VRgineers, a Czech Republic-based startup building enterprise VR headsets, today announced a more advanced version of their wide field of view (FOV) professional headset XTAL. The new version, which features a wider FOV thanks to a new pair of non-Fresnel lenses, will be making its debut at CES 2019.
WaveOptics, a manufacturer of diffractive waveguide optics for AR displays, today announced it has raised a $25 million Series C investment which will be used to continue building a large volume supply chain for the company’s optics.
SpicyTails, the studio behind VR anime experience Project LUX (2018), recently launched a Kickstarter for their latest VR project, Spice & Wolf VR. After having reached their initial funding goal of ¥8,000,000 (~$70,800) in the Kickstarter’s first 24 hours, the campaign has now hit the 200% fulfillment mark.
Blade and Sorcery is a medieval fantasy sandbox from indie developer WarpFrog which is aiming to bring realism to VR combat. Including a physics-driven interaction and combat system, players can expect to master melee, ranged, and magic-based combat against plenty of squishy, stab-friendly NPCs.
Falcon Age, the upcoming single-player adventure for PS4 and PSVR, now has a proper gameplay trailer showing off some the mechanics you can expect when the game releases next year.
Normally priced at $400, the Rift + Touch bundle has returned to its $350 Black Friday pricing for a limited time.
German car maker Audi was quick to see the potential of VR and has been experimenting since the early days of VR’s resurgence to see how the tech could be used to enhance the car buying experience. Having introduced VR showrooms into dealerships as early as 2016, the company now has some 1,000 VR deployments in dealerships across the globe.
It’s no secret that Jaunt is stepping back from VR and re-focusing on AR, although we weren’t sure what the one-time cinematic VR company planned on doing with its recently defunct VR business. Now, it’s come to light that Jaunt is holding a massive online auction, serving up everything from monitors and workstation computers to a wide variety of VR headsets & peripherals.
More resolution in VR isn’t just ‘nice’, it’s a major contributor to immersion. ‘Retina-resolution’ displays, those which match the visual limit of the human eye, are the ultimate destiny of VR headsets but it’ll be years yet before they’re affordable and widely available. Varjo, however, is developing an enterprise-focused headset which offers a glimpse of this future, and it’s breathtaking.
StarVR, the Acer & Starbreeze owned startup behind the recently unveiled StarVR One wide field of view (FOV) headset, is going through a pretty rocky period after it was delisted from the Taipei stock exchange last month. Starbreeze today published an open letter to its developers notifying them the StarVR Developer Program is on hold until further notice.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission (2018), the VR platformer that’s still wowing PSVR users well after its October 2nd launch, took home the title of ‘Best VR/AR Game’ at last night’s Game Awards.
Prey: Typhon Hunter, the final update to Prey: Digital Deluxe and Prey: Mooncrash, is set to release December 11th on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, although VR users will have to wait a bit longer to jump into the 5v1 multiplayer prop hunting action.
VR shooters like Onward, Pavlov, and sport shooting game Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades are fun ways to blow off a little steam and put some lead down range, but if you aren’t already using a modular stock, and have access to a 3D printer (or at least $100 for a pre-built), then you might be missing out.
Try on an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive and one of the first things you’ll probably notice looking through the lenses are fine concentric circles, creating something many call ‘God Rays’—especially egregious when viewing high contrast scenes. A new Facebook patent has just come to light that aims to mitigate these sorts of visual artifacts with a new hybrid Fresnel lens design.
