Everything must come to an end. Streamer Philza has been battling it out in Minecraft's Hardcore mode, where players have only one life and the game is locked on the hard difficulty, for five years.
The post Streamer’s five-year hardcore Minecraft run ends by a baby zombie appeared first on Digital Trends.
After that initial tease in March and then the unexpected leak in April, Valve has now officially released details for its upcoming virtual reality (VR) headset, Valve Index; and its a monster.
The Valve Index is no entry-level machine with the company firmly aiming towards longtime fans of VR – especially those who own an HTC Vive. The device has been built from the ground up with high-fidelity VR in mind, so it features a custom built full-RGB LCD display that’s been designed with 50% more subpixels that OLED to reduce the screendoor effect.
Valve doesn’t state a field-of-view (FOV) as you would normally find with most headsets. This is because Valve Index not only has manual IPD adjustment built-in, it also features adjustable ‘eye relief’ which moves the lenses backwards and forwards for the most comfortable position. As such this then alters the FOV depending on the user. Valve does note in its press release that ‘Typical user experience is an FOV 20 degrees larger than Vive’, to give you some comparison.
Other notable features of the Valve Index include the audio system which uses nearfield off-ear speakers to increase spatial presence, a magnetic face gasket anti-microbial fabric for cleanliness; easy to adjust head strap, a 120Hz framerate; front cameras for passthrough functionality and a chamber at the front of the headset – under the shiny plastic cover – which Valve calls the ‘Frunk’, a space for USB add-ons.
And that’s just the headset. Then there are the new Base Stations 2.0 which have a wider FOV, longer range, and snazzier looking casing.
Last but not least are the Valve Index Controllers (formerly called Knuckles). These have been much less of a mystery as Valve has been fairly open about their development, with plenty of prototype models appearing online. Each controller features a thumbstick, digital buttons, trackpad, trigger, and 87 sensors per controller – including optical, motion, capacitive, and force sensors – for full finger tracking. Plus the adjustable strap which will allow players to open their hands to drop or throw items.
So what about the cost? Well the full kit including the Valve Index, Base Stations 2.0 and Valve Index Controllers will retail for $999 USD / £919 GBP. But there are plenty of other options if you don’t need the entire kit. The headset by itself is $499/£459 (works with Base Stations 1.0), or the controllers by themselves are $279/£259 for the pair. The Base Stations 2.0 are $149/£139 each.
| Valve Index | USD | GBP | EUR |
| Full VR Kit | $999.00 | £919.00 | €1,079.00 |
| HMD & Controllers Kit | $749.00 | £689.00 | €799.00 |
| HMD | $499.00 | £459.00 | €539.00 |
| Index Controllers – Pair | $279.00 | £259.00 | €299.00 |
| Base Stations 2.0 – Single | $149.00 | £139.00 | €159.00 |
Pre-orders for the Valve Index are due to go live on 1st May with shipments beginning towards the end of June. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Being able to view the internet entirely in virtual reality (VR) is one of the next big steps to make the technology more widely accepted. Mozilla is pushing this initiative forward with its Firefox Reality browser. Today, as part of the announcements around Valve Index, Mozilla has confirmed it’s working on a version compatible with SteamVR.
Mozilla has been working with Valve to bring Firefox Reality to the platform, which would allow any headset compatible with SteamVR – including Valve Index – to be able to use the immersive browser. It’s not available just yet, however, in the next few months SteamVR users will be able to install Firefox Reality via a new web dashboard button, launching a browser window over any OpenVR experience.
“With a few simple clicks, users will be able to access web content such as tips or guides or stream a Twitch comment channel without having to exit their immersive experiences,” says Andre Vrignaud, Head of Mixed Reality Strategy in a statement. “In addition, users will be able to log into their Firefox account once, and access synced bookmarks and cookies across both Firefox and Firefox Reality — no need to log in twice!”
Adding SteamVR support should allow Firefox Reality to reach more users and further improve its headset compatibility. The browser is already compatible with headsets such as Vive Wave devices, Oculus Go and Google Daydream View, as well as an early developer preview for Magic Leap One. Back in February during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 event in Spain, Mozilla revealed a collaboration with Microsoft to bring Firefox Reality to the new HoloLens 2.
Firefox Reality saw a public release in September 2018 as a means to deliver 3D web and immersive content to VR headset users, updated in the following months to include 360-degree video support as well as additional languages. Firefox Reality also happens to be the default web browser across HTC Vive’s entire range of headsets.
Valve and Mozilla plan on releasing Firefox Reality for SteamVR this summer. It can be Wishlisted on the Steam store, and when further details are released VRFocus will let you know.
The good news? Valve Index is shaping up to be a truly impressive VR headset when it ships in June. The bad news? We still don’t know much about a Valve-made VR game.
At least not yet.
Valve is still keeping the project under wraps for now. Though the new headset and its flashy controllers will both be arriving in June, we wouldn’t hold your breath for a big Valve VR game to arrive with it. The company did tell us, though, that it will have a “flagship game” arriving in 2019. No word on exactly what that game is yet; Valve wants to keep the rumor mill spinning.
We also know that the game won’t be exclusive to Index. Staying in line with Valve’s anti-exclusive messaging, you’ll be able to play it on any SteamVR-compatible headset. That means Rift, Vive and Windows VR owners will get to enjoy it too.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t any Valve VR software to talk about, though. During our trip to the studio we did try Aperture Hand Labs, a technical showcase for the Index Controllers set in the Portal universe. We don’t know if that will arrive alongside Index but it’s quite possible.
We have heard, though, that this flagship game could be a new entry in Valve’s legendary Half-Life franchise. It might not be the now-fabled Half-Life 3, but it could be another story set within the universe.
Valve fans will have to demonstrate just a little more patience once Index arrives, then. Fortunately, you’ll have plenty to play in the meantime; Index is set to work with the entire library of existing SteamVR content and we saw some pretty exciting new additions to it this month. That includes the upcoming VR port of No Man’s Sky and Stress Level Zero’s Boneworks.
Tagged with: valve, valve index
The post Valve’s Flagship VR Game Coming In 2019 ‘To Any SteamVR Compatible System’ appeared first on UploadVR.
Valve today opened preorders and revealed the specs for its Index PC VR system. Index is not made in partnership with HTC, the company Valve first partneted with on the first SteamVR headset (Vive). It’s a first party product from Valve Corporation.
Index is a PC VR headset powered by the SteamVR platform. It should be compatible with all existing SteamVR games. However older titles may not be optimized for the Index Controllers as they were built with HTC controllers in mind.
Preorders are available today, and the product will ship some time in June. No games are listed as being included.
The full Index bundle is $999. This includes the headset, the two VR controllers, two SteamVR Tracking 2.0 base stations, and all required cables and mounts.
Owners of the HTC Vive or Vive Pro can purchase the headset alone for $499, the controllers alone for $279, or the headset and controllers for $749. The Index headset and controllers work with any HTC base stations.
Valve base stations can be purchased individually for $149 each. Note that they will not work with 1.0 hardware such as the original Vive headset and controllers.
Valve partnered with HTC to launch the Vive back in 2016. It had dual 1080×1200 PenTile OLED panels. The Vive Pro released in 2018 increased this to dual 1440×1600.
The Index uses two custom 1440×1600 LCD panels. While they are the same resolution as the Vive Pro, they have full RGB subpixels instead of PenTile. This means each pixel has three subpixels instead of just two.
This provides a higher detail image with reduced “screen door effect”. However, you don’t get the deep blacks of OLED since LCD displays use a backlight.
The refresh rate of the Vive and Vive Pro was 90Hz. Index increases this to 120Hz, with an optional “experimental” 144Hz mode. Valve claims full backwards compatibility with 90Hz content.
The pixel persistence is down to just 0.33 ms, which is the lowest revealed of any headset we are aware of. Valve claims this achieves subpixel scale persistence at typical head rotation speeds. In theory, this should entirely eliminate motion blur.
Most current VR consumer headsets have a binocular horizontal field of view of around 100°, give or take around 10°.
Valve is not disclosing the exact field of view of the Index, citing the lack of industry standard measurement. The company did however say that it should be “20 degrees more than Vive for the average customer.”
Given that the Vive’s maximum binocular horizontal field of view has been measured at 110 degrees, the Index maximum field of view should be somewhere around 130 degrees.
Valve managed to increase the field of view without adding distortion and while maintaining optical sharpness by using dual element lenses. The lenses are also canted, meaning pointing slightly outwards instead of directly forwards.
The lenses have a wide sweet spot, meaning the center is not the only area of sharpness. This lets you use your eyes to look around as well as your head.
The Index Controllers were codenamed “Knuckles” during development. Since they are strapped to your hand, you can fully let go of them. This allows for more natural grabbing and throwing of virtual objects.
The controllers also feature basic finger tracking for each finger. The concept of finger tracking through capacitive sensors was first shipped in the Oculus Touch controllers in late 2016. But whereas Touch only tracks the thumb and index finger, Valve’s controllers track the other three fingers too. This allows for a much wider range of gestures and should increase the feeling of hand presence.
As the Index Controllers are worn, users have two adjustments to get the right fit for their hand size. You push in a tab at the top of the strap, then pull a cord at the bottom to tighten the fit.
Each controller features a thumbstick, a small touchpad, 2 buttons, an analog index trigger, and a system button. Additionally, the main body of the controller can detect the force of the user’s grip, allowing for squeezing of virtual objects.
The controllers are charged by USB Type-C and have a battery life of 7+ hours.
Valve’s goal is that each user can adjust the lenses and comfort of Index to get an optimal fit.
To achieve this, Index has a total of four adjustments: interpupillary distance, lens-eye distance, the rear strap knob, and the top strap adjustment.
Unlike most headsets with lens-eye adjustment, Index’s lenses move independently of the facial interface. This allows the lenses to get much closer to your eyes, enabling the Index’s wide field of view. A 1 centimeter adjustment of the lenses results in a 30 degree difference in field of view.
Valve claims that Index comfortably fits 95% of adult heads.
Valve has gone all-out for the audio solution. Instead of headphone drivers, Index features nearfield off-ear speakers.
When we tried the Index we found the audio quality to be excellent, with precise spatial positioning.
The speakers don’t touch your ears, so you can still hear people in the room with you and they don’t get uncomfortable to wear. However, like other non-contact VR audio solutions, people in the room can also hear what you’re hearing.
Both the headset and controllers are tracked by the SteamVR Tracking 2.0 system. Two base stations are included in the $999 bundle, or can be purchased separately for $149 each.
Base stations are required to use Index. The front cameras are for passthrough, they do not perform inside-out tracking.
Compared to the original 1.0 used on the original Vive, the new base stations are smaller, quieter, and use less power. Valve claims they’re also more mechanically reliable and less expensive to produce.
Whereas the old system had a maximum of two base stations per play space, 2.0 increases that limit to four. So for $298 extra, Index buyers can upgrade to the absolute maximum VR tracking quality currently available anywhere.
While old base stations work with new devices, the new base stations will only work with hardware supporting them, such as the Valve Index or Pimax 5K+.
Valve recommends using an NVIDIA GTX 1070 or better, but says a GTX 970 or AMD RX 480 will work as a minimum.
The headset connects to your PC via DisplayPort and USB. If you use USB 3.0 you’ll get access to camera passthrough mode, but the heaedset will work in USB 2.0 without that feature.
You’ll also need 3 power sockets in total. One for the headset and one for each base station. The base stations do not connect to your PC in any way however, so you can just cable them to the nearest socket to where you’ll be mounting them.
If you own a GPU with VirtualLink support, you can buy a VirtualLink cable for Index for $39.99. This negates the need for the DisplayPort, USB or power cable- it’s all done through a single USB Type-C connector.
Index will also work on macOS and Linux, but currently only a tiny fraction of SteamVR games support these operating systems.
Tagged with: htc vive, pc vr, SteamVR, valve, Valve Corporation, valve index
The post Valve Index Headset Is $499, Bundle $999: 1440×1600 LCD Panels, 120-144 Hz, Wider FOV appeared first on UploadVR.
The Fire Emblem series has been available in North America for more than 15 years, and the majority of its games have been excellent. This is the Fire Emblem series ranked from best to worst.
The post All Fire Emblem games, ranked from best to worst appeared first on Digital Trends.