On May 16, the Bandai Namco-backed VR studio ‘Project i Can‘ announced a new project called Evangelion VR: The Throne of Souls where you can maneuver an Eva, just like in the classic mech anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995).
In August of last year, Valve created the SteamVR licensing program to allow any developer to create their very own SteamVR tracked object. At that time, Valve partnered with Synapse, a Seattle-area product development firm, to provide a mandatory training program for all SteamVR licensees. Road to VR met with Synapse’s electrical engineering program lead and SteamVR Tracking instructor, Doug Bruey, to talk about the tracking system and how it will be used by companies in the future.
First-person real-time strategy VR game Cosmic Trip will leave Early Access on May 24th. Developer Funktronic Labs is readying the ‘fully-featured’ RTS mode for the v1.0 launch, along with a digital Deluxe Edition which adds an artbook and soundtrack.
Sony’s new VR peripheral, the PSVR Aim, launches today alongside Farpoint, a sci-fi VR FPS that was specially made with the controller in mind. Those who have been PlayStation fans for many years will remember that this isn’t the first time the company has made a gun peripheral, and those prior attempts didn’t see much success. Can Farpoint and PSVR Aim avoid repeating history? Read on to find out.
Half-Life 2: VR, a revamped version of an older mod which will adapt the beloved Half-Life 2 for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, has been green-lit, signifying Valve’s official acceptance of the mod for distribution on Steam.
Straight out of Early Access on May 18th, Detached (2017) promises to deliver that free-flying experience, complete with smooth-turning that only a section of the most hard-core first-person VR junkies crave. Offering a single-player mission based on navigation puzzles and an online capture-the-flag multiplayer, space pioneers hoping for a long-term solution to their need for exciting and comfortable zero-G fun may have to look elsewhere.
Oculus Research, the VR and AR R&D division of the company, today announced a new display technology that they’re calling the “Focal Surface Display.” The display aims to improve the vergence-accommodation conflict that plagues today’s VR headsets. The company calls the work “groundbreaking.”
Farpoint, one of the most anticipated titles for PlayStation VR, hits stores tomorrow along with the new VR device it was designed alongside, the PSVR Aim Controller. Sony has published details of the design decisions that drove development of one of the oddest looking gaming peripherals ever built.
Here’s the launch trailer for newly released zombie-themed brawler ‘Bloody Zombies‘ from developers of ‘The Assembly‘ nDreams and Paw Print Games. But before you roll your eyes at the prospect of yet another undead VR wave shooter, this one’s a little different.
Having founded Oculus in 2012 and been an important face for the company throughout its growth from fledgling startup to $2 billion acquisition by Facebook and beyond, it was a shock to see Palmer Luckey leave the company just two months ago. Having shied away from the public eye since September 2016 after the ousting of a polarizing political position, Luckey has gone on record in an interview for the first time since leaving the company.
Thursday morning at Microsoft’s Build conference, the company announced the opening of pre-orders for two new VR dev kits. Developers in the US and Canada can now pre-order the Acer ($299) and HP ($329) Mixed Reality headsets. Delivery of the headsets is scheduled for August 2017. I was able to get hands on with the dev kit version of the Acer headset at Build this week and organized my thoughts into broad categories below.
In a recent interview, HTC Vive General Manager Daniel O’Brien provided a carefully-worded answer when asked specifically about a ‘Vive 2’. HTC’s current VR headset is now over year old; PC VR hardware cycles are anticipated to last somewhere between 1 and 3 years.
WalkinVR is an upcoming driver for SteamVR designed to assist physical movement in a VR by moving or even resizing the virtual space relative to the user. It is currently in beta testing, with an initial release due at the end of May.
A job listing for a Senior Design Manager position on Microsoft’s “Xbox Mixed Reality team” says that the company is “looking to build a massively social gaming and entertainment experience for both the PC and the console.”
As of the upcoming version 1.15, Oculus software will “fully support” the three-sensor room-scale configuration, giving VR players a large 360 degree playspace to roam, similar to the experience the Vive offered out of the gate. The update was revealed by Oculus staff on the community forum, and is now available in pre-release form for testing, available in the Public Test Channel of the Oculus software.
