The listing specifies two models, a 64 GB variant priced at $299 and a 256 GB variant priced at $399.
Image captured by Road to VR
If these are indeed authentic prices for the new Oculus Quest, it would represent a substantial reduction over the first Quest, which fetched $400 and $500 for the 64 GB and 128 GB versions respectively when it launched in May 2019.
The Oculus Quest 2 was first revealed in leaked images back in late July; with Facebook Connect (ex-Oculus Connect) happening on September 16th, it suggests we could see a product launch or pre-order campaign in about two weeks. We’ve sent a request to Facebook for confirmation, so we’ll update this soon.
Multiple Leaked Photos Show Possible Quest 2, September Reveal Rumored”]
The listings also appear to have placeholder images of Oculus Go headsets, something Facebook has already vowed to retire in its quest (pun intended) to go full 6DOF from now on. It’s important to note that the entire listing could be filled with placeholder information, although it’s safe to say Walmart is getting ready to list something.
Notably, the ‘Point Reyes’ name is entirely new. It was previously thought that Quest 2 was operating under the codename ‘Del Mar’, which was discovered in developer documentation back in March 2020, however it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Del Mar name was referring to an intermediate iteration of the Quest 2.
There’s almost a month to go before before Star Wars: Squadrons lands on PSVR and SteamVR headsets, and you may be wondering how the space dogfighter will appeal to people who aren’t strictly coming for its online multiplayer. EA has published a new trailer that shows off some of the game’s single player mode now as well.
The single player mode sweeps you through a conflict between the shattered post-Return of the Jedi-era Empire and the newly-created Republic, putting you in the perspective of pilots on both sides. You’ll get a chance to fly all eight of the game’s star fighters, which we’re hoping provides players with enough action to keep it from feeling like a big tutorial.
Although the new trailer puts a heavy emphasis on gussied-up theatrics and cutscenes, there’s a bit of gameplay here too about half way through the video.
EA’s Motive Studios shows off an early Imperial mission where you fly a TIE fighter and eliminate perimeter defenses on your way to escort another ship to a jump point. It also highlights a bit of the game’s post and pre-mission chats with NPCs, and mentions bombing runs and ambush missions too.
Star Wars: Squadrons is set to launch on October 2nd for $40 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Pre-orders are now available.
Vertigo Remastered is a story-driven shooter with experimental asymmetric co-op mode. It's made by developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, an ex-Valve employee who also co-developed Moondust: Tech Demo and The Lab Hands-On. Let's check it out together! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary Today's topic(s): - Vertigo Remastered Game Introduction - Vertigo Remastered First Impressions with asymmetrical co-op! - Let's talk further about last week's news LINKS - Get Vertigo Remasterd here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1318090/Vertigo_Remastered/ NORMAL SCHEDULE (except today) Every Friday at: 🕛 12 PM PT 🕘 9 PM CET 🕗 8 PM UK Time 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 ► 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: - BaxornVR - Wintceas - Studioform VR - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - Steve Dunlap - Thomas M. Rice - Andy Fidel - VR Balance MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://share.epidemicsound.com/zqM3g DISCLAIMER This video is not sponsored. Links in this description may contain affiliate links. We may earn from qualifying purchases from these links (without costing you more). VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #vertigoremastered #valveindex #casandchary
While Facebook would like users to think that hanging out in Horizon is no less private than being in a public space, there’s several huge differences.
First, all the users in Horizon are involuntarily recording each other. The last few minutes of everything that users see and hear is recorded on a rolling basis. Facebook says this recording is stored on the headset itself, unless one user reports another, at which point the recording may be sent to Facebook to check for rule violations. The company says that the recording will be deleted once the report is concluded.
Second, anyone you interact with can invite an invisible observer from Facebook to come surveil you and your conversations in real-time to make sure you don’t break any rules. The company says this can happen when one user reports another or when other “signals” are detected, such as several players blocking or muting each other in quick succession. Users will not be notified when they’re being watched.
And third, everything you say, do, and build in Horizon is subject to Facebook’s Community Standards. So while in a public space you’re free to talk about anything you want, in Horizon there a many perfectly legal topics that you can’t discuss without fear of punitive action being taken against your account.
