An Update from Ready At Dawn

To our community, from everyone here at Ready At Dawn: thank you for supporting us throughout the growth of Echo VR over the last few...

Title: An Update from Ready At Dawn
Sourced From: www.oculus.com/blog/an-update-from-ready-at-dawn/
Published Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 10:30:00 -0700

Welcome to the Vive Sync Open Beta

By David Sapienza, AVP of Content & Production at HTC VIVE

It’s hard enough to achieve team cohesion when everyone works in the same office, but as a global company where teams are spread throughout the globe, it can be very challenging to maintain unity.   A few years back we realized we needed a tool to drive collaboration and easily share our development work across time zones in order to create a true team culture.

In order to have a successful, cross-functional team, you need to have a clear vision with constant communication and ultimately, trust.  Trust that your team members are listening to all voices and that everyone is working toward the same goal.

As AVP of Content Development & Production at Vive, I oversee the development for numerous XR projects across multiple teams. One day we may be working with a new unreleased SDK, while the next we are creating visuals for the Cosmos opening movie sequence. It’s a fast-paced environment and the work is diverse.

This is where Vive Sync started.

Even before the current pandemic, we realized the future is rapidly becoming more global and more remote. Although there are benefits, we know from our development teams that remote work comes with isolation, a decrease in team chemistry and communication breakdowns. Tone in email is often misinterpreted, video calls can be draining, and even exacerbate the feeling that you are not with your team members.

So we asked ourselves, can VR help build team relations? What would a productive meeting space look like in VR? How do we build something that’s focused on building a team culture, and what would it need to accomplish so that productivity isn’t lost in a headset?

Increasing immersion with avatars

If our goal is to drive team connectivity, then our virtual representations must capture our identifying features (we were also careful not to wade too far into the “uncanny valley”), including facial features, voice, and body mannerisms.

To create your own Vive Sync avatar, you start with a selfie and customize from there.  We want our avatars to be recognizable but still represent a digital space so hairstyles, facial features, body types, and clothing options are all customizable and we will continue to add more customization options over time.

In addition to the look of your avatar, what is equally important is to ensure that your avatar’s face and body move realistically. In Vive Sync when you talk, your mouth and eyes move naturally and mimic real-world facial movements. For folks with Vive Pro Eye and its integrated Tobii eye-tracking technology, your avatars will track your eye movement as well. Furthermore, we have developed our own robust full-body IK tracking system so you can be expressive through natural body language movements. All of this is aimed to deliver clearer communication and to build stronger relationships with your team.

Staying productive in VR

Productivity is key. Meetings are costly.

If we were going to build a meeting app, then we needed to make sure a meeting in VR was effective, so integration with existing business tools was critical. Just being present in VR is great, but to be productive you need access to your files.  In Vive Sync you can synchronize files with OneDrive so that PowerPoints, PDFs, marketing videos, or 3D models can be synced and published easily to your virtual meeting space.

Another required feature of a meeting app is the ability to take notes, record the outcome, and to capture the outstanding questions. Early on in development, we ensured that users were able to use voice recognition to record their notes, annotate with our 3D pen, and take screenshots.

Since we allow users to link to a cloud drive, all of those notes and screenshots are instantly sent back to the cloud drive folder, so when a user is finished with a VR meeting all of their materials are already accessible on their PC.

When importing a 3D model into Sync you can move, rotate, and even scale it as large as your environment to review critical details of a design review or add some showmanship to your presentation. At this time we support FBX and OBJ files, as well as Unity Asset Bundles.

Free for businesses through 2020

Given the global pandemic, we view Vive Sync as a way to help businesses benefit from the tools that have made our teams so productive, engaged, and feel connected. So, throughout this open beta period, starting today, we’ll allow businesses of all sizes to use Vive Sync for free. As of today, the platform can support up to 30 meeting participants per session.

What is next for Vive Sync?

We’re just getting started with Vive Sync and we know there are additional features that we plan to implement quickly. Currently, our roadmap consists of extending hardware compatibility to non-Vive headsets, implementing host controls, and the ability to record full meetings sessions.

Your feedback will be critical throughout this period and we encourage you to help guide our feature roadmap for Sync. Comments or feedback can be sent to: sync_support@htc.com.

Sign up for the Vive Sync Open Beta: https://enterprise.vive.com/us/solutions/vive-sync/ 

 

The post Welcome to the Vive Sync Open Beta appeared first on VIVE Blog.

By: Vive Team
Title: Welcome to the Vive Sync Open Beta
Sourced From: blog.vive.com/us/2020/04/30/htc-vive-opens-free-beta-vr-collaboration-app-business-vive-sync/
Published Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 07:01:33 +0000

‘Arizona Sunshine’ Releases The Damned DLC on Oculus Quest

Return to face the zombie horde once more! Arizona Sunshine on Oculus Quest is back with The Damned DLC, an all-new chapter in this apocalyptic...

