Want to step into the iconic red boots of Sonic the Hedgehog? This fan-built VR experience will let you do just that, and with some serious attention to detail that Sonic fans are sure to appreciate.
Coming to the annual Sonic Amateur Games Expo (SAGE) 2020 in September is a new VR experience that lets you jump into a number of original Sonic the Hedgehog Zones. Called Virtua Sonic, users will be able to fight classic enemies, collect rings and use the terrain to your advantage to achieve high speeds.
As seen in the teaser trailer below, users run pretty similar to the locomotion scheme seen in Sprint Vector (2018), as you pump both arms in a skiiing motion. Users can also brake, jump high into the sky, dash mid-air, and slide along tracks.
“This project’s goal is to push the boundaries of what sorts of experiences are capable in virtual reality, showcasing the potential of the medium as it pertains to high-speed action games,” the developer says, who goes by the handle ‘SuperSonic68‘.
Virtua Sonic is said to support all SteamVR-compatible headsets such as HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Oculus Rift. Its creator however says there aren’t any plans to share it online before its debut at SAGE 2020, which takes place September 5th. We’re hoping we get the full-fat version after that, and it’s not stymied by any of the pesky litigation we’ve seen in other fan-built experiences.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a playable Sonic VR experience to tide you over, NimSony’s Sonic VR prototype experience is still available for download.
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted (2019), the VR adaptation of the immensely popular horror game, is finally getting its Oculus Quest version next month.
Update (June 25th, 2020): After months of waiting, Steel Wool Studios and Oculus have finally announced that FnAF: Help Wanted for Quest will release on July 16th, 2020.
You can wishlist the game on the Oculus Store here.
Original Article (October 31st, 2019): Steel Wool Studios co-founder Andrew Dayton announced the news via an Oculus blog post, saying that there’s “lots of work to do” before the studio can announce an official launch date. The studio has however said that it should arrive “soon.”
Steel Wool additionally says it plans on continuing its work in the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe, something originally created by Scott Cawthon in his breakout PC title, which has thus far found its way on nearly every platform including the upcoming smartphone AR game Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery (2019).
On PC VR platforms and PSVR, the studio released the new paid DLC ‘Curse of Dreadbear’, which includes a new Halloween-themed hub and new mini-games and prizes. The studio says weekly content will be added through the month of October.
You’ll find Five Nights at Freddy’s VR on Steam (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Viveport (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Oculus Store (Rift), and the PlayStation Store (PSVR).
Project CARS 3, the upcoming sequel to the racing simulator franchise, is set to include VR support when it launches on PC this August.
Update (June 24th, 2020): Slightly Mad Studios has confirmed that Project CARS 3 will be releasing on all supported platforms on August 28th, 2020. The original article follows below:
Original Article (June 4th, 2020): The game, which was recently unveiled by Slightly Mad Studios, is set to include a bevy of new features in addition to 12K resolution and what it calls “best in class VR support” on PC.
The studio says it will include over 200 race and road cars, over 140 global tracks, customizable liveries, and car upgrades with ‘realistic’ performance parts. Tracks are said to include a 24-hour night and day cycle with all weather represented in addition to “enhanced” AI racers. A new career mode promises to be “deeply engaging.”
The Project Cars franchise has included VR support since the first in the series was released in 2015, which at the time was experimental but notably a step in the right direction for racing sim fans. Project Cars 2 (2017) improved upon it predecessor with, among other things, a better physics engine, putting in more firmly in the simulator side of things. It also included full SteamVR headset support for the modern era of consumer VR.
There’s no word yet on whether the studio is working on PSVR support as well for the PS4 version, or whether a possible PS5 version will offer it thanks to the upcoming console’s beefier specs, which is said to pack an 8-core AMD Zen CPU, AMD Navi GPU, custom SSD, 4K Blu-ray player.
It seems now that many of Magic Leap’s recently laid-off employees are helping Apple with its own AR headset ambitions.
Magic Leap was in hot water earlier this year, as reports surfaced that the well-funded startup was searching for a buyer. Although the AR company managed to avert disaster by securing another $350 million in May, around 600 full-time employees have reportedly been let go in its downsizing—presumably a direct result of the company’s failure to ignite a consumer AR market and subsequent pivot to the enterprise space.
According to an investigation of LinkedIn profiles by Protocol, many former Magic Leap employees have taken up residence at Silicon Valley’s most prominent tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon.
Image courtesy Protocol
In the past six months though, Apple seems to have hired the most ex-Leapers, and positioned them into roles such as XR prototyper, computer vision engineer, and optical systems engineer—things you’d expect would have a direct effect on the development of an Apple AR headset.
The flow from Magic Leap to Apple has been a constant one too, Protocol has found. According to a broader assessment of LinkedIn bios, Apple has consistently been the number one place for former Magic Leap employees, with Facebook coming in a close second.
Like with all things Apple, hardly nothing is clear about its upcoming AR headset. We’ve had our fair share of Apple rumors in the past, like the most recent one pointing to device’s name, price, and possible launch window, although there’s really nothing solid to go on yet.
What is clear: love it or hate it, Magic Leap has acted as a lightning rod for early AR talent who have hands-on experience with a full-featured AR headset, something that only a tiny number of companies can claim at this point.
Librestream, an enterprise-focused AR company, today announced it’s raised a $24 million Series D financing round. The Winnipeg, Canada-based company says the funds will be used to expand its ‘Augmented Worker’ services into Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
The Series D was led by Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF), and joined by Export Development Canada (EDC), Pender Technology Inflection Fund, Emerald Technology Ventures, and BDC Capital.
