VR Cricket Game: Backyard Cricket

[Ed Harradine]

Hi everyone.

For about 4 years we've been working on a pretty ambitious game, and it's at a point where the core is playable. Engine is built from the ground up for cricket physics, and also so it can be completely customised in future with different games modes / rules / mods.

There's an early access soon on Viveport. Before that happens we have a preview copy of the core game that we took to AVCon and GammaCon in Australia. If you have a Vive or an Oculus Rift and want a free preview there's a link here!

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Best wishes on the game mate.. Any gameplay video we could see?

 

[Ed Harradine]

Best wishes on the game mate.. Any gameplay video we could see?

Thanks so much!

There's now a sign up link here:
https://mailchi.mp/53b2751825e2/vrcricket

or available at https://backyard.cricket.game

First trial video:

More videos incoming soon!

I'm also going to be playing a lot soon on Twitch:
https://www.twitch.tv/airheadnerd

 

[Till Valhalla]

I don't know how you are picking up that ball.

 

[T.J.Hooker]

I had a quick hit on OR.

It's a little bit fiddly trying to hit the ball hard with a VR bat but I'd be interested in trying to use it as a defensive practice thing if there were some quicker deliveries.

 

[Ed Harradine]

I had a quick hit on OR.

It's a little bit fiddly trying to hit the ball hard with a VR bat but I'd be interested in trying to use it as a defensive practice thing if there were some quicker deliveries.

Yeah, the power game is a bit tricky without the weight in hand. Personally I find the Vive a bit easier just because I have a firmer grip on the controller.

Really interesting you talk about the defensive practice thing because most of the time I actually use it practice my defensive technique. The Super Over mode is the main demo mode just because it's better for quick live demos and really new players.

There's a good chance we'll introduce a survival mode to the trial (single wicket), which is the mode I've used to train up my defensive game. If you're interested I could look at putting that into a patch (along with a couple of performance fixes).

 

[T.J.Hooker]

I have a 5cm wide stickbat I use for practice, and it felt quite a bit like batting with that.

Effectively, that little fractional delay in the bat following your hands just upsets the timing a bit - and using long swings with lots of bat speed shows up that issue because your bat spends the minimum time passing through the interception point.

But for defensives and deflections it feels pretty solid, so that's prob what I'd choose to do with it - some properly quick deliveries, and I'm just choosing either to defend / deflect, leave, or duck + weave.

 

[Ed Harradine]

Yeah that's a really good way of putting it. I need to write a full article on why that happens. Long term the effect can be minimised but there's always going to be a difference between your real hand speed (without a bat) and an in game bat with weight. 100% it's amplified the bigger your swing, I find when I wind up I know in advance I have to get the timing perfect.

The goal was always to create the best human controller we could for the time knowing we can improve the details as people start playing. I totally agree the defensive part of the game feels really solid. I think on that I'm really likely to make a survival mode a part of the trial.