Eagle Flight

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Eagle Flight
Studio Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher Ubisoft
Erstveröffent-
lichung
  • October 18, 2016 (Microsoft Store)
  • November 8, 2016 ( PlayStation VR )
platform Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR)
genre Flight simulator
Game mode Single player
control Head tracking
language multilingual
Age rating
USK released from 6
PEGI recommended for ages 7 and up

Eagle Flight is a virtual reality - flight simulator which of, Ubisoft Montreal developed by Ubisoft for the first time on 18 October 2016 the Microsoft Store and on November 8, 2016 Sony's PlayStation 4 has been ported. The game can only be played using a virtual reality headset with a controller . It was Ubisoft's first virtual reality game.

action

Eagle Flight takes place 50 years after the extinction of mankind and focuses on the capital of France , Paris . As an eagle, the player must explore the city and go to various sights in order to build a nest. According to Ubisoft, the aim of the game is "to build a nest on Paris' highest landmark and to conquer the sky."

Gameplay

The player plays an eagle from the first person perspective , which he has to lead through different levels. While he is flying automatically, the player must be careful not to come into contact with any objects. It is controlled by tilting the VR headset. With the help of the controller, the player can also change the speed of the eagle.

In the post-apocalyptic Paris in the near future playing, the background story is told by the narrator gradually. The single player mode consists of five parts. Each part has a chapter that gives players the task of building nests on landmarks after defeating the competing wildlife that is guarding them. The first chapters only require that the player explore the landmark; later chapters usually end with a challenge in which the player has to win numerous fights against enemies such as hawks , crows , vultures and bats . The eagle can also use sound waves to kill its enemies. In addition to completing story missions, players can also explore the world, collect collectibles such as feathers and fish, and master numerous challenges in the game world. Players are ranked based on their performance in these challenges. If the player flies into a building, the challenge will restart.

The game also has a capture-the-flag mode. In this two teams, consisting of three players, are assigned to grab a rabbit corpse and bring it back to its nests. Teamwork is important as players must work cooperatively to fend off their opponents and transport the carcass back to their nest. In this mode, players can attack their opponents with sound waves and defend themselves with a temporary shield capable of deflecting attacks, or they can simply dodge or fly through tight spaces to dodge attacks. The game also features the free flight mode, which allows players to explore the city with up to five other players.

development

Development of the game began in October 2014 after team leader Olivier Palmieri finished his work on Far Cry 4 . Together with several other Ubisoft employees at Ubisoft Montreal , he presented the prototype of the game for Ubisoft's own brainstorming platform "Fun House Division" at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 and Gamescom 2015. The project received enough attention that it was officially launched.

The first prototype was originally called Inside Notre Dame and was intended to be limited to Notre-Dame de Paris , but was later extended to all of Paris. According to Fun House's Patrick Plourde, the team chose Paris as their venue because most of the team members were from the city and the complex and intricate road layouts of Paris allowed the team to create a more diverse flight experience. The team purposely avoided using science fiction as the area would otherwise be overcrowded.

According to Palmieri, the main design philosophy behind the game was that it should be comfortable, intuitive, and accessible. To learn more about motion sickness, the team read NASA's documents on stroboscopic treatments as well as information on the vestibular ocular reflex . The team later decided to use head movement as the primary control of the game. Despite initial concerns that head movement would be a very clumsy way of controlling the character, after extensive gaming testing they were impressed with the precision, with Palmieri saying the results "exceeded their expectations". The team felt that head tracking control was one of the easiest and most accessible ways for non-computer gamers to enjoy the game because the ability to make head movements is innate and a gamer does not need to move their arms or learn how using a traditional controller. In addition, because of its close proximity to the brain , this method of control is the most direct and natural.

The team experimented with numerous methods to prevent players from suffering from motion sickness during the game . They eventually discovered that the eagle's beak prevented them from feeling sick, as it is a fixed point of reference that allows players to lock their perspective. The team also looked at the causes of motion sickness and concluded that impaired peripheral vision caused by a dynamic vision blocking system can also help resolve the problem. To make sure the brain wasn't feeling uncomfortable, the team tried to create a consistent experience to make sure there were no seeing situations but not feeling movement. The team therefore programmed the game so that the screen immediately goes black if the player collides with other objects.

Inon Zur , who previously worked on the original soundtracks for Dragon Age: Origins and Fallout 4 , served as the game's composer . Zur's soundtrack has been described as "floating and uplifting". In addition to using an orchestra to perform the music, Zur also used primitive sounds and high-frequency vocal music to further enhance one of the game's themes: the nature of beauty.

The game was officially launched at PlayStation Experience 2016 by Sony Interactive Entertainment . The game was released for the Oculus Rift on October 18, 2016, and for PlayStation VR and HTC Vive on November 8 and December 20, 2016, respectively. It was the first virtual reality game that Ubisoft released.

reception

reviews
publication Rating
PS4 Windows
4players 76% 76%
GamePro 75% k. A.
PC Games 8/10 8/10
Meta-ratings
Metacritic 73/100 74/100

The game received solid feedback for the most part. On Metacritic, the computer version has a score of 74/100 points and the PlayStation 4 version a score of 73/100. For example, the simple concept, the soundtrack and the "large game world" were praised. However, the "sometimes missing overview" was criticized.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Eagle Flight - Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b c Jimmy Thang: Eagle Flight Review. In: GameSpot. October 18, 2016, Retrieved March 22, 2019 (American English).
  3. ↑ Ubisoft's VR game Eagle Flight features dogfights, six-player multiplayer. In: VG247. December 6, 2015, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  4. ^ Ubisoft North America: Eagle Flight 101 Trailer [NA]. In: Youtube . October 14, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  5. ^ Adam Rosenberg: 'Eagle Flight' is the best virtual reality game to date. In: Mashable. October 18, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  6. ↑ E3 2016: Eagle Flight Doesn't Quite Stick the Landing. In: Hardcore Gamer. June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2019 (American English).
  7. ↑ Mike Fahey: Eagle Flight Is The VR Experience I Was Hoping For. In: Kotaku . October 21, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  8. ↑ a b Alex Wawro: 'For me, VR is the new Wii,' says Ubisoft's Eagle Flight dev. In: Gamasutra. March 16, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e Alex Wawro: Eagle Flight dev shares lessons learned about making comfy VR games. In: Gamasutra. November 3, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Dean Takahashi: How Ubisoft will turn you into an eagle over Paris in its first VR game. (No longer available online.) In: VentureBeat. December 10, 2015, archived from the original on July 27, 2017 ; accessed on June 11, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Brian Crecente: Capture the kill with eagles in Ubisoft's amazing first VR game. In: polygon . March 16, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  12. ^ Eddie Makuch: Eagle Flight: Behind the Music. In: GameSpot . October 16, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Tom Phillips: Ubisoft developing PlayStation VR game Eagle Flight. In: Eurogamer . December 5, 2015, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Jeff Cork: Ubisoft Announces Release Dates For Three VR Games, Including Star Trek: Bridge Crew. In: Game Informer. August 18, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  15. ↑ a b Eagle Flight for PC at Metacritic (English)
  16. ↑ a b Eagle Flight for PlayStation 4 at Metacritic (English)
  17. ↑ a b c d Benjamin Schmädig: Test: Eagle Flight. In: 4 players . October 28, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  18. ↑ a b Mirco fighter: Eagle Flight in the test - master of the VR skies. In: GamePro . November 15, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .
  19. ↑ a b c David Bergmann: Eagle Flight in the test: VR high-altitude flight or crash landing? In: PC Games . November 16, 2016, accessed June 11, 2019 .