Extended Reality (XR) - Page 45

Survios has been busy working away on what is arguably the first 'AAA' game in VR, with Raw Data really stirring up a huge following for HTC Vive owners, myself included.

Raw Data launched last month and debuted at #1 on the Steam Top Seller list on the day it launched, and that's in Early Access, after a popular run behind the scenes in testing. Survios has a huge update for Raw Data that is now rolling out, adding a slew of new enemies, features, and a brand new mission. Here's what to expect with the Raw Data update:

New Mission - Nuke Fusion

HTC has had a great run of success with the Vive, with it being a superior VR experience thanks to its room scale VR and two controllers bundled for $799. HTC is now teasing its next-gen Vive headset, which doesn't yet have an official name - but Vive 2.0 sounds awesome.

Earlier this year the company split its VR division into its own subsidiary: Vive Corporation, with Raymond Pao in the position of Vice President for Future Technologies, as well as HTC itself. Pao traverses the globe finding new inspiration for next-gen technology, including the next Vive headset, with his latest trip seeing him spend some time in San Francisco with the team from Upload VR, and talking up a tiny storm on the Vive 2.0 headset.

Pao said: "We are still having internal discussions as to what the next generation will be. And we don't feel that we are limited by time or any one particular new feature", and when pressed about the possibility of wireless VR with the new Vive, he said: "Internally we have a couple ideas but its not solid yet and its not at the stage where we are confident that we have a plan".

AMD is going to be in center stage later this year at newly-formed VR Society's two-day conference for entertainment, media and marketing professionals at Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood, October 13-14. VR Society was founded by The Advanced Imaging Society to push forward the art and technologies of VR, AR and 360-degree content for professionals in the entertainment, media and marketing industries.

VR On The Lot will have major studios, publishers, directors and everyone in between, including: The Producers Guild of America, Sony Entertainment, Sony Music, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, NBC Universal, DreamWorks Animation, The Virtual Reality Company, Legend, Time Inc.'s LIFE VR, AMD, Intel, HP, HTC Vive, Oculus, Technicolor, Dolby, Epic Games, Edelman, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, UploadVR, Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, The USC School of Cinematic Arts, Wemersive, Loot Interactive, Cause-Play, 360 AdSpots, Sci-Futures, StoryTech, Lucid Dreams Productions, Canon Street London, All Good Partners, and Entertainment Tonight.

One of the leading threads from the event will be VRE, or Virtual Reality Experiences, which will be led by the biggest VR enthusiast I know apart from myself - Roy Taylor. Taylor is the CVP of Content and Alliances for AMD, where he explained: "These aren't movies, they aren't television and they aren't games. VRE is a new medium and these pieces of content shape unique creative and business opportunities". Roy and I have talked about this in detail a few times now, and I totally agree - VRE is going to be huge, and will create totally new avenues of entertainment that we haven't seen before.

HoloLens has been detailed at the Hot Chips conference in Cupertino, with Microsoft teasing that there's a "holographic processing unit", or HPU inside of HoloLens, that is capable of around 1 trillion operations per second.

TSMC build the "Tensilica" chip for HoloLens on the 28nm process, with 65 million logic gates, 8MB of ultra-fast static RAM (SRAM), and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Microsoft managed to fit all of this into a 12mm x 12mm (half-inch square) package that's designed to process input from the inertial chip, environmental cameras, depth cameras, and other sensors on HoloLens.

HoloLens is capable of speeding up calculations 200 times over software alone, with ready-to-use positional data to the headset's main Intel Cherry Trail-based CPU, so that it's free to run apps and games. It makes sense now why the headset is $3000.

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has been embroiled in a scandal over VR technology allegedly stolen from his previous employer, and now id Software co-founder John Carmack is finding himself in the same situation. ZeniMax, who owns id Software - where Carmack used to work until he joined Oculus as their CTO - is claiming that Carmack stole technology from ZeniMax that ended up in the Oculus Rift.

