Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series is coming to an end with its third episode soon, which ILMxLab says is set to arrive on November 21st on both Rift and Quest platforms.
Over the course of its two previous episodes, ILMxLab & Oculus’ co-venture into cinematic VR storytelling has not only offered up an astonishingly well-realized VR experience, featuring the cinematic world of Star Wars in a way we’ve frankly never experienced before, but has also brought some pretty surprising replay value to the table with its Lightsaber Dojos.
We’re more than a little sad that it has to come to an end so soon, but also earnestly excited to see the conclusion of what has proved to be a high point in the VR medium.
The studio reveals in an Oculus blog post that in Episode III we’re again taken to the fiery world of Mustafar. The studio teases that you’ll “need to use everything they’ve learned so far—both in and out of the Lightsaber Dojo—if they hope to battle their way to the epic conclusion.”
If you’ve played both previous episodes, than you know you’re not only in for lightsaber melee, but also a few force powers such as force push, force grab, and a few other force-related fighting techniques that combine the two.
The blog post also included what appears to be concept art featuring some large-scale battles between Imperial forces and rebels. Take a gander below:
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted (2019), the VR adaptation of the immensely popular horror game, is getting an Oculus Quest version.
Steel Wool Studios co-founder Andrew Dayton announced the news via an Oculus blog post, saying that there’s “lots of work to do” before the studio can announce an official launch date. The studio has however said that it should arrive “soon.”
Steel Wool additionally says it plans on continuing its work in the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe, something originally created by Scott Cawthon in his breakout PC title, which has thus far found its way on nearly every platform including the upcoming smartphone AR game Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery (2019).
On PC VR platforms and PSVR, the studio released the new paid DLC ‘Curse of Dreadbear’, which includes a new Halloween-themed hub and new mini-games and prizes. The studio says weekly content will be added through the month of October.
You’ll find Five Nights at Freddy’s VR on Steam (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Viveport (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Oculus Store (Rift), and the PlayStation Store (PSVR).
FundamentalVR, a company specializing in VR medical training, has closed a £4.3 million (~$5.6 million) Series A funding round in effort to further develop its surgical training and data analysis platform, Fundamental Surgery.
The funding round was led by Downing Ventures, with participation from Epic Private Equity, and Brighteyes Ventures. Leading medical institutions also participated in the funding round, including the world-renowned Mayo Clinic and Sana Kliniken, the third largest hospital organization in Germany.
This brings FundamentalVR’s total investment to $9.3 million, the company says. Its penultimate financing round in 2018, amounting to $1.4 million, coincided with a partnership to develop its VR training platform with Mayo Clinic surgeons and clinical practitioners, as well as its 3D modelling, data scientists and simulation specialists.
Fundamental Surgery, the company’s flagship product, has found its way to a number of medical institutions across seven countries, including Mayo Clinic and UCLA in the United States, UCLH in the United Kingdom, and Sana in Germany with initial training packages focused on the orthopedic surgical disciplines. The procedures it currently supports include Spinal Pedicle Screw, Total Hip Arthroplasty (Posterior), Total Hip Arthroplasty (Anterior) and Total Knee Arthroplasty, the company says in a press statement.
“We identified early on that FundamentalVR’s team was developing a platform that was very special,” Tern CEO, Al Sisto said. “A training and data analysis offering which could revolutionise the skills development of surgical practice, while at the same time creating a database of significant importance to the industry. We are delighted that the value and relevance of this exciting business and its entire staff has been recognised by this outstanding syndicate of new investors we helped solidify.”
Following the most recent funding round, Tern’s shareholding in FundamentalVR comes to 26.9%, with a valuation of £3.0 million (~$3.88 million).
