Star Wars: Squadrons

[messsucher]

55 minutes ago, simfan2015 said:

Both Star Wars : Squadrons, as wel as Elite Dangerous are so different, but share this thing in common... both are very cheap to try and or buy. It is very unlikely most(?) people will love both as these titles are so different, but IMHO both are as good as it gets in either Arcade or Sim like space themed games. 

 

Hmm, it seems Elite is a bit pita, "ARX", commander packs, mostly negative reviews lately, it seems there is drama, and drama rarely happen without a reason. Looks like one hour research is needed to get an idea what's going on how they try to milk you ?

[dburne]

I have Elite Dangerous and have tried getting into it, but I just can't seem to for some reason.

Can't really put my finger on it.  Perhaps it was the complexity of getting it set up and getting through the learning process.

I am sure will have another go with it at some point. 

 

I made it through the Prologue today in Star Wars Squadrons Story mode. At first I was getting my butt handed to me, then I looked and somehow had it set on Ace. So I lowered that and it was much better. Nice to see the different difficulty levels for it.  Some pretty exiting stuff woven around a decent story line.

I think I am very much going to like getting through it. One thing I wish for VR, would be the cut scenes to be much larger than they are.

They are still nice though, just wish they filled up more of my VR view when they are playing.

 

But yeah this game is gorgeous in VR for sure. Still getting very good performance with my rig which is nice. 

Edited October 14, 2020 by dburne

[messsucher]

 

One of the best popular reviewer.

[firdimigdi]

15 hours ago, dburne said:

But yeah this game is gorgeous in VR for sure. Still getting very good performance with my rig which is nice. 

 

I had a further go at tinkering with settings in it - turns out one silly thing it was doing was setting borderless mode to match my 4K desktop (which is a no-no even if the actual contents of the window were rendering at a lower res), so constraining it to simple windowed mode at 720p helped. And then the ProfileOptions_profile file had a line saying GstRender.ResolutionScaleVR 0.800000 line in there which I had set to 1.0, it's basically the supersampling to use; reducing this to mid-ground 0.9 and taking shadows and light quality down a notch made it much smoother in general but the load-in stutters are still there - everytime single time I go near a ship or object that spawns in for the first time I will get the stutter while LOD/textures are loaded.

 

Oh also, another thing I found is in Options > Gameplay there's a silly artificial "cockpit shake" option that can be disabled which apparently also affects VR (for whatever reason they thought that was a good idea).

 

And finally - make a copy of your ProfileOptions_profile_synced file (%userprofile%\Documents\STAR WARS Squadrons\settings) - the game has a nasty habit of replacing that with default on occasion and can lose all your joystick bindings.

 

18 hours ago, simfan2015 said:

If it could interest you ... maybe take a look at Elite Dangerous ... it's on sale for an incredible price ... 80 percent discount.

 

On that note: do not get the Horizons expansion (unless of course you want to support the devs or whatever) because end of this month its content will be made available for free to all players.

Edited October 15, 2020 by Firdimigdi

[messsucher]

32 minutes ago, Firdimigdi said:

On that note: do not get the Horizons expansion (unless of course you want to support the devs or whatever) because end of this month its content will be made available for free to all players.

 

Have to note here that it appears you get some spaceship skins if you buy the expansion, which you don't get if you wait to get the expansion for free.

 

Also, personal note, the game is in sale and very cheap, I will buy it because my current policy is to begin to be aware of serious VR games and support their development.

[dburne]

2 hours ago, Firdimigdi said:

 

I had a further go at tinkering with settings in it - turns out one silly thing it was doing was setting borderless mode to match my 4K desktop (which is a no-no even if the actual contents of the window were rendering at a lower res), so constraining it to simple windowed mode at 720p helped. And then the ProfileOptions_profile file had a line saying GstRender.ResolutionScaleVR 0.800000 line in there which I had set to 1.0, it's basically the supersampling to use; reducing this to mid-ground 0.9 and taking shadows and light quality down a notch made it much smoother in general but the load-in stutters are still there - everytime single time I go near a ship or object that spawns in for the first time I will get the stutter while LOD/textures are loaded.

 

Oh also, another thing I found is in Options > Gameplay there's a silly artificial "cockpit shake" option that can be disabled which apparently also affects VR (for whatever reason they thought that was a good idea).

 

And finally - make a copy of your ProfileOptions_profile_synced file (%userprofile%\Documents\STAR WARS Squadrons\settings) - the game has a nasty habit of replacing that with default on occasion and can lose all your joystick bindings.

 

 

Thanks for the tips!

[DD_fruitbat]

On 10/14/2020 at 10:54 PM, messsucher said:

 

Hmm, it seems Elite is a bit pita, "ARX", commander packs, mostly negative reviews lately, it seems there is drama, and drama rarely happen without a reason. Looks like one hour research is needed to get an idea what's going on how they try to milk you ?

 

Elite is a very good game, although I'm on a year plus break from it, save the occasional trip in vr just to remind myself how beautiful it is.

 

Thats mainly because I'm waiting for odyssey later this year and atmospheric planets to entice me back, to set myself new challenges,  as have been triple elite for years now, have every ship, all fully engineered,  billions in the bank and full rank with both the federation and empire.

 

Once atmospherics come,  i think i might retrace my steps to sag a and beyond,  q journey i made back in the early days of the game, when it was a lot more difficult!

[firdimigdi]

Seems like their 1.2 patch has improved VR performance for me, frametimes are about 2ms lower so I could up the pretties a bit. However the stutter when approaching a newly instanced 3D asset the first time is still pretty strong.

[dburne]

I must say the more I get into this one the more I enjoy it.

Having a blast with the single player campaign (Story).

About 6 or 7 missions into it now. Little odd switching sides the way it has us do, but does not really bother me.

IMHO it is a great story line with some nice cut scenes. Just feels very Star Wars to me.

[dburne]

I just completed the Story - SP Campaign.
I found it quite enjoyable and switching sides throughout the campaign was certainly interesting and
added to the enjoyment.
 I thought it was quite well done with the fighting and the cut scenes in between the missions. It was a good story to follow along with.

I personally think it was well worth the cost of entry. I am not a multiplayer guy so I won't be doing any of the online Fleet Battles. It does offer Fleet Battles for solo against the AI so I will likely have a go with that as well.
The game ran great for me and my performance with my rig was very good. I ran the game mostly on Ultra settings
and I thought it was gorgeous.

I did not experience best I can tell any of the major issues that are being discussed with this game in VR. It ran great fort me in VR and I don't think I ever saw ASW kick in on me- if it did I sure did not notice it.  My only complaint was not having the mouse cursor in VR for navigating the menus. I just assigned those functions to my HOTAS and used it for menu navigation.  I have an X-Box Controller also I could have used for menu navigation, but found it easier to just use my HOTAS for that.

I will be looking forward to having another go with the campaign once I get my Reverb G2. I will be looking forward to seeing it in the higher resolution of the Reverb and see how it performs with it.

[dburne]

Just thought I would mention the latest version 2 update added native Oculus support to the Steam version of the game, so no longer have to use Steam VR for Rift with the Steam version of the game.

[scram77]

Any word on Trackir support for the game yet?

[dburne]

1 hour ago, TP_Scram said:

Any word on Trackir support for the game yet?

 

No, at least not that I have seen.

I know a lot of folks want it.

[Boomerang]

On 11/9/2020 at 11:23 AM, dburne said:

Just thought I would mention the latest version 2 update added native Oculus support to the Steam version of the game, so no longer have to use Steam VR for Rift with the Steam version of the game.

Good to know. Be interesting to hear about the performance when you receive the reverb G2, being at a higher resolution and all. Thank you for the info, haven't had a chance to give the campaign a look yet, looking forward to it tho.

[dburne]

Just now, Boomerang said:

Good to know. Be interesting to hear about the performance when you receive the reverb G2, being at a higher resolution and all. Thank you for the info, haven't had a chance to give the campaign a look yet, looking forward to it tho.

 

Yeah the campaign seems to be either a love or hate thing with a lot of folks.

I myself thoroughly enjoyed it, have gone through it three times and will probably do a fourth soon with this new GPU.

[Boomerang]

Ill probably end up doing the same, regarding playing the campaign more than a few times. The graphics look great also from what Ive seen.

[BinakZaino]

On 10/14/2020 at 4:54 PM, messsucher said:

 

Hmm, it seems Elite is a bit pita, "ARX", commander packs, mostly negative reviews lately, it seems there is drama, and drama rarely happen without a reason. Looks like one hour research is needed to get an idea what's going on how they try to milk you ?

