Road to VR

A Candid Assessment of the Industry From a Leading Indie VR Developer

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Apr 3, 2018

What is happening with the VR industry? Is adoption and growth still on target to support a vibrant and diverse ecosystem of independent VR developers? Leading headset manufacturers have not been transparent in sharing any specific information, and analyst datum that’s been released hasn’t been a reliable or comprehensive source of information. So it’s been difficult to get an honest and candid assessment about the overall health and vibrancy of the virtual reality ecosystem. But there are a few companies who have some deeper insights into the VR ecosystem, and these are the independent VR development companies who have released best-selling VR titles.

‘Skyrim VR’ for PC Review – a Dragon-sized Feast for the Eyes

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skyrim vr steamvr pc (4) — Image courtesy Bethesda

Skyrim VR (2017), Bethesda’s premier virtual reality port of the hit open-world RPG Skyrim (2011), has finally made its way to PC VR headsets after its November 2017 launch on PlayStation VR. Unlike the studio’s recent release of Fallout 4 VR (2017), it appears being an older title, and having to squeeze into the lower graphical confines of PSVR, has done it a literal world of good, as it both looks and feels more like the Skyrim we know and love. Barring some imperfections, Bethesda has successfully opened up the giant region of Skyrim to a platform that can boost the pixels where it counts, giving you that immersive mountain vista you always craved, or the moody evening in the tavern reading up on the world’s ancient lore.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 VRDK to Offer Ultrasonic 6DOF Controller Tracking

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Apr 2, 2018

qualcomm-vrdk-1 — Image courtesy Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 845 VRDK, a VR headset reference design for hardware and software developers, is now offering 6DOF controller input with ultrasonic tracking.

StarVR Corporation Prepares to Go Public on Taiwanese Stock Exchange

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Apr 2, 2018

starvr 3 — Photo by Road to VR

StarVR Corporation, the Acer and Starbreeze joint venture behind the wide-FOV StarVR headset, announced that it has completed its application to go public on the Taiwan Exchange.

Lenovo Mirage Solo Daydream Headset Now Available For Pre-order at $400

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Mar 31, 2018

lenovo mirage solo (3) — Photo by Road to VR

Lenovo’s Mirage Solo, a standalone VR headset in the Daydream app ecosystem, has had an official release date and price for some time now: May 5th and $400. Pre-orders are now live for both the VR headset and Lenovo’s VR180 camera.

Ubisoft Extends IBM Watson Support for ‘Bridge Crew’ Through 2018

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Mar 31, 2018

bridge-crew — Image courtesy Ubisoft

Watson, IBM’s artificial intelligence platform designed to understand natural language, launched support for Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017) across all VR platforms back in June of last year. Last week, Ubisoft said in a forum post that it was pulling support for Watson due to unspecified “technical reasons.” The company has since reversed that decision, saying Watson-powered voice controls will remain online “through 2018.”

‘WipEout Omega’ Looks, Sounds, and Plays Brilliantly on PSVR, Just Remember to Pace Yourself

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Mar 30, 2018

Thanks to a free update to PS4’s WipEout Omega Collection (2017), you can finally get the authentic anti-grav racing experience on PSVR. The game’s VR update is a smart and skillful adaptation, offering players a chance to “play the full game in virtual reality from start to finish.” Just be sure to get familiar with the game’s various comfort options to find what works for you before you push it to the limit.

High Fidelity & NeoSensory Partner to Launch ‘exoskin’ Haptic Jacket, Coming July 2018

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Mar 30, 2018

VRVest-Silhouette_1 — image courtesy NeoSensory

High Fidelity, the open source VR platform founded by Second Life creator Philp Rosedale, and NeoSensory, a Palo Alto-based haptics company, announced they’ve partnered to create a haptic jacket dubbed the ‘exoskin’.

4 Minutes of Boxing Glory in ‘Creed’ VR, Gameplay Video Here

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Mar 30, 2018

Survios, the studio behind Raw Data (2017) and Sprint Vector (2018), debuted a new single player VR game this year on the GDC expo floor, an upcoming arcade boxing title that puts you in the shoes of Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed and protegé of Rocky Balboa.

‘Electronauts’ Turns Anyone Into an Electronic Music Artist, Gameplay Video Here

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Mar 30, 2018

Survios, the studio behind Raw Data (2017) and Sprint Vector (2018), showed off Electronauts at GDC this year, their upcoming VR music creation app for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift that makes DJ’ing so easy that even the least musically talented person can do it.

Report: Magic Leap Ships First Wave of Headsets to Small Group of Partners

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Mar 30, 2018

magic-leap-one — Image courtesy Magic Leap

Magic Leap, the mysterious augmented reality headset company, has apparently begun shipping its first wave of Magic Leap One AR systems to partners in limited numbers.

‘Sairento Reborn’ Aims to Springboard off ‘Sairento’ Success, Support VR & PC

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Mar 30, 2018

sairento-vr — Image courtesy Mixed Realms

Indie VR developer Mixed Realms, creators of badass VR ninja simulator, Sairento, announced this week plans for their next chapter, coming in the form of Sairento Reborn. Described as “bigger and better,” Sairento Reborn hopes to open up the title, allowing cooperative hack & slash fun for both VR and PC players.

Vive China President Shares 16 Lessons for a VR-First Future From ‘Ready Player One’

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Mar 29, 2018

ready player one — Image courtesy Entertainment Weekly

Virtual reality (VR) has been a hot topic in the media and the tech sector for the last couple of years, but it is about to hit a new level of buzz, thanks to the internationally best-selling book Ready Player One (2011) by author Ernest Cline, and movie adaptation from award winning director, Steven Spielberg, premiering in theaters today. The Ready Player One (RPO) novel is often cited by industry experts as one of the top recommendations for VR-related book lists. The story’s primary backdrop is a world where VR is intertwined into every aspect of our daily lives, what I call a ‘VR-First future’. RPO follows the adventures of a teenager and his friends as they overcome untold challenges on their quest to win a global online scavenger competition and its gigantic prize.

‘Gran Turismo Sport’ Update Brings Time Trials to ‘PSVR Mode’

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Mar 29, 2018

GTSportVR — Image courtesy Polyphony Digital

Gran Turismo Sport (2017), the VR-compatible PS4 racing sim, just got an update that lets PSVR owners take a crack at all available circuits in time trial mode.

Hands-on: Roguelike Bow-shooter ‘In Death’ is Divinely Inspired & Devilishly Fun

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Mar 29, 2018

in-death-4 — Image courtesy Sólfar Studios

In Death is a roguelike bow-shooter from Sólfar Studio, the developers behind Everest VR (2016). Now in Early Access on Steam and Oculus Home, the procedurally generated, medieval-inspired world stretching out in front of you offers a pretty standard selection of monsters, bow-shooting baddies, and magical shops along the way to offer weapon upgrades and precious health points—a fairly familiar concept for fans of the roguelike genre. While the premise is standard, the results are actually pretty surprising.

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