Virtual E3

by BONZO, HSM team writer

The virtual representation of E3 in Home is one we have become accustomed to; I daresay even spoiled by. Had there been no representation in Home for E3, the forums would have been fired up with complaints and impudent outcries over its absence. Thankfully though, we were treated again to a virtual taste of the awesomeness experienced by the fortunate individuals who got to attend. Is it perfect? No of course not; it never is. The virtual representation doesn’t translate the energy and excitement of a real visit to such an event. So: where did it go wrong?

Force spawning is a hot debate between pros and cons. We don’t all like force spawning, but there is no clear consensus on where to spawn. However, force spawning to a video screen with interminable loading times is incredibly frustrating. I love the welcome message from Jack Buser; it gave the event a personal touch that makes it so much more inviting. The fail was in the limitations of the technology which limit the expediency and flow of the transition between spaces. That video loads only on the first time visit to the space, so it wasn’t too bad.

The video based mega-quest gave the game a nice element of interactivity which was a little nostalgic reminder of Xi, a nice touch on that one. The technology again was the let down, as once you started the video you couldn’t exit out of it. If the video load failed — which happened a few times for me — you were stuck looking at the screen with the alert, “Sorry we are unable to play that video at this time,” forcing you to exit Home and go through the unreliable process of trying to sign on again. It is E3 week, and the space is an international one, so the system is probably being stressed to its limit.

It would have been more beneficial to have had a giant screen with the Jack Buser welcome message loaded as you spawned into the place, without forcing it to a full screen mode. The video-based quest was a good idea in theory, but the system isn’t stable enough for it; to have had the interaction solely with the 3D model NPC of the gorgeous Christina Lee would have been nicer. If developers went to the trouble of modeling her and animating her, further interaction with her would have given that character more life.

Once you finish the quests, there isn’t really any need to return to the screens anymore, so it is a temporary unstable element to contend with. There were a few bugs, particularly in the case of the multi-regional theater streaming the keynote and live feed of the Sony E3 booth: mainly screen freezing, or video pixelation and feed lag. There were a few whom encountered a inconsistency in the activity board check box system. Even though some people received the Chimera reward, and the Sly Cooper companion, it didn’t always check them off in the progress marker in the activity board at the virtual E3 booth. A few reboots of Home usually fixed that issue. Others experienced a lag or failed to receive the rewards when completing quests.

Despite these issues, and inconveniences, this is by far the most successful and the best Home E3 event to date. There seemed to be a sparse showing of new content or gaming at E3 in general, with most of the titles being old news by now, but merely showing glimpses of gameplay footage and confirmation — or dispelling, as in the case of those who were still swearing up and down that Sony would mention something about the PS4 — of rumors. There were very few surprises at E3 in general, but there were a few. Particularly in Home, as we got a glimpse of the future of Home development, and for the core users, it gave us a glimpse of what to look forward to.

In particularly we got a taste for the feel of Mercia, with a small portion of a level represented on the second level. This event kicked off the full public access to the Lockwood limited editions of the Gold Mech Jets, Kubiri lion companion, and the gold versions of the Robo-cobra and Robo-Jerboa Sodium companions. It was no longer restricted to the early access perk of x7.

Hellfire dropped quite a bomb with the announcement of Home Tycoon, a scaled down in-Home version of City Tycoon. This game is full of possibilities and I am curious how it will implement the micro-transactional economy of Home. The kiosk rewards you with a hard hat which will grant an in game bonus when the game goes live. No word yet on when that will be though, but the prospect is very exciting. It really hints at tremendous interactive and social possibilities, but more than that it represents current and future full-scale developments for Home, and that is very good news.

If you were worried Home was seeing too much retirement and not enough development, worry no more. Check out the E3 virtual booth and see what exciting new prospects are looming over the horizon. This year is filled with promising possibilities for all Home users: veterans, new, and forthcoming. Lockwood has hinted at a complete game changer with Mercia, but with No Man’s Land and Home Tycoon also on their way, it really is an expansion that we have been anticipating, hoping, and dreaming of for quite some time.

If the news of the coming change isn’t enough to convince you this E3 is worth checking out, then get a glimpse at some exciting games on the horizon. Yes, we knew many of these games were coming, but now you can see even more of what they have to offer. If that is still not enough, get started on that mega-quest for some amazing rewards; either way enjoy yourself because this event cannot – and should not – be missed.

 

  • Epic Rewards
  • Glimpse of New content coming to Home
  • Mega Quest is fun
  • Glimpse of New Games coming
  • Christina Lee in Video and Avatar form (enough said)
  • It's E3!!
  • Few Bugs but nothing that will break the game

June 6th, 2012 by | 5 comments
BONZO is an editor and artist for HomeStation Magazine.

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5 Responses to “Virtual E3”

  1. NorseGamer says:

    Judging from the photos, it’s a pretty darned accurate recreation of the real thing. The kicker is that Home’s E3 has Mercia and Home Tycoon!

  2. SealWyf_ says:

    Do you have the real Christina Lee, Norse?

    • NorseGamer says:

      Saw her up close at the Sony press conference pre-event. Haven’t seen her at the Sony space, but we’ve been running around. Currently queued up for some Hitman!

  3. FEMAELSTROM says:

    Hey all, I was there in the virtual space last night, and I was with my friend and we did all the quests and got all the freebies. We had no lag or drops and the videos loaded well. We walked away with arms full of virtual swag and frankly we had a blast.I have to say that for me and my friend, it was alot of fun and well worth the quests, if only for the fun. I give it 3 thumbs up! I suggest everybody go, NOW!

  4. Dr_Do-Little says:

    I didnt had any major problem with videos. Stil, I ^%^&^ forced spawn… The quest was real fun and the freebies are keepers for a good part. Especially both Bordeland outfits (male/female). But the activity/checklist board is a mess… bahhh given all the technical difficulty this space represent, I’ll live with it. The only real problem is the theater, I really wish they pull that one up one day, see you next year.

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