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#4345715 - 03/20/17 08:39 PM Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars  
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 123
DarKcyde Offline
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DarKcyde  Offline
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Vector 36 on steam

TL;DR fly fast real close to the ground, engineering is fun, real physics!

tagline:
Code
Race across the terraformed surface of Mars in your Skimmer, 
a completely customizable hover racing vehicle. 
Piloting skill and engineering make the difference between winning and losing in Vector 36, 
a Physics-Based Racer. Available with and without VR, Track IR, or HOTAS.


I've been playing this for a week solid, figure some of you guys might be into this. Its very much like pod racing, but instead of arcade, the controls are very much simulation, or at least sim-cade enough to keep the game fun. Skimmers fly a lot like helicopters with a jet engine on the back. You can use dual throttles, or whatever analog inputs you have, to control Throttle and Bias separately. Bias vectors power from down thrust to rear thrust. So pulling back on the Bias is like pulling collective, you gain altitude. Pushing forward reduces altitude but adds rear thrust. You fly faster close to the ground, and have better cooling. Really interesting mechanics.

Because you're a hovercraft, most turns (especially hairpins) involve turning in way early, using the rear thrust to change direction, and drifting while looking out the side of the cockpit. Epic in VR btw. Fly with my Warthog and pedals, mapped in airplane/heli mode (some might prefer space plane/xwing mode, you use the pedals a LOT). Game is unapologetically hard, and doesn't hold your hand. I recommend using the Instant races at first, because you lose money if you crash your ship in the main campaign. Learn to fly first, or you'll be broke constantly.

Game is made by one guy, down in NZ I believe. Really responsive to feedback on steam. I pointed out some bugs and made suggestions, was implemented in beta this weekend. There's a new ship in the beta too. Unity game, graphics could be nicer, but once you're going fast you really don't have time to look at the textures.

Once you get a handle of flying the skimmers, you can start to buy new parts and modify them. Engineering is very deep, and lets you totally screw up your ship. Physics are a b****. You can move your CG by moving the various items that make up the ship. Pointing your thrust and lift vectors changes stuff like tendency to pitch up/down. Balancing the ship's pitch is a big part of tuning them to fly well. Mass, CG, cooling, and thrust vectors are all important to making a good ship.

Last edited by DarKcyde; 12/19/17 06:17 PM. Reason: a word
Inline advert (4th to 5th topic)

#4345734 - 03/20/17 09:07 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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- Ice Offline
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£18? Pass. Would be better if he offered a demo... that'll help people like me make up our minds or more importantly, help us test whether we can stomach the game or not! biggrin
For instance, I can play Redout on the monitor... in VR? Puke-a-thon!


- Ice
#4345736 - 03/20/17 09:31 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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DarKcyde Offline
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Well cockpits really help with the nausea in VR, but some folks just can't handle it. Turns out, cutting my teeth on doom and quake gave me stone cold VR legs, nothing can bother me. I'd say if you can handle any flight sims in VR, you should be able to handle this. You can always refund on steam if you don't play too long (within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime).

#4348016 - 03/31/17 04:54 AM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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sinner6 Offline
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I have this and will vouch for it. Take Wipeout, cross it with Pod Racing and add the customization of Forza and your about there. Some rough edges to the UI, but the actual gameplay is really good.


Steam: Sinner6
Uplay: Sinner76028
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#4348018 - 03/31/17 05:28 AM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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Thanks added to my wishlist for the next sale.


i7-7700k@4.5ghz, GTX1080Ti,BenQ XL2420G-g-sync,Oculus Rift
#4352856 - 04/22/17 09:48 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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Punkture Offline
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Took me a few times to get the hang of it even on easy. This one is a keeper. Great on Track IR or VR.


CPU: Intel I7-7700K
Motherboard: ASUS Z270-K
Primary HD: Samsung - 970 EVO Plus 1TB Internal PCI Express 3.0 x4 (NVMe) Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology
Secondary HD: Seagate 2TB FireCuda 3.5-Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200-RPM 64 Cache Gaming SSHD
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
PSU: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold
HOTAS: Thrustmaster Warthog/ Thrustmaster TFRP Flight Rudder Pedals
VR: Oculus Rift
TrackIR 5
#4358301 - 05/19/17 07:36 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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Paradaz Offline
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Can you use the touch controllers?


On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
#4358313 - 05/19/17 08:34 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: - Ice]  
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Paradaz Offline
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Originally Posted by - Ice
£18? Pass. Would be better if he offered a demo... that'll help people like me make up our minds or more importantly, help us test whether we can stomach the game or not! biggrin
For instance, I can play Redout on the monitor... in VR? Puke-a-thon!


Doesn't Steam give you a 2 hour or 2 day window to get a refund these days?


On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
#4358338 - 05/19/17 11:27 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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- Ice Offline
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2 hours... but it only took me less than 5 minutes to know it wasn't for me (Redout). Can't be bothered to request a refund if I'm not sold on the initial view.


- Ice
#4358354 - 05/20/17 12:23 AM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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Paradaz Offline
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I bought Vector36......gave it a quick try as it's getting late and am well impressed. I just used the Xbox controller but can see myself getting into this. Not sure if the Warthog will be the best controller but the Oculus Touch doesn't work/isn't supported.


On the Eighth day God created Paratroopers and the Devil stood to attention.
#4358940 - 05/23/17 01:41 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: Paradaz]  
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Punkture Offline
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Warthog with rudder pedals work fine with it.


CPU: Intel I7-7700K
Motherboard: ASUS Z270-K
Primary HD: Samsung - 970 EVO Plus 1TB Internal PCI Express 3.0 x4 (NVMe) Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology
Secondary HD: Seagate 2TB FireCuda 3.5-Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200-RPM 64 Cache Gaming SSHD
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
PSU: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold
HOTAS: Thrustmaster Warthog/ Thrustmaster TFRP Flight Rudder Pedals
VR: Oculus Rift
TrackIR 5
#4367832 - 07/06/17 10:56 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
Joined: Jun 2005
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- Ice Offline
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- Ice  Offline
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How do you guys map your controls? How do the controls actually work? I have a WH and rudders. The damn thing just slips and slides every which way. Rolling or pitching does nothing aside from cosmetic shift in view angle. Speed is controlled more by bias.... just put thrust on full and boost as much as I can... I am quite disappointed. I thought I can at least do coordinated turns with roll and rudder input, but roll doesn't seem to do anything and yaw is king.


- Ice
#4367914 - 07/07/17 03:46 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
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sinner6 Offline
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Thrust is total engine output, bias is the ratio between forward thrust and lift.
I turn with rudders, and don't worry too much about roll beyond obstacle avoidance.


Steam: Sinner6
Uplay: Sinner76028
MWO: Sinner6
#4367953 - 07/07/17 07:32 PM Re: Vector 36 - VR hovercraft sim racing on Mars [Re: DarKcyde]  
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 16,082
- Ice Offline
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- Ice  Offline
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Yeah... so far, I just put thrust on full (left throttle) and juggle bias with the right throttle.

How does roll affect obstacle avoidance? I only roll to be parallel with the ground at the lowest point of the hover..... but roll and pitch seem to do nothing for directional control. Heck, pitch does nothing for the bounce effect at all, I still have to use bias to cushion the bounce.


- Ice

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