Facebook laid out these observation and moderation tools in a “Horizon Safety Video” and explained them in further detail in an interview with Road to VR.
Transparency & Authenticity
Facebook loves to throw around the word “transparent” with regard to its stand on privacy and user tracking, and they seem to have truly taken the word to heart… after all, what’s more “transparent” than an invisible stranger that may or may not be watching you at any given moment?
Facebook also loves to use the word “authentic.” And what could make a community more authentic than ensuring that all users are constantly recording each other and are just a click away from sending behavior they don’t like to a corporation for analysis?
“Unsettling” is the word that comes to my mind when I think about these features. Yes, Horizon should be a place where people can come and have fun without fear of being trolled or exposed to vile behavior, but is the introduction of another fear—potentially being monitored at any given moment without your knowledge—really the best answer? I don’t think so.
Corporate-approved Behavior
The thing about real public spaces is that what happens in them—beyond what’s outright illegal—is up to the people inhabiting the space. In Horizon it feels much more like the space is making the rules, not the people. And in this case, the space is Facebook.
Facebook’s approach to privacy in Horizon is not much different than if the company tried to police real public spaces by using the Facebook app on everyone’s phone to constantly record their conversations just on the off chance that someone breaks the corporation’s approved social guidelines.
Before I thought about it much, when it came to privacy, I was roughly in the camp of ‘what’s to worry about if you have nothing to hide?’. But at one point someone said something utterly simple that made me understand the naivety of that position: “If you knew you were being watched every time you searched for something on Google, would it change what you searched for?”
My answer is a definitive yes, and I think any honest person would agree. Even though I’m not searching for anything illegal, simply the act of being watched would change my behavior. And this is precisely the issue with Horizon’s privacy model… even if nobody is breaking the rules, being watched—or the possibility of unknowingly being watched—changes behavior.
Don’t Blink—This is the Start of the Metaverse
And you still might say “so what, Horizon is just a game.” But the most important thing to understand about all of this is that Horizon is Facebook’s proto-metaverse. The company has been quite public about its goal of bringing one billion people into VR; the privbacy norms Facebook is establishing now will deeply influence the way those billion people interact with each other in the future. Should Facebook get to write the guidelines for how they communicate and decide how private their conversations should be?
The highly anticipated Oculus exclusive, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is finally due to launch this holiday. A new trailer shows the game’s emphasis on both action and narrative.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond has been in development by Respawn Entertainment for nearly three years, making it one of the most anticipated Oculus exclusive titles to date. The game is due to finally launch this holiday season.
Today the game got a brand new trailer which gives us a much better look at gameplay and story than anything previously released.
Oculus today revealed the narrative premise of the game along with some other details:
Through VR, players will be transported into the boots of a combat engineer who is recruited to join the OSS — Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the modern CIA created to conduct espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines during WWII. Alongside a cast of new and returning characters from throughout the Medal of Honor franchise, players will experience missions that will take them from Tunisia to across Europe, participating in some of the biggest moments of the war.
A major goal of Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is to “to be grounded and emotionally authentic, to be as true as we can to the experiences of people that fought through it and lived through [WWII],” according to Respawn’s Peter Hirschmann, who wrote and directed the original Medal of Honor (1999).
While the latest marketing focuses heavily on the game’s narrative authenticity and single player campaign, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is also planned to have a fully-fledged multiplayer mode, which we’ve unfortunately still not heard much about. With the game due to launch in less than four months, there’s surely more details to come ahead of launch.
Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is set for holiday 2020, but a more specific release date hasn’t been announced. The game will be available exclusively on Oculus PC.
Facebook is soon to launch the invite-only beta of Horizon, on Quest and Rift, the company’s latest attempt at creating a first-party social VR experience. We previewed the beta and got to see several user-created mini-games and explored the built-in creation tools.
Horizon is designed as a place for Oculus users to hang out, play together, and create together. You can apply to join the beta here, which Facebook says will begin opening up “in the coming weeks.”
Rather than being one continuous space, Horizon is organized into discrete rooms called ‘Worlds’ which can support up to eight players at a time.
Everything in Horizon has been built with integrated creation tools which allow users to make their own rooms with hand-crafted 3D models and basic scripting, allowing for the creation of some surprisingly complex mini-games. Horizon also allows for real-time collaboration, enabling users to build and test Worlds together.
I had the chance to jump into Horizon, see some of the user-generated Worlds in action, and take a look at the integrated creation tools that make them possible.
Starting in the Plaza
The Plaza is the area where you’ll first appear when you launch Horizon. In the Plaza you’ll find links to ‘featured’ Worlds, which are hand-picked by Facebook. You can also call up the Horizon menu from a button on your wrist and use it to browse and search for other Worlds.
Moving from the Plaza to another World is as simple as clicking a button and waiting a few moments while the new World loads. If you’re in a Party with other Horizon players (up to eight), you’ll all end up in the same instance of a World if you visit at the same time.
Worlds as Mini-games
While Worlds can be as simple as decorative spaces, they can also be fairly complex mini-games thanks to built-in scripting which allows creators to imbue their creations with game logic. In my preview I got to see several examples of mini-games built inside of Horizon.
One was ‘Balloon Bash’ a playful shooter game where each player picks up a water balloon gun and runs around the map shooting down targets worth various points. After a time limit expires, the total points are listed to determine the winner of the round.
Another World I visited, ‘Interdimensional’ was built as an escape-room like experience with multiple puzzles designed for two players. One of the puzzles was a chamber with a cube and symbols on each wall. The goal of the puzzle was to guide a cube into boxes inside the room by changing the direction of gravity and causing the cube to move in the direction of each box. The challenge is that only the player outside of the room has the gravity controls, which means the players need to work together to figure out which controls to activate in which order to achieve the goal.
Creating Worlds
One of the coolest parts of Horizon is that the tools for making new Worlds are built directly into the platform and are easy enough to use that you don’t need to be a 3D modeler or a game designer to figure out how to get started.
When in creator mode you can become a giant to work on large-scale structures, or scale yourself down to work on little details. The core of creating is Horizon is a set of light-weight modeling tools which allow you to combine and modify primitive shapes to build environments and props.
Many of the features you’d hope to see are there: grouping, painting, basic texturing, plane snapping, and axis sliding & rotation. There’s also arrays, which allow you to quickly and precisely duplicate objects or groups of objects, making it easy to make repeating structures like stairs, windows, or entire buildings.
Basic scripting is also possible in Horizon, allowing creators to add game logic to their Worlds. I haven’t had the chance to dive into the scripting tools yet, but from my experience as a player, it seems that they can enable some surprisingly complex behaviors.
For instance, in the water balloon launcher game I played, the launchers would shoot a water balloon with the pull of the trigger, but holding the trigger down allowed the launcher to charge up and shoot further upon release.
In the escape room puzzle game, there were buttons outside of the room which would change the direction of gravity acting on the cube (but not the rest of the world), causing it to fall in different directions.
I’ve also seen Worlds where one object could be used as a sort of ‘remote control’, meaning the movements of one object would be mirrored by a much larger object. This allowed players to ‘puppeteer’ a large robot at a distance.
Building Together on Both Headsets
Unlike some other VR creation tools, creating Worlds in Horizon is not limited only to those running the app on PC. Both Rift and Quest have full access to creation tools, and can even work together collaboratively.
In Horizon you can add friends as collaborators to your Worlds and work with them side-by-side in real-time. While you’re modeling a skyscraper, your friend can work on the colors, or take your completed skyscraper, duplicate it several times, and then arrange the buildings into a cityscape. Or you can both work on an entirely different part of the world while bouncing ideas off of each other.
– – — – –
From my hands-on time with Horizon so far, it feels like a cross between the mini-games of Rec Room and the user-generated creations of VRChat. I expect that Horizon’s collaborative building tools will be nearly as popular as simply experiencing the Worlds on offer, thanks to the relative ease-of-use and collaboration capabilities.
Facebook says it expects that one day Horizon will support many people in one World, but for now there’s a limit of eight. And while its nice that Rift and Quest users can play and build together, unfortunately Facebook isn’t yet committing to supporting any other headsets—making Horizon more of a ‘social Oculus experience’ than a ‘social VR experience’.
People say Facebook is absorbing Oculus, so let’s talk about what’s changed & how this can impact your decision on buying Oculus headsets. We'll also talk about what to expect from Facebook Connect and how to attend for free! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:19 What's Changed 02:33 What Happens To Your Oculus VR Data 03:34 More Context: Facebook Taking Over Oculus Timeline 06:14 What's Causing The Controversy 07:17 My Opinion 10:41 Facebook Connect: How To Attend For Free 11:03 Facebook Connect: What To Expect 12:30 Outro LINKS - Attend Facebook Connect here: https://www.facebook.com/facebookrealitylabs - Oculus' announcement of Facebook requirement + FAQ: https://www.oculus.com/blog/a-single-way-to-log-into-oculus-and-unlock-social-features/ - Facebook Connect announcement: https://tech.fb.com/introducing-the-new-facebook-reality-labs-plus-save-the-date-for-facebook-connect-on-september-16/ SOURCES used for this video - CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/oculus-co-founder-luckey-says-it-wasnt-my-choice-to-leave-facebook.html - RoadToVR: https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-research-becomes-facebook-reality-labs-creating-faster-leaps-ar-vr/ https://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-expands-on-hyper-realistic-virtual-avatar-research/ - UploadVR: https://uploadvr.com/oculus-division-facebook-technologies/ - FB: https://about.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/ - MCVUK: https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/oculus-becomes-a-division-of-facebook-technologies/ 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 ► Oculus Quest Comfort Counterweight (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → https://bit.ly/studioform500 ► 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: - BaxornVR - Wintceas - Studioform VR - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - Steve Dunlap - Thomas M. Rice - Andy Fidel - VR Balance - Nathan Schmidt MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://bit.ly/CCEpidemicSound DISCLAIMER This video was not sponsored. Links in this description may contain affiliate links. We may earn from qualifying purchases from these links (without costing you more). VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #oculus #facebook #casandchary
Qualcomm and Ultraleap today announced a “multi-year co-operation agreement” that will bring Ultraleap’s controllerless hand-tracking tech (formerly of Leap Motion) to XR headsets based on the Snapdragon XR2 chipset. Ultraleap claims to have the “fastest, most accurate, and most robust hand tracking.”
Snapdragon XR2 is Qualcomm’s latest made-for-XR chip which the company has touted as being the ideal foundation for standalone XR headsets.
The leading standalone VR headset, Oculus Quest, has been increasingly focusing on controllerless hand-tracking as a means of input for the device. Other major headset makers, like Microsoft and its HoloLens 2, have also honed in on hand-tracking as a key input method. As industry leaders coalesce around hand-tracking, it becomes increasingly important for competing devices to offer similar functionality.
But hand-tracking isn’t a ‘solved’ problem, making it a challenge for organizations that don’t have the resources of Facebook and Microsoft to work out their own hand-tracking solution.
Over the years Qualcomm has been working to reduce the barrier to entry to making a standalone XR headset by offering ready-made technologies—like inside-out tracking—alongside its chips. Now the company is announcing that its XR2 chip will be optimized for Ultrealeap hand-tracking out of the box.
While Qualcomm and Ultraleap have previously worked together on this front, the Ultraleap hand-tracking solution offered through Qualcomm was tied to Ultraleap’s hand-tracking hardware. The new announcement means that Ultraleap’s hand-tracking software is being offered independent of its hardware. This makes it a more flexible and cost-effective solution, with the hand-tracking software ostensibly making use of a headset’s existing inside-out tracking cameras, rather than requiring an additional cameras just for hand-tracking; this also frees up two of XR2’s seven supported camera slots for other uses like eye-tracking, mouth, tracking, and more.
Qualcomm and Ultraleap say the hand-tracking tech will be “pre-integrated” and “optimized” for XR2. It isn’t clear if this simply means that Ultraleap hand-tracking will be available as a service in the XR2 software stack, or if XR2 will include special hardware to accelerate Ultraleap hand-tracking, making it more power and resource efficient.
Despite being a years-long leader in hand-tracking technology, Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion) hassn’t managed to get its solution to catch on widely in the XR space. Now that hand-tracking is seeing greater emphasis from leading companies, Ultraleap’s camera-agnostic solution on XR2 could be the moment where the company’s hand-tracking tech begins to find significant traction.