Title: ‘Arizona Sunshine’ Releases The Damned DLC on Oculus Quest
Sourced From: www.oculus.com/blog/arizona-sunshine-releases-the-damned-dlc-on-oculus-quest/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 12:02:21 -0700

Take A Leisurely Walk In Therapy Sheep VR

Bam! Boom! Pow!

It seems like virtual reality has been focusing most of its energy on energized entertainment. From Beat Saber to Half-Life: Alyx, everything is go-go. But IFGworld looks to take a different approach with Therapy Sheep VR.

In this virtual reality experience you will simply roam free through a mountainside meadow modeled after the Swiss Alps. Rolling hills and tall grass rustle with the wind as you walk alongside friendly grazing sheep.

In the game you will learn more about your new quadrupedal friends through interesting facts and the way they might behave in the wild while herding sheep.

Use the time of day feature to wander through the meadow at 4 distinct and dynamic times: the refreshing dawn, beautiful day, colorful dusk, and starry night.

Features:

• Beautiful grassy meadow in the mountains
  
• Friendly grazing sheep, happy to have your company
  
• 4 times of day to enjoy
  
• Interesting sheep facts

Planned Features:

• Additional maps
  
• Sheep customization
  
• Sheep shearing
  
• Goal-based games
  
• Multiplayer

Therapy Sheep will be available starting April 30th for the Oculus Rift. How would you spell out the sound that a sheep makes?

The post Take A Leisurely Walk In Therapy Sheep VR appeared first on VR News, Games, And Reviews.

By: Griffin Streeter
Title: Take A Leisurely Walk In Therapy Sheep VR
Sourced From: www.vrandfun.com/take-a-leisurely-walk-in-therapy-sheep-vr/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 18:52:51 +0000

Wireality is an Experimental Haptic Feedback Device Using Shoulder-mounted Strings

Carnegie Mellon University researchers published a paper recently that proposes a novel VR haptic feedback device, which unlike strictly hand-worn haptic devices, lets you feel objects in VR with a measure of ‘positional’ resistance.

Researchers Cathy Fang, Yang Zhang, Matthew Dworman, and Chris Harrison call it Wireality. It’s basically a self-contained, shoulder-worn device that allows you to feel resistance in your hands and fingers when you encounter larger obstacles in VR.

Retractable wires connect to your finger and hand joints, and are locked into place by shoulder-mounted solenoids when you encounter an object, letting you ‘feel’ the solidity of the object in its relation to the user.

Using a sort of exoskeleton (or exotendon) isn’t really a new concept when it comes to haptic gloves, as gloves such as HaptX and Dexmo are similarly designed to lock your joints in place, however this is the first we’ve seen that actually takes that self-contained concept and pushes it further into the third dimension. The gloves listed above create resistance and lock your individual fingers in place, which is helpful for manipulating small, singular objects, but not when it comes to larger objects such as walls, railings, and furniture. With both traditional motion controller buzz haptics and finger-only force feedback gloves, larger objects are essentially immaterial.

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Mozilla Launches 'Hubs Cloud' on AWS, the 'Wordpress of Social Virtual Spaces'

It’s an interesting concept, although there are admittedly some drawbacks. The researchers highlight Wireality’s inability to provide resistive force in any other direction than perpendicular to the wearer’s body. Also, Wireality can’t fully simulate small ‘two-stage’ virtual devices such as buttons and switches because the shoulder-based solenoids can’t reposition themselves without first being released, meaning you won’t be able to feel a button or piano key and naturally depress it like you might in reality.

That said, the researchers have developed a lightweight, low-power device that they were able to create for only $35; one of the key design goals was to make it fit for consumers. Whether the design catches on, or finds itself integrated into another haptic controller still remains to be seen.

If you want a more in-depth look at Wireality, check out the full research paper here.

The post Wireality is an Experimental Haptic Feedback Device Using Shoulder-mounted Strings appeared first on Road to VR.

By: Scott Hayden
Title: Wireality is an Experimental Haptic Feedback Device Using Shoulder-mounted Strings
Sourced From: www.roadtovr.com/wireality-carnegie-mellon-haptic/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 17:03:08 +0000

Arm AR Research Report Finds Positive Consumer Interest, Everyday AR Still 10 Years Away

Augmented reality (AR) has yet to catch up to the aspirations many developers have for the technology, with high-end devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 and Magic Leap 1 still relatively bulky – certainly not stylish – while consumer smartphone-based AR has its own limitations. British semiconductor IP and IoT software company Arm recently commissioned a report on AR’s future, consumer interest in the tech and what needs to happen for widescale adoption.

