Australian publication Stevivor recently sat down with Xbox head Phil Spencer to broach the subject of whether or not the company’s upcoming next-gen console would be matching Sony’s continued VR ambitions with PlayStation 5. The short of it: Spencer says it’s simply not a focus for Scarlett.
“I have some issues with VR — it’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience,” Spencer told Stevivor at X019. “We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and… nobody’s asking for VR. The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”
Firing back at Spencer’s assertion that “nobody’s asking for VR,” Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida maintained Sony is still working hard despite the lack of wide-spread support:
（´-`）.｡oO（we oftentimes work hard to make things that no customers are asking for them）
Later, Spencer took to Twitter to reaffirm his views, saying that while he has played VR games in the past, including Valve’s upcoming Half-Life: Alyx, it’s still not going to be a focus for Scarlett:
Fair feedback. I've said publically, I love how our industry has pioneered: AI, physics, 3D, RT, VR/AR etc. For us, it's about focus on our innovations right now. I've played some great VR games, I got to play HL:Alyx in the summer, amazing. It's just not our focus with Scarlett
Project Scarlett’s big reveal at E3 2019 included no mention of VR support despite it’s fundamentally a VR-ready system, which is based on Zen 2 and Navi processors from AMD, and hailed as “four times more powerful than the Xbox One X.”
It’s not to say we weren’t holdouts for a surprise announcement though, as Microsoft has under their Microsoft Studios umbrella a surprising amount of talent with previous experience in making VR games including Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice), 343 Industries (Halo Recruit), inXile (The Mage’s Tale), Double Fine (Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin), and Mojang (Minecraft).
If there’s a silver lining in all of this, at least Xbox is staying consistent with their messaging from the get-go with Scarlett, as the company had been kicking the metaphorical ‘VR can’ down the road ever since they originally announced their intentions back at E3 2016 to bring “high fidelity VR” to Xbox One X. It wasn’t until June of last year that Spencer dashed all hopes of bringing VR to Xbox One consoles.
And in the end, it’s likely Xbox is focused on more than just bringing a more powerful console to the table, as the company continues its push to acquire first and second-party studios and game titles, improve Xbox Game Pass, and further develop xCloud, the company’s cloud-based game streaming service. Further splitting its attention by adding VR in at this late stage could simply be too much to ask, as Scarlett wouldn’t be able to benefit in the same way PS5 will when it launches with backwards compatibility for first-gen PSVR headsets.
Phantom: Covert Ops is headed to Rift and Quest sometime next year, with no specific launch date yet. If you were wondering what the game looked like on Rift though, wonder no more.
Although gameplay on both Quest and Rift is identical, game director Lewis Brundish says in an Oculus blog post, “[when it comes to visuals, however, we wanted to make the most out of each of the headsets’ unique strengths.”
nDreams say the trailer was captured using Rift. If the footage is representative of what people with greater than minimum spec will see, the studio has clearly had their work cut out for them. In short: it looks awesome.
Just in case you’re wondering, here’s a look at the previously released Oculus Quest gameplay teaser for comparison’s sake.
Among a difference in texture, lighting, and water quality, you’ll notice the Quest gameplay teaser quotes it as coming in 2019. This has been updated in the new Rift gameplay trailer, which advertises a 2020 release date.
If you’re skeptical about whether a boat-based stealth game is going to be cool or not, you may want to check out our hands-on, where Road to VR’s Ben Lang got to strap into a Quest demo of the game.
While Lang thinks the kayak part sounded a bit ridiculous at the time, his demo left him pretty impressed, as the boat mechanic is, according to him, “actually a genius bit of VR design which affords the game an immersive locomotion and interaction system that has huge potential.”
We’re hoping Phantom’s launch date pushback isn’t too deep into 2020, although Brundish admits they’ll be sharing more in the months ahead.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency is slated to arrive December 12th on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Valve Index. Although we got a chance to go hands-on with an early level of Budget Cuts 2 at Gamescom this year, which revealed a new crossbow to the series, the official launch trailer has dropped, and now we know a bit more about how the game has changed.
There’s a few new gadgets seen in the trailer, namely some sort of X-ray vision mod for your seeing glass attachment, grenades, and if the end of the trailer tells us anything, there’s also melee. In the first game, you could technically stab a guard-bot, but that really wasn’t the knife’s main function.
If anything, the sequel looks to include more opportunity for what may be less-than-stealthy combat too, as loads of the guard robots appear to assault you head on.
