After months of speculation, Valve has finally officially confirmed a new VR headset called Index that bears the company’s own name and will presumably be a first-party product. A teaser image for the headset may indicate a release date of May.
From the photo we can infer a few things. First, the angle of the headset prominently shows a hardware IPD adjustment on the bottom of the headset, and we’d be surprised if this wasn’t specifically chosen to highlight the fixed IPD of the Rift S. Second, faint cricles on the underside of the headset are the signature mark of IR-transparent plastic which would indicate that the headset will be compatible with Valve’s outside-in SteamVR Tracking tech. The cameras clearly seen on the front of the device may indicate that the headset will also, optionally, support inside-out tracking.
This story is breaking, check back for more details as they come.
Chomping at the bit for the next Skyworld game? Vertigo Games and Vive Studios recently showed off some new footage of the upcoming VR card-battler Skyworld: Kingdom Brawl in action, and it seems they’re hoping to take it to new heights in the burgeoning VR esports scene.
Skyworld: Kingdom Brawl is a game where you collect and upgrade dozens of cards to build a battle deck. You cast spells, raise armies, spend mana, etc. It’s an online multiplayer, and is basically an outgrowth from the original Skyworld’s ‘General Battle’ real-time strategy mini-game.
It seems the cross-platform title is being positioned as a potential esport too, as the studio contracted former Machinima producer & esports announcer Shayan Tamayo to commentate on a mock championship battle that shows off a head-to-head, best out of three fight.
To that tune, Vertigo Games has partnered with the Virtual Athletics League to launch a Skyworld: Kingdom Brawl arcade tournament in late April. The studio is putting up a “slew of prizes,” including an HTC Vive Pro, for the winner.
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From April 2nd to April 8th, participating arcades will be able to operate the PvP game at no cost in preparation for the inaugural tournament, which ought to reel in interest.
The game is slated to arrive on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows VR headsets, and Vive Focus on April 2nd, which includes cross-platform multiplayer. A version for Vive Focus Plus is said to launch at some point later this year.
The game will be priced at $10 with a 15% discount available during launch week.
We check out the Oculus Rift S with Asgard's Wrath for the first time! Here are our first impressions on the action RPG + impressions on the Rift S. Full hands-on coming soon! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 At PAX East 2019, we checked out an exclusive demo of Asgard's Wrath, a new action RPG VR game that will launch with the Oculus Rift S. This game looks very, very promising, so we are excited to share. This video consists of gameplay footage straight from the new Oculus Rift S. So we also share our first impressions on the Rift S' inside-out tracking and its general feel. A full hands-on and first impressions video on the Oculus Rift S is coming soon. SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► Or become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content. - Our trip & accommodation to PAX East was sponsored by Oculus. However, we are not paid for this review and no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. #asgardswrath #oculusrifts #vr
Last week at GDC Oculus revealed their first new PC VR headset in three years, the Rift S. We sat down with Facebook’s Jason Rubin, VP of AR/VR Content & Partnerships, to learn more about the strategy behind Quest and Rift S, and where Oculus is trying to steer its ecosystem.
Jason Rubin joined Oculus in 2014 and has been a key figure in guiding the company’s content investments and strategy. Following the recent Oculus shakeup and deeper absorption into Facebook, Rubin is now overseeing AR and VR content & partnerships at Facebook. Rubin has been a key spokesperson and a tempered voice for Oculus throughout his time at the company; he is also seen as one of the last visible pillars of the ‘old’ Oculus.
In a wide-ranging interview with Rubin at GDC 2019 last week, we got to learn more about why the company believes that the Rift S is the right choice to push its VR ecosystem to reach a critical point of sustainability.
Rubin was quick to say that Oculus expects to deliver a next-gen headset down the road, but explained why the company doesn’t believe that now is the right time for a ‘Rift 2’.
“Beyond any shadow of a doubt, at some point we will have a next generation [headset] where we add some sort of feature that breaks all the old stuff and makes it either not work or seem obsolete,” he said. But the company presently believes that growing a cohesive audience is more important than pushing technical boundaries.
“Our goal is to bring as many people into the ecosystem as possible. Bifurcating the ecosystem with a Rift and a Rift 2—just to put that out there—is not the right thing to do right now.”
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Alluding to the initial $800 price of the Rift and Touch controllers back at their launch, Rubin explained that the company believes price is a critical factor.
“We know from Rift we don’t want to sell an $800 system. […] We think these two devices [Quest and Rift S] are the right thing to do to suck more people into the business. Once more people want VR, are in VR, and love VR, some subset of them are ready to go to the next generation.”
When pressed on whether or not the company could have approached the PC segment with both the Rift S and a higher-end headset (like a ‘Rift Pro’) for the enthusiasts and early adopters that form the foundation of the company’s PC VR business, Rubin explained that the company doesn’t believe that a multi-tiered approach is worth the costs and complexity.
“There’s a cost to everything that a company does. And while there might have been some people we’d make very happy with much higher resolution screens or something along those lines, some group of people would have to prototype that device, some group of people would have to deal with the supply chain for that device, some group of people would have to deal with warehousing, shipping, and everything else,” said Rubin. “And those people—when you can only have a company of a certain size (we can’t grow infinitely)—those people would be taken away from the other things we’re working on. […] I can tell you, sitting around the room these are hard discussions [internally], but I think we’ve made the right tradeoff with where we are right here.”
When I asked Rubin if this was still on the roadmap for Oculus, he said he wasn’t up to date on the company’s OpenXR plans. And while Oculus publicly committed last week to providing an OpenXR app runtime, our understanding is that this is primarily focused on allowing developers to easily port apps into the Oculus ecosystem, not enabling support for third-party headsets.
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On the content front, Rubin said that Oculus isn’t slowing down, and believes content is the key to selling hardware to grow its ecosystem.