The Official Pimax Day 2 Announcement is here, and today we are revealing the latest news and updates regarding the Pimax 8KX and PImax 8K+ VR headsets, plus a lot more! The Pimax Day 2 will bring you everything you need to know about the new Pimax new VR headsets Pimax 8KX, Pimax 8K+ and accessories coming up. We will bring you the official launch dates, final prices and our first impressions on the products. Our coverage features Kevin Henderson, COO of Pimax and Martin Lammi (SweViver), the Community Relationship manager of Pimax EU. Join our full coverage of the latest news and surpises from Pimax Technologies! For more detailed information about all Pimax VR headsets and accessories, launch dates, prices, order aviability and announcements, please visit our official website and Forums. Official Pimax Website: https://www.pimax.com/sweviver Official Pimax Forums: https://forum.pimaxvr.com Thank you for watching everyone. /SweViver & The Pimax Team #Pimax #PimaxDay #VR #Pimax8KX #Pimax8KPlus Video Time stamps: 00:00 Intro 00:58 Pimax Roadshows & Exhibitions coming up 04:04 The new Pimax website 04:34 The PImax 8KX and Pimax 8K+ 08:45 Through-The-Lens comparisons 11:35 The 8KX vs 8K+ Performance talk 14:17 Orders goes Live! 15:55 Pimax Headset Upgrade Programs 28:32 Controller Upgrade Program 33:45 More Headset Upgrade Programs 41:12 Modular Audio Strap update 43:45 7Invensun Eye-Tracking 48:46 Vision Comfort Kit 50:30 Prescription Lens Adapter 52:12 Free content for Pimax backers 53:25 Pimax 5K+ 120Hz mode is now available 1:00:03 New PiTool Version Update 1:04:21 Pimax Open Source progress 1:05:57 Questions & Answers 1:25:54 Closing Thoughts and Special Thanks
Many awesome Oculus Quest games are upcoming in 2019 and 2020. Here's a list of 25 top VR games. The games' timestamps are below! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 LINKS Oculus Quest (US) - https://amzn.to/2H5ECGx Oculus Quest (UK) - https://amzn.to/2Jip6Zg Oculus Quest (NL) - http://bit.ly/2QlCpd2 (Coolblue) TIMESTAMPS 00:23 - Contractors for Oculus Quest 01:00 - Onward for Oculus Quest 01:36 - Solaris: Offworld Combat VR for Oculus Quest 02:07 - Pavlov Lite for Oculus Quest 02:33 - Population: One for Oculus Quest 03:13 - The Wizards – Dark Times for Oculus Quest 03:58 - Last Labyrinth for Oculus Quest 04:31 - The Under Presents for Oculus Quest 05:13 - Groundhog Day for Oculus Quest 06:04 - Down the Rabbit Hole for Oculus Quest 06:50 - The Curious Tale of Stolen Pets for Oculus Quest 07:30 - Pixel Ripped 1995 for Oculus Quest 08:32 - Pistol Whip Oculus for Oculus Quest 08:59 - Synth Riders Oculus for Oculus Quest 09:30 - Audica for Oculus Quest 10:09 - Boneworks Universe Game for Oculus Quest 10:38 - Death Lap for Oculus Quest 11:17 - BattleWake for Oculus Quest 12:03 - Arizona Sunshine for Oculus Quest 12:58 - Doctor Who – The Edge of Time for Oculus Quest 13:33 - Espire 1: VR Operative for Oculus Quest 14:25 - Phantom: Covert Ops for Oculus Quest 15:14 - Facebook Horizon for Oculus Quest 15:59 - Paranormal Activity The Lost Soul for Oculus Quest 16:43 - Five Night At Freddy's VR for Oculus Quest 17:22 - Question Of The Day & Update SUPPORT THE CONTENT ► Become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → http://bit.ly/PatreonCasandChary ► Become a Sponsor on YouTube (includes exclusive rewards) → http://bit.ly/JoinCasandChary ► Check out our VR Merch → http://bit.ly/casandchary-merch USE OUR LINKS TO SUPPORT US ► VRcover → http://bit.ly/CCVRCover ► VR Prescription Lens Adapters (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCWidmoVR ► Oculus Quest Comfort Strap (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCStudioformVR ► Play PC VR games with your Quest (10% discount code: "JWGTCASCHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCRiftcat ► More on our website → https://casandchary.com/discount-codes-affiliate-links/ OUR GEAR Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary Full PC Specs → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ GET LATEST UPDATES Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their support: - artArmin - BaxornVR - Olemartinorg - Studioform VR - Wintceas - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - D Coetzee MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://bit.ly/CCEpidemicSound 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 the channel, supporting the content at no extra cost to you. If you use it, thank you very much. VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #oculusquestgames #oculusquest #casandchary
Pistol Whip, the upcoming VR rhythm shooter from Cloudhead Games, is set to launch on November 7th. We’ve got a fresh batch of gameplay, this time showing off the game’s dual-wielding mode which amps up the game’s ‘gun kata’ feel.
As we talked about in our preview of Pistol Whip earlier this week, the game goes beyond merely shooting targets to the beat, it also forces you to dodge incoming fire. By default the game gives you a single pistol, but if you explore the modifier section you’ll also find a dual-wield mode. If the default single pistol mode makes you feel like an agent from The Matrix, the dual-wield mode will make you feel like you’re living a scene from Equilibrium:
Two pistols gives you more firepower but also requires that you divide your attention to independently engage targets with each gun while maintaining an overarching flow between shooting and dodging in order to stay on beat. Master this and you’ll be rewarded with an amplified sense of ‘gun kata‘ not found anywhere else in VR. To give you a sense for what it’s like, we captured 15 minutes of Pistol Whip gameplay using the dual-wield mode on the game’s hardest difficulty:
If it isn’t quite clear from the video above, at many points in this gameplay I’m practically down on my knees as I bob and weave to land shots while dodging incoming fire (and I’ll be feeling it in the morning). Especially on the hardest difficulty, Pistol Whip makes you move a unique and fun way. As we talked about in our preview of the game, this movement is crucial to creating a rich sense of embodiment:
With the incoming bullets, the game forces you to be concerned with your ‘near-field’—it heightens your sense of what’s immediately within arms reach. This leads to embodiment (distinct from mere immersion) which is often a component of the best VR games. It’s this bodily movement (the result of necessary near-field spatial awareness) combined with the ‘arms out and shooting’ gameplay which makes Pistol Whip feel unique and not just ‘another rhythm game’.
Check back for our full review of Pistol Whip when it launches on PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest on November 7th.
Remember when Acer’s OJO 500 launched last year? Yeah, we don’t either. In a perplexing move, the Taiwanese tech giant quietly opened up sales for its business-friendly Windows VR headset today, something that was slated to launch back in November 2018.
As far as hard specs go, OJO 500 was always poised to be a Johnny-come-lately, with its dual LCD displays offering a total resolution of 2,880 × 1,440 pixels running at 90Hz, the very same as their previous model (AH101-D8EY) from 2017.
What OJO 500 did offer though was a pretty attractive package for businesses. With its detachable display, washable soft and hard head strap, integrated audio, manual IPD adjustment, and even customizable faceplates, making for a not-so-unthinkable offering for companies looking for a tried and true headset variant boasting Microsoft’s mostly serviceable inside-out tracking.
The headset was last advertised at $400, or €500 in the Eurozone, however starting today you can order from the European-facing Acer stores for €450/£400, as reported by German VR publication MIXED (German).
It hasn’t shown up on North American Acer stores yet, so it’s not sure if the USD pricing has changed at all. And yes, it comes with the standard Windows VR controller.
Acer hasn’t mentioned what’s happening with their higher-res ‘ConceptD’ version of OJO, but if OJO 500 is any indication, we won’t hear much about it either until it releases.
Stormland, Insomniac Games’ upcoming Rift exclusive, is gearing up for launch on November 14th. Along the way, Oculus and Insomniac are throwing out weekly reveals that give us a closer look at what awaits. Last week’s teaser was all about weekly missions and content reveals, while this week’s focuses in on the game’s enemies (both big and small) and its undeniably cool-looking combat.
In the video, we get a look at number of the game’s enemy types, including flying drone swarms, scouts, snipers, sentinels, missile launchers, and two enemy types that thus far haven’t been named: ‘Blitz Troopers’ and the aptly named ‘Goliath Troopers’.
As we’ve seen in our previous trailers, some enemies can be taken down in either conventional ways (pew pew), or by deftly robbing them of their battery canisters. We’re hoping these sorts of avenues for creative tactics are available on other enemies too, but since we’ve never actually had a chance to fight any larger enemies in the demos we’ve played, we simply can’t say.
What we have seen in a trailer released back in August is a pretty rich combat system though, which emphasizes the diverse tactics available to players, such as environmental and ability-based stealth, high maneuverability with smaller weapons, and the head-on approach supported by heavy weaponry.
The studio will be releasing more teaser clips leading up to the November 14th launch. At this point, it feels like we’ve seen a pretty big chunk of the gameplay, and we’re hoping Insomniac has more to peel back over the next two weeks.
It’s that time of the year again, when you bring out the big bag of candy, put on your spookiest outfit, and turn off the lights and pretend no one’s home. It’s Halloween!
And to celebrate, we rounded up 10 of our favorite VR games which span a number of horror and thriller sub-genres.
Coincidentally, most of the games below support SteamVR-compatible headsets and PSVR. If you’re looking for Quest titles, skip to the bottom section for a few choice suggestions.
Red Matter
Take one part Soviet brutalism, two parts puzzle-adventure, mix them up in the low atmosphere of a mysteriously abandoned off-world colony, and garnish with a slice of Cold War espionage. That’s the sci-fi thriller Red Matter (2018) in a nutshell. You’ll find it on all major VR headsets, but the Quest port is by far the most impressive technically speaking, as Vertical Robot has managed to squeeze in an incredible amount of detail on the mobile platform.
The makers of the famous jump scare-tastic Five Nights at Freddy’s, Steel Wool Studios, have done the unthinkable and made a version for most of the major VR headsets (excluding Quest). There’s also some fresh DLC if you’re looking for more reasons to soil yourself.
If you own a PSVR, you might look no further than Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 biohazard (2017), one of the best VR adaptations on the PlayStation Store currently. Sorry folks, but the version on Steam still doesn’t have VR support, so PSVR only for now
Released via Early Access for PC back in 2014, the horror-survival game The Forest (2018) wasn’t supposed to be a VR game, but developing studio Endnight Games have tossed in some pretty serviceable VR support. You can build, fend off cannibals, and play the entire game in VR, including multiplayer. Yes, there’s a PS4 version. No, it doesn’t have PSVR support.
Zombies popping out left and right, dwindling ammo, there’s not much more to say about Vertigo Game’s multiplayer shooter Arizona Sunshine (2017). Ok, maybe one thing: practice your headshots.
Ubisoft and Elijah Wood’s production company SpectreVision got together to make this chilling psychological thriller in 2018. The demented, ever-changing house hides some pretty challenging themes inside.
It’s an oft overlooked oldie (relatively speaking, it’s from 2016), but it’s still a goodie. A Chair in a Room (2016) from Wolf & Wood Interactive is more of a puzzle game with some horror elements to it than a pure horror game as such, but it still has plenty of creepy atmosphere to sop up on the spookiest of holidays.
Stress Level Zero’s Duck Season (2017) is a bit of a mix between ’80s nostalgia and twisted horror; the contrasts here between fun and happy memories and dark imagination of you, a kid at home trying to play the Duck Hunt-inspired game-within-a-game, borders on the schizophrenic. Truly unsettling.
