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Kyonashi · Jul 12, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmqmEVLL4L8

Anyone hyped for this? Found out about it last year or so on GAF and I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on it since, looks like a cool little narrative-based game that's giving me Deus Ex/Half Life vibes?

Only a week out from release and nice that they're offering a non-VR version too, though for me it'll probably be one of the first games I get for PSVR.

Looks like they also posted some gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGpoPY1ZV2o

gdt · Jul 12, 2016

Looks awesome. Me and my Rift are starving for VR games so this is coming at a great time.

Matush · Jul 12, 2016

Looks very good, do we know pricepoint?

Kyonashi · Jul 12, 2016

Matush said:
Looks very good, do we know pricepoint?

There's a blog post on the site that says £19.99/£14.99 for VR/non-VR respectively.

KingSnake · Jul 12, 2016

This looks good. Strange that I never heard about it before. Added to my list.

Onemic · Jul 12, 2016

Seems like this is an adventure title like the Telltale games

Kyonashi · Jul 12, 2016

Onemic said:
Seems like this is an adventure title like the Telltale games

I dunno, it's not episodic and I don't think it has conversational choice? Tbh it looks more appealing to me than Telltale.

Wowfunhappy · Jul 12, 2016

Said this in the Vive thread: While this looks absolutely fantastic, but the lack of motion controls just kills it for me. I'm really not interested in playing a first person VR exploration game while holding an Xbox controller.

While I respect that the game has been in development a long time, I wish they could have at least gone part way: implement a simple Lab-style teleport system, and let me point at highlighted objects to select them, but don't let me physically pick stuff up. Surely that wouldn't take too long to add? Or am I grossly underestimating how difficult the controllers are to work with...?

...I don't know, I don't want to be one of those people who faults developers for making decisions about what their game should and shouldn't have, I'm just disappointed. I may play this outside of VR.

Monkeythumbz · Jul 15, 2016

KingSnake said:
This looks good. Strange that I never heard about it before. Added to my list.

Shit, that means I haven't been doing my job properly. Hope the boss doesn't see this! ;-) To watch the game in action, please check out The Assembly’s Game Overview video.

Kyonashi said:
I dunno, it's not episodic and I don't think it has conversational choice? Tbh it looks more appealing to me than Telltale.

I can confirm that this is 100% accurate. The game is split into chapters, but it's not episodic - you get the whole game and can choose to binge on it or take breaks between chapters.

Wowfunhappy said:
Said this in the Vive thread: While this looks absolutely fantastic, but the lack of motion controls just kills it for me. I'm really not interested in playing a first person VR exploration game while holding an Xbox controller.

While I respect that the game has been in development a long time, I wish they could have at least gone part way: implement a simple Lab-style teleport system, and let me point at highlighted objects to select them, but don't let me physically pick stuff up. Surely that wouldn't take too long to add? Or am I grossly underestimating how difficult the controllers are to work with...?

...I don't know, I don't want to be one of those people who faults developers for making decisions about what their game should and shouldn't have, I'm just disappointed. I may play this outside of VR.

The truth is that the game was already well into development before the Vive and its roomscale functionality and motion controls were announced, let alone Oculus Touch. We've also aimed to create a game that's as accessible to as many players as possible at launch, spanning multiple platforms. Hence, a seated controller/keyboard experience. We go into a bit more detail in our FAQ on Steam :

Why doesn’t The Assembly support motion controls?
We want The Assembly to be as inclusive for as many players as possible at launch. We therefore designed The Assembly to be played with a dual analogue gamepad. PC gamers can also use a keyboard if they prefer. We expect VR gamers of all skill levels to be instantly familiar and comfortable with our control scheme, which allows them to freely explore The Assembly’s environments without ever leaving their chair. Nevertheless, we do see the future benefits of using motion controls in VR games over traditional controllers designed for flat-screen gaming.

By the way, you can download a bunch of our previously released assets - including the game’s Factsheet, screenshots and trailers - by following this link to our press page and then scrolling to the bottom.

If you're looking for more details about the game, I suggest visiting The Assembly’s website, Facebook page, Pinterest board and YouTube playlist, or visit the nDreams blog for a wealth of behind-the-scenes information.

cleveridea · Jul 16, 2016

is this coming to the oculus store or just steam?

wanderingprostheyltite · Jul 16, 2016

Whoa missed the date on this, great news it's dropping so soon, one of my most anticipated vr games. More devs should follow suit with this kinda 1-2 week release announcement. Understand it doesn't work for AAA which needs the protracted ad campaigns but still nice to see this from indies.

Karak · Jul 16, 2016

wanderingprostheyltite said:
Whoa missed the date on this, great news it's dropping so soon, one of my most anticipated vr games. More devs should follow suit with this kinda 1-2 week release announcement. Understand it doesn't work for AAA which needs the protracted ad campaigns but still nice to see this from indies.