A WayRay AR interface.

Consumers aren’t that averse to AR, in fact, there’s a great deal of positivity towards the technology thanks to current efforts; both for mobile and glasses-based AR.

The report mainly deals with glasses-based AR, looking at consumer interest for standalone ‘Everyday AR Glasses’ which are the hardest to achieve in engineering terms and those which require external connections – either to a mobile device or battery/processor unit – like Nreal Light.

58 percent of respondents said they were either extremely- or very likely to buy AR devices designed for everyday use – dropping to 47 percent for a wired connection.

While hardware design will play heavily into whether consumers want to wear these devices, they also need solid reasons to in the first place. Use cases such as interactive entertainment and guidance for tasks such as DIY or cooking heavily featured but topping the poll was language translation (56 percent of respondents). Apps like Google Translate already offer a basic AR function to translate signage or menus into a required language, having it built into glasses would be a boon for those who love to travel (when everyone can travel again).

When it comes to preferences across the genders women were found to be most interested in using AR to make life easier. Men, on the other hand, were simply attracted to the latest technology and especially interested in the gaming potential.

Unsurprisingly, those who have to wear regular glasses showed a higher interest in AR version, but not by much. The highest category of interest came from far-sighted users at 67 percent with interest from those who don’t use any glasses for visual impairment dropping to 53 percent.

As for age groups expected commonalities occur. The 16-24 age group showed the most positive response to wearing AR with the 55-64 the lowest (79 percent and 45 percent respectively). The report also found that the younger generation are actually happier to stay connected to their smartphones while each subsequent age group showed a greater interest in using AR to make tasks easier.

AR most certainly has a future with major companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Apple all working towards similar connected goals. Arm expects this to happen in the next ten years. How this will happen is a different question entirely.

By: Peter Graham
Title: Arm AR Research Report Finds Positive Consumer Interest, Everyday AR Still 10 Years Away
Sourced From: www.vrfocus.com/2020/04/arm-ar-research-report-finds-positive-consumer-interest-everyday-ar-still-10-years-away/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 17:00:00 +0000

Arizona Sunshine’s Final Expansion Launches On Quest Today

And so the circle is complete; the very last story expansion to Arizona Sunshine launches on Oculus Quest today.

The Damned, which we first revealed for PC VR and PSVR headsets at last year’s E3 VR Showcase, is now live (or soon will be) on Facebook’s standalone headset. As the name suggests, this expansion is set on an enormous dam. Taking place before the original game, you play as a US Special Forces agent that must reactive the facility’s generators. It’s easier said than done; zombies litter the place as you’d expect. Check it out in the trailer below.

And thus about another hour of headshots and dual-wielding VR antics ensues. As with the rest of the game, The Damned can be played in single-player or co-op with a friend.

Arizona came to Quest last year, and Vertigo has been regularly rolling out its DLC plan since. With the arrival of The Damned, however, the complete Arizona Sunshine experience is now available on Oculus Quest, nearly four years after the base game originally launched on Steam.

Elsewhere, we’re looking forward to getting an update on Vertigo’s next big zombie shooter, After The Fall, at some point. It’s been a while since the team last talked about it.

The Damned costs $4.99 and, although Arizona Sunshine itself doesn’t support cross-buy on Quest, each DLC pack does. So if you already own The Damned on the Oculus Rift store you’ll get it for free here.

Will you be picking up The Damned on Quest? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Arizona Sunshine’s Final Expansion Launches On Quest Today appeared first on UploadVR.

By: Jamie Feltham
Title: Arizona Sunshine’s Final Expansion Launches On Quest Today
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-the-damned-quest/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 16:59:58 +0000

John Legend, Tinashe to Play Live Shows in Social VR Platform ‘Wave’

Wave isn’t your garden variety social VR platform. With an emphasis on virtual raves, replete with immersive visualizations and regular live performances, it’s become the de facto concert platform for VR users. Now Wave says it’s bringing more artists this summer via its One Wave concert series, which will include artists such as John Legend, Tinashe, Jauz, Galantis, and more.

The series begins on Thursday, April 30th at 3PM PT (local time here) with a live show from the Church of Galantis. Wave says more show dates will be announced and rolled out over the next several months.

The One Wave series promises to bring more of the platform’s wild visualizations and custom environments, giving VR users access to a concert-going experience that simply isn’t possible outside of VR—especially now that large in-person events aren’t an option.

Performances are said to also stream across other social media and gaming platforms, something the studio says will let fans “socialize and interact with the artists as they perform, cheer as part of a global avatar audience, voting on key show moments, play mini games, and socialize with each other.”