Sólfar Studios’ rogue-lite bow-shooter is drenched in gothic horror. You fruitlessly battle against increasingly powerful monsters with your trusty bow, all in service of an achievement-based progression system that advances between sessions, revealing yet more unseen horrors.
The number of titles available on Quest currently pales in comparison to what you can find on the other, more established VR platforms. That said, there are a few spooky titles worth checking out (besides Red Matter, that is):
Dreadhalls – An oldie in the mobile VR realm, but still extremely capable of putting you on edge as you race down dank dungeon corridors from ghastly horrors in search of a way out.
The Exorcist: Legion VR – A multi-chapter horror-adventure that teaches you about the value of friendship. Just kidding. It’s all about ghosts and exorcism and shit.
Please, Don’t Touch Anything – Ever unintentionally caused a nuclear holocaust? This confangled button-pushing escape room will keep you coming back for more gruesome deaths, including your own.
Face Your Fears II – Not as great as the original, but there’s more than a few classic phobias to confront in this casual adventure game.
Richie’s Plank Experience – Go 80 stories high and walk the plank. Great for a couple of laughs (and screams) at the expense of others.
Update (October 30th, 2019): We’ve overhauled the list to include more spooky games for all major VR headsets. Did we miss your favorite VR horror game? Make sure to tell us in the comments below!
Tis the season of 5G, the next-gen mobile data technology which promises to boost bandwidth and reduce latency. With 5G phones and networks slowly starting to become a reality, carriers would have you believe that the tech is going to radically change the world, and then some. But what does 5G actually mean for VR & AR?
As the cellular industry’s hottest new technology (and hopeful revenue driver), every stakeholder from cell phone makers to chip manufacturers is playing up 5G as the start of a revolutionary shift—and what better way to do so than to associate it with buzz-worthy technologies?
You can Google “5G” along with any other hot technology in the same query and you can find someone telling you that somehow and at some point 5G is going to revolutionize that thing. I’m not even joking. Let’s take a quick survey:
The list goes on and on, and it of course includes 5G + VR and 5G + AR, with terrible articles like this one that fundamentally butcher the relationship between the technologies with sentences like these:
AR and VR depend on decreased latency to run efficiently. The user experience will be amazing with a reduced lag time. With a better UX comes more opportunity. Telemedicine, virtual training environments for business and more will be the result.
In an effort to combat this hand-waving nonsense, let’s talk about what 5G could actually mean for VR and AR. The easy way to do that is to first understand what 5G actually brings to the table.
What Does 5G Mean For You
Quite simply: 5G promises greater bandwidth and lower latency than current mobile data connections offer. It also has the potential to make such high performance networks more accessible to more people.
Exactly how fast and what latency 5G will provide to individual end users won’t be clear until the technology is actually rolled out at scale, but mobile industry marketing would have you believe that 1Gbps download bandwidth and 1ms latency is possible.
To quickly put that into perspective, the average mobile and home connection speed in the US was 33Mbps and 112Mbps, respectively, in January 2019, according to internet metrics company Ookla. As for latency, 35ms for mobile and 5-15ms for home connections are common. Roughly speaking then, 5G could offer 30x and 9x the bandwidth of mobile and home connections, respectively, with 35x and 10x faster latency.
But what in the realm of VR and AR is actually enabled or enhanced with more bandwidth and less latency?
Immersive Video Streaming
Image courtesy NextVR
When it comes to streaming non-interactive 360 or 180 video content to VR and AR devices, one major misconception is that 5G’s low latency will be a huge benefit. In fact, the opposite is much more likely to be true—it’s 5G’s big bandwidth which opens the door to significantly improved quality which would not only improve the immersive video experience of today, but also offer a pathway for further growth as VR and AR displays become higher resolution.
The reason latency hardly matters for non-interactive streaming video content is that headtracking on VR and AR headsets is not coupled to the streaming latency. In most incarnations of 180 and 360 immersive streaming technology, the visual adjustments from the movement of the user’s head are processed locally on the device at a high rate, rather than sending the motion to some remote server and waiting to receiving an updated frame which corrects for head motion.
In fact, on today’s VR headsets you could be in the middle of watching a 360 video and then completely lose connection and the only impact would be that the video would freeze—moving your head would still respond just fine because the scene’s movement with regard to your head is processed right on the device.
There’s some nuance to this: some more sophisticated VR and AR streaming uses ‘view-dependent’ technology which optimizes the quality of the footage specifically in the area that you’re looking (in an effort to minimize the bandwidth bottleneck). High latency in this case could mean that if you turn your head quickly to a new part of the scene, you might notice that the video isn’t as sharp until the higher quality section of the video pops into view. In this case lower latency will make those transitions smoother, but it’s more of bonus than a radical shift in the experience.
When it comes to bandwidth however, 5G could significantly improve 180 and 360 video streaming quality. The most immersive footage—360 3D or full volumetric video—is also the most bandwidth intensive and is used sparingly today in a large part because most users don’t have sufficient connections to stream this kind of content in high quality.
Cloud-rendered VR and AR Gaming
Image courtesy Microsoft
When it comes to interactive VR content, 5G could make cloud-rendered VR and AR gaming possible, but this use-case is still largely hypothetical.
