Road to VR

Valve Shipping Knuckles to “Hundreds” of Developers, Mass Production Could Be Next

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Jun 25, 2018

knuckles-ev2-next-to-older — Image courtesy Brian Lindenhof

Alongside the reveal of the revamped Knuckles controllers that Valve shared last week, third party developers have confirmed they’ve begun receiving the new EV2 version of the controller. Valve says that “soon, hundreds of developers will get their hands on developer kits and begin experimenting,” and the company is inviting more developers to join the Knuckles dev kit program. Along with the clearly matured design shown off in Knuckles EV2, the quantity of controllers being shipped out to developers suggests that Valve has begun manufacturing small batches, possibly in preparation for a broader rollout.

‘Virtual Virtual Reality’ Developer Teases New Project Backed by Oculus Set for 2019

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Jun 25, 2018

virtual-virtual-reality — Image courtesy Tender Claws

Virtual Virtual Reality is a VR gem which launched first on mobile VR headsets and recently came to the Rift. As a game which demonstrated an intricate understanding of VR interaction design and freeform narrative, Virtual Virtual Reality turned out to be one of mobile VR’s most immersive titles to date. Now Tender Claws, the studio behind the game, is teasing a new project in the works.

Motion Platform Company ICAROS Takes on ‘Seven Figure Investment’ to Advance VR Heath Device

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Jun 25, 2018

icaros-platform — Image courtesy Icaros

ICAROS is a Munich-based VR health startup that produces a unique motion platform which simulates flying in the prone position, something the makers say can provide a real workout. The company recently announced it’s completed a funding round in the “mid-seven figures” from Austrian private venture company Segnalita.

Telekinetic Puzzle ‘Esper’ to Launch on PSVR & Oculus Go This Week, HTC Vive in July

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Jun 25, 2018

esper-keyart — Image courtesy Coatsink

Coatsink, the studio behind VR titles A Night Sky (2017) and Augmented Empire (2017), announced they’re bringing their first mobile VR title, Esper (2015), to PlayStation VR, Oculus Go and Xiaomi Mi on June 29th. Esper is also slated to launch on HTC Vive via Steam on July 6th.

HTC Donates Over 100 Vive Headsets to California & Nevada Libraries

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Jun 25, 2018

HTC is donating over 110 HTC Vive systems to California and Nevada libraries through its new Vive Libraries Program, an effort to seed local communities with premium VR.

Microsoft Affirms No Plans for VR on Xbox Consoles

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Jun 22, 2018

xbox-one-vr-microsoft-virtual-reality — Photo courtesy Aurich Lawson / Ars Technica

Back at E3 2016, Microsoft’s Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced on stage that the Xbox One X (then ‘Project Scorpio’) would become the industry’s next VR-compatible console, positioning the platform to compete with Sony’s PSVR with what Spencer called “high fidelity VR.” Now, it appears, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer for gaming Mike Nichols has put a final nail in the Xbox One VR coffin in a recent GamesIndustry.biz interview, saying the company doesn’t have “any plans specific to Xbox One consoles.”

Experiential Design Insights from Chinese Philosophy & Natural Philosophy

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Jun 22, 2018

One of the things that inspires me to do the Voices of VR podcast is being able to talk with hundreds of people listening for the underlying patterns of experiential design. VR & AR are reflections of the human experience, and so any experiential design framework for immersive technologies should also describe aspects of our conscious experiences. I’ve found that Eastern Philosophies, Chinese Philosophies, Natural Philosophy, and Hermetic Philosophies have useful ways of describing qualitative aspects of the human experience through concrete metaphors that can be adapted into holistic experiential design frameworks.

Steam Summer Sale Offers Big Discounts on Top VR Titles

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Jun 22, 2018

steam-sumer-sale-2018 — Image courtesy Valve

Steam’s annual summer sale is back, and heavy discounts are here on hundreds of VR games including a number of top titles that will have you spending those hot days in the cold depths of space, post-apocalyptic warzones, and practically anywhere you can imagine that isn’t your backyard.

Valve Announces ‘Skeletal Input’ to Give SteamVR Apps More Lifelike Hands Moving Forward

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Jun 22, 2018

steamvr-skeletal-input — Image courtesy Valve

Accompanying the news that Valve has made a critical redesign of its ‘Knuckles’ motion controller, the company also recently released a new input system in beta that not only aims to create lifelike hands, but make them accessible to all SteamVR app developers.

Valve Reveals Latest Knuckles Dev Kit & New ‘Moondust’ Tech Demo

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Jun 22, 2018

knuckles-ev2 — Image courtesy Colin Northway

Since announcing the ‘Knuckles’ controller prototype all the way back in 2016, Valve has been relatively quiet about its progress outside of a select group of developers who have been experimenting with early development kits. That changed this week as Valve offered up a major information dump, showcasing the latest Knuckles dev kit with a significant design overhaul, alongside a new tech demo designed to demonstrate what the controllers are capable of.

Apple Details Latest VR Optimizations Coming to macOS Mojave (10.14)

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Jun 21, 2018

macos-mojave-vr-optimizations-wwdc — Image courtesy Apple

Earlier this month at Apple’s annual WWDC conference, the company introduced their latest operating system, macOS Mojave (10.14). Due to roll out as a public beta later this month, and launching widely this Fall as a free update, Mojave brings further VR-specific optimizations to Apple’s Metal graphics API, which the company detailed in a session at WWDC.

‘Echo Arena’ Becomes ‘Echo VR’ to Make Way for ‘Echo Combat’, and Maybe More One Day

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Jun 21, 2018

echo-vr — Image courtesy Ready at Dawn, Meta

With the Echo Combat beta opening today, and the full experience launching later this year, Oculus and Ready at Dawn are doing some reorganization to set the stage for the ongoing expansion of the Echo universe. Today, Echo Arena becomes Echo VR, which will encompass both Echo Arena and Echo Combat.

Magic Leap One Controller Appears in FCC Filing, Release on Track for 2018

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Jun 21, 2018

magic-leap-one-(3) — Image courtesy Magic Leap

Magic Leap One, the long-awaited AR headset from the secretive titular Florida startup, appears to be on its way to its supposed 2018 release date, as the headset’s motion controller, dubbed Control, has just hit the FCC for testing.

Rift & Vive Summer Sales Offer Big Savings on Hundreds of VR Titles

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Jun 21, 2018

summer-sale-rift2018 — Image courtesy Oculus

While we’re still waiting on the Steam Summer Sale to materialize, this year’s big Rift and Vive annual summer sales are already here, and hundreds of VR titles are on deep discount on the Oculus Store and Viveport until the beginning of next month.

Hands-on: Vive Wireless Adapter Shows Strong Performance Ahead of Summer Launch

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Jun 20, 2018

vive-wireless-adapter-e3-2018-displaylink-booth — Photo by Road to VR

After revealing the Vive Wireless Adapter earlier this year, the company confirmed this week at E3 2018 that the device is on track to launch by late Summer, and offered up some details on the device’s battery and operation. I went hands-on with a near-final version and came away impressed.

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