Casting and playing orbusVR in General concerning the handicapped

Suggestions
#1

I have been away from OrbusVR for a very long time (I was serving my country), I do not think I’ll be able to play it anymore. I made a post some time ago about VR and how 3D objects are hard to accomplish, that being said, accuracy with no forgiveness or handicap for someone who is handicap[ed has simply been what will continue to personally keep me away. Especially until my own injuries heal if i have full mobility at all again.

I have played MMOs for many years, not only is there a market for accessibility players but it will also enhance play for those of us that dont have tons of time to play that even if we did could not train to ever reach our goals.

Ill admit im a bit biased since i have a handicap even though I would love to play this game, I cannot simply because I shakes entirely too much to accomplish much if anything. This is sad because I do not have this problem in other VR games that have free movement locomotion

My biggest concern now is that as we players age things happen,in my case it was an injury, and I dont see this ever getting addressed by the devs.

Good players who are loyal to this game, could develop not just injuries, but like parkinson’s disease and because of the way the mechanics are now (with no intention of ever changing them for god only knows what reasons), will simply be forgotten… and have to find another game. To me this is not a good trade for time.

I played an MMO loyally for 17 years. Honestly if i had to put a price tag on the amount of money for expansions and subscriptions that was over a million dollar investment not including the cost of time… The grind was never worth what I had invested and the payoff never came in terms of the most valuable commodity known to man “time well spent”. Not even the fame was a great trade and i reached the top of the top in the game i played… Server first killers world wide server first killers and eventually the best build in the game worldwide.

I think when Orbus realizes that due diligence of a player is not about expertise of a gimmick, and that the real gem is in how well the game develops over time into rich content quests, story, and lore as well as fighting mechanics for the laymen to achieve… Ill not only bring my very now handicapped self back into the world, ill invite my whole very PC handicapped loving family and friends as well.

This game had such great potential but i find it lacks common decency towards the handicapped players of this world. I was hoping by now orbus would see the error of this and fix it so all players could experience this unique game. only to find in my absence it got worse with time consumption… no one except people who dont have jobs and live with their parents have this kind of time… no wife in the world is going to let a man play a game this long, and i doubt husbands will either. I quit playing ARK survival evolved simply because it was worse than having a job raising all the Dinos… (we had to take turns getting up at 2am to feed babies or theyd die on us)

I will wait a little longer in hopes that while VR itself is dying more and more each day (the cost is simply too high for most players to sustain a market which is more of an experience that is better suited for education and medicine than gaming)… that a potentially great game like orbus can evolve into a better state, one that players of all abilities can enjoy.

Games sell because they are fun, nothing about a grind other than bragging rights can occur, and I have yet to see any grind that is any fun. End game is simply that it is the End of the game… it too gets boring old and fast. This is why MMOs are dying.

There are some very successful MMOs that have focused more on fun, than raiding and grinding… and people pay hundreds of thousands if not billions every year to play them… I do believe orbus has this potential especially with the gimmick of VR… Ill be on the sidelines cheering but until most likely I or the rest of the world see something more playable in terms of user friendly… I simply will not return.

#2

i mean… vr as a whole is physical… that’s kindof the point. this is basically like saying that it is a problem that football isnt a good enough sport because it isnt inclusive for handicapped people.

I have this feeling that all VR before ‘full-dive’ exists will not be handicapped inclusive, as the point of VR is to bring gaming closer to reality such that it feels more real… and guess what, reality isnt handicapped inclusive.

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#3

Geez, a bit harsh with the second paragraph, but I atleast agree with your first. Vr is mostly physical, which means until one of the big Vr producing companies acknowledges the physically inpaired with a new system, not much is goin to happen. However, I also don’t see this happening too soon because unfortunately, big Vr producers and even Vr game developers would rather spend their time delving deeper and discovering new capabilities in Vr over improving accessibility. Which I can’t blame them for, as Vr is already not too accessible with its prices.

#4

Welcome to the club, what a great achievement to get my life back after quitting this nightmare… :wink:
Other than that devs actually listened already to some similar suggestions on the forums, for example there was a need to cast spells to teleport anywhere until only a couple months ago and an older player could not get the port spell done because of hands shaking. So now there are columns to teleport and you can skip the mage-class entirely and still get to places. Also unlike many other VR games Orbus is not requiring any actual movement or jumps in your room so it should be playable just fine by wheelchair users.

Other than that frankly the former user expressed the issue clearly - not able to play the mage yet you are forced to play it for a vital skill - so it could be addressed. Your post remains very vague about what exactly is the issue. If it’s just like “everything” devs will be helpless addressing that. And while there’s no point in changing the entire game around, if you come up with some more precise points on what change would make it easier to play these could perhaps be considered in the Reborn - which is still under development so it is a perfect time to utter wishes for change.

