At the Oculus Connect 3 (OC3) conference the company showcased on of its latest developments, Asynchronous Spacewarp, that allows lower spec PC’s to run virtual reality (VR) experiences. Now Oculus has launched the technique to allow more consumers to try VR.
Asynchronous Spacewarp works by extrapolating frames letting VR titles run at up to half their normal rate. Essentially this means the frames per second (FPS) drop down to 45, so that less powerful machines can render VR, before adding artificial frames in to bring experiences up to the required 90hz required for smooth VR.
On the Oculus blog this week the company has also revealed the Avatars SDK is now available, prior to the full consumer version arriving on 6th, December, the same day as Oculus Touch launches. Another feature announced at OC3, users will be able to customise their identities with more than a billion permutations, from unique textures and clothing, to accessories and more, creating a style that’s entirely their own.
The Oculus Avatars SDK means developers can start integrating avatars into their VR experiences, and titles including Sports Bar VR and Kingspray, will feature full support at Touch launch. Oculus Avatars can already be sampled by Oculus Rift owners using the included Xbox One controller or the Oculus Remote.
Lastly Oculus has unveiled a brand new experience for the upcoming Touch controllers, First Contact. Designed as an introductory experience for those who haven’t yet tried the motion controllers, First Contact is an 80’s themed sci-fi title in which a friendly robot shows users the basics of interacting with the virtual world. There will be toy guns to fire, float object in mid-air, and 3D print holographic butterflies as some of the activities. First Contact will ship with every order of Oculus Touch next month.
For all the latest Oculus news, keep reading VRFocus.