An amended complaint was filed on August 16, accusing Carmack of stealing technology from ZeniMax, where they state: "For many years, ZeniMax invested tens of millions of dollars in research and development, including research into virtual reality and immersive technologies. In 2011 and 2012, John Carmack, a singularly experienced and highly proficient ZeniMax programmer who was at that time Technical Director for ZeniMax's Texas-based subsidiary, id Software, conducted research to address technological issues associated with virtual reality. Carmack and other ZeniMax employees conducted that research at ZeniMax offices, on ZeniMax computers, and using ZeniMax resources".

The complaint adds that Carmack's copy of the Oculus Rift prototype was given to him by Luckey, and was improved on both a hardware and software level by ZeniMax employees, using ZeniMax hardware and resources, including the work completed by Carmack himself. The amended filing provides an interesting twist, as it fully accuses Carmack of theft.

Ubisoft has three major VR games coming out this year, with the company hitting all three major VR headsets: the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. At least it's not unleashing its fart shooting headset, which is actually real.

Eagle Flight will be released on the Oculus Rift and PSVR headsets on November 8, and a few weeks later on December 20 for the HTC Vive. Star Trek: Bridge Crew will debut on November 29 on all three VR headsets, while Werewolves Within will also hit all three VR headsets on December 6.

Out of all of the games, I have my eyes planted on Eagle Flight, which I played at the Game Developers Conference earlier this year. It has an unbelievable amount of immersion, where you actually feel like you're flying through the environment... as an eagle, of course. Star Trek: Bridge Crew looks great, but I'm not a Trekkie - although, for Star Trek fans it should be a super-immersive experience in the Star Trek universe.

Ubisoft is using one of the most unique PR pushes I've seen, with a device that shoots farts into your nose - a real life version of the Oculus Rift parody in South Park: The Fractured But Whole video game called the Nosulus Rift. The device straps to your face, shooting the smell of a fart directly into your nostrils - yeah, we're not joking.

Oculus' Head of Studios, Jason Rubin, was asked what he thought about the device, as it's a parody of the Oculus Rift headset. Rubin said: "[Matt Stone and Trey Parker] are some of the funniest human beings on the planet and very deserving of their accolades. Having Matt and Trey take on Oculus says we've made it. It is absolutely a moment of pride for Oculus". Stone and Parker worked with Rubin on South Park: The Stick of Truth when Rubin was the CEO of the now-closed developer THQ. Rubin added that "producing Matt and Trey was one of the most amazing moments" of his career".

Rubin added: "We would go and hear their pitches for levels and they'd be like, 'Okay, you're climbing up a rectum,' and I was like, 'Oh my god, how are we going to get this by the ratings board? Those guys are amazing. It's a moment of pride. More power to them. Ubisoft is a big supporter of VR, so the joke is on all of us and we all share in that".

Intel has committed to VR in a big way, announcing plans to build a new studio in LA that will work on sports and entertainment VR projects, with the new studio called the Intel Tech Experience Labs.

The company hasn't unveiled any details on the VR studio, but the LA Times has said that Intel will be working on helping companies and other third parties create VR videos using Intel's technology. VentureBeat reports that the VR studio will continue the work Intel did on the 360-degree replay technology is acquired earlier this year and was used by the NBA to provide fans with different angles of the court.

Intel isn't the first to have its own VR studio, with the Facebook-owned Oculus having its Story Studio, and YouTube has offices in both NYC and LA that have VR rigs. AOL even has a VR studio that Huffington Post uses for 360-degree content. It looks like Intel is getting very serious about VR, and that's a great thing to see.

IDF 2016 - Intel has just unveiled its new Project Alloy headset, a wireless merged reality headset, that is the company's VR headset design - without the need for any other components.

Intel's headset will include everything you need to render the merged reality, with an internal battery for power, 3D cameras and sensors powered by Intel's own RealSense motion tracking technology, and more. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said that the headset is capable of "merged reality" which blends elements of the real-world, into the virtual one. During the Intel Developer Forum, the company demonstrated someone wearing a Project Alloy headset user who was holding a dollar bill in his physical hand, where he was shaving down a virtual block of gold in the VR world.

Krzanich said: "We believe the capability of Alloy and what it introduces is significant. It gives the opportunity to merge the physical and virtual world together". The company says that a merged reality headset should solve some of the issues about VR blocking out the real-world, where you can't see anything happening around you when the VR headset is on. Intel's new Project Alloy headset doesn't have any of the advanced and precise tracking technology that HTC and Valve designed with Lighthouse for the HTC Vive system, so we're looking towards an improved GearVR, with higher-end technology inside.

