Survival-Exploration Game ‘Space Pirates and Zombies 2’ Launches Out of Steam Early Access November 7th

Space Pirates and Zombies 2, a single player, space-based survival-exploration game from indie studio MinMax Games, is officially heading out of its year and a half-long stint in Steam Early Access on November 7th, including its fully featured VR port that supports the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

The third-person Space Pirates and Zombies 2 (SPAZ 2) may differ in gameplay mechanics from its top-down predecessor, Space Pirates and Zombies (2011), but it also includes a virtual reality mode that lets you play the entire game with SteamVR-compatible headsets.

In SPAZ 2, you must survive in an evolving post apocalyptic Galaxy where fuel is scarce, and you have to scavenge to survive. Hundreds of fleets populate the Galaxy, all with their own AI captains imbued with the ability to do everything you can.

Because resources are inherently scarce, factions form and split, conflicts erupt due to starvation; stronger factions establish and defend territories, set up resource hubs, and establish star bases. Some factions become bandits to survive.

According to MinMax, when factions meet, “combat is usually the result. While the strategic side of SPAZ 2 is about exploration, territorial control, and faction building, the action side of SPAZ 2 is about ship construction, tactics, and salvage.”

Game Features

• 200 persistent Captains that are able to do everything the player can, including forming dynamic factions, building structures, controlling territory and going to war.
• A truly living galaxy that is not player-centric, developing differently each game through the interactions of the agents.
• Build your own faction from nothing.
• Randomly generated modular parts. Build the mothership that suits your play style, on the fly, in seconds.
• Strategic ship building. The mass, location and shape of parts all matter, making ship design a meaningful decision.
• A fully physics-based 3D environment where everything is destructible, takes damage from impacts, and can be grabbed and even thrown at enemies.

Check out the gameplay video below to get a better sense of what the game has to offer VR players.

The post Survival-Exploration Game ‘Space Pirates and Zombies 2’ Launches Out of Steam Early Access November 7th appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/space-pirates-zombies-2-launches-steam-early-access-november-7th/

Unreal Engine 4.18 Update Brings Native Support for ARKit and ARCore, SteamVR Support for Mac

Epic Game’s Unreal Engine is making it easier to create for augmented reality in the newest 4.18 update, now including official support for Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore software dev kits, and support for SteamVR on Mac.

‘Production-ready’ support for Apple’s ARKit working on iOS11 was initially announced during Apple’s iPhone 8 and iPhone X unveiling last month. Epic has however provided experimental support in their game engine for ARKit since Unreal Engine 4.17, but the new 4.18 update represents what Epic calls “significant changes” since the prior version went live back in August.

Announced on the Unreal Engine blog, the company says they’ve “streamlined workflows [for ARKit projects] making use of existing framework components, added robust handling of the passthrough camera, and increased fidelity by improving performance and prediction.”

Unreal Engine 4.18 now contains official support for ARCore developer preview too, Google’s answer to ARKit that provides a similar AR function to Google’s new Pixel 2 smartphones and soon more Android phones running 7.0 Nougat and above including Samsung S8 line.

In the 4.18 update, the game engine also includes native SteamVR support on Mac, making the same well-worn PC interfaces available on Mac and adding the ability to easily transfer projects between the two platforms.

Apple announced Valve was bringing SteamVR support to Mac during the company’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) back in June, showing the audience the power of the company’s new VR Ready 27-inch iMac. Apple featured a demo running on the HTC Vive that was created by Industrial Light and Magic. Using Epic’s Unreal Engine VR Editor, they showed how developers could build VR content inside of VR itself, using Star Wars assets.

Unreal’s support for SteamVR on Mac comes alongside support for Metal 2, Apple graphics API which is getting the special VR treatment too. Apple says Metal 2 can bring up to a 10x increase in draw call throughput over the prior version, and it will include a VR-optimized display pipeline.

Check out full release notes here.

The post Unreal Engine 4.18 Update Brings Native Support for ARKit and ARCore, SteamVR Support for Mac appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/unreal-engine-update-brings-native-support-arkit-arcore-steamvr-support-mac/

Coatsink Introduces You to the Voices Behind ‘Augmented Empire’ in New Mini-Documentary

Augmented Empire (2017), Coatsink’s cyberpunk RPG, launched earlier this summer exclusively on Samsung Gear VR. Now the studio, which is also known for the Esper puzzle game series, has released a mini-documentary featuring its cast of high-caliber voice actors, including Kate Mulgrew, Nick Frost, and Doug Cockle.

While the mobile VR platform has its graphical limitations, oftentimes its things like storytelling and voice acting that set a game apart from the pack, and Augmented Empire has it in spades. Coatsink’s mini-documentary takes you into the studio to see the actors hard at work, and even hear a bit about their experiences playing their roles.

Featuring Kate Mulgrew as ‘Jules’ (Voyager, Orange is the New Black), Nick Frost as ‘Chris’ (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), and Doug Cockle as ‘Mund’ (The Witcher: Wild Hunt, Horizon: Zero Dawn), Augmented Empire throws you head-first into New Savannah, a city starkly divided by class.

As the player, you control your team from the armchair of your secluded hideout, all in effort to overthrow the corrupt elite. Controlling several characters through the game’s ‘augmented reality’ interface, you follow the story of the world of top-tier citizen, Willa Thorne, on her journey to lead a team of misfits and criminals to survive the world’s brutal underbelly and callous ruling class.

We haven’t had a chance to review Augmented Empire, but our friends over at UploadVR gave it a solid [8/10], saying the game is “a rare treat for a mobile VR game in that it offers a ton of content, a compelling narrative, and cleverly designed encounters that really challenge you while maintaining a fun and well-designed gameplay loop.”

Augmented Empire is out now on Samsung Gear VR on for $9.99, £7.99 and €9.99.

The post Coatsink Introduces You to the Voices Behind ‘Augmented Empire’ in New Mini-Documentary appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/coatsink-introduces-voices-behind-augmented-empire-new-mini-documentary/

DEMON BABIES ARE THE WORSE! (HALLOWEEN SPECIAL WEEK) | Don't Knock Twice VR Gameplay (HTC Vive) #2

In our first Halloween special video we show you guys the 2nd episode of Don't Knock Twice VR. This time Chary is finding things that she does not like AT ALL. Subscribe to join our adventures! → https://www.youtube.com/c/caschary?sub_confirmation=1 In this video we show you our 2nd episode of Don't Knock Twice VR horror game. If you like scary stories, then this one is definitely for you. Don't Knock Twice is based on a movie where you have to unravel the mysteries of the house where a mother is looking to reconnect with her estranged daughter. Which attracts the attention of a demonic witch. This virtual reality reminds us A LOT of AHS. Maybe not American Horror Story season 7, but definitely like season 1 (if you are an AHS fan as well). If you want to know what we think of this game, check out the first episode! Link down below. ► First episode here → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35eRK5HbbZY ► Get Don't Knock Twice VR here → http://store.steampowered.com/app/328590/Dont_Knock_Twice/ [Steam Description] Don't Knock Twice is a first-person horror game based on a psychologically terrifying urban legend. One knock to wake her from her bed, twice to raise her from the dead. Supports VR on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift for the ultimate horror experience! More HTC Vive Gameplays and Reviews → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYl0nceTmYU&list=PL86GNGPnZ0siwDr9AoFLro8NF4CnAqSYx More VR Horror Reactions and Gameplays → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvDr6dgcL34&list=PL86GNGPnZ0sg54WJScQ5j7uR-E7Wm--Ne ► Like what we do? → https://www.patreon.com/casandchary ► Twitter → https://twitter.com/CasandChary ► Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/casandchary ► Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/casandchary ► Discord → https://discord.gg/YH52W2k A special thanks to our Patreon SUPERHEROES for their amazing support ❤: - Daniel L. Much love, Cas and Chary VR #DontKnockTwice #VR #Scary #Horror #AmericanHorrorStory

Easily Browse Oculus Store Sales and Free Games With ‘Oculus Store Spoofer’

When games insufficiently deliver on critical features, modders tend to fill in the gaps with their own solutions—part and parcel of the gaming world. Doing exactly that, but for the Oculus Store, a third-party website finally lets you filter the store’s content by every game currently on sale and even see every free experience neatly listed from A to Z.

Created by Reddit user ‘SecretGibbon’, Oculus Store Spoofer delivers something the Oculus Store simply doesn’t: a full alphabetical list of every game on the store, its price, a list of every free game, and the option to see what’s on sale right at this very moment.

While the Oculus app offers more flexibility when it comes to searching games, the company’s web portal is still sorely lacking in a search function, presenting only a smattering of game categories that you have to wade through in order to find whatever game or experience you’re looking for. Up until now, to find anything outside of the Oculus app, you pretty much had to manually Google search ‘Oculus‘ + ‘the name of the game‘.

To find every free game, simply type ‘free’ into the search field. A filter menu also lets you find all games currently on sale including their original price and new sale price. The site still doesn’t let you filter by genre, which could make it a little more useful, but when it comes to seeing a sober, un-curated list of what’s available, we haven’t seen anything as easy.

Oculus is serving up its Rift Core 2.0 beta sometime in December which will see a complete overhaul of Home and likely the Store too, so here’s to hoping the Oculus web portal gets a make over as well.

The post Easily Browse Oculus Store Sales and Free Games With ‘Oculus Store Spoofer’ appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/easily-browse-oculus-store-sales-free-games-oculus-store-spoofer/

‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Room-scale VR Fan Remake Puts You Face-to-face with Freddy Fazbear

Just in time for the spookiest time of year is a new VR fan remake of Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014) that brings some of the horror of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza to room-scale VR. Although it only gives you two nights (and an “extra special” Halloween night), there’s no better price than ‘free’ for a quick pre-Halloween thrill.

Created by indie dev ‘Dielji’ for the HTC Vive with support for Oculus Rift + Touch, the demo places you in the back office of Freddy’s, the kid-friendly fun time pizza joint complete with animatronic sing-song robots.

Following the original Five Nights at Freddy’s, your job is to watch the security cameras from your monitor with only a small amount of electricity available each night, putting you in precarious situation of keeping the lights on, the security cameras working, and the security doors closed from the screaming wrath of the possessed animatronic beasts. If Freddybear or his pals aren’t where they should be, you’ll have to switch through each monitor feed to stop them in their tracks.

While there are several VR fan remakes available going as far back as the Oculus Rift DK1 days, the most famous of which is One Night at Freddy’s, this seems to be the first room-scale adaptation.

Deiji maintains the demo, which is rightly named Vive Nights at Freddy’s, will be expanded to a full 5+ nights, “and may include a few twists and turns of its own.” The demo even features a clever resizing tool so you can fit the game’s room-scale-sized back office to your individual playspace.

‘Vive Nights at Freddy’s’ for Vive and Rift

Here’s a quick how-to guide on what to expect:

Using the trigger of the Vive controller, remove the time card for the night you wish to play from the time card receptacle located to the right of the punch-clock. Insert your time card into the slot on the underside of the punch-clock, then firmly press the button on the top of the punch-clock to begin the night. Hold the power button down to keep the monitor on (gotta conserve power after all!) and press the buttons below the monitor to switch feeds. There are buttons next to the doorways on your right and left to control the doors and hallways lights. Good luck!

Note: Other people watching your gameplay will see a map showing the locations of the animatronics and other useful information. If you prefer to keep your viewers in suspense, you can toggle this display on and off by tapping the “M” key on your keyboard.

 

The post ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Room-scale VR Fan Remake Puts You Face-to-face with Freddy Fazbear appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/five-nights-freddys-room-scale-vr-fan-remake-puts-face-face-freddy-fazbear/

Microsoft Opens Mixed Reality Capture Studios & Academy in San Francisco Reactor Space

Microsoft today announced the opening of its Mixed Reality Capture Studios and a ‘Mixed Reality Academy’ in the company’s San Francisco Reactor dev space.

Microsoft has a number of Reactors, or physical spaces that are open and free of charge to host technical events like hack-a-thons and meet ups; available across five spaces in four different locations—San Francisco, New York, London, and two locations in Redmond, WA. The San Francisco location, located at 680 Folsom in SOMA, will play host the flagship Mixed Reality Capture Studio and the company’s first Mixed Reality Academy.

Microsoft’s first MR capture studio in Redmond has recorded thousands of performances and turned them into ‘holograms’ over the course of its 7 years of existence, capturing the likes Buzz Aldrin, George Takei, Reggie Watts, and Max Frost to name a few.

The ultimate goal with Mixed Reality Studios, says Microsoft, is “to make high-quality holographic captures accessible for mixed reality creators everywhere.”

The company is also licensing their MR capture studio, with the first licensed location opening in London in partnership with Hammerhead and Digital Catapult. Microsoft expects to license its MR capture studios in other major markets worldwide.

The Mixed Reality Academy aims to provide an opportunity for developers to get their hands on code, tutorials and lessons. Alex Kipman, chief inventor of HoloLens, says the MR Academy “serves as a community hub for creators to come together, collaborate, learn, and help us fuel this new era of computing – the era of mixed reality.”

To learn more, visit Microsoft Academy for upcoming events.

The post Microsoft Opens Mixed Reality Capture Studios & Academy in San Francisco Reactor Space appeared first on Road to VR.

Ream more: https://www.roadtovr.com/microsoft-opens-mixed-reality-capture-studios-academy-san-francisco-reactor-space/