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#5

as much as id like to agree with you this is a very erroneous statement… in fact VR is being used to increase self esteem right now in people who have never walked. Its just one medical aspect of how VR is very useful. Most games are creating a rail system for the handicapped and dominating the market in doing so. The whole locomotion of teleportation is to support movement between gliding and locomotion in general in VR free movement so people who have never walked can get used to it without experiencing more VR sickness than usual.

In all honesty this will not be the Final VR we see now. it will get much more advanced with voice controls before it is over. So to say that VR is for physical would be to say some of that is true, but to say its completely physical there will always be a market for the handicapped (as they get paid to support and play games if that is there hobby “that improves quality of life” which is what a disabled person will spend the money they get on.

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#6

I was shot in the back, limited mobility in my arms at best, VR has been a god send to keep me moving, just not Orbus

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#7

What makes VR cool is not just the reality its that you can manipulate the reality. If VR where strictly reality it would be boring. Why not use that reality to help people who have limitations irl?
My Ten year old is autistic. She is very chatty now but shes awkward. She is hiperkinetic, stimmy and has poor eye-contact. None of that matters in VR though!! Shes still a bit young to be super worried about how her motor delay effects her game play but that will be an issue one day. VR can be amazing for people who have special needs. They need the community to reflect that and not make them feel like an outsider for asking a question especially a good question.
Op I think that things are moving in that direction. The portals are great! I think that it would be hard to adapt some of the classes but its a very interesting question.

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#8

Second paragraph of Xicor’s post was a bit rough, but he isn’t wrong. Until we have a full dive or someone builds a special apparatus specifically for your handicap…I don’t see a solution.

#9

I think what’s missing here is compromise. Understand that there are unique handicap limitations to VR that are going to be harder to adjust for you might not be able to play all of the classes and you might not be able to do the highest most demanding content. At the same time there are options available to the developers to make the game more friendly.

@Richard_L what specific parts of the game are difficult for you? You mentioned your hands shake but that shouldn’t interfere with combat for several of the classes as long as you can still hold the controller. What comes to my mind is runemage and menus. Not much can be done for the runemage discipline but maybe they could put in a cursor option for menus which would be less sensitive to small deviations.

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#10

The only thing I could think of is to maybe incorporate head movement for selecting things.

For example, how you need to look at the dragon in pet racing to start the race. You could look at a menu item for 3 seconds or whatever to select it.

Same could be done with runemage, where you draw the spells with your head gaze, but i think that would be a huge handicap to where it’s not viable.

#11

At least its not a one sided discussion, the Devs have enough here to consider there is not only a market but a need for more than what they decided was going to be.

Both have made viable arguments which is good in any discussion as far as full dive… its already here they currently use it in military training in certain schools. As far as full emersion the closest i have seen is star citizen which is a voice command system that doesnt even require a remote at all. I get that drawing is unique but my question is who has the time to master that, i understand the need for the bow because one cannot shoot a bow without aiming. I honestly think that runemage is fine i just really dont like the unforvigeness of mistakes and fizzles.

I suggested early on before i got wounded and could barely lift my arms (im just getting to where i can now grip a controller again but as stated I have been able to play many VR games with other controls such as voice activated and keyboard), I suggested a leveling up process for attempts that gradually had its own experience invested which caused for less “Fizzle and Failure rates”.

Even now i am not typing I am using voice to chat software. Again thank you for your replies its great to see there are people out there who want to open their hearts and understanding that I have made a valid point concerning the handicapped and their inability to join…

More players more revenue more revenue more longevity of a game. These are simple truths… consider all the games that have made a handicap friendly game… how much have those companies made?

I see men in wheel chairs running a race for the first time in their life, or sailing, or who knows even flying… this is a gift only VR can give right now… Its a great gift… We should not deny other players a chance because their circumstances are different than others, and we should definately not take away such a great oppertunity to really include everyone at all levels of play. One thing i absolutely loved about OrbusVR was that the community geniunely cared… what I didnt like about it so much was that same community wanted things difficult because they had already mastered what they needed to and others were still struggling.

I also noticed as people got better they became less important and eventually quit, thus is the cycle i saw for several months… Now id be happy to just cast again, but casting is not in my future any time soon i fear.

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#12

What a long-winded, uninformed, incohesive, emotionally manipulative series of posts. I’m really not sure what exactly is being asked for. You should be able to do raids in Orbus without leveling up or being able to play your class properly? You should be able to play Orbus without moving your arms? There is lots of casual content in Orbus, even more so in the upcoming Reborn. Making it so every class is playable with non-vr movement completely defeats the purpose of the game being a vr mmo. Consider if voice casting was somehow implemented, either the software would be bad at recognizing the voice and fail/miscast often, or it would be more efficient and everyone would just stand there speaking instead of doing the somatic components of casting. In regards to “who has time for that”, if you want a game where you immediately have access to everything and don’t need to learn any skills I recommend looking outside of MMOs. I truly am sorry for your handicap, but that doesn’t mean everything should be watered down for the sake of accessibility.