“Our content [investments have] remained consistent if not expanded every single year since that statement was made [in 2016, about committing $500 million to VR content]. So we’re still wholly committed to making software that drives the hardware purchase,” he said. “And frankly, we think that the content that is on the system is the single most important reason that somebody would want to get into VR. So we’re a little… dumbfounded, if you will, by companies that bring out headsets with no content to drive them, or aren’t investing in content.”
And finally, we touched on the still unannounced VR FPS that’s in the works by Respawn Entertainment. Rubin doesn’t expect that the success of Respawn’s breakout hit, Apex Legends, will impact the development of the game in any way, and Oculus Studios is taking a hands-off approach to let the studio work its magic.
“You do not partner with Respawn and then get involved in designing games for Respawn. Respawn is a fantastically talented company—as far many of the others that we work with: Insomniac, Sanzaru…—we let them design the product they want. So, absolutely, a Respawn product is a Respawn product.”
Oculus released a video yesterday highlighting some of the upcoming games for Quest, the 6DOF standalone VR headset set to launch in Spring 2019. To our surprise, not only did we see that Vacation Simulator was prominently featured, but we also caught a glimpse of the long-standing success Job Simulator (2016) too.
Owlchemy Labs confirmed with Road to VR that Job Simulator will indeed be a launch title for Quest. The game—itself a launch title on Vive, Oculus Touch, and PSVR—has seen its fair share of success over its three-year’s existence, winning plenty of awards and nabbing the number one spot three years in row for best-selling VR title on PlayStation Store (2016, 2017, 2018).
The game’s sequel, Vacation Simulator, isn’t a Quest launch title however; it’s set to release sometime this holiday season on Quest, although it will launch on Rift and Vive first (April 9th), and then follow on PSVR at some point this summer.
We went hands-on with Vacation Simulator at last year’s GDC, and it proved to be a more expansive game that has refined many of the interactions introduced in Job Simulator. While it not only promises something of a story line to follow, the studio has included a number of new things to the series such as a custom avatar system, and also the possibility of using your AR-capable smartphone to interact with players while they’re playing in VR.
PAX East officially starts tomorrow, and to keep the Oculus Quest hypetrain chugging right along, the company today released a new video showing some of the confirmed launch titles coming to Quest in Spring 2019. Yes, there’s a few new ones we didn’t know about until now.
In the video, you can see many of the previously confirmed Quest launch titles prominently featured such as Superhot VR, Beat Saber, Sports Scramble, Robo Recall, Dead & Buried 2, Journey of the Gods, Moss, and Star Wars Vader Immortal.
New to the line-up however is Vacation Simulator and CREED: Rise to Glory. Curiously enough, in the last bit of the video, we can also see a few titles quickly flashed on screen through the headset’s lenses including Job Simulator, Fruit Ninja, Rush VR, Ultrawings, Drop Dead, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Eleven Table Tennis, and Angry Birds VR.
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There’s a few we weren’t able to identify, so if you see one that isn’t in this list, please leave a comment below.
Oculus told Road to VR that all of the games shown in this trailer will be available “on launch day” for Quest, so it’s logical to assume everything above is going to be apart of the 50+ list of titles available at launch. When that will be, we still don’t know, although we have our hopes set on Facebook’s dev conference, F8 2019, which takes place April 30th to May 1st.
Cyan, the studio behind genre-defining puzzle classics Myst (1993) and Riven (1997), have launched a Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming VR puzzle game Firmament.
The studio is searching for $1,285,000 USD in total within the next 30 days. Although it’s an ‘all or nothing’ campaign, Firmament looks to be well on its way to its goal; at the time of this writing the campaign has already garnered over $291,000.
Backers at all funding tiers are said to receive the completed game by July 2020. The lowest funding tier offers a digital download of the game for $30, which includes a digitally delivered manual and strategy guide. Owning to Cyan’s iconic puzzle games, many of the higher funding tiers have already seen a healthy glut of backers. At the time of this writing 36 people have donated $1,000 to the campaign. A single backer has also chosen the $5,000 funding tier.
Cyan previously created two successful Kickstarters that helped launch the 25th Anniversary Collection of Myst and atmospheric VR puzzlerObduction (2016).
First announced March 2018, the studio is still staying pretty tight-lipped on details surrounding Firmament. Cyan CEO and co-founder Rand Miller however says the game won’t be as solitary as previous titles, this time including a companion device that will be “an integral part of both the story and puzzles.” Some of the puzzles, Miller says, are call-backs to Myst regarding the “steam punk, magic vibe.”
There’s also some more teaser text found on the Kickstarter page which you might find more than a bit tantalizing (Cyan flaunting its storytelling chops).
A gasp for air… a release of chilled breath… the crackling sounds of melting ice.
You wake in a glacial cavern — perfused by blue. It’s crowded with metal pipes and adorned with curious, clockwork gears.
Echoing machinery resonates in your ears as a massive metal door opens before you…
As you enter a dark chamber, warm lights flicker to life, revealing a frigid, yet intimate stone interior, supported by riveted iron beams. In the middle of this room is an ancient table – a tea cup on one end and a frozen body slumped over the other. The corpse’s hands hold an exquisite clockwork device — held out like an offering.
You reach for the device, and suddenly… a small whir… a blue glow is birthed from its core as it comes to life and lifts from the outstretched palms of the rigid stranger. It hovers above you, watching.
An apparition appears with a message from the woman that left this gift. She planned to mentor you…
…but something has gone terribly wrong.
An immense, unexpected adventure now lies ahead…
There’s no word at this time on exactly which VR platforms will see support, although it’s clear PC VR headsets will be supported alongside the flatscreen version of the game. We’d imagine this means the standard set: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets.
Check out the whole Kickstarter pitch for a few more clips not seen in the teaser trailer linked above.
