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Remember Chronos? Well here's Chronos Before the Ashes Gameplay in 2D

Shadowmask72
Honored Visionary
Remember that lovely Gunfire Games VR game "Chronos" for Oculus CV1. I think most people who played it agreed it was pretty decent and a neat showcase for how third-person games can work well in VR. Gunfire, will release the same game for pancake 2D gamers on consoles and PC next month. If you're interested, here's how it looks on PC using the max settings and 4K resolution. I wonder if you'll get much nostalgia from this?

In my opinion though, despite looking fairly crisp, the 2D version doesn't begin to compare to the VR game. You can still get immersed in this souls-like game on desktop, but I find you lose the sense of scale and just being inside the game VR affords. Either way, don't y'all think it's interesting that a VR game gets the reverse treatment when usually it's the other way around. What's next, an official Half-Life Alyx (yeh I am aware modders made a 2D version) on desktop PC?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlbdTR_IjzE


System Specs: MSI NVIDIA RTX 4090 , i5 13700K CPU, 32GB DDR 4 RAM, Win 11 64 Bit OS.
26 REPLIES 26

pyroth309
Visionary

Zenbane said:

@Shadowmask72 - I think this has more to do with money. Whether it's a situation like with Lucky's Tale, where they made the sequel in 2D only, or a situation like this one where the VR version was remade to standard 2D... it's all about the dev's needing to earn some profits.

Despite how well VR has been doing, including the successful sales numbers of both Quest and Index, the fact is that the profit margins are slim pickings. It's well documented that Alyx barely broke even at best. Hopefully the Quest 2 sales will help push it in to some positive margins, but I can only imagine how little money Chronos for VR made. Any profits came from the funding that Facebook provided directly.

Going in to 2021, all VR dev studios face serious challenges yielding any profits if they are relying on sales alone. Having a 2D version is an incredibly smart financial move.

Hell, if they would bring this to the mobile platform then they can make a killing!



I think at this point it's safe to say Alyx made a profit. When people were questioning if it did it had just broken 1 million in sales. Latest projections have it breaking 2 million sales and it's still selling for $60. Even if you back out all of the ones Valve gave for "free" with Index, it likely made a nice profit. But it's more of an exception than the rule.

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

pyroth309 said:


Zenbane said:

@Shadowmask72 - I think this has more to do with money. Whether it's a situation like with Lucky's Tale, where they made the sequel in 2D only, or a situation like this one where the VR version was remade to standard 2D... it's all about the dev's needing to earn some profits.

Despite how well VR has been doing, including the successful sales numbers of both Quest and Index, the fact is that the profit margins are slim pickings. It's well documented that Alyx barely broke even at best. Hopefully the Quest 2 sales will help push it in to some positive margins, but I can only imagine how little money Chronos for VR made. Any profits came from the funding that Facebook provided directly.

Going in to 2021, all VR dev studios face serious challenges yielding any profits if they are relying on sales alone. Having a 2D version is an incredibly smart financial move.

Hell, if they would bring this to the mobile platform then they can make a killing!



I think at this point it's safe to say Alyx made a profit. When people were questioning if it did it had just broken 1 million in sales. Latest projections have it breaking 2 million sales and it's still selling for $60. Even if you back out all of the ones Valve gave for "free" with Index, it likely made a nice profit. But it's more of an exception than the rule.



By pure coincidence I think I was the first to see and post on Reddit that Alyx indeed has broken the 2 mill sales:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/k5izil/more_than_2000000_now_own_alyx/

- and I suspect that UploadVR reads new posts on Index Reddit too, lol - or could of course be another coincidence that they published this the day after my post (I did copy my post to Oculus Reddit and Virtual Reality Reddit too - needed the cheap karma :blush:) ....

https://uploadvr.com/half-life-alyx-2-million/

Very surprising to see such numbers - it puts Alyx in the same owner class category as Doom Eternal, although that category ranges from 2 to 5 mill owners, lol. Beat Saber on Steam is also in the 2 to 5 mill category, but that's not a real game 😉

Now I wonder if we'll one day see Alyx move beyond the 5 mill... 

- and I do wonder how many copies Chronos VR sold... 

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"

PhoenixSpyder
Rising Star
I just tried Chronos VR again in Revive last last and it ran fine. Though the graphics settings in game have literally no affect on the game at least on my system. I had to boost SteamVR SS to 200% in order to reduce the aliasing which was still visible even at that. The game played very smooth though. I'm already stuck on chapter 1...LOL...where the red lights are flashing in the room outside the elevator. I have the keys I picked up from the floor but presently am unable to do anything with them. The computer terminal in the next room doesn't do anything more than tell you there's a lock down...as does the other terminal earlier before going up the elevator.

i7 8700k; 5ghz (water cooled), Asus Rog Strix Z370-E Gaming, Corsair 270R case, EVGA 3090 FTW3 Ultra, 32 GB Corsair Veng DDR4 2666 Ghz, Adata SX900 SSD, 1TB M.2 SSD, Adata Su800 SSD, Adata SU650 SSD, BarraCuda 2TB HD, Toshiba 3tB HD, Rift (dead), Rift S, Win 10 Pro 2004, Inateck KT4006 USB3.0

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
Agreed that Alyx has likely made profits at this stage. As pyroth said, it's more of an exception to the rule.

