Well, Babbages finally called me yesterday to tell me that my copy of VR Stalker was in. I picked it up at lunchtime, sat through 4 more hours of work trembling with anticipation, and finally put it in my machine later that evening.
Intro: Nice, an anti-defense-budget-cutter's wet dream. After the cold war and Desert Storm, the gov't decides it's time to cut back, and does so with a vengence. An organization stockpiles arms covertly, which was nice, because an invasion actually does occur. You're code name is Stalker, you are trained to fly military planes via remote control. Go get 'em!
Instructions: Short instruction manual, just the basics to get you started, and hints of secrets later on down the flight lane.
The Game: (I only looked at the first level, take with a grain of NaCl.) Sparse sound effects. No music. (This is a sim, not Iron Eagle, after all!)
Enemies are scaled bitmaps, at least on the first level. I don't like scaled bitmaps in a flight sim.
Sparse ground detail, to say the least. (Scenario: Utah Desert. And I thought Shockwave was bland on the first level... Looks to get somewhat better as the game progresses, though.)
With my over-grinded joypad, control SUCKED to say the least. This is due to the fact that a joypad is perhaps the WORST input device ever to be created, BAR NONE. I'm talking _severe frustration_. I will not comment further on the matter until I've played it with an analog stick.
Flight model: No comment until played with analog stick.
Enemy AI: How the hell should I know, I couldn't even point the plane in the direction I wanted to go!
I tried to fly close to a hill once. Crashed with what appeared to be 500' clearance. I don't think the collision detection is too impressive...
The view cone is too limited in my opinion, I'd rather see more of the sky around me, at the expense of objects being proportionally smaller. No sense of situational awareness, if you catch my drift.
No taking off, I assume no landing (never finished level one.) Not that I'd want to try with that joypad...
Decent framerate, I'd estimate 15-20 FPS. Not surprising, lack of detail in level one's environment. Not to say that it would slow down in more detailed worlds, it may, but it may be a result of the required flight model calc's too. I didn't stick around to find out.
I'm spoiled as far as flight sims go, I'm used to flying on SGI or Sun workstations, with ultra-high res screens and realistic flight models, so YMMV as far as my comments are concerned...
Anyways, my main gripe was with control. I'll be replacing my joypad with the first alternative that comes out and is reasonably priced.
SOOO... I returned it and brought home Road Rash, which completely restored my faith in the 3do: What a mind-blower! I can't believe I held off getting this for so long! I've only just gotten to level two, so I can't make any detailed comments yet, but I'm astounded. It makes C&B look like Pole Position. Low framerate, my ass! It may not be as smooth as Daytona Arcade, but the FR is totally adequate, and there is a LOT of stuff on screen. I've already seen a bunch of the funny stuff that's been mentioned here ("Take THAT!" :) and the sound effects are intense! (TUNNELS!) I love that lead pipe sound...
BIG PROBLEM however: My copy has no instruction manual. Can anyone fill me in on the important stuff? The game is pretty self explanatory, but is there anything obscure I should know?
If Road Rash is this good, I can't wait for NFS. My plan is to get that w/ the analog stick, and maybe give VR Stalker another try...
To anyone involved with Need For Speed: Does it let you shift manually? The coolie hat on the CH stick would be ideal for shifting. I hope it models oversteer/understeer, the effects of throttle/brakes on balance, etc... Judging from RR, this is going to be hot Hot HOT!
michel.buffa@essi.fr