Ubisoft will once again be holding its own E3 2019 press conference, featuring new game announcements and demonstrations. Here is how to watch it, and what you can expect from the show.
The post How to watch the Ubisoft press conference at E3 2019, and what to expect appeared first on Digital Trends.
The Oculus Quest is getting three new features in future updates. A ‘lights out’ rotation-only tracking mode, simultaneous keyboard/selection input from both controllers, and a 60Hz mode for video content. That’s according to CTO John Carmack on Twitter.
Carmack also stated that there are “more exciting things in the works, but we aren’t ready to announce them“.
The Oculus Quest uses its four onboard cameras to track your position in the room. If there’s not enough light and they can’t see the room, you’ll see a black screen and the software will tell you to turn on a light.
Some users however requested to be able to use their Quest with rotation-only (3DoF) tracking in the dark. This could be for watching a movie in bed while someone else sleeps.
This will make the Quest operate almost like an Oculus Go. The controllers emit infrared light so it’s not clear whether they will fall back to 6DoF too or continue to be tracked.
Currently in the Oculus Quest menu and system apps, one Touch controller at a time emits a selection laser. Pressing the trigger on the other controller will toggle the laser to it instead.
A future update will make both Touch controllers emit selection lasers at the same time. Carmack claims this will help “a lot” when using the virtual keyboard.
Most video content, be it regular of 360°, was filmed at either 30 or 60 frames per second. The Quest’s display is currently locked at 72Hz. This means that there is a noticeable judder when playing videos because there is not a regular interval between frames.
A future update will let developers toggle the display to 60Hz, however the default will still be 72Hz. This is the opposite solution to the Oculus Go, where the default is 60Hz with an optional 72Hz mode.
Tagged with: john carmack, Oculus Quest
The post Oculus Quest To Get ‘Lights Out’ 3DoF Mode, Dual Controller Input, 60Hz Mode For Videos appeared first on UploadVR.
Not content with launching its $6000 USD human eye resolution virtual reality (VR) headset the VR-1 back in February, Finnish hardware manufacturer Varjo has just announced a new device called the XR-1 Developer Edition.
Just like its forebear, the Varjo XR-1 Developers Edition will be solely aimed at the enterprise market, but unlike the VR-1 this new device is a mixed reality (MR) headset. This means Varjo is planning to take on the MR goliaths that are Microsoft and HoloLens 2, plus Magic Leap and its Magic Leap One Creators Edition.
The culmination of two and a half years of intensive R&D at Varjo, the XR-1 delivers photorealistic image quality with integrated eye tracking. In a press release, Varjo claims: “The dream of ‘Hard AR’ (where you can no longer tell apart what is real and what is virtual) has at last been achieved in a professional product.”
In fact, the XR-1 is an upgrade to the VR-1, adding a front plate featuring dual 12 mp cameras, capable of producing high resolution with < 15 ms latency. It’s so fast that Volvo has been testing the headset whilst driving cars, with XR-1 prototypes being used to aid workflow since the summer of 2018. Volvo has been that impressed with the device that as of May 2019, Varjo will receive an investment by the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Additionally, Varjo claims an 82 x 82 degrees field of view (FoV) which would make it the class leader.
“XR-1 brings all the convenience of seeing your body as well as the real world around you and being able to look at your colleagues while designing a virtual object or environment,” said Urho Konttori, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Varjo. “The XR-1 can show mixed reality with true-to-life fidelity you can only achieve using video-pass- through. Lifelike mixed reality is quite literally impossible to achieve with optical-see-through systems like HoloLens.”
Varjo hasn’t said how much the XR-1 Developers Edition will cost but as its an upgraded VR-1 it isn’t going to be cheap. Shipments of the cutting-edge headset to mixed reality developers, designers and researchers is expected to begin in the latter half of 2019. As VRFocus learns more about the Varjo XR-1 we’ll let you know.
Building on its previous expansion of color options for its gaming peripherals, Razer has now unveiled a new line of Mercury White gaming accessories featuring a minimalist matte white look.
The post Razer gives its Mercury peripherals a sleek, minimalist makeover with White line appeared first on Digital Trends.
Last week Beat Saber official left early access, adding a bunch of new features including a Level Editor for PC and support for Oculus Quest. One downside to the Quest version was its lack of custom song support which the community have been quite vocal about. And it seems as though Beat Games were listening, recently confirming Custom Level support will be added in a future update.
Via its Twitter account Beat Games said: “#OculusQuest: We’re adding support for Custom Levels for Quest to one of the future updates! You will be able to create Custom Levels in our Level Editor on PC. We’re now working on the best solution. Stay tuned!”
This is great news for Oculus Quest owners of Beat Saber as it’ll help to massively increase the number of tracks available, plus it’ll be official, so no breakages like with a modded version.
Not everyone will be pleased, however, namely PlayStation VR owners. Due to the closed nature of the PlayStation platform, Beat Games is unable to add Custom Level support for the console.
And for those looking forward to the next Music Pack, the studio has confirmed a date, 10th June. Apart from a teasing blocky image, there are no details regarding what tracks will feature on the Music Pack, or whether there will be a greater diversity of music genres. If you want to guess then write in the Twitter post comments section and you could be in with a chance to win a free key for the next Music Pack, three are being offered.
Beat Saber scored maximum stars in VRFocus’ review, finding that both PC and Oculus Quest versions were equally a worthwhile purchase – and certainly helped to showcase the standalone headset.
For UK residents, don’t forget about the charity Beat Master tournament which hopes to raise funds for Over and Above, which helps provide for NHS patients, their families and staff. To enter will cost you £20 and you’ve got until 31st January 2020 to signup.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of the rhythm action videogame, reporting back with all the latest news and updates.
Sony’s enticing new PSVR bundles are getting a tasty price drop right out of the gate.
PlayStation’s seasonal Days of Play event, which drops prices on hardware on software alike, returns next month. Featured in the deal are some of the new bundles the company launched yesterday. The pack containing the recently-released Trover Saves The Universe and Five Nights At Freddy’s VR, for example, is down from $299.99 to $249.99. That pack also includes a PlayStation Camera.
That’s not a bad pair of games. We quite liked Trover Saves The Universe when we reviewed it earlier this week. Our verdict on Five Nights At Freddy’s is still out, though.
The full list of deals isn’t known yet, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see the new bundle with Blood & Truth, Everybody’s Golf VR and a pair of Move controllers thrown in too. If you’re in the EU there are a few other choices, though. The PSVR Starter Pack, which includes the camera and PSVR Worlds, goes for €199.99. The frankly far better option is the Mega Pack for €229.99. The extra $30 adds Astro Bot, Skyrim, Doom VFR and Wipeout to your haul. Not bad!
You can, of course, pick up other essential hardware too. A limited edition PS4 Pro will cost $349.99, and DualShock 4 controllers will cost $39.99.
Days of Play runs from June 7th – 17th. That’s over E3! Good thing Sony isn’t showing anything this year otherwise it might have its hands full. Elsewhere in PlayStation land, we’re eagerly picking apart more details on PSVR 2.
Tagged with: Days of Play, PSVR bundles
The post New PSVR Bundles Start From $250 For Sony’s Days Of Play Promotion appeared first on UploadVR.
Originally launched as a dedicated online store for HTC Vive owners, Viveport has expanded its reach over the past year to offer a viable alternative to Steam by supporting Oculus Rift as well as launching flexible subscription model Viveport Infinity. Today, the retail platform has announced plans to become even more hardware agnostic by supporting Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets.
Featuring headsets from the likes of Dell, Acer, Samsung, HP, Asus and Lenovo, the Windows Mixed Reality line of headsets never particularly set the virtual reality (VR) world alight, but they are some of the most affordable PC-based VR devices going.
So from 5th June, if you own a WMR headset then you’ll be able to head on over to Viveport download compatible titles. This is because developers need to ‘opt-in’ to allow WMR support – in the same way as Oculus Rift. It’s worth their while as it could help increase revenue, just don’t expect every videogame and app to be available on day one.
“This summer, Viveport is expanding to embrace all major PC VR devices including the HTC Vive family, Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S and soon Windows Mixed Reality and the Valve Index,” said Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport in a statement. “Viveport Infinity offers all members unparalleled value and choice when it comes to experiencing and discovering VR content. In addition, we’re connecting Viveport developers to an increased audience pool to monetize their content.”
“We’re excited our users now have an additional opportunity to discover some of the best content VR has to offer at an accessible price through Viveport Infinity,” said Dan Newell, Director of Mixed Reality at Microsoft. “Adding Windows Mixed Reality support on Viveport strengthens the VR ecosystem for consumers and developers alike.”
WMR owners will, of course, have access to the new Viveport Infinity subscription service which costs $12.99 USD a month, or less with a prepaid annual subscription. They’ll be able to access videogames like RUSH and Gun Club VR by Binary Mill, Final Assault by Phaser Lock Interactive and I Expect You To Die by Shell Games. Additionally, members are entitled to perks such as premium content on Viveport Video, monthly coupons, weekend deals and free title giveaways. For further Viveport updates, keep reading VRFocus.