After six annual Oculus Connect conferences, Facebook is rebranding its XR developer event with the name Facebook Connect. This year the event will be held online on September 16th.
Although it no longer bears the Oculus name, Facebook says that Facebook Connect will continue to focus on the company’s XR efforts. Ostensibly the company’s other events, like F8, will still focus on Facebook’s broader portfolio of services. The rebranding announcement comes just after the company announced that its VR headsets will eventually require the use of a Facebook account.
The Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in Facebook Connect being shifted to an online event this year, which Facebook announced today will be held on September 16th. The online event will be free for anyone to attend; keynote presentations and sessions will be broadcast on the Facebook Reality Labs Facebook page.
While most sessions will be pre-recorded, Oculus’ Chief Technology Officer, John Carmack has confirmed that his longstanding unscripted keynote will be delivered live. This comes despite Carmack having lessened his commitment to Oculus last year when he announced that he was moving to a “consulting CTO” role to focus most of his time on other projects.
Mark Zuckerberg on stage at Oculus Connect 3
Besides an avenue to connect with XR developers, Facebook has long used Oculus Connect (now Facebook Connect) to make major announcements about upcoming games, hardware, software, and its long-term vision. Facebook is expected to announce the next Quest headset at this year’s event, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a formal launch of Horizon, the company’s first earnest attempt at a metaverse-like VR social experience. As with years past we’d also expect to get an update from Michael Abrash, the Chief Scientist of Facebook’s XR research division, on the company’s R&D efforts.
Iron Man VR, the PSVR exclusive superhero game which launched last month, has received a free update with an iron fistful of improvements.
Announced on the PlayStation Blog, and available now, the v1.06 Iron Man VR update brings a heap of improvements ranging from new weapons, game modes, skins, and faster loading times.
Players who beat the game already will have access to the New Game+ mode which allows them to start the game anew with all of their previously earned upgrades. That ought to make it easier for players that want to tackle the game’s harder difficulties. Speaking of which—the update also adds a new ‘Ultimate’ difficulty that’s even harder that the previous highest difficulty of ‘Invincible’.
The new game mode and difficulty will pair quite nicely with the addition of four new weapons added to Iron Man VR in update 1.06:
Continuous Beam Repulsor
Allows you to sustain a beam for several seconds, dealing continuous damage as long as it’s held.
EM Charge Cannon
It can fire a charged shot right through the hardlight shields of those pesky Skull, Revenant, and Wight drones.
Micro Swarm
A ‘fire-and-forget’ intelligent anti-swarm weapon, great for disabling large groups of enemies.
Gravity Bomb
Creates a singularity that traps multiple enemies in a single location and is perfect for setting up a devastating shot from the Scatter Shot or Anti Armor Missile!
Iron Man VR update 1.06 also brings with it some much requested quality-of-life improvements. For one, the studio says that the game’s long loading times, which were widely decried, have been improved “across the board.”
When replaying missions, players will now also have the option to skip cinematics without loading the entire cinematic first, further reducing the amount of time that players must spend in loading screens.
The update also makes two of the game’s side-missions skippable right out of the gate, allowing players to get to the game’s core campaign content more quickly.
And last but not least, update 1.06 to Iron Man VR adds eight new armor skins which are unlockable by completing eight new challenges.
– – — – –
In our review of Iron Man VR we called the title VR’s “first great superhero game,” and scored it an 8.5 out of 10.
Iron Man VR isn’t perfect, but it’s the most complete and compelling VR superhero game to date. Studio Camouflaj has crafted a experience which feels whole by successfully weaving unique VR gameplay with an iconic character and a worthwhile story. Most of the game’s ideas are well executed—especially its break-neck yet comfortable flying mechanics—including a few unique moments which you might not have expected from this game.
SideQuest got another major update! So in this video I'll let you know what's new and I'll explain how to sideload on Oculus Quest again, this time with the new design. ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 The developers asked me to make a new video because of this update. As I love the work they do, I’m happy to support them with one. Plus I want to keep my promise to keep you all up-to-date with SQ. Previous SideQuest guide (with streaming & recording - see timestamps): https://youtu.be/reH55tb9w84?t=593 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:55 - What You Should Know About Sideloading 01:43 - What's New In This Update: https://www.reddit.com/r/sidequest/comments/icmxsn/sidequest_update_with_loads_of_new_features_3/ 03:01 - Step 1. Download & Install SideQuest: https://sidequestvr.com/#/setup-howto 04:17 - Step 2. Register as a developer on Oculus: https://dashboard.oculus.com/organizations/create/ 05:12 - Step 3. Install The Drivers: https://developer.oculus.com/downloads/package/oculus-adb-drivers/ 06:22 - Step 4. Enable Developer Mode and Reboot 07:26 - Step 5.Connect A USB Cable, example cable to use: Anker Powerline 6ft - https://amzn.to/2CUpWqJ 08:01 - Step 6. Launch SideQuest & Allow USB Debugging 09:15 - Step 7. Sideloading Games & Apps & How To Launch It LINKS * - Previous SideQuest guide (with streaming & recording - see timestamps): https://youtu.be/reH55tb9w84?t=593 - Get an Oculus Quest here (US): https://bit.ly/oculusquest-cc - Get an Oculus Quest (UK): https://amzn.to/2Jip6Zg - Get an Oculus Quest (NL): http://bit.ly/2QlCpd2 (Coolblue) 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 ► Oculus Quest Comfort Counterweight (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → https://bit.ly/studioform500 ► 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: - BaxornVR - Wintceas - Studioform VR - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - Steve Dunlap - Thomas M. Rice - Andy Fidel - VR Balance - Nathan Schmidt MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://bit.ly/CCEpidemicSound DISCLAIMER This video was not sponsored. Links in this description may contain affiliate links. We may earn from qualifying purchases from these links (without costing you more). VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #sidequest #oculusquest #casandchary
Into The Radius is a survival shooter where you explore a post-apocalyptic open world. It was in early access for a while, but fully released last month. Let's check it out together! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary Today's topic(s): Into The Radius Full Release Gameplay LINKS - Into The Radius VR: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1012790/Into_the_Radius_VR/ NORMAL SCHEDULE (except today) Every Friday at: 🕛 12 PM PT 🕘 9 PM CET 🕗 8 PM UK Time 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 ► 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: - BaxornVR - Wintceas - Studioform VR - Andy - Albert - Ben P. - Steve Dunlap - Thomas M. Rice - Andy Fidel - VR Balance MUSIC Music we use is from Epidemic Sounds → http://share.epidemicsound.com/zqM3g DISCLAIMER This video is not sponsored. Links in this description may contain affiliate links. We may earn from qualifying purchases from these links (without costing you more). VR on! - Cas and Chary VR #intotheradius #valveindex #casandchary
VR games are difficult to market, especially when they don’t fit obviously into existing genres. Here’s 12 gems you may have overlooked but are well worth your consideration.
Updated – August 21st, 2020
The Paradox of VR Game Development
There exists a paradox of sorts in the VR game development landscape: many of VR’s most interesting games just don’t look like the sort of non-VR games we’re all familiar with. By not obviously fitting into existing genres—the ‘shooter’, ‘RPG’, ‘racer’, ‘puzzler’, etc—it’s very difficult to actually market such titles, no matter how excellent they may be.
The result, as I’ve found over the years, is a surprising number of ‘indie VR gems’: VR titles which are much better than their lack of noteirty would suggest. Oftentimes these games are rated exceptionally well by those who give them a chance, but getting people to decide to try them in the first place is the real challenge.
This is a double bummer because it’s these very developers—who are thinking outside the box and discovering what native VR games actually look like—which we should supporot if we want to accelerate the maturation of VR game design. Indies are usually working with small teams and shoestring budgets; if they don’t at least break-even with each VR project, it’s unlikely that they will be able to justify a followup and continue to help push VR game design forward.
So, if you want to help VR succeed, and have some fun in the process, take a careful look at these 12 indie VR gems and consider giving them a shot. I would be blown away if everyone doesn’t find at least one title they think is worth owning in this list. And you have little to lose here if you’re using Oculus or Steam; both have very reasonable refund policies: if you find out the game isn’t for you and you’ve played it for less than two hours, you’re entitled to a full refund within 14 days of your purchase.
Indie VR Gems
Real quick: this list isn’t intended to be comprehensive, nor is it scientific. In the VR space most developers fit the definition of ‘indie’ (those which aren’t working with a publisher). For the purposes of this article, I’m loosely defining an ‘indie gem’ to mean ‘a VR game which deserves more attention than it receives’, whether or not it is from a recognizable VR studio. Without further ado, and in no specific order:
Fujii is part walking simulator, part puzzler, and part meditation. The game presents a serene world which somehow manages to offer a feeling of exploration without traversing huge distances. As you explore and solve light puzzles, you’ll discover new plants and bring their seeds back to your garden. The garden acts as a persistent ‘home’ space which you can cultivate and customize to your liking by planting and watering your plants. Fujii does so much right in design and aesthetics. Nearly everything you do feels good, thanks to intuitive interactions and expert use of sound, animation, and haptics. This is a game which delivers a sense of delight just by being in its world.
Compound is a randomly generated rogue-lite shooter with a style all its own. Something about its 8-bit artwork manages to feel totally authentic and while still somehow completely at home even in the medium of VR which is so far removed from the 8-bit era. This is a challenging game; lethal and unforgiving enemies bring a heightened sense of immersion as you’ll need to be on high alert to prioritize and eliminate threats to succeed. Luckily you’ve got an array of interesting and fun weapons, each with its own sense of character.
While a handful of better known flight simulators exist with optional VR support, the vast majority are made for keyboard and mouse input or peripherals like flight sticks. VTOL VR sets itself apart by being made from the ground-up for VR and motion controllers. So set your HOTAS aside and bask in the feeling of interacting directly with the controls in your cockpit as you operate critical aircraft functions, identify targets, and engage enemies without needing to buy niche peripherals to make it all feel great.
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (AKA H3VR) [Early Access]
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, also known as H3VR, is a VR sandbox for the gun aficionado. With more than 300 unique weapons in the game, you could spend hours just exploring the detailed custom sounds and interactions of each gun, right down to individually chambered rounds, folding stocks, fire modes, and adjustable iron sights. With heaps of modular accessories, you can do everything from the realistic—like adding sights, grips, and lasers to your favorite assault rifle—to the unholy—like turning a pistol into a kitbashed sniper rifle. Once you’ve got your arsenal sorted out, you can hit the shooting range, play a heap of mini-games and activities, or make up your own. Though H3VR launched in early access in 2016, its developer has been actively updating the game ever since, regularly bringing major new content additions and improvements over time, like the Team Fortress 2 weapon set.
Sprint Vector is a racing game that offers a sense of speed and mobility that’s hard to find anywhere else in the VR gaming landscape. Channeling elements of arcade racing games like Mario Kart with a Mirror’s Edge sense of flow, Sprint Vector’s unique take on ‘arm swinger’ locomotion is a revolution in its ability to maintain comfort even while you’re cruising at breakneck speeds—and it can be a good workout to boot. Alongside a competitive racing mode, the game also offers time trials which challenge you not just to be fast, but also to be creative as you look for new routes to shave precious seconds off your record. This game’s strong visual presentation is topped off by an excellent soundtrack.
Panoptic is a stellar asymmetric VR game where one player wearing a headset takes on the role of a giant and menacing ‘overseer’ while another player outside of VR plays as a tiny saboteur who attempts to blend in with roaming NPCs and destroy key objectives without being discovered. Thanks to VR, the overseer’s embodied presence and giant scale feel exceptionally imposing to the tiny non-VR player, creating tense moments where a single slip-up could lead to a suspenseful cat-and-mouse chase. The overseer may be powerful, but they can’t watch everything all at once; with a blend of strategy and cunning, the saboteur can prevail. The need for only one VR headset makes Panoptic a great game for sharing some of VR’s unique fun with friends who don’t have VR headsets themselves. While the game currently only supports local multiplayer, we found that Steam’s Remote Play Together feature makes it pretty easy to play Panoptic together online.
