A/V Secrets of the Empire: VR Experience

Coming as a collaborative effort between ILMxLAB and The VOID, this looks incredibly interesting. I'm really curious how they plan to deal with movement, and whether this is canon or not.

 

Announced some time ago and now going live, Secrets of the Empire is dubbed a "hyper reality" VR experience set within the Star Wars universe.

From the trailers there looks a story of sort that could be worth discussing. Starring K-2SO and Cassian on Mustafa.



It looks like a great experience and I have booked my ticket for 30 December in The Void in Westfield, London.

 

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/secrets-of-the-empire-vr-experience.50046666/

 

They are probably still about fifteen to twenty years away from being able to put much of a story within a VR game. A present VR story won't really consist of much more than going into a room and finding objects. Still a cool experience to actually be in the world though.

Endol it will be fun to experience it but I wouldn't get my hopes up of it turning out to be something mind blowing or anything.

 

@

I fear you may be right story wise, but I remain optimistic. We look to be on Mustafa after all, and the lore around that planet is building up quite nicely, especially with the Rogue One connections too.

 

At this point in time it would probably be more entertaining to watch someone try to play a vr game than to actually play one yourself.



Here is a video IGN made about some of their employees trying to play a new paranormal activity vr game. Basically it isn't much more than walking through a few rooms and them throwing a few jump scares at you. But given that vr is something very few have ever experienced before it probably would be pretty scary for them (especially if they don't like scary games to begin with). Definitely entertaining for people to watch them play it though.

 

Will here be a way for those of us who can’t do this personally to experience the story?


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I would hope so, it's why I booked, £32 for what is going to be a half an hour at best experience is expensive, so I'm hoping there is some meat to the story!

 

You’ll have to give us all the juicy details


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As requested, I thought I would write up my notes from my trip to London to experience Star Wars: Secrets of The Empire. I will spoiler tag what actually happens.

Headline reaction - WOW! If you have the opportunity to go, then do it. It is true to its advertising blurb, you are transported into the Star Wars universe in a fun action packed story that YOU are a part of!

So I visited the pop up experience in Westfield, London (Shepherd's Bush), the other locations I believe are in the Disney parks in America. I had booked for just me at 12:45PM today. You can go in groups of up to 4 (and I would recommend at least 2). I had expected to be paired up with another team, but as it happened I did the entire experience solo. Whilst this certainly meant the time in the Void increased, the structure of the story means that 2 people are desirable.

Spoiler

So after handing over my coat to the staff, I was escorted into a small room with a large TV which was turned on. It is here that we are introduced to Casian Andor - Diego Luna reprising his role brilliantly, I might add. He tells us that the Rebel Alliance have been tracking a mysterious cargo being held by the Empire. The plan is to discover what it is and relay it to headquarters. Cassian at this stage was using the Fulcrum symbol at the beginning of the transmission which was a nice Rebels nod. Cassian tells us that he and his team were planning on extracting the cargo from the planet it was being delivered too. However Cassian gets caught up in a blaster fight and therefore your team are sent in. You are told that you will go in disguised as stormtroopers and each team member will have a different colour shoulder pad to identify each other.

With that the film ends, and a staff member walks back into the room (somewhat taking you out of the experience) and you are then shown to the fitting area. You are then fitted with heavy black armour packs/backpacks etc and the VR headset.

Once equipped you are then put into what can only be described as a fitting room/cubicle. Very small. It acts as the testing zone. You place then VR goggles over your eyes (I am a glasses wearer and didnt have any difficulties) Staff then talk to you to confirm you can hear. They come through as the storm troopers sounds which is great. You are then told to raise your hands to your eyes.

The computer then clicks in and suddenly you are can see you hands in VR and you are in the white armour of the storm trooper. The tracking is near perfect - most impressive.

With that you are now ready to experience the story.

There is a countdown and the matrix style VR cubicle then turns into the well-worn universe we all know and love. In the headset we hear a ship approach - the whole room suddenly vibrates and a door to your right suddenly opens. In walks K2SO, again Alan Tudyk returning here, welcoming you to his ship, a small imperial cargo. He invites you to follow him onto the ship and it is here you experience your first hyper reality.