The pitch goes: users will own a simple inexpensive headset that streams high-end PC VR or AR graphics right from the cloud with no PC needed! It sounds amazing, but you aren’t going to see this happen until well after normal non-VR game streaming matures because VR demands significantly higher resolutions and lower latency than non-VR game streaming (which is still struggling to meet the performance needs of competitive gamers).
While latency isn’t really that important in the case of non-interactive video streaming, here it is crucial because what’s being rendered needs to change in real-time based on the actions of the user. So if 5G can truly offer up, let’s say realistically, 4ms or less latency, it really could unlock the cloud-rendered use-case of VR and AR.
But that’s a big if. Not because sub-4ms latency isn’t possible, but because you need that level of latency not just to your nearest connection in the network, but specifically to the location where your frames are being rendered.
If you run a network speed test right now, the test will very likely connect to a server that’s very close to you. Your latency is the round-trip time that it takes to get information to that server and back. If you test again and select a server that’s a few states over, you’ll find something very different. I just did this exercise and saw 10ms of latency to a server in my city and 35ms to a server that’s three states over.
This is to demonstrate that network latency increases as a function of your physical distance to the servers you are pinging. If you want to render VR and AR content in the cloud at low latency, the user needs to be physically close to the location where the frames are being rendered. This is much more difficult to achieve at scale because the frames of an interactive application have to be rendered on the fly.
When it comes to non-interactive video streaming, it’s relatively trivial to distribute the pre-rendered video files to servers across the globe ahead of time, and then serve them over the network as needed. Real-time rendering of VR content requires high-end GPU hardware in each data center from which cloud rendering would happen; each properly equipped data center can only deliver those frames with low enough latency to users who are within a certain physical distance.
That is to say that a single data center in the middle of the continental US, for instance, would have too much latency by the time it reaches the country’s coasts for a viable cloud-rendered experience experience. A distributed cluster of capable data centers (also known as ‘edge computing’) is the key to making this viable; 5G helps by expanding the ‘coverage’ of capable data centers by reducing latency, while high bandwidth makes greater quality imagery possible in this use-case (which will be increasingly important as the resolution of VR and AR devices increase).
Though it may take both 5G and edge computing to make this all possible, the good news is that cloud-rendered VR and AR services can piggyback off the same infrastructure that’s being deployed for non-VR game streaming services like Google’s Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud.
8th Wall, a Palo Alto-based company creating augmented reality development tools, today announced the release of its cloud-based authoring and hosting platform which aims to make it easier for AR developers by providing what it calls a “unified in-browser solution” to create and host WebAR experiences.
Founded in 2016 by ex-Google and Facebook engineers, 8th Wall puts a heavy emphasis on computer vision, machine learning and product development. Throughout its three years of existence, 8th Wall has racked up a pretty impressive résumé, powering WebAR activations for Sony’s Spider-Man, Miller Lite, British Gas, Heineken, Swiss Airlines, Porsche, Red Bull, Time Magazine, LEGO, and Ally + MONOPOLY to name a few.
Now the company is opening its own cloud-based authoring and hosting platform to both new and existing clients, providing a solution to create, collaborate and publish browser-based WebAR experiences. The company also provides templates as well as the ability to work across teams, something that’s fundamental to building an experience when team members are distributed across multiple time zones.
Check out the company’s sizzle reel below to get a better idea of what you can make with the company’s authoring/hosting platform:
Like all WebAR applications, AR experiences powered by the company’s software require no app downloads, essentially removing a big friction point between the app’s creator and its consumer. Accessing WebAR experiences on a compatible mobile device is oftentimes as simple as scanning a QR code or navigating to a URL in your browser, giving you instant access to a miniature AR experience right on your phone.
Early access partner 72andSunny used 8th Wall’s new tools to publish their current WebAR activation for Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi’s “Bra Twist” campaign, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker.
“8th Wall’s authoring and hosting platform is a game-changer for creating in-browser augmented reality and a significant milestone for the immersive web,” said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, CEO and Founder of 8th Wall. “Our SLAM and marker-based AR engine has powered WebAR for partners and developers since its launch last year, but required the use of third party software and the need for a hosted environment to get out to market. This release delivers on the demand from our customers in wanting a single end-to-end solution to create and host WebAR projects.”
The 8th Wall cloud-based authoring and hosting platform is available today for Agency and Business account holders, providing them with the ability to:
Create SLAM and image target-enabled WebAR experiences using 8th Wall’s fully featured text editor with out-of-the-box support for the most popular web frameworks (React, Vue.js, A-Frame, Babylon.js and Three.js), developer keybindings and dark mode.
Collaborate with multiple team members on one project from anywhere in the world and quickly view and resolve conflicts with an in-browser distributed version control system.
Publish and host WebAR projects to different deployment states including a password-protected staging environment, all served globally on the edge for instantaneous and fast viewing of code updates.
You can see a full list of the company’s pricing for Agency and Business accounts here.
Supermedium, the team behind the native virtual reality browser that lets you interact with web-based VR content, says its namesake project is no longer in active development, and that it’s effectively been put “on ice” in search of something that consumers might use in VR on a daily basis.