In addition to its expansion into new regions, the company says it will also be moving into the telehealth and retail fields, and hire 50 percent more staff over the next 24 months.
The company’s Onsight augmented worker platform is aiming to meet the needs of remote workforces by integrating smartglasses and AR headsets into industrial applications such as working on oil rigs, manufacturing floors, or aircraft hangars.
With Onsight, Librestream says workers can collaborate with remote experts, share live visuals, talk and view feedback onscreen, while freeing-up their hands for work.
“Librestream’s strong partnership over the past four years, and especially during this pandemic, proved invaluable in driving innovation within our processes and service delivery,” says Tina Bender, Manager Business systems & IT at Volvo Group. “The ability to remotely perform inspections has tremendous business impact from cost savings and productivity to improved customer service.”
Founded in 2003, the company’s Series D brings its overall financing to over $55 million, with its penultimate round arriving in mid-2016.
Facebook announced that, at the end of this year, it will officially retire Oculus Go, its 3DOF standalone headset. In early 2021, the company will also be making way for more apps on Quest with a new content distribution platform that will be separate from the Oculus Store.
The company won’t be releasing any new first-party features for Go, effective immediately, the company says in a blog post. Facebook will also be tuning down the headset’s third-party content pipeline later in the year, as the company will no longer accept any new Go apps or app updates after December 4th. No new Go apps will be permitted onto the Oculus Store after December 18th, putting a final lid on the growth of the Go’s content library.
The headset’s system software will however still receive bug fixes and security patches through 2022.
Oculus Go & Gear VR, Photo by Road to VR
Facebook says the move to retire Go is about pushing towards a “future of VR with 6DOF platforms like Oculus Quest.” This presumably also means that Go will be the company’s last 3DOF headset offering.
“As the technology has advanced rapidly since we launched Go, you’ve helped us prove out the value of positional tracking with the incredible experiences you’ve built for 6DOF VR, and we’re ready to double down on that,” the company says in a developer blog post.
Released in May 2018, Oculus Go was hailed as a VR headset priced for the masses. Although hobbled by its rotation-only headtracking and single non-positionally tracked controller, Go was championed for its low price-point of $200 and ability to serve up casual games and traditional streaming content, such as Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.
There’s been a greater number of Quest apps to hit the Store recently, however the headset’s library of games is still dwarfed in comparison to both Oculus Go or Oculus Rift.
Facebook has been notably more strict with which apps it allows on Quest since the headset’s launch in mid-2019, as there are both technical hurdles and the apparent need to keep a manicured storefront for new users.
Image courtesy Oculus
Early next year, the company says it will offer a new way to distribute content on Quest, which will allow developers to share their apps to anyone with a Quest.
Details are still thin on the ground, however Facebook appears to be creating an alternative marketplace with a lower technical acceptance threshold than the Oculus Store. Unlike sideloaded apps though, content accepted through this channel will still need to adhere to its Oculus Platform policies and Oculus Content policies.
“By making it easier for more developers to reach Quest owners in the future, we hope to spark inspiration with those who will build the next wave of engaging experiences for Quest,” the company says.
In practice, this may act as a way to stymie sideload-based content stores such as SideQuest, and bring all developers under the same roof, so to speak. Additionally, the still unnamed content channel could act as an avenue for Early Access content, or simply an updated of the old Oculus Share platform back in the heady developer kit days. The company says it will be sharing more info on the new content channel in the future.
Holofit is a subscription-based VR app that puts you plus various home-gym equipment inside a virtual environment to make home exercise more fun & motivational. I'm adding this to my VR workout routine! ► Check out our VR equipment → https://www.amazon.com/shop/caschary ► Subscribe to see more videos like this one → https://goo.gl/bSJ6L8 If you have been following us for a while already, then you may know that I'm a fan of VR workouts. At the start of the lockdown in The Netherlands, I started to dive into workout apps and games available in the Matrix, and I've never stopped. I've honestly never been this active in my life before, so I'm extra grateful to have VR in my life during these times. This is why I think its worth it to share these kinda things on this channel too. Today, Holofit gave me a subscription to try it out, so we’re gonna dive into their app. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 00:54 What is Holofit VR 01:46 What do you need? 02:28 My Setup 03:02 Initial Software Setup 04:18 Holofit Oculus Quest Gameplay 07:56 Holofit Review Conclusion LINKS * ► Get Holofit here: https://www.holodia.com/ ► Holofit on SideQuest: https://sidequestvr.com/app/311/holofit ► Cadence sensor that should work (IGPSport C61): https://amzn.to/2VciBMD (Amazon US) ► Cadence sensor that should work (IGPSport C61): https://amzn.to/3dtVxze (Amazon UK) ► VRCover silicone cover: https://vrcover.com/product/silicone-sleeve-quest/?itm=164&campaign=hf ► VRCover leather covers: https://vrcover.com/product/oculus-quest-foam-replacement-slim/?itm=164&campaign=hf ► How To Sideload & Stream Using SideQuest (Updated Guide): https://youtu.be/reH55tb9w84 ► More VR Workout Games & Apps: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL86GNGPnZ0shUbVAt3hk3F-ZbjU5NoVlg - 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 ► VR Prescription Lens Adapters (5% discount code: "CAS&CHARY") → http://bit.ly/CCWidmoVR ► 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: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1tmq8Y3jC7gNGvW7asmv1Q - 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://bit.ly/CCEpidemicSound DISCLAIMER We got a free subscription to Holofit from Holodia. 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 #vrworkout #oculusquest #casandchary