Tried to contact them a few times for review but never got word back. Probably got to be a bigger channel. Its interesting and I think its split with being both versions VR and non VR will help it rather than hinder it. But we will see. Will review it like all other VR games.

wanderingprostheyltite · Jul 16, 2016

Karak said:
Tried to contact them a few times for review but never got word back. Probably got to be a bigger channel. Its interesting and I think its split with being both versions VR and non VR will help it rather than hinder it. But we will see. Will review it like all other VR games.

Eager to read it! Been following it since their first dev diary videos, seems like they've taken great care at making it as comfortable as possible for VR with different locomotion methods, though I'm pretty sure it doesn't have Vive controller support unless you've heard otherwise.

Karak · Jul 17, 2016

wanderingprostheyltite said:
Eager to read it! Been following it since their first dev diary videos, seems like they've taken great care at making it as comfortable as possible for VR with different locomotion methods, though I'm pretty sure it doesn't have Vive controller support unless you've heard otherwise.

Ya will be interesting to see if it holds up.

Monkeythumbz · Jul 18, 2016

cleveridea said:
is this coming to the oculus store or just steam?

The Assembly launches tomorrow at 08:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST on Steam, Oculus Home, Green Man Gaming, Humble Bundle and GamersGate.

wanderingprostheyltite said:
Whoa missed the date on this, great news it's dropping so soon, one of my most anticipated vr games. More devs should follow suit with this kinda 1-2 week release announcement. Understand it doesn't work for AAA which needs the protracted ad campaigns but still nice to see this from indies.

We try out best! In fact, I've been told I'm very trying on numerous occasions.

Karak said:
Tried to contact them a few times for review but never got word back. Probably got to be a bigger channel. Its interesting and I think its split with being both versions VR and non VR will help it rather than hinder it. But we will see. Will review it like all other VR games.

Drop me a PM here and I'll sort things out for you, no worries fam.

wanderingprostheyltite · Jul 18, 2016

Great lengthy interview with a few folks at nDreams on the game here:

http://www.onlysp.com/ndreams-gives-insights-on-upcoming-vr-interactive-adventure-game-the-assembly/

Some choice parts:

With VR though, what we noticed is were going back to traditional ways of developing games. That is, the emphasis is shifting back to quality of content for single users. This may be because at the moment, not a lot of multiplayer VR games are in development, with the notable exception of RIGS: Mechanized Combat. What VR really does well is amplify emotions and the sense of presence within an environment. This makes it much more immersive.

The good old-fashioned stuff about playing solo like story, narrative, interesting mechanics, well-defined environments, theyre all making a comeback with VR. The ability to explore environments at any pace that solo gamers want to take, either at breakneck speed or slow-and-steady to do and see and collect everything, that is what we think gamers will be attracted to.

I am so happy VR has a dev with this approach this early on. Give me all the narrative driven vr games please lol.

Thought this was interesting too, wonder if they know something about future pricing for some of the hmds?

So yeah, we would say definitely within the first 18 months of VR, but probably within the first year, youll see price cuts that make it more affordable. Most people who are early-adopters, like when Xbox One just came out, know that the first year on the market is probably priced to target them, and thats who they go for.

And this part has me the most excited:

Not to disrespect the Mass Effect franchise because we love it, but in The Assembly, player-driven choice is not delivered by dialogue wheels. Instead, actions you choose to perform, or in some cases dont perform, affect which story arcs dominate. You can make those choices at will. How, you ask? Rather than through a series of cut sequences, choices and their consequences are made by exploration. VR, by its very nature, emphasizes curiosity-driven exploration. The major choices are not all highlighted or signposted conspicuously. They dont say this will affect the game. But there are some very interesting choices you make that you wont realize will have ripple effects further downstream in the story.

Fuckin-A, these people get it. Tomorrow get here already

Caesar III · Jul 18, 2016

So, when I buy this on steam this is the non-VR game? Is it possible to buy it on steam and play it on Oculus anyway?

Monkeythumbz · Jul 19, 2016

Caesar III said:
So, when I buy this on steam this is the non-VR game? Is it possible to buy it on steam and play it on Oculus anyway?

You'll be able to pick up the VR edition of The Assembly (i.e. how it's intended to be best enjoyed) on Steam by following this link after 8:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST today (it won't be live before then).

wanderingprostheyltite said:
Tomorrow get here already

Done! Don't say we don't do nuthin' for ya.

Kyonashi · Jul 19, 2016

Monkeythumbz said:
You'll be able to pick up the VR edition of The Assembly (i.e. how it's intended to be best enjoyed) on Steam by following this link after 8:00 PDT / 11:00 EDT / 16:00 BST / 17:00 CEST today (it won't be live before then).

Done! Don't say we don't do nuthin' for ya.

Have you seen there's an Official Thread now, Monkeythumbz?

Monkeythumbz · Jul 19, 2016

Kyonashi said:
Have you seen there's an Official Thread now, Monkeythumbz?

I'm reading it right now. Thanks for the link!

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