Voxel-based art and multiplayer playground software SculptrVR is available now on Oculus Quest.
The creativity software first launched on Steam in 2016 and its primary developer, Nathan Rowe, repeatedly refined and rebuilt the application over the last three years. Now available for $9.99 on Quest it includes a collection of tools for singleplayer or multiplayer shaping of voxel worlds, along with cross-play support with players in other Oculus-based headsets. One of the application’s key features allows the player to resize themselves for an incredible playground experience which toys with your sense of scale. For creatives, the feature also allows for some detail work in the sculpting app.
There’s climbing, hang gliding and even rockets you can fire to drill little — or large — holes in the surrounding landscape. While there are other art apps available on Quest like Tilt Brush and Gravity Sketch — SculptrVR is a different sort of experience. Facebook’s own VR art apps, Quill and Medium, aren’t available on the headset either. SculptrVR is no means a replacement for the lack of No Man’s Sky and Minecraft on Quest, but its exploratory and creative gameplay could certainly fill the gap for some.
I talked with Rowe this week in Quest and asked him some questions about the path his software took to the standalone VR headset from Facebook. The 12-minute tour was recorded entirely on Quest in SculptrVR.
SculptrVR is listed as having cross-buy with Rift, so if you own the application already from Oculus for Rift it should already be playable inside Quest.
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Curious about how we livestream the way we do? Then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup. For today we’re playing the new music just released in Beat Saber.
We’re back again with another livestream planned for today 8/29/19 @12:00PM PT on the UploadVR YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Mixer.
Beat Saber just released six brand new songs as part of OST Vol. III for free as well as a suite of new features such as color customization, improved swing accuracy detection, and other bug fixes. This brings the total number of songs available, including paid DLC, to around 40 if my math is correct. Plus the infinitely long list of custom user-created song maps for non-official music.
The stream is planned to start around 12:00 PM PT today and we’ll aim to last for about an hour or two. We’ll be hitting YouTube, Twitter, Mixer, and Facebook all at once. You can see the full stream embedded via YouTube right here down below once it’s up:
Embedded livestream coming soon
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist, including past Beat Saber streams, and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
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Whenever Beat Games has something to say about its rather popular rhythm action title Beat Saber it’s usually worth taking notice. Today is no different with the studio releasing a rather big update for the videogame, adding more songs, features and improvements to the overall experience.
The most important addition for longterm fans is the Original Soundtrack Vol. 3, adding six free new songs to the roster:
The colour picker is now available. Revealed earlier this month, its a customisation feature which allows players to choose the colour of the sabers, notes, obstacles and lights. Great for a visual change, this addition could also help those who have difficulties seeing certain colours.
Beat Games hasn’t stopped there. Players can now override the level environment and enjoy improved lighting. The swing angle detection has been improved, as well as the note jump-start positions and speed in Expert+ difficulty for Crystallized, Cycle Hit and WHAT THE CAT!? – which were all released last month.
Beat Saber supports Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR headsets. Unlike some previous updates or features, the OST Vol.3 update is available for all of those mentioned. Especially good for Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR owners who don’t have access to the Level Editor which is only available for PC.
VRFocus reviewed the PC version of Beat Saber back in May giving it a full five-star rating, remarking: “The Oculus Rift version is as good as ever and now offers even more value for money thanks to the new features, it is a little shame that there’s no cross-buy support for Oculus Quest. Either version of Beat Saber is great for new and veteran VR fans alike.”
The popularity of Beat Saber seems to have continued unabated. Harmonix will soon be challenging its rival on PlayStation VR when Audica arrives later this year for the headset. As further updates are released for Beat Saber, VRFocus will let you know.
Today HTC have announced that the Valve Index VR headset is being added to the list of supported headsets for the Viveport Infinity app subscription service.
The virtual reality app subscription service Viveport Infinity is now available for Valve’s Index VR headset, HTC announced, bringing all-you-can-watch and -play content to the most deluxe consumer VR platform yet available. Starting today and running through September, Index users will receive two months of free service, regardless of whether they’re already Viveport Infinity members.
For $12 per month — $9 monthly if prepaid annually — Viveport Infinity users get access to hundreds of VR apps and games that can be used across multiple PC VR headsets, including HTC’s own Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. The company says it’s now offering “much more top-rated VR games and apps” to users, thanks to greater developer engagement.
While some have called Viveport Infinity the Netflix of VR, HTC is marketing the service as an opportunity for new VR users to “discover their favorite VR games, apps and videos,” potentially making purchases of content sampled in the library. Infinity adds new apps and games each month to keep its catalog interesting, while also offering Viveport Video content, frequent coupons, and free app giveaways to members.
Valve Index users can take advantage of the free two-month promo deal through this link by downloading the Viveport desktop app and plugging the Index into the PC for verification. New users will begin a two-month trial of Viveport Infinity, while existing users will get two months of free service added to their accounts.
This post by Jeremy Horowitz originally appeared first on VentureBeat.
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Swinging arms at the ready; today’s Beat Saber update adds yet more songs for free.
Beat Games just launched its next major patch for the smash hit indie VR game. Headlining the update are six new songs, officially labeled ‘Original Soundtrack Vol. 3′. The tracklist includes a new track from Jaroslav Beck, Beat Games’ former CEO who recently stepped down to focus on music for the game.
But that’s not all. This update also brings the previously-promised color customization system. It allows you to select your own colors for sabers, notes and lights. No more Jedi red and blue for you. There’s also a new level environment override option.
Elsewhere this update brings a host of tweaks and fixes. Beat Games is promising improved lighting effects and more precise detection of angles when you swing. Some of the songs themselves have been slightly tweaked and a bug that stopped the game for starting properly has been addressed.
The update should be live on all platforms now. Here’s the tracklist for the OST 3, which you can listen to here:
Jaroslav Beck, Jan Ilavsky – Origins (ft. Mutrix)
Morgan Page – Reason For Living
Pegboard Nerds – Give A Little Love
PIXL – Full Charge
Slippy – Immortal
Boom Kitty – Burning Sands
There’s plenty more to come from Beat Saber land, though. We’re still awaiting the arrival of 360-degree levels, which we first saw at E3. These will definitely be appearing on Oculus Quest, but other platforms aren’t yet confirmed. Beat Games is also working on a third premium track pack, though we don’t know when that will launch. Last week Beck also announced plans to start funding indie VR developers as a means of giving back to the community. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with all the latest from the game going forward.
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When HTC Vive went on sale in 2016 the first download any sensible owner should have started was Valve’s The Lab. The collection of mini-games was designed to showcase the virtues of virtual reality (VR), with roomscale environments and lots of items to grip and interact with. However, as the years have passed The Lab started to get a little dated, surpassed by new content which took The Lab’s ideas and expanded them. Today, the title gets the update it has long deserved, improving a raft of features.
With Valve Index now available as well as the Index Controllers Valve has obviously looked at hand interactions – hence why its called the Hands-on Update. It doesn’t matter whether the controllers you own fully track fingers or not, the update will represent hands ‘to the highest fidelity possible’ states Valve.
Another feature taken right back to the bare bones is the physics-based interaction. This means that most objects within The Lab can be grabbed, poked, thrown, smashed, stacked and discarded however you wish. Just as important as touching stuff in VR is the audio, creating a rich soundscape to immerse you in. So all the spatialisation tech in The Lab has been overhauled to create an even richer audible tapestry.
It’s not just stuff you can see and hear which Valve has improved upon. Originally The Lab was designed to run at 90 Hz, the optimum frame rate for most VR headsets at the time to provide a smooth experience. That has caused some issues so now all the code is frame rate dependent, ensuring a seamless experience across a wide array of devices.
Other under the hood improvements also include upgrading to a modern engine version. All of which should mean The Lab becomes just as relevant as it was back in 2016, and an essential download for any Valve Index customer. As Valve says in a statement: ‘The Lab is a playground, and one that you can now enjoy like never before.’
While the update is good it probably isn’t the news fans want to hear. Valve still has yet to release any details regarding the ‘Flagship VR Title’ mentioned in May, when it does VRFocus will let you know.
Valve is finally adding Index Controller support to its popular VR showcase, The Lab. But that’s not all.
The SteamVR creator today announced The Lab Hands-On Update. The Lab was a free experience that launched alongside the HTC Vive in 2016. Set in Valve’s Portal universe, the app featured several different minigames and experiences designed to showcase the potential of VR. To this day it remains one of the most polished and enjoyable VR games on Steam.
Hands-On is the app’s first major update in nearly three years. Headlining the update is support for SteamVR’s new skeletal input system. Yes, that means The Lab now includes full support for the Index Controller’s finger-tracking, but it also allows you to reassign actions on any given controller to find a configuration that works for you.
Moreover, Hands-On overhauls The Lab’s physics and interactions. Valve says that nearly every object in the game now physically reacts to your hands. That means you can’t freely pass your hands through, say a coffee mug. Instead, the object will be pushed by your hand as if it were a physical object. Items can, of course, also be picked up and toyed with in all the ways you’d expect (including, according to Valve, being smashed).
Elsewhere Hands-On also includes support for Steam Audio, bringing in better spatialized sounds. Valve is also promising optimization improvements, upgrading the game to a modern version of its engine. As such, the game will be able to run in higher resolutions. Better yet, support for different frame rates (other than 90 Hz) has been added. That means Index owners with beefy rigs should be able to enjoy it in 120 Hz.
Updated support for The Lab is welcome, but we’re still waiting on news about Valve’s flagship VR game. Last we heard it was coming this year, so hopefully we’ll hear more about it soon.
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Today, Resolution Games has released its eighth virtual reality (VR) title, moving away from its single-player experiences like Bait! and Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs into the multiplayer realm with Acron: Attack of the Squirrels. The studio demoed the videogame at Gamescom 2019 last week and with VRFocus in attendance recorded 15 minutes of squirrel-based mayhem.
Acron: Attack of the Squirrels is a multiplayer party game for up to nine players, unique in the fact that it employs mobile devices. Unlike titles such as The Persistence which featured a mobile companion app for friends to help or hinder the VR player, Resolution Games’ is much more akin to PlayStation VR’s social screen on The Angry Birds Movie 2: VR Under Pressure where non-VR players are essential to the whole experience.
One player dons the VR headset and becomes the tree who must protect their golden acorns while up to eight mobile players are the squirrels, running around trying to steal four acorns and get them home. As the Tree players can throw items to knockout the squirrels or when close enough grab them a fling them out the level. As a mischievous squirrel, there are four to choose from, each with their own particular abilities to help the team.
As you’ll see in the video below, matches are fast and frantic only lasting three minutes apiece. As the VR player, there are are a lot of variables to keep an eye on, from where the acorns are to what player is doing what. The gameplay video only features four squirrel players so you can imagine when the full quota of eight is filled how hectic things can get.
Acron: Attack of the Squirrels launches today for Oculus Rift/Rift S, HTC Vive and Oculus Quest headsets via the Oculus Store and Steam, retailing for $19.99 USD/£14.99 GBP. On the mobile side, the videogame can be downloaded for free for iOS or Android devices (iOS 12.4, iPhone 6 and up; Android 5.0 and up).
Check out the gameplay video below and for any further updates on Acron: Attack of the Squirrels or any other Resolution Games projects, keep reading VRFocus.
Virtual reality (VR) anime Spice and Wolf VR only launched a couple of months ago and now developer Spicy Tails has announced a sequel is in the works. Happening a little sooner, Spice and Wolf VR will be coming to PlayStation VR and Nintendo Switch in September.
Spicy Tails has merely confirmed that a sequel is in the works, holding off on details such as storyline, platforms and release dates just yet. Work is definitely underway though, as the studio has released several artwork images including a mysterious new character who happens to have a bushy silver tail.
As for the new platforms, Spice and Wolf VR will be appearing on both PlayStation VR and Nintendo Switch on 5th September 2019. An Oculus Quest version is also on the way but it has been delayed. The studio confirmed the delay on Twitter saying: “The Oculus Quest version has a huge application process for Oculus and is expected to be delayed for a while.”
Based-on Isuna Hasekura’s original novel – who also happens to be Spicy Tails scenario writer for the project, Spice and Wolf VR tells the tale of a 25-year-old travelling merchant called Kraft Lawrence. On his journey’s he stops in the town of Pasloe where he comes across a wolf-deity named Holo who is over 600 years old. Taking the form of a 15-year-old girl – except for a wolf’s tail and ears – she wants to join him so she can see the world and eventually return to her homeland.
To bring the project to life Spicy Tales launch two crowd-funding campaign in 2018, one on Kickstart and the other on Campfire. Both were successful with the Kickstarter managing to raise ¥30,978,009 (approximately £240,000 GBP) while the Campfire campaign achieved its ¥8,000,000 (approximately £61,000) target.
This is Spicy Tails second VR title, the first being Project Lux. As further details regarding Spice and Wolf VR 2 are released, VRFocus will let you know.
It seems like we finally have a release window for HoloLens 2, and it’s fast approaching.
Reuters reports that the AR headset will go on sale in September. Executive Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and Research Group, Harry Shum, reportedly said as much on-stage at Shanghai’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference today. We have, of course, reached out to Microsoft itself to confirm whether or not this is true.
HoloLens 2 was revealed back at the 2019 Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. It is, as the name suggests, an updated take on Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, projecting virtual images into the real world and letting you interact with them. The kit’s been available to pre-order since February for $3,500.
Take note, though, that HoloLens 2 is strictly not a consumer product. Like the first version of the device, it’s squarely aimed at enterprise opportunities. Meanwhile, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition offers a comparable experience with more consumer-oriented experiences for $2,295.
In an interview with UploadVR following the kit’s reveal, Microsoft’s Greg Sullivan reasoned that consumer AR hardware was likely years out. “The way that we think about it, and I think it was echoed by Tim Sweeney’s statement last night, is that the consumer journey is probably measured in years,” Sullivan said. “That said we’ve confirmed that our belief that mixed reality at large is, to some degree, the future of the interaction model. We think it is profound value in freeing the digital world from these flat screens that it’s been trapped in for decades and bringing it into the real world with us.”
We got to try HoloLens 2 for ourselves. The field of view is certainly improved, though still an issue, but the headset is a much lighter and more comfortable fit overall. We’ll let you know the latest on the kit’s release as and when it happens.
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Microsoft might not be doing much virtual reality (VR) development but its dedication to augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) has never been stronger. Having announced the HoloLens 2 headset earlier this year during the Mobile World Congress as well as pre-orders, there was never any indication regarding when the device would actually launch. Today, that question has been answered with HoloLens 2 set to arrive next month.
The announcement was made by Microsoft’s executive vice president Harry Shum in a speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai this week reports Reuters.
No other details were given including an actual date in September, but for those who’ve managed to pre-order the headset, at least that means shipments should begin soon.
The original HoloLens arrived back in 2016 offering businesses the first real opportunity to explore MR technology. Retailing for $3,000 USD the headset was purely enterprise-focused. One of the main grievances with the original HoloLens was the field-of-view (FoV), coming in at a rather restrictive 35-degrees (an Oculus Rift is 110-degree for example).
HoloLens 2 promises an improved experience over its predecessor, offering greater comfort thanks to better balancing – the battery is placed at the back of the head now – and of course, the FoV has been increased. Those who wear glasses should find the design better suited to them and the front is hinged to allow easy dropping in and out of any experience.
Naturally, the HoloLens 2 isn’t cheap coming in at $3,500. You can’t simply pre-order the device either. Those interested will need to head to the official HoloLens 2 page to register their interest before going any further. It’s also worth noting that customers need to be based in the US, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, or the UK. If you happen to be part of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Developer Program then you can also access the HoloLens 2 Development Edition starting from $99 per month (or you can buy it outright). This edition is designed to encourage creators onto the system, only available through this program.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Microsoft’s HoloLens 2, reporting back with all the latest updates.