According to an interview with German VR publication MIXED (German), the company says it’s “not actively working on Supermedium itself right now and exploring other projects.”
“We’ll try to continue to take our approach and design in directions into projects that we think people will want to use more,” a company spokesperson told MIXED.
When asked whether the free VR web browser would receive any more updates, Supermedium’s creators say it probably won’t “in the incarnation of WebVR browser.”
“It’s on ice as it sorta works and is still up, but I think we’ll be trying to solve how to make something that people would want to use VR everyday for and solve a problem,” the spokesperson concluded.
The company, also known as Super XYZ, is the very same behind VR web framework ‘A-Frame’ and was also a part of the original Mozilla team behind the WebVR initiative.
In July 2018, the company raised a seed investment round of $1.1 million, with funding coming from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Boost VC, Anorak Ventures, Candela Partners, Social Starts, M Ventures, Seraph Group, Taimatsu, Outpost VC, Colopl Next, Shrug VC, Andrew Ogawa, and Cantos VC.
Supermedium is available on a range of PC VR headsets, including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets. You’ll find it on Steam and the Oculus Store.
A special thanks goes out to MIXED for providing Road to VR with direct quotes in English.
As of October 25th, Facebook Spaces has been shut down to “make way” for the company’s next try at a social VR platform, Horizon. While Spaces didn’t catch on, it represented some of the company’s finest VR design work to date. Facebook would do well not to forget its lessons.
Spotted by UploadVR, this week marked the end for Facebook Spaces, the company’s attempt to bring the Facebook experience into social VR. A message on the official website makes clear that Horizon, which Facebook showed off last month, is the new social VR priority for the company.
While the platform didn’t achieve traction, it was one of the most thoughtfully designed VR projects to come from Facebook. Not to say that it did everything right; Facebook Spaces was in equal parts a great example of what to do and what not to do in social VR.
A Deeply Spatial Interface
While many VR applications are still struggling to get away from the dreaded laser-pointer interface, Facebook Spaces was built from the ground up for spatial interactions. Just about everything you do in the application happens with a combination of touching and grabbing things within arms reach. This is a great place to start for any social VR application because spatial interaction naturally lends itself to social interaction, in the form of exchanging and collaboratively interacting with meaningful objects.
Image courtesy Facebook
A spatial interface is that much richer when virtual objects are persistent and everyone can participate. Spaces encouraged this sort of interaction from the get-go by allowing anyone in the room to interact with the objects around them. Not only does this create a strong sense of social embodiment, but it’s also conducive to deeper emergent behaviors, like users drawing their own board games for everyone in the room to play.
A Meeting Place, Not a World
Photo courtesy Facebook
Many social VR applications try to do too much at once and lose focus on the value of simply communicating with someone you care about. Games like Rec Room are plenty of fun in their own right, but their complexity means they aren’t a great place to simply be face to face with another person—in the same way that a theme park is a much worse place for catching up with an old friend than a pub.
Facebook Spaces had the excellent idea of not building a world for people to explore, but instead focusing on discrete rooms with features built to facilitate genuine human communication. It did this by using the concept of a ‘table’; a table is a thing which people who know each other gather around, and atop which they share things that are meaningful to them.
The table concept wasn’t just a good social metaphor, it was also a useful design principle. Rather than popping into a big virtual world with miles to roam, Facebook Spaces puts you directly in a seat at the table. This achieves a few things, notably: automatically spacing users at a comfortable ‘social proximity’ while preventing them from accidentally getting uncomfortably close.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in other social VR applications and been engaged in a meaningful conversation only to have it interrupted by one of the participants accidentally teleporting 20 feet away (or worse, into my body). If the goal isn’t to explore a virtual world, but simply to facilitate meaningful communication between people, open-ended locomotion is nothing but a distraction and an invitation for immersion-breaking accidents which kill social momentum.
A Direct Line to the Outside World
Image courtesy Facebook
One of the absolute coolest parts of Facebook Spaces, and one which still has no equal, was the ability to initiate a Messenger video call to friends in the real world. You’d start a video call in VR and your friend would get a ring on their phone in. When they answered, they’d see your avatar and everything in your Facebook Spaces room, while you’d see them in RL through their camera. You could even pull the video window up to the virtual table and your friend could see everything and participate in the conversation.
It was an incredibly novel and interesting way to share VR and avoid a feeling of isolation; after all, if Facebook Spaces only allowed you to communicate with friends who owned a VR headset, it wouldn’t be very inclusive….
If It Isn’t Inclusive, It Isn’t Social
Photo courtesy Facebook
While the ability to video call friends in real life was a great way to make social VR feel open to everyone, this was betrayed by other choices which hampered the adoption of Spaces. One of the key lessons that Facebook needs to learn if it wants to build a genuine social VR platform, is that it needs to be inclusive of the entire VR sphere.
Facebook.com (the website/app) wouldn’t be any good if it was only available on Android phones or only available on Mac. No matter what phone, operating system, or browser you use, you can be part of Facebook.com; as more of your friends join a given social network, the more valuable it becomes to you (this is the ‘network effect’, and it’s a major reason why Facebook.com dominates the social network world.