“We are now living in a digital avatar culture. Through our proprietary technology and core gaming capabilities, Wave can go beyond the traditional live streaming concerts and create artist avatars, virtual environments and interactive experiences that truly immerse audiences at the nexus of gaming and entertainment,” said Wave CEO Adam Arrigo in a press statement. “The shows we’ve done with Tinashe, Lindsey Stirilng and Galantis are good examples of how we’ve successfully leveraged these technologies and we are excited to welcome John Legend and others who are joining the platform to elevate how they are creating, distributing and monetizing performances for their fans.”

To top it off, Wave is giving proceeds from the One Wave series to non-profit organizations that are in need of support during the current global COVID-19 pandemic, the studio says.

“The Ad Council will also be providing important public service messaging around mental health awareness and resources as an extension of its COVID-19 response efforts,” the studio says.

Wave is a free app that supports SteamVR headsets via Steam and Oculus Rift via the Oculus Store.

The post John Legend, Tinashe to Play Live Shows in Social VR Platform ‘Wave’ appeared first on Road to VR.

By: Scott Hayden
Title: John Legend, Tinashe to Play Live Shows in Social VR Platform ‘Wave’
Sourced From: www.roadtovr.com/john-legend-tinashe-wave-vr/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 14:14:12 +0000

Wireality Is A Low-Cost VR Haptics System That Turns You Into A Puppet

We’ve seen a lot of different approaches to solving VR haptics over the past few years. It’s safe to say that Wireality is unlike any other, though.

Revealed earlier this month from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Future Interfaces Group, Wireality attaches spring-loaded cables to your fingers a little like a puppet. Connected to a shoulder-mounted device, the kit works with a given VR world to sense when your hand is about to come into contact with a virtual object and stop your fingers in the relevant position.

The aim is to give you the illusion of, say, resting your hand on a wall or wrapping your fingers around a railing. Check it out in the video below. It’s like VR haptics by way of puppetry.

This approach, the researchers say, has a lot of benefits. For starters, the system locks your fingers in place when touching a virtual object, but doesn’t require more power to keep it there. Researchers say it uses 0.024 mWh per actuation.

Perhaps most importantly, though, the entire system was created using less than $35 worth of components, whereas other VR haptics systems currently cost in the thousands.

But, fairly obviously, there’s a lot of hurdles for Wireality to overcome. A lot of what makes consumer VR haptics tough is making it simple and accessible for users. Hooking up an array of cables to your digits and mounting a device to your shoulder before putting on a headset is anything but convenient. It’s also bound to limit how freely you can move your hands in VR, which isn’t something we’d be quick to trade-off.

Plus the system can only apply the illusion of touching a surface to a few parts of the hand; if you were to press your hand flat against a wall, say, you wouldn’t actually feel it on most of your palm with the current setup.

But it’s certainly an interesting avenue for future research.

The post Wireality Is A Low-Cost VR Haptics System That Turns You Into A Puppet appeared first on UploadVR.

By: Jamie Feltham
Title: Wireality Is A Low-Cost VR Haptics System That Turns You Into A Puppet
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/wireality-vr-haptics/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 13:55:26 +0000

Mozilla’s Hubs Cloud for AWS Allows Companies to Create Branded Social Spaces

Mozilla release browser-based social platform Hubs back in 2018 allowing anyone to create rooms and share content. This week the company has rolled out an enterprise-focused version for Amazon Web Services (AWS) called Hubs Cloud so organisations can create their own social locations dependant on need.

Offered as an Early Access product on AWS, Hubs Cloud provides the same underlying architecture as Hubs; being able to build social spaces for a range of use cases, whether that’s industrial or educational, just this time through their AWS account.

That means companies and other organisations can operate immersive spaces for their own private or public use, with highly customisable options for branding and styling, security as well as media. They can also create a custom version of the software to add unique features and functionality.

Hubs Cloud is still compatible with the same avatars and scenes from Hubs for quick and simple setups before users delve further into the usability features. From there they can upload their own 3D content to build a platform catering to their needs.

The service is available in Personal and Enterprise editions, the former providing a smaller instance size and limits to system-wide scalability to keep costs lower. Both versions offer the same features, while billing is based on hourly metering and the instance sizes used. Plus a cost estimation calculator is available so companies know how much to budget for.

Hubs Cloud is compatible with a range of devices thanks to its web-based format, from VR headsets to desktop PC’s and mobile devices, so anyone can connect. It’s very much like hosting your own 2D website but in 3D, providing versatility and scalability, opening up immersive VR content even further.

As Mozilla continues to expand its web-based VR offerings from Hubs to Firefox Reality, VRFocus will keep you updated.

