Supermassive Games outlined how The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR makes terrifying use of PSVR 2’s eye-tracking support.
One of many PSVR 2 games arriving at launch, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is a rollercoaster horror shooter similar to the 2016 PSVR exclusive Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood, you’ll try and survive this nightmarish ride by dodging obstacles and shooting fiends. Speaking in EDGE Magazine issue #380, game director Alejandro Arqué Gallardo begins by detailing how it uses PSVR 2’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
“With the haptic feedback, you feel the motion of the rollercoaster on the rails. You feel the wind and the rain on your hands. Then we used the adaptive triggers to create the feeling of guns being very different, with different levels of resistance,” explains Gallardo.
However, it’s Switchback VR’s use of eye-tracking which sounds particularly terrifying. Reminiscent of Doctor Who’s Weeping Angels, one room features a set of mannequins that only move when you blink.
A door painted with the instruction ‘don’t blink’ opens up into a room of blood-smeared mannequins in harlequin masks, their bodies twisted into unnatural poses. Eventually we can’t help it anymore, and let our eyelids flutter closed. When they open again, the mannequins have been rearranged – or have rearranged themselves. Another blink, and it happens again, except that one of them has now come to life. As we repeat this process, we learn to use our eyes tactically, only blinking once our guns are readied.
It’s an intriguing use of the tech which holds significant potential for future VR horror games, and Gallardo advises developers aren’t obliged to utilize PSVR 2’s unique hardware features. The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR arrives on PSVR 2 on February 22 for $39.99.
Highly anticipated mixed reality headset Lynx R1 is starting to ship to its earliest backers.
Lynx creator Stan Larroque told UploadVR over direct message that “we’re ramping up the production” and that there a couple hundred devices prepared.
“Kickstarter backers will be shipped first, as well as experienced developers to showcase cool experiences on the Lynx-R1,” an update from the company noted in December 2022. “First shipment of headsets leaving the factory on December 9th, therefore some units are already assembled. Those headsets will be way more polished than the ones we’ve shown in events and tradeshows these past years but won’t have the same color as the final version. The headsets will be delivered with an immersive VR interface.”
Lynx has been beset by delays as supply chain problems affected businesses worldwide during the pandemic. The project was originally funded in November 2021 with expected shipping in February 2022. Larroque told UploadVR today, however, that he expects all Kickstarter orders to be fulfilled “Between March and April” of 2023.
Lynx R1 is a mixed reality headset with battery in the back for better balance as well as color passthrough and built-in hand tracking. The headset’s designers “decided to make our own controllers” and hope to “show some working prototypes at the end of Q1. We aim to ship the first units before the end of June.”
We’ll keep an eye out for Lynx R1 during CES in Las Vegas later this week, and be sure to check back with UploadVR in the weeks ahead as we digest everything from the event.
Trademark filings suggest HTC’s new headset is the Vive XR Elite.
HTC has been drip feeding teases for its next device for months with the biggest drop of details given to The Verge last month indicating the new headset is lining up as a direct competitor to the Quest Pro. Now, a trademark filing by HTC for Vive XR Elite alongside a web listing and images shared online appear to show the full design. The listing’s South Korean price converts to around $1400, $100 cheaper than the listed price for Quest Pro.
The previous details shared with The Verge suggested Vive XR Elite should have two hours of battery life, will support tracked controllers as well as hand tracking, and won’t require a PC or phone. It can optionally connect to a gaming PC to stream PC VR games via a cable or Wi-Fi similar to Quest and Pico headsets, according to the details shared so far. Vive XR Elite also features four black and white tracking cameras as well as a central RGB camera for mixed reality with color passthrough. According to HTC’s teases, the passthrough is supposed to be good enough to read text on a phone or laptop screen and the device may also carry a depth sensor — a key piece of hardware dropped from Quest Pro in the months before it launched. On Vive XR Elite, then, the sensor could make room scanning an easier process, though we should note that Meta is working to make room scanning automatic even without the extra sensor. Like the existing Vive Flow, the latest images shared of Vive XR Elite appear to show diopter dials for each lens that could help people who need prescription optics get a crisp picture without additional hardware.
We’ll be able to confirm details later this week at CES in Las Vegas where HTC is planning to show the device.
In this week’s episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva host VR Verse, a new website dedicated to reviews of VR products and games.
The creators of VR Verse (Grumpyduck, Mrs. Grumpyduck, Your_Pal, and LimitedFragz) share how they’ve come to be running the website together. Other topics include reflections on 2022, PSVR 2, and the upcoming CES 2023 in Las Vegas.
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