Virtual Panda

Just a video creator obsessed with YouTube and immersive gaming. Producer and designer @aexlabinc

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@VAILVRNEWS That's what I'm saying! lolololol. You posted this like IMMEDIATELY

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Visions906 @egorifyy GGs hahaha was some fun games

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@VAILVRNEWS This is a known bug on Meta headsets that happens in a variety of games. Probably not VAIL specifically

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

A moment of silence for free speech in America

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

This is a sad day for America.... we're actually cooked

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@PapaBoneyVR Yep! Definitely is trying to

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

So, another VR creator made a video using footage from one of my videos. I reached out to them, didn't hear back, so I filed a claim.

Now they're emailing me back with screenshots of them having responded saying they removed the largest chuck of my footage and that they'll credit me for the rest (not sure why I didn't receive this email). They're also blaming this on an editor that's no longer there.

Should I go through with the claim?

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@FrontwaysLarry They used it and passed it off as their own. No reference to my original content at all.

That said, it wasn't a straight rip. They had their own voice over. Just used my footage as b-roll alongside other random footage.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@viewie25 Well now it's more of a question of do I forgive them and let them keep the video up? Or do I let YouTube force them to take it down

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

Someone wanna tell me why the Game Awards are giving out awards before it even officially begins? More time for ads during the actual event, I guess.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@VRCatalans @BehemothVR Parrying even on PC is hard. I've mostly attributed this to the weird sword angle and it not going to where I want, but even without that, it's weird.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@BehemothVR was my most anticipated VR game this year.

Here's my thoughts, coming from the perspective of a game designer and long time fan of this studio's work:

Yes, it's very buggy. I literally got soft locked and had to restart my game the first time I played. But those issues should be solved in a patch soon I'm sure.

The combat feels worse than S&S. Obviously it's different enemy types, but it's a lot of little things that add up to make it bad.
- For one, weapons don't even line up with the controllers so it just feels off.
- killing an enemy isn't as satisfying. I did cut off some limbs, but saw some buggy mesh stretching that looked ridiculous.
- There's too much weight to everything. This was an issue in S&S, but at least in that game I could just use knives against a slow target, and it'd be fine. With more fast paced combat, feeling like I'm trying to swing Cloud's sword when it's a little baby one handed weapon is just ridiculous.
- I very much like the stamina, dodging, parrying, shields, etc. But the above issues just make it feel bad as a whole.

The environments and cinematics are great. Some of the cinematics could use a little more polish, they still feel very "dev" like. Hard to describe, but a bit more polish on the timings and curves would go a long way.

While the environments look great, the level design is very boring so far. Maybe it gets better, but I feel like I've spent most of the game walking through empty environments with nothing to explore or do. And even the few enemies I find don't really pose a risk to me. They mostly stand there (unimmersively doing nothing) until I get super close to them. Let alone the super cliche and basic dungeon type puzzles that are more annoying than they are fun. I don't think adding a cube that I need to drag onto a pressure plate is ever fun in any game.

Grapple hook interactions are really fun. I have zero complaints there.

There's way too much UI. I keep seeing this little icon that's telling me I can't sprint and like.... do we really need this icon? Really? You even give me the option to turn off all UI and it doesn't turn off that icon that always ruins cool cinematic moments. Let alone all of the other intrusive HUD UI elements that are unnecessary. I'm a big believer that HUD UI should be as minimal as possible in VR.

That said, I'm a big fan of the scroll for the menu.

Also, I'm still very upset that there was no indication a PCVR version was releasing (I was even told in their Discord it wasn't happening). Because of this, I missed out on pre-order bonuses, which is mildly frustrating.

I still need to play a LOT more, but these first impressions make me want to wait for a few updates before I really get into it. I was hoping for the same AAA polish that S&S had, but so far it's not really standing out above other similar VR story games I've tried and dropped almost immediately. If I didn't know who made this game (and I wasn't obsessed with the dark fantasy/snowy vibes), I probably wouldn't keep playing at all.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Thrilluwu Even when you do, there's still random UI elements that keep popping up for me.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Heaney555 Happy to say @playvailvr has had this for years already :)

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Rengle820 This is a completely asinine post. It takes very little effort to have a none option and I can understand why pushing it to be a standard, alongside smooth and snap, makes a lot of sense.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@ASychov @_LucasRizzotto Honestly, this post right here is what's wrong with most of society. We've lost the ability to understand nuance. And it might honestly be our downfall.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Kawaii_ET It could be. There's a few annoying issues that prevent it from being perfect, but overall I really like the mechanics.

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@Kawaii_ET Did it actually release on PC? Damn. I would have pre-ordered if they had made that more obvious

[Virtual Panda @VirtualPandaVR]

@JoshyPoshyVR @AwakenToast I didn't say it did lie. But it doesn't tell the whole picture. VAIL is doing great with big expansions planned for next year. Spread more positivity, don't be such a downer. It's pretty ironic 😂