By: Peter Graham
Title: Mozilla’s Hubs Cloud for AWS Allows Companies to Create Branded Social Spaces
Sourced From: www.vrfocus.com/2020/04/mozillas-hubs-cloud-for-aws-allows-companies-to-create-branded-social-spaces/
Published Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:21:49 +0000

Oculus Quest Is Back In Stock, Ships By Late May (Except UK & Ireland)

Facebook’s Oculus Quest is back in stock in most regions, with a current shipping estimate of ‘by May 27’ for buyers in North America.

UK & Ireland based prospective VR users are still unable to order Quest, with the product simply showing as unavailable on the Oculus website. By contrast, for mainland Europe, Quests should ship by the weekend, as should those ordered to Australia or New Zealand.

Oculus Quest is the first room scale standalone VR headset with tracked controllers sold to consumers. That means it doesn’t require a gaming PC or PS4 to work and it can still play games like Beat Saber, Superhot VR, and VRChat.

Quest launched almost one year ago on May 21. For much of its lifetime, Quest has been in limited availability. During the holiday season this was seemingly due to higher than expected demand. Before stock ever fully returned, manufacturing was significantly impacted by the ongoing coronavirus global pandemic.

Since launch, Facebook has released a number of significant system software updates. The Touch controller tracking went from mediocre to great, camera passthrough was upgraded to stereo, PC VR capability was added via USB cable, basic multitasking capabilities are emerging, and most impressively of all, hands can now be tracked without controllers (though this is far from perfect).

Popular PC VR games continue to be ported to Quest — a difficult task given its relatively limited computing power. This year, the headset is slated to get top competitive multiplayer titles Echo Arena and Onward, as well as physics-heavy blockbuster The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. However, top titles like Half-Life: Alyx and Asgard’s Wrath can’t be ported, meaning they can only be played with a gaming PC.

Throughout March and April factories all over China reportedly started to come back online. With much of the developed world at home, VR is needed now more than ever. If Quest production can stay on track it may end up as one of 2020’s hit products, helping expand the virtual reality market.

The post Oculus Quest Is Back In Stock, Ships By Late May (Except UK & Ireland) appeared first on UploadVR.

By: David Heaney
Title: Oculus Quest Is Back In Stock, Ships By Late May (Except UK & Ireland)
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/oculus-quest-back-in-stock/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 22:44:28 +0000

MOBA And Shooter VR Hybrid Megalith Coming To PC VR Via Steam

Update: Disruptive Games recently announced on Twitter that Megalith will release on Steam for PC VR headsets next week on May 8th.

Original: After an initial open beta and then somewhat rocky launch on the PSVR platform, the VR MOBA and shooter hybrid Megalith is coming to PC VR via Steam.

Megalith has had quite the history on the PlayStation VR platform over the last few years. We first learned about the game in late 2017, which was then available to try at E3 the next year. UploadVR staff member David was impressed with the game during that demo in 2018, leaving the conference eager to try out more of the game’s playable characters, or ‘Titans’, on launch.

After an open beta on PSVR later that year, the game launched exclusively for the same platform in early 2019. However, early players had some complaints about empty lobbies. This resulted in developers Disruptive Games launching a free trial that had the same features as the full game, but was restricted to only a few Titans, with the rest being locked behind the paywall of the full game. This was an attempt to get players into the game and try it out for free, while also potentially solving the empty lobby problem.

Now, a year and a bit later, Megalith is expanding onto Steam and PC VR headsets. The Steam version is ‘coming soon’ with no set release, but the Steam listing is already up. Currently, the page only lists HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows MR headsets as supported, with no mention of Valve Index support for now.

There’s no details on whether the PC VR version will follow the PSVR free trial model or whether it will simply be a full paid experience only. Likewise, there’s no word on potential crossplay with PSVR, which would definitely help with lobbies and maintaining a healthy player base.

Will you be checking out Megalith now that it’s on PC VR? Let us know in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This article originally published on March 5th, but has been updated with new information regarding the game’s upcoming release date.

The post MOBA And Shooter VR Hybrid Megalith Coming To PC VR Via Steam appeared first on UploadVR.

By: Harry Baker
Title: MOBA And Shooter VR Hybrid Megalith Coming To PC VR Via Steam
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/megalith-pcvr-steam/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 22:00:36 +0000

Anime Is Coming To Bigscreen VR

Bigscreen has announced a partnership with Funimation to showcase some of their anime collection in virtual reality.

Bigscreen has been a platform used by many VR users to access videos and movies on a gigantic screen in the virtual space. The company has raised lots of capital and partnered up with some Hollywood studios to ramp up their demand.

Now with a partnership with Funimation, the company looks to capture a new set of audience to hopefully boost their viewership and membership.

“Starting in May with Makoto Shinkai’s masterwork love story, Your Name., Funimation anime in virtual reality will be the perfect way to relive some of your favorite movie experiences. And yes, you will cry.,” said Funimation in their blog post.

