April 2022

Up to 15 people using Quest or PC VR headsets can watch YouTube videos together in Bigscreen with all the features of a fully logged in experience. 

That means people with Meta Quest, Valve Index, HTC Vive and all other SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality headsets should be able co-watch any YouTube content via Bigdcreen. According to an email from Bigscreen CEO Darshan Shankar, that includes the ability to “rent movies and watch them on YouTube! The logged-in YouTube experience is exactly like on another YouTube surface.”

That’s a pretty significant addition to Bigdcreen as the feature should make it exceedingly easy to bring a large chunk of the web’s videos into a shared viewing experience in VR. Google also offers its own YouTube VR apps, but the key social feature of co-watching with others has been absent from official channels. Now, however, Bigscreen supports watching “YouTube with friends in your private room, or with random people in our public rooms” in a range of environments including the drive-in theater or a cinema.

Bigscreen has been working to improve its streaming quality and recently added a Remote Desktop feature to use a PC wirelessly while in Quest. The company is planning to add support for bluetooth keyboards and gamepads to the Remote Desktop feature “in the next few months.”



via Mint VR

Perhaps one of the most demanded VR mods out there, Firewatch VR, is now complete.

Developer Raicuparta recently moved their mod, named Two Forks VR, to a 1.0 release. This update doesn’t actually add much to the mod over the past release, but the developer says the mod is now in “maintenance mode”, essentially meaning it will just be updated to keep working with any possible future updates to Firewatch itself.

Raicuparta previously made an excellent VR mod for Outer Wilds, and now Two Forks VR features a lot of advanced VR mod features like snap turning and more. If you want to try the mod for yourself you’ll need to subscribe to Raicuparta’s Patreon campaign.

Firewatch was always a great choice for a VR mod thanks to its slow, story-driven pace and incredible environments. The game casts players as a forest lookout in Wyoming that develops an increasingly complex relationship with a colleague as they attempt to figure out their own tangled past.

The game’s original developer, Campo Santo, was eventually acquired by Valve and went on to work on seminal VR shooter, Half-Life: Alyx.

It’s been a busy few days for VR mods in general. Luke Ross is nearing release of an Elden Ring VR mod, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is now plyable with a headset, too.

Will you be trying out the Firewatch VR mod? Let us know in the comments below!



via Mint VR

Each week we will be taking a look at some of the upcoming videogames, demos and unique experiences available through Oculus App Lab for the Meta Quest headsets. Many of these videogames come in varying states of completion, so each title is subject to change.

This week we’re shooting some hoops, untangling wires and… running away from babies?!

Blacktop Hoops

I feel like basketball games, or games which have a basketball mini-game, are a dime a dozen. It’s an easy sport to replicate in VR, although it’s difficult to get it right. So, those that feel like playing the sport for real are more of a rarity. Enter Blacktop Hoops, probably the best basketball game I’ve played in VR, hands down.

In order to get a sports game right, everything needs to feel natural – you need to forget you’re in VR, holding motion controls. With just a few buttons, Blacktop Hoops transports you into a pick-up game in a one on one game. The ball feels intuitive; pretend to dribble the ball and it bounces to the ground and back to your hand; bounce it on a diagonal towards your off-hand and you’ll perform a crossover dribble.

When you want to shoot, simply pull the trigger and use your off-hand to steady the shot. Once you let go, the ball soars cleanly, there’s no awkward physics, it makes you feel like you can shoot threes all day. There’s even a jump button to dunk or set up a fadeaway throw. My only issue is with movement. Using the thumbstick to move feels like wading through jelly at times, which often gives the AI an advantage. Even on the easiest setting, I was finding myself turned around looking for the ball while my opponent was swishing the hoop.

It’s only in alpha at the moment and it’s completely free, so it’s worth downloading to stay in the practice mode and feel like Steph Curry for a while.

Cable Salad

Weird name, right? It’s easily explained if you’ve ever seen film footage of old telephone centres, where receptionists would pull out random wires and shove them into random holes in order to connect a call. That’s Cable Salad in an elevator pitch. You stand in front of a socket and must plug in the right cable to send a message to a person on the screen. The only issue is, the cables trail over, under and roundabout, so it’s like solving a maze.

You get points for connecting the right person and the mazes get harder and harder. It’s a pretty simple concept, really. Oddly, in between rounds of playing telephone, you get to grab a toy dart gun and shoot some holographic floating targets. I’m not sure why, but it’s still good fun to be had.

It might all be very simple – though the cable mazes can get deceptively tough – but the game takes place in a kind of workshop which is wonderfully animated and realised. There are sparking robot arms, junk cluttering the shelving and a general sense of mild chaos. I’d love to see this fleshed out with a story.

Baby Tag

Okay, stick with me on this one. Remember that scene in Trainspotting where Renton is desperately trying to kick heroin and he sees the scary baby crawling across the ceiling? Yeah, well, someone put that into a game. Kind of.

Baby Tag does exactly what it says in the name; you play as a baby in a nursery and have to avoid being tagged by other babies. You use the motion controls to crawl or slide across the floor, but weirdly, you can also climb sheer surfaces by tapping the grip buttons. Personally, I began to treat this game like a survival horror, instead of the cute mini-game it’s meant to be.

Dashing away from rampaging babies covered in green slime, which I believe represents the germs that most kids carry, is frankly terrifying. Looking around the room, as the babies charge towards you is worse than staring down hordes of zombies in Left 4 Dead! It certainly spurred me on to avoid being tagged.

Sadly, there’s not much game here, but if you want a laugh, or to be frightened like a 1990’s drug addict, give it a shot.



via Mint VR

What a busy month April has been, with stacks of exciting news across the XR and Web3 industries. This means taking time out and putting our feet up is pivotal to keeping us fresh and alert, and what better way to do that than with some of the latest videogames across console, PC, VR and AR – we cover all bases here at gmw3.

Ghostwire: Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo. Image credit: Bethesda

Dan

Ghostwire: Tokyo

I couldn’t leave this version of Tokyo. There was something so appealing about trawling a rain-soaked version of Tokyo haunted by yokai around every corner. By hour 35, when I neared the end of my playthrough, I’d collected everything I could, bought all the fancy clothing items and unlocked the best of all abilities. I was soaring above rooftops, absorbing spirits, fighting monstrous nightmare fuel and taking in the sights of neon-drenched Shibuya.

The main story, I could take it or leave it, but the characterisation of Tokyo stole me away from life. Everything from the little convenience stores to the iconic torii gates brought the city to life, despite the disappearance of all humans. Hell, I was happy dashing around talking to random cats and petting the dogs, all while KK, the spirit who took over my body at the start of the game, became less of a smartass and more personable.

While I could bleat on for hundreds of words about the cityscape, I won’t. However, I will give a nod to the gorgeous lighting system which brought my 4K display to life. Sparking magic fizzed and popped in hues of green and blue; the explosive red bolts felt delightfully effervescent as they tore holes in the faceless yokai. Some of my favourite moments happened in set pieces within the buildings, which were often locked off until a mission brought you in. Here, the game took on a wickedly dark and horrific tone, making me feel on edge more than once.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is the perfect game for fans of Japanese culture, with that edge of Video Nakata darkness.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

In perhaps the sharpest turnaround, my other main game for April was about a pink puffball who gobbles up other living creatures and takes on their abilities. Not too dissimilar to a yokai in some ways, I guess.

I always felt that Kirby should have the success of Mario, the platforming may not be as inventive or thrilling, but the variety of styles which Kirby can use to get through adventures are great fun. With the latest iteration, Kirby can now upgrade those abilities, making them more powerful or more versatile for the individual levels. For example, the bomb ability starts by simply throwing them, the first upgrade gives them wheels and the home in on enemies, while the last version chains them together for larger blasts.

The world in which you play is stunning in places – makes me glad I upgraded to an OLED Switch a few months back. The colours are sumptuous and eye-popping, the enemies range from cute critters to hulking dangers. As with every Nintendo property, it’s clear to see the love poured in from every angle; there are silly mini-games to play in the hub world, along with other distractions, such as collecting gachapon capsules which contain delightful models of the sprites from the game.

While it’s no Mario Odyssey, Kirby and the Forgotten Land offers so much content along with genuine grin-inducing moments from mouthful mode. Car Kirby is just as fun as you think it would be. I’ve not quite finished my time with the game, but I’ll miss it once I’m done. I think we all need a cute pink puffball in our lives nowadays.

Resident Evil 4 - The Mercenaries

Peter

Resident Evil 4 – The Mercenaries

I’ve always loved the Resident Evil franchise and still have my original Nintendo GameCube copies, so when Resident Evil 4 came to Meta Quest 2 last year I eagerly dived right in. But the release missed one big component, the horde-like The Mercenaries mode. I spent countless hours in the first one and now I’ve spent even more in the virtual reality (VR) version.

This time though it’s definitely better and seemingly even more hectic and stressful. Running around trying to find those hourglasses whilst removing Ganados’ heads from their shoulders whilst perfecting a path through each level to maximise points is ridiculously addictive. There’s no horror or scares involved – unless of them popped into my peripheral vision – just pure action.

And then there are the new, VR-specific challenges to unlock bonuses like Big Head Mode. It’s the sort of fast-paced, instantly accessible content Resident Evil 4 VR needed when I didn’t fancy stepping into the main campaign again. It means I get to enjoy Resident Evil 4 all over again and that’s no bad thing.

Tunic

The only problem though – and it’s not really a problem – is that after reading my colleague Will’s entry last month I downloaded Tunic because I’m also a big Legend of Zelda fan so Resi 4 took a hit. Having not read any other reviews regarding Tunic I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by this lovely little game. It’s full of heart and has no time or interest in providing an easy route to the finish.

Things like having to find the manual – which is mainly in a strange runic language – really made me want to dig deep into the game whilst the tough boss fights we’re certainly challenging. I love the isometric level design and the fact that even in an area I think I’ve thoroughly explored a new shortcut will suddenly appear. 

I’ve not completed it yet, I’m slowly savouring each moment (read: stuck on a boss).

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx, on the other hand, was more of a side treat. I reviewed the game back in 2020 and just like everyone else, loved it. Why play it again now with so many other games available? Well, this job does have its perks and Varjo sent me its high-end, $2000 USD Varjo Aero headset to play with for the month.

If you’ve not read my Varjo Aero review then here’s the gist, the visuals on the thing are incredible but there was some peripheral distortion. So Varjo fixed the issue with a new update and I tested it again with Half-Life: Alyx. Wow, think I spent the first ten minutes looking at the detail on the Gravity Glove, easily picking out the textures on each intricate part, it looked glorious. 

Stepping back into Half-Life: Alyx after so long reminded me again why Valve is integral to VR.

Half-Life: Alyx

Will

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The best thing about being the parent of a baby is being able to justify game purchases based on them being played at some future point by your kid (OK, one of the best things). Enter LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. If you’re a long-term veteran of the series, you’ve probably played LEGO game adaptations of most of these films before, but this is not a cynical rebundling of old games. Instead, The Skywalker Saga makes a reasonably successful attempt at reinventing the well-worn LEGO game formula, successfully cramming all nine films into a single game by combining shorter levels with massive hub worlds full of collectables.

It all makes for a fun, Star Wars-themed collectathon, and fans of the films will definitely appreciate the many references to and details from the series. The Skywalker Saga is also, weirdly, often quite beautiful to look at. Perhaps taking cues from The Lego Movie, which wore its inspiration of stop-motion animated lego fan films on its sleeve, in cutscenes I swear you can sometimes see the faint thumbprints and grime characteristic of real-world lego pieces. It gives the game an enjoyable toybox atmosphere that pairs well with its silly retelling of the Star Wars story.

Resident Evil 4 VR

In VR, meanwhile, I was dragged back into Resident Evil 4 following a recent update (though I’m yet to try out the new mode). Being a scaredy-cat, it’s an experience I’m only able to play in relatively small chunks, but as soon as a zombie’s head satisfyingly explodes into chunks before me, I’m glad I made the effort to boot it back up.  

Where the game really shines is as an exercise in nostalgia, allowing you to revisit a bonafide classic from a new perspective. In that sense, it has a lot in common with real-world attractions built around letting attendees visit the worlds of fictional IPs, the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour or Super Nintendo World being prime examples.

Here’s hoping that more game studios realise the potential of properly porting older games into VR and spare me the hassle of flying to Japan!

Pikmin Bloom

Coral

Pikmin Bloom

Spring has finally sprung, but this isn’t just any spring season — it’s the first where it looks like our lives are finally no longer dictated by lockdowns, mandates and other restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. So while I feel like Pikmin Bloom would have been a godsend during days when my only option was to walk outside, my life has nonetheless become way more eventful once again — making this the perfect time to get into an AR game that will reward me for, well… moving around much more.

Pikmin Bloom, which was launched last year in October, follows a similar framework to Pokemon Go — players are encouraged to go outside and explore their surroundings, where they can collect seedlings and create a squad of Pikmin — endearing little half-plant, half-animal creatures that were first popularised in 2001’s Gamecube classic. As you continue to walk alongside the different types of Pikmin you interact with and collect Nectar from the fruits they gather, you’ll leave AR-powered trails of flowers behind you.

As was the case with Pokemon GO, it’s hard not to love the idea of bringing nostalgic critters into your world — a concept I think we all would have adored if it’d only been around when we were kids. As I look forward to spending the rest of this year travelling (finally!) and visiting more parks and trails across the course of London, Europe and Canada, it’ll be fun to see which Pikmin I can pluck and take with me on my adventures.

 



via Mint VR

When it comes to socialising and watching movies and TV shows in virtual reality (VR) with your friends, Bigscreen is hard to beat. Today, the app has released a new update adding one big feature the community has been requesting, the ability to stream YouTube.

Bigscreen YouTube

Over the years Bigscreen has grown from a PC mirroring app to a fully functioning social experience, sitting on a virtual sofa to rent the latest films or switch things up to a nice cinema space. At its heart though, Bigscreen has always been about getting flatscreen content into VR, wherever it comes from, and YouTube always seemed like a big miss.

That’s now been rectified with Bigscreen’s own native YouTube all supported headsets such as Meta Quest, Valve Index, HTC Vive, and all SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality. The free update means you can watch YouTube as you normally would – just in VR this time – whilst YouTube Premium users can log in to get ad-free viewing.

Nothing has been missed out by the sound of it, YouTube TV subscribers can still watch live sports and TV as well as rent movies through the platform. Being able to log in means you’ll still get all that tailored content you know and love from your favourite YouTubers.

Bigscreen

And because you’re in Bigscreen you’ll be able to watch YouTube with up to 15 people per room thanks to December’s Streaming update. That also improved the Remote Desktop feature for Meta Quest users ensuring the app now streams at 60fps over a local network.

As usual, Bigscreen has teased what’s next on its agenda, saying in the next few months: “we’re also launching a huge improvement to our Social VR platform with a new friends system, bluetooth keyboard/gamepad support for Remote Desktop, and more!”

For continued updates on the latest VR streaming technology, keep reading gmw3.



via Mint VR

Aardman Animations announced a new collaboration with Atlas V and Meta to bring a new Wallace and Gromit VR experience to Quest 2.

Wallace and Gromit: The Grand Getaway will release for Meta Quest 2 in 2023, which Aardman says will be the “next step” for the pair’s adventures in immersive media after the mobile AR experience ‘The Big Fix Up’, which released last year for iPhone and Android.

Here’s a description of The Grand Getaway, direct from Aardman:

In ‘The Grand Getaway’, holidays are in the offing for Wallace and Gromit. Sun, sand, and the chance to test out their latest contraption, Auto-Caddy. But Wallace has his dates mixed up – they have to be on the other side of the country in just half an hour! There’s only one thing for it… they’ll take the Rocket. But a mishap with the controls sends Wallace, Gromit and Auto-Caddy hurtling off course. Will this be a holiday to remember?

Funded by Meta, The Grand Getaway will be a co-production between Aardman and Atlas V, allowing players to “walk around, explore and get hands-on (or paws-on!) within the world of Wallace & Gromit.”

Aardman is an animation studio known for a myriad of successful animation properties, movies and shorts, including Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Shawn the Sheep and more. Atlas V, meanwhile, is a production studio that has also worked on animated movies, but focused around immersive VR experiences and narratives, such as Gloomy Eyes, Battlescar and Madrid Noir. It will work on this new Wallace and Gromit experience in association with studios No Ghost and Albyon.

I was a big fan of Madrid Noir – it made some interesting stylistic choices with how it framed narrative in an immersive medium. There were sections where the animated characters were staged like a stage play occurring around you, with dramatic lighting and environments that almost looked like a movie set. The history of strong stylistic presentation makes me excited to see what a Wallace and Gromit collaboration with Aardman will look like. On paper, it’s a match made in heaven.

You can read more about The Grand Getaway over on Aardman’s site.



via Mint VR

Whenever the buzzword “metaverse” is mentioned it conjures up elaborate virtual worlds full of towering 3D buildings and expansive environments. Retro 8-bit graphics, on the other hand, don’t really (if ever) feature or even a consideration. Kongregate aims to change that this year by mashing up Web3 gaming with 8-bit design in The Bitverse.

The Bitverse

Born from a web game called Bit Heroes (2016), The Bitverse is essentially a collection of Web3 videogames set within a nostalgic 8-bit universe. Initially, there will be three titles available in this retro metaverse; cross-platform MMORPG Bit Heroes, battle royale shooter Bit Heroes Arena, and a third currently unannounced project that’ll be revealed later this year.

These are Web3 titles, so they’ll each offer fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for players to collect and earn. They can be played separately if players wish to do so but to get the most out of The Bitverse, each player’s NFT hero can be used across them all as well as being customisable. The Bitverse‘s NFT avatars will be available for presale in Q2 2022. It’ll have its own token called Pixels ($BPXL)

“Imagine a world where players no longer lose their unique character or digital identity when they want to switch from one game to the next. Instead, players have a larger universe of games to explore that leverage the progress, time and experience they have accrued playing their favourite game. And to take that one step further, what if that player can tell the game developers – directly – what types of games they want to see made in the future. That’s the promise and vision of the Bitverse,” said Max Murphy, CTO at Kongregate in a statement. “That’s the future that I want to live in and the world that Kongregate is building.”

The Bitverse

“The long term goal of the Bitverse is to create a metaverse of cross-platform games united by the blockchain, with an NFT ‘bit hero’ that players can use in every game,” said Jorge G. Ezquerra, Senior Director of Product at Kongregate. “These games will use a hybrid of traditional gaming and blockchain technology to allow players to own digital assets, engage with developers directly and influence future game development.”

You can play Bit Heroes now with Bit Heroes Arena set for an official launch in Q3 2022. For continued updates on The Bitverse, keep reading gmw3.



via Mint VR

Aardman’s beloved characters Wallace and Gromit will be making a return to the world of XR gaming the animation company has announced today. Working with Atlas V (Battlescar, Madrid Noir, Gloomy Eyes) and Meta, Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway will be coming to Meta Quest 2 next year.

Oculus Quest 2 top down

First reported by Variety, Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway will be a brand-new adventure for the duo where they plan to go on holiday. As you might expect things don’t exactly go according to plan.

“Wallace has his dates mixed up – they have to be on the other side of the country in just half an hour!” explains the synopsis. “There’s only one thing for it… they’ll take the Rocket. But a mishap with the controls sends Wallace, Gromit and Auto-Caddy hurtling off course. Will this be a holiday to remember?” Currently, no gameplay details have been released, but with Meta funding the project and Atlas V working with London’s No Ghost and Albyon in Lyon it’s going to be a high quality production

“The entire studio is so excited about this project, which provides us with a perfect opportunity to do what we love – combining memorable characters and engaging storytelling with emerging technologies to offer fans a totally immersive experience,” said Sean Clarke, Managing Director of Aardman in a statement. “For loyal fans of Wallace & Gromit, this will be real wish-fulfilment territory – after watching the characters on screen for decades, they will now have an opportunity to step into their world and play an active role in this new story as it unfolds. For those new to the characters, it’s the ultimate way to get to know them, the humour, and the hijinks that have made them so popular.”

Wallace & Gromit - The Big Fix Up
Wallace & Gromit – The Big Fix Up

Plus, Ben Whitehead will return as the voice of Wallace having taken over from the late Peter Sallis.

“It was challenging for all of us to come together to reach the level of expectations and standards that such an IP demands, but we are convinced that the fans of Wallace & Gromit and the VR community will experience amazing immersive adventures by interacting with these two much-loved characters,” Antoine Cayrol & Arnaud Colinart, Producers and co-founders at Atlas V commented.

Wallace and Gromit’s last big immersive experience was The Big Fix Up, an augmented reality (AR) title where players had to help fix up the duo’s home town of Bristol, UK.

As further details for Wallace & Gromit: The Grand Getaway are released, gmw3 will let you know.



via Mint VR

Mark Zuckerberg said he sees Project Cambria “eventually replacing your laptop”.

Here’s how he described Cambria to Meta’s investors during the Q1 2022 earnings call:

“On the hardware side, Meta Quest 2 continues to be the leading virtual reality headset. Later this year, we’ll release a higher-end headset, codenamed Project Cambria, which will be more focused on work use cases and eventually replacing your laptop or work setup.

This premium device will have improved ergonomics and full color passthrough mixed reality to seamlessly blend virtual reality with the physical world. We’re also building in eye tracking and face tracking so that your avatar can make eye contact and facial expressions, which dramatically improves your sense of presence. It’s also a good example of why we’re developing hardware in addition to the social platforms.”

Project Cambria was announced in late October at Connect 2021 as a high end standalone headset launching in 2022 which will be sold alongside Quest 2. At one point it was called ‘Quest Pro’, at least internally.

But what exactly does he mean by “replacing your laptop”?

The short teaser for Cambria shared at Connect 2021 shows one of VR’s key potential use cases: a portable but powerful workspace. The idea is that instead of being limited to hunching over the one small screen built into your laptop, you can have multiple virtual screens of whatever size you want floating in front of you. Consulting CTO John Carmack described the eventual goal as “to be something that somebody hard up for money decides I’m going to buy a VR headset instead of a Chromebook or instead of a tablet”.

Meta has been slowly adding productivity features to the Quest operating system, branded as Infinite Office. If you have a Logitech K830 or Apple Magic Keyboard, they’ll show up in VR so you can type and use the trackpad to navigate. Triple window support was added to the web browser in August, with window resizing added in December. These windows can actually also be Android phone apps, but the Quest Store doesn’t serve these and there’s obviously no Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore, so such apps have to be sideloaded.

While the software is starting to support these use cases, Quest 2’s front-heavy design makes extended seated use uncomfortable and its passthrough view is low resolution black & white. Cambria appears to have a more compact and balanced design, with a smaller frontbox and a strap resembling Quest 2’s elite strap accessory. And as shown in the teaser, its high resolution color passthrough should allow interaction with real world objects as well as reading notes on paper.

Still, the focus on web apps limits the current scope of Meta’s VR productivity ambitions to taking on Chromebooks. A lot of work is done on Windows or Mac, leveraging power hungry native apps like Photoshop, Premiere, Unity, or programming IDEs. You can of course use apps like Virtual Desktop and Immersed to use your PC in VR, but neither is frictionless and both still work around an operating system designed for windows housed within physical screens.

 

Zuckerberg finished his statement by saying Meta will “share more details about Project Cambria in the months ahead as we get ready to launch it”.



via Mint VR

Green Hell VR developer Incuvo sounds bullish on PSVR 2.

Speaking to Gamerant, CEO Andrzej Wychowaniec touched on the subject of Sony’s new headset and the features he was looking forward to. Particularly, Wychowaniec said he was looking forward to what the new Sense controllers could offer along with new features like eye tracking.

“These solutions will be crucial to the progress of VR gaming, as they will allow developers to invent entirely new kinds of experiences,” the developer said, adding that PS5’s Tempest 3D audio tech could also deliver much more immersive experiences.

As for how he thinks the headset might perform in the market, Wychowaniec was optimistic that PSVR 2 could match the original PSVR’s 5 million units and then some.

“I certainly hope that the new headset will repeat the success and will accelerate the market growth and bring new possibilities in terms of features, user experience, and a fresh dose of competitiveness which always stimulates technological innovation,” he said. “It’ll also be good for developers. New platforms mean new sources of income, as well as the opportunity to raise the quality standards. So basically better games. I believe that Sony will succeed again, and NGVR [next-gen VR, a codename cited by PSVR Without Parole last year] will bring millions of new VR enthusiasts to the community.”

Currently Incuvo is working on two different versions of Green Hell VR. The first is a Quest release that launched earlier this month as a streamlined version of the game designed specifically for the mobile headset. The full Green Hell experience is also coming to PC VR, with launch planned in the near future. Currently, though, Incuvo hasn’t confirmed if the game might also come to PSVR 2. We thought the Quest version was great, giving us high hopes for future editions.

Currently we know about the specs and design of Sony’s new VR headset, but still don’t have an idea of when it might launch. Rumors and speculation have been pointing to a Q1 2023 release due to the stresses of the component shortage. You can keep track of everything we know about the headset right now over here.



via Mint VR

Pokémon GO has been a phenomenally successful videogame that put augmented reality (AR) technology on the map even if you didn’t really need the AR component for most of it. So what happens when you create an AR videogame inspired by Pokémon GO and combine it with a play-to-earn crypto component? You get Expedition, which has already seen its waitlist signups soar to 65,000 after the first day.

Teasing that the first 10,000 signups might see something special, due to the initial signup success Exhibition will now be closing the waitlist today, so you might want to add your interest soon. Apart from the Pokémon GO inspiration mentioned, details regarding Expedition‘s gameplay, design and other features remain very vague.

Simply stating that: “Expedition combines AR technology with crypto all into a mobile game,” the only other details to go on relate to the fact that “Expedition will launch on Terra to harness the power of $LUNA and $UST.”

Using some educated guessing, gmw3 would assume that you’re going to be able to walk around real-world locations to catch some sort of digital creature, earning $LUNA along the way. These creatures will likely be NFTs that you can sell or maybe trade, possibly even upgrade or alter in some way. Plus, other Web3 features such as staking to help increase earns.

Pokemon Go Trainer Battles

How and when this will happen is another mystery, Expedition has yet to reveal a roadmap or even a Discord server at this point – its Twitter account was only open in April. So there’s more than likely a little while to wait until something materialises.

However, Expedition isn’t the first title to go down this play-to-earn/AR route, several others do exist most notably DogemonGO which is already available for iOS and Android.

As further details regarding Expedition are released, gmw3 will keep you updated.



via Mint VR

Upcoming VR city-building sim, Little Cities, will get hand-tracking support in a post-launch update.

Publisher nDreams confirmed as much today, noting that the game will get hand-tracking integration via a free update in June. Following on in July, a second free update will add new buildings and cosmetic items. More updates are planned following the second content drop, too.

Little_cities_roadmap_1920x1080

Hand-tracking will definitely be an interesting addition to the game. We noted in our preview earlier this month that the game had a great UI system with bubbles appearing above the user’s hands. It definitely seems like this could work well with hand-tracking, whilst the point-and-click nature of the core gameplay seems like it’d work with the new control scheme, too.

It’s also handy that Meta just launched a huge update to improve the quality of hand-tracking specifically on Quest 2. The headset can now keep track of faster movements, with support for the improved feature already rolling out across select titles.

Little Cities is due out on May 12. It was originally meant to launch last week, but nDreams announced a last minute delay citing the attention being given to the Meta Gaming Showcase. We’ll have a full review next month.



via Mint VR

We’ve got a brand new look at The Chewllers, the cooperative VR shooter we announced at last winter’s Upload VR Showcase.

The latest look at the game takes the form of a cinematic trailer starring the titular monsters. Chewllers are grimy little minion-like creatures intent on tearing down the tower that players defend together.

The Chewllers Cinematic Trailer

Last winter we saw gameplay that confirmed the game would offer four-player co-op. Players will stand on top of the tower, covering all angles as the hordes approach. You’ll be able to upgrade weapons and repair your tower between waves, holding out as long as you can.

We don’t have a final release date yet but the trailer does confirm that the game is coming to Quest this summer via early access. PC VR and PSVR releases are also planned for later down the line. Are you going to be checking out The Chewllers this summer? Let us know in the comments below!



via Mint VR

Finally, after being made available in plenty of territories worldwide Nreal will soon sell its augmented reality (AR) glasses in the UK. Just like in countries such as Japan and the US, the latest Nreal Air will be made available in the UK via a mobile carrier – in this instance an exclusive deal with EE – later this spring.

Nreal Air connects to your smartphone so that users can watch TV or movies on a big virtual screen or utilise its AR functionality with a range of apps. Weighing in at 79g, Nreal Air supports two different modes; “Air Casting” and “MR Space”. The former allows users to mirror their phone screen, enlarging it up to a 130-inch HD virtual display. The latter can position multiple virtual screens for a range of tasks.

The AR glasses contain a micro-OLED chip that can support 49 Pixels Per Degree (PPD) at its maximum, all running at a 90Hz refresh rate. Connection is via USB-C to compatible smartphones (UK devices to be confirmed) using the Nreal Nebula app for the AR operating environment.

“We’re delighted to enter the UK market in partnership with EE and we look forward to building up the AR ecosystem together. At Nreal, we’re passionate about bringing AR into consumers’ everyday lives, which will start a revolutionary transformation just as the internet once did. AR will transcend the current mobile experience, especially when it comes to watching videos, exercising, and playing PC and cloud video games. As we continue to enrich the AR ecosystem with each update and upgrade, consumers will enjoy more mind-blowing digital innovations and experiences blended into everyday life,” said Peng Jin, Co-founder of Nreal in a statement.

Nreal Air - EE

Nreal Air Specifications

Form factor ·       148mm x 52mm x 159mm (opened)
·       148mm x 52mm x 60mm (folded)
·       3-Position adjustment for optimal gaze angle
·       Head width from 120-186mm
Power ·       Up to 5 hours video streaming in Air Casting mode
Weight ·       79 grams
Display ·       OLED
·       3840 by 1080 pixels with sRGB 108% colour gamut, 8-bit depth for 16.773 million colours
·       Up to 400 nits perceived brightness
·       100,000:1 contrast ratio
·       ~46-degree FoV, 49 pixels per degree (PPD)
·       130″ at 4m (Air Casting Mode), 201″ at 6m (MR Space Mode)
·       Fingerprint resistant coating, anti-reflective coating
Audio ·       2 open-ear speakers
·       Dual microphone array, omnidirectional MEMS microphones
·       Bass boost, virtual rendering
·       Echo cancellation, noise cancellation, beamforming, speech enhancement
Position tracking ·       3DoF head tracking
Controls and sensors ·       Screen on/off button
·       Screen brightness adjustment button
·       Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
·       Proximity sensor
Accessories ·       Detachable cable
·       Prescription-lens frame
·       3 nose pads
·       Case
·       Cleaning cloth
·       Light shield

“We’re working with the best content providers and the most innovative technology companies in the world to create entirely new experiences for our customers. Nreal are at the forefront of AR, and we’re delighted to be the exclusive UK partner for the launch of their new Nreal Air AR glasses,” Alistair Wilson, Director of Devices and Partnerships, EE adds. “When combined with the power of 5G, it really does open up new possibilities for seamless streaming and access to new types of content on the move – these are really exciting times for mobile.”

EE will launch the Nreal Air AR glasses later this spring, no prices have been revealed thus far. The device arrived in Japan back in March retailing for 39,799 yen ($345 USD) so that would put the UK price around the £270 GBP mark, directly in competition with Ray-Ban Stories, the smart glasses collaboration with Meta.

You can register your interest here for Nreal Air and for further updates keep reading gmw3.



via Mint VR

Machine Games’ shooter sequel, Wolftenstein II, now has a VR mod.

Released over the weekend, the mod is the work of developer Helifax, and represents their first full VR mod having previously worked on 3D conversions of games like Doom Eternal. Check out some gameplay from a build of the game captured in January below. You can download the mod from here, though you’ll of course need an actual copy of the game first.

Wolfenstein II VR Mod Released

Rather then full motion controls or a gamepad-based system, the mod uses a gesture-based system that allows you to aim with some physicality whilst not turning the experience into a fully motion controlled shooter. Essentially the right motion controller will serve as the right thumbsick for aiming, though your head will still have a full 6DOF of control.

If you’re impressed with the mod you can contribute to Helifax’s Patreon campaign. It’s been a busy few months for VR mods, with developer Luke Ross also just revealing work on an Elden Ring VR mod. We also recently spoke to some of the modders behind Half-Life: Alyx’s best fan-made campaigns.

This isn’t Wolfenstein’s first brush with VR, of course. There are numerous mods for other games in the series, including the classic Wolfenstein 3D and even a means of playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein on Quest. Bethesda and Machine Games even released an official VR spin-off, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, a few years back. That said, it wasn’t very inspiring.

Are you going to check out this Wolfenstein II VR mod? Let us know in the comments below!



via Mint VR

Last month the Academy of Extended Reality (AIXR) announced that its annual VR Awards would once again be held as an in-person event in London, UK later this year after spending 2021 as a digital-only event. Today, the VR Awards 2022 has opened nominations across 12 categories.

VR Awards
Photography by Dom Martin

This will be the sixth annual VR Awards, open to immersive projects the world over. Most of the usual categories return looking for the best VR hardware, videogame, film, location-based entertainment (LBE), healthcare app and more.

Nominations are open now until 20th June 2022 with anyone – from individuals to companies – able to place a nomination. As always the VR Awards is a not-for-profit event with the nomination fee waived if you or your company is an AIXR member. If not, each nomination with cost £205 GBP so make your selections carefully. The AIXR has created a handy 2022 Entry Kit to help with the nomination process.

Additionally, there will be two VR Awards webinars held in May and June so that nominees can learn more about the process. They’ll feature previous award winners as well as members of the judging panel.

The VR Awards
The VR Awards. Photography by Dom Martin

VR Awards 2022 Categories

  • VR Hardware of the Year
  • VR Game of the Year
  • VR Experience of the Year
  • VR Film of the Year
  • VR Marketing Campaign of the Year
  • Rising VR Company of the Year
  • Innovative VR Company of the Year
  • VR Social Impact Award
  • VR Enterprise Solution of the Year
  • VR Education & Training of the Year
  • VR Healthcare of the Year
  • VR LBE of the Year

The VR Awards 2022 will be held on 3rd November returning to its roots as a luxurious black-tie event. For all the latest updates on the VR Awards, keep reading gmw3.



via Mint VR

Supposed leaks may give us new information about the Assassin’s Creed VR game, apparently called Assassin’s Creed: Nexus.

Two posts surfaced online this weekend, both citing the Nexus name for the Meta-exclusive project. Take note that these reports could easily turn out to be false. Update: A Ubisoft spokesperson declined to comment, saying the company does not comment on rumors and speculation.

The first report was from a site called Exputer, which reported that the game will let you play as Assassins from across the entire series including fan-favorite, Ezio. According to the report, Nexus will focus on the core tenants of the main series, including stealth gameplay, combat and climbing.

Movement will apparently allow for either smooth locomotion or teleporting, with a sound meter used to keep you from simply jumping around undetected. The report also says you can hold a button and flick a wrist to reveal the iconic assassin blades.

Interestingly, though, the article also mentions that Nexus will be made up of 16 individual missions, which suggests it won’t be truly open-world like other games in the series. The second report from a Reddit user backs this up, saying missions are pretty large and allow for backtracking, but the game itself is not open world.

The second source from Reddit also claims to have played “a fair bit of the game” and has posted footage of what they claim is the menu for Nexus, which you can see above. The menu resembles the clean white aesthetic used in the Animus system in the main games, with the player loading into a level called ‘The Sword of Ezio’. There’s no actual gameplay and it’s much easier to mock up a menu than it is in-game content so, again, take this with a big pinch of salt for now.

The Exputer report also claims the game aims to release in the next 12 months. Last week Meta hosted its second annual Quest Gaming Showcase which focused on games releasing within the next year, but Assassin’s Creed was missing from the line-up.

We first heard that Meta had signed deals for Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell VR games in 2019 before the company made them official in late 2020. Since then Ubisoft has been heavily recruiting for both projects, but neither has been officially revealed in any form.



via Mint VR

Augmented reality (AR) is a key pillar of Industry 4.0 (or the fourth industrial revolution), side-by-side with other potentially transformative technologies like machine learning and big data. Indeed, consultancy firm PwC has estimated that industrial manufacturing and design is one of the biggest areas for augmented and virtual reality (VR), with their use in heavy industry having the potential to deliver a $360bn GDP boost by 2030.

In this latest edition of our series on how augmented reality is faring across a range of industries, we’ll be taking a closer look at why AR is proving so useful in heavy industry, in particular the fields of construction, manufacturing and energy.

Construction

AR is proving to be a key tool for the construction industry, whether in the design stage or actually in the construction process itself, leading a 2020 study of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry to say that AR and VR would see “strong growth” in the next 5 to 10 years.

On the design side, numerous architectural tools exist to help with space visualisation using augmented reality. One such example is The Wild, which allows designers to view 3D models in both virtual and augmented reality. Such tools can layer virtual details onto a building plan so that plans can be more readily understood by stakeholders. 

That requires highly detailed and accurate 3D models, which is where the technology overlaps with digital twin technology. Using those digital twins, companies like Akular can enable clients to see what a building would look like on-site in the real world before it is built via a mobile application.

When it comes to actual construction, augmented reality again finds a number of uses, not least training workers on safety. That might involve AR headsets that interact with tags on potentially dangerous areas to bring up safety information, but even before workers are on-site, AR can help with training them on how to use heavy machinery – as with the construction equipment training simulators offered by CM Labs or the Arvizio AR Instructor.

Arvizio AR Instructor

“Industries are experiencing a shortage of skilled front-line employees and view augmented reality as a means to accelerate training and efficiently transfer the expertise of experienced workers,” said Jonathan Reeves, CEO of Arvizio. “Arvizio enables organizations to rapidly upskill employees without the need for on-site coaching and mentoring. By delivering no-code authored augmented reality instruction and remote expert connectivity, AR Instructor can substantially increase productivity and reduce errors of workers performing complex operational activities.”

Meanwhile, progress capture and tracking functionality directly compares real-world sites with virtual models to ensure they aren’t deviating – all in real-time. A host of companies provide variations on that technology such as VisualLive, which enables users to witness 3D models in real life via headsets such as the Microsoft HoloLens or mobile devices.

Manufacturing

Much of the technology we’ve covered for construction can equally apply to the manufacturing industry, whether that’s learning how to use dangerous equipment or visualising the layout of equipment and machinery in a factory. None of this is to say there aren’t plenty of bespoke uses for augmented reality in the manufacturing space, however.

One early pioneer was Volkswagen, which was using augmented reality to assist service workers way back in 2013. The MARTA app showed step-by-step instructions on how to repair and replace certain components, overlaying its advice on the car via an iPad app. Along similar lines is Boeing’s more recent use of augmented reality to give technicians real-time, hands-free, interactive 3D wiring diagrams. 

Interestingly, that technology has bled over into the consumer space with AR manuals that assist car-owners with basic maintenance operations by showing precisely where components are located within a car.

In the design space, AR has been deployed by the largest manufacturers to rapidly iterate and do away with expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes. In the case of Ford and its partnership with HoloLens, changes can be made to a design and reflected in real-time to collaboratively sculpt a new vehicle.

AR has been trusted at the very highest levels of manufacturing, too. Lockheed Martin utilised augmented reality in the creation of NASA’s Orion Spacecraft, overlaying information to help with mission-critical procedures such as precisely aligning fasteners.

Nasa Orion HoloLens

Energy

In the energy sector, AR has the potential to remedy significant problems faced by the industry, chief of which is a brain drain caused by an ageing workforce. Indeed, the US Department of Labor estimated in 2019 that 50% of the current energy utility workforce will retire within the next ten years. The institutional knowledge being lost could be replenished more quickly with the help of AR technology.

Shell is duly using the remote collaboration possibilities of AR to educate workers in the field. Expert consultants are able to see through a worker’s eyes via an AR headset, and even draw on the screen of the augmented reality display they are using. That increases safety as workers interact with potentially dangerous heavy oil and gas equipment, as well as allowing experienced but ageing employees the ability to work remotely.

Shell AR
Image credit: Shell

The energy sector is no slouch when it comes to more specific AR solutions either, such as Upskills’s Skylight platform which allows companies to more easily develop bespoke augmented reality apps for use with AR devices, ranging from Google Glass to Microsoft HoloLens 2 and mobile devices. Then there are solutions such as Adroit, which can provide guidance on repairing high-stakes equipment such as oil rigs by scanning and identifying faulty components and machinery.

Final Thoughts

In heavy industry, where the costs of prototyping are enormous and the potential risks from machinery are significant, leaning on the virtual possibilities of augmented reality is common sense – hence the interest in the technology from across the sector.

To find out more about how AR is progressing in other fields, read the previous entry in the series, where we explored the healthcare industry in particular.



via Mint VR

XOCUS, the virtual reality (VR) developer behind Z-Race has announced the upcoming launch of its next racing title, Omega Pilot. Putting players in the cockpit of ludicrously fast vehicles, Omega Pilot is due to speed onto Steam Early Access an Oculus App Lab in a couple of weeks.

Omega Pilot

It was just over a year ago that XOCUS launched its futuristic racer Z-Race for PCVR headsets. One of its main features was the comfortable control scheme, whereby players controlled their vehicles directly through the physical movement of their hands; kind of like a toy car. Receiving a positive response from the community, players also wanted to step into the cockpit but due to Z-Race’s particular control scheme that wasn’t possible. So Omega Pilot was born.

Creating a whole new game just so fans could heart-pounding speeds in first-person inside Z-Race’s tubular tracks, Omega Pilot will feature “realistic physics and control mechanics.” The early access launch in May will include 10 tracks and three gameplay modes; Circuit racing, Checkpoint racing and Slalom. XOCUS hasn’t confirmed if these are brand new tracks or tracks ported from Z-race.

Initially, Omega Pilot – just like Z-Race did – will feature an asynchronous multiplayer so players will race against each other’s times rather than directly against one another. That’ll change as development progresses, with more content and features added.

Omega Pilot

The final version of Omega Pilot which is slated to arrive before the end of 2022 will offer: “a real-time multiplayer with an exciting deathmatch arena mode. The player will take on the role of a racer of the future, who must advance along increasingly difficult tracks and defeat dexterous rivals in order to become the Omega Pilot champion,” the developer explains in a statement.

Omega Pilot will launch as an Early Access title on Steam and via Meta Quest’s App Lab on 12th May 2022. No price has been revealed just yet but for further updates keep reading gmw3.



via Mint VR

An Elden Ring VR mod is in development.

Modder Luke Ross, known for his series of REAL VR mods, is behind the upcoming ‘port’. As you can see in the video below, the mod will allow you to play the game in first-person, seeing the enormous world from the RPG masterpiece in a whole new light. This first footage gives us just a quick look at the opening tutorial area.

Elden Ring VR Mod Gameplay

Ross’ other mods — which include work on Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn — all use the gamepad for traditional controls rather than attempting to implement motion controllers. This will still be the case here which makes a lot of sense. Like the other Souls games before it, Elden Ring is all about judging attack animations and weapon speed. That simply wouldn’t translate to VR controllers, which is one reason why we probably haven’t seen many Souls-likes in VR yet.

You’ll no doubt need a beast of a PC to keep the game running at a stable framerate. According to PC Gamer, Ross is hoping to release the mod by the end of April but there may be some delays on that front. The developer will release the mod as part of his Patreon campaign, with subscribers getting access. Most recently, the developer put out a mod for Cyberpunk 2077, and has plans for yet more big titles in the future.

Would you play an Elden Ring VR mod? Let us know in the comments below!



via Mint VR

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