Stop the Orc Horde in Trickster VR

Arriving on Steam Early Access today is a brawling videogame for the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) where players have to stop a legion of orcs, in Trickster VR.

Developed by Trickster Games, the title successfully completed a Steam Greenlight campaign last month to make it into early access.

Trickster VR screenshot 1

It’s a wave based action videogame, so as the rounds progress enemies become more plentiful and a lot harder. Currently Trickster VR features three modes to try your skills at, Casual, Brave and Legendary. Casual really introduces players to the gameplay mechanics, useful not only for first time players but also for anyone new to virtual reality (VR). While Brave could be considered the standard normal difficulty, challenging players who are used to VR. Legendary is for those players who want a real challenge with the full force of the horde bearing down on those brave enough to try.

For this early access version the Sky Arena will change every round so there’s no learning a good spot for another time, while the final version of Trickster VR with include procedurally generated levels. And currently there are eight different enemy classes which all come with their own separate set of skills. To fight them off players can choose between ranged on melee weaponry, a bow that fires three arrows at once or a magical sword to slice them up.

Also when fully launched in 2017 Trickster VR will include upgrades and a story to unravel. Players will be able to collect interactive dioramas called ‘memories’, revealing the back story that leads up to a finale.

If Trickster VR looks like your kind of videogame then you may want to pick it up early. At the moment it comes with a 15 percent discount until 19th August, dropping the price from £6.99 GBP to £5.94. But the developer does also state the: “Finished game will have a higher price. Price will increase along the development process with big, game changing updates.”

For all the latest VR releases on Steam, keep reading VRFocus.

War Thunder Knights of the Sea Screenshots Released

A couple of days ago Gaijin Entertainment released details about a closed beta being launched later this year for Knights of the Sea, a new ocean warfare update for its popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) title War Thunder. The studio released a video at the time teasing some of the action and now several new images are available of the boats what will feature.

To begin with the closed beta will have two starter packs, each with a different vessel. Then further torpedo, artillery and missile boats, coast guard vessels and submarine chasers will launch.

The images below showcase the Soviet Project 1124 Armoured River Boat from the first starter pack, and the American PT-109. The 1124 includes a T-34 turret and two 12.7mm machine guns alongside a M-13-M1 unguided rocket launcher called Katyusha. While the PT-109 is a fast and manoeuvrable ship destroyer with four torpedoes, each weighing almost 1,200 kg, for taking out large ships.

The update will be showcased at the Gamescom event next week, where viditors will be able to get the first public hands-on in a special closed arena.

And for those not attending there will be a special video broadcast from the official Twitch booth and new devblog updates each day, where developers of the game will talk about the new regime, and run giveaways of closed beta access codes for the viewers.

For all the latest news on War Thunder, keep reading VRFocus.

WarThunder_PT-109_1 WarThunder_PT-109 WarThunder_PT-109_3 WarThunder_PT-109_2 WarThunder_Project_1124_2 WarThunder_Project_1124

Rec Room: Achievements, Cheats, Tips & Tricks

Continuing a free download theme this week for VRFocus’s achievements feature is Rec Room by indie studio Against Gravity. This is the developers first virtual reality (VR), going for sporty gameplay on the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD). The free title features 36 Steam Achievements to unlock and as always we’ve got the full list below.

Rec Room is a multiplayer focused title, pitting players against each other across a series of sports. These include: Paintball, 3D Charades, Disc Golf, Zero-G Paddle Ball and Dodgeball. There’s also a social element where friends can hangout in the locker room before going head-to-head in one of the activities.

Rec Room screenshot 1

Full Achievement List:

 

Welcome to Rec Room!

Login to the Rec Room for the first time.

 

Uniform

Customize your avatar for the first time.