Here’s what Neat Corporation says about Budget Cuts 2:
TransCorp is about to optimize humanity out of existence, and you must find a way into the belly of the beast to stop their vicious budget cuts. Fight your way through a multitude of new environments and robotic enemies; find new tools and allies along the way. Put an end to the notion of ultimate efficiency before it puts an end to us. Budget Cuts 2 is the conclusion of the adventure you started in Budget Cuts, but is also a self-contained game and easy to get into from a new player’s perspective.
Store pages are already up for Budget Cuts 2; you can wishlist it on Steam (Vive, Rift, Index), and pre-order via the Oculus Store (Rift) for $30.
We recommend this particular bundle over others because it includes the PlayStation Move controllers (an extra $100 if bought separately) which are technically optional but offer a superior immersive experience (or are outright required) in many of the best PSVR games (like Beat Saber). This bundle also includes Blood & Truth which is a ‘must play’ game on PlayStation VR.
If You Already Have PlayStation Move Controllers
If you already have PS Move controllers (or are ok with buying them used inexpensively), the best PlayStation VR Black Friday 2019 deal so far is the PSVR 5-Game Bundle for $200 on Amazon (a 33% discount). This bundle includes the ‘must play’ title Astro Bot and PlayStation VR Worlds (a great package of mini-game experiences for demoing your new headset), in addition to Skyrim VR, Resident Evil: Biohazard, and Everybody’s Golf VR.
Seeing these deals out of stock? Also check the following:
Unlike the Rift S, Oculus is not planning to drop the price on Quest for Black Friday, but the bundled game is effectively a $30 discount since it’s almost certainly a ‘must play’ on the headset. The bundle includes all three Star Wars: Vader Immortal episodes. This sale is already available and will run until January 31st, 2020.
Seeing this deal out of stock? You may be able to find it at these stores (double check the fine print to ensure the Vader Immortal bundle is available):
It’s important to keep in mind the base price of the headset so you can make an informed decision when purchasing. Without an special discount, the Oculus Quest 64GB costs $400 while the 128GB version costs $500, and do not include any bundled games.
Quest was released earlier this year as Oculus’ first all-in-one standalone headset. While it does require a PC to play its own games, users with powerful PCs can also plug it into their computer to play PC VR games via Oculus Link, making it flexible option.
Oculus Quest Black Friday Game Deal
Image courtesy Oculus
Now through 9PM PT on December 1st, Oculus is making available a $90 ‘Thanksgiving Collection‘ with six bundled Quest games:
Moss
Job Simulator
Wander
Fruit Ninja
Real VR Fishing
Racket: Nx
At $90, the bundle offers a 21% discount over the usual $115 collective cost of these titles. If you already own any of the games in a bundle you pay a reduced amount and still get a discount on the titles in the bundle that you don’t already own.
While Valve’s Index headset was backordered at launch earlier this year, a few months later it became available for ‘immediate shipping’ and stock appears to have held steady ever since… until now.
Following last week’s announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, most Index packages—the headset-only, controllers-only, and headset + controller packages—are currently listed as sold out with a ‘Back in Stock Soon’ message in place of the order button.
As for the ‘full kit’ package (headset + controllers + base stations), Valve is advising that anyone ordering today can “expect delivery before December 25th,” nearly a month from now.
Valve sells Index in 31 countries; it isn’t clear at this time if the stock situation reflects availability in all regions or only in the US; we’re checking with sources for a clearer picture of global availability.
While Valve has confirmed that Half-Life: Alyx will be compatible with all PC VR headsets via Steam, the game is expected to play best on Index thanks in part to the advanced finger-tracking capabilities of the Index controllers. Valve also announced that it would be giving Half-Life: Alyx away to any owners of Index hardware (headset or controllers).
