A New Cavern: Myst Ages in SteamVR

General debates and discussion about the Guild of Writers and Age creation

A New Cavern: Myst Ages in SteamVR

Postby Afalstein » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:11 am

I haven't been here in a while, but I hit on something today that fascinates me and I think has absolutely breathtaking potential for the Guild.

I've been following VR tech a bit recently (if you haven't, find a Microsoft Store or a Gamestop that offers a demo and TRY IT), and finally acquired my own Vive. The native environment it starts you out in is called SteamVR, which is basically a small house with a garden that you can walk around in and enjoy.

Here's the interesting part, though. Like many things in Steam, this app relies heavily on user-created material. People can make their own "locations" that can be used to access their games and view their friends. So far as I can tell, copyright does not apply, people have made Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Mass Effect "destinations" that you can download as your home. Your relto, if you will.

I got really excited when I saw someone had set up a tutorial for importing Blender files, but sadly it seems that is no longer working. I believe most of the destinations are now created in Unity. Still, the potential here is amazing. I searched for Myst, hoping for a Myst Island environment, but nothing is available. We have, here in the Guild, hundreds of environments already imagined, beautiful, awe-inspiring locations. What if we could walk around in them? What if we could make a whole community of SteamVR destinations to travel between and visit?

I'm looking into the specific mechanics still, but there's a tutorial of sorts here... more technically gifted people than I might want to chime in on how feasible this project is. https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wik ... ironments/
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Re: A New Cavern: Myst Ages in SteamVR

Postby Sirius » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:29 pm

Afalstein wrote:So far as I can tell, copyright does not apply

Depends from which point of view.
Copyright always applies if you're releasing someone else's assets (models/textures), no matter the platform. It doesn't mean it will always be enforced, though, but best stay careful.
Releasing stuff you made yourself is fine, though. Recreating Myst island from scratch would be okay.
Fan-Ages are fine as long as the Age's author agrees with it.

As for actually building SteamVR "homes", hmmm.... Seems this time they are using Valve's own Source engine, not Unity (which isn't too surprising as Valve used both engines for their VR games). Could be doable.

However you should keep in mind very few Myst players actually own VR headsets.
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Re: A New Cavern: Myst Ages in SteamVR

Postby Afalstein » Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:57 pm

That's true. But I feel it's only a matter of time until the headsets become more widespread.

In a larger sense, I feel this would be a good way to bring in more people to the Myst/Uru community, while giving the Writers here a wider audience for their Ages. I mean, we have some great environments in this commmunity, but not many people get a chance to see them. This would be a great way for people to get more exposure, while simultaneously bringing in new explorers.
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