Change Your Reality

So over the past year, I've been reading up and watching videos about VR and AR headsets, the big players in the market and possibilities for the future of gaming using these devices.

I've seen some really cool stuff, and hopefully, after reading this article, you'll want to check it out for yourself!

Technology has come a very long way since the days of my old Commodore 64 and Windows 3.11 PC. We've seen huge changes in hardware, software, networking, and so much more. More memory for this, more storage space for that, better hard drives, faster RAM, smarter CPU's....But have they changed the way we play games as much as these new devices will? You decide.

Project Morpheus; Sony

Sony's new VR-Visor

Announced at GDC 2014, Sony's Project Morpheus is an ambitious project to bring VR to PlayStation owners. It's currently in development, as are many other VR projects - and very little information short of the spec sheet are available at this time. Considering first impressions count as information, we have to keep in mind that first impressions are based on a work in progress, and we might see a very different final product. 

Specs

• Native Resolution: 1920*1080
• Resolution Per Eye: 960*1080
• Field of View: 90 Degrees
• Screen Type: LCD

Being a PlayStation 4 owner, I am very excited to see where Sony's VR headset will go, and how it will work for me. But to be honest, sometimes I just prefer my TV and controller in hand ;)

Oculus Rift

DK2 - Development Kit 2

Seeing original release in 2012 (of the DK1 model) and later in 2014 (DK2) Oculus was one of the first VR platforms to make a splash in the industry; getting people excited about VR. Roughly $2.4 million was raised to aid in the development of the rift. And, in March 2014, Facebook announced it would buy Oculus Rift for $400 million, $1.6 billion in Facebook stock, and an additional $300 million if certain financial milestones could be reached. Astounding. 

Specs

• Native Resolution: 1920*1080
• Resolution Per Eye: 960*1080
• Field of View: 100 Degrees
• Screen Type: OLED

These are just two of the some of the biggest players in the market right now. According to some sources, Samsung has already developed their version of the VR headset, calling it the Gear VR. Microsoft is also working on an AR headset, called the Holo-Lens, and there's quite a bit of buzz going around about it online.

Seeing how fast we're moving into the future, I can only anticipate and salivate at the thought of being able to play with all these cool toys. But being the old school kind of guy that I am, I believe that nothing will replace the accuracy and reliability of my mouse and keyboard, which I use to enjoy all of my games today. Well, at least not until well into the development cycles of some of these new devices. Who knows? Maybe one day we won't need mice and keyboards anymore. 

Let me know what you think about VR and whether or not you're planning on picking one up. The word is we'll be seeing some consumer versions hitting shelves as early as sometime this year, and I am interested in seeing how they do in the consumer market.

As always, thanks for reading/watching, and if you haven't already, please check out and subscribe to the YouTube channel with the link in the nav bar above. Oh, and of course, stay classy! :)

Scar

First Impressions...

Hey everyone,

Scary here. If you haven't already, please head over to the channel and check out the latest upload for Dying Light!

Thanks for watching, keep it locked here to SSP Gaming!

Scary

Wild Hunt, Free Stuff, Happy Gamers

Anyone who's ever played RPG's should have heard of The Witcher. A series spanning several books, short stories, TV shows, a movie, and a couple of games.

Polish developer CD Projekt Red's latest iteration of this game is said to be coming on May 17, 2015; and there's more to talk about than just game play and eye candy.

Although I haven't fully delved into this series myself (shame on me, I know) I have done a lot of reading about it; and, about the developer. And what I've read has really astounded me.

In a world of Call of Duty's, Need for Speed's and many other heavily milked franchises, it is difficult to believe the hype when you anticipate a new video game. Many times, these developers can be seen as nothing more than selfish, creativity-deprived corporate giants who simply have a hard on for milking gamers on an annual basis. Equally guilty are those gamers who each year, go out and purchase these games. Usually with very minute changes, different enough to market as "new" or "improved", or even sometimes both! (Say what?)

Then along comes a studio that makes you feel like your opinions count. Like your business is valued. And like they aren't out to just grab the cookies in your cookie jar. Enter CD Projekt.

Not only has this studio focused on creating content and business practice based on the voice of the community, but they have done so in a unique and unconventional way such as to set a gold standard for all of those other companies out there. And what a standard it is.

According to Marcin Iwinski (CD Projekt Red Co-Founder and Joint CEO) The Witcher 3 customers should be expecting what appears to be a sum of 16 free DLC packs some time after the game's release. This is absolutely unprecedented in scope and size, even though these packs will be relatively small in content. It shows that the studio appreciates it's audience, and values their business.

 "Because people just paid full price for our game, we owe them." said Marcin.

Mind blown.

 He added that he believes this will reduce the amount of pirated copies of the game, because players will be given their value and then some for the money they have paid (assuming they bought the game) and hopes they will be more inclined to not pirate or trade the game away. He went on to say that regardless of the fact, he hopes gamers have fun and enjoy the game.

Wow.

Obviously, this is a very bold statement, and I personally hope these other studios are paying attention. This is what it should be like. And I am hard-pressed to believe that any positive change will come of this from any of the major developers that we know here in North America. But regardless, I hope there is change, and that at least someone is doing the right thing. 

As for the actual content; the following is to be released later this year:

• Temerian armor set (for your horse)
• Beard and hairstyle set (for the main protagonist)

After this first initial release, there will be weekly releases of two expansion packs at a time. Marcin commented that this is the way he feels it should be done, and it is a way for the studio to thank it's customers for buying their game.

Bravo CD Projekt.

 Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think about this, as well as your thoughts on the industry and piracy in general relating to DLC (including those pesky ones found on the disc that you have to pay for anyway).

Until next time, stay classiy!