During the Game Developers Conference earlier this year, engine god and CTO for Oculus, John Carmack said that the biggest game for VR this year would be Minecraft. While I might have grinded away a layer of my teeth when he said that, Minecraft is reporting headed to the Oculus Rift sooner than anticipated.

Lead Developer of Minecraft Pocket Edition and Minecraft Windows 10 Edition, Tommasco Checchi, said in a tweet: "PSA: unsurprisingly, promised dates change :) We said that Rift support would be in 0.15.6, but it will be out next week instead!".

A few days ago Checchi tweeted: "I'm back in the office and I just played a lot of Minecraft for the Oculus Rift... it's definitely ready for release :)". Minecraft on the Oculus Rift will be a good win for the company, which is currently struggling against the HTC Vive and its dominant sales and room scale VR greatness.

HTC has its Vive headset priced at $799, which isn't too bad considering the high-res display, room scale technology, and the two controllers included. But, HTC China President, Alvil Wang Graylin, has fired some warning shots over to Sony about the PlayStation VR.

VR Focus reports from a Spanish blog that Graylin, the head of the Chinese VR division of HTC said: "The price set by Sony for PlayStation VR, 399 euros, may seem economical for users but is misleading". What does Graylin mean? Well, the base price of the PlayStation VR only includes the HMD itself, and not the PS4 camera or the PlayStation Move. Some retailers will do bundles, but Sony itself isn't for its $399 price.

Good guy Valve has just announced SteamVR's room scale 3D tracking technology is now open source, with development kits including two HTC Vive base stations; a "full complement of EVM circuit boards to enable rapid prototyping of your own tracked object" and 40 sensors for tracked objects that can be anything from a VR golf club, an indoor drone, and so much more.

On Valve's FAQ page, the company says there's no catch when it comes to charging licensing fees, but you do need to get yourself to a $3000 in-person training session in Seattle as part of the process. The company hopes that with classes beginning in September, that new groups of industrial designers, and mechanical and electrical engineers attend the training session, instead of individuals.

With the Olympics right around the corner, the BBC has said it will be launching an "experimental" service on Friday that will broadcast the Olympics in 360-degree video.

There will be around 100 hours broadcasted in 360-degree video, which will be playable through the new BBC Sport 360 app for iOS, Android and Samsung's Gear VR headset. The live events will see beach volleyball, boxing, basketball and fencing on display - while the opening and closing ceremonies will be broadcasted on August 5 and 22, respectively.

The BBC will be offering four different camera angles during each event, so you can move freely around the environment that is being filmed. The BBC adds that this is all possible thanks to some trials it worked on during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Job Simulator is one of the most fun games you can play in VR on the HTC Vive, with Owlchemy Labs kicking off their work back in 2013 with the original Oculus Rift DK1 headset.

Owlchemy continued working behind the scenes on its fundamental interaction and simulation algorithms over the last few years, something that has now paid off with a $5 million round of Series A investment led by Qualcomm Ventures. Owlchemy Labs started out as an indie game developer in 2010, but quickly changed tracks when VR headsets were announced - like the Oculus Rift hitting Kickstarter all those years ago.

The developer nailed its silly world in Job Simulator, turning you into a store clerk, chef, auto mechanic or office worker - with Owlchemy's impressive physics and simulation technologies really being shown off in a great way. These technologies and subsystems could power any number of VR titles, with Owlchemy teasing its latest VR project inspired by the infamous cartoon Rick and Morty, which will be built on the foundations of Job Simulator. Owlchemy CEO Alex Schwartz explains: "We were able to build this so much faster and easier because of everything we did in Job Simulator".

Samsung unveiled its next-gen Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, impressing people with the upgraded hardware, new S Pen abilities and iris scanner - but there was a new Gear VR announced at the same time, too.

The new Gear VR headset has a dedicated Home button, a revamped touchpad on the right side, and a blue/black finish that looks awesome. The new Gear VR has a wider field of view, offering 101-degree FOV versus 96-degree FOV on the previous-gen Gear VR headset. We also have USB Type-C connectivity, ready for the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

Samsung includes a dongle in the box that lets you use the new Gear VR with older Galaxy and Galaxy Note smartphones, so you're not forced into plonking down close to $1000 for the new Galaxy Note 7 (for as awesome as it is, however).

