Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Editionis a comprehensive upgrade of the original 2020 VR experience for the Oculus Quest, this time coming as a launch title for Sony’s new PSVR 2. TheEnhanced Editionhas seen improvements across the board, from polygon counts and dynamic light sources to the responsiveness and locations of haptic feedback, thanks to thePSVR 2 headset’s unique capabilities.
Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB has been responsible for a number of immersiveStar WarsVR experiences such asTrials on Tatooineand theVader Immortaltrilogy, butTales from the Galaxy’s Edgeis its most ambitious project so far. Director Jose Perez III and Experience Design Lead Jacob Edelen recently spoke with Game Rant about the various improvements made to the game, the development process behind theEnhanced Edition, and the challenges of bringing the experience to new hardware.
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Part of the appeal of the Oculus Quest is its wireless capability, which afforded players unparalleled freedom of movement without worrying about cables or owning a VR gaming PC. A drawback to this was that its rendering capabilities were limited, and games often have to scale back on visual detail to run smoothly. SincePSVR 2 leverages the PS5’s impressive horsepower, this allows games likeStar Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edgeto “turn on all the lights” with tons of added detail. According to Edelen,
There are some spots that you go into, like with the darker environments, you’ll see them really start to pop more with blaster bolts whizzing everywhere, the dynamic lights change up those areas that you’re in, as well as going to certain areas – like we’ve got this Hissiq Springs acid pool area where there are reflective surfaces on the acid pools now.
It looks really different, and the environments really start to pop more especially with the Jedi Temple and different areas like the First Order facility. The reflective surfaces make a really big difference in terms of it looking more like you’re in your ownStar Warsstory and universe. Things just look a lot more clear, and you can see things off in the distance more clearly looking down iron sights.
One of the most important visual elements for achieving a realistic look is lighting, which is why the recent trend of games adding raytracing has been gaining steam. More believable lighting, reflective surfaces, and detailed shadows will help bring players into the environment, while the sharper rendering of distant objects makes the whole experience even more immersive and believable.PSVR 2’s higher resolutionwill also let players pick out more detail when inspecting the game’s various weapons, gadgets, and characters up close.
PSVR 2’s Haptic Feedback System Makes Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Even More Immersive
PSVR 2’s haptic feedback systemalso represents a significant step up for the medium, andTales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Editionhas taken full advantage of the hardware’s vibration features. Of particular note is the haptic feedback within the headset itself, which leads to surprisingly intuitive immersion that may make VR players wonder how they ever went without it. Edelen said that,
Getting haptics in the headset does open up new avenues like, when you first start up the game, you place something on your head, and suddenly this visor puts a little bit of rumble in your head. When you take damage from enemies in the game, you’re getting different vibrations and stuff in areas that you didn’t have on the Quest originally.
Players will be able to physically feel blaster bolts whiz past their heads in a firefight, along with the touch from equipping visors and helmets. It’s a great way to indicate the direction of incoming damage as well, which has long been a challenge forVR game designerswho usually have to rely on visual cues to inform the player. Additionally, every touchable object in the game has been given special attention by the developers to ensure that they each have a unique “feel” in the game, which bodes well for immersion inStar Wars:Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Edition.
Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge - Enhanced Editionreleases on February 22 for PlayStation VR2.
