Like many (*new) Indie MEGABOOTH alumni, we were sad to find out that shortly after our chance to exhibit at PAX East 2020 (where we debuted 2MD: VR Football Evolution) that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situations and restrictions on large gatherings, IMB will be going away for a while.

That being the case, IMB has decided to go out with a bang (for now) and highlight us among all the other incredible games in a steam-wide sale. We are proud to be one of the games to represent the potential of the type of experiences VR can deliver, and we're thrilled to be a part of the sale.

https://indiemegabooth.com/imb-going-away-for-now-sale-game-list/

You will be able to grab 2MD: VR Football Evolution starting May 5th for 20% off until May 12th. This will include a free copy of the original 2MD: VR Football, which was the version screened and chosen for exhibition by IMB's judges. Evolution is, essentially, the same core game but with a flashy new veneer and added bells and whistles, so we've decided to consider both titles variations on the same theme and pack them together forever! So if you pick up either game during the sale, you will automatically get the other for free!

As I mentioned, Evolution actually debuted at our IMB booth at the PAX East 2020 convention, initially only as a curiosity for the show floor for con-goers already familiar with the game. It was met with such an incredible response that we decided, then and their, to make it available to the public.

We hope that one day soon we can do this again. Until then, thank you for your support! Wishlist 2MD: VR football OR 2MD: VR Football Evolution now to be notified when the sale begins!!

Hi everyone,

We're happy to finally announce that 2MD: VR Football Evolution is live.

EVO started as a side project to see if a new visual flair could be added on the base game. Along the way, the concept of a post-apocalyptic robot football league was born, and now, here we are.

Because EVO is built on the base of the original game and doesn't feature new modes or additional teams, we felt it was more appropriate to give it away to everyone who already owns 2MD, as a thank-you gift for supporting us (and really, no one should pay for incremental updates to their sports games every year anyway!) as well as another means to help folks fight cabin fever if they are, in fact, under quarantine (Stay home!) . We also made sure that everyone who DOESN'T own the original game will also be granted a free copy of 2MD: VR Football if Evolution is indeed their first purchase, so they can experience the original along with the remix. (Above all else, we want folks to have fun, and we want to be sure you feel you're getting value for your money, so two games for the price of one ain't bad ;D .)

In addition to all the graphical updates, we took this as an opportunity to explore different ways to make the game more fun and more challenging. Here's a mostly inclusive list of what you might see in a handy un-ordered list:

• Scrambling (running) is now easier. We've made the QB slightly faster, and created a couple more opportunities for openings should you decide to run out of the pocket. This has been, by far, the most requested change to the game.
  
  
• Defenders are more aggressive. You'll notice the linemen are also larger than the receivers, which is more than a visual touch--if you have a receiver set up to block, you may find they can't keep the pocket secure for long.
  
  
• Pass interference is now a thing, and late hits are more frequent-- previously, you could throw a pass to a player that had 1 or 2 defenders covering them and still make the completion more often than not. While that was fun for folks, many pointed out it did sap some of the challenge out of the game. Now, defenders will push receivers out of the way if they are well covered, so you'll really have to create opportunities to land those passes. the playbook is key!
  
  
• Teams have a ‘star player’ who is faster and stronger, esp during a hot streak. We aren't going to say who it is, but this player has some better stats in key areas that will increase chances of a TD run if the situation is just right...
  
  
• We’ve updated every existing field in the game. Beyond just redressing for the new sci-fi setting, we've updated a number of the endgame attractions that are triggered with a touchdown. And yeah, there are a few in-jokes there as well!
  
  
• We’ve added 2 new fields that show up during the 3rd and 5th rounds: The Soccer stadium (lol football) and the Shuttle Bay.
  
  
• Weather and climate effects: The Shirts field features snow, Princesses field takes place during a rainstorm, Unicorns field has unlit areas and fog. each of these affects visibility. We briefly toyed with the idea of wind as well, but we're waiting to see how folks like the current implementations before adding additional modifiers to the gameplay.
  
  
• Route color can be changed - in addition to adjusting player colors, you can now change the color of the route on the field to enhance visibility.
  
  
• Height is now adjustable - This was ostensibly done as an accesibility option, so players who choose or need to play seated can experience the game without having to mess with their floor settings in SteamVR. Otherwise...you can now live out your fantasies of being a 6'9" behemoth towering over the other players like you just crashed a peewee football game. You know, if that's your thing ;)
  
  
• Lastly! As we have done with our other game on Steam (Akash: Path of the Five) we've created a public discord server for you to share strategies, ask questions, and get technical help. We'll still monitor the Steam discussions here, but Discord is generally much quicker. And remember, there are only 3 of us and we're currently in the middle of a bit of a pandemic with the rest of ya'll, so sometimes responses may be a bit delayed!
  
