After wielding a lightsaber, piloting an X-Wing
is probably the highest priority on Star Wars
fans’ lists of dream VR experiences. Unlike
ILMxLAB’s own Star Wars: Vader Immortal,
however, it’s still just a dream. We’ve yet
to see any hint of a VR X-Wing experience
from Disney.
Fortunately, that hasn’t prevented other
people from making it, and one example is
Project Stardust. Developed by Dylan Stout
of the University of Utah, Project Stardust is
actually a research project designed to study
‘simulation sickness’, the sensation of nausea
many people suffer when playing in VR. In
order to study this phenomenon, Stout decided
to recreate the original Star Wars’ Death Star
assault run as a VR game.
Stout chose this scene because the research
required ‘an infinitely large environment that
we could incrementally add reference points to
and test a player’s VRS [virtual reality sickness]
symptoms’. As such, the game is broken
up into three stages; a fight in open space, a
flyover of the Death Star’s surface and Luke’s
iconic ‘trench run’ sequence.
What makes Project Stardust fascinating
from our perspective, however, is the
commitment with which it has been designed.
The X-Wing cockpit has been fully detailed
with lights, dials and an interactive map. The
laser-fire from both X-Wings and TIE Fighters
light up the blackness of space. All the sound
effects are present and correct, from the
screams of TIE Fighters to John Williams’ iconic
score. It basically resembles a fully operational
prototype for a VR X-Wing game.
If you fancy giving Project Stardust a try,
visit custompc.co.uk/XWingVR. Stout hasn’t
finished adding features to it either, and is
planning an updated, flashier release with a
survival mode.NEWS
PROJECT STARDUST
Somesportsarea natural fit for VR, such as
tennis,archeryandgolf. Parkour, however,
wouldn’tnormallymake that list, but that
hasn’tpreventeddeveloper Joy Wave from
creatingStride,a VRfree-running game
withstrongshadesof Mirror’s Edge. The
gamealsoborrowsheavily from Mirror’s
Edge’svisualartstyle and mechanics.
Strideseesplayers gadding about the
rooftopsofa glittering white cityscape,
leapingbetweenbuildings and engaging
intheoddboutofmelee combat. You can
grabandhoistyourself along ledges, and
performbriefrunsalong walls.
It mightlooklikeit would induce the
kindofnauseanormally reserved for
rollercoastersandfishing boats, but the
developerclaimsit’sbeen designed to
avoidcausingmotion-sickness.
Havingwatchedthe footage of the
gamein-development, it does seem
there’sa smooth,almost liquid feel to the
movementthatsuggests it may be easier
onthestomachthanyou might expect. Of
course,we’dhavetotry it for ourselves
beforebeingabletorender a final verdict.
Strideissettoleapits way onto the PC
thissummer,withsupport for all major VR
headsets.If JoyWave truly has created a
VRParkourgamethat doesn’t also make
yourstomachdobackflips, it could be onto
a winner.NEWS
STRIDE