YOU WALK ONTO A STARS WARS SHIP!!! Straightaway an incredible experience. Everything is suitably vibrating and genuinely authentic. Kay tells you to sit down on the bench next to him, so you do and are sitting down! You then get a better view of the ship and the pilot in a blue storm trooper ensemble. ( I missed his name) telling you we are off to Mustafa. Its a glorious view from where your sitting, looking up at the flight deck, full 360 views of travelling through space and arriving on the volcanic planet.

As we start the descent the imperials tells us that we will need to be boarded and inspected etc. A skiff (from episode III) will be along to pick us up. As we dock, the door comes open and you walk onto the skiff. As you do there is a change of temperate and you feel the heat of the volcanic planet. The skiff then thrusts upwards, with whatever your really standing on vibrating and giving you the feeling that you are moving upwards. (heck for all I know you were!!!) What was interesting here is that you feel helpless. No weapon and the sense of depth on board the small skiff - you felt you could fall into the lava!

Oh! and one thing - the whole place looks beautiful - made amazing with the fact that Vader's castle is in the background!

Anyway, we arrive in the facility. Kay keeps you updated over the intercom as he starts his investigations somewhere else in the facility. You reach an elevator and go up (again overlooking the lava fields one way, or into the multi-level facility the other) When you reach the stopped floor you walk along the balcony but then dead end and you are asked to press some buttons on the panel (again this bit is real and syncs up well). Next to it are 4 blasters (1 for each of your team) Once you pick this up, the action then begins. The syncing of the weapon is really good too.

So far you the experience is a cross between VR and a simulator you get at fun fairs. Now add in laser quest.

Alarms start blaring and then I felt a very specific vibration on my shoulder - I had been shot. Yes, the backpacks you have on are target specifics sensors. Stormtroopers above me and over at the balcony taking pop shots from precarious positions. I was a terrible shot, but the sense of accomplishment when a perfect headshot sent trooper to his lava demise was satisfying.

It was during this first skirmish that I started to think 1 person wasnt the best way to handle this. There were battalions of troopers from all angles which would have been more effectively managed in a group of 4 no doubt. However as I was a terrible shot, I may have had longer at each pinch point. I cant confirm this however.

Anyway, you run back to the elevator that you came in but need to override the system. There is a lever you can pull which does this, enter the elevator and descend down again.

If I recall there is a few more troopers but a hint of another beast lying in wait in the lava...... What was nice that there was a further temperature change as you naturally got closer and closer to the actual lava. When on the ground floor, three lava beasts appear and start attacking you. One is monstrous and looked like a cross between a flea and the Blarg creature from Super Mario World. The other two were smaller, further back that fired fireballs at you which you could shoot in mid air to prevent a hit. Again this would have been far easier in a team. I just concentrated on shooting the big boss before he keeled over and died.

We next walk into a data access room. Kay is on the other side of a widowed room and he tells you that he will override the computer (after you see him download another imperial droids brain) to open the door to the main hangar. To override it, there are 4 buttons on a panel and he will produce a coloured code that you will need to repeat back to him and press the right buttons. Sounds easy. Kay takes ages and as he doing the code, stormies arrive the other side of the room and begin firing.

I missed the code and K gets suitable angry at your imcompetance. However wwith about 8 troopers continously firing at you, its quite hard to remember! I decide to take matters into my own hands and just shoot down the stormies instead, trying to improve my aim! Certainly at this point at least one extra person would have been beneficial. One doing the code, the other covering. Every time you are shot, you vibrate and shudder a little and takes a split second to readjust. If I had someone else that wouldnt have happened.

Still, I took down the troopers and K works out how to override and releases the door. You walk though into a large hanger with a hollow centre and a few bridges connecting each side of this hangar. Multiple levels - a wide open area. You see an Imperial Probe Droid carrying the cargo you are after. I took pleasure in shooting the probe droid and he dropped the crate on the other side of the hangar next to our pilot. handy. He opens the crate and finds something of interest.