I’ve tested various Oculus Link cables on my desktop PC and my laptop and I found a personal favorite, most stable combination. A 23 feet long one! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 The Oculus Link beta has been out for about a week now. And funny enough, it seems to have sold out many cables on Amazon. Thankfully, they are coming back in stock. So in this video, I’ve tested various cables on my desktop PC and my laptop. With this, I hope to give you more choices. There are also some recent updates that you should know about, and I’ll answer some of your frequently asked questions plus give troubleshooting tips on our last Oculus Link videos. TIMESTAMPS 00:01 - Introduction 00:43 - Info for Oculus Link Newbies 01:19 - Recent Oculus Link News and Updates 01:52 - New Oculus Link Setup Instructions 02:13 - Updated Supported Graphics Cards 02:53 - Oculus Link Cable Test & Recommendations 07:15 - Frequently Asked Questions (Troubleshooting Tips) LINKS * My favorite Oculus Link cable setup: ► Anker Powerline 6ft (US) - https://amzn.to/2CUpWqJ ► Anker PowerLine 6ft (UK) - https://amzn.to/2pVOlJA ► CableCreation Active USB Extension Cable 16ft - https://amzn.to/2r938Rf ► AFUNTA 90 degree USB adapter 2 pack (US) - https://amzn.to/37MNWui ► AFUNTA 90 degree USB adapter 2 pack (UK) - https://amzn.to/2XTZN55 ► Oculus Quest Comfort Strap (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCStudioformVR ► Velcro Hook and Loops (US) - https://amzn.to/33rMZUL ► Velcro Hook and Loops (UK) - https://amzn.to/2OS328W These cables work too: ► Anker Powerline+ Nylon 6 ft (US) - https://amzn.to/2DnxSRK ► Anker Powerline+ Nylon 6 ft (UK) - https://amzn.to/2Or0EY0 ► AmazonBasics Double Braided Nylon 10 ft (US) - https://amzn.to/2CTiRGU ► AmazonBasics Double Braided Nylon 10 ft (UK) - https://amzn.to/2OoMZ27 ► JOTO 10ft (US) - https://amzn.to/37GUsCB ► JOTO 10ft (UK) - https://amzn.to/34Diuwc - Get the Oculus Quest (US) - https://amzn.to/2H5ECGx - Get the Oculus Quest (UK) - https://amzn.to/2Jip6Zg - Get the Oculus Quest (NL) - http://bit.ly/2QlCpd2 (Coolblue) - Our full PC & laptop specs → https://casandchary.com/vr-equipment/ - Download Oculus Rift Home App here → https://www.oculus.com/setup/#rift-s-setup - Current recommendated PC specs → https://support.oculus.com/444256562873335/ - USB Deviewer → https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html - Oculus Audio Issues Forum Post → https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/82338/no-audio-when-using-oculus-link 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 ► 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. If you use it, a small referral fee will go to the channel, supporting the content without costing you anything extra. If you use it, thank you very much. VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #oculuslink #oculusquest #casandchary
Having launched VR support for No Man’s Sky (2016) back in August, Hello Games is nearly ready to launch the latest update to the open-world sandbox game, which is slated to include a mess of community requested features and bug fixes for both VR and non-VR players.
Dubbed ‘Synthesis’, the update is slated to arrive tomorrow, November 28th, on all supported platforms including PSVR, SteamVR headsets, desktop, Xbox One, and PS4.
Hello Games’ studio head Sean Murray says in a PS blog post that while the list of changes is quite large in Synthesis, that the studio is working on something “even more impactful.” Just what that will be, we’re not sure.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in Synthesis:
VR Photo Mode: see an amazing vista in PS VR? Shoot it and share it.
VR Creature Riding: saddle up on your favorite pet in full Virtual Reality.
Starship Scrapping and Upgrading: trade in unwanted ships for valuable technologies or add inventory slots to your favourite starship, or spend nanites to upgrade its class.
First Person Exocraft: now available to non-VR and VR players alike.
Multiple Multi-Tools: added the ability for players to own more than one Multi-Tool. Purchased Multi-Tools will be added to the Quick Menu for easy swapping.
Terrain Editor Enhancements: flatten or restore terrain at the press of a button.
Personal Refiner: refine materials on the go, wherever you are.
Multiple Outfits: save a range of custom outfits to quick change into.
New Technologies: long-distance inventory management; mid-air jetpack recharging; emergency warping to flee from combat.
New Base Parts: square is good, triangle is better!
Starship Space Map Enhancements: improved quality and clarity of the visuals.
You can check out the full release notes here, which includes a comprehensive list addressing some VR specific bugs.
You’ll find No Man’s Sky on Steam (Vive, Index, Rift) and the PlayStation Store (PSVR). If you’re wondering whether or not to jump in, make sure to check out our deep dive review to find out why we gave it a [7.5/10].
We’re keeping an eye on the best HTC Vive Black Friday 2019 deals, including the Vive Cosmos, Vive Pro, and original Vive. Don’t blink or you might miss the best sale of the year!
