F8 2018: Keynote Livestream @9:30 AM PT – Possible Facebook VR News
Facebook’s F8 developer conference is getting ready for its two-day event starting today. Here’s how to catch the keynote livestream.
‘Beat Saber’ Early Access Review – a VR Rhythm Game for Budding Jedi Knights
Beat Saber is a single player rhythm game in Early Access that puts two lightsabers in your hands and tasks you with one of the funkiest, most stylish Jedi training regimes this side of Alderaan. Slicing incoming blocks to the beat, it’s hard not to dance a little bit too in this intuitive, but ultimately difficult-to-master game that some consider a cross between Guitar Hero and Fruit Ninja.
Facebook Gives Away Oculus Go to Everyone at F8 Dev Conference
Facebook’s annual developer conference F8 starts today. While the company launched the long-awaited $200 Oculus Go standalone headset there this morning, it wasn’t certain if the rumors were true, that F8 attendees would be receiving a headset for free. Spoiler alert: they did.
Oculus Go Pre-order Page Hits Amazon, Best Buy Stocks Shelves
Oculus Go, the company’s upcoming standalone VR headset, may already be waiting in the wings at Amazon distribution centers—they’re certainly already on Best Buy shelves, as both retailers are gearing up for what appears to be an imminent launch.
VR Quiz Game ‘Go Guess’ Uses Google 360 Captures to Make You Guess Where You Are
Update: Giant $500M Chinese VR Theme Park Opens Doors to the Public
A giant robot looms over the outskirts of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in China. The new VR park, named simply ‘Oriental Science Fiction Valley‘, has now opened its doors; within them reside a bevy of VR attractions and rides that hope to capitalize on China’s steadily growing VR industry.
MLB Batting Game ‘Home Run Derby VR’ Now Available on PSVR, Vive & Rift
Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby VR will let you step into the box and swing for the bleachers. The game, first trialed at All-Star FanFest back in June, is now heading to a total of 10 ballparks for the 2018 season, and also to consumers on PSVR and SteamVR-compatible headsets including HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Oculus Go, Mirage Solo, and Vive Focus Standalone Headsets Compared
Standalone VR headsets represent a new headset segment that sits somewhere between smartphone-based VR devices, and tethered, high-end VR systems, while offering some notable advantages over both. In this article we compare three standalone VR devices which will be available worldwide this year: the Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo, and HTC Vive Focus.
Lytro Website Goes to Life Support Mode as Company Winds Down After Google Acquisition
Lytro, the company that pivoted to enterprise-focused applications of its light-field technology after leaving its commercial camera business, is shutting down after a reported $40M acquisition by Google. Now the company is apparently winding down its business by reducing its site to a support page covering its consumer hardware and software solutions.
Preview: ‘Carly & the Reaperman’ Plays Like a Co-op Version of ‘Moss’
Odd Raven Studios’ first major title is the VR puzzle-platformer Carly & the Reaperman – Escape from the Underworld. While there is a single player option, it has been designed as an asymmetrical co-op experience, with one player in VR acting as the helpful ‘Reaperman’ in VR, and the other moving Carly in third-person using a standard display. The game is set to launch on June 19th, with support for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows VR headsets via SteamVR.
Google Demonstrates Promising Low-cost, Mobile Inside-out Controller Tracking
A number of standalone VR headsets will be hitting the market in 2018, but so far none of them offer positional (AKA 6DOF) controller input, one of the defining features of high-end tethered headsets. But we could see that change in the near future, thanks to research from Google which details a system for low-cost, mobile inside out VR controller tracking.
Oculus Affrims ‘Echo Combat’ is an ‘Echo Arena’ Expansion, Details to Come at E3
In the Echo Arena update this week a blocked off section of the new lobby says ‘Echo Combat – Under Construction’, suggesting that the upcoming zero-G VR FPS would remain an expansion of Echo Arena rather than a separate game. Oculus has indeed affirmed this is the case, and says to expect more details at E3 in June.
Researchers Exploit Natural Quirk of Human Vision for Hidden Redirected Walking in VR
Researches from Stony Brook University, NVIDIA, and Adobe have devised a system which hides so-called ‘redirected walking’ techniques using saccades, natural eye movements which act like a momentary blindspot. Redirected walking changes the direction that a user is walking to create the illusion of moving through a larger virtual space than the physical space would allow.
Report: Apple Developing AR/VR Headset with 8K Resolution Per-eye Slated for 2020
According to a report by CNET, citing an anonymous “person familiar with Apple’s plans,” the company is working on an AR/VR headset targeting 8K resolution per-eye, scheduled for launch in 2020.
‘Beat Saber’ Developer Confirms Plans for Color Blind Mode, Soundtrack Release
Beat Saber, the hotly anticipated VR rhythm game launching May 1st, relies heavily upon colors to guide players in striking the correct notes. For those with color blindness, this could make the game more challenging. Fortunately the developer has confirmed plans for a color blind mode. Furthermore, the Beat Saber soundtrack will be released alongside the game itself.
