‘Vive N Chill’ is a Cooling Solution for HTC Vive Users With Sweaty VR Faces
ViveNchill is a new bolt-on cooling system comprising two angled fans that the creators claim will banish foggy, sweaty headset issues for good.
Hands-on: ‘Fallout 4 VR’ Shows Improvements, but I’m Still Not Sold
Entering the Wasteland, sneaking up on a group of raiders and shooting them down with guns in your own two hands, tossing back a Nuka-Cola, hanging out with Dogmeat; these are some the things that get fans excited about playing Fallout 4 VR. And in case you’ve been cryogenically frozen in a nuclear bunker this past year, you should know Fallout 4 (2015) is coming to HTC Vive―that and Bethesda demoed an updated build at this year’s E3, showing off an improved UI that should address some worries about porting the flatscreen game to VR headsets.
Video: Watch Valve’s New ‘Knuckles’ VR Controller in Action
Knuckles, Valve’s unique VR motion controller, is already in the hands of select developers who are no doubt designing ways to use the controller’s 5-finger tracking. In the video published by Zulubo Productions, we get a better look at just what Knuckles can do.
‘Echo Arena’ Free Beta Weekend is Live – Competitive Zero-G Multiplayer
At E3 this month we learned that the intriguing multiplayer mode of Lone Echo will be spun out into its own game called Echo Arena. While both Lone Echo and Echo Arena launch on July 20th, the latter is in open beta for this weekend only, available now.
Limited Time: Save $50 on HTC Vive, Get $50 Steam Credit & ‘Star Trek Bridge Crew’
As part of the Steam Summer Sale, HTC is offering a rare $50 discount on the Vive headset, along with a $50 Steam gift card to capitalize on VR deals during the sale. The bundle also includes the recently released Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and two older VR games.
‘The SoulKeeper VR’ Gets August 15th Early Access Release Date, New Trailer
Since our preview with the graphically impressive VR RPG The SoulKeeper VR back in April, we’ve been looking forward to the launch of the game. Developer HELM Systems has finally announced that the game will launch in Early Access on August 15th, and have a new trailer to accompany the announcement (heading this article).
Google to Bring 3D 180 ‘Point-and-Shoot’ Cameras to Vloggers this Winter
To fit alongside the company’ Daydream mobile VR platform, Google is partnering with Lenovo, LG, and YI Technology to create a new class of 180 cameras. Called VR180, the point-and-shoot video cameras create stereoscopic 180 video that can be uploaded or livestreamed to YouTube, and viewed on VR headsets.
Facebook Fights to Prevent Oculus Rift Sales Ban
In February, ZeniMax filed an injunction to request the worldwide blocking of sales of products that use Oculus software, which includes both Rift and Gear VR hardware, following a recent high-profile court case against Facebook/Oculus. According to a Bloomberg report, the hearing was held on Tuesday, where Oculus’ lawyers fought the ban, which has so far not seen a ruling.
YouTube VR Creator Lab to Mentor and Fund Creators up to $40K
On August 7th 2017, YouTube Space LA hosts the beginning of the VR Creator Lab, a 3-month program to assist content creators in producing “original and experimental” 360-degree videos. Along with regular mentoring and advanced education from leading VR instructors, participants will receive $30K–$40K in funding toward the VR video production projects.
Hands-on: IBM Watson Brings Voice Commands to ‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’
IBM Watson, the artificial intelligence platform designed to understand natural language, today launched support for Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017) across PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Valve Reveals More Detail on ‘Knuckles’ Motion Controllers
Valve has lifted the veil somewhat on its Knuckles controllers, first revealed as a prototype last October at the company’s annual Steam Dev Days conference. In a blog post today, Valve showed off some specs of the Knuckles dev kit alongside a button-map of the device, revealing the controllers will have multiple capacitive sensors to allow for some basic 5-finger tracking.
This Flexible Thermoelectric Skin Has Made Me a Believer in Thermal Haptics for VR
Korea-based TEGway is developing ThermoReal, a thermoelectric array which can generate heat and cold with impressively low latency. The flexible nature of ThermoReal could make it suitable for integration into VR controllers, gloves, and more.
Dungeons & Dragons ‘Dungeon Chess’ Comes to Oculus Rift and Gear VR
Dungeon Chess, described as “the first official Dungeons & Dragons-themed Gear VR Game”, is now available on both Samsung’s mobile VR platform and the Oculus Rift. The title combines classic chess gameplay with iconic D&D creature designs and suitably atmospheric environments.
YouTube Now Offering Heatmaps for 360 Video Analytics
Spherical YouTube videos with over 1,000 views now include ‘360° Heatmaps’ within the Analytics section of the Creator Studio. The new feature provides a visual representation of low to high attention areas of the video, helping to inform content creators of what aspects of a 360-degree scene are engaging viewers the most.
The Crazy VR Goggles in HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Are Not a Prop but a Real Prototype
HBO’s show Silicon Valley entertains with tales of the pervasive startup culture of California’s San Francisco Bay Area. While virtual reality has graced the show previously, season four is bringing it closer to the fore, with the show’s main characters becoming intertwined with the eccentric Keenan Feldspar, a fictional Silicon Valley wunderkind developing a pair of virtual reality goggles. A wild looking prototype version of the fictional headset seen in the eighth episode of this season turns out to be not a prop, but an actual prototype of a product that’s on the market today.
