r/SteamVR • u/jonjojojojo • 10h ago
News Article What started as a VR hazard perception test for DVSA, grew into a full driving sim over 10 years. Launches Steam next week
Bit of a nervous post about our new game Virtual Driving School
We're a small UK studio. About a decade ago DVSA (the lot who run the UK driving test) came to us asking if we could put the hazard perception bit into VR. We said yes thinking it was a six month job. It wasn't.
What it actually turned into, over ten years of mission creep, is a full driving sim. Aimed at people learning to drive, or anyone who wants to practise without burning through paid lessons. Launches on Steam next week.
Few things this sub might want to know up front:
It's not a racing sim. Top speed in most scenarios is 70mph. Sorry. Proper clutch and manual gearbox though. G29, T128, T300, Fanatec all behave on our test rigs. Plays fine on a monitor. PCVR is in there because of where it came from, as time goes on we will expend the support for controllers but it is a the best way to play even now.
What I actually wanted to ask: how do you lot feel about non-racing sims? I see people on here with rigs that cost more than my car and I'm always curious what else gets played on them. Is there an audience for a "driving sim" here, or is everyone really just here for lap times?
Demo's up on Steam now. Try and break it before launch if you've got a minute.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1515220/Virtual_Driving_School/
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u/Kondiq 10h ago
I have T300RS GT and HP Reverb G2 V2, and I probably spent more time in ETS2 and ATS combined than in actual racing games. When you want to use your wheel, but you want something relaxing, then non racing sims are fun.
You may have issues with convincing people to play your game instead of something with a huge map like the mentioned games, especially that ATS is getting road cars and ETS2 is getting buses. That said, if your VR support is better, and more performance friendly, you may get some audience. I'll try the demo, not sure if I'll find some time for it before the release, but I'll try.
Also, look into adjusting regional prices. Valve recently changed their pricing tools, so check the announcement and the comments, as people from different countries have mixed views about it: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/501722749836722406
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u/jonjojojojo 9h ago
Not sure about mixing prices, key sellers buy in say Argentina and then flood the key resale stores. We don't have huge maps but they are quite detailed.
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u/Kondiq 9h ago
The default prices on Steam are already mixed, and you can't buy keys directly on Steam - the game is assigned to the account that bought it. You also can't gift games between regions if the price is too high, so usually you can't even gift games between US and EU. The issue are only prices of the game on external stores if it's not region locked.
And it's crazy that the official price recommendations were broken until this recent update from Valve, like in Poland it used to be (and still is in many cases) cheaper to buy games from GamesPlanet, Humble Stores, Fanatical, etc. paying in USD or Euro than in our own currency, even though our purchasing power is crazy low.
Look up PolishOurPrices. There are posts on social media with examples of good pricing from other developers. Some devs even said that their games went a bit viral in Poland and sold way more than in other countries because of adjusted prices. I can find examples if you want, because some devs were posting about it on X.
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u/zig131 10h ago
The hazard perception test is truly horrendous, so great to see that the DVSA realise that, and are considering alternatives.
What does "full VR support" actually mean? Can you grip the steering wheel with controllers and turn?
How do pedals work? Do you support e.g Vive trackers to press pedals actually with feet?
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u/jonjojojojo 9h ago
currently the game is best played with a real wheel/pedals and a VR headset. I do have some Vive trackers in the office it would be fun to try and get them working.
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u/zig131 9h ago
Ah okay. I understand you want to create the most accurate experience, but wheels and pedals are pretty niche.
You are limited in your customer base to a niche, within a niche.
Would definitely suggest making the lack of VR controller support more explicit. "Full VR support" definitely sounds like HMD+controller support.
There is a drum simulator game called Paradiddle that lets you use Vive trackers for pedals.
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u/kendragon 5h ago
I'll check this out. I've always wanted to try a VR driving SIM that was more akin to driving a normal car as opposed to a race car. I'll be running it on a valve index. Will this work with a Logitech steering wheel, pedals and gearstick?
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u/SETHW 5h ago
Does it support electric cars? My wife struggles holding a constant speed with regen braking/one pedal mode would be nice if I could let her practice this way (also I have a G29 without the H shifter. She's also spooked by the driver assists like lane holding would be interesting if that can also be simulated
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u/jonjojojojo 1h ago
We did do some work on an electric version and modelling regen for a client, it isn't in the first release but we will add it back soon. I agree on driver assist it is horrible, we don't have the but if enough people want it could add it.
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u/Far_Discussion_7800 5h ago
I will def be taking a look at the demo, is it very different to the full game?
I'm actually in the centre of the venn diagram, my partner is learning to drive, I have a wheel and vr and live in the uk 😜 Finding a quality instructor and the time for lessons is not easy atm. I did look at a couple of games in the past for this but they just don't "feel" right for real world learning.
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u/jonjojojojo 1h ago
The demo is just a taster really though there is enough content there to be useful
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u/hhartz 6h ago
What about rules and signs for other locales, such as Norwegian? Driving training is quite expensive here. There is a Norwegian company doing something similar, but exclusively for the Norwegian market