Since the launch on Oct. 13th, PS VR has received an astounding amount of coverage. It even trumped HTC Vive and Oculus Rift launch coverage. Of course, consumers have started to tinker with the tech and see what kind of things can be modified or exploited. One of the major discoveries is that the headset can be connected to devices other than the PS4 to display video in cinematic mode for 2D gaming.
With help from PS VR Reddit, YouTuber Matownerie put together a five-minute video detailing just how to get the full-screen mode going for PC users without needing an extra screen. With this setup, head-tracking isn’t available and Matownerie hopes someone finds a way to make it work in the future.
Connection Steps
From VR headset connection cable, connect the power input to the PS VR processor unit, but connect the HDMI to the PC
Where the HDMI would normally connect to the processor unit, connect an HDMI from there to the opposite end of the processor on the port labeled “HDMI PS4” (the unit will not function without this step)
We’ve yet to test this out ourselves but we’ll follow up when we do. In the meantime, be sure to read up on our previous coverage of the PlayStation VR:
The day before launch, we covered the sci-fi FPS Farpoint in our 50 Days of PS VR, and the other days are archived in the article as well.
PS VR doesn’t have true “room-scale” gameplay, but the developers of the Brookhaven Experiment found a simple work-around.
There’s no definitive insight into PS VR sales thus far and there won’t be for some time, but Sony gave us something to work with.
Digital Domain is a visual effects studio that’s been involved with many influential films since its inception in 1993, from Titanic to X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now the company is taking its visual expertise to another level, partnering with Gyro AS and Warner Bros to produce and distribute live events globally. The group’s first task is presenting a 360-degree live stream of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize concert.
“For a prestigious event like the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, it’s essential to choose partners with the ability to distribute the concert globally, particularly across Asia and the burgeoning Hong Kong market,” said Daniel Seah, CEO of Digital Domain Holdings Limited, in a prepared statement. “We’re confident that this partnership will bring the concert’s message of peace to a younger, tech-savvy demographic around the world.”
Live streams of events using VR video are becoming more frequent and partnerships like this and the NextVR’s deal with Notre Dame are just some of the latest examples, with more likely on the way as VR devices become more mainstream and spectators learn they can get an immersive experience without having to travel.
The live stream of the event on December 11th, 2016 will be available for free on the Nobel Peace Prize VR app from Digital Domain and on YouTube. The event will feature such performers as Halsey and Kygo and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien. Derek Muller will be hosting the YouTube live event.
Over the years, video games have provided various tools to create characters in whatever image we wish. Some create unique characters that they feel best reflect whatever world they’re inhabiting, while many attempt to personally experience that journey by replicating themselves. Uraniom is aiming to bring a player’s likeness not just into one game, but to all of them. The idea is that by using a 3D-capable mobile device, players scan their likeness, customize the details, and then install them into various games and start playing. Uraniom isn’t just stopping at video games, either. Their “universal” avatar will be used for VR/AR applications of all kinds and we spoke with the Uraniom founder via email about this new program.
“Until now, integrating a new character into a 3D environment required the expertise and manual operation of a 3D specialist,” writes Uraniom founder and CEO Loic Ledoux. “As 3D scanning is about to be mainstream, we created a tech to transform a ‘basic’ head scan into a fully playable avatar, ready to be plugged into any game engine.”
In their clever video, Uraniom takes on a style reminiscent of Old Spice commercials to share the First Ubiquitous Man. In the trailer, you see the main actor as he’s transported through key gaming worlds and alludes to 3D avatar use on social VR platforms as well.
“We want to redefine what is your virtual identity. Of course, you will have a perfect look-alike avatar for some situations (e.g. business collaboration),” Loic explains. “However, what if you chose to have an avatar with a different look for meeting with your families, or something specific to strangers, or kids? We want the users to have complete control of their digital self, in all digital environments, whatever the device or the platform.”
The technology behind the head scans is proprietary, and the company says it enriches the scans so they can be displayed and animated in any game engine available. We’re not sure how Uraniom will fit into the VR ecosystem, and they’re far from the only company trying to create good 3D scans of people, but a standard way of providing an avatar across different devices, apps and services is certainly an intriguing idea.
Often, shock value is crucial when inspiring people to act. The dangers of climate change are a difficult reality to get people behind because of its far-reaching effects that may not even surface during our own lifetimes, but Stanford researchers are utilizing virtual reality to spread carbon dioxide emission awareness. The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience, available now for free on Steam, can take users underwater, show our coral reefs as they are now, and then take you forward to the end of the century to see what happens if we continue emitting carbon dioxide as we currently do.
Available on HTC Vive, the Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience doesn’t start in the water. Users can get a better understanding of how emissions affect our water by standing in traffic and following carbon dioxide molecules from cars to the sea. From that point, you’re guided by a narrator as you’re encouraged to note the changes to marine life over time.
