Mint Virtual Reality

When it comes to the Wolfenstein franchise and virtual reality (VR), most people will tend to think of the upcoming Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot that was announced at E3 earlier this year. A group of fans have something a bit more nostalgic in mind, however.

Wolfenstein 3D was released in 1992 by id Software, and single-handedly launched the monster videogame genre now called the first-person shooter. The title broke new ground in its time and is still well-regarded. Now a group of fans are working on bringing the title into VR.

The project is inspired by the attempt by Alternate World Technology to create ‘Wolfenstein VR’ back in 1993, which used a heavy and bulky arcade head-mounted display and Polhemus tracker technology, though the project was ultimately hindered by the technology limitation of the time.

The new fan project is seeking top revive this idea using modern VR technology, which they say: “Allows us to step inside the castle once again in this tribute to one of the greatest games ever made.”

The currently available version of Wolfenstein 3D VR uses the Windows Shareware version of Wolfenstien 3D as a basis, which involves ten levels of labyrinthine hallways, secret passages, guard dogs and, of course, an entire army of Nazi forces just waiting to be shot dead, all presented in VR.

Currently the only fully supported VR device is the HTC Vive, though the developers say they are working on getting it working for the Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality devices.

Those interested in trying out Wolfenstein 3D VR for themselves will need to visit the Itch.io site and download the file before unzipping and running it. The development team are accepting feedback from the community in an effort to catch bugs and glitches and improve the experience.

For further news on other VR projects, keep checking back with VRFocus.

London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Southbank Centre are no strangers to cutting edge virtual reality (VR) technology. Both have been dabbling in the technology since 2016 and next month will see their latest endeavour launch. They’ve collaborated on two immersive, surround-sound VR experiences which will run for several days at the end of September.

The VR Sound Stage, the latest of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s VR projects is a custom-built sound studio in the Royal Festival Hall foyer at Southbank Centre. Inside, guests of up to six at a time will be able to don VR headsets and find themselves sat in the middle of the orchestra. right in front of  the Philharmonia’s Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor’ conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Featuring the music of Beethoven and Mahler, the first film was created to commemorate the launch of the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1977, with scenes cut from interstellar space along with footage of Salonen as the orchestra plays Beethoven’s Fifth. It won a Raindance Film Festival Award for Best VR Music Experience in 2017.

The second VR experience is Mahler’s Third, a UK premiere, capturing the final ten minutes of Mahler’s epic Third Symphony, conducted by Salonen in front of a live audience at the Royal Festival Hall on 1 October 2017.

“The VR Sound Stage represents the next exciting step in the Philharmonia’s journey with Virtual Reality,” said Luke Ritchie, Head of Innovation and Partnerships at the Philharmonia Orchestra in a statement. “These new experiences, presented in the UK for the first time, bring audio to the fore in a powerfully fresh format. Audiences can see and hear the Philharmonia and Esa-Pekka Salonen in a completely new way.”

The VR Sound Stage will run between 27 – 30 September alongside the first two concerts of the Philharmonia’s new season, with tickets available to book from 4 September. Opening times are from 9am to 7pm with slots every 20 minutes. Head to the official website for further details, or keep reading VRFocus for the latest updates.

The end of the week and for once I am actually not here but instead far away doing me-related things. Don’t worry though, because we’ve still got an edition of Life In 360° to begin our Friday wind down on the week. Despite it being post-Gamescom there’s been plenty of news and other items heading up on the website, so if you haven’t already be sure to give the whole of the front page a good once-over.

Today’s video carries on a recent tendency of looking into the aftermath of disasters from across the world, though this time not from a human point of view, but that of animals. The video was sent our way by Koncept VR, who are familiar faces to Life In 360° at this time, and by  the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – or ASPCA for short – it being their first-ever venture into 360 degree filmmaking. The video in question covers the work done by ASPCA in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and takes us to St. Croix, one of the the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When disaster is about to strike, it’s only natural people plan ahead for securing the important things and of course making sure the family is secure. ASPCA are keen to remind people that making sure the family is safe should also include any other adopted members of it.  Following the hurricane, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requested the help of ASPCA, and, supported by Nylabone, the organsiation ended up staying on St. Croix for more than three months, working to rescue or assist 22,000 displaced cats, dogs and horses and other animals.

“While there have been vast improvements in disaster preparedness for animals in recent years, experiencing a disaster first-hand helps people truly understand the importance of planning in advance,” explained Senior Director of ASPCA Disaster Response, Dick Green. “By giving pet owners an inside look at our emergency response operation via 360-degree video, we hope to further inform the public about the impact disasters situations can have on animals and inspire them to prioritize their own preparedness plans.”

You can find out more on the related website. I’ll be back with another example of 360 degree video use from around the world on Monday, so join me then on VRFocus.

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Creators focused on augmented reality have a chance to attend a conference to learn more about the Magic Leap One Creator Edition and how to build software for the headset.

The two-day event is being called the L.E.A.P. Conference and it will be held Oct. 9 and 10 in Los Angeles. Applications will be accepted all the way until Oct. 3, but space is limited and Magic Leap will individually approve folks who get the chance to actually register. So if you have a Magic Leap One and you’re in California already it is probably in your best interest to apply soon. People who are approved will receive an email explaining next steps and the registration process is free.

One of the key questions on the application asks was whether you are “currently developing on Magic Leap hardware”, so it seems reasonable if registration preference is granted to current owners of Magic Leap hardware.

We don’t know much more than that, but our initial impressions of ML1 suggest it is a solid AR developer kit and tweets from CEO Rony Abovitz make it seem like this event should resemble most other developer conferences.

We will also share more of our vision, roadmap, and focus on some key partners who have joined us in the spatial computing revolution

— Rony Abovitz (@rabovitz) August 30, 2018

But then again this is Magic Leap and Leapers certainly approach some things differently.

Tagged with: Magic Leap, Magic Leap One

The post L.E.A.P. Conference: Magic Leap Now Accepting Applications For October Event appeared first on UploadVR.

Every month we aim to round up each and every VR game release for you in one single place — this is September’s list. Don’t worry — we’ll continue highlighting the best ones at the end of each week too.

August was a huge month for VR. Between Firewall Zero Hour, Electronauts, Torn, and plenty others there was certainly something for everybody regardless of your chosen platform. Now with September right around the corner, it’s time to take a look at what’s coming down the line next.

And if you’re a VR game developer planning to release a game soon — let us know! You can get in touch with me directly by emailing david@uploadvr.com or hit all of the editorial team by emailing tips@uploadvr.com. Please contact us about your upcoming releases so that we can know what you’re working on and include you in release lists!

Rift, Vive, and Windows VR Game Releases For September 2018

Mystery House -fivestones- ($TBD) – September 3rd – Vive
MiniTracks ($TBD) – September 3rd – Vive, Windows VR
ABC Paint ($TBD) – September 3rd – Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Northern Lights 01 ($TBD) – September 3rd – Rift, Vive
ZONE OF THE ENDERS THE 2nd RUNNER : M∀RS ($29.99) – September 4th – Rift, Vive
Unknown Fate ($TBD) – September 4th – Vive
Virtual Virtual Reality ($TBD) – September 7th – Rift,  Vive
Sleeping Dawn VR ($TBD) – September 7th – Rift, Vive
People Cu3ed (Free Demo) – September 7th – Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Battle X: Birth of the Alliance ($TBD) – September 10th – Rift, Vive
Transference ($24.99) – September 18th – Rift, Vive
Creed: Rise to Glory ($29.99) – September 25th – Rift, Vive

No Specific Date in September Given

Amaze VR – 3D interactives ($TBD) – September 2018 – Rift, Vive, Windows (18+)

PSVR Game Releases For September 2018

ZONE OF THE ENDERS THE 2nd RUNNER : M∀RS ($29.99) – September 4th – Rift, Vive
Transference ($24.99) – September 18th – Rift, Vive
Creed: Rise to Glory ($29.99) – September 25th – Rift, Vive

We would love to include mobile releases, but there is very little visibility about what’s coming to Gear VR, Go, or Daydream and it’s difficult to track releases accurately by date. That being said, if you have a mobile VR title in the works with a specific launch date or window, let us know!

As a point of emphasis: reach out to david@uploadvr.com or tips@uploadvr.com to let us know about your upcoming VR game releases!

Editor’s Note: This post will be continuously updated.

Tagged with: battle x, Creed, new releases, PSVR, rift, Transference, Vive, VR Game Releases, VR games, windows mixed reality, windows VR, Zero Killed, zone of the enders

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Here's our guide for competing the newest season 8 challenge in Fortnite called the Search Between Three Oversized Seats. We're going to show you the location of the three seats on the Battle Royale map and how to find the battle star.

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