Scary

ESO = B2P

Whether you're an MMORPG fan, a PC gamer, or something in between, you've probably heard about Elder Scrolls Online.

I'm a huge Elder Scrolls fan, and currently own all the PC iterations that have been released. Naturally, I got very excited when I heard about Elder Scrolls Online releasing on PC. I promptly signed up for beta access, and jumped into the fray during the many beta weekends that Bethesda was running as soon as I got my invitation in my e-mail.

As with many MMORPG's, you need a certain level of dedication, time, (and let's be honest, time management) in order to get as much out of them as possible. In addition, for many of these games, buying the game is just the first step in your journey. You may then be asked to fork over a monthly subscription fee which is charged for a variety of reasons. Content, updates, bug fixes, DLC, server maintenance, customer support, they're all things that make a good MMO a great one. And, paying such fees, one starts to expect a certain level of quality. Was it worth it in ESO? I'll leave that part up to you.

I'm not here to debate the advantages and disadvantages that pay to play, buy to play, and play for free have over each other; but it's a worthwhile topic to discuss now that Elder Scrolls Online is BUY TO PLAY. 

Well, not now. It will be as of March 17, 2015. And, on June 9th 2015, you'll be able to play on console as well, with releases coming for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Over the last few months, Bethesda has been making changes to the way their payment and subscription system works. They've been cutting down on subs and making adjustments so that you could no longer buy gametime of a certain length. This was of course in anticipation of the game going either Free to Play or Buy to Play, such as a fan favorite, Guild Wars 2 by NcSoft.

I think it's a step forward to where ESO wants to be. Now dubbed Elder Scrolls Online; Tamriel Unlimited, it will offer much in the way of the content it did when it was a subscription based service, however a few things will change.

Firstly, ESO Plus will be the new subscription model, acting as more of a value added service than an actual subscription; as you will no longer be required to pay a monthly fee to play ESO. That being said, ESO Plus will offer a number of "Benefits":

• An allotment of crowns (premium currency) to spend in the online store for mounts, costumes, pets, and other vanity/convenience items. 
• Access to all DLC as long as you are subscribed.
• 10% bonus to XP, gold, crafting and inspiration gain. 

ESO Plus will be available for 30, 90, and 180 day increments; with crown allotments reaching 1500, 4500, and 9000 respectively for the duration of the given period, awarded in full at the beginning of said period. (For example, if you subscribe for 90 days at a time, your allotment of 4500 crowns will be awarded immediately, and then again once your subscription renews 90 days later, and so on.)

Secondly, it will be nice to know that if you ever stop playing the game, the barrier of re-entry will be small, if there at all. Having played many MMO's in the past with a subscription, I found it to be very difficult to get back into the game after a period of absence; generally because I would play for a week and get bored, thereby losing 3 weeks of paid value while no longer playing the game.

 Thirdly, I have heard that in addition to this change in business model, numerous updates and fixes are scheduled for the near future, improving the game further yet.

I for one am very curious to see if the next-gen launch will be plagued with as many issues as the original PC launch was; but, I hope that Bethesda has learned much from it's ordeal with ESO and will provide a smooth transition into the B2P business model, as well as onto consoles.

What are your thoughts on ESO? Which business model do you prefer? Do you think Bethesda has what it takes to keep this game alive? Let me know!

Until next time, thank you so much for reading. Stay classy!

-Scary

The Light is Dying

Hey everyone,

Scary here again. Happy new year to you all :)

It's been business as usual with the day job, not to mention the job at home as well - which is all to familiar to regular work (which I get paid to do) :P Nevertheless, a necessary thing to do.

Besides having all this on my plate, I've really been looking forward to some of the great games coming out in the near future.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I recently purchased a Playstation 4, and am thoroughly enjoying myself with it. Albeit there is a considerable lack of media features available at the moment (no doubt to be patched sometime in the future) it provides access to the games I've wanted to play most for a few months now. Games like Grand Theft Auto 5 next-gen (which by the way looks amazing and plays just as well as last-gen, if not better), The Last of Us (remastered) and many more.

Having beaten the Last of Us on Survivor (deep breath) I started working on GTA5 (having beaten that on my Xbox 360) but it's been a painfully long process. I've also tried a few other smaller games, including Trials Fusion, which I really enjoyed and continue to play. Thinking about all the fun I could have with the games I currently own, I thought to the future and per-ordered some games that looked very promising.

Here's one I just need to talk about - Dying Light.

Does Techland ring any bells? Well, it should. They were responsible for Dead Island. And, although fitting that they make another zombie game, I feel like they've actually learned some lessons from their previous titles and incorporated some of that genius into Dying Light.

Don't get me wrong - all games have their downfalls and drawbacks. But arguably, there were some terrible things in Dead Island. Specifically the hype created by one of the launch trailers that had us all salivating and foaming at the mouth only to realize....we weren't getting quite what was advertised. I still enjoyed Dead Island however; and feel that with a little more polish it could have really been a great game, instead of just a good one.

Looking forward to Dying Light, I will reserve some of that excitement and anxiety; not because I feel like the game's developers won't fully shine and come through on the hype this time. But, more so because I feel that if I set my expectations low enough, anything better than that will leave me happy. And I've started to approach many different things this way as well.

That being said though, I still have some hopes that Dying Light will deliver on some of the really cool things we've seen in trailers. The free roaming open world is always something I am looking forward to checking out. Who doesn't love blowing zombie brains everywhere? The animations in this game look fluid and believable- and that's the kind of attention to detail I can really dig. On top of that, the game just looks visually appealing and full of eye candy (not counting the semi-coagulated blood spraying out of decapitated zombie bodies and so on).

It's rare for me to go out and actually pre-order games nowadays; so I hope that at least this time, I've made a good choice.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, stay classy. :)

-Scary