 

I would like to add to the group that like Elite because it is great in VR. I bought it and played it first with flat screen and didn't pick my interest, but once I got VR things changed a lot. Even the "hyperspace jumps" haven't got old and I've made literaly thousands of them. And visiting the rotating space stations is also stuning.

 

About the drama, I have made a conjecture. Some of the fan base is the oposite of  the No Man's Sky fan base. With that game, they delivered them crap but somehow the fans remained loyals, then they fixed the game and now they have become some kind of heroes for those fans and they hail their accomplishments despite they sold them, at first, a broken game with false promises (more a fault of SEGA, but still). A part of Elite's fan base is the opposite, they got what they were promised from the start, and they complained, they got more updates and features and they complained more, the fans demanded something to dain credits (as everyone has getting rich with mining), the devs delivered with upkeep for carriers and they complained again.

 

About the ARX, it is not play to win at all, it is just for cosmetics: decals, cockpit bobble heads, colors for the ship, you can also earn up to 400 of them a week just for playing and actually got better than before when you paid directly for them, because if I wanted to paing my ship red, I had to buy the 6 color pack with 5 colors I didn't want, now with the ARX I can buy only the red paint.

 

The big problem with elite are gankers (a very complex topic), the feeling of "ocean big, an inch deep" and an eternal griding, but it's not as bad as it sounds. 

[unlikely_spider]

This is almost half off now on greenmangaming.

For those with VR, does VR work okay along with a hotas and pedals? Any big issues at the moment?

 

Also, on gmg, it says Origin DRM. Is that the same with the Steam version, which is not currently on sale?

Edited November 20, 2020 by unlikely_spider

[dburne]

2 hours ago, unlikely_spider said:

This is almost half off now on greenmangaming.

For those with VR, does VR work okay along with a hotas and pedals? Any big issues at the moment?

 

Also, on gmg, it says Origin DRM. Is that the same with the Steam version, which is not currently on sale?

 

Yes VR works fine with a HOTAS and Pedals. It can be a little finnicky at first to get the controllers set up, but persistence will get it done.

I absolutely love this game in VR. Currently working through - off and on - I think my third or might be fourth play through of the campaign story.

I think they did a really good job on the Campaign - Story. You end up playing for both side throughout and it does follow a nice story line with 

a lot of dialogue from the characters.

 

My main gripe - no mouse support in VR for navigating menus. I originally used my X-Box controller for this, but ended up assigning the navigation commands to buttons on HOTAS for menu navigation. No VR controller support either.

 

I do love the game though. Probably because  I was such a big Star Wars fan. And VR with it is gorgeous. 

You can buy either on Steam or on Origin site, whichever works best for you.

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by dburne

[Gambit21]

On 10/20/2020 at 1:31 PM, dburne said:

I just completed the Story - SP Campaign.
I found it quite enjoyable and switching sides throughout the campaign was certainly interesting and
added to the enjoyment.
 I thought it was quite well done with the fighting and the cut scenes in between the missions. It was a good story to follow along with.

I personally think it was well worth the cost of entry. I am not a multiplayer guy so I won't be doing any of the online Fleet Battles. It does offer Fleet Battles for solo against the AI so I will likely have a go with that as well.
The game ran great for me and my performance with my rig was very good. I ran the game mostly on Ultra settings
and I thought it was gorgeous.

 

I may give it a go when my new system is ready to go. Two things that turned me off when watching the trailer vid.

 

1. The twitchy, non-physics based flight (or so it appeared)

 

2. The awful, Saturday morning cartoon style radio comms - just awful. I laughed at them, and not in a good way.

[Lusekofte]

I am sure it is worth  the money. But it simply not worth  my time. The little flight time I have must be prioritized

Edited November 28, 2020 by 216th_LuseKofte

[Trooper117]

Bought the thing eventually... but without Trackir it will just sit in my HD doing jack.

[Lusekofte]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:06 PM, Trooper117 said:

Bought the thing eventually... but without Trackir it will just sit in my HD doing jack.

I can only reccomend you getting a trackir. It is almost as helpful as a throttle

[Charlo-VRde]

I think Star Wars Squadrons still isn't compatible with TrackIR

[Eisenfaustus]

Yep - quite sure trooper meant exactly this ^^

[Avimimus]

Hi, so a couple of things:

 

- I'm pretty sure I'm seeing a tiny amount of auto-aim (probably to help the gamepad players) in footage from streamers.

