Trespasser VR

[Kaffeebohnson]

Hello! I am new to this community

Years ago I watched the legendary let's play of Trespasser by Research Indicates (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 51EB882B48), and have been fascinated by the game ever since. So ahead of its time with it's technology, but also in mechanics (recharging health) and presentation (audio logs!). Especially the somber atmosphere created by the voicework of Sir David Attenborough fascinated me.

A few days ago I got "Island 359" for my HTC Vive, which greatly reminded me of Trespasser (in all but atmosphere) - so until they get around to creating a proper campaign, I managed to get Trespasser running on my Macbook

And I have to say, so far the game is surprisingly playable! It is goofy and janky but not frustrating. I just wish there was a quick save, and working 3D acceleration.

I am also listening to the Jurassic Park Audio Book while playing, which keeps me entertained

Anyway, to the point of the title: Surely I am not the only one who would get a kick out of a straight port/mod/recreation of Trespasser into a VR game? I want the original graphics and janky physics, but in VR. With John Hammond whispering his life's story into my ears. Is there any fan development going on in this regard?

[Draconisaurus]

Welcome, to Jurassic World.

Goofy and janky but not frustrating... How odd - I would say Tres is often quite frustrating but not at all goofy or janky

JP Audio... Listened to that as a kid. Need to get back to it..

Tres VR... I feel that developments in Tres VR are going to consist of a small number of non-senior members successfully playing it, telling us of their experience, and... not much else. It sounds quite cool but it lies outside the catagory of new mods or engine upgrades so long as VR remains.. only for the super-rich

[Kaffeebohnson]

I don't think I have seen goofier animations in a retail game then the Velociraptors in Trespasser

And your noodle arm is just a riot. I get what they were trying to do, but I wonder why they didn't switch back to a traditional locked system at some point in development. They never use the system for anything, rotating your hand serves purely comedic value. Seems to me a more traditional fixed system would have saved them a lot of headaches (and development time better spent on other areas).

But of course the arm is what gives the game its distinctive character. Without it this game would have been quietly forgotten.

So far I am up to Level 4, and the game isn't frustrating, thanks to the generous weapon pickups and option to save anytime. Also the audiobook helps a lot to smooth over the long walks.

While I am at it, where can I get an overview of current fan projects? There seem to be a lot of them.

[Deagles4life]

Hey, I have a vive and I am working on a trespasser fan game, maybe I could create a demo of sorts?

It wouldn't take long, I would implement hand tools and give it objects to snap to or hold such as guns or melee then it would be a matter of just having some raptors around

My project pages:
http://www.facebook.com/intruderislasorna
http://www.facebook.com/intruderislanublar

[Stevokenevo]

Anyway, to the point of the title: Surely I am not the only one who would get a kick out of a straight port/mod/recreation of Trespasser into a VR game? I want the original graphics and janky physics, but in VR. With John Hammond whispering his life's story into my ears. Is there any fan development going on in this regard?

I started a mod for Half Life: Alyx which now has the first 3 levels playable. It is a remake/reimagining. If you have HL:A you can download the mod for free from the workshop to play it.

I have also uploaded a walkthrough video to youtube if you can't play it but still want to see what it looks like. Just search Trespasser VR on youtube.

[Kaffeebohnson]

I just saw a guy who ported Superman 64 (!) to VR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3d5aEug81s

This reminded me what a no-brainer a VR version of Trespasser would be. Has nobody attempted this still?

Edit: I found the Trespasser VR project and it looks really promising. If I am honest though I am craving a straight port - I want to run around the original, chunky graphics and shoot at wobbly velociraptors until their necks compress!

[TheIdiot]

This reminded me what a no-brainer a VR version of Trespasser would be. Has nobody attempted this still?

Edit: I found the Trespasser VR project and it looks really promising. If I am honest though I am craving a straight port - I want to run around the original, chunky graphics and shoot at wobbly velociraptors until their necks compress!

The problem is that Trespasser's code is apparently one of the most convoluted clusterfarks you will ever see. The game has like way, way more code to it than really most other games due to innovative features of the time, so it would probably be extremely difficult to port the game directly to a totally different system like VR. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. Plus chances are there would have to be a lot of additional re-working with levels themselves in order to get them functional, especially with Anne's model.

[codemuk3y]

I doubt it would be too hard to use Anne's model, you would just need to put bones in it and then use inverse kinematics to move the hand about, fix the chest to the camera and one controller to the hand.

I'm not saying I'm willing to do this work though

[Kaffeebohnson]

Yeah I was thinking it would be most feasible to rip the models and textures from Trespasser and rebuild the game in Unity.

Most complicated would be to recreate the wonky Dinosaur IK I think...

[codemuk3y]

You could potentially easily recreate that walk as an animation and play it when the dino walked around.

[TheIdiot]

I doubt it would be too hard to use Anne's model, you would just need to put bones in it and then use inverse kinematics to move the hand about, fix the chest to the camera and one controller to the hand.

If you were trying to port the original game engine itself rather than recreate it in a new engine, there is a lot you'd have to work around. Plus of course you'd have to convert the appropriate features in the levels themselves. That was the difficulty I was referring to.
Recreating the entire game in a new engine has been tried so many times now that it's somewhat ridiculous - I call it the "Trespasser Curse" (as we once had the "Pine Valley Curse", referring to unfinished remakes of the previously lost level), as nobody has ever been able to properly finish a remake. I think that's a testament to how complex this game actually is.

You could potentially easily recreate that walk as an animation and play it when the dino walked around.

Possibly. Today's games seem to combine both the inverse kinematics and traditional keyframe animations in order to get a realistic look. That's the sort of thing I'd go for with a Tres remake, as the original "animations", while goofy, are a huge part of the game's character. I bet with skilled developers you could get animations that look realistic and fluid while also retaining the...let's call it "freedom" that the Tres CAnimals have, while also making the inverse kinematics behave in a more lifelike fashion.

[codemuk3y]

If you were trying to port the original game engine itself rather than recreate it in a new engine, there is a lot you'd have to work around. Plus of course you'd have to convert the appropriate features in the levels themselves. That was the difficulty I was referring to.

Recreating the entire game in a new engine has been tried so many times now that it's somewhat ridiculous - I call it the "Trespasser Curse" (as we once had the "Pine Valley Curse", referring to unfinished remakes of the previously lost level), as nobody has ever been able to properly finish a remake. I think that's a testament to how complex this game actually is.

I see now, yes, it would be near impossible to add VR to the original engine.

Edit: I dream daily of recreating the whole game in a new engine, but I am very time poor after work and my other committments. I am sure someone will do it one day, but as you say, there's a lot to port over- Maps, sounds, new models, new textures, weapons, the puzzles, the dinos etc.

[Draconisaurus]

[quote="TheIdiot"]Recreating the entire game in a new engine has been tried so many times now that it's somewhat ridiculous - I call it the "Trespasser Curse" (as we once had the "Pine Valley Curse", referring to unfinished remakes of the previously lost level), as nobody has ever been able to properly finish a remake. I think that's a testament to how complex this game actually is.[quote]
Tatu and I have a running gag with that. It was called the PV Curse while we didn't have that level. Then it was the PH Curse, because it was the other, super unknown level. Now it's the PL Curse as it's the last area we have so much incomplete material from.

[machf]

I call it the "P" curse... notice that all those levels have in common the letter "P" at the start.

[Draconisaurus]

Welcome to my Ool.