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#13

Hi Richard, we understand your concerns - what are some specifics of things in the game that you think could be improved for you?

#14

gripping a controller is not a problem most days, but sometimes raising my arms at eye level can be difficult. I cannot rotate my rotary cuff at all in my right arm which is what my dominate hand is, so any movement from chest to out or out to chest in that plane is out of the question.

I shake also so drawing a straight line is simply out of the question. This is not just targeted at casting, this is the invisible lines of combat that dont get literally drawn.

My back just no longer functions like a normal back so anything is going to take time, I am currently doing training with a therapist to get movement and mobility in the joints, its just not something i could return to because of how the system currently is.

It could be worse but im thankful its not.

Thank you very much for listening Mathieu_D

#15

Its players like this elite thinking that give MMOs a bad name. Playing is supposed to be fun not expertise. Most of the MMOs that have taken out the expertise like ffxiv for instance have done quite well and focused on community rather than what can be killed.

You may think you are doing Orbus a great deed by defending the current child like mentality that the best is everything and raiding is everything but honestly that will eventually just destroy the game.

The end game should not be hard to get to as it is not hard to get to in any MMO to date (half of them can buy end game characters our there). It may very well be time to reinvent the wheel on some things and as the numbers dwindle due to difficulty im sure this will speak truer every day.

As for incohesive from the responses i feel that my ideaology was articulated quite well… many understood and answered.

Enjoy “the top” its lonely up there. because many of us just want to play and hang out. I see orbus as a “game room” game that one can join a friend in certain activities doing. I liked orbus because i didnt have to sit for hours on end and i was active. I hope that soon i can return and use this as a rehabilitation effort (so muscles dont atrophy over time). As for manipulative id like to see how?

Just because the world is not attuned to you being the best at your class does not make this post manipulative. Its a valid discussion with valid points of play. Just because you are not handicapped in some way does not mean you are better at anything, it just means right now the rules are set for you to be better because most handicapped people have limited mobility.

I hope you understand this world is bigger than one thought mindsets, and no one is asking for a handout. I spend days in therapy just to function again, and if you live in the UNITED STATES… you are welcome… glad i could step up to do in real life what you did not btw.

#16

…Can you play healer?

Ranger requiers a lot of arm movements, mage requiers a steady hand, tank is a lot of swinging.

But healer is mostly standing still shooting.

What was the problem with orbus locomotion? I did not get that. I do feel it’s quite diverse.

I get beeing annoyed about not beeing able to do something you used to, but we keep doing raid and endgame content because it challenges us.

For casual gaming we do have levelskaled dungeons, normal tradu, and the wilds.

#17

In the middle of a post where he attacks my character while presenting himself on some sort of moral high ground, going so far to play the “I fought for my country” card and baselessly assuming I haven’t.

I’ll keep my attacks on your character to myself as I’d rather not be banned from the forums. You have yet to actually give one real, specific suggestion, even when prompted to by a dev looking to help you.

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#18

I agree with this completely. I myself am autistic, and I find that I have a much easier time approaching and interacting with people in VR. When in VR, social anxiety is pretty much nonexistent for me.

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#19

I’ve also noticed during the first OrbusVR Reborn beta that because of the level-scaled enemies, the combat is much less physically straining because you don’t have to push yourself as much just to not die. Also, with navigating through menus, you’re given a pointer like in the Oculus menu so you don’t have to hold your arm up as much. And the last thing I noticed for accessibility is the quest system. There isn’t a high threshold required to complete a quest because the tasks in the quest have different tiers of completion so you don’t have to do as much if you don’t want to, physically can’t, or just want to move on to the next quest. However, if you do go above and beyond the minimum, you are rewarded more. I find that system to be very accommodating in my opinion. Classic Orbus is definitely very unforgiving in its difficulty and accessibility, but Reborn seems to be fixing a lot of those problems.

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#20

Ironically I fractured my elbow like an hour after I posted on here (hammockswings = bad). My dominant hand lol and I’m a mage. I’m probably out for a couple of weeks. At least my injury is temporary. I can be a cheerleader for a bit but it would suck to get hurt, ask for a way to still be included and have people say some of the stuff that has been posted. Yes the game is what it is and we cant expect it to be changed completely but I dont think its nuts to try to see if we can find ways to try to include people.
Maybe have some options available for people who need them but not available for everyone?

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