Starting in May, here are some of the shows and movies that you can attend in Bigscreen.

May Dates

Your Name. – May 1-3

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes – May 8-10

Akira – May 15-17

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – May 21 – 24

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya – May 29-31

Movies on demand on Big Screen

1. Your Name
2. Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars
3. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Movie
4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
5. Steins Gate Movie
6. Strike Witches Movie
7. Fairy Tail Dragon Cry Movie
8. Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess
9. Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
10. Akira
11. Attack on Titan Part 1
12. Attack on Titan Part 2
13. Shin Godzilla
14. I Am A Hero
15. Parasyte Part 1
16. Parasyte Part 2
17. My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
18. Boy and the Beast
19. Triguns Badland Rumble
20. Death Note: Light Up the New World
21. Death Note
22. Death Note: The Last Name
23. Psycho-Pass: The Movie
24. Eden of the East: Air Communication
25. Eden of the East: King of Eden
26. Eden of the East: Paradise Lost
27. Assassination Classroom The Movie: 365 Days’ Time
28. Garo: Divine Flame
29. Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic
30. Sword of the Stranger
31. The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow

For classic catalog films, a ticket will cost $3.99, more recent anime releases will run $5.99, and brand new release films will be $14.99. What are your thoughts?

The post Anime Is Coming To Bigscreen VR appeared first on VR News, Games, And Reviews.

By: Griffin Streeter
Title: Anime Is Coming To Bigscreen VR
Sourced From: www.vrandfun.com/anime-is-coming-to-bigscreen-vr/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 18:03:20 +0000

Rhythm Action Shooter Pistol Whip Aims for PlayStation VR Release Summer 2020

The PlayStation VR has some great virtual reality (VR) titles available but there are plenty of PC-based videogames that would work well on the system. Cloudhead Games seems to think so as the developer has just announced it’ll be porting the excellent Pistol Whip this summer.

Pistol Whip combines both rhythm action gameplay with the feeling of being an unstoppable badass, most often compared to John Wick. Gameplay is fairly straight forward, gun in hand you have to survive levels – called ‘scenes’ – by taking down enemies however you like, shooting them in the face of throwing in a quick gun butt.

As this is a rhythm action experience surviving isn’t enough, you also want to score as many points as possible; achieved by hitting targets to the beat or chaining them together. With a highly stylised visual design and some pounding tracks to play to, Pistol Whip is one of those non-stop sensory assaults.

To further mix up the gameplay players can select from a range of modifiers, removing the aim assist or adding a second gun. Each one affecting the score multiplier in some way.

When it comes to the PlayStation VR version Cloudhead Games has confirmed Pistol Whip can be played with one PlayStation Move controller by default, with intuitive gestures to reload and melee. Due to the hectic nature of the gameplay Pistol Whip also makes for a decent workout tool.

The studio has continually updated Pistol Whip since its release for PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest in November 2019, adding new scenes as well as other content improvements, the latest being Dark Skies. These are all expected to be part of the PlayStation VR version. Once it has been released new content updates will follow in the months to come.

Check out VRFocus‘ review of Pistol Whip which awarded the title a decent four-star rating, noting: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.”

Cloudhead Games has pencilled in a summer 2020 window for Pistol Whip’s release for PlayStation VR. When further details are made available VRFocus will let you know.

By: Peter Graham
Title: Rhythm Action Shooter Pistol Whip Aims for PlayStation VR Release Summer 2020
Sourced From: www.vrfocus.com/2020/04/rhythm-action-shooter-pistol-whip-aims-for-playstation-vr-release-summer-2020/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 18:00:34 +0000

Pistol Whip Confirmed For PSVR Release This Summer

Cloudhead Games says its arcade shooter Pistol Whip should launch on PSVR this summer.

The cinematic shooter with rhythm elements debuted on PC VR and Oculus Quest in November and looks like it should be a nice fit for PSVR given its forward-facing design. I rated Pistol Whip 5/5 because of its satisfying gameplay and addictive challenge curve which starts with an auto-assist mode that makes you feel like a badass John Wick. The title gains significant depth with built -in modifiers like a Deadeye mode that takes away the superpowered aiming.

There’s no specific release date announced yet for the game.

The game launched with 10 tracks or “scenes” inspired by various sci-fi and action movies set to thumping music. Since release Cloudhead added four more free tracks to bring the total to 14 as of this writing. The latest addition, called Dark Skies, is my favorite.

Check out the gameplay video of the latest track:

After PSVR release Cloudhead Games is planning “exciting new content updates, modifiers, and more to be revealed in the months after launch.”

We are still waiting on a new release date announcement for Iron Man VR on PSVR after COVID-19-related delays. The confirmation of Pistol Whip for release on PSVR should be a welcome addition to the release schedule for PlayStation 4 owners. We’ll bring you the latest on Pistol Whip as soon as we have it.

PlayStation VR owners, are you excited to finally play Pistol Whip this summer? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Pistol Whip Confirmed For PSVR Release This Summer appeared first on UploadVR.

By: Ian Hamilton
Title: Pistol Whip Confirmed For PSVR Release This Summer
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/pistol-whip-psvr-summer/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 18:00:19 +0000

Sketchfab Launches App-Free AR Support For Enterprise Customers

Sketchfab announced today that they are launching app-free AR support for enterprise customers. This will allow companies to leverage AR to show off their products via a simple new button that can be implemented into an embedded Sketchfab model.

While we’ve seen many companies implement mobile AR over the last few years, this new offering from Sketchfab is a clean solution that requires no app install on the user’s device. Enterprise customers can now provide an AR button on their embedded models, which will use iOS’ AR Quick Look feature and Android’s Scene Viewer to display the Sketchfab model immediately in AR without the need for any external app installation. You can see a screenshot of an example Sketchfab model displayed in AR below.

On desktop devices, clicking the AR button will show a QR code that will launch straight into the model’s AR view when scanned with a phone. The company says the new AR features will work with existing models as well — all 3D models uploaded to Sketchfab are automatically converted to the file formats required for AR in iOS and Android. Companies will be able to check the scale of their AR models, and adjust accordingly, using Sketchfab’s 3D editor.

This is a big step for Sketchfab, a platform which recently passed 3 million members. While these features mark an expansion of its AR capabilities at an enterprise level, the Sketchfab platform is also frequently used by the VR community to upload and host 3D models, whether they be captures of real objects or made in VR apps such as Tilt Brush, Quill and the Masterpiece Studio Suite.

The post Sketchfab Launches App-Free AR Support For Enterprise Customers appeared first on UploadVR.

By: Harry Baker
Title: Sketchfab Launches App-Free AR Support For Enterprise Customers
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/sketchfab-ar-support/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 14:00:37 +0000

Hand-tracking Text Input System From Facebook Researchers Throws Out the Keyboard (sort of)

A prototype from Facebook Reality Labs researchers demonstrates a novel method for text input with controllerless hand-tracking. The system treats the hands and fingers as a sort of predictive keyboard which uses pinching gestures to select groups of letters.

Text input is crucial to many productivity tasks and it’s something which is still a challenge inside of AR and VR headsets. Yes, you can sit in front of a keyboard, but with a VR headset on you won’t be able to see the keyboard itself. For some very good typists, this isn’t an issue, but for most people it makes typing especially challenging. Even for good typists (or for AR headsets where the keyboard is visible), the need to sit in front of a keyboard keeps you chained to a desk, drastically reducing the freedom that you’d otherwise have with a fully tracked headset.

Voice input is one option, but problematic for several reasons. For one, it lacks discretion and privacy—anyone standing near you would not only have to hear you talk, but they would also hear the entire contents of your input. Another issue is that dictation is a somewhat different mode of thought than typing, and not as well suited for many common writing tasks.

A virtual keyboard in ‘Facebook Spaces’

Virtual keyboards are another option—where you use your fingers to poke at floating keys—but they’re too slow for serious writing tasks and lack physical feedback.

Facebook Reality Labs researchers have created a hand-tracking text input prototype, designed for AR and VR headsets, which throws out the keyboard as we know it.

Instead of touching keys on the keyboard, groups of keys are mapped to each finger. Instead of selecting a specific letter, you pinch with the finger corresponding to whichever color-coded group contains the desired key. As you go, the system attempts to predict which word you want based on context, similar to a mobile swiping keyboard. The researchers call the system PinchType.

PinchType overcomes many of the issues with typical virtual keyboards and voice input. It’s quiet, private, and looks to be much faster than hunt-and-peck on a floating virtual keyboard. It also provides feedback because you can feel when you touch your fingers together.

The researchers shared some initial findings from testing the system:

In a preliminary study with 14 participants, we investigated PinchType’s speed and accuracy on initial use, as well as its physical comfort relative to a mid-air keyboard. After entering 40 phrases, most people reported that PinchType was more comfortable than the mid-air keyboard. Most participants reached a mean speed of 12.54 WPM, or 20.07 WPM without the time spent correcting errors. This compares favorably to other thumb-to-finger virtual text entry methods.

But there’s some downsides. The system relies on accurate hand-tracking, and one of the most challenging facets of it—as seen from a head-mounted camera, it’s very common for fingers to be occluded by the back of the hand. Below, you can see that—as seen from the viewpoint—it’s ambiguous if the user is using their pinky or ring finger for the tap.