If any company in the tech space should understand this, you’d think it would be Facebook. Yet Facebook Spaces was only available on Rift and Vive. That meant the platform excluded PlayStation VR and all of Facebook’s other headsets: Oculus Go, Quest, and Gear VR. This is part of a broader issue of social VR fragmentation which has plagued the company.
What’s more, the need to be ‘Facebook friends’ before interacting with anyone in Facebook Spaces stymied use-cases beyond communicating with those you were already connected to. If you wanted to have a meeting with a business acquaintance or a tutoring session with a teacher, both parties would need to be ok with friending each other on Facebook, and then use some other communication channel to facilitate the friending of participants. It was a clunky hassle and an unnecessary barrier to getting people together inside of what was otherwise a very thoughtfully designed space for social interaction.
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It’s my hope that whoever ultimately pulled the plug on Facebook Spaces didn’t just look at the lack of traction and say ‘this was a failure, let’s start from scratch’; there’s a ton of smart design here which would be an absolute shame to leave on the table. From what I’ve seen of Horizon—Facebook’s next attempt at a social VR platform—I don’t have much confidence that the learnings of Spaces will be put to much use, but I’ve certainly got my fingers crossed.
Pistol Whip is described by its creators as a ‘mashup between SUPERHOT VR and Beat Saber‘. While it would be easy to take bits of each but still fail to find synergy, Pistol Whip is indeed a mashup of Superhot and Beat Saber in the best possible sense.
Yes, it seems like there’s a hundred VR rhythm games out there already, and if you’ve found you love, it might be hard to see why Pistol Whip would be worth a shot over a myriad of other options. Shooting and rhythm mechanics have already been mashed together by the likes of Audica and others, so what could Pistol Whip really bring to the table? Quite a bit, it turns out.
While Audica is perhaps the most obvious way of putting the two gameplay concepts together, Pistol Whip presents a more creative approach. Rather than standing in one place and shooting at stationary targets, Pistol Whip has you constantly running forward and shooting at targets that appear around the environment. What’s more, these targets shoot back.
The ‘targets’ here are actually enemies which can take one, two, or four shots to kill, depending upon their armor. And it’s the fact that they shoot back at you which really helps Pistol Whip find a unique synergy between shooting and rhythm concepts. Whereas Audica is essentially a passive experience where you’re shooting targets, in Pistol Whip you need to actively track and dodge incoming bullets while you eliminate threats at the same time.
Enemy bullets fly at you slowly enough to give you time to dodge your head out of the way. As you get used to the timing, you start to proactively move and dodge rather than simply react. As a result you start to ‘flow’ your upper body around as you dodge and shoot your way through each level. You’ll also score more points if you shoot in time with the beat, which means you’ll end up incorporating your own gun movements and trigger pulls into this overall flow. While you’ll surely hear comparisons to Neo’s bullet dodging in The Matrix, the more apt comparison from a pedant is actually Agent Johnson from the same film:
With the incoming bullets, the game forces you to be concerned with your ‘near-field’—it heightens your sense of what’s immediately within arms reach. This is embodiment, which is distinct from mere immersion. It’s this bodily movement (the result of necessary near-field spatial awareness) combined with the ‘arms out and shooting’ gameplay which makes Pistol Whip feel unique and not just ‘another rhythm game’.
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Pistol Whip is a pretty radical departure for developer Cloudhead Games which is known for its linear, story-driven VR adventure series The Gallery. And yet our time with the game shows a level of polish and thoughtful design which makes it clear that having talent and experience in VR in general is—at this stage—more valuable than having experience in a specific genre. Check back for our full review of Pistol Whip when it launches on PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest on November 7th.
Cloudhead hasn’t announced the price of the game yet, but says it will be in line with ‘similar games’ (so we’re guessing $25 or $30). There will be 10 tracks at launch, but the studio says it has plans for more free and paid tracks to be released in the future. Pistol Whip is also slated to come to PSVR at a later date.
EmuVR, the game emulator set in the unmistakably retro VR environment, launched its Light Gun update recently to a pretty resounding reception. To show off the platform’s new light gun support, creator NeoZeroo released a video revealing that not only can you dual wield its ‘Pretendo’ Zappers, but you can actually play multiple games at once for a cross-platform shooter frenzy possible only in VR.
EmuVR’s light gun support extends to many retro systems including NES, SNES, PlayStation, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Dreamcast, and Arcade ROMs such as MAME, Final Burn Neo, etc. Find the full list here.
And no, EmuVR doesn’t come with games. You’ll have to search for those on your own. Its creator however says that it can digest “almost every Retroarch core.” You can see what’s supported in the Game Scanner.
EmuVR is still in beta, and is only available for now by contacting its creator for access to the invite-only Discord channel and download link. It’s free though, and according to its developer, it always will be. EmuVR supports Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.
It’s not clear when/if it will ever come to Steam. InEmuVR’s wiki page, the developer contends that Steam doesn’t allow unofficial emulators, however there are several similar emulators on the platform at this moment such as 3dSens and New Retro Arcade, so it’s unclear where we’ll find EmuVR’s official launch there or elsewhere.