This Virtual Reality suit lets you feel what's happening in VR. Feel a hug... a headshot... a zombie eating you or feel the beat of the music. It's possible with the bHaptics haptic VR suit. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 This is the Tactsuit, Tactosy, and Tactot by bHaptics. bHaptics is a Korean startup who have been developing this suit for 3 years now and are almost consumer ready. This VR haptic vest, haptic face cushion and haptic arm sleeves allows the VR player to feel what's happening in a virtual world. In this video we let you what that's like, how it works and where you can get one yourself. LINKS bHaptics website → http://bit.ly/2Ubpn5Z bHaptics shop → http://bit.ly/2uwjTnY SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► Or become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect - Olemartinorg VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content. - The bHaptics suit was provided to us with a discount. We are not paid for this review and no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. #bhaptics #hapticvrsuit #vrsuit #vr
Space Junkies, the upcoming Unreal Tournament-style VR shooter from Ubisoft Montpellier, is headed to all major VR platforms today, March 26th.
Update (March 26th, 2019): Space Junkies is set to launch on all platforms soon. It’s already live on the PlayStation Store. Both Steam and Oculus versions appear to be quick in tow. The game costs $40, and includes cross-platform multiplayer for all supported platforms.
The original article announcing the March 26th launch date follows below.
Original Article (February 12th, 2019): Originally Space Junkies was only announced as a PCVR title, although now Ubisoft says PSVR users can get in on the fun too, albeit using using a Dualshock 4 controller. The studio makes no mention of PS Move, which is a bit strange considering the game’s chaotic, freewheeling nature and emphasis on both object interaction and communication via hand gestures.
Considering PSVR and PCVR have very little crossover when it comes to online multiplayer, it may be a moot point as far as competition is concerned. Cross-platform multiplayer hasn’t been confirmed at least for PSVR and the PCVR versions.
Last week the studio announced that Space Junkies was coming to 100+ VR arcades later this month, which may serve as a potent marketing strategy, appealing to would-be VR eSports players looking for the next Echo Combat (2018).
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The potential for a bustling online community is placed squarely in the hands of Ubisoft however. Content updates, bug fixes, and promotional events are all important components of keeping players engaged, something the studio has failed to do with most of its VR games excluding Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017), which got it latest content update in Summer 2018; online multiplayer games Werewolves Within (2016) and Eagle Flight (2016) have basically languished in the meantime.
We went hands-on with Space Junkies at E3 last year, and it’s proven to be a highly polished shooting experience reminiscent of zero-G version of Unreal Tournament, albeit with more ‘Y’ to the ‘XYZ’ of traditional multiplayer shooter arenas. If that tickles your latent Unreal itch, check out a full match in closed beta to see just what’s in store.
In February, HTC unveiled its full 6DOF version of the company’s standalone VR headset targeted at enterprise users, Vive Focus Plus. Now, the company has officially announced pricing and availability for the headset and controller bundle.
Vive Focus Plus is slated to launch worldwide on April 15th on HTC’s Vive website for $800, which will be available in 25 markets with 19 supported languages. The company announced the news at the Vive Ecosystem Conference (VEC 2019) in Shenzhen, China this week.
Vive Focus Plus is touted for its inclusion of ultrasonic 6DOF controllers—something that was notably missing from the original Vive Focus, which first saw launch in China as a consumer device in January 2018, and then later in the rest of world as an enterprise-focused headset the following November.
As with its predecessor, Vive Focus Plus is launching in China as a consumer device too, and will be priced at ¥5,699 yuan (~$850) which includes local value-added tax.
In addition to the new 6DOF controllers, which puts it at input parity with the upcoming $400 Oculus Quest, Vive Focus Plus also boasts better comfort and better visuals over the old design thanks to a slightly updated headstrap and improved Fresnel lenses.
We went hands-on with Vive Focus Plus, and true to the company’s word the newly refreshed optics are remarkably clearer than those on the previous Vive Focus. We didn’t get a long enough stint with Vive Focus Plus to determine how much a step above it is over its predecessor in terms of comfort, although it did feel notably more comfortable than the previous generation.
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Although marketed as enterprise device outside of China, HTC is boasting “nearly 250 Vive Wave applications at launch that run natively on the Vive Focus Plus.” How many of those have been built specifically for 6DOF controllers, we’re not sure at this time; all Vive Focus games are said to work on Vive Focus Plus.
The company additionally announced a ‘multi-mode’ capability which allows Vive Focus Plus to connect wirelessly with PCs to steam PCVR content via Rift Cat’s VRidge software, the ability to stream content from game consoles to a virtual screen, live 360 camera streaming, as well as upcoming Cloud VR services.
As for those promised Cloud VR services: the company’s recently announced 5G Hub is said to allow Vive Focus Plus users to stream cloud-rendered PC VR content, although it’s uncertain when this service will be live considering 5G is still in closed testing across very few cities worldwide.
Vive Focus Plus Specs
Display: 3K AMOLED (2,880 × 1,600)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Audio: Built-in Speaker
HeadTracking: Optical inside-Out
FrameRate: 75Hz
Fieldof View: 110-degrees
Battery: 4000 mAh
Controller: ultrasonic 6DOF
Data Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Memory(RAM/ROM): 4/32 GB
Connector: USB Type-C
Power & Battery: Build-in rechargeable battery (up to 3 hours of active use time), QC3.0 fast charging
In an avalanche of PSVR news today, Sony announced that Five Nights at Freddy’s is coming to PSVR. acclaimed survival horror video game. It’s not exclusive though, as the VR adaptation is officially coming to PSVR, Oculus and HTC Vive in April 2019.
The game, dubbed Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted is a collection of VR experiences based on the original Five Nights at Freddy’s games, “but it includes several new experiences as well,” Steel Wool Studios’ co-founder Jason Topolski says in a PlayStation blog post.
It isn’t a simple port of the original game either, Topolski says:
“For the first time, characters and situations from the entire Five Nights at Freddy’s series can be experienced in VR. Some games that seem familiar may surprise you in new terrifying ways.”
The studio says that players will be able to use either DualShock 4 or PS Move motion controllers to interact with the door and light controls in the offices, pick up objects in the repair games, press buttons on the video switcher, solve puzzles, and activate your flashlight. We assume other VR platforms will also focus on motion controller support.
The game will also include new features the the series, including collectibles such as plushies, bobbleheads, action figures and more.
The game was built in partnership by Lionsgate, Scottgames, Steel Wool Games, and Striker Entertainment. The game is said to launch on all supported platforms sometime in April.
During Sony’s inaugural ‘State of Play’ livestream, the company today announced a number of PSVR games with official street dates, many of which we’ve been salivating over for the past year.
Here’s a quick list of the games mentioned in the machine gun-style announcement by Sony:
As a part of Sony’s inaugural ‘State of Play’ webseries, the company today announced that the upcoming action shooter for PSVR Blood & Truth finally has a release date.
The game is headed exclusively to PSVR May 28th, 2019.
Pre-orders are available today through the PlayStation Store. The webpage still isn’t updated yet, although once it is we’ll update this article to reflect whatever new information is bound to arrive.
“gives players much more agency than ‘The London Heist’. Players now have a means of node-based movement, which is more immersive than being stuck in the same spot but still managed to be comfortable. In addition to a strong shooting component, Blood & Truth mixes things up with a variety of interactive moments like picking locks, arming explosives, and climbing ladders.
Blood & Truth has grown out of ‘The London Heist’—one of the best received mini experiences included in PlayStation VR Worlds outside Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018). It aims to build upon the many lessons learned and flesh things out into a fully developed game which Sony is saying will bring players five to six hours of immersive gameplay.
Blood & Truth was developed by Sony’s Worldwide Studios.
No Man’s Sky, the galactic sandbox game which launched back in 2016, is getting full VR support for PSVR. The announcement comes after many requests from fans of the game to add VR support. Sony announced VR support for the game during its State of Play presentation today.
After no shortage of requests, No Man’s Sky is coming to VR. The feature will come as a free update as part of the game’s upcoming ‘Beyond’ update, which also includes the No Man’s Sky Online feature, which the company says is a “radical new social and multiplayer experience which empowers players everywhere in the universe to meet and play together.”
Our understanding is that No Man’s Sky VR on PSVR will allow VR players to play alongside non-VR players in the full game.
A video shown during the announcement appeared to reveal PS Move motion controllers in use to control the game’s spaceships and terraforming tools, which should make for a good hands-on experience.
This story is breaking, check back for more details.
OptiTrack at GDC last week showed off a demonstration of their enterprise/commercial tracking technology which is capable of accurately tracking hundreds of objects simultaneously in real-time. For those building out of home applications with VR, OptiTrack now has available a set of add-ons and a suite of tools for tracking of Rift and Vive headsets, bodies, and props, including a SteamVR plugin.
At the company’s GDC booth last week, OptiTrack had one of their modular tracking volumes set up with 25 cameras tracking 140 real-world objects simultaneously. Most of the objects were custom-made giant Jenga blocks which were (each individually tracked), along with VR headsets, gloves, and more.
Wearing a wireless HTC Vive Pro (with an OptiTrack tracking add-on), I was able to play a complete game of Jenga purely by relying on the mediated information coming through the headset.
The demo showed the capability of the OptiTrack system to accurately track objects with only a single active marker visible—thanks to an array of cameras which can accurately triangulate, plus an on-board IMU for rotation and acceleration—leading to robustness against occlusion by brute-forcing the problem with highly redundant camera coverage.
The result was that at the booth, even with lots of attendees mulling about and playing interactively with the Jenga blocks (which were largely occluded except on the sides, thanks to being stacked in towers), while maintaining high-performance tracking.
To demonstrate the tracking performance, the OptiTrack team also set up the blocks as dominoes to knock them down. While it looks outwardly like a physical simulation rendered in the computer, there’s actually no physics calculations happening at all, just raw motion tracking information of how the blocks are individually moving in the real world.
With the ability to track hundreds of objects at once, in a VR context one might imagine an entire ‘set’ of props in a single room—chairs, desks, balls, guns, swords, and other objects—all of which could be tracked in addition to multiple users in VR headsets which could cooperatively use the objects as part of an entertainment experience. OptiTrack says they haven’t found a practical limit on the number of tracked objects their system can support, even after experimenting with more than 300 at a time.
In the last few years OptiTrack has been building out its software and hardware to support out of home XR applications. The company now sells ‘snap-on’ faceplates for both the Rift and Vive, which augment the headsets with the markers needed for large-scale OptiTrack tracking, as well as ‘pucks’ (self-contained trackers for attaching to arbitrary objects), and an ‘active tag’ which can be used to create custom-made tracked objects (like the Jenga blocks shown at GDC).
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OptiTrack also says they’ve built an OpenVR plugin which allows their tracking to transparently replace SteamVR Tracking, enabling compatibility between OptiTrack tracking and SteamVR content which is useful for developers building out of home VR content for Vive headsets.
A minimum of three OptiTrack cameras are required for tracking, the company says, with arbitrary numbers of additional cameras able to be added for larger tracking volumes and robustness against occlusion. While the hardware is no doubt expensive (with single cameras starting at $1,500), the company’s tracking platform is becoming an increasingly comprehensive and scalable solution for large-scale, high precision XR tracking.
We weren’t certain the PSVR title Golem would ever see the light of day after its lengthy delay. It wasn’t until the studio assured us late last year that yes, the game was still in production well after its prospective March 16th, 2018 launch date had come and gone. Now it appears PAX East-goers will get a fresh whack at the game, which was unveiled way back in 2015.
Sony today announced via its PS blog that seven PSVR titles are heading to PAX East in Boston next week, one of which is the long-overdue adventure game Golem from Highwire Games, an indie studio consisting of former Bungie veterans Marty O’Donnell and Jaime Griesemer, and a team of established industry devs.
After its March 2018 delay, the studio announced the game was pushed back indefinitely back in August as Highwire wanted to ensure they could “release a polished VR experience that we are proud of […].”
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“Things are still proceeding; we want Golem to be the game we envisioned and we’re taking the time we need to get it there,” a Highwire spokesperson told Road to VR late last year. “[We’re] not going to talk release timing until we are absolutely sure about it this time.”
We still aren’t exactly sure what sort of game Golem is shaping up to be. From our 2016 hands-on and previous talks with Highwire, it seems the studio’s PSVR title involves the ability to jump between various avatars—ranging in size from dolls to giants—as they explore the world around and go mano a mano with some pretty nasty looking rock golems.
In case you’re attending, here’s the seven titles Sony is trotting out at PAX East:
We are starting an hour later than normal! This will be our last live stream until after our trip, so come hang out and talk VR while we play the weirdest game ever made for VR... ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 Mosh Pit Simulator is an open-world sand-box VR game about a world that is overrun by brainless boneless humanoid creatures. Abuse VR physics, punch, destroy, build and create contraptions. Come hang out with us while we play this weird VR game and check out it features. This is our last live stream until after our holiday trip next week, so if you have some time, be sure to come hang out! Our live stream schedule: every Saturday at 8.30 PM CET (GMT+1). LINKS Mosh Pit Simulator on Steam → https://store.steampowered.com/app/486440/Mosh_Pit_Simulator/ SUPPORT US Subscribing and watching our videos is by far the BIGGEST support you can give us. However, if you want to do a little bit more - you can also become a booster or our champion! All donations will go to improving the channel. BUY US A CHEESEBURGER ► One-time donation → https://goo.gl/BM3zV7 BECOME A CHAMPION ► Become a Patron on Patreon (includes exclusive rewards) → https://goo.gl/5Bp3FW ► Become a Sponsor on YouTube (rewards and get a Champion's badge on YouTube chat) → https://goo.gl/8Ji5dp OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content.
GDC 2019 had some exciting VR announcements! We have picked 7 VR highlights at GDC 2019 that we found most exciting for this recap video. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 For those that didn't have the time to check out GDC announcements. Here's a recap of 7 most interesting VR highlights at GDC 2019. GDC 2019 (Game Developers Conference) was held during March 18th till March 22nd, 2019. What we'll talk about: #1 HP Reverb VR headset #2 NVIDIA Geforce NOW enables wireless VR and AR #3 Oculus Rift S #4 New Oculus Quest & Rift S games #5 Qualcomm & Pico Neo 2 VR headset #6 HTC VIVE's lip tracking module #7 Khronos OpenXR SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► Or become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content. #gdc2019 #gdc19 #oculusriftS #virtualreality
Justin Roiland’s VR studio Squanch Games announced last year that their upcoming game Trover Saves the Universe was exclusively targeting PSVR and PS4 consoles. This week at GDC 2019 though it seems the studio has reversed that decision, as the comedy platformer is also slated to arrive on PCs via Steam and Epic Game Store.
Squanch Games wasn’t able confirm which specific PC VR headsets will be supported at launch, although VR support is definitely coming to the PC version for its targeted 2019 release, I was told.
Neither the Epic Game Store page nor the Steam page have information regarding supported headsets at this time. An educated guess: we’re likely to at least see support for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
There’s no exact launch date yet, although the studio says we should learn more on that front at PAX East, which takes place in Boston on March 28th – 31st. We’ll most likely learn whether it’s a staggered or simultaneous launch there too.
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In case you’ve never heard of it, Trover Saves the Universe is another madcap fever dream from the mind of Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland. It’s not a platformer in the traditional sense, as your character (called a Chair-opian) is seated and relies on teleportation to follow your controllable pal Trover, who can be controlled to specific warp nodes where he battles enemies and solves puzzles in search of your lost dogs. There’s plenty of fourth wall-breaking moments here that are sure to appeal to fans of Roiland’s disarming and infectious sense of humor.
It seems the GDC 2019 demo on the floor is more or less the same from when we first saw it at E3 2018, albeit shortened somewhat to accommodate more GDC-goers. You can see the full demo I experienced below.
Epic Games today announced at GDC that the company is set to turbo-charge their long-running developer grant initiative with ‘MegaGrants’ and the largest pool of funds yet, $100,000,000.
Epic have been running developer-focused funding initiatives for many years now, with the original ‘Unreal Dev Grants’ fund announced back in 2015. Since then, VR developers have featured prominently among the fund recipients awarded—many of which we’ve covered on this very site. In many ways, those grants have reflected Epic and Unreal Engine’s early and consistently prominent support of VR since the early days of VR’s latest resurgence.
Now, possibly reflecting the company’s bulging coffers, swelled by the ultra-successful battle royale shooter Fortnite, the company has now announced its first ‘MegaGrants’ initiative. The program now boasts a vast loot pool totaling $100,000,000—all of it potentially up for grabs for budding developers who make the grade, VR devs among them—should you choose to use Unreal Engine to power your project.
Interested? As a guideline, Epic Games have release key submission categories for the Epic MegaGrants which include:
Game Developers: UE4 dev teams of all sizes can apply for an Epic MegaGrant to help make their projects succeed. Developers can also apply for a grant to help transition existing or in-development games to UE4.
Media & Entertainment: Individuals or teams applying UE4 to film, television and other visual media, location-based entertainment, and live events are eligible to apply for an Epic MegaGrant.
Enterprise: Innovative teams and individuals leveraging UE4 in other non-gaming verticals, including architecture, automotive, manufacturing, simulation, product design, advertising and other areas, may apply for an Epic MegaGrant.
Education: Students and educators can earn funding for Unreal Engine research, curriculum, student projects and university programs. Grants will also be given to schools implementing Unreal Engine into classrooms and programs.
Grants to developers range between $5,000 and $500,000 for each award and “cover a variety of endeavors to further ignite creativity and technological advancement within the 3D graphics community.”
Importantly for those developers wary of inadvertently losing control over their precious gaming concepts, Epic Games clarifies that “All grant recipients will continue to own their IP and will be free to publish however they wish.” Also, Epic Games is giving itself leeway for the time frame that these funds will be doled out stating “Submissions will be evaluated, and grants awarded, on a continual rolling basis as funds allow, with no firm deadlines to submit.”
Developers who bravely decide to step into the still budding VR industry fray still face uphill challenges making their projects profitable, or even getting funds to make them happen in the first place. Epic’s MegaGrants could offer small startups and indie developers wanting to build their VR project the cash-fuel required to start, or to keep going. And if there’s one thing the entire VR community can agree on, it’s that influx of original, quality VR content that’s sorely needed to accelerate interest in VR gaming and entertainment, and see the industry grow.
Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney said of the announcement “At Epic we succeed when developers succeed. With Epic MegaGrants we’re reinvesting in all areas of the Unreal Engine development community and also committing to accelerate the open sourcing of content, tools, and knowledge.”
To read more on the MegaGrants initiative, head to the Epic Games website here.
Scope AR, the enterprise-focused AR studio, today announced it has successfully closed a $9.7 million Series A funding round to further develop it cross-platform AR work training and on-site instruction tools.
The company’s Series A was led by Romulus Capital, and includes previous investors SignalFire, Susa Ventures, Haystack, New Stack Ventures, North American Corporation, and Angel List. Additionally, Krishna Gupta of Romulus Capital and Wayne Hu from SignalFire will join Scope AR’s board of directors.
To date, the company had raised $15.8 million, something Scope AR says will help them “further scale and expand enterprise AR adoption in a time when the industrial workforce is shifting and machinery and equipment are becoming increasingly complex.”
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Founded in 2011 and is based in San Francisco with offices in Edmonton, Scope AR has previously worked with companies dealing in aerospace, consumer packaged goods, and manufacturing, including the likes of Lockheed Martin, Unilever, and Prince Castle.
Scope AR produces two main products in particular, WorkLink and Remote AR. WorkLink focuses on letting companies create their own ‘smart instructions’ via an app authoring tool, and boasts cross-platform publishing to iOS, Android and HoloLens. Remote AR is geared towards enabling remote workers to collaborate with experts who can view the work-related issue through a worker’s AR headset or smart device, including iOS, Android, Microsoft Surface, HoloLens, and RealWear HMT-1.
This was a frequently asked question on our latest Valve Knuckles video, so I decided to find out if it is possible. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 Oculus Rift + Valve Knuckles controllers, a dream come true? Or is there a catch? In this video I'll explain to you how to make this combination work, if it works as it should and if it's worth it. LINKS Watch this Valve Knuckles video to see the full capability of the Knuckles controllers→ https://youtu.be/nsQLwWaFAh4 TIMELINE 02:09 - Knuckles DV close up 02:35 - What do you need to make this work? 04:10 - How to setup 04:49 - Step #1 Download & Install Steam → https://store.steampowered.com/about/ & Setup the VIVE Base Stations 05:36 - Step #2 Connect your Oculus Rift and sensors 05:48 - Step #3 Install SteamVR → https://steamcommunity.com/steamvr 06:14 - Step #4 Opt-in to SteamVR's beta branch & Install the Knuckles Drivers 06:33 - Step #5 Get the Watchman Controller Update 07:55 - Step #6 Update the Steam Controller Dongles Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR Tracking HDK\tools\bin\win32\lighthouse_watchman_update.exe" -D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR Tracking HDK\firmware\dongle\watchman_dongle.bin" 08:46 - Step #7 Change settings so the Rift can work with the VIVE base stations in SteamVR Download our default.vrsettings file → https://casandchary.com/downloads/default.vrsettings 10:00 - Step #8 Pair Knuckles Controllers 10:29 - Step #9 Calibrate the guardian systems using OpenVR-SpaceCalibrator → https://github.com/pushrax/OpenVR-SpaceCalibrator 11:59 - Oculus Rift Knuckles gameplay Beat Saber 12:46 - Oculus Rift Knuckles with Oculus Exclusive Robo Recall 14:06 - Final thoughts on Knuckles + Oculus Rift SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► Or become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - The Knuckles was provided by Valve free of charge. However, we are not paid for this review and no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content. #valveknuckles #oculusrift #rift #vr
Pimax today announced their Brainwarp software will be coming out of beta soon with the official launch of Brainwarp version 1.0.
Like Oculus’ Asynchronous Spacewarp, Brainwarp was designed to reduce the massive hardware requirements needed to run the headset’s high resolution displays; it’s also touted for its ability to improve latency and maintain acceptable refresh rates.
The 1.0 release will include three main tools, all of which were seen in the previous Brainwarp beta first released in January. Pimax says the official release “will ensure a smooth and optimized VR experience.” Brainwarp 1.0 is said to release sometime this week, although the exact date isn’t certain at this point.
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The tools include: Smart Smoothing, Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) and Refresh Rate Switching (RRS). The company says these can be enabled or disabled individually by the user as needed.
Here’s a quick roundup of each tool, and how they’re positioned to improve the user experience with Pimax’s headsets, including Pimax “8K”, “5K” Plus, and “5K” XR (ex-“5K” BE).
Smart Smoothing: compensates for low frame rates by halving the effective frame rate to 45 fps and filling with synthetic frames as necessary, much like Oculus’ ASW or Valve’s Motion Smoothing. Pimax says you can use GPUs such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or GTX 1070 to play most VR games with any of its headsets thanks to Smart Smoothing.
Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR): renders the center of the lenses at full resolution and progressively diminishes the resolution outward toward the user’s peripheral vision. Pimax claims performance gains of a typical VR game are between 10-30%. Compatibility with this feature is currently limited to NVIDIA RTX GPUs.
Refresh Rate Switching (RRS): can be used in conjunction with Smart Smoothing and FFR. With different mode options for the refresh rate (5K Plus: 90/72/64Hz, 8K: 80/72/64Hz), users have the ability to select the mode for their desired use with different games to achieve the best experience.
Today at GDC, HTC announced plans to make available a lip-tracking module for the Vive Pro. The company says it doesn’t currently have plans to consumerize the device, but instead wants to make it available for research and experimentation.
HTC Vive America’s Vice President of Product and Operations, Vinay Narayan, today at GDC revealed that the company is plans to make available a lip-tracking module for the Vive Pro headset which will accurately gather data about how the user’s mouth is moving. This data could be used for a variety of purposes, like more realistically animating an avatar’s facial expressions in real-time, motion capture recording for NPC animations, or a variety of research uses involving speech, body language, and more.
HTC has revealed very little about the lip-tracking module so far, but we’d venture to guess that it will consist of a camera mounted underneath the Vive Pro visor which faces the user’s mouth. The module could tap the Vive Pro’s hidden USB port for power and data transfer, or could have its own on-board power and communicate to the host PC wirelessly.
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Wit the upcoming Vive Pro Eye, a version of the headset with built in eye-tracking, the lip-tracking module would be even more powerful as it, combined with eye-tracking data, could animate both eyes and mouth together, leading to a richer avatar representation.
HTC has said that it doesn’t presently have plans to turn the lip-tracking module into a consumer product, but wants to make it available as a development kit for research and experimentation. The lip-tracking module will tie into a Vive facial tracking SDK that the company will make available.
So far the company hasn’t said when the lip-tracking module or the facial tracking SDK will be released or what the the module might cost.
HTC’s Rikard Steiber today announced at GDC 2019 that Viveport, the company’s digital distribution platform for VR games, is going to support Windows VR headsets later this year.
The company first opened up Viveport to Oculus Rift in September 2018, having originally only supported the company’s two PC VR headsets at the time, the original Vive and Vive Pro.
Many VR games on Steam have native Windows VR support, although those that don’t can benefit from a Microsoft-built Steam plugin that allows Windows VR users to play games originally created for Vive & Rift only.
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It’s uncertain at this point how HTC will go about supporting Windows VR headsets, be it through a similar ‘catch all’ plug-in or by simply allowing developers to add support on case-by-case basis. Steiber also didn’t mention when this will come, only saying that Windows VR support is set to come “later this year.”
This comes as a larger push by HTC to further proliferate the Viveport platform, which is set to launch their Netflix-style, unlimited download subscription service Viveport Infinity early next month.
We continue in ARKTIKA.1, the VR game by the same devs as Metro Exodus. Last time we left right after we got an awesome new weapon, a flashlight, and a thermal sight scope. Let's hope this makes the game less scary! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 ARKTIKA.1 is an FPS set in the wastelands of old Russia where you have to protect the colony from raiders, marauders, and horrifying creatures. The game is by the same developers as Metro Exodus. Let's check it out and see how far Cas can go in this post-apocalyptic world. Come hang out with us while we play ARKTIKA.1, a very action-packed FPS. We will have a heart monitor strapped on Cas so that you can literally see if she's scared. Our live stream schedule: every Saturday at 8.30 PM CET (GMT+1). LINKS Watch part 2 of this gameplay here → https://youtu.be/YxR8pIIHpDc ARKTIKA.1 for Oculus → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/682000918570174/ SUPPORT US Subscribing and watching our videos is by far the BIGGEST support you can give us. However, if you want to do a little bit more - you can also become a booster or our champion! All donations will go to improving the channel. BUY US A CHEESEBURGER ► One-time donation → https://goo.gl/BM3zV7 BECOME A CHAMPION ► Become a Patron on Patreon (includes exclusive rewards) → https://goo.gl/5Bp3FW ► Become a Sponsor on YouTube (rewards and get a Champion's badge on YouTube chat) → https://goo.gl/8Ji5dp OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content.
Beat Games, the Czech Republic-based indie developers behind Beat Saber (2018), announced they’ve sold over one million copies of their popular block-slashing rhythm game—a figure calculated across all supported VR platforms.
Beat Games CEO Jaroslav Beck announced the news in a video blog, saying he optimistically expected the game to reach 150,000 copies before its release, a number three times larger than the team’s pre-launch estimation.
“What happened, nobody could have ever predicted. Even guys from the industry who we spoke with [including advisers and long-time industry professionals] told us we’re freaks if you think we can get this number,” said Beck.
Speaking to Variety, Beck further said Beat Saber’s success wasn’t the result of a prolonged PR campaign, attributing its popularity to word-of-mouth.
“We did zero PR whatsoever,” Beck told Variety. “We didn’t expect that it would blow up that crazy.”
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The one million figure includes consumer sales only, the studio confirmed with Road to VR, and not sales from location-based facilities. Beat Saber is available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows VR headsets (early access), and on PSVR.
We haven’t heard specific numbers from other VR developers for comparison, although it’s possible Beat Saber could be the first VR game to reach the one million sales mark.