It’s very likely that the PinchType prototype was developed using high-end hand-tracking tech with external cameras (to remove sub-par accuracy from the equation). We’ll have to wait for the full details of the system to be published to know if the researchers believe these occluded cases present an issue for an inside-out hand-tracking system.

The PinchType prototype is the work of Facebook Reality Labs researchers Jacqui Fashimpaur, Kenrick Kin, and Matt Longest. The work was presented under the title Text Entry for Virtual and Augmented Reality Using Comfortable Thumb to Fingertip Pinches.

The work was published as part of CHI 2020, a conference focused on human-computer interaction.

The post Hand-tracking Text Input System From Facebook Researchers Throws Out the Keyboard (sort of) appeared first on Road to VR.

By: Ben Lang
Title: Hand-tracking Text Input System From Facebook Researchers Throws Out the Keyboard (sort of)
Sourced From: www.roadtovr.com/pinchtype-hand-tracking-text-input-ar-vr-facebook-reality-labs/
Published Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:05:26 +0000

Pro NFL Players’ First Endorsement Deal Is A Lineup Of VR Products

“The Lamar Jackson Experience” will include an at-home VR experience, arcade games, and a live activation.

For professional athletes, their image is their brand. Often times the endorsements they make and products they sponsor can be just as important as what they do on the field, perhaps even more so. So when the 2019 NFL MVP decides that the first official endorsement deal of his career will be a suit of custom VR products and activations, you tend to take notice.

Status Pro, a sports technology company specializing in VR and AR-powered coaching and training solutions, has previously worked alongside several NFL teams by helping players practice and prepare for games using their immersive platform. “The Lamar Jackson Experience” will use Status Pro technology to deliver a suit of first-person immersive experiences, including an at-home VR game, a live activation, and several arcade games. According to the company, the platform will be powered by player tracking data in order to create a variety of authentic game scenarios, allowing players to step into the cleats of their favorite pros. Jackson himself was supposedly heavily involved in the strategic planning and development, not to mention its promotion.

“Like most people from my generation I am a huge gamer, and the first time I demo’d the Status Pro experience I was blown away by how realistic and fun it was,” said Jackson in an official release. “Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to play in the NFL and now that I do, I am excited about sharing my experience with fans and especially kids through this VR gaming platform.”

“Our goal as a company has always been to create experiences powered by player’s data that brings fans as close as they’ve ever been to experiencing what it is like to play professional football,” added Troy Jones, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Status Pro. “We want to accomplish this by aligning ourselves with NFL players and combining their experiences with our platform. Thus, giving them ownership and creative freedom to ensure we bring the most realistic products to market. Lamar Jackson’s unprecedented journey and skill set makes him the perfect partner to assist us in launching this platform. We are excited about sharing his experience with fans worldwide.”

No word yet on an official release date or confirmed platforms, however based on the photo provided it appears as though at least one experience will feature support for the Oculus Quest.

Image Credit: Status Pro / Blachwood LLC: Marcell Pickens, Jr.

The post Pro NFL Players’ First Endorsement Deal Is A Lineup Of VR Products appeared first on VRScout.

By: Kyle Melnick
Title: Pro NFL Players’ First Endorsement Deal Is A Lineup Of VR Products
Sourced From: vrscout.com/news/pro-nfl-mvp-first-endorsement-vr/
Published Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 21:48:06 +0000

Community Download: Is VR Exercise The Future Of Home Fitness?

Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know if you think VR exercise could be the future of home fitness workouts?

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Now that we live in an age of social isolation and stay-at-home orders from governments around the world, finding novel ways to stay active and fit is more important than ever. Gyms are often closed nowadays and working out at home like normal with videos or over web conferences doesn’t do it for lots of people.

That’s where VR can come into play. Not only is it great to stay connected with others, but there are some truly great VR exercise apps out there too. With the likes of Beat Saber serving as a major catalyst for thousands of VR users around the world, as well as apps such as BoxVR and Supernatural that focus specifically on helping you exercise and stay fit, there’s never been a better time to get fit at home.

But is this really what the future looks like for at-home fitness? Will VR exercise be ubiquitous enough that gyms, trainers, and users will start to use it as often as a Peloton, Bowflex, eliptical machine, treadmill, or other common exercise equipment? Could a VR headset replace at-home gyms in the future?

Let us know what you think of the prospect down in the comments below and recommend any tips you have for working out in VR!

The post Community Download: Is VR Exercise The Future Of Home Fitness? appeared first on UploadVR.

By: David Jagneaux
Title: Community Download: Is VR Exercise The Future Of Home Fitness?
Sourced From: uploadvr.com/vr-exercise-future-home-fitness/
Published Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 21:28:14 +0000