Comments to @ukrift on Twitter. My mum has been sending me things through the post for years, always with no warning or explanation. The parcels can be funny, weird, disturbing, useless and occasionally cool. One fact remains, despite my gentle fun poking in the video, I know she means well.
Oculus Link, the upcoming feature that will let you play Rift games on Quest, is set to launch sometime in November. According to statement made by an Oculus Product Manager, the company is also making Link’s specs available to third parties, meaning you’ll not only have a choice in the matter, but also the confidence that you’re actually buying something designed for the task.
A confirmed Oculus Product Manager, known only by the Reddit handle u/HiFiPotato, had this to say when asked about Link:
“Just to add onto what was stated above, the Oculus Link cable is quite thin and flexible when compared to a standard usb 3 active cable. But length, data integrity, flexibility, ergonomics, and weight were all a factor. We also are releasing the specs of our cable so if a 3rd party wants to build their own and sell it, they are welcome to do so.”
Oculus previously mentioned at Link’s OC6 unveiling earlier this month that most high-quality USB 3 cables should work with Link, so it’s no surprise you won’t be forced to pay the reported $79 for the five meter (16-foot) cable.
Since Oculus is openly making Link’s specs available to third parties though, it’s much more likely we’ll see cables either designed specifically for the task, or at least sporting some sort of ‘Link compatible’ messaging.
Oculus touts their own as bringing a “best-in-class experience with maximum throughput and comfortable ergonomics.”
We went hands-on with Link on Quest back at OC6, and it proved to be an awesome experience, so much so that it actually felt like a native PC VR experience.
It's almost Halloween! Let's celebrate this spooky month together with a Halloween VR live stream. Let's talk about horror VR games while we watch Chary play the murder mystery VR game: The Invisible Hours on the Valve Index. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 This is our weekly Virtual Reality live stream! Our live streams are usually centered around one topic or game, but we can talk about anything. Come hang out and discover the beautiful VR worlds with us! TIMESTAMPS 00:01 - Horror VR games suggestions & jumpscare clips from previous year, plus an introduction to The Invisible Hours. 13:20 - Start of The Invisible Hours playthrough. Unfortunately, the mic sound is choppy here. Sorry about that. It is fixed at this time: 20:16 Today's topic: Halloween VR games (horror, thriller, etc) & The Invisible Hours playthrough SCHEDULE Every Friday at: 🕛 12 PM PT 🕘 9 PM CEST 🕗 8 PM UK Time 🍿 Watch us from within Bigscreen VR too! SUPPORT US Subscribing and watching our videos is by far the biggest support you can give us. However, if you want to do more - you can also donate. All donations go to improving the channel. BUY US A COFFEE & BOOST THE CHANNEL ► One-time donation → http://bit.ly/DonateCasandChary BECOME A CHAMPION (LONG-TIME SUPPORTER) ► Become our Patron (includes exclusive rewards) → http://bit.ly/PatreonCasandChary ► Become a Sponsor on YouTube (includes exclusive rewards) → http://bit.ly/JoinCasandChary USE OUR LINKS TO SUPPORT US ► VRcover → http://bit.ly/CCVRCover ► VR Prescription Lens Adapters (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCWidmoVR ► Oculus Quest Comfort Strap (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCStudioformVR ► Play PC VR games with your Quest (10% discount code: "JWGTCASCHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCRiftcat ► More on our website → https://casandchary.com/discount-codes-affiliate-links/ OUR GEAR Our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary Full PC Specs → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ GET LATEST UPDATES Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary/ Join our Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k A special thanks to these Patreon Champs for their support: - artArmin - BaxornVR - Olemartinorg - Studioform VR - Wintceas - Ztreak - Albert - Ben P. - D Coetzee MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://share.epidemicsound.com/zqM3g 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. VR on! - Cas and Chary VR
The catch is you’ll have to pick it up in-store, as the online shop seems to be entirely out of stock.
There’s almost two dozen stores currently in stock across the US, so you’ll need to reserve it at your local participating Micro Center before you lose the chance.
The headset’s MSRP is supposed to be $400, although you’ve probably seen it around for around the $200 – $250 mark on Amazon, Best Buy, etc. However you slice it though, $130 is pretty much unbeatable.
Image courtesy Micro Center
It’s up to you whether you consider this a catch or not, but Windows Mixed Reality headsets aren’t exactly the top of the line specs-wise, with HP and a gang of other OEMs like Acer, Dell, and Lenovo tossing out similarly kitted VR headsets in October 2017.
All Windows Mixed Reality headsets, HP included, boast better headset and controller tracking than PSVR, which is thanks to a mostly competent inside-out tracking system (i.e. no need for tracking beacons or sensors), although the controller isn’t very ergonomic.
Windows VR headsets (excluding Samsung Odyssey & Odyssey Plus) boast the same basic hardware specs: inside-out optical tracking, dual 1,440 × 1,440 LCD panels, 90Hz refresh, and around a 100 degree field of view.
Although not the most impressive PC VR headset out there, Windows headsets boast SteamVR support, meaning you can play almost any VR game on the world’s largest digital distribution platform. With that in mind, HP’s headset is plenty usable if you’re looking to get into PC VR gaming, making this deal a true bargain basement find.
Thanks goes out to SvenViking for spotting the news!
