Downpour Interactive announced the update yesterday on Steam and Reddit. Custom map support is a big deal because it’s the biggest bottleneck of new content for shooters like this and was, until now, the main feature that Pavlov (Onward’s main, direct competitor) had that Onward was missing. There is also a Google Doc full of detailed custom content guidelines to follow.
Watch The Onward Update 1.7 Trailer:
Notably, Downpour Interactive even have custom map support on the Oculus Home version of the game, not just Steam. On Reddit the Downpour Interactive Community Manager explained, “This was the hardest part! Since we can’t use Steam workshop, we had to implement a different kind of workshop that would work for both Oculus Home and Steam users. To access the workshop and download user made maps, simply navigate to the workshop tab in the ingame menu. there you can download maps and rate them!”
Perhaps this means custom map support and crossplay is possible on the forthcoming Oculus Quest version too. The developers have even crafted their own custom maps and released key community maps that were created before the update went life that are already available as examples.
The other big piece of this new update is the revamped A.I. which is long overdue. When you play solo or in co-op you can face off against enemies on selected maps, but previously they were quite basic and predictable. This update aims to change that.
Now, enemies have different classes, operate in squads, and are no longer on set patrol paths with the same spawn points. According to the update, “AI will move to cover to react to players, initiate an attack, or to protect themselves from grenades. Rifle squads will patrol between choke points and intersections. Snipers will move to overwatch positions and take cover to wait for players. Assault, CQB, and Light squads will hunt players down.”
Additionally, A.I. sight is now “based on how much of the player can be seen” as well as how far away and how loud they’re being. They can also now use any weapon or attachment that players can.
The full list of updates has tons more included making this one of the biggest and most-exciting updates yet to the over-three year old military sim VR shooter.
Yesterday, Snap Inc. released a new update to Snapchat which allows users to create their own AR snaps straight from the app, no programming or graphic design experience required.
Launching alongside the previously-announced AR Bar — a new toolbar designed specifically to help users “Create, Scan, Browse, and Explore” new Snap Lenses — 3D Paint allows you to hand-draw custom face filters using the front-facing camera, as well as augment your real-world environment via the main rear-facing camera.
Image Credit: Clara Bacou
Simply tap on the “Create” option located on the AR Bar and you’re ready to rock. A variety of colors are available to choose from along with several different texture options. Once you’ve settled on a style, simply tap and drag on the screen to begin painting. By physically moving your camera throughout your real-world environment you add depth to your creations. When using the forward-facing camera, 3D Paint automatically mirrors whatever you paint in real-time, allowing you to design perfectly symmetrical face filters and masks.
Image Credit: Vox Media Inc.
Back in 2017, Snap Inc. released Lens Studio, a free desktop app aimed at simplifying the Lense creation process, allowing amateurs and professionals alike the chance to design their own AR experiences. While those looking to create more complex, interactive Lenses will still have to go through Lens Studio, 3D Paint offers a surprising amount of creative options for users to explore, especially since its built-in to the existing Snapchat app. As Snap continues to expand its AR Bar, I’m curious to see what other creative tools the company will continue to implement.
Image Credit: Jake Peterson, Gadget Hacks
The 3D Paint and AR Bar update is available now on compatible iOS devices; support for Android is scheduled to arrive in the coming months.
When it comes to AR, no other app provider has embraced the technology with more passion than Snap. Since the launch of the first Snap Lenses back in 2015, the company has remained at the forefront of smartphone-based AR technology, working with both established brands as well as amateur creators to develop an absolutely massive catalog of AR content. Just last month the company launched its new 3D Snap feature which allows users to add a sense of depth to their images.
Image Credit: Matt Szulczewski
Whether it be interactive face filters, 3D animated characters, or fully-immersive 3D portals, no one does mobile AR quite like Snap.
As with all Humble Bundles, there are a variety of different tiers that unlock more content the more you pay, with the more enticing content usually locked behind the higher tiers. The VR and AR Game Dev bundle includes a bunch of projects that cover developing for VR and AR using Unity, along with a few games to play as examples. The lower tiers, starting at just $1, have projects that deal with basic beginner concepts, whereas the higher tiers, topping out at $20, feature more advanced stuff.
All of the projects are designed by Zenva Academy, a group known for development courses and projects on topics like coding, web development, machine learning and heaps more. Each of the VR and AR Zenva projects included in the bundle usually sell for around $50 – considering the top tier unlocks 24 courses and some additional games for only $20, the savings over the regular pricing appears to be pretty substantial.
You can view all the tiers available, along with the projects and games included, on the bundle page. The top tier even unlocks projects involving some more specific aspects of development, such as using Oculus avatars, making a third-person game and using 360-degree videos and photos.
I know we have quite a few readers on the site who are also developers, so let us know what you think of the bundle in the comments. Do you see the courses being useful, either to you personally or to other aspiring developers? Let us know down below!
Lead an all-out assault on Vader’s castle in the dramatic conclusion to ILMxLAB’s three-part series.
ILMxLAB, developer behind Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire and the Vader Immortal series, today confirmed that Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series – Episode III will be arriving on Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift/Rift headsets on November 21st, 2019, marking the third and final entry in the critically-acclaimed Vader Immortal series.
