Benie's Games Blog

This was originally going to be a small section in the General blog, but it blew up into something much more (that deserved its own post). So this is going to go over the many issues I’ve seen from playing this (still $30 during the Steam Winter Sale) VR game.
Most of these things are from the ‘Runoff’ level, which introduces new enemies that want to hurt you.
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1. This fucking. horrible. bane of my virtual existence hook platform puzzle, CAN GO TO HELL!!! D:{

Do NOT let its simplicity fool you! It is EVIL!! …How so? Well at first it’s pretty simple. In the picture (is a hook that’s connected to a box with a hook). The object is to get that platform to an area behind you that cannot be jumped over.
You do this with hooks that you pick off the ground and pull the platform over. Once it’s in position, you need to weigh down the platform.
…The evil part happens if you forget to flip the switch which opens a door to the outside of this room.. which is SO EASY to do, given how you cannot get back on the ledge if you fall
off, as there’s nothing to grab ahold to. If you forget to flip the switch, you also have to climb up one of the pipes.
With the official WMR bindings, this is impossible to do (because I cannot make a full fist as my virtual thumbs don’t fold in). All fingers have to be grabbing in order for the game to say “this is a grip, I will not slide the hand down the pipe”. Luckily I finally found bindings that do this.
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So you finally get on the platform (which is a lot lower because of your virtual body weight). If you didn’t ‘properly’ hook up the box, the hooks will fall and the platform will float back up when you jump off of it, forcing you to climb up the pipe and hoping you can fling yourself to the other doorway.
You know what’s worse? You return to this later on as it’s connected to the exit of the level. Whoever designed it, should be slapped silly (how I have spent HOURS just trying to get past this fucking thing).
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2. Having to hold the secondary trigger down when holding a weapon. Ugh.. I can feel my RL hands cramping up just thinking about it! I’m not kidding!
PLEASE.. devs! MAKE IT where we don’t have to do this all the time!! The moment I feel my finger slipping off the trigger, the gun falls to the floor. In the ‘Sewers’ level, I lost a powerful Uzi to the void (that had a flashlight attached to it) from this! Luckily I was near the end of the level.
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3. When my headset loses tracking (by looking down at my dark brown carpet), the player character’s hands freak the fuck out. This is extremely annoying, especially how the game expects you to look down to grab a fresh clip in order to reload your weapon(s). Sadly this isn’t really an issue that the dev can fix.
At least make it where it’s easier to go into Inventory (for seated play) by tapping the menu button twice.
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4. Aiming a rifle is so messy in WMR. You absolutely have to look down the sights, or you’d be wasting ammo– there’s no targeting reticle. In the ‘Runoff’ level, they give you an assault rifle with a laser sight in one of the crates. But I cannot see where the laser is pointing at when looking from a long range (due to my bad eyesight).
I absolutely have to have easy-to-see crosshairs when using rifles, to know where the bullets are going to go right where I want them to. So this is why I typically use a smaller 1H firearm (the pistol or the Uzi/submachine gun). I’ll even use the dual weld daggers, as they’re really good for dealing with Nullmen and wooden obstacles (including breaking ammo crates open).
I like the fact the Submachine Gun uses Pistol ammo. Makes my life easier.
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5. The Reclamation chambers at the end of each level… what’s the point of them? Either way, you lose your weapons (and you don’t get them back). And if you do, they’re in the vending machines at outrageous prices (for example, 3000 ammo for the rifle with the laser sight in the ‘Runoff’ level.. WTF?!). So what is it ‘reclaiming’, when you can’t exactly get the same weapon(s) you had from the previous level? Just seems like a waste of coding.
EDIT: From what I was told, it’s weapons that you can use in the Sandbox mode.

Let me ask you something: what do you think, when you hear the
game ‘BONEWORKS’ (and have no idea what it’s about)? Some kind an FPS game? Some kind of item manipulation game?
Well, what if I was to tell you, that’s what this game is (and it’s in VR)? And you’re probably thinking ‘great, another VR tech demo’… that is only half true, when the game uses hyper realistic physics, designed for VR users who are tired of the demos and want something fresh and new (tailored to Advanced VR users who fully understand the fundamentals of VR).
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From what I’ve seen, the game takes ideas from other games (VR or not), such as Job Simulator, Portal, Half-Life 2, and SUPERHOT– throws them in a blender, hand-picks the parts they don’t want.. and turns the rest into this.
Starts off as a typical VR tech demo, but a more disturbing force is happening in the background; void energy that keeps things together in the virtual world. However, there’s been reports of leaks.
, that could be making you question… is the game world coming into the real world (and they’re opening a portal right behind you as you play it)? I still remember a part of one of the Steam videos where you hear a guy saying “they found you! The actual physical
you!!”, my mind is all OSHI–.
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The game was released December 10th, and currently runs for $30. IMO, it’s worth it, and I don’t usually say that (especially for a VR game).
The game supports Seated and Standing/Room-Scale play, and supports all SteamVR-compatible headsets.
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Pretty much anything you expect to happen, happens. Doors will respond to the force of your RL arms, and you can climb things.
See that brick? It feels like a brick! It throws like a brick! Even grabbing weapons are realistic, using weight and your own strength to break objects. Even hammers have piercing damage (when using their pointy bit).
The only things I will say aren’t realistic, are the way filing cabinets can easily fall down when you open the drawer. These things are made out of steel, they shouldn’t be that easy to move. Also wooden boxes don’t leave holes, even when hit with the sledgehammer.
But you got to remember, this is version 0.4 of the game. There’s more to come (collision fixes and stuff possibly). Speaking of fixes, they fixed an issue with WMR bindings (there was no official binding).
There’s been a small patch since then, so hopefully it’s fixed that issue. Haven’t had time to test it though.