 

- I'm also seeing a lot of really high rate-of-fire loadouts

 

So the footage is kindof reminding me more of Everspace than X-wing.

 

Do you think I'll be really disappointed? A lot of fun in X-wing was trying to hit the cockpit of a Tie fighter using low rate of fire, widely spaced weapons. A lot of fun in Tie Fighter was trying not to get hit by those imperfect weapons...

 

The combat had a bit of a tempo to it because of imperfect convergence, low rates of fire, and it is so core to the experience I can't imagine doing without it.

 

What do you guys think?

[unlikely_spider]

I've only played for a few minutes, but I thought I noticed a little aim assist as well. And the rate of fire is affected by how much energy you place in weapons, vs engines and shields. Rate increases with more energy directed there.

[Eisenfaustus]

Little auto aim - yes

High rate of fire - yes

But if you watch a new hope - during the dog fights for the Death Star you‘ll see both. 
 

so a little less old x- wing a little more old movies. 
 

if you want to fly the iconic Star Wars spacefighters in somehow current look this will propably be your best chance for a while

 

And we‘ll be getting b-Wings and defenders next month ?
 

PS

 

The imperfect convergence of the old games was offset by all ships being pretty large hitboxes ^^
 

And in alliance the hud instead of interactive Cockpits was a little immersion killing...

 

I really enjoy squadrons!

Edited November 29, 2020 by Eisenfaustus

[unlikely_spider]

Oh, yes, the fact that you can turn off the on-screen HUD to just use the cockpit indicators, and "un-EA" the screen clutter, is great.

Seeing myself in the X-wing pit in VR the first time was a cool feeling. The cockpit is done very beautifully.

[dburne]

Story Mode has  a little aim assist.

Play the harder levels and it goes away I think.

[Trooper117]

16 hours ago, Eisenfaustus said:

Yep - quite sure trooper meant exactly this ^^

 

Yes, I've had all versions of trackIR since it came out 

Any kind of flying game without it is unusable for me... I only bought it because I'm a SW fan. Can't afford VR either, but hey ho... I might get around to it at some stage.

[Eisenfaustus]

todays patch notes: 2 new ships and track ir support!

[6FG_Big_Al]

3 minutes ago, Eisenfaustus said:

todays patch notes: 2 new ships and track ir support!

OMG really? Thanks man, to know that it finally supports TrackIR made my day!

[dburne]

5 hours ago, Eisenfaustus said:

todays patch notes: 2 new ships and track ir support!

 

Nice that they added Track IR support, I know a lot of folks were likely waiting for that.

[kestrel79]

The B-Wing was always weird for me to fly, since the cockpit like the Falcon isn't in the center of the ship...you're either far to the side or way on top. Looks cool in a movie, seems like a weird design if it was real. Cool that they added it though I need to pick this game up on sale.

[simfan2015]

Star wars Squadrons Trackir support implementation is perfect!!! 

Custom matches features also exceed my expectation. ?Way to go EA / motive! 

[Gambit21]

How do you guys feel about the flight physics? Looks twitchy and unsatisfying in that department. Opinions?

[simfan2015]

What flight physics Gambit21? Not truly Newtonian, that's for sure. Star War physics, Arcade physics? Yes ... Perfectly fine! :-)

If star wars Squadrons was about realism, then imho, it would have been utterly... Boring, but now it is just great like it turned out. But that is of course just my opinion. 

[Tycoon]

9 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

How do you guys feel about the flight physics? Looks twitchy and unsatisfying in that department. Opinions?

It's not twitchy, there is a bit of auto aim when shooting but only a little. 

[SYN_Vander]

10 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

How do you guys feel about the flight physics? Looks twitchy and unsatisfying in that department. Opinions?

I picked the game up in a sale. There is an arcade flight model of course. It follows the same “logic” as Elite Dangerous and I think Star Citizen, ie best rotation/roll speeds at 50% throttle. There is no logical explanation for this, but it makes it a bit more challenging. I do miss a “assist off” mode or at least some lateral thrust controls (or I could not find them?), but I think it’s perfectly fine for a game like this. Trackir works great and makes all the difference for non vr players.

Edited December 12, 2020 by SYN_Vander