  
  [discord.gg]

Anyhoo, thanks for reading, let us know what you think, and please stay safe!

We're excited to finally share our (mostly free!) update to 2MD: VR Football with all of our fans on Steam.

We felt this might serve as the right time, pre-launch, to highlight some important additions to the experience which will help you get the most out of Evolution.

First and foremost, probably the most important thing to do before diving into the game proper is to explore the available quality modes, and choose the one that best fits your system. The quality settings configuration can be accessed by launching 2MD: VR Football Evolution from the Steam desktop client or a desktop shortcut (or, if you are in VR, launch the desktop viewer and access the steam client there.)

You may get a warning about launching a VR game in desktop mode, but you can safely bypass this. Once loaded, you will be greeted by the config screen.

2MD: VR Football features 8 quality settings:

1. Entry-Level
   
2. Low End
   
3. Optimized
   
4. Optimized [Broadcast]
   
5. Pentultimate
   
6. Pentultimate [Broadcast]
   
7. Overlord
   
8. Overlord [Broadcast]

The first 4 quality levels are designed for mid-range to lower-end systems (those utilizing a GTX 1050 -equivalent to about a GTX 1070 -equivalent video card). the "Broadcast" modifier means the second spectator camera is enabled, which provides a bird's eye view of the action. This is set at the highest of the mid-range quality modes because enabling said camera essentially doubles the GPU overhead:

It cannot be stressed enough that if you notice frame-drops or inaccurate throw behavior (throws falling short, for example) this is likely due to the additional load on the GPU if you've selected a [Broadcast] mode, or the config setting you've chosen is too high. For maximum accuracy, our throw tracking is done over multiple reference points over the arc of your throw at the native refresh rate of the headset you are using (70 - 90 Hz, depending on the HMD) so it is highly performance dependent. Dropped frames means those reference points might be lossed or mis-reported, resulting in inaccurate throws. (This was the most common 'bug' listed in 2MD: VR Football's original release, and it was actually several weeks before we determined people were not utilizing the available quality modes at the time.) Adjusting the quality setting should mitigate this issue.


Lastly, ALL of these modes all have AA turned off, sacrificing visual quality for performance.

Currently, the DEFAULT quality mode for all platforms is set to "Optimized [Broadcast], as this represents the most likely average system capability of most SteamVR players. If you have a more capable system, however, read on ...

The next 4 quality levels target "Higher-End" VR players--those with GTX 1070 / RTX 2060 equivalents and above, using headsets such as Vive Pro, Valve Index, HP Reverb and the like. These modes feature additional pixel lights, 2x-4x MSAA, higher-quality shadows and less-aggressive LOD tolerances. Modes with [Broadcast] enabled are intended for systems with GTX 1080 TI / RTX 2080 -equivalent high-end cards.

Next, we'd like to talk about controllers.

2MD supports ALL SteamVR compatible controllers. This includes standard Vive, Vive Pro, Knuckles / Index, Oculus Touch, and WMR devices. All of these devices feature radically different grip positioning. Now, while this matters for precision implements like the marker (you have to orient the in-game hand to ensure the marker tip is touching the board) it does NOT matter on the field.

IE, you can hold your hand / controller in whatever position is most natural for you when you throw the ball, how the in-game hand is oriented prior to release will have no bearing on the throw, it will be released correctly every time. You can orient your controller upright, sideways, upside-down, backwards, etc--it won't matter, so long as your throw vector and release timing are true, the ball will go where you want it every time.

Lastly, and this is the most important takeaway for us - if you experience problems and are looking for help, please notify us on twitter @truantpixel or via email at contact(at)truantpixel.com . It feels strange to say this, but we ask that folks do this before leaving us an angry or negative review, as we want you first and foremost to have fun with this game. We've tested 2MD: Evolution rigorously for the last 3 months, and even brought it to PAX East 2020 where we were able to get feedback from hundreds of players on the feel, performance, and stability of the game. If your throws are falling short, your controllers aren't working, or your game is crashing, or some other experience-ruining bug, reach out to us first because until now we've not found any such issues (and we've put more than 200 hours into the game at this point) :) . As a developer, it is essential for us to determine if the bug is in the A) reproducible and B) a function of the game itself, versus being a bad configuration. We want to be sure before digging around in the code to patch something and potentially break something else for hundreds of other players.

We have always been open to feedback and are ready to respond in a timely fashion (current pandemic and quarantine issues permitting) and we will be watching the discussions on launch week. If you're streaming on YouTube or Twitch, cross-posting screenshots on twitter, or any other type of broadcast, please feel free to share your experience with us as we love watching people play our game.

Thanks for your time, and we look forward to seeing you on the field next week!