Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Dishonored 2, Resident Evil 7 Demo, Steam API, Oculus Touch

Dishonored 2

  • I finished my second play through of the first Dishonored and all the DLC and it was amazing.  Highly recommend.  
  • I was a bit worried that I might have a bit of stealth fatigue but I am hooked on D2 just like it's predecessor.  
  • Each area is huge with a ton of secrets and lore to find that it is a bit overwhelming.  I've read some reviews saying that it took them 8 hours to beat.  I'm not even half way through and I've got over 13 hours so if you really want to get absorbed by the world you can.
  • I am playing through as Corvo initially.  I wanted to see the story through his stealthy eyes first then go back and kill everyone with Emily so the game will be different my second time through.  
  • They have improved just about everything in this game except for the load times.  They are about 3-4 seconds longer.  
  • The game is a blast and just fun to play.  Highly recommended as well.  

Resident Evil 7 Demo

  • They have changed the formula once again and now it's a first person single player survival horror game.
  • Yes the horror word is in bold for a reason.   Just opening a door is scary.  When you press the button the door comes ajar a bit letting you see a bit in the room, then you advance and it opens up.  Man the times I didn't want to open a door. 
  • Another time in the demo once you perform a certain action you see a bad guy walk past an open door in front of you.  Well I got bold and said to myself well I'm just going to run at him and see how he kills me.  I know it's coming so nothing to be scared of.  I had this mindset and in the middle of the run something fell in front of me and my heart fluttered for a bit.  It got me.  
  • If the game wasn't scary enough the whole game can be played entirely in VR, unfortunately it's exclusive to PSVR for some time so I won't be able to try that out for awhile.  
  • I think the demo is available on every platform so give it a shot if you dare. 


Steam API - They have been making a ton of enhancements to the Steam API especially for hardware.

  • Xbox Controller Remapping
    • You can remap your Xbox controllers like the Steam controllers.  Any button can be remapped to another or even the keyboard and mouse.  This is a huge deal. 
    • A pet peeve of mine is that most games have quick saves, but on a controller it takes multiple button presses so it's not that quick.  With this feature I can now remap the back button so that if I hold it down for 2 seconds it will perform the necessary button presses for me automatically.  This is made even easier if a game supports the keyboard as it will just mimic the quick save key.  Not sure why devs never did this for us before.  
    • I also used this for the Witcher 3 so that I could setup the controller to auto cast spells.  Before I had to hit a button to bring up a menu then select my spell then another to cast it which made changing between them tedious. Now I just hit the d-pad direction and boom my spell is cast.
  • Native support for PS4 Controllers
    • Steam now supports PS4 controllers, just connect them to you PC and it will work in any game without other software.
    • You can remap your buttons just like the Xbox Controllers
  • Native support for almost any other controller.
    • Have an old old controller that you just loved but can't use in any game?  Now you can connect it to your PC and boom. 

Oculus Touch

  • The controllers feel awesome and have made me get back into VR gaming.  
  • They also add in a second sensor so that you now have a semi room scale VR.  You can purchase another sensor for $80 which will give you full room scale. but since you have to plug the sensors into your PC via USB it's a bit cumbersome. 
  • The VIVE still has the best room scale VR experience, but the weight and comfort of the headset is bothersome to me so I prefer the Rift.
  • I took the RIFT down to my parents house for our Christmas dinner and everyone of my family members loved the experience.  They were amazed with the tech and asked how much it costs, then the questions stopped. 
  • My favorite game is VR Sports challenge, it's basically a mini-game collection but it's awesome.
  • The football game makes you feel like  a quarterback.  It's simple in design but it just feels right.  From snapping the ball, to reading the receivers routes, dodging incoming tackles, making a quick throw, and finally making the catch.   It all adds up to a great experience.
  • In the hockey game you play as the goalie and it's just as fun as the football game.  
  • SuperHot is another great game.  Like in the origianl game time only moves when you move and it's a perfect fit for VR.  You feel like you are in a Matrix movie.  You are dodging bullets, cutting bullets in half with a knife, hitting guns from peoples hands catching it in midair and then blowing them away.  It's amazing.