Here’s a brief recap of where we left off: After falling into the clutches of Darth Vader and being taught the ways of the Force in order to help him access an ancient weapon that could devastate the galaxy, our hero has now teamed up with the natives of Mustafar to turn the tables on the menacing Sith Lord and take back the mysterious artifact.
Using the lightsaber skills and Force-wielding abilities you’ve accumulated over the course of the first two episodes, as well as an army of ancient droids left behind by your legendary ancestor, Episode III will have you launching an all-out assault on Vader’s Mustafarean castle. Using your freshly-harnessed force abilities and an ancient lightsaber, you’ll make your way to the top of Vader’s massive facility, battling waves of stormtroopers and one pissed-off Imperial Officer before going toe-to-toe with Vader himself in one final duel.
“From the very beginning, Vader Immortal was conceived of as one overarching story where you were the lead character,” said director Ben Snow in an official release. “From learning the Force from Darth Vader, to uncovering the ancient secrets of Mustafar, everything has been leading up to the culmination of the series. We can’t wait for fans to discover firsthand how their story ends.”
Image Credit: ILMxLAB
“Vader Immortal lets us do things we, as fans, have always dreamed of,” added producer Alyssa Finley. “Not only can you fight with a lightsaber, now you can use the Force to grab a blaster and takedown stormtroopers, all before confronting Darth Vader face to face. There’s nothing like being at the center of a proper Star Wars adventure.”
Along with our lightsaber and Force abilities, you’ll also have access to a slew of new weaponry, including a standard-issue Imperial Blaster as well as explosive Thermal Detonators. Hopefully, we’ll be able to combine these weapons with our Force abilities, similar to how you can throw and retract lightsabers in Episode II. I’d certainly relish the opportunity to disarm Stormtroopers from a distance or catch and return live Thermal Detonators in midair.
Image Credit: ILMxLAB
Based on the information provided in the release, it sounds as though this latest episode will be the most action-packed one yet. Concept images provided by ILMxLAB show large-scale battles across large, sprawling environments.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series – Episode III arrives on the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift/Rift S November 21st, 2019. No word yet on an official price, though considering both Episodes I & II were priced at $9.99, it’s safe to say Episode III will more-than-likely cost the same.
Warning: this list of scariest VR games is not to be taken lightly.
For years, horror fans have enjoyed jumping and screaming at movies and games. VR brings all of that to another level, though. Once you’ve got a headset on, there’s no helping you; you really believe that the horrors in front of you are real, even for a split second.
And thus, we present out list of the scariest VR games. No cushions to hide behind, no shoulders to cry on; you have to be really brave to play these games. Entries are listed alphabetically.
Affected: The Manor isn’t designed to be the kind of horror game you can get lost in for days or spend hours upon hours exploring, but is rather a tightly crafted thrill-ride that delivers a series of jump scares within a deeply atmospheric old house. It works well and is very good at what it sets out to do. To this day it’s still one of my go-to games to demo to new VR users.
This is the VR horror game that just keeps on going. It’s been around in some form or another since the Oculus Rift DK1 days and has since made its way to Steam for PC VR, Oculus Home for Rift and Go, as well as PSVR. A Quest version is coming as well.
Alien: Isolation (Unofficial VR Mod) – PC VR Headsets
This might seem like an odd entry for this list, but even though it isn’t official it’s just too good not to mention. Alien: Isolation is a horror classic and is easily the best game based on the iconic sci-fi horror film franchise. In this game you must evade xenomorphs by any means necessary and the sheer sense of terror it produces as you’re hiding, looking around corners, and trying not to get mauled is fantastic.
One of VR’s oldest games is also one of its scariest. Dreadhalls has you navigating perplexing mazes in search of escape. The only problem is you’re being stalked by horrifying monsters intent on making you poop yourself.
Dreadhalls has endured all these years thanks to its simple premise which lets anyone jump in but only the bravest survive. Even five years only from its original launch on Gear VR it’s worth seeking out. Fortunately, it’s not hard to find it.
The Exorcist: Legion VR – PSVR, Quest, PC VR (Read Our Review)
The original Exorcist is one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Sadly, many of the sequels and spin-offs its spawned were decidedly less harrowing, failing to understand what made the original so gripping.
That’s not true of The Exorcist: Legion VR. This five-part series, developed by Chair in a Room studio Wolf & Wood, is a deeply disturbing psychological drama.
Face Your Fears I + II – Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift
The Face Your Fears series works so well because it trims the fat. There are no complex game mechanics to learn here, no instant-death stealth sections. Instead you get a selection of scenarios that cut right to the chase, making it the perfect spooky introduction for VR thrill-seekers.
Many of these scenes play on common fears. There’s bound to be something to shock even the most stone-hearted of horror fans here, including a collaboration with Strange Things and more.
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted – PSVR, PC VR
No other series is quite so malicious as Five Nights at Freddy’s when it comes to outright jump scares. Frankly, we were dreading the inevitably day on which the series entered VR.