For most developers, they will be struggling just to break even.

Zenbane
MVP
MVP


I just tried Chronos VR again in Revive last last and it ran fine. Though the graphics settings in game have literally no affect on the game at least on my system. I had to boost SteamVR SS to 200% in order to reduce the aliasing which was still visible even at that. The game played very smooth though. I'm already stuck on chapter 1...LOL...where the red lights are flashing in the room outside the elevator. I have the keys I picked up from the floor but presently am unable to do anything with them. The computer terminal in the next room doesn't do anything more than tell you there's a lock down...as does the other terminal earlier before going up the elevator.



I remember getting stuck here too! Totally forgot what to do. The room where the key is, and the terminal outside that lets you control stuff, were clues to moving on. Can't remember exactly how though. 

There's plenty of youtube vids with walkthroughs on it. I believe this guy has the whole game recorded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7dX0lvCgcg

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Strange to have been looking for new AAA experiences since Alyx, and then I had it all the time, lol. 

Might sound like I'm repeating my latest Wilson's Heart experience, but I just had a totally 10/10 experience in Chronos. Using the Index res 150%. 

Note that Chronos is a relatively bright game, it works perfectly using a lcd hmd, and the game isn't soaked in temporal antialiasing = it's not blurry on high-res lcd hmds. The game profits from no SDE using Index, but it still looks awesome using CV1 ss 2 0. Sound is great using Index too - Knuckles work perfectly too using Revive 1 9.2.

For long I had the problem of dying in Chronos before reaching the next big red Save Stone. I kept repeating the same level, and I grew tired of it - sometimes cursing the game for the frustrating save game design. 

But today - for the first time in years - I got to the next save stone, and I had a blast. 

At first this game may seem like a simple 3rd person hack'n slash adventure with 2D-like fixed walls, and while that may not be entirely untrue, the game design and content did blow my mind several times tonight - and that does not happen often. Alyx is awesome too, but plays everything more safe and reuses a lot of content known from previous Half-Life games, while the stuff you're exposed to in Chronos can be literally mind-blowingly insane, meant in the best possible way. The creativity of the Chronos devs is second to none. Chronos isn't just another nice VR game, it's totally reference within its genre. 

The main problem with Chronos may be - unlike Alyx - that Chronos can look somewhat boring in the beginning and feel too old school (like a simple 2D game ported to VR), and then there's the potentially annoying save game design. You have to venture some way into the game before it opens up and shows its scale. 

Really feels like Another World on steroids and then some  😄

I guess these words would perfectly fit any great Chronos commercial  B)

ujazsdaydkig.jpg

- and this trailer kinda nails the game:

https://youtu.be/vNPfkoAhaLI

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"

PhoenixSpyder
Rising Star

Zenbane said:



I just tried Chronos VR again in Revive last last and it ran fine. Though the graphics settings in game have literally no affect on the game at least on my system. I had to boost SteamVR SS to 200% in order to reduce the aliasing which was still visible even at that. The game played very smooth though. I'm already stuck on chapter 1...LOL...where the red lights are flashing in the room outside the elevator. I have the keys I picked up from the floor but presently am unable to do anything with them. The computer terminal in the next room doesn't do anything more than tell you there's a lock down...as does the other terminal earlier before going up the elevator.



I remember getting stuck here too! Totally forgot what to do. The room where the key is, and the terminal outside that lets you control stuff, were clues to moving on. Can't remember exactly how though. 

There's plenty of youtube vids with walkthroughs on it. I believe this guy has the whole game recorded:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7dX0lvCgcg



My problem here was what button(s) to push to bring up the key...nothing worked. Then, after accidentally hitting both the A + B buttons at the same time on the G2, I finally brought up the key. Well, you know the rest...

i7 8700k; 5ghz (water cooled), Asus Rog Strix Z370-E Gaming, Corsair 270R case, EVGA 3090 FTW3 Ultra, 32 GB Corsair Veng DDR4 2666 Ghz, Adata SX900 SSD, 1TB M.2 SSD, Adata Su800 SSD, Adata SU650 SSD, BarraCuda 2TB HD, Toshiba 3tB HD, Rift (dead), Rift S, Win 10 Pro 2004, Inateck KT4006 USB3.0

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Been doing time in Chronos again  B) The game isn't that easy, and having the world repopulated when dying can be frustrating. Also coming back to the game with several weeks between sessions may cause some memory stress, lol. 

In case others need it, I can recommend this walkthrough - but of course only to be used when everything else fails  o:) 

https://youtu.be/yAH_Pb22pYA

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
Dev says Chronos is AAA 🙂  - and he wonders how VR is 5 years later - in Autumn 2020 - but 5 years later some of us are still playing Chronos using CV1 and keep getting our butts spanked :blush: 

https://youtu.be/NJWPVFO6Lt4

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
Need to become one with Touch, to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee  B) With slight help from these sacred Krell writings  B)

0vxoford7hx7.jpg

Soon it will be goodbye to Mr. Cyclops, who already costed me like 10 years of my life!  :#  😄  

hsidy3k33hrk.jpg

https://youtu.be/HXzQqqn-rVc

Btw, the Chronos Pain Thread, sigh:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4crd3b/chronos_great_game_but_stuck_on_cyclops_ideas/

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"