First-person real-time strategy VR game Cosmic Trip will leave Early Access on May 24th. Developer Funktronic Labs is readying the ‘fully-featured’ RTS mode for the v1.0 launch, along with a digital Deluxe Edition which adds an artbook and soundtrack.
Since its launch on Steam Early Access in June 2016 for the HTC Vive, Cosmic Trip has seen regular build updates, adding major features such as new game modes, environments and weapons. It received Oculus Touch support and also launched on the Oculus Store’s Early Access alongside the controller launch in December 2016. On May 24th, the game is set to leave Early Access on both Steam and the Oculus Store, with a Deluxe Edition available separately or as an upgrade for existing owners.
Built from the ground-up for VR, Cosmic Trip has been praised for the intuitive feel of its controls, and recognised for its slick, 1960s-inspired presentation, nominated for best art direction at the 2016 Proto Awards and best visual design at the 2016 VR Core awards. The game holds a 90% positive rating on steam across 262 reviews.
In the standard mode, the basics of real-time strategy—gathering resources, building and managing units—all play out from a first-person perspective as you deal with increasingly-challenging waves of enemies.
The new strategy mode, which is now available in the beta branch, turns the game into a “fully-featured” RTS, the major difference being the addition of an enemy base. The player has a minimap and the ability to control bots across it, and the enemy will expand and capture nodes just like the player, resulting in deeper strategic gameplay. The mode is already feature-complete, according to the developers, and is to receive further polish in the lead-up to the v1.0 launch.
“We can’t thank our passionate community of players enough for helping us create a game that we are incredibly proud of”, said Funktronic Labs Co-Founder Eddie Lee. “Making a fully featured real-time strategy game in VR is only possible because of the excellent feedback we’ve received during our time in Early Access.”