The Best HTC Vive Black Friday 2019 Deals
Image courtesy HTC
HTC has announced its Black Friday 2019 deals but the sale won’t be available until November 28th and then run until December 2nd. Here’s the breakdown:
HTC will be offering a $50 discount on the Vive Wireless Adapter which is compatible with Cosmos, Vive Pro, and original Vive (as long as you get the correct version for each). See the official Vive site on the 28th to nab this deal.
Seeing these deals deal out of stock? Also check the following:
It’s important to keep in mind the base price of the headset so you can make an informed decision when purchasing. Without an special discount, the Vive headsets costs the following:
Vive Cosmos: $700
Vive Pro:
Headset Only: $800
Starter Kit (1.0 base stations & controllers): $1,100
Full Kit (2.0 base stations & controllers): $1,400
Original Vive (certified pre-owned): $400
Vive Wireless Adapter
for Cosmos: $350
for Vive Pro: $350
for original Vive: $300
HTC Vive Black Friday Game Deals
Image courtesy HTC
From November 28th to December 2nd, all Vive headsets will include a 12 month subscription to Viveport Infinity which gives you unlimited access to the company’s Viveport content platform.
Facebook today announced it has acquired Beat Games, the studio behind the hit VR rhythm game Beat Saber (2018). Beat Games is joining Oculus Studios as an independently operated team based out of Prague.
Facebook didn’t release any further info in regards to the terms of acquisition, however the company had some choice words on what it meant to the game’s users on all supported platforms, which includes Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.
Mike Verdu, Facebook’s Director of AR/VR Content, said Beat Games will “continue to ship content and updates for Beat Saber at the same time across all currently supported platforms.”
Concerning the moddablity of game, which is a cornerstone of its functionality on PC VR and to some extent also Quest, Verdu had this to say:
We understand and appreciate the value that modding brings to Beat Saber when done so legally and within our policies. We’re going to do our best to preserve the value that mods bring to the Beat Saber player base. As a reminder, our most recent policy updates give more clarity to how developer mode is intended to be used, such as helping developers build their apps or for enthusiasts to explore new concepts. It is not intended for engaging in piracy or illicit modding, including mods that infringe on third-party IP rights or contain malicious code.
Although not stated specifically, it’s not unlikely that by “third-part IP rights” Facebook is implying the distribution of music and its corresponding beat maps may no longer be sanctioned by Beat Games under Facebook, which has thus far operated in a grey area legally. Sony doesn’t allow modding of Beat Saber for PSVR for the same legal reasons. We’ve reached out to Beat Games to clarify this, and will update when/if we hear back.
As for the road map forward, Verdu says Beat Games has “only scratched the surface with Beat Saber in terms of social features, new modes, music, and more.”
After Sony’s acquisition of Insomniac Games, it’s possible Facebook has begun looking to strategically mark its territory by locking down the rights to Beat Saber, one of the most visible games in VR right now. Facebook thus far hasn’t publicly acquired a VR studio, potentially making this a big first for the company, which is confident in securing what Mark Zuckerberg hopes will one day reach a billion people, even if it’s admittedly taking longer than he initially hoped.
As an indie studio that’s sold well over one million copies of its game as of March 2019, and also signed some fairly high-level deals with bands such as Imagine Dragons and Panic at the Disco!, Facebook’s cash will undoubtedly also provide the studio with a means to secure more and bigger music deals. What Beat Games has up its sleeve next, we aren’t sure yet though, and whether Facebook bought it defensively or offensively is still to be determined.
Insomniac Games, the studio behind VR games Stormland (2019) and The Unspoken (2017), announced its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment back in August, and while we imagined their last independent project was surely the open-world Rift adventure Stormland, it appears the studio had another title sitting ready in the wings for Magic Leap One called Strangelets.
Strangelets is Insomniac’s second ML One title, which follows December the release of Seedling (2018), a game that puts you in the shoes of a space cadet tasked with repairing a dying galactic ecosystem due to the effects of ‘The Schmelling Incident,’ a catastrophic cosmic event.
Playing in the same universe, strangelets (cute alien creatures) find themselves “trapped in pockets between dimensions,” the studio writes in a Magic Leap blog post.
Here’s how Insomniac describes the game:
With the help of a mysterious companion known only as “Bulby,” Strangelets invites players to search their homes for dimensional rifts, reach inside to rescue strange alien creatures, then care for their collection by using harvested energy from real-world objects. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that encourages physical movement through multiple rooms, transforming players’ familiar spaces into a playground of discovery and surprise.
“After the launch of Seedling, our small team of spatial computing pioneers were more inspired than ever by the potential of this new platform,” said Nathaniel Bell, Creative Director for Strangelets and Seedling. “We were ready to dive headfirst into our next experimental experience and to continue collaborating with our passionate partners at Magic Leap. Our goal moving forward was to build on lessons learned from Seedling and to venture into new territories of spatial computing not yet experienced by players.”
It will be interesting to see where Insomniac goes from here, and whether it continues to focus on VR/AR, or keeps its main focus on traditional ‘second party’ games for PlayStation. However it goes, Insomniac is one of the most experienced studios in immersive gaming, so we’re hoping for something good for PlayStation 5 and the next iteration of PlayStation VR to say the least.
ILMxLAB has finally released the concluding episode of Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series. While I’m sad to see the series go, which has exemplified high-quality VR production, I can’t help but feel a tad let down at what could have been a much grander, more adrenaline-filled climax.
Developer: ILMxLAB Available On: Oculus (Rift, Quest) Reviewed On: Rift Release Date: November 21st, 2019 Price: $10
Gameplay
If you’ve gotten this far, I’m assuming you’ve already played both Episode I and Episode II of the story, but if not, suffice it to say that Lucas Films’ immersive media skunkworks ILMxLAB have put forth a highly polished cinematic experience that’s neither pure game, nor pure film. It’s somewhere in between, feeling more like an immersive theme park ride than a game or experience proper.
Ok. So what you’re about to read is a bit negative, but most of the positives from the previous episodes are present here too, like its incredible visuals, awesome voice acting, and immersive atmosphere that truly feels like stepping into the Star Wars universe. But the third episode does compound some things that make it less effective than I would have hoped.
I felt like there was a lot more pause for dialogue and scripted action in the third episode, something that stymied the flow of the adventure in a way it hadn’t encroached upon in episodes prior. That, and a few other gripes, shouldn’t put you off playing the third installment, or even starting from the ground up by purchasing the full trilogy, but I will say I was a bit disappointed that the climax didn’t have more weight than it did.
Image courtesy ILMxLAB
To me, this ‘choppiness’ is really a byproduct of the story’s chosen movement scheme. All three episodes lack a basic freedom of movement in favor of a node-based teleportation system which essentially keeps you waiting for dialogue cues so you can then continue on with the story. You’re led by a number of characters through tight, one-way paths that allow for little improvised exploration, taking momentary pauses for highly scripted action. While this is case throughout all three episodes, in the first two you’re still so far your true objective that you really only focus on the task at hand, be it fighting a rancor or learning a bit about the Dark Side from Mr. Vaderman. You let the story unfold before you because you’re not sure where it’s headed. You need someone to tell you where to go because you’re essentially the new kid on the block.
But as I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I was obstinately reminded that I would always be a captive to the next teleportation node, which only unlocks when the NPC fulfills their part of the exposition or action. I desperately wanted to run ahead into the fray, but instead I found myself constantly waiting for that node to appear. Instead of actually dashing through a fierce blaster battle with stormtroopers and fighting my way through, I was basically a sitting duck in a few different flavors of shooting galleries until an NPC magically allowed me to continue. Here, the third episode would have really benefited from some modicum of user choice when it came to locomotion and possibly even a slightly different pathway through the story, but I suppose that didn’t fit in the budget.
Image courtesy ILMxLAB
The third episode, which is about the same length as the other two, has a few new tricks up its sleeve, this time including conventional weapons such as grenades and blasters, the latter of which is interesting but a bit flawed in execution. Considering these weapons are this episode’s big addition, I really expected more.
Blasters are single-use items, which is fine, but you can’t really aim them effectively; there aren’t any iron sights, nor is the blaster’s scope actually functional, so you’ll just have to shoot by intuition alone (insert stormtrooper accuracy joke here). Adding insult to injury, you can’t actively teleport if both hands are occupied either, and your holsters can’t hold anything besides the single lightsaber in your possession, making your disposable blaster even less appealing as a tool.
Image captured by Road to VR
Although the third episode compounds a few inherent flaws to the series, and possibly even robbed a bit of the fun from its most important battle, it still serves up a nice slice of action with a side order of free-form fun thanks to its ‘Lightsaber Dojo III’, which this time gives you the full range of abilities you learned throughout the series, which includes force grabbing, lightsaber dueling, blaster shooting, and even the chance to toss grenades. All three dojos offer up multiple hours of frenetic action on their own, which somewhat makes up for a less than stellar third episode.
I can’t say I’m the type to play wave-based games for long, no matter how frenetic and engaging the scenarios may be, but I still got plenty of mileage out of the third dojo, as it mashes in bits from the previous two, making it more of a well-rounded combat game. If I had to play only one dojo, this would be it, as it gives you the most freedom to take out a wide variety of air and land-based baddies. If anything, it makes the other two feel redundant, which isn’t actually a great thing. Had there been three different type of free-play sections apart from the actual story portion, it may have offered much needed variety outside of the same song and dance with a different set of bad guys and weapons to use.
Despite feeling a bit letdown by the pacing, the world of Vader Immortal feels truly alive, which is a hard feat to accomplish when you’re given practically zero chance to explore on your own. I won’t harp on it too much, but player agency is a significant piece of feeling immersed in a game or experience. Giving the player a choice, which could be as simple as how to solve a problem or when to interact, can go a long way in feeling more grounded in the world.
Image courtesy ILMxLAB
Not to mention NPC interactions, which when done right can elevate an NPC from talking puppet to something worth protecting. There was really only one instance of this at the end, and it was pretty clumsy to say the least.
That said, graphics are again realized to awesome effect, bringing a level of visual fidelity and intention to the experience that feels more like a prescient peek into the ‘AAA’ VR games of tomorrow. It’s awesome.
Comfort
Without sounding like a broken record from the previous two episodes, teleporation is one of the most comfortable artificial locomotion methods out there, so newcomers and experienced VR users alike shouldn’t find issue with all three episodes.
You do however end up on moving vehicles at points, and provided you haven’t toggled it off in the settings, can be subject to camera shake and one more type of artificial locomotion that I won’t mention to preserve the storyline, which could be uncomfortable if it were more lengthy in duration.
Like the prior two, the third episode is also entirely playable whilst seated; both seated and standing modes can be toggled on and off in the settings.
Seeing this deal out of stock? Also check the following:
Oculus.com
Best Buy
Lenovo
Microsoft.com
Argos
Digitech
CoolBlue
Newegg
Oculus Rift S Price Baseline
Released earlier this year, the Rift S is the latest version of the headset; the original Rift has been discontinued. It’s important to keep in mind the base price of the headset so you can make an informed decision when purchasing. Without an special discount, the Oculus Rift S costs $400/€450/£400. Inside the box you’ll get an Oculus Rift headset and two Touch controllers.
Oculus Rift Black Friday Game Deals
Image courtesy Oculus
Now through October 28th, Oculus is running a sale on Rift games and content. In addition to discounts on individual games, all of which you can find here, the company is also making available an $85 ‘Thanksgiving Collection‘ with five bundled games:
The Climb
Arizona Sunshine
Elite Dangerous
Defector
Racket: Nx
At $85, the bundle offers a steep 52% discount over the usual $180 collective cost of these titles. If you already own any of the games in a bundle you pay a reduced amount and still get a discount on the titles in the bundle that you don’t already own.
The modern era of VR has been around in earnest for about three and a half years now. Though it has clearly demonstrated its potential and is slowly growing, adoption has remained niche compared to the broader mainstream gaming industry. While VR bubbles up here and there, the Half-Life: Alyx announcement and trailer has thrust VR into the spotlight of mainstream gaming; it’s release next year will be the medium’s next opportunity to prove itself.
Racking up more 10 million views across YouTube and Twitter in its first 24 hours, last week’s release of the Half-Life: Alyx trailer is likely the single fastest spreading exposure to VR of its kind (the trailer is now at 12.4 million views and counting).
While there are YouTube videos involving VR which have racked up tens of millions of views (like PewDiePie playing Beat Saber), such viral videos have succeeded on their standalone entertainment value rather than stimulating conversation among mainstream gamers and pundits. The trailer, on Valve’s official YouTube video alone, has generated nearly 60,000 comments. Links on Reddit have seen tens of thousands of additional comments.
The Half-Life: Alyx announcement also saw extensive press coverage compared to any other VR title before it; here’s a small sampling of gaming, general tech, and even major mainstream news publications which covered it:
Most of these publications covered even more than just the announcement trailer, including multiple op-eds and breakdowns of the info that Valve released on Thursday last week.
This is to be expected, of course. The Half-Life franchise is near-legendary, and clearly commands enough attention that even publications uninterested in VR itself felt that they must cover the news.
With Half-Life: Alyx, Valve has made VR something that the mainstream gaming-sphere can’t ignore any longer, says Denny Unger, the founder of Cloudhead Games, one of VR’s most seasoned developers. Beyond Pistol Whip and The Gallery Ep. 1 & Ep. 2, the studio has had a surprisingly close relationship with Valve, a company which rarely works with external partners; Cloudhead was one of a small handful of developers chosen to get access to Valve’s earliest VR dev kits (which would eventually become the HTC Vive) as well as the developer behind Aperture Hand Lab, a tech demo used to show off the unique hand-tracking capabilities of Index’s controllers.
“Up until now there has been an agenda to summarily ignore VR titles within the mainstream gaming press because it generally didn’t drive click-throughs,” Unger tells Road to VR. “With Half-Life:Alyx, it’s impossible to ignore the conversation. And at that point it is simultaneously impossible for flatscreen gamers to ignore VR. They will be forced recognize how the technology has changed, how much better it is than they might otherwise assume, and that VR isn’t simply a peripheral, it is its own medium.”
Image courtesy Valve
VR saw tremendous buzz when the first consumer VR headsets hit the market back in 2016, but the hype far exceed actual adoption. In the time since then, VR has significantly improved in hardware and software, but Unger says that it will have to overcome the lingering sentiment established at launch.
“Of course, the problem here is that we are still battling years worth of antiquated public understanding of where the tech currently sits. You still hear the same old tired arguments about why VR isn’t ready, yet the industry has solved a substantial bloat of issues both in terms of hardware friction and how we interface and interact with VR itself.”
Unger, who has worked closely with Valve over the years, thinks that Half-Life: Alyx, will be just the thing to show the world what VR really looks like in 2020, and even stands to be a proof-point other AAA studios.
“Half-Life: Alyx will smash through so many of the false assumptions & arguments that have blockaded mainstream coverage of VR in recent years. And in doing so, it will also force the AAA industry at large to shift focus. There’s no denying that a great VR experience, when coupled with great hardware, validates the entire medium,” he said. “My personal hope is that with Half-Life: Alyx, the general public and the gaming ecosystem at large will finally accept VR into the fold. Why endlessly spend money on a new monitor or peripheral when you can jump into a completely new medium? VR is ready for prime-time.”
For Unger’s enthusiasm, there’s plenty of mainstream gamers out there who believe that VR still isn’t ready. The word “gimmick” is notably prevalent among dissenting opinions in comment threads by mainstream gamers, though, so far, the overall tone appears to lean more toward excitement and renewed curiosity in VR than pessimism.
One thing is certain: many mainstream gaming and tech publications which rarely (or effectively never) cover VR will be picking up the requisite headsets and hardware to take a good close look at the game when it launches; Half-Life: Alyx will be the biggest opportunity to date for VR to show mainstream gamers why it’s worthy of their attention. No pressure, Valve.
Boneworks, Stress Level Zero’s upcoming physics-based shooter, is slated to launch on December 10th on SteamVR headsets. While we got to see a good slice of the action in the first gameplay reveal trailer earlier this month, the studio recently released a more in-depth look at a near-final build of the game.
In the new video, the studio reveals that the protagonist ‘Ford’ is an employee at Monogon Industries, the makers of an artificial intelligence VR operating system called ‘Myth OS’. In a seemingly Tron-inspired turn of events, you find yourself going through a virtual game “for what seems to be the last time,” studio head Brandon Laatsch says, as you fight things such as zombie-like ‘Null Bodies’, a sort of ‘corrupt’ viral enemy, and what feels like the white blood cells of the entire operation, gun-toting baddies that shoot first and never ask questions.
One of the bigger reveals in the new gameplay video is the new slow motion button, which lets you go into bullet time do you can easily get off more focused shots, or in the case of Node’s Daniel Kim (aka ‘D’), a pretty sweet kickflip reload maneuver. It’s uncertain if the slow motion mechanic will be limited in some way, or whether it will effectively infinite, but it’s definitely making us wish slow-mo was available in every shooter.
What’s also interesting is the general lack of player UI, or a visible HUD for the user. This makes a certain amount of sense since Boneworks is going for a more 1:1 simulation, which is of course despite your superhuman ability to fall long distances and execute your ‘force pull’ power, which let you grab objects from a distance (everyone’s back is thanking them for that concession). A side effect to going the simulation route is more realistic gun-loading, as ‘D’ is seen fumbling a magazine in a tense scramble to kill one of the white blood cell-type enemies.
At the time of this writing, the new video has already garnered more than 1.1 million views on YouTube; in the long wait up to Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx, which launches in March 2020, gamers of all stripes seem to be following the VR space more than ever now. The studio created a similar video for its first VR game Hover Junkers (2016) before its release, which garnered half as many views to date.
Boneworks is launching on Steam for Rift, Vive, Index, and Windows VR headsets for $30. You can wishlist it here.
I explore Sansar worlds and events in VR! This includes a Cyberpunk 2077 world, a nightclub, a Sanrio Hello Kitty world, and more. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 I explore community created Sansar worlds as well as events in this VR gameplay with the Oculus Rift S. I think it's pretty incredible that we can visit anything we want, created by anyone in the world, with just one press of a button. TIMESTAMPS 00:01 - Introduction & Full Body Avatar 01:10 - Sansar VR Popular Worlds - Club Misa Night Club 02:31 - Sansar VR Popular Worlds - Sanrio 04:22 - Sansar VR Popular Worlds - Cyberpunk 2077 06:37 - Sansar VR Event - Tea Party in Sanrio (with real Hello Kitty actress o.o) 10:15 - Sansar VR Event 2 - Sanrio World Opening & Selfie Event 13:07 - Sansar VR Popular Worlds - A Piece Of Paradise Midday LINKS ► Download Sansar here (free) - http://bit.ly/31NCDNT SUPPORT THE CONTENT - Get the Oculus Rift S (US) - https://amzn.to/2Wn20HQ - Get the Oculus Rift S (UK) - https://amzn.to/2HOmcci - Get the Oculus Rift S (NL Coolblue) - https://prf.hn/l/6WJ3bgr ► 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 This video was sponsored by Sansar. Per our guidelines, no review direction was received from them. Our opinions are our own. Links in this description may contain affiliate links. If you use it, a small referral fee will go to the channel, supporting the content without costing you anything extra. If you use it, thank you very much. VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #sansar #sansarvr #casandchary
Arizona Sunshine (2016), one of VR’s early acclaimed titles, launched nearly three years ago on PC VR headsets, bringing with it VR gunplay and zombie-killing like few had ever experienced in the new medium. Arizona Sunshine is finally coming to Oculus Quest, and you’ll only have to wait about a week more.
Update (November 25th, 2019): Vertigo Games and Jaywalkers Interactive today announced that Arizona Sunshine is set to arrive on Oculus Quest on December 5th, 2019. And if your hopes were up for cross-platform multiplayer, unfortunately the Quest version doesn’t support it, with Vertigo citing the reason that it was re-built from the ground-up for Quest.
Arizona Sunshine is now available for pre-order in the Oculus Store with a pre-order discount of 10% running up to December 2nd. DLC is said to arrive on Quest in the following months; a timeline and details will be announced shortly.
Check out the new screenshots below:
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Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Original Article (June 10th, 2019): Arizona Sunshine is a co-op VR zombie shooter which launched at the end of 2016, not long after the first wave of consumer VR headsets hit the market. Despite its age, the game has remained a frequent community recommendation for those looking for some zombie shooting and co-up fun in VR.
Since launch, the game was brought to PSVR and adapted for VR arcades. And soon Oculus Quest owners will get to jump into Arizona Sunshine too. Vertigo Games says the release date for Arizona Sunshine on Oculus Quest will come some time in 2019, but has yet to confirm a specific date.
From information the studio has provided so far, it sounds like both Campaign mode and Horde mode on Quest will offer co-op with 2 and 4 players, respectively, just like other versions of the game. That said, we don’t yet know if Arizona Sunshine will support cross-play with any of the other versions, or cross-buy on Oculus.
Arizona Sunshine on Oculus Quest will also get ‘The Damned’ DLC when the game comes to the headset later in the year, but it’ll come first to PC headsets and PSVR on August 27th. Today the studio release the first gameplay footage of ‘The Damned’:
Set before the story of the main game, ‘The Damned’ brings a new mission to Arizona Sunshine which Vertigo Games says is the game’s largest yet. Players will infiltrate a zombie infested hydroelectric dam (see what they did there?) to return power to a missile defense system. The price of the DLC has yet to be announced.