 

Baller

Play Paintball

 

Chill dude

High five someone

 

Party participant

First fist bump

 

Documentarian

Make a GIF or Video

 

Paddler

Play Paddle Ball

 

Artiste

Play 3D Charades

 

Dodger

Play Dodgeball

 

Frolfer

Play Disc Golf

 

Baller Pro

Play Paintball 10x

 

Award-nominated documentarian

Make 10 GIFs or Videos

 

Chill dude pro

High five 10 different people

 

Artiste Pro

Play 3D Charades 10x

 

Paddler Pro

Play Paddle Ball 10x

 

Dodger Pro

Play Dodgeball 10x

 

Award-winning documentarian

Make 100 GIFs or Videos

 

Super Baller

Play Paintball 100x

 

Frolfer Pro

Play Disc Golf 10x

 

Ultra Baller

Play Paintball 1000x

 

Party person

100 fist bumps

 

Legendary documentarian

Make 1000 GIFs or Videos

 

Ultra chill dude

High five 1000 different people

 

Super chill dude

High five 100 different people

 

Super Artiste

Play 3D Charades 100x

 

Party god

100000 fist bumps

 

Party maniac

10000 fist bumps

 

Party monster

1000 fist bumps

 

Party animal

500 fist bumps

 

Super Paddler

Play Paddle Ball 100x

 

Ultra Paddler

Play Paddle Ball 1000x

 

Super Dodger

Play Dodgeball 100x

 

Ultra Artiste

Play 3D Charades 1000x

 

Ultra Frolfer

Play Disc Golf 1000x

 

Super Frolfer

Play Disc Golf 100x

 

Ultra Dodger

Play Dodgeball 1000x

Full PlayStation VR Line-up Revealed for Insomnia58

Last month Multiplay, the organiser behind the Insomnia58 videogame event which takes place in a couple of weeks at the NEC, Birmingham, UK, revealed Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE’s) virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) PlayStation VR would be making an appearance. At the time only Rebellion’s Battlezone title had been announced as being playable but now the full content line-up has been unveiled.

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Alongside Battlezone those attending Insomnia58 will also be able to demo RIGS Mechanized Combat League, PlayStation VR Worlds and Farpoint. As with a lot of videogame events featuring VR headsets, SIE will be running a pre-book appointment system so that all attendees will be able to try PlayStation VR without having to wait in long queues. The appointments run every half hour starting from 11am and running through to 5:30pm. Each half hour slot doesn’t allow you select an actual title just the appointment itself, so it’s likely that you just have to chose which title you want to play when you turn up. The booking process also asks confirmation of an Insomnia ticket and states that only one trial can be booked and its not transferable. Also don’t be late or your slot might be reallocated.

RIGS Mechanized Combat League is a multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS), where players are put into teams of giant sized robots to fight it out in various modes. PlayStation VR Worlds is a compilation of five smaller experiences: Into The Deep, VR Luge, The London Heist, Scavengers Odyssey and Danger Ball. Finally there’s Farpoint, a PlayStation VR exclusive FPS that will be available to use with the new PlayStation VR Aim controller.

SIE will be launching PlayStation VR worldwide on 13th October 2016. If you’re interested in pre-ordering a headset it might be a little late as most retailers sold-out of their allotted HMDs very quickly, even with SIE releasing more in several phases.

For all the latest PlayStation VR news, keep reading VRFocus.

LA Galaxy VR Experiences Being Brought to Fans Thanks to Laduma

This week virtual reality (VR) specialist Laduma has announced a multi-year content deal with LA Galaxy to produce a series of 360-degree experiences.

The five-time Major League Soccer (MLS) champions will help create a six-part series featuring LA Galaxy players: Nigel de Jong, Ashley Cole, Gyasi Zardes, Jelle Van Damme, Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane. During the series, fans will go inside the LA Galaxy locker room on match day, spend time with Gerrard at his home and see where Keane likes to hang out in Los Angeles.

Laduma-LA Galaxy

The content will debut at two LA Galaxy home games in the 2016 MLS season with select areas of StubHub Center dedicated to showcasing the VR footage. Fans will be able to put on a headset and have first-hand access to never-before-seen content, including specially produced videos and teasers featuring exclusive footage of players as well as other behind-the-scenes stadium and team experiences.

Laduma Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith said: “At Laduma, we pride ourselves on working with the most iconic brands in the world. The LA Galaxy are not only synonymous with style and success within MLS, but they are also widely respected for being one of sport’s most forward-thinking, digitally savvy organizations. And so our partnership is about creating incredible content for one of the most digitally engaged audiences in professional sports.”

“Immersive 360-degree viewing will allow our fans to experