Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Should You Buy The Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift S Or Oculus Go?
A guide for VR newcomers! Oculus Quest VS Oculus Rift S VS Oculus Go, which headset is the right choice for you or should you wait for future VR headsets like the Valve Index? ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 The Oculus Quest and Rift S are now open for preorders, which is exciting news! The Oculus Go was already released a year ago and will continue to be sold. But which one of these headsets is the right choice for you? And should you wait for future VR headsets that are coming out like the Valve Index? In this video, I put together a guide for anyone new to VR that can help you understand what each headset is capable of and which might suit you best. So if you are looking to order one of the Oculus headsets. Be sure to watch this video first. LINKS Watch our Oculus Rift S Hands-On → https://youtu.be/KLwySHSMGe8 Watch our Oculus Quest Hands-On → https://youtu.be/YwAkbWbLO-k Oculus Rift S Recommended & Minimum Specifications → https://www.oculus.com/rift-s/#rift-s-pc-requirements Valve Index → https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/index/headset Buy the Oculus Rift S here → https://www.oculus.com/rift-s/ Buy the Oculus Quest here → https://www.oculus.com/quest/ SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► WidmoVR prescription lens adapters for your headset → https://widmovr.com/shop/ (5% discount code: CAS&CHARY) ► Play PC VR games with your mobile → https://go.riftcat.com/casandchary (10% discount code: JWGTCASCHARY) ► 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 - Fleef - 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. - Oculus sent us a free Quest to review. We are not paid for this review and no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. #oculusrifts #oculusquest #oculusgo #virtualreality
Monday, April 29, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Fixed Foveated Rendering in VR - Does it really work?
Does Fixed Foveated Rendering really work in VR? Pimax has released the first Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) for their high end PC VR headsets Pimax 8K, 5K Plus and 5K XR - and today I'm testing, reviewing and doing VR benchmarks and comparisons with - and without - the new foveated rendering technique. Is Foveated Rendering the future on VR? Let's fund out! Get your Pimax 8K, Pimax 5K Plus or Pimax 5K XR OLED headset with my special $50 OFF discount: http://pimaxvr.com/sweviver (You are also supporting me by using this link, thank you) If you appreciate my efforts, please join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sweviver Pimax Fixed Foveated Rendering is a new feature implemented in the Pimax software, and has the ability to lower GPU load and overhead by a special rendering technique. In this video, I will explain how Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) works, if it works as expected and how much performance boost can we gain by using it. #FixedFoveatedRendering #Pimax #VR #FoveatedRendering #benchmarks Check out my Pimax 5K XR OLED first impression video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Clnp1afIU Make sure to watch my full Pimax 5K Plus and 8K review also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcZ0CXP0qgU Interested in more high-end VR? Check out my XTAL headset hands-on in-depth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpPY_XNpn08 Thanks for watching my Pimax Fixed Foveated Rendering analysis video, everyone. If you enjoyed please subscribe and leave a Like. More VR tech videos coming up very soon! See you in the next one :)
Friday, April 26, 2019
VR Is Not Only About Gaming - 10 Other Awesome Things You Can Do In VR!
VR gaming is fun... But there are other things that we really enjoy doing in VR. So here are 10 awesome things you can do in VR other than gaming! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 As much as we love gaming, we wanted to show you things that we really enjoy doing in VR apart from gaming. The things on this list are what makes VR extra special to us. This list is for everyone, from people already experienced in VR looking for new things to try, to people who never tried it before and want to know what you can do other than gaming. Share this with your non-VR friends and maybe you’ll be able to get them to join the Oasis with us. TIMESTAMPS 00:48 #1 Relive your memories 02:46 #2 Level up personal development skills 03:30 #3 Working in VR 04:14 #4 Watch movies on a huge screen 04:53 #5 Educate yourself in VR 05:47 #6 Watch manga in VR 06:17 #7 Workout in VR 07:28 #8 Get the best seats at live shows or sports games 08:18 #9 Create 3D artwork 09:01 #10 Host business meetings in VR LINKS - Get Insta360 EVO + Invisible Selfie Stick → http://bit.ly/insta360evolink - Samsung #BeFearless → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/942681562482500/ - Speech Trainer → https://store.steampowered.com/app/552770/Speech_Trainer/ - PsychLabVR → https://store.steampowered.com/app/630510/PsychLabVR/ - Guided Meditation VR → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/929143807179080/ - Big Screen → https://bigscreenvr.com/ - Virtual Desktop → https://www.vrdesktop.net/ - Netflix VR → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/go/890562797701371/?locale=en_US - PlexVR → https://www.plex.tv/your-media/virtual-reality/ - The Body VR → https://thebodyvr.com/ - Titanic VR → http://titanicvr.io/ - Apollo 11 VR → http://immersivevreducation.com/apollo-11-vr/ - AltSpace VR Events → https://account.altvr.com/events/featured - Tales of the Wedding Rings VR → https://store.steampowered.com/app/692360/Tales_of_Wedding_Rings_VR/ or https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1681506908561513/ - Beat Saber → https://store.steampowered.com/app/620980/Beat_Saber/ - BoxVR → https://store.steampowered.com/app/641960/BOXVR/ - RaveRunner → http://www.kinemotik.com/raverunner - PowerBeatsVR → https://www.powerbeatsvr.com/ - Man Loses 138 Pounds in Beat Saber https://vrscout.com/news/man-loses-138-pounds-beat-saber/ - Tilt Brush → https://www.tiltbrush.com/ - Quill → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1118609381580656/?locale=en_US - Medium → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1336762299669605 - CollabHub → https://store.steampowered.com/app/679160/CollabHub/ - Facebook Spaces → https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1036793313023466/ SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► WidmoVR prescription lens adapters for your headset → https://widmovr.com/shop/ (5% discount code: CAS&CHARY) ► Play PC VR games with your mobile → https://go.riftcat.com/casandchary (10% discount code: JWGTCASCHARY) ► 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 - Fleef - 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 Insta360 Evo was given to us for free. Per our guidelines, no review direction was received. Our opinions are our own. #vruses #thingstodoinvr #vr #virtualreality
‘Super Mario Odyssey’ & ‘Zelda Breath of the Wild’ Updated with Switch VR Support
In a surprise move today, Nintendo announced that blockbuster titles Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild will get support for the Switch VR Labo Kit.
Update (September 26th, 2019): As promised, Nintendo has pushed updates adding VR support to both Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda Breath of the Wild.
Zelda Breath of the Wild is a simple adaptation which effectively just changes the default third-person camera into a third-person VR camera for use with the VR goggles in the Labo VR kit. The accelerometer in the Switch is employed to turn the camera as you turn your head, but the camera can also be rotated with the thumbstick as usual. YouTuber Austin John Plays has a walkthrough of what the experience is like.
Super Mario Odyssey has a more involved VR mode which brings a short but unique VR mission where the player controls Mario from a fixed third-person view which uses headtracking (similar to Astro Bot). In the mission, Mario collects coins and notes and takes instruments to musicians to complete each stage. A playthrough of the experience can be seen here.
Original Article (April 5th, 2019): Nintendo announced the Nintendo Labo: VR Kit for Switch back in March. It’s the fourth kit in their ‘Labo’ product line—primarily targeted toward younger gamers and families—which offers build-it-yourself accessories which work in conjunction with specially made games and experiences.
Although creative and interesting, we fully expected the Switch VR Labo Kit to only be compatible with the out-of-the-box games and experiences that ship with it.
Nintendo turned that expectation on its head today when it announced that two of the company’s biggest games—Super Mario Odyssey & Zelda Breath of the Wild—will get support for the VR Goggles ‘Toy-Con’ accessory that’s the foundation of the kit. These two games are literally the top rated Switch games of all time, according to Metacritic, and widely considered to be the best release for their respective franchise in years.
With the Switch VR Labo Kit launching on April 12th, the two games will see free updates on the 25th to add VR features.
Experience 2 beloved games in new ways with the Toy-Con VR Goggles from the #NintendoLabo: VR Kit! https://t.co/be8xudP2PK pic.twitter.com/M0C6w59lIT
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 5, 2019
Zelda Breath of the Wild appears to be getting full VR support, allowing players to turn the feature on and off at any time while playing, though the company notes that pre-rendered cutscenes won’t be compatible with the VR mode.
Super Mario Odyssey is getting a smaller made-for-VR “bite-sized bonus experience” which will offer players three new “mini-missions.”
While the Mario Odyssey VR gameplay clearly uses a static camera (which will ensure co zmfort), Breath of the Wild in VR appears to allow players to rotate the camera no differently than if they were playing on the screen; it’s unclear if this will cause comfort issues. Generally speaking, moving the camera in VR with any input other than the player’s head could lead to discomfort (especially if rotating the camera causes the player’s horizon to change). Maybe there’s more to the story regarding comfort than what’s seen in the video above, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Performance is also another unknown, especially with Breath of the Wild already being a visually ambitious game for the Switch’s mobile processor. Rendering Breath of the Wild for VR (stereoscopically and at a steady and comfortable framerate) won’t be easy.
– – — – –
Aside from these two games, the Switch VR Labo Kit also features a trove of specially made VR experiences that work uniquely with the cardboard ‘Toy-Con’ accessories included in the kit.
The kit launches on April 12th in two variants, the Labo VR Kit Starter Set for $40 [Amazon], which includes the VR Goggles and ‘Blaster’ Toy-Con, and the Complete Labo VR Kit for $80 [Amazon], which includes everything in the Starter Set plus four additional Toy-Con accessories and accompanying VR content.
The post ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ & ‘Zelda Breath of the Wild’ Updated with Switch VR Support appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/super-mario-odyssey-zelda-breath-wild-switch-vr-labo-kit-support/
Thursday, April 25, 2019
BRUTAL BATTLE Which VR Slasher is BEST | Gorn vs Blade and Sorcery (UKRifter & Son)
Please hit that subscribe button it honestly makes my day! Want to buy me a beer? https://streamlabs.com/theukrifter Want to chat VR? - Join my VR community discord server: https://discord.gg/dXh5XuA or on Twitter @UKRift, or Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ukrifter. Also, check out my Virtual Reality articles and opinions on http://www.ukrifter.com **Voice Acting** - I currently offer FREE voice acting for VR projects. Hugely grateful if you could share this video with your friends & family via : twitter, facebook, reddit, etc. == Who the devil are you Sir? == Typically I play with VR on my weekends and schedule video posts through the week. I invest my own money in order to review, compare and contrast. I run this for the love of the technology, I am NEVER paid for my opinion, and as a result my opinions will remain unbiased, however, as I tend to praise in public and feedback negative experiences privately to developers, I rarely review a bad title. Not seen something reviewed here, maybe you have your answer. == Special Thanks == UKRifter Logo by Jo Baker Freelance Design - http://jobaker.co.uk/ == Techno Babble for the Geeks == HMD: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift DK1 / DK2 / CV1 CPU: i7 4790K GPU: Nvidia EVGA 1080 SC edition RAM: 16GB Storage: SSD / Hybid SSD Screen recorder: OBS Wheel: Logitech G27 Joystick: Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS X Mouse: RAT 7 == Legal == The thoughts and opinions expressed by UKRifter and other contributors are those of the individual contributors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers, sponsors, family members, pets or voices in their heads. == Audio Credits == UKRifter Jingle by Christopher Gray Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Magic Leap is Giving Away 500 AR Headsets as Part of Epic’s $100M Unreal MegaGrants
At Unreal Engine Build: Detroit 2019, Magic Leap today announced that the company will be giving away 500 Magic Leap One Creator Edition AR headsets as part of the recently unveiled Epic MegaGrants.
Epic MegaGrants is Epic Games’ $100 million initiative designed to support developers of media, entertainment, and games, as well as enterprise professionals, students, educators, and tool developers working with Unreal Engine.
Magic Leap says that developers building AR apps with Unreal Engine dealing in entertainment, architecture, automotive, healthcare “and many other industries” can apply now for a free Magic Leap One. The company maintains that there’s no deadline, as grants will be awarded by merit on a rolling basis, while hardware will be on a first-come first-served basis.
“We’re thrilled that Magic Leap is offering their support to the Epic MegaGrants program with this generous giveaway of 500 Magic Leap One Creator Edition devices, which offer incredible opportunities to explore applications from digital humans to product design,” said Simon Jones, director, Unreal Engine Enterprise, Epic Games. “The option to receive this hardware as part of an Epic MegaGrant means that more of the funds can be available to spend in other areas, so developers have more financial flexibility and freedom to create.”
Considering the headset normally costs $2,300, this could represent a big opportunity to finally dive into your dream project for stereoscopic AR headsets. You can apply online here.
The post Magic Leap is Giving Away 500 AR Headsets as Part of Epic’s $100M Unreal MegaGrants appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/magic-leap-giving-away-500-ar-headsets-part-epics-unreal-megagrants/
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Report: Apple to Announce ARKit Updates at WWDC 2019 Including OS Support for AR Headsets
Apple has been continuously iterating on ARKit, its augmented reality development tool that lets creators make smartphone-based AR experiences. The company unveiled ARKit at its World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in 2017, and the 2.0 version at the dev conference a year later. Now, a report from 9to5Mac holds that this year’s WWDC could see yet more new additions, including OS support for stereo AR headsets.
Citing sources familiar with the development of Apple’s new operating systems, the report maintains that ARKit will get a new Swift-only framework for AR and a companion app that lets developers create AR experiences visually. ARKit will also reportedly get the ability to detect human poses.
One of the biggest claims to come from the report is the supposed announcement surrounding OS support for controllers with touchpads as well as “stereo AR headsets.”
As with all unconfirmed reports, we’re taking this with a big grain of salt. However it’s hardly conceivable that Apple would open their software ecosystem to third-party devices, so it definitely raises the question of whether we’re close to a bonafide Apple AR headset tease or not.
In any case, there’s been several reports of an Apple AR headset in the making. Chi Kuo, someone Business Insider called “the most accurate Apple analyst in the world,” offered up his prediction for the fabled device last month, stating that Apple will likely begin production of its AR headset sometime between Q4 of 2019 and Q2 of 2020. Furthermore, it’s been reported that the upcoming Apple headset could rely on the iPhone for computing, rendering, internet connectivity and location services.
This comes as stark contrast to one of the earliest reports we’ve seen, from late 2017, by Bloomberg which posited an Apple AR headset would be a dedicated, standalone device, also slated for a 2020 release.
Whatever the case, we’ll have our eyes peeled from June 3rd to 7th when the hardcore Apple dev community descends upon San Jose, California for this year’s WWDC.
The post Report: Apple to Announce ARKit Updates at WWDC 2019 Including OS Support for AR Headsets appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/report-apple-announce-arkit-updates-wwdc-2019-including-os-support-ar-headsets/
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Valve Knuckles DV – Ready To Become The Valve Index Controllers
The Knuckles' tech demo Moondust & the Valve Knuckles DV (also known as the Valve Index Controllers) were updated! Let's check them out! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 For those that don’t know what I’m talking about. Valve recently announced that they are releasing a new VR headset, the Valve Index, which will include these Knuckles controllers. Except they are now called the Valve Index controllers moving forward. In this video we check out the finger tracking updates and the big update in Moondust 3.0 itself. LINKS ► Valve Knuckles EV3 – First Impressions by VR Gamers → https://youtu.be/nsQLwWaFAh4 ► Do The Valve Knuckles Controllers Work With The Oculus Rift? → https://youtu.be/5QKy3nxqLI8 ► Moondust Github → https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Moondust SUPPORT US ► VRcovers for your headset → https://goo.gl/U3ZSRD ► WidmoVR prescription lens adapters for your headset → https://widmovr.com/shop/ (5% discount code: CAS&CHARY) ► Play PC VR games with your mobile → https://go.riftcat.com/casandchary (10% discount code: JWGTCASCHARY) ► 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 - Fleef - 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 controllers were provided by Valve. No review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. #valveknuckles #valveindexcontrollers #valveindex #vr
Rube Goldberg-inspired Physics Game ‘Gadgeteer’ Heads into Early Access Today
Metanaut, the developer behind early VR experience MSI Electric City (2016), is releasing its first bonafide game today in Early Access, the very Rube Goldberg-inspired gadget game Gadgeteer.
Gadgeteer is a physics-based VR puzzle game that tasks players with building massive (and silly) machines to solve complex puzzles with a wide variety of parts.
You’ll set up chain reactions using dominoes of different sizes, build tracks to guide marbles, and launch them with catapults to bridge the gaps around the very unassuming apartment space.
In story mode, which includes 60 physics puzzles, you build away in hopes of uncovering the mystery behind the disappearance of a brilliant mad scientist and her daughter. There’s also set to be a sandbox mode that will let you build your wild machines unrestricted using the game’s three toolheads, letting you create, edit, and destroy pieces easily. Of course, there’s also a handy ‘undo’ button too.
The game is said to officially support HTC Vive at its Early Access launch today, however the developers are eyeing more platforms including Rift, Index, and Quest in the future. Technically, the game can work with many PC VR headsets thanks to OpenVR’s broad support, however the developers say the controls were specifically designed for Vive controllers for now.
Metanaut says on the game’s Steam page they intend to release the full game in roughly eight months, or right around holiday season.
The post Rube Goldberg-inspired Physics Game ‘Gadgeteer’ Heads into Early Access Today appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/rube-goldberg-inspired-physics-game-gadgeteer-heads-early-access-today/
Monday, April 22, 2019
‘3DSen VR’ Brings Nintendo Classics to VR, Demo Now Available on Steam
3DSen VR (formerly known as 3DNesVR) is an emulator tool that runs Nintendo Entertainment System games in VR, letting you play the ’80s and ’90s classic titles that made the console a world-wide phenomenon.
Update (April 22nd, 2019): 3DNesVR, in its original form, was removed from Steam some time ago. However the new rebranded emulator, named 3DSenVR, has been reapproved for use on the platform. The free demo is back, along with an appended ‘Mid 2019’ launch date for the full product. The free demo is said to include support for more than 40 games, however you’ll need the applicable ROMs to make use of it; 3DSen VR is only an emulator!
Original Article (October 23, 2018): Created by Geod Studios and first launched on itch.io in May 2017, 3DNesVR is finally heading to Steam, with support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets.
3DNesVR automatically turns NES games into a sort of ‘pop-out’ 3D version of the 2D game (not included), and lets you play it natively via SteamVR and Oculus runtime. While there are controls that let you adjust how the 3D effect renders, Geod Studios has created a few presets and tips in its 3DN Repository.
You can try it our for free now, as the demo on Steam supports a limited number of titles including (see update):
- Super Mario Bros
- Circus Charlie
- Elevator Action
- Battle City 1990
- Donkey Kong
- Dr. Mario
- Kungfu
- Legend Of Kage
- Tetris
The full release, slated to launch on January 21st, will support what Geod calls “massive games” including both classic and modern homebrew NES ROMS.
Supported controllers include gamepad, Steam controller, and system-specific VR motion controllers.
For obvious legal reasons, 3DNesVR doesn’t provide ROMS, so you’ll have to obtain them yourself and plug them in like any other standard emulator.
If you’re looking for a decidedly more modern emulating experience, Dolphin VR does a surprisingly good job with Nintendo Wii and GameCube games, although the project seems to have been put on hold since mid-2016.
The post ‘3DSen VR’ Brings Nintendo Classics to VR, Demo Now Available on Steam appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/3dnesvr-brings-nintendo-classics-vr-demo-now-available-steam/
Sunday, April 21, 2019
VR DRAGON PET SIMULATOR! - Let's Play Beast Pets (Mixed Reality Live Stream)
Our first time trying out a Mixed Reality live stream! This Saturday Chary tries to become a Mother Of Dragons in Beast Pets VR. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 Beast Pets is an early access game where you raise a litter of cute baby dragon pups. Come hang out with every Saturday and talk about Virtual Reality. Our live stream schedule is every Saturday at 8.30 PM CEST (GMT+1). LINKS Get Beast Pets VR here → https://store.steampowered.com/app/629970/Beast_Pets/ 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 Saber’ on Quest Will be Fully Featured at Launch, Use Identical Tracking Logic
Beat Saber developer Beat Games confirmed to Road to VR that the game will include all official features, modes, and music when it launches with Quest this Spring. Additionally, the studio says it didn’t have to make any concessions on tracking input logic to account for Quest’s inside-out tracked controllers.
As far as standalone VR headsets go, Quest is the very first that will natively run Beat Saber, and we have been suitably impressed with its ability to handle the game’s hardest difficulty without tracking issues. As good as it felt in our hands-on, there was always the possibility that the developers had to introduce some invisible handicapping to make sure it worked well against the limitations and challenges of inside-out tracking.
However, Beat Saber creator Jan “Split” Ilavsky tells Road to VR that the Quest version of the game uses identical tracking logic to both PC and PSVR versions of the game. That’s impressive considering the kind of tracking performance that playing Beat Saber at a high level demands. Ilavsky said that the studio didn’t have to make any adjustments at all to compensate for the headset’s inside-out controller tracking.
Beat Games CEO and composer Jaroslav Beck confirmed to Road to VR that Beat Saber on Quest will be the full game right at launch, including all official features, modes, and music as found on other platforms.
When Beat Saber first launched on PlayStation VR late last year, it included a good deal of exclusive content which was not available on the PC version at the time (like a Campaign mode with unique challenges, modifiers, and exclusive music). Last month, the PC version saw a major update which brought feature and content parity to the game on both platforms. At launch, the Quest version will be identical in terms of content and official music, Beck said.
One significant feature—custom song support—is only available on PC, as it is enabled through unofficial third-party mods. Such mods cannot run on PlayStation. It’s just about certain that Beat Saber on Quest will not officially support custom songs, though it remains unclear if it will be possible to deploy third-party mods to enable custom songs on Quest.
– – — – –
Beat Saber is a confirmed launch title for Quest, though the headset’s actual release date is still no more specific than “Spring.” With Facebook’s annual developer conference, F8, coming up at the end of the month, we’re expecting to see the company either launch the headset at the event outright, or provide a final launch date.
The post ‘Beat Saber’ on Quest Will be Fully Featured at Launch, Use Identical Tracking Logic appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/beat-saber-oculus-quest-full-feature-music-identical-tracking/
Friday, April 19, 2019
Oculus Quest Hands-On & Impressions – VR's Future Is Bright
At PAX East we had the chance to spend 4 hours with the Oculus Quest. Here are our full hands-on & first impressions video where we tell you about the headset and answer your questions. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to join our VR adventures! → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 The Oculus Quest is a new stand-alone Virtual Reality headset. An all-in-one VR device that doesn't need an expensive PC. But what is it about exactly and who should get it? In this video, we’ll let you know the answers as well as our first impressions. TIMELINE 00:43 - What is the Oculus Quest? 01:38 - Oculus Quest Hardware VS PC VR Hardware 02:53 - Oculus Quest Look & Comfort 04:06 - Oculus Quest Display & Lenses 05:15 - Oculus Quest Graphics VS PC VR 07:43 - Oculus Quest Inside-Out Tracking 10:20 - Oculus Quest Battery Life 10:43 - Oculus Quest Controllers 11:20 - Oculus Quest Passthrough+ 11:56 - Oculus Quest Audio 12:36 - Oculus Quest Content Store - Cross-buy & Cross-play 13:35 - Final Thoughts GAMES IN THIS VIDEO Dance Central (Harmonix) Beat Saber (Beat Games) Journey Of The Gods (Turtle Rock Studios) 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. - Oculus provided travel and accommodation to PAX East. We were not asked for this video and no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. #oculusquest #vr #virtualreality
Why XTAL is the king of VR headsets for Flight and Racing Simulators
Last weekend I tested the XTAL VR headset with Flight Simulators and Racing Simulators, and compared it to the Pimax VR range and also other VR HMD brands. Is XTAL really the best VR headset for VR simulator enthusiast and fanatics? In this hands-on XTAL video, I will tell you everything you need to know in-depth, about the current XTAL version and it's latest improvements. Check out XTAL on the official website: https://vrgineers.com/xtal/ As of now, the XTAL headset is available for orders in EU and US. XTAL is the most sophisticated VR headset on the market today, aimed mainly for professional work due to it's specifications and production costs. But the unit has now proved that it also can serve as a very potential high-end VR headset for Virtual Reality simulator training and gameplays on home consumer level. Todays hands-on review of XTAL, I'm going in deep on the functionality, the outstanding image quality and all the advantages a high-end headset can bring you, compared to the existing consumer grade products such as Pimax 5K+, Pimax 5K XR and the 8K. Is XTAL the king of VR headsets for Flight and Racing Simulators? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below. #XTAL #VR #flightsimulator #racingsimulator #VRSimulator If you appreciate my hard work, please support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/sweviver Check out my previous XTAL hands-on review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kQ7Xhgmi9Q Thanks for watching my XTAL hands-on review with VR Racing and Flight simulators. If you enjoyed then make sure to surbscribe and leave a like on this video. Have a Happy Easter everyone and see you in the next one! /Martin
Microsoft Aims to Improve VR for Users with Vision Problems
Microsoft researchers have created a tool that could make VR more accessible to users with impaired vision.
Called SeeingVR, the tool kit is designed to address a problem that affects users with low vision, or vision that can’t be corrected by prescription glasses.
As reported by Engadget, Microsoft researchers teamed up with Cornell Tech and Cornell University to create SeeingVR, a kit intended for Unity developers to integrate into their VR projects. SeeingVR includes 14 different tools that address a variety of vision issues.
The team’s purely visual tools include a magnification window, bifocal magnification, brightness and contrast enhancements, edge enhancement, an overlay that lets you see a miniature outline of you peripheral vision, configurable text (color, boldness, and size), depth measurement tool, a ‘guideline’ tool for better user orientation, a whole-scene recoloring tool, and an object highlight tool—similar to edge enhancement, but for specific objects in the scene.
The team also included audio-based enhancements including text-to-speech, audible object descriptions, and AI and human-assisted object descriptions leveraged from existent mobile apps such as VizWiz and Seeing AI.
“A user can select, adjust, and combine different tools based on their preferences, the team’s research paper states. “Nine of our tools modify an existing VR application post hoc via a plugin without developer effort. The rest require simple inputs from developers using a Unity toolkit we created that allows integrating all 14 of our low vision support tools during development.”
The researchers’ evaluation included 11 participants with low vision; the team concludes that their various methods show that SeeingVR “enabled users to better enjoy VR and complete tasks more quickly and accurately.”
The team will be presenting their findings in May at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
The post Microsoft Aims to Improve VR for Users with Vision Problems appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/microsoft-aims-improve-vr-users-vision-problems/
‘Firmament’ Kickstarter Boasts 10,000 Backers, But Still Needs Over $400K to Succeed
Cyan, the creators of genre-defining puzzle adventure games Myst (1993) and Riven (1997), are only a week away from the end of their latest campaign, a new VR puzzler called Firmament. With still over $400,000 to go, the company is now asking backers to tell friends about the project in an ostensible race to the finish.
As an ‘all or nothing’ campaign, the project will only come to fruition if it reaches the $1,285,000 mark. At the time of this writing, it’s garnered over $860,000, or a little over two-thirds of the way there.
In a bid to breathe new life into the campaign, the studio released an update to the Firmament Kickstarter recently asking backers to contact friends to get the campaign to the finish line:
Today we reached 10,000 backers, and we’re more than 60% funded. That’s 10,000 fans supporting Firmament and affirming that this type of game is important. We love making these worlds, with their meticulous integration of story, environments, and puzzles. And we know that there is a subset of gamers (like you) that love these worlds that we make. That’s what motivates us, keeps us authentic and focused on our passion.
We are so grateful for people like you – 10,000 strong so far. With little fanfare or prodding, you raise your voice in support of Firmament. Without you, we can’t build these worlds.
Based on our previous games, we know there are more of us out there – more people who truly enjoy this kind of adventure — easily ten times as many. With only 10 days left, we’d like to ask you to do one more thing — help find the missing people and bring them along. If each of you can reach out to just one more person who shares our interest in the deep, immersive worlds Cyan builds; one more person who is willing to support us before we ship – instead of after, we will easily meet our goal and be able to build Firmament.
We have come this far, let’s complete this journey!
Thank you so much for your support,
The Cyan Team
The studio’s penultimate Kickstarter saw Obduction (2016) brought to life, a game that launched on desktop, PC VR and PSVR headsets. Obduction’s crowdfunding campaign exceeded its initial goal of $1.1M back in November 2013, garnering a total of $1,321,306 with more than 20,000 backers.
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Some of the excitement around Obduction invariably came from the prospect of stepping into a wholly new world built by Cyan, which had previously released both remastered versions, and an additional chapter to Myst. Virtual reality played no small part in its funding either. At the time, native Oculus support was a stretch goal, which the company promised at the $1.3 million mark. The prospect of stepping into a Cyan-built world, created in the tradition of its past games, was nothing short of tantalizing.
According to the recent backer update, the company says that meeting the crowdfunding goal is a prerequisite to building Firmament; if the project falls short, its possible the company will move onto ‘safer’ projects. Considering Obduction was their first title with VR support, the studio has likely taken home plenty of critical VR-specific learnings that could be applied to a game if built from the ground-up.
We’re wishing Obduction all the best, but with only a week to go in the campaign and no publicly playable demo (a short demo is available to backers) it may have a difficult time in repeating Obduction’s success.
Check out a video of the demo below (no commentary), recorded by YouTube user ‘EPICO’.
The post ‘Firmament’ Kickstarter Boasts 10,000 Backers, But Still Needs Over $400K to Succeed appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/firmament-kickstarter-boasts-10000-backers-still-needs-400k-succeed/
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Facebook is Working on a Voice Assistant for Oculus Devices, Portal & More
Facebook is currently developing a voice assistant that could function similar to Amazon Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. Notably, it’s intended to support Oculus headsets in addition to Portal, and “future products.”
Citing several sources familiar with the matter, a CNBC report broke the news yesterday that Facebook is looking to compete with the big platform holders with its own voice assistant.
A Facebook spokesperson later confirmed so much in a Reuters report, saying:
“We are working to develop voice and AI assistant technologies that may work across our family of AR/VR products including Portal, Oculus and future products.”
With little else to go on, it’s still unclear how Facebook intends to implement the AI assistant, and what tasks it will handle in respect to VR users. However if it’s slated to be a multi-product implementation, it could mean wide-reaching abilities similar to what the top voice assistants can achieve today.
Facebook’s upcoming assistant won’t be a first on Oculus devices when it finally arrives though. In March 2017, Oculus released its ‘Oculus Voice’ service, a basic voice input system which includes the ability to perform voice searches from Oculus Home to navigate games, apps, and experiences. It’s still a far cry from saying “Hey Oculus, remind me in 45 minutes to start dinner,” something an integrated voice assistant service might address.
The post Facebook is Working on a Voice Assistant for Oculus Devices, Portal & More appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-working-voice-assistant-oculus-devices-portal/
Resolution Games to Launch Multiplayer VR Party Game ‘Acron’ This Summer
With Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs (2019) fresh out the door, Resolution Games today announced Acron, a new multiplayer game that pits one VR player against a group of local mobile users.
Resolution Games says Acron is expected to launch across several major VR platforms and both iOS and Android devices this summer. The studio hasn’t published screenshots or a trailer yet, so there’s still much to learn about Acron.
Here’s how Resolution describes it:
Through the magic of VR, one player becomes a large, ancient tree that is the sole protector of the ‘seeds of life’ (the Golden Acrons), while the players on mobile take on identities of a gang of rebellious squirrels that band together to strategize on how to best scurry around getting as many nuts as they can. The game will come with multiple levels depicting different nature environments and several characters with various roles for players to become.
The studio says the game is both “competitive and cooperative in nature for players across VR and mobile devices.”
“We’ve always believed that VR is more enjoyable when you can play with your friends and family,” said Tommy Palm, co-founder and CEO of Resolution Games. “ACRON takes that idea even further by allowing players in VR to play with and against opponents on mobile in a social setting. And not only is this game a prime way to introduce people to VR, but I can honestly say this game is the most fun I’ve ever had in VR… and I’ve played a lot of VR games!”
You can follow along with progress on Acron by signing up for updated via the game’s website. While it’s not clear exactly which VR devices will see support, the game’s email sign-up form features a questionnaire denoting the following devices:
Resolution Games is currently set to launch a number of titles on the upcoming standalone headset Oculus Quest, including Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs and Bait!.
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Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/resolution-games-launch-multiplayer-vr-party-game-acron-summer/
Critically Acclaimed Rhythm Action Game ‘Thumper’ is Coming to Quest at Launch
Oculus announced that Thumper (2016), the popular rhythm-action game, is officially coming to Quest at launch.
The company released the news via a blog post as a part of their on-going ‘Quest Countdown’; exactly when the clock is supposed to strike zero, we’re not sure. Oculus still hasn’t appended a launch date to Quest, its $400 standalone VR headset.
Thumper first landed on PS4 and PC back in October 2016, which included optional VR support for headsets such as PSVR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. It then went on to release on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One a year later. Most recently, Thumper was released on iOS and Android in its ‘Pocket Edition’, and on Oculus Go, the company’s 3DOF standalone headset.
“When we first starting prototyping Thumper way back in 2009, gaming VR was just a sci-fi fantasy,” explains Drool designer Marc Flury. “We didn’t realize our psychedelic space beetle experience would feel so perfect in VR. With a fully standalone device like Oculus Quest, the dream feels complete. Now anyone can experience Thumper in VR with no fuss and no compromise.”
The game has garnered plenty of success in its three years of existence, rating ‘Very Positive’ on Steam and commanding a strong [4.5/5] stars on the Oculus Store. Thumper also boasts a near [5/5] star rating on the PlayStation Store.
The studio hasn’t confirmed cross-buy with Rift just yet, although we’re certainly hoping for it.
The post Critically Acclaimed Rhythm Action Game ‘Thumper’ is Coming to Quest at Launch appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/critically-acclaimed-rhythm-action-game-thumper-coming-quest-launch/
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
VR Anime ‘Spice & Wolf’ Launching on Rift, Vive & Go in June
SpicyTails, the Japan-based studio behind VR anime experience Project LUX (2018), celebrated a successful Kickstarter earlier this year focusing on their next VR project that aims to bring the manga/anime Spice & Wolf to VR. Now, the studio says VR users can expect the game on June 3rd.
The launch date was originally slated for May 2019, promising support for Rift, Vive, Go, PSVR and eventually Quest. SpicyTails however announced in a tweet that Rift, Vive, and Go support would be launching on June 3rd, making no mention of PSVR or Quest. Both Quest and PSVR support were stretch goals for the Kickstarter campaign.
【お知らせ】『狼と香辛料ＶＲ』OculusRift,HTC-VIVE,OculusGo版は６月３日に発売予定！ 当初の予定より遅れてしまいましたが、クオリティアップのためにご容赦ください！
“Spice and Wolf VR” OculusRift, HTC-VIVE, OculusGo Edition will be released on June 3! pic.twitter.com/o1LPgTGWrG— SpicyTails@ (@spicytails) April 16, 2019
Spice & Wolf VR managed to get an eye-watering ¥41,479,064 (~$370,000) on Japanese crowdfunding platform Campfire; through its international Kickstarter, the project garnered an equally impressive ¥30,978,009 (~$275,000), bringing the total to over $645,000 to create the game.
Spice & Wolf VR includes original series author Isuna Hasekura, the anime’s original Japanese voice actors, and production staff such as original author Tsukasa Okura, character design by Ju Ayakura, 3D modeling and motion by Keisuke Sakakibara, and voice actors Ami Koshimizu (Holo) and Jun Fukuyama (Kraft).
Here’s a quick peek into just how far along the game has come:
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Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/vr-anime-spice-wolf-launching-rift-vive-go-june/
Google’s VR Painting App ‘Tilt Brush’ is Coming to Quest, Cross-Buy with Rift
Already own a copy of Google’s VR creation tool Tilt Brush (2016) from the Oculus Store? Then you’ll be able to hop right into the company’s intuitive painting app with Oculus Quest, the upcoming standalone VR headset.
The company announced the news today in a Facebook blog post, outlining some of the changes the team made to get Tilt Brush on Quest’s mobile hardware.
“Most of our work porting Tilt Brush to Quest focused on performance improvements. Luckily, some decisions we made early on set us up for early performance wins,” Google product manager Elisabeth Morant says.
The Quest version is said to levy many optimizations that essentially set it apart from the PC VR version, however Morant says Tilt Brush on Quest “should look and feel pretty much the same as the Rift version, with a few small tweaks.”
These tweaks include easier stroke rendering on the mobile GPU, switching stroke rendering from double-sided to single-sided, using the shader to draw the reverse side of the stroke, and fazing out the ‘bloom’ effect as a sketch becomes more complex.
Google also removed a few features that were unique to the PC VR version, one of which is Audio Reactive mode, something that uses a PC’s system audio to make some stroke types undulate to a user’s own music.
“Trade-offs were made during the course of development, but ultimately having a product that runs smoothly on mobile made it all well worth it,” Morant concludes.
Google hasn’t officially announced whether Tilt Brush will be a launch day title for Quest, although they’ve stated it’s definitely coming in Spring 2019. The same goes for Quest at the moment too however, as Oculus hasn’t given a firm launch date yet either.
Facebook’s next big opportunity to announce Quest is the company’s F8 developer conference, which takes place April 30th to May 1st in San Jose, California. We’ll have feet on the ground there, so check back soon.
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Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/googles-vr-painting-app-tilt-brush-coming-quest-cross-buy-rift/
Oculus Job Posts Point to Facebook-built AR Headset on the Horizon
As first reported by PocketGamer, Facebook is advertising a few new posts at its VR subsidiary Oculus, laced with the notion that a Facebook-built AR headset is definitely on the rise.
We knew the company was creating AR headsets behind closed doors—so much was clear from what Facebook’s head of AR Ficus Kirkpatrick told TechCrunch late last year.
“We are building hardware products. We’re going forward on this … We want to see those glasses come into reality, and I think we want to play our part in helping to bring them there.”
Now, Oculus has published a few job listings that make strong mention of ‘AR glasses’, namely Product Designer – AR Platform, Product Design Prototyper – AR Experiences, and Head of AR/VR Marketing Strategy and Operations.
For both product designer positions, Oculus/Facebook says this in the job title:
“Augmented Reality will change our lives as fundamentally as personal computers and smartphones have. AR glasses will let you transcend space, conjure objects and devices into existence and amplify your senses, memory and cognition. Our mission is centered on designing useful technology and getting it out into the world. We are looking for motivated, team-oriented user experience designers who want to change the world and who are able to thrive in ambiguous new design spaces. Join our team of designers who are inventing the future of Augmented Reality and help define wearable AR experiences for Facebook.”
In the job description for the head of AR/VR marketing, the company says “[i]n the future, our AR glasses will merge the physical and digital worlds, blending what’s real with what’s possible, resulting in the next mainstream, must-have, wearable consumer technology.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard AR rumblings from Facebook though.
Business Insider reported in January that the company had moved hundreds of employees from their Facebook Realities Lab experimental facility to a new division centered around creating their AR glasses. The move was confirmed by Facebook representative Tera Randall, albeit without the exact number. One source contends it was in the order of 650 employees. Another told Business Insider it was 400.
Randall also told Business Insider that by moving its employees, it effectively “brought the AR product work into our product org and out of research, now that we are closer to shipping.
Business Insider’s report, another source maintained the glasses were originally scheduled for release in 2020, but was since pushed back to around 2022. Randal disputed this time frame, although stated the company has “an exciting AR road map that includes multiple products.”
There are over a dozen positions currently available across Facebook and Oculus that mention ‘AR’ in their job titles. While some are likely intended to grow the company’s existent offering, Spark AR Studio—a tool that lets creators build interactive AR experiences for Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp—many job seems to include the notion that a wearable AR headset is on the rise.
The post Oculus Job Posts Point to Facebook-built AR Headset on the Horizon appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-job-posts-point-facebook-built-ar-headset-horizon/
These Developers Hacked Knuckles & Vive Controllers to Play MIDI File Music
We’re still holding our breath of the next wave of consumer VR headsets yet to come, namely Rift S, Quest, and Valve Index. None of them have official release dates yet, so some intrepid developers found a way to bide their time by making the Valve and the soon-to-launch Valve Index controllers (ex-Knuckles) hum beautiful MIDI files just for the fun of it.
No, these aren’t using any clever hidden speakers. Developers ‘m3gagluk’ and Climbey (2016) developer Brian Lindenhof made their VR controllers sing using the controllers’ built-in haptic actuators. If you’ve ever seen the Imperial March played on floppy disk drives, you get the basic idea.
Ostensibly, ‘m3gagluk’ was the first to hack the Vive controller to do this, making it play ‘Still Alive’ from Portal (2007).
In a clear act of one-upmanship, Lindenhof posted a retort using recent developer kit version of Valve’s ‘Knuckles’ controllers (the soon to be Index controllers).
Lindenhof is known for his work on Climbey, the VR climbing game that pits you against difficult obstacles courses.
According to ‘m3gagluk’, Vive and Knuckles both use the same actuators you’ll find in Switch’s HD Rumble JoyCons. Since the portable console’s release in 2017, makers have been finding inventive ways to hack JoyCons into playing their favorite tunes, so transferring that knowledge to VR controllers makes a certain amount of sense.
Side note: Actuator-based music is actually an Easter egg in Switch title Kirby Star Allies (2018), where you’ll hear Kirby’s theme song when you beat ‘Extra Planet Z’.
If you’re looking to assemble your own chorus of VR controllers (please do that), ‘m3gagluk’ has published the relevant work on GitHub for all to use.
The post These Developers Hacked Knuckles & Vive Controllers to Play MIDI File Music appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/developers-hacked-knuckles-vive-controllers-play-midi-file-music/
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Monday, April 15, 2019
‘Doctor Who’ VR Experience Gets New Trailer, Will Premiere at Tribeca
The BBC today released a trailer for their latest VR experience Doctor Who: The Runaway, due to premiere at next week’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Update (April 15th, 2019): The BBC have released a new trailer for Doctor Who: The Runaway which gives us a great first peek at the look an feel of the upcoming experience (see embedded video above). It looks to be a polished experience and that intriguing art style looks great in motion. We’ve also got more information on what the experience involves – courtesy of the latest press release:
“You’ve been in a collision. You wake inside the TARDIS. The Doctor introduces you to the person, or thing, you collided with. He’s a strange and magnificent ball of living energy called Volta. Part surly teenager, part bomb, Volta is very unstable. In fact, he’s primed to explode. Big time. Unless he can be returned to his home planet, sharpish. The problem is, a squad of galactic busybodies has other plans for Volta. Bad ones. Drawn into a frantic chase, you become the Doctor’s unlikely assistant as she races against time to get Volta home to his parents. Armed with a sonic screwdriver, it is down to you to help the Doctor as she faces the forces of evil, and teenage angst, in this animated 13-minute VR adventure from the team behind Doctor Who Series 11.”
The full experience is to receive its inaugural showing at next week’s Tribeca Film Festival, taking place in New York from Friday April 26th.
The original article covering the announcement continues below.
Dubbed Doctor Who: The Runaway, fans will get a chance to step into the TARDIS and join the Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) in virtual reality.
According to a press release, the experience is said to last 12 minutes, and will be available on “selected VR headsets in the coming months.” Just which headsets the experience will launch on is still unclear.
The animated VR experience was created by the BBC and Passion Animation Studios, with Whittaker reprising her role as ‘The Doctor’.
Passion Animation was most notably behind the Gorillaz VR music video ‘Saturn Barnz (Spirit House)’ and the 2D theatrical cut of Google Spotlight Stories’ award-winning VR short Pearl.
“Our team at the BBC VR Hub has been creating new experiences with the goal of helping to usher virtual reality into the mainstream, and Doctor Who is exactly the sort of series that can help more people to try this new technology,” says Zillah Watson, head of BBC VR Hub. “The show has been pushing boundaries for over 55 years, and VR enables Doctor Who to explore a whole new dimension of storytelling.”
Doctor Who: The Runaway is said to include new original music from composer Segun Akinola, the mind behind much of music featured in the show’s eleventh season. The 12-minute experience was written by Victoria Asare-Archer and directed by Mathias Chelebourg, whose previous VR films include Alice, the Virtual Reality Play, and The Real Thing VR.
The post ‘Doctor Who’ VR Experience Gets New Trailer, Will Premiere at Tribeca appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/doctor-virtual-reality-experience-land-vr-headsets-soon/
‘ForceTube’ May Not Make Its Kickstarter Goal, But Creators Still Aim to Fulfill Orders
With only a few hours remaining in ForceTubeVR’s crowdfunding campaign, the creators behind the VR haptic gun accessory are facing the facts: either their Kickstarter gains the outstanding €16,000 (~$18,00) for their all-or-nothing campaign to succeed, or they head to ‘Plan B’.
ProTubeVR CEO Romain Armand took to Reddit today to address concerns about just what will happen in the eventuality the campaign doesn’t reach its mark. To Armand, the potential lack of full crowdfunding support doesn’t spell the end for ForceTube though; the company is still seeing the project through as outlined in the campaign.
While the project may have a hard time hitting its €80,000 funding goal with so little time left (currently seven hours), Armand maintains that backers will still be able to get the exact package promised through the campaign at both the same price and order priority advantage. This, Armand says, will only be offered to Kickstarter backers though, which ought to put some fears to rest.
“Backers are safe and will get a ForceTubeVR at the kickstarter price by one way or the other,” Armand concludes.
ProTubeVR is a Marseille, France-based startup that’s been active since 2016, creating several versions of its eponymous modular motion controller accessory. ForceTube was new territory for the company though, as all versions of their previous products were essentially ergonomic controller cradles that allowed for more precise and immersive shooting, but didn’t include any form of integrated electronics.
ForceTube’s haptic engine is said to simulate impact with up to 60 newtons of force, rumble at different intensities, and do it all with a battery life that is said to deliver seven hours on intensive arcade use and more than 10 hours of regular at-home use.
At the time of this writing, ForceTube is said to work natively with a number of shooters, including H3VR, Onward, Contractors, Wardust, StandOut, VirtualBattleGround, and more yet to come. An OpenVR-compatible companion app is also said to ‘sniff’ an actual rumble signal and transfer them to the device “with a wide range of possible settings.”
Since the haptic portion connects to both their ProTube accessory, the company is offering versions for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Windows VR, and Pimax.
Through its Kickstarter the company is still advertising early dev kits for €200 (~$225) with delivery slated for May 2019. The final version (at least for backers) is said to arrive December 2019. It’s uncertain how following through with ‘Plan B’ will effect the delivery times at this point though.
The post ‘ForceTube’ May Not Make Its Kickstarter Goal, But Creators Still Aim to Fulfill Orders appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/forcetube-may-not-make-kickstarter-goal-creators-still-aim-fulfill-orders/
‘Audica’ Adds Official Support for Custom Beat Maps (Using the Game’s OST)
Harmonix has officially released tools and documentation that will help users modify beat maps for Audica (2019), the studio’s recently released futuristic ‘rhythm shooter’.
The new system was created to allow players to re-use Audica’s existent soundtrack, and while the studio calls it “the first step” in creating a more streamlined ‘Audica Creator Initiative’, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see official support for custom tracks. A more laissez faire mod system, tantamount to how Beat Saber (2018) allows mods on PC, could land the studio in some unwanted trouble, the studio says.
“We strive to provide you with the best licensed music in our games, and we cannot jeopardize our partnership with the music industry by supporting or condoning IP infringement of any kind, including mods or customs that use and distribute copyrighted music without the proper licenses,” a Harmonix Discord mod says.
The studio says their long-term goal is to make Community Maps easier to access from within the game itself, possibly by letting users download and rate maps without leaving the headset.
“How far we go in developing this feature will depend on your feedback, so tell us what you think and let’s make something awesome!” the studio says in a blog post.
How to Download & Play Community Maps
Harmonix plans on streamlining this process in the future. With its most recent update though, Audica now features a folder in its game files where users can drop downloaded Community Maps; you’ll also find the tools and instructions for authoring maps there too.
Here’s the default folder location for both the Steam and Oculus Store versions:
- Steam: /steamapps/common/Audica/community_maps
- Oculus Store: /Software/Software/harmonix-project-k/community_maps
Community Maps for Audica’s OST can be found in the #audica-community-maps channel of the official Discord server (invite).
Simply download whatever Community Map you want to play and drag into the game folder community_maps/maps/. Make sure the file name follows the format [short songname]_[map name].[filetype] in order for the map to be read by the game. Eg: destiny_awwbees – Hyper Mode.mid.
Start up the game, and you should see the new map has been added automatically.
Harmonix has also posted a basic guide on how to create custom maps on the Audica website, however the studio maintains users unfamiliar beat map creation “may find the process has a steep learning curve.”
If you’re looking for more help outside of the included instructional file, the company’s Discord server is a good place to start (invite above). Mods aren’t allowing talk about custom tracks though, so you may need to look elsewhere if you’re dead set on blasting away to your favorite songs.
The post ‘Audica’ Adds Official Support for Custom Beat Maps (Using the Game’s OST) appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/audica-adds-official-support-custom-beat-maps-using-games-ost/
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Friday, April 12, 2019
‘Star Wars Vader Immortal’ Confirmed for Oculus Rift in Addition to Quest
Today during the Star Wars celebration event, a panel of creators developing the upcoming Star Wars Vader Immortal confirmed that the experience will be coming to the Oculus Rift, in addition to Quest which was previously confirmed.
Star Wars Vader Immortal was announced last year as a collaboration between ILMxLAB—Lucasfilm’s immersive storytelling arm—and Oculus Studios. The title was confirmed for Oculus Quest at the time, but today it was announced that it will also be coming to Rift.
The experience has been described as a ‘series’, and the only bit that’s been talked about so far is ”episode one’. From descriptions by the team working on the project, it increasingly seems that the title will be more of an ‘experience’ focused primarily on story than a full fledged game. That said, a new trailer shows plenty of lightsaber action and combat, so we’ll have to wait to hear more about the full scope of the project.
This story is breaking, check back for more info as it comes.
The post ‘Star Wars Vader Immortal’ Confirmed for Oculus Rift in Addition to Quest appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/star-wars-vader-immortal-coming-to-oculus-rift-and-quest/
Dent Reality Aims to Bring AR Indoor Directions to Malls, Airports & Retail Stores
Navigating indoors is still a pretty old school experience: you look for a map of shops, bathrooms, and accessibility ramps and follow signs to your desired destination, all the while knowing that the super powered computer in your pocket has lost a core functionality without GPS signal. Dent Reality, a UK-based studio, is creating its own augmented reality-based SDK for iOS to remedy this.
As first reported by 9to5Mac, Dent Reality says its SDK can integrate the map of indoor spaces, figure out where the user is, and use virtual paths and arrows to help you find their destination.
Dent Reality isn’t tackling the monumental task of creating a single ‘everywhere’ app though—that’s something that will likely come from platform holders in a first-party solution at some point. As it is, the company provides its developer SDK and services to help places like malls, airports, and retail stores integrate these features into their own apps. The results do look promising though.
Since the SDK integrates with Apple’s ARKit, the company’s solution doesn’t require Apple’s iBeacons or other hardware, just a user’s phone to visually locate itself and display turn-by-turn directions.
Does all of this look more than a bit familiar? There’s a good reason why. You might have seen a prototype back in 2017, shared by iOS developer Andrew Hart. That’s no mere coincidence; Hart is in fact the creator behind Dent Reality.
That said, Dent Reality isn’t the only company exploring AR-based indoor location services.
Google announced its own first-party system dubbed VPS, or visual position system, back at the company’s 2017 I/O dev conference. The company has yet to release VPS for Google Maps though, leaving the limelight for other creators for now.
Scape Technologies, which recently raised an $8 million funding round, is also building an VPS for smartphones. Much like Google’s VPS, it’s said to marry GPS and AR visual data for more accurate and information-based navigation.
Computer vision company Blippar has released a similar app for iOS called AR City, a free app that you can try now, letting you explore and navigate more than 300 cities worldwide using AR and GPS.
While the technology is poised to change how we navigate indoor spaces, and what information we learn about them along the way, it’s also a prescient look at how immersive head-mounted AR systems could serve up directions in the near future. Whatever the case, the prospect of finding the most direct route to your airport gate, or the nearest wheelchair-accessible ramp is sure to be a welcome change for many.
The post Dent Reality Aims to Bring AR Indoor Directions to Malls, Airports & Retail Stores appeared first on Road to VR.
Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/dent-reality-aims-bring-ar-indoor-directions-malls-airports-retail-stores/
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