Review friv game of Car Mechanic Simulator VR

Not so long ago, one of the main car mechanic simulators got a version for virtual reality helmets. We briefly describe how a complete immersion in the famous game takes place from an online game developer website Friv2Online Games Studio.

Car Mechanic Simulator needs no introduction. It's the most advanced car service sim to date, and has spawned a fair number of imitators, from truck and motorcycle mechanics to tank and even mech assemblers.

Before us is a modified analogue of the friv game in 2017, in which players will be able to experience all the hardships of a career as a car repairman, immersed in a VR environment. The game has 42 car models, dozens of hand tools and over a thousand of all kinds of spare parts.

The project offers a sandbox mode and a career with story and randomly generated tasks, the whole point of which is to repair and maintain cars of varying degrees of neglect. The differences of the updated Red Dot Games project are as follows:

Players are given the opportunity to freely move around the locations and pick up any items. The developers have added the “laser” mode control, with which you can reach a hard-to-reach part or interact with buttons;
All sections (city map, orders, inventory), friv game options and notification system are concentrated in a virtual tablet. The device can be suspended in the air in a convenient place and significantly enlarged by pulling the edges;
Creator allows you to manually adjust the growth, there is no automatic calibration;

Players can crouch using a hotkey or the old-fashioned way - bending their knees, as well as prefer the format - sitting or standing;
Especially for those who are swayed in VR, it is possible to choose the method of movement - slow walking or teleportation, as well as camera rotation - smooth or jerky. At the same time, the angle of sharp turns cannot be adjusted, and running is not provided in the game;
PieMenu (radial menu) is presented as a sectioned AR ring that appears near the hand. Navigation is carried out with a stick, section selection - by pressing the stick;

The disassembly mode is activated automatically when you pick up the tool, or manually using PieMenu. Objects that can be removed immediately are highlighted in green, those that can be removed later are highlighted in yellow, and the friv game marks locked parts in red. In viewing mode, the same colors indicate the degree of wear of spare parts;
Car Mechanic Simulator VR offers two disassembly options. Players can independently unscrew each bolt using a hand tool, or simply point the laser, hold the trigger and immediately dismantle the object;
All dismantled and shop- bought parts are listed in the garage inventory and can be instantly reinstalled using a laser, or manually by analogy with dismantling;
All interactive objects in the game have a color marker. A blue ring means that the object can be interacted with, green - that it is in range, and white - that the object is blocked by some other object;

During the test drive, using the same tablet, the player can adjust his driving position ;
Car Mechanic Simulator VR has many graphic settings available. Texture sizes, number of interactive objects, shadow draw distance, reflections, diffuse shading - everything can be eliminated to reduce the load on the PC.
WHAT WE LIKED:
VR brings Car Mechanic Simulator to a whole new level of immersive experience. No matter how big the gaming monitor is, it is just a conveniently organized window, while virtual reality is an alternative world for all 360 degrees;
Audiovisualization performed at a very decent level. All textures are crisp and realistic, cars look very good;
I liked the way the controls are implemented in the friv game. Items are easy to grab and carry, there are no difficulties with rotary mechanisms or buttons either. Quite a few VR projects suffer from the inability to take something concrete from the piled up objects, but Car Mechanic Simulator VR has no problem with this.

WHAT DID NOT LIKE:
Car Mechanic Simulator VR got the weaknesses of Car Mechanic Simulator 2018. It has quite a lot of bugs and absolutely no tutorial. For players who have never climbed under the hood of a car, it can be very difficult to figure everything out;
The texture of the avatar is badly done, and some objects are very difficult to reach physically. It's one thing if you want to take them - you can just pull them with a laser, and quite another if you try to shove them somewhere where your virtual body does not crawl;
The friv game has a very small font. The tablet can be stretched, but PieMenu is not configurable. You have to bring your wrist close to the glasses to make out what is written there.

WORTH TAKING?
Only on condition that you are a devout fan of a car service and have at least some understanding of the structure of cars. Car Mechanic Simulator VR will not teach you anything, but it will provide enormous scope for practice.