Mixing content both old and new, this is one of the most intense and enjoyable fast-fire VR experiences you can have. And with new DLC now out, there’s plenty of screaming to go around. This is a no brainer if you’re looking for the scariest VR games.
Organ Quarter – PC VR
Organ Quarter is a classically-designed VR horror game about a twisted disease infecting a city with grotesque and horrifying imagery, becoming a wasteland of body-horror. The game is designed in the same vein as classic survival horror games from the 90s (think old-school Resident Evil and Silent Hill) with methodical exploration, challenging puzzles, and careful inventory management.
It was funded on Kickstarter back in 2017 and remains one of the best hand-tracked room-scale horror experiences out there.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul – PSVR, PC VR (Read Our Review)
Paranormal Activity is known for cheap popcorn scares that leave your heart racing. The VR experience is no different; it’s an unashamedly jumpy bit of VR fluff and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sometimes we wish Resident Evil 7 wasn’t a horror game. Because, scares and screams aside, it’s genuinely one of the most polished, high-budget experiences you can have in VR.
Nearly three years on from launch, we’ve still got our fingers crossed that Capcom brings the VR support to other headsets.
How do you translate the narrative-driven terror of Until Dawn to VR? Why, you turn it into a scream-happy roller coaster ride, of course. Thus, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was born.
This silly spin-off has remained one of PSVR’s most enduring experiences. It’s full of the usual cliches, but VR gives you a fresh pair of eyes to enjoy them with all over again.
Senior Editor David Jagneaux contributed to this article.
Getting in just in time for Halloween, enjoyable VR horror game, Syren, is finally getting its long-awaited EU PSVR release today.
Both episodes of Hammerhead’s brief tale of terror arrive in one package. The game arrives with some improvements made following its launch in the US region last year.
Syren’s first episode released on PC VR headsets a few years back. In the game, players find themselves in an underwater facility where horrific monsters have been set loose. You need to sneak through rooms without getting caught. The second episode followed on shortly after and was much more action-oriented.
Syren was definitely on the scrappy side when it first released, but there was much to admire about it. It treated VR as an open playing field, giving players the choice between hiding or fighting back, no matter how futile that might be. Visually, it left a little to be desired, but for the time it was an admirable effort.
“Though brief, Syren proves itself to be a worthwhile taster of what VR can really do for horror games,” we said in our review. “While never fully capitalizing on that potential, there are some revelatory moments for the genre here, making you painfully aware of your own self as you hide behind crates and freeze on the spot. That alone helps overlook the short length and handful of bugs and blemishes, and makes Hammerhead VR itself a developer well worth watching.”
Will you be picking up Syren now that it’s out in the EU? Let us know in the comments below!
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series is coming to an end with its third episode soon, which ILMxLab says is set to arrive on November 21st on both Rift and Quest platforms.
Over the course of its two previous episodes, ILMxLab & Oculus’ co-venture into cinematic VR storytelling has not only offered up an astonishingly well-realized VR experience, featuring the cinematic world of Star Wars in a way we’ve frankly never experienced before, but has also brought some pretty surprising replay value to the table with its Lightsaber Dojos.
We’re more than a little sad that it has to come to an end so soon, but also earnestly excited to see the conclusion of what has proved to be a high point in the VR medium.
The studio reveals in an Oculus blog post that in Episode III we’re again taken to the fiery world of Mustafar. The studio teases that you’ll “need to use everything they’ve learned so far—both in and out of the Lightsaber Dojo—if they hope to battle their way to the epic conclusion.”
If you’ve played both previous episodes, than you know you’re not only in for lightsaber melee, but also a few force powers such as force push, force grab, and a few other force-related fighting techniques that combine the two.
The blog post also included what appears to be concept art featuring some large-scale battles between Imperial forces and rebels. Take a gander below:
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted (2019), the VR adaptation of the immensely popular horror game, is getting an Oculus Quest version.
Steel Wool Studios co-founder Andrew Dayton announced the news via an Oculus blog post, saying that there’s “lots of work to do” before the studio can announce an official launch date. The studio has however said that it should arrive “soon.”
Steel Wool additionally says it plans on continuing its work in the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe, something originally created by Scott Cawthon in his breakout PC title, which has thus far found its way on nearly every platform including the upcoming smartphone AR game Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery (2019).
On PC VR platforms and PSVR, the studio released the new paid DLC ‘Curse of Dreadbear’, which includes a new Halloween-themed hub and new mini-games and prizes. The studio says weekly content will be added through the month of October.
You’ll find Five Nights at Freddy’s VR on Steam (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Viveport (Rift, Vive, Index, Windows VR), Oculus Store (Rift), and the PlayStation Store (PSVR).
ILMxLab’s third episode of Vader Immortal comes to Quest and Rift on Nov. 21.
The release, coming not long after the release of episode II, completes the announced trilogy with a Darth Vader duel.
The first episode launched with Oculus Quest in May while the second episode arrived during the Oculus Connect 6 developer’s conference in September. This third one is described by Disney as a “slightly longer episode” after the second one took some criticism for its length.
According to a Star Wars blog post: “In addition to the ancient lightsaber and Force powers that we’ve acquired in the previous episodes, you are able to grab and use blasters dropped by stormtroopers, fight air-to-air on skiffs, and start a battle in Vader’s castle between The Marching Horde droid army and the Imperial battalion stationed on Mustafar.”
Nov. 21 is a week before Black Friday — one of the biggest shopping days of the year — and the perfect time to release if Facebook wants to use the trilogy to encourage buyers to pick up an Oculus Quest this holiday season. The standalone VR system is priced at $400 typically and Facebook is also planning a November release of an update that should allow a VR PC to treat a Quest like a Rift — bringing over some PC-powered games to the VR headset over a wired connection.
For today’s livestream it’s a Halloween special event! We’re going to play a short list of great VR horror games and try not to pass out. If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better genre-format combination than horror and VR. Horror video games are designed to make you feel scared, trapped, and often completely immersed in a terrifying location and experiencing that from inside of a VR headset takes all of your senses to the next level. Some of the best horror games ever work great in VR and some of the best VR games are horror games. They just go together so well.
So to celebrate Halloween this year we’ve decided to do a special stream focused specifically on all of the best VR horror games you can play on the Oculus Rift S. Specifically we plan on streaming: Five Nights at Freddy’s VR, KOBOLD: Chapter 1, Contagion VR: Outbreak, Dreadhalls, and Organ Quarter.
The stream is planned to start today, October 31st, at around 12:00PM PT today and we’ll aim to last for about two hours. We’ll be hitting just YouTube. You can see the full stream embedded via YouTube right here down below once it’s up, or find it here on this page:
Embedded livestream will be added here
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
FundamentalVR, a company specializing in VR medical training, has closed a £4.3 million (~$5.6 million) Series A funding round in effort to further develop its surgical training and data analysis platform, Fundamental Surgery.
The funding round was led by Downing Ventures, with participation from Epic Private Equity, and Brighteyes Ventures. Leading medical institutions also participated in the funding round, including the world-renowned Mayo Clinic and Sana Kliniken, the third largest hospital organization in Germany.
This brings FundamentalVR’s total investment to $9.3 million, the company says. Its penultimate financing round in 2018, amounting to $1.4 million, coincided with a partnership to develop its VR training platform with Mayo Clinic surgeons and clinical practitioners, as well as its 3D modelling, data scientists and simulation specialists.
Fundamental Surgery, the company’s flagship product, has found its way to a number of medical institutions across seven countries, including Mayo Clinic and UCLA in the United States, UCLH in the United Kingdom, and Sana in Germany with initial training packages focused on the orthopedic surgical disciplines. The procedures it currently supports include Spinal Pedicle Screw, Total Hip Arthroplasty (Posterior), Total Hip Arthroplasty (Anterior) and Total Knee Arthroplasty, the company says in a press statement.
“We identified early on that FundamentalVR’s team was developing a platform that was very special,” Tern CEO, Al Sisto said. “A training and data analysis offering which could revolutionise the skills development of surgical practice, while at the same time creating a database of significant importance to the industry. We are delighted that the value and relevance of this exciting business and its entire staff has been recognised by this outstanding syndicate of new investors we helped solidify.”
Following the most recent funding round, Tern’s shareholding in FundamentalVR comes to 26.9%, with a valuation of £3.0 million (~$3.88 million).
Hello Games provided a new development update on No Man’s Sky: Beyond today, announcing some new features and bug fixes for the popular space-exploration game.
The development update accompanies Patch 1.25, which releases today, and includes new weekend missions and featured bases, among other minor updates and bug fixes.
Weekend missions are probably the biggest addition in this patch. They feature a new chapter available at the Nexus, once a week from Friday evenings (GMT) until early on Monday morning. These new weekend missions will run for “the foreseeable future” and will change every week in No Man’s Sky, naturally, offering something new for regular players on a recurring basis. Hello Games also gave a description of this first mission, starting this weekend, as follows:
“Nada’s spacetime loom has detected a concerning pattern resonating across the universe, and they need help from their explorer friends to investigate. Readings indicate a disturbance in reality, where an anomalous – and possibly sinister – force has begun to leak through to this universe…”
Besides the weekend missions, the next biggest feature for this No Man’s Sky update is featured bases, which will be accessible via the Space Anomaly Teleporter. Hello Games will keep an eye on some of the coolest bases built by the community and select a few as featured bases, which are easily accessible and available for you to visit.
In general, the team also noted that their player numbers are now at the highest they’ve been since launch, with both VR and non-VR modes remaining popular in No Man’s Sky. Hello Games assured players that they’re also still working on a number of requested features from the community behind the scenes, which are still coming but weren’t announced today.
Are you still exploring the endless worlds and planets of No Man’s Sky in VR? Let us know how you’re enjoying the game since the Beyond update launch a few months ago. And make sure to read our full review of the PC and PSVR versions, plus check our coverage hub for several guides written about the game.
Curious about how we livestream the way we do? Then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup. For today we’re taking GTA V for a spin in VR using an Oculus Rift S courtesy the brand new VR mod that was recently released.
Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most popular and best-selling games of all-time. Years after its release it still ranks as one of the highest-grossing games because of its flourishing online community and endless replayability. Last week we took it for a spin in VR using this latest mod which gives users a quick and easy installation, for free, to get into the violent world of Los Santos with little hassle. It’s head-tracking only, but it was still a blast so we’re back to do it again!
The GTA V VR stream is planned to start around 2:15PM PT today and we’ll aim to last for about an hour or so. We’ll be hitting just YouTube. You can see the full stream embedded via YouTube right here down below once it’s up, or find it here on this page:
Embedded livestream coming soon
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
VR once again proves its worth to Hollywood filmmakers.
In a new video released by Epic Games earlier this week, the company revealed how one of the most complex fight scenes featured in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was designed and choreographed with the help of VR technology.
For those who still haven’t seen the latest John Wick film, the climactic final battle, in which John takes on arguably two of the toughest opponents he’s ever faced, takes place in a jaw-dropping 3-story building comprised entirely of glass. The interior of the structure, a twisted maze of glass walls and exhibits, made for one of the franchises most visually-impressive fight scenes, as the trio of warriors mercilessly tossed one another through pane after pane of glass.
To plan these insanely complex shots, concept illustrator Alex Nice turned to VR technology to help build a digital 3D replica of the enormous facility. Developed using Epic Games’ UE4 game engine, the VR environment allowed everyone from the actors to the art department to the director to better visualize the scene and plan the complex action sequences. The cinematographer, for example, could go in and adjust lighting and camera placement; meanwhile, the stunt coordinator could immerse himself in the environment to begin planning fight choreography.
“It became this tool that allowed us to visualize what the set looked like and also helped us to create the lighting and the design of this thing,” states Nice in the video. “Months and months before any decisions had to be made on the physical setting it was such an abstract set that having this kind of spatial relationship and visualizing it from that point of view had tons of value.”
Image Credit: Epic Games
“When you first walk on to the physical set it’s a surreal experience. It was amazingly accurate. VR has this kind of ability to cross the 2D concept art threshold and set design threshold and give you a real feeling of what it’s going to be like to be there which is just an incredible disruption in this industry.”
“I can’t imagine them doing this set without VR.”
Earlier this year, Jon Favreau, director of Disney’s recent Lion King remake, revealed how he used VR technology to help design the photo-realistic environments featured throughout the film. Using a proprietary VR renderer developed by Disney, Favreau and his team were able to design 3D models of Pride Rock, Rafiki’s Ancient Tree, and other notable locations from the movie.
“By removing the one physical element of Mowgli, we were no longer tethered to the fact that we had to have blue screen or an actual set or real cameras, so everything became virtual at that point, states Favreau during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Once that gave us the freedom to operate without actually having to move through physical photography, it allowed us to open ourselves up to a whole new approach, and that’s why it feels different than Jungle Book. We’ve basically built a multiplayer VR filmmaking game just for the purposes of making this movie.”
A new application package on the Oculus Quest seems to indicate that the device may receive a feature called the ‘Oculus Assistant’ in a future update.
The application appears in the Quest’s v10 firmware, listed under the ‘Unknown Sources’ tab of the library for those who have enabled Developer Mode on their device. The package is titled ‘Oculus Assistant Service’ (com.oculus.assistant), as pictured below.
At the moment, you can open the package and it will request audio permissions. If you allow the request, it opens up a grey window, similar to the one pictured above, in the Oculus Quest house UI which is totally blank except for a small spinning loading circle. At the top of the window is a heading banner with the title “Assistant Test Service”. The loading wheel seemingly never finishes loading and that’s as far as I got with the app on my Quest while testing.
Presumably this package is for part of a new system feature currently in development for the Quest. The ‘Oculus Assistant’ title is reminiscent of other voice command and assistant services like Google Assistant, and we already know that Facebook are developing an AI assistant for their headsets. Given that the test app package also asks for audio permission upon launch, it seems very likely that the feature will be an assistant for the Quest OS that is operated by voice commands.
We contacted Facebook with some questions seeking clarification on the feature, but a spokesperson responded that they “don’t have any further details to share.”
A voice assistant would go nicely with the Quest’s upcoming finger tracking update – paired together, you would be able to simply put the Quest on and use your fingers and your voice to operate the device, no Touch controllers required.
Would you use voice commands on your Quest? Let us know in the comments below.
After an initial launch in New Zealand and Iceland, Minecraft Earth early access is now available in Australia, Mexico and Sweden. The game is gradually rolling out across a few countries at a time, seemingly in smaller markets first.
Early access is in full swing and rolling out around the world! We’re working around the block to bring everyone into Minecraft Earth. Here are today’s countries: Australia Mexico Sweden
More info on our early access plans
While it’s still launching in early access, this gradual launch is not restricted and is available to anyone, provided you’re in one of the supported launch countries. Minecraft Earth previously launched a closed beta for select players only, and early access marks the first time the game is available publicly.
This is Minecraft’s response to Pokemon Go and other map-based mobile games that get you out of the house and exploring the real world, intertwined with AR elements. You can build structures, craft weapons, collect materials by exploring your real-world neighborhood and fight monsters in AR during the “adventure” events scattered across the map.