Notably, Beat Saber was ranked the second most downloaded PSVR game of 2018, vaulting to the slot within only one month before the close of the year. It’s also been featured in a bespoke PSVR hardware bundle with Borderlands 2 VR (2018).
The announcement came alongside the studio’s recent release of Beat Saber’s first paid DLC music pack, dubbed ‘Monstercat Music Pack 1,” which adds 10 EDM songs to the game across all platforms.
We show you all the Beat Saber Monstercat DLC songs on Expert with a haptic suit on. You can check out this video to see if you like the songs before you buy. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 The long-awaited Beat Saber DLC is out! In this mixed reality video, I’ll show you all 10 tracks on Expert mode and at the end of this video, I’ll let you know my favorites. Be sure to check the description for the timeline. TIMELINE 01:17 Boundless – Aero Chord 04:21 Emoji VIP – Pegboard Nerds 07:27 EPIC – Tokyo Machine 10:46 Feeling Stronger (feat. Charlotte Colley) [High Maintenance Remix] – Muzzy 14:10 Overkill – RIOT 17:34 Rattlesnake – Rogue 21:10 Stronger (feat. EMEL) – Stonebank 25:01 This Time – Kayzo 27:51 Till It’s Over – Tristam 31:34 We Won’t Be Alone (feat. Laura Brehm) – Feint 35:05 Outro (First Impressions & Favorite Songs) LINKS Beat Saber → https://store.steampowered.com/app/620980/Beat_Saber/ Beat Saber Monstercat DLC → https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/10456/Beat_Saber__Game__Monstercat_Music_Pack_Vol_1/ bHaptics haptic suit → https://www.bhaptics.com/ SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► Or become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary OUR SPECS - Our microphone (ModMic Wireless) → https://amzn.to/2MQF0tC - Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary - More info here → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ SOCIAL MEDIA 💬 Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k 💬 Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary 💬 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ 💬 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their amazing support: - artArmin - Baxorn - Wintceas - VR Ambassador - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - James - The Architect VR on! - Cas and Chary VR DISCLAIMER - Links in this description may contain affiliate links. You don't have to use them but if you do, a small referral fee will go to this channel supporting the content. #beatsaber #hapticsuit #monstercat #dlc #bhaptics
Bust out the sweat bands and tighten your wrist straps. A big update to Beat Saber yesterday added a slew of new content to the PC version. Alongside that update, the game’s first paid DLC, Monstercat Music Pack Vol. 1, is now available on both PC and PSVR. The pack includes 10 strong tracks, one of which stands out as the most challenging—and rewarding—of the bunch.
When I set out to slice my way through the new Monstercat Music Pack Vol. 1 for Beat Saber, I thought this article was going to be a general overview of the songs and beat maps, but for me, one song in particular completely stole the show. Before I delve into that, here’s the breakdown of the ten new tracks (mapped in all difficulties) in the Music Pack:
To my ear, the setlist—which leans more toward techno and club music—doesn’t have the same level of musical intrigue and variety as OST I, OST II, and the bonus tracks. Still, the mapping is solid throughout, with a handful of interesting ideas.
On Expert difficulty I enjoyed “Till It’s Over” for its interesting tonality and a string of notes which felt ‘spatially challenging’ (sort of like a solo). “Stronger” was also fun, and gets more mechanically interesting in the last half of the song.
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“Overkill,” however, was the immediate standout. What I thought initially was going to be a somewhat generic heavy metal track ended up mixing in elements of dubstep and synthwave which kept things interesting. The beat map makes great use of this variety, with the notes alternating between following intense guitar riffs, drums rolls, and dubstep flairs.
“Overkill” on Expert – Challenge and Intrigue
On Expert, “Overkill” offers a considerably more unique beat map than most of the other tracks in Monstercat Music Pack Vol. 1, with an emphasis on same-direction paired notes (swinging with both hands at the same time in the same direction), with a lot of up and down energy (effectively capturing the feel of the heavy drums and guitar):
“Overkill” on Expert+ – The Song to Beat
When I cranked things up to Expert+ for the new Music Pack, “Overkill” again stole the show, and revealed its potential as the new ‘song to beat’ among the officially mapped tracks.
On my first playthrough I was met with a frustrating mess of notes that I couldn’t possibly sight read—I typically play at the Expert+ level, but this was far more complex than most other tracks. Rejecting the knee-jerk ‘this beat map sucks’ reaction, I dove into Practice Mode to play at 50% speed so I could start to understand what “Overkill” on Expert+ was actually asking of me. What I found was a crazy, awesome, powerful beat map which is a blast to play, on top of being one of the most challenging and interesting of the official Beat Saber tracks yet released.
Luckily a speedy and skilled YouTuber already has a good playthrough posted, so in the video below you can see the full official beat map and I’ll use it as a time reference so you can see what I’m talking about:
On Expert+, “Overkill” takes the guitar and drum runs up to the next level (0:49), with tons of up and down energy and same-direction paired notes that end up being surprisingly mobile, especially when you need to cross your arms to hit a handful of them (1:07).
Then there’s the set of three huge ‘break’ swings (0:59) that not only ratchet up the song action, but do so in a way that has you swinging upward into a ‘power pose’ at the top of each note which makes you feel like a total badass. Another ‘rising’ moment in the song has a similar effect, but instead of swinging upward into a power pose, you’re alternating quickly left and right across the center with both hands as the notes steadily rise up on either side of you (1:40).
And just when you think it’s time to wind down, the song comes at you with a crazy string of same-direction paired notes which are ever so challenging and satisfying to keep up with (2:59) and to chase when they start going in every which direction (3:10).
While “Overkill” on the Expert difficulty was already fairly challenging, Expert+ might as well be Expert++ compared to many of the official tracks. I’ll admit that I’ve still only been able to complete it at 85% speed thus far, but I can’t wait to dive back in and finally master the song at full speed.