We all know that we're still in the wild west days of VR, right? With that in mind, the future of VR is beyond exciting, and the latest tease from Jason Rubin - the Head of Content for Oculus and the founder of Naughty Dog (the developers behind Uncharted) is even better.

During an interview at GamesBeat 2016, Rubin praised the current Oculus Rift software lineup but said that what excites him most is what is coming in the future. Rubin said: "The most inspirational thing I can say right now is that I have the privy to look forward in the future 6 months to a year in terms of what's being developed in software, and if you think people are excited by what's out right now, the stuff that's coming in 6 months to a year is night and day different and is going to absolutely incredible".

Rubin says there's going to be a gigantic leap in quality with VR games, as developers continue to soak in the experience of developing games in VR. Rubin continued, adding: "Take a studio like Gunfire. They made Herobound, they made Chronos, and they are now making their third generation of game". These "third generation" games are what Rubin says will surprise and excite VR fans more than ever.

Sony will be launching its PlayStation VR headset in October, and one of the launch titles looks to be DriveClub VR - with the original development team from the now-closed Evolution Studios have worked on PSVR game.

The news is coming from the Japanese PlayStation blog, and DriveClub director Paul Rustchynsky. The announcement has been removed, but the cached version of the page says DriveClub VR will launch on October 13, the launch date of PlayStation VR. Rustchynsky has said on NeoGAF that the original DriveClub team was bought into Codemasters, who picked up Evolution Studios, and then Rustchynsky said the original team was bought into the fold.

He said: "The same development team who made DRIVECLUB, also made DRIVECLUB VR". We should hopefully hear news on DriveClub VR in the coming weeks leading up to the launch of PlayStation VR.

Sony has just revealed how much space you'll need to make before playing its PlayStation VR headset, and the results are pretty surprising.

Although Sony wants you to remain seated while playing most PlayStation VR games, some games track movements. According to a new PSVR product pamphlet, the Sony's VR headset requires almost as much free space as the HTC Vive--even though the console-powered PSVR doesn't have full 360-degree room-scale tracking.

The PSVR's required play area dimensions call for 1.9m (6.2ft) of width and 3.0m (9.8ft) length, with the height being determined how high up you set the required PlayStation Camera. The HTC Vive's minimum room-scale play area calls for at least 2 m x 1.5 m (6 ft 6 in x 5 ft) of free space, with some games requiring even more room. The biggest difference is one of these VR headsets does room-scale VR and the other doesn't.

VR is everywhere right now, with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive now on the market for the premium VR experience and Samsung with its smartphone-based GearVR solution. But what about augmented reality, or AR?

During an interview with The Verge's Casey Newton, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg talked about his thoughts on the future of VR and AR technologies. Zuckerberg said that Facebook is "researching AR very seriously", but sees consumers not jumping into the arms of AR as quickly as they will into VR.

Zuckerberg continued: "[With] AR, there's still more science questions that need to be worked out, and I'm optimistic that we'll have the answers to that pretty soon. Within the next five or 10 years, we'll have versions of that that are maybe where Rift is today, for AR. But, there's no doubt in my mind that VR is easier to build and bring to a lot of people, and that's why we're are starting here on the product side".

While the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are here, Razer has just opened up pre-orders on its own open-source VR headset, HDK 2. HDK 2 is a VR headset made by the open-source VR initiative OSVR, and is a little different to the likes of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

For those who order their Razer HDK 2headset before July 28, you'll receive two free VR games: Descent: Underground and Radial G. The lower-resolution HDK headset will continue to be sold, with a price of $299.

Razer is working with VR company Sensics on OSVR, alongside a slew of other companies involved in OSVR, and is a similar tethered experience to the Rift, Vive and PSVR from Sony. The new HDK 2 will work with third-party peripherals, and with a price that's $200 lower than the Rift, it might secure itself some gamers. But, the Rift has some huge titles and partners behind it - and the bigger marketing budget thanks to Facebook.