VR simulation: Darling, I am in the "Holodeck"

In the thick of it instead of just there. For wargamers, a big wish that is slowly coming true. ONWARD - a military VR simulation that takes advantage of the potential is remarkable in many ways. A 20-year-old who dropped out of school at the age of 18 released an "Early Access" version of his own development, ONWARD, in the summer of 2016 and showed what is already possible with a new technology in an extremely complex tactical shooter - at a time when many other games and simulations would probably still have been considered as "tech demos." To see ONWARD in action, watch the video above.

The Rift VR goggles from oculus.com - compatible with the game.

First-person shooter perspective: view through the EOTech.

The basis for this: In 2016, the VIVE by HTC gave a wider audience the opportunity to move almost freely within virtual reality in a pre-defined space.

Through this so-called Room-Scale, it became possible to develop completely new applications, games, and simulations that allowed the integration of the human body into virtual reality, which was hardly imaginable for private consumers until then.

The "stock" can simulate the weapon in the game. This flexible joystick is from ProTubeVR.

A high level of tactical understanding and teamwork are prerequisites to be successful in this demanding and realistic simulation. Paired with the physical experience within the simulation, something completely new emerged with ONWARD.

The immersion - the so-called immersion - is a crucial factor for the experience within virtual reality. With PROTUBE (above image), a product came on the market that significantly enhanced this immersion - the weapon simulation within ONWARD reached a new level.

Hardcore CQB in an exotic environment.

But this immersion and the associated physical experience, which is of course also influenced by many individual factors, is responsible for the fact that ONWARD can be described with words, images, and even videos in an extremely inadequate way - you have to experience it for yourself.

The night turns everything green. Working with night vision goggles.

Perhaps it can be best described as a hybrid of a classic tactical shooter and an Airsoft or MagFed Paintball match. ONWARD had evolved from a hidden gem into one of the most successful titles in the still young VR community, and apparently not only Valve as the operator of the Steam platform became aware of the young developer, but also the US military, as the use of HTC VIVE in combination with ONWARD can be seen in a US military ad.

ONWARD on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/496240/Onward/?l=german

HTC VIVE on the internet: www.vive.com/de/

Protube on the internet: www.protubevr.com