Nothing is final, of course, as the game is still in active development, but we’ve got a couple interesting tidbits about highly anticipated VR game EVE: Valkyrie.
First, the most recent test for the game featured battles maxing out with an eight player team facing off against another team of eight. Again, that’s not a final decision on team size, but the fact that there are matches being tested with 16 players flying through space together offers a tantalizing glimpse of the kind of intense space battles Iceland-based CCP Games is trying out for one of the longest in-development Oculus Rift titles.
Second, voice chat hasn’t been implemented yet but it is coming soon for teams in battle. That mean’s the Rift’s internal microphone should be useful for barking out orders to teammates. For me, it won’t matter that I’m playing against real people. Day one I will be yelling “Get this toaster off my six!” just so I can have the full-on Battlestar Galactica experience after I hear the voice of Katee Sackhoff calling out to me over the ship’s comm system.
CCP is no stranger to creating virtual worlds, having created one of the most intricate online universes ever with EVE: Online. Valkyrie serves as CCP’s immersive first step into the next generation of gaming, and perhaps will be the first step of many. “Our company vision is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life,” said CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson at the Oculus unveiling in June. “When we are truly seeing the dawn of virtual reality, I don’t think we have to make excuses for that statement anymore.”
EVE: Valkyrie is planned for Oculus Rift and Morpheus and CCP is exploring other platforms as well.
Here’s a look at the pre-Alpha gameplay trailer:
