‘Vox Machinae’ Review – A Deeply Immersive Mech Sim Hampered by Ambition
‘Townscaper’ Developer is Looking into VR, Reveals Early Prototype
Townscaper is a clever little town-building experience that gained fame back when it first launched on Steam Early Access in 2020. Now developer Oskar Stålberg has taken interest in VR design, showing a prototype of the pint-sized town creator running in VR.
VR Arcade Pioneer The VOID is Making a Comeback
Out-of-home VR attractions were among the worst-hit during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which put many fledgling startups on the ropes. Now, one of the early pioneers in location-based VR entertainment appears to be making good on its comeback after it briefly slipped into the void.
Sailboat Simulator ‘MarineVerse Cup’ Races onto Quest Store
MarineVerse Cup, the VR sailing simulator first launched on Steam early access in 2019, has left App Lab and made its way to the official Quest Store.
Valve: Steam Deck is a “stepping stone” to Standalone VR
Steam Deck, Valve’s handheld gaming PC that launched late last month, doesn’t really have the horsepower capable of playing SteamVR games, although Valve chief Gabe Newell calls it a “stepping stone” to what could one day be Valve standalone VR headset.
HP Announces VR Headset Management Tool for Large-scale Deployments
HP appears to be strengthening its position as a provider of XR software for enterprise companies. Today it announced the release of a mobile device management (MDM) solution that’s designed to make deploying and managing large-scale VR easier.
Report: PSVR 2 Rumored to Release in Early 2023, Missing Holiday Season
It’s widely thought that PSVR 2, Sony’s next-gen VR headset for PlayStation 5, is expected to release sometime the last half of 2022, which would position it as a pretty tempting gift for this holiday season. Now, a report from noted PSVR leaker ‘PSVR Without Parole‘ alleges the headset will launch instead in early 2023.
Here’s What ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Looks Like in VR, SteamVR Mod Now Available
Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t officially support VR headsets, but leave it to prolific VR modder Luke Ross to get under the hood and beat CD Projekt Red to the punch—one they haven’t exactly prioritized given the litany of bugs the studio has needed to fix since launch. Now with the mod in the wild, we’ve gotten a better look at what to expect, courtesy of VR YouTubers Cas & Chary.
Luke Ross has released the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 mod. You can nab it now by becoming a member of their REAL VR Patreon.
If you’re wondering what to expect, Cas from YouTube channel Cas & Chary has taken a deep dive into the VR mod. Cas says that most things are very well done, considering it’s more on the ‘port’ side of things and less a native VR adaptation. It requires the user to play via a gamepad, and includes much of the camera-shifting first-person things you expect from a game not designed for VR. Still, Cas says the vistas are incredible and “way better than expected” in terms of performance.
If you’ve never installed a REAL VR mod from Ross, Cas includes a handy install guide at the end of her final impressions.
The original article follows below:
Just in time for the Cyberpunk 2077 sale on Steam, VR modder Luke Ross showed off a five-minute teaser of what’s to come, something the modder says is coming “very soon now.”
“I still want to polish a few rough spots here and there, and some missions need more testing, but as you can see from the video we’re getting R.E.A.L. close (ahem),” Ross writes in a Patreon update. “No matter how things turn out, at this point I’m going to release by the end of next week. I hope that everything will work correctly by then, but even if it doesn’t, most of the game will be playable in VR.”
As you’d expect, running Cyberpunk 2077 in VR will require a hefty PC. The video, linked below this update, was shot using a Core i9-9900K and RTX 3090, playing at native 2700×2700 resolution, and recording to SSD on the same PC at 2160p 60 fps. Whilst not recording, Ross was able to maintain 80-90 fps.
Unfortunately it appears motion controller support isn’t available (yet?), as shooting follows your gaze and arms are still the same canned animation from the flatscreen game. You can read more about what to expect from the Cyberpunk 2077 mod here.
The original article detailing the inclusion of motion controller support follows below:
In a chat with PC Gamer, Ross confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 was at the top of the list of flatscreen games to scaffold around his R.E.A.L. VR injection framework, saying that if all goes according to plan, Cyberpunk 2077 owners on PC should be able to take their first virtual braindance sometime in January 2022.
“One major bonus about CP2077 is that it’s already played in first person,” Ross tells PC Gamer, “which is very good for VR immersiveness, unlike for example the Mafia Trilogy where I had to implement my own ‘fake-first-person’ camera.”
Ross says the VR modding framework is now approaching “some level of maturity,” which he estimates will allow him to release VR mod support for around one flatscreen game per month, provided there aren’t any overly challenging problems to address.
And with Cyberpunk 2077’s storied history of bugs and game-breaking glitches, many of which have since been patched after the game’s release one year ago, Ross has his work cut out for him in making sure everything is stable.
That’s not the only thing in the works though; Ross revealed he’s already looking to release another VR mod for a still unnamed title. He says the game is “DX12-based, open-world, and will look epic in VR, especially the vistas and the battles with […].”
If you’re looking to follow Luke Ross, you can check out updates posted to his Patreon page and Twitter.
‘Virtual Virtual Reality 2’ Update Purportedly Addresses Key Issues
Virtual Virtual Reality 2, the latest VR title from developer Tender Claws launched early this month. While the underlying game design felt promising, it was overshadowed by a range of technical issues. A new update released today purports to have fixed key issues which should improve the player’s experience.
Amazon Selling ‘Oculus Certified’ Refurbished Quest 2 with $50 Discount & Extra Warranty
Oculus quietly began selling officially refurbished Quest 2 units earlier this month and now Amazon is offering them with an even more generous one-year warranty.
‘Jurassic World Aftermath’ Studio is Developing a PSVR 2 Launch Title
Jurassic World Aftermath studio Coatsink is currently working on a launch title for PSVR 2, the upcoming next-gen VR headset for PlayStation 5.
Our 10 Favorite VR Demos from Steam Next Fest
Valve kicked off another edition of Steam Next Fest this week, an indie showcase that offers up free demos of a bunch of upcoming games. We went hands-on with the most promising of the bunch so you know where to start first.
‘Pistol Whip’ Update to Add New Levels, Modifiers, & Party Mode This Week
VR rhythm shooter Pistol Whip is getting another free update this week come Thursday. The ‘Encore’ update will add two new levels, a party mode for local pass-and-play, and new modifiers for even more ways to tweak each level to your liking.