“You’re not watching something, you’re doing it,” said communication Professor Jeremy Bailenson. “You learn by doing. These are magic, teachable moments.”
Often, shock value is crucial when inspiring people to act. On October 11th, 2016, a writer for OutsideOnline.com published an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, explaining how humanity’s habits had killed it by way of climate emissions and acidification. The obituary went viral, although it was a bit fabricated. The Reef is not dead but is indeed dying and the viral event serves as a call to action. Hopefully, Stanford’s educational tool will be similarly inspiring when it comes to helping our ecosystems.
The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience was developed by Professor Jeremy Bailenson and his Virtual Human Interaction Lab in collaboration with marine biologists Fiorenza Micheli and Kristy Kroeker. They also had help from Roy Pea, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.
2012’s Dishonored was a stealth tour-de-force, enveloping players in an intriguing sandbox that they could manipulate and explore to their heart’s content. The collection of powers and different styles to execute tasks ensured that no player had the same experience. The upcoming sequel Dishonored 2 is aiming to add upon the original game’s success, but Gamesradar reports they may take the stealth game’s immersion to another level.
Dishonored, as level designer Christophe Carrier notes, wouldn’t just be ported over into VR, but the series already has elements that will make a VR transition smooth. The “Blink” teleportation ability mirrors a movement style already embedded in many VR games. He also mentions the ability “Far Reach”, which allows the player to traverse terrain by shooting a long tendril in a grappling hook manner. Dishonored can be a pretty gruesome experience visually because of its bloody animated attacks, but Carrier says those would have to be adjusted for VR as well.
“When I think VR with Dishonored – of course, I want to be in a room like the Clockwork Mansion and see the gears and see all the objects and look at them from very close because they are very beautiful and unique,” says Christophe. “Because part of the VR [experience] is also being somewhere; not only playing but just being somewhere and looking at the scenery and manipulating object.”
Right now, Christophe says the team is only “thinking about it” but it would certainly be a treat to have a stealth experience such as Dishonored in the VR market. As far as gaming, there simply aren’t any major, groundbreaking killer apps that the industry can stand on. A title with the pedigree such as this could do wonders. Dishonored 2, developed by Arkane Studios, is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 11, 2016.
Though VR is really only just now taking a firm hold in its various markets, virtual reality has been a concept flirted with for many years in our favorite science fiction books, movies, and television series. Rishi Kaneria, a filmmaker and video essayist, has taken to the 360-degree video format to create a visual essay on VR in the film industry. From classic films such as Total Recall to the Matrix trilogy, Kaneria takes us on a journey through more than 40 years of filmmaking:
World on a Wire (1973)
Tron (1982)
Brainstorm (1983)
Total Recall (1990)
The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Mindwarp (1992)
Disclosure (1994)
Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Virtuosity (1995)
Hackers (1995)
Strange Days (1995)
Lawnmower Man 2 (1996)
Nirvana (1997)
Darkdrive (1998)
eXistenZ (1999)
The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Avalon (2001)
Surrogates (2009)
Inception (2010)
Tron Legacy (2010)
Source Code (2011)
Total Recall (2012)
The Congress (2013)
In the 360-degree video, each film pops up in chronological order with a large collection of scenes from each film dispersed around you. Many of the films take a direct approach to virtual reality, placing their protagonists under a headset of some kind. Others, like Inception’s journey into the world of dreams, have a more abstract approach but they all thrive off the essence of virtual spaces.
In the near future, we’ll have a few more films to add to this collection. Ready Player One, a popular 2011 novel by Ernest Cline, has a film adaptation on the way directed by the one and only Steven Spielberg. The science fiction story features a virtual universe called OASIS that players access with goggles and haptic gloves. Also, later this year we will also see a film adaptation of the Assassin’s Creed game franchise. The film’s plot involves a company that has developed a means, called the Animus Project, to virtually dive into the memories of a person’s ancestors. The first film will be diving into the Spanish Inquisition, is directed by Justin Kurzel, and features Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons.
However glorious the life of an astronaut may seem, there are realistic pitfalls of the incredible missions they undertake. The journey into space is an isolated and claustrophobic one, but company 8i is hoping to combat that. A company on a mission to “make virtual reality human”, 8i, has partnered with TIME Inc. to bring holographic messages from second-man-on-the-moon Buzz Aldrin, as well as entertainer Reggie Watts, to the LIFE VR platform. The “Message to Mars” recordings will be used during a Mars simulation journey and are made possible through 8i’s technology that brings lifelike holograms to virtual spaces. Using this format, “Message to Mars” could provide an immersive tool that could help cope with the isolation of the lengthy trip to the red planet.
“As humans embrace the extraordinary commitment to leave Earth and make Mars their home, virtual reality will be a very important way of staying in touch,” said Aldrin. “What could be more stimulating to students, scientists, and political leaders on Earth than to experience life on another a planet, and for the astronauts journeying to Mars to receive messages from back home? I’m honored to leave my message behind for these courageous men and women who will go down in history in a way that no one ever has before.”
Aldrin will be sharing his own experiences through “Message to Mars” while Watts will be beatboxing and bringing a humorous style all his own for his message. Additional messages from people other than Aldrin and Watts are slated to be revealed early next year and hopefully they’ll continue to strike this balance between informed encouragement and pure entertainment. We reported previously on LIFE VR, one of the tools being used to bring this to life, and TIME Inc’s VR initiative is already making interesting strides in storytelling.
This week’s weekly roundup of HTC Vive titles contains a handful of virtual ‘escape the room’ experiences, some wacky mini-games, and even an education lab with a growing list of attractions. No killer app, but there’s one really intriguing heavy hitter in the 90s style FPS Quell 4D. There are also a couple award winning virtual short films worth your attention.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
Ship It, from Think On Labs
Price: $14.99
Put your last minute packing skills to work as you pack virtual boxes with blocks the differ in size, shape, and color and then ship them off to your employer. Think miniature Tetris and you’re in the ballpark.
Recommendation: Responsive with blocks snapping satisfyingly into place as you rapidly work. Grab it with the mindset that you’ll occasionally come back to it.
Edmersiv, from EvoBooks
Price: Free
In this educational lab you can tinker with a science set, study virtual animals, and explore historic locals. Edmersiv even has a virtual coliseum for you to explore inside and out…are you not entertained?
Recommendation: Educational, immersive, and free-to-play with more to come…so yeah, worth a look.
Quell 4D, from Rubycone
Price: $19.99
Straight to the point, you’re Murderman and you’ve got things to do. Move around by leading your mount with a carrot hanging from a string and use your other hand to live up to your name.
Recommendation: Brutal 90s style FPS. You even have to ask?
The Gleam: VR Escape the Room, from Blue Entropy Studios
Price: $3.79 (Currently Discounted)
Solve puzzles, decipher codes, and try to keep a degree of sanity in a virtual “Escape Room” attraction. The Gleam has full-room scale with a dense amount items to gather to help in your escape.
Recommendation: Snatch it up for cheap and challenge friends to escape the fastest.
Crazy Flies, From Chongqing Yan Wan Network Technology Co. Ltd.
Price: $2.39 (Currently Discounted)
Ever swat a fly and think that you were somewhat adept at it? Crazy Flies is your shot. Use a collection of weapons to take down the flying pests before time runs out.
Recommendation: Even for cheap, it’s not very appealing.
Heroes of the Seven Seas VR, from Mirage Interactive
Price: $12.99
Live out your pirate dream in virtual reality as you sail across the waters, seek out treasure, and chat with mermaids. Combat in Heroes of the Seven Seas takes place on your upgradeable ship and on foot with a variety of weapons.
Wash up on shore and gather a couple items as you attempt to survive Pen Island and its strange inhabitants. More of a wave defense game versus a wave shooter.
Recommendation: Pass.
Lazerbait, From Taylor Stapleton
Price: Free
Lazerbait is an arcade strategy game reminiscent of mobile RTS-light titles. Send your ships from planet to planet until you’ve conquered them all.
Recommendation: Pass, or download it. Meh. It’s free.
Tornufallo, from RealityRig
Price: $0.84 (Currently Discounted)
Sharknado? No. Tornufallo. Do your best to survive this unnatural disaster as you dodge and swat away massive debris.
Recommendation: Pretty cheap leaderboard driven game that could be a fun time with friends. Currently in Early Access.
Allumette, From Penrose Studios
Price: Free
In Allumette, watch a beautifully styled VR short film about the relationship between a mother and daughter unfold before you.
Recommendation: A wonderful free experience you should check out. Prepare for tears. More info.
INVASION!, from Baobab Studios Inc.
Price: Free
In this animated short narrated by Ethan Hawk, a pair of aliens attempt to take over the world and eliminate anyone in their path. Unfortunately, they’re ambitions run into a brick wall of cute.
Recommendation: An award winning, free short (for a limited time). Grab it. More info.
The Unwelcomed, from The Unwelcomed Studios
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Unwelcomed is an escape the room puzzle experience. Move around the haunting mansion and get out before things go wrong.
Recommendation: Pretty limited in its current Early Access form. Wait a bit.
WackyMoles, from CrystalGame
Price: $15.99 (Currently Discounted)
This casual title has you clearing out some naughty moles inhabiting your vegetable garden in the backyard. Use your hammer in this Early Access title to attack a variety of moles while dodging their different skills.
Recommendation: Pass.
Shatter Quest, from Dream Totems LLC
Price: $12.74 (Currently Discounted)
Put you table tennis skills to work in the fantasy setting of Shatter Quest, smacking a ball around to take down static and moving glass barriers.
Recommendation: Pretty bland. Pass.
The Rabbit Hole, from VRMonkey
Price:$3.99
Fall down the Rabbit Hole and try to escape an atmospheric, dark dwelling built in Unreal 4. Use different items to change your size and explore different nooks and crannies.
Recommendation: If you’re into escape rooms, not too steep an investment into something with decent potential in Early Access.
Alveari, from BeehiveBob
Price: $14.99
Alveari is a pretty good looking collection of shooting mini-games in a series of abstract settings. Has a solid visual foundation thus far and some cool effects, but not much more.
Recommendation: In Early Access and not deep enough for the price of entry.
Live action sporting events are a logical focus for the VR industry, giving spectators a seat they’d normally be apprehensive about spending the money on. We’ve gotten boxing matches, college basketball, and now the University of Notre Dame football program is partnering with NextVR to bring college football to VR. NextVR will be providing virtual reality highlights of the Notre Dame vs Stanford game from multiple points on the field and we chatted on the phone with Danny Keen, Vice President of Content & Partnership at NextVR, about the development.
“Sports broadcasting in general has always been about meeting the demands of the fans,” Keen says. “VR has the ability to meet the demand of those fans like no other medium. This is by far the most exciting, complex, and challenging thing I’ve ever done in my career and I say that because it’s really hard to make predictions about what the future looks like. We’re talking about transformational change here, in broadcasting.”
NextVR was originally founded in 2009 and specializes in VR broadcasts with partners such as FOX Sports, Live Nation, HBO, Turner Sports, and CNN. They’ve broadcasted the US Open, the opening match for Germany’s Bundesliga competition, and other events. They can get their work done on a fully equipped VR production truck, the first of its kind. The company recently secured an $80 million series of funding this past August, a development that we suspectedwould likely lead to broadcast rights for more events. This particular partnership, however, was a long brewing idea brokered by NBC Sports.
“Telebroadcasting has always been a one-way conversation in a sense. Television has always just spoken to you,” Keen reflects. “I truly believe over the next couple of years we can get to a place where broadcasting becomes a two way street where you can interact, you can engage, [and] you can ultimately have conversations with people during the experience. That’s really where we want to take it: Make broadcasting and viewing sport engaging in a way that we’ve never seen in history.”
Keen reveals that, later in the month, viewers will also be able to see exclusive pre-game activities on NextVR such as tailgating, the player walk to Notre Dame stadium, and more hosted by Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown.
“The purpose of that centerpiece is to really try to encapsulate everything that is so great about Notre Dame football. It’s not just about the game, it’s about the sites and sounds that happen around the game,” Keen said.
Tune in to the NBC Sports channel on the NextVR application for Samsung Gear via the Oculus Home store on Oct. 15 to see VR highlights of the Notre Dame vs. Stanford football game that airs at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Virtual realiy and augmented reality applications outside of entertainment are becoming more and more prevalent as companies learn the practicality, efficiency, and overall benefits of the technology. Just in the last few weeks, we’ve seen elevator technicians equipped with Hololens and electric and gas company PG&E is aiming to give their electricians safer havens to sort out issues though the use of virtually recreated substations. Now Sharecare is taking to VR to enhance their visual health care services.
Sharecare aims to give you a deeply informative look at your personal health through things like a web health profile and AskMD mobile application. Your profile gives you a home to track your habits and receive guidance through a slew of resources, like Sharecare health challenges, ASKMD consultations, and habit quizzes, so you can embrace a healthy lifestyle.
YOU VR (shown in the video above) is taking this ideal to a new extreme, giving professionals an intimate and personal look into the bodies we inhabit through virtual reality. 2D video and textbooks are incredibly informative, no doubt, but stepping into a virtual heart to see how a heart functions or malfunctions can pay dividends for students, professors, healthcare providers, and, most importantly, patients.
In September, Sharecare acquired the VR company BioLucid. BioLucid created the 3D YOU platform that Sharecare will be bringing to VR, AR, and 360° videos. “By differentiating our platform with BioLucid’s immersive simulation of the human body, we can turn data into actionable, visual intelligence, and make a transformative impact on patient engagement, health literacy, medical education and therapy adherence,” said Sharecare CEO Jeff Arnold when addressing the acquisition.
Sharecare is also bringing a visual experience to their web profile via Sharecare Reality Lab. A living avatar is in its beta phases, changing as a person’s health shifts. BioLucid is providing YOU VR strictly to pharmaceutical or medical companies, healthcare systems, consumer-facing healthcare companies, and educational institutions. Get in touch on their website.