FREEDIVER: Triton Down is a short but worthwhile narrative adventure about an oceanographer who gets caught in a capsized research vessel after discovering something unexpected in a cave in the ocean depths. The game is built entirely around a unique ‘swimming’ locomotion system which is more than just a way to get the player from A to B; not only does it allow you to seamlessly navigate in 3D space underwater, it creates a built-in tension between movement and survival as the player has to surface for air or risk drowning. This effectively puts a time limit on puzzle solving which is always in the back of your mind, especially as the oxygen indicator on your arm beeps as it gets closer to 0%. Thanks to engaging interactive elements and thoughtful VR design, this is an adventure worth taking.
Virtual Virtual Reality is a narrative-driven VR game with an intriguing concept that’s worth seeing through to the end. As the name implies, you’ll find yourself popping in and out of various levels of virtual reality to navigate the game’s light puzzle elements while experiencing its strong art direction, writing, and interaction design. The developers include “an artichoke screams at you” among the game’s ‘key features’, which ought to give you an idea of the comedic flavor within.
Electronauts is half game, half tool, and wholly unique. It’s a VR music mixing game which lets you tap into your inner musical creativity even if you don’t have any idea how to play an instrument or make music from scratch. Each song in the game is effectively a ‘kit’ which includes various backing tracks, vocals, and unique instruments. Even though the game does much of the heavy lifting behind the scenes to keep everything in the right key and on beat, you’ll be surprised at how much freedom you have to make each song your own. While there’s no ‘objectives’, there’s much satisfaction to be had at managing seamless transitions between song segments, creating instrument loops that add a new flavor, and one of my favorite challenges: bringing each song to a smooth conclusion. Electronauts is an incredible way to experience the magic of music, and with multiplayer (on the Steam and Oculus Rift versions of the game only) you can even jam with a friend.
Racket: Nx is a polished and high energy game which feels like a futuristic mashup of racquetball fused with elements of Breakout. Players stand at the center of a 360 degree arena with neon targets that pulsate to the game’s excellent soundtrack. With racket in hand, players smack the glowing orb to destroy some targets while avoiding others. There’s some depth to hitting the orb too: you can slice it to give it spin, or give it an especially firm smack to send it roll along the wall for bonus points before it finally bounces back. Powerups and portals add additional variety. Racket: Nx can be a good workout, and is great for playing with VR friends thanks to cross-platform multiplayer between all versions of the game.
Until You Fall is a procedurally generated rogue-lite that’s all about melee combat. You’ll battle your way through a string of rooms populated with enemies of increasing difficulty. Eventually, inevitably, you’ll die. At the end of each round, you’ll respawn in a hub space where you can spend money you’ve earned on new weapons and upgrades, making you stronger for your next bout. The game successfully fuses VR sword combat with meta-game elements in a way that no other VR title has yet managed. Combat is underscored with a sense of deliberate strategy that can change from one encounter to the next, especially depending upon which weapons you choose to bring into battle.
As a VR mech game, Vox Machinae strikes and impressive balance between playability and immersion. It feels like a simulator, but manages to be almost as easy as an arcade game to pick up while remaining challenging to master. It’s controls and systems are intuitive enough that you can grasp the basics in a match or two, but that doesn’t stop the game from delivering a incredible sense of immersion thanks to its interactive cockpit and unique mech control model. Even now, two years after its early access launch, Vox Machinae remains arguably unmatched in immersion by any other VR mech game.
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Surely this list only covers a fraction of VR’s indie gems—let us know your own picks in the comments below!
While Oculus doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of understanding how well individual apps are performing across its VR storefronts, it’s possible to glean some insight by looking at apps relative to each other. Here’s a snapshot of the top 20 Oculus Rift games and apps as of August 2020.
Some quick qualifications before we get to the data dump:
Paid and free apps are separated
Only apps with more than 100 reviews are represented
Some apps may have benefited from early hardware bundling (like Robo Recall and Lucky’s Tale)
Rounded ratings may appear to show ‘ties’ in ratings for some applications, but the ranked order remains correct
Best Rated Paid Oculus Rift Apps
The rating of each application is an aggregate of user reviews and a useful way to understand the general reception of each title by customers.