I downloaded the app today and gave it a try. While it’s still early obviously, there are some really fun elements that hark back to 2011 and give me major Minecraft nostalgia. The game still has a lot to offer that I haven’t checked out yet, but it does also feel somewhat distinguished from other similar AR games like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
There’s still no concrete word on when the game will launch in some of the larger markets like the US or the UK. The best indicator we have is on the Minecraft Earth site, which just indicates it will launch in more countries “in the coming weeks.”
Be sure to keep an eye out for more Minecraft Earth coverage from us in the next few weeks. If you’re in one of the supported early access countries and you’ve tried the game out, let us know in the comments below.
These AR-enhanced bus stop ads are almost confusing as the show.
We’re only two episodes deep into the first season of HBO’s Watchmen and already the show has proven to be one of the weirdest, most polarizing series of the year. Masked police officers dance the line between law enforcement and vigilantism, Robert Redford — yes, the actor — has been President of the United States for three decades, and dead squid periodically rains down from the sky. Yes, torrential downpours of dead squids.
So what better way to help advertise one of the most bizarre new shows on TV than with an equally bizarre AR promo.
Outdoor media and advertising company OUTFRONT Media recently installed AR-enhanced displays at bus stops throughout Los Angeles and New York that offer commuters a unique — albeit slightly off-putting — immersive experience. The seemingly average displays, referred to by the company as “liveviews,” began by flashing a strict warning for bystanders to seek shelter before projecting a heavy downpour of augmented reality squid over the city streets. After the storm passes and the ground has been sufficiently covered in deceased cephalopods, the AR-enhanced display then displays a countdown to the series premiere of Watchmen on HBO.
Image Credit: OUTFRONT Media
Cool, but why squids though?
If you’re unfamiliar with Alan Moore’s original 1980s comic book, Watchmen, a “superhero” by the name of Ozymandias teleports a giant alien squid into the center of Manhattan with the purpose of uniting the Soviet Union and the United States against a common enemy and averting all-out nuclear war. And though series producer Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) has stated the show is more of a remix rather than a strict continuation, he also confirmed that all the events that took place in the comic book also hold true in the shows universe as well. As I said, it’s a bizarre show.
The series premiere drew in an impressive 1.5 million viewers, with episode two capturing a slightly smaller, but still commendable 1.3 million. Considering the show still has plenty of insanely weird inspiration it can draw from the original comics, I doubt this is the last immersive promotion we’ll see from HBO.
Snapchat is putting the AR in art. A new tool called 3D Paint allows users to create augmented reality doodles directly from the Snapchat app. Snapchat 3D Paint allows users to create their own face filters or add doodles to objects.
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Pistol Whip, the upcoming VR rhythm shooter from Cloudhead Games, is set to launch on November 7th. We’ve got a fresh batch of gameplay, this time showing off the game’s dual-wielding mode which amps up the game’s ‘gun kata’ feel.
As we talked about in our preview of Pistol Whip earlier this week, the game goes beyond merely shooting targets to the beat, it also forces you to dodge incoming fire. By default the game gives you a single pistol, but if you explore the modifier section you’ll also find a dual-wield mode. If the default single pistol mode makes you feel like an agent from The Matrix, the dual-wield mode will make you feel like you’re living a scene from Equilibrium:
Two pistols gives you more firepower but also requires that you divide your attention to independently engage targets with each gun while maintaining an overarching flow between shooting and dodging in order to stay on beat. Master this and you’ll be rewarded with an amplified sense of ‘gun kata‘ not found anywhere else in VR. To give you a sense for what it’s like, we captured 15 minutes of Pistol Whip gameplay using the dual-wield mode on the game’s hardest difficulty:
If it isn’t quite clear from the video above, at many points in this gameplay I’m practically down on my knees as I bob and weave to land shots while dodging incoming fire (and I’ll be feeling it in the morning). Especially on the hardest difficulty, Pistol Whip makes you move a unique and fun way. As we talked about in our preview of the game, this movement is crucial to creating a rich sense of embodiment:
With the incoming bullets, the game forces you to be concerned with your ‘near-field’—it heightens your sense of what’s immediately within arms reach. This leads to embodiment (distinct from mere immersion) which is often a component of the best VR games. It’s this bodily movement (the result of necessary near-field spatial awareness) combined with the ‘arms out and shooting’ gameplay which makes Pistol Whip feel unique and not just ‘another rhythm game’.
Check back for our full review of Pistol Whip when it launches on PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest on November 7th.
Remember when Acer’s OJO 500 launched last year? Yeah, we don’t either. In a perplexing move, the Taiwanese tech giant quietly opened up sales for its business-friendly Windows VR headset today, something that was slated to launch back in November 2018.
As far as hard specs go, OJO 500 was always poised to be a Johnny-come-lately, with its dual LCD displays offering a total resolution of 2,880 × 1,440 pixels running at 90Hz, the very same as their previous model (AH101-D8EY) from 2017.
