Preview: ‘VR Karts’ Open Beta, Now Available on Steam Early Access
VR Karts is a DK2 compatible go-cart racer currently in open beta that delivers familiar gameplay along with a number of smartly designed VR-specific optimizations.
“We’re working on things not made out of cardboard,” Google says as I/O 2015 Looms
While the initial uptick of Google’s ‘Cardboard’ VR initiative may have exceeded their expectations, the company is now taking a very active approach to guiding the project into the future. The next step for Cardboard, which we expect to hear more about at this week’s I/O 2015 developer conference, may not actually be made of cardboard this time around.
New Oculus 0.6 SDK Built Into Unreal Engine 4.8 Preview 3, Available Now
With the exciting new developer features revealed with the Oculus SDK 0.6 earlier this month, it’s great to see Epic working diligently to bring the new version to Unreal Engine 4. The first integration of 0.6 for UE4 comes in version 4.8 Preview 3 which developers can experiment with now.
Oculus Acquires Computer Vision Company Surreal Vision for 3D Scene Reconstruction
Oculus today announced that they’ve acquired Surreal Vision, a computer vision company that’s using technology to interpret the real world in a way that can be visualized and interacted with within virtual reality.
‘Arizona Sunshine’ is a Room-Scale Zombie Shooter for HTC Vive, Teased for Release Later This Year
Vertigo Games has recently released a teaser trailer for Arizona Sunshine, a made-for-VR zombie shooter targeted for a 2015 release on HTC Vive.
WEARVR Weekly Top Ten VR Downloads – May #2
In May, WEARVR and Road to VR are joining forces to bring you VR goodness from the WEARVR app marketplace, a cross-platform repository of virtual reality experiences. This video gives a glimpse of the top 10 most popular experiences from the last week.
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Virtual Domestic Experience
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HELIX – the next level
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Where
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Storyteller: Fireside Tales
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H.R. Giger Virtual Gallery
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Little Big Dungeon
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All Is Dust
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Music in the Air
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The Kitchen
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Boomerang Rollercoaster
Which is your favorite?
Interested in listing your app on WEARVR? The company encourages you to reach out to info@wearvr.com. In the next few weeks they’ll allow developers to manage their own listings and upload files directly.
Epic’s ‘Showdown’ Demo Runs at 60 FPS on Morpheus After UE4 Optimizations
Epic’s high fidelity Showdown demo was only barely able to hold framerate on one of the most powerful GPUs in the world when it debuted last September. But now, after optimizations for Unreal Engine 4 on PS4, the demo runs on Morpheus at Sony’s 60 FPS VR target framerate—not bad for a game console that’s approaching its two year anniversary.
Oculus Announces ‘Connect 2’ Conference as they Gear Up for Consumer VR
Oculus have announced that their second ‘Connect’ developer event will take place September 23-35 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, CA and it’s set to prime the industry for VR’s imminent consumer debut.
Oculus’s inaugural ‘Connect’ event last year was a chance for the virtual reality developer community to come together, brush shoulders with both their peers and Oculus staff and get their hands on Oculus’ latest feature prototype, the Crescent Bay.
This year’s event, will follows the recent Rift consumer edition launch announcement and next month’s Pre-E3 “Step into the Rift” press event, and is likely to see Oculus gearing developers up for the Rifts launch in Q1 2016. In fact, the announcement sets a tone designed to bolster VR developers’ confidence who had up until recently struggled to plan their projects in lieu of a solid launch window.
This year’s Connect will feature keynotes from Brendan Iribe, Michael Abrash, and John Carmack, plus everything developers need to know to launch on the Rift and Gear VR.
No itinerary has yet been set, but with not one but two Oculus VR hardware platforms available in the first half of next year (Oculus Rift and Gear VR), there’s no shortage of things to talk about.
As ever, one of the highlights will likely be the keynotes. Expect a signature, schedule-busting keynote from Oculus CTO John Carmack, whose frank and open discussion on mobile VR last year was a must-see for anyone with interest in … well anything geeky at all to be perfectly honest. Chief Scientist Michael Abrash, whose fascinating talks exploring the limits of virtual reality theory rarely disappoint. And of course, CEO Brendan Iribe will likely look forward to key events to follow in the year ahead.
Last years event was unashamedly developer oriented, with minimal press presence and a pre-registration system to ensure the ‘right people’ are in attendance. This year looks to be following a similar course, so if you’re a developer and you’re interested in attending, head over to the sign-up page next month when sign-up forms will be made available.
We’ll keep you up to date on further news as it arrives.
Best of the Oculus Mobile VR Jam 2015 – Part 5: Telescopic, Tana Pura, SoundScape
Now in our 5th installment of our ongoing series covering some of the most promising content to come out of the Oculus Mobile VR Jam, we take a look at three submissions that awake in the user a childlike wonder of life, the Universe, and everything.
FOVE Kickstarter Campaign Raises Over $175,000 in its First 24 Hours
We can’t believe our collective foveae (yes, that’s plural), because in only 24 hours FOVE’s Kickstarter campaign has blown past its halfway mark and beyond. If they haven’t sorted out stretch goals, maybe now is a good time.
Retinad’s Promising VR Ad and Analytics System is Now Backed with a $500,000 Investment
Retinad, a company working to bring immersive advertising and analytics to virtual reality, has just closed a $500,000 early-stage round to bring their solution to market. Avoiding the worst case banner-in-your-face approach, the company is jumping feet first into VR, bringing immersive (but not invasive) pre-roll ads and useful analytics tools that could be a hit with developers and advertisers alike.
Oculus Announces Mobile VR Jam 2015 Finalists, Public Voting Open Until May 27th
The first round of judging of the Oculus Mobile VR Jam is over, and we now have our finalists—a total of 61 submissions split between two tracks, Games and App/Experiences.