A sword. A Laser-sword. Now my Legends knowledge is non existent. But this was effectively a traditional looking knight style sword, with metal hilt. It looked like King Arthurs sword for example, or Aragorn's from LOTR. But it was a lightsaber which the pilot lit up. He then says that it is a Jedi artifact and asks why would the Empire be interested in Jedi artifacts.

He then starts to scan the item. We dont know if he finished it because at that moment, the sword is whisked away from him in mid air across the hanger into a dark doorway. Everything is quiet until you hear the familiar heavy breathing of Darth Vader. On comes his light saber and tells us that we should not have come. I begin firing, but its useless he deflects every blast back at me (which of course I feel all over). Pilot runs at Vader but is forced grabbed and impaled on his crimson blade. I keep firing, but my blaster is broken by Vader's force grip. Useless.

He continues to menacingly walk towards me about to kill, when there is a big explosion as our ship bursts into the hanger being piloted by K2SO. Vader is thrown off course giving me the opportunity to board the ship and get outta there.

Once onboard, the data from the original pilot is confirmed as is beamed to Rebellion HQ. We then hyperspace out of the system and to safety. End.

So all in and all a brilliant experience a small compact storyline that takes place sometime before Rogue One. So lore as well to ponder over.
The experience lasts about 20-25 minutes. At £32.50 per person, it is pricey there is no denying that. But its only in London until March. If you want to be part of the SW canon, then make that trip!

Any questions please ask and I will try my best to answer them. Everything happened quite quickly, so its possible some of the events described above may be in a slightly different order to how I remember it. These are minor, the overall story is accurate.

 

Thanks for sharing the experience @Endol

Spoiler

Do you know when in the timeline this is supposed to take place (obviously after ROTS and before R1)? If you weren't given an exact time frame, then is it possible you can give an approximate answer? And my second question is what colour was the blade of the lightsaber artefact?

 

Spoiler

Salavating......

 

@spicer

Spoiler

it was a brilliant white blue if I recall. Akin to Luke's in ANH .
In terms of timeline the clues I guess are that Cassian is described as rebel intelligence, uses the fulcrum insignia, had K2so with him , so very close to rogue one and after the Cassian and Rogue One special. My guess would be in season 3/4 of rebels but that's a guess.

Something I forgot to mention that Vader was very convincing in his voice. In all the excitement it could have been JEJ but equally could have been someone else. Still epic.

 

Were the creatures these things by chance?

Spoiler

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kongo

 

Spoiler

No, far less humanoid than that. They looked very similar to mutant fleas like the Giga Bites seen in Resident Evil outbreak as seen here:
https://goo.gl/images/GtkRo7

But they had that star wars look and feel. They also lived directly in the lava.

 

Spoiler

More like this, perhaps?

 

Yea that's them! Or, as I said variants that live in the lava!

 

Seems like it would've made a good conventional video game.

 

I wish this was in NYC.....

 

Star wars show all about secrets of the empire with the mysterious crate /weapon being known as a

Spoiler

protosaber.

 

Apologies for the double post .
Star Wars explained has uploaded a video all about the experience and describes it better than I did.

Also the pictures he used when talking about that area all line up so spoiler warning folks!

 

I finally got around to doing this today, at their shop in Glendale, California. It was fantastic! Endol described it perfectly.

Spoiler

Another thing I noticed was that when you arrive on Mustafar, they hit you with the smell of burning soot. That combined with the heat from the lava makes for an incredible experience. I did with one other friend, so there were two of us, which seems like the ideal minimum because the button puzzle requires you to be doing different tasks at the same time. When we got into the imperial facility and picked up the blasters, I accidentally pulled the trigger, which seemed to be what set off the alarms. I wonder if the simulation can play out differently if you have some trigger discipline?

I'd recommend it to anyone!

 

I hope we get a walkthrough/playthrough video of these like we did with the first episode of Vader immortal on youtube.