What OJO 500 did offer though was a pretty attractive package for businesses. With its detachable display, washable soft and hard head strap, integrated audio, manual IPD adjustment, and even customizable faceplates, making for a not-so-unthinkable offering for companies looking for a tried and true headset variant boasting Microsoft’s mostly serviceable inside-out tracking.
The headset was last advertised at $400, or €500 in the Eurozone, however starting today you can order from the European-facing Acer stores for €450/£400, as reported by German VR publication MIXED (German).
It hasn’t shown up on North American Acer stores yet, so it’s not sure if the USD pricing has changed at all. And yes, it comes with the standard Windows VR controller.
Acer hasn’t mentioned what’s happening with their higher-res ‘ConceptD’ version of OJO, but if OJO 500 is any indication, we won’t hear much about it either until it releases.
Cloudhead is revealing half of Pistol Whip’s levels today and allowing the sharing of gameplay videos.
So today I’m sharing five Pistol Whip gameplay videos captured in my living room using green screens, LIV’s mixed reality app, OBS, and a pre-release version of the game. Pistol Whip debuts Nov. 7 for Quest, Index, Rift and Vive (PSVR is in the works), and earlier this week Cloudhead lifted an embargo allowing me to share my initial impressions of the title and break down its shooter-meets-rhythm game mechanics.
The game features 10 levels at launch, with more planned, that amount to colorful and dreamy maps which seem vaguely inspired by action movie scenes with big gun battles or chases in them. Set to thumping music licensed from Kannibalen Records, there’s an auto-aim system in place for the main game as well as a “Deadeye” mode that takes away the assistance for folks who want that accuracy challenge, to train or prefer that play style. I’ve played it for more than 40 hours at this point — most of it in the main game mode — and put all of that time into the maps captured for this page.
I’m starting to suspect Pistol Whip will be my go-to VR demonstration title in the coming months. You can wish list it at the following links:
The first video below is the more challenging Deadeye modifier turned on for easy and medium difficulties on Black Magic — the level I’m most familiar with from the auto-aim mode. Below it is a video of the “hard” difficulty with auto-aim. I can’t yet beat the same level on “hard” with Deadeye enabled. Cloudhead provided the video featuring a beta version of the Replicants level, but the rest are recorded by me. My favorite map so far is the last one below, called Death.
A new feature from Polaroid allows you to use their Polaroid Lab device to bring physical photos in AR on your phone.
The Polaroid Lab is a new device that can scan a digital photo off your phone screen and immediately print it onto Polaroid film, allowing you to quickly convert digital photos to physical Polaroids. Using the Polaroid Originals app, you can select a photo for the scanner to read and then develop onto a piece of Polaroid film. You can watch a video on the Polaroid YouTube channel that demonstrates the process from start to finish.
However, there’s also some other cool features built into the app that use AR to bring the physical Polaroids to life. Using the same Polaroid Lab printer and scanner, you can use the Polaroid Originals app on to select a video saved on your device. You then trim the video to the desired section for the animation and select a key frame to use as the physical printed photo. The scanner then scans the video and key frame from your phone, in a similar manner to the normal method, but also affixes a small barcode in the bottom right of the photo.
What you end up with is a physical still Polaroid photo, just like any other, with an AR barcode in the bottom right. When you use your phone’s camera in the Polaroids Original app, the photo will spring to life using AR and play the animation you selected earlier during the development process.
This nifty feature may seem gimmicky, but it could also but super cool – imagine having a wall of Polaroids that already look amazing as still photos, but also all come to life when you use your phone to view the AR animations hidden within them.
Would you use this quirky little AR feature with the Polaroid Lab? Let us know in the comments below.
Episode 4 of UploadVR’s weekly podcast, The VR Download, is LIVE at 10:30 PST (17:30 GMT) today!
Unlike regular video podcasts, The VR Download is broadcast from a virtual reality studio! Our team are together in a virtual space, giving us many of the benefits of a studio even though we live on different continents.
The show is usually on Thursdays, but given that falls on Halloween this week’s episode is today, Wednesday.
Our special guest this week is Mat Kraemer, Animation Director at Polyarc Games, the studio behind 3rd person VR adventure game Moss, which we called “one of PSVR’s most essential games to date” in our review, giving the game 9/10.
The show is hosted by our Operations Manager, Kyle Riesenbeck. Kyle was formerly the host of the Rev VR Podcast, a popular VR podcast back in the Oculus development kits era.
Show Structure
[Section 1] The News Discussion: our thoughts on the biggest VR news of the past week, one article at a time. You’ll hear our in depth behind the scenes thoughts on what’s happening in the virtual reality industry.
[Section 2] Release of the Week: the team talks about the VR games they’ve been playing this week and try to come to a consensus as to what is the most significant.
[Section 3] The Hot Topic: an in depth discussion of one big (sometimes controversial) industry trend, topic, or idea per week.
[Section 4] Special Guest Interview: a 1-1 interview with a significant developer, executive, or personality from the VR industry.
Stormland, Insomniac Games’ upcoming Rift exclusive, is gearing up for launch on November 14th. Along the way, Oculus and Insomniac are throwing out weekly reveals that give us a closer look at what awaits. Last week’s teaser was all about weekly missions and content reveals, while this week’s focuses in on the game’s enemies (both big and small) and its undeniably cool-looking combat.
In the video, we get a look at number of the game’s enemy types, including flying drone swarms, scouts, snipers, sentinels, missile launchers, and two enemy types that thus far haven’t been named: ‘Blitz Troopers’ and the aptly named ‘Goliath Troopers’.
As we’ve seen in our previous trailers, some enemies can be taken down in either conventional ways (pew pew), or by deftly robbing them of their battery canisters. We’re hoping these sorts of avenues for creative tactics are available on other enemies too, but since we’ve never actually had a chance to fight any larger enemies in the demos we’ve played, we simply can’t say.
What we have seen in a trailer released back in August is a pretty rich combat system though, which emphasizes the diverse tactics available to players, such as environmental and ability-based stealth, high maneuverability with smaller weapons, and the head-on approach supported by heavy weaponry.
The studio will be releasing more teaser clips leading up to the November 14th launch. At this point, it feels like we’ve seen a pretty big chunk of the gameplay, and we’re hoping Insomniac has more to peel back over the next two weeks.
It’s that time of the year again, when you bring out the big bag of candy, put on your spookiest outfit, and turn off the lights and pretend no one’s home. It’s Halloween!
And to celebrate, we rounded up 10 of our favorite VR games which span a number of horror and thriller sub-genres.
Coincidentally, most of the games below support SteamVR-compatible headsets and PSVR. If you’re looking for Quest titles, skip to the bottom section for a few choice suggestions.
Red Matter
Take one part Soviet brutalism, two parts puzzle-adventure, mix them up in the low atmosphere of a mysteriously abandoned off-world colony, and garnish with a slice of Cold War espionage. That’s the sci-fi thriller Red Matter (2018) in a nutshell. You’ll find it on all major VR headsets, but the Quest port is by far the most impressive technically speaking, as Vertical Robot has managed to squeeze in an incredible amount of detail on the mobile platform.
The makers of the famous jump scare-tastic Five Nights at Freddy’s, Steel Wool Studios, have done the unthinkable and made a version for most of the major VR headsets (excluding Quest). There’s also some fresh DLC if you’re looking for more reasons to soil yourself.
If you own a PSVR, you might look no further than Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 biohazard (2017), one of the best VR adaptations on the PlayStation Store currently. Sorry folks, but the version on Steam still doesn’t have VR support, so PSVR only for now
Released via Early Access for PC back in 2014, the horror-survival game The Forest (2018) wasn’t supposed to be a VR game, but developing studio Endnight Games have tossed in some pretty serviceable VR support. You can build, fend off cannibals, and play the entire game in VR, including multiplayer. Yes, there’s a PS4 version. No, it doesn’t have PSVR support.
Zombies popping out left and right, dwindling ammo, there’s not much more to say about Vertigo Game’s multiplayer shooter Arizona Sunshine (2017). Ok, maybe one thing: practice your headshots.
Ubisoft and Elijah Wood’s production company SpectreVision got together to make this chilling psychological thriller in 2018. The demented, ever-changing house hides some pretty challenging themes inside.
It’s an oft overlooked oldie (relatively speaking, it’s from 2016), but it’s still a goodie. A Chair in a Room (2016) from Wolf & Wood Interactive is more of a puzzle game with some horror elements to it than a pure horror game as such, but it still has plenty of creepy atmosphere to sop up on the spookiest of holidays.
Stress Level Zero’s Duck Season (2017) is a bit of a mix between ’80s nostalgia and twisted horror; the contrasts here between fun and happy memories and dark imagination of you, a kid at home trying to play the Duck Hunt-inspired game-within-a-game, borders on the schizophrenic. Truly unsettling.
Sólfar Studios’ rogue-lite bow-shooter is drenched in gothic horror. You fruitlessly battle against increasingly powerful monsters with your trusty bow, all in service of an achievement-based progression system that advances between sessions, revealing yet more unseen horrors.
The number of titles available on Quest currently pales in comparison to what you can find on the other, more established VR platforms. That said, there are a few spooky titles worth checking out (besides Red Matter, that is):
Dreadhalls – An oldie in the mobile VR realm, but still extremely capable of putting you on edge as you race down dank dungeon corridors from ghastly horrors in search of a way out.
The Exorcist: Legion VR – A multi-chapter horror-adventure that teaches you about the value of friendship. Just kidding. It’s all about ghosts and exorcism and shit.
Please, Don’t Touch Anything – Ever unintentionally caused a nuclear holocaust? This confangled button-pushing escape room will keep you coming back for more gruesome deaths, including your own.
Face Your Fears II – Not as great as the original, but there’s more than a few classic phobias to confront in this casual adventure game.
Richie’s Plank Experience – Go 80 stories high and walk the plank. Great for a couple of laughs (and screams) at the expense of others.
Update (October 30th, 2019): We’ve overhauled the list to include more spooky games for all major VR headsets. Did we miss your favorite VR horror game? Make sure to tell us in the comments below!
Australia
Mexico
Sweden
