspective they borrow from so many other sources. Whereas ZED, much like most of Cyan's work, has a healthy dose of distinctness.

But again... not a title for everyone since it is very linear and simple for a puzzler. In my case, I feel nostalgic from the music, ambient sounds, and visual structures. As expected, this took me back to my Myst days. I saw plenty of inspiration from some of my favorite worlds; in particular: the Mechanical and Selenitic Ages.

Now I look forward to Firmament!

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
Quick addendum,

As always, I tend to find links back to the original Myst game with these types of titles. In the case of Zed, one of the scenes borrows from the Selenetic and Mechanical Ages. Which I love!

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Lastly, I was rather fond of the Halloween House. Made me feel like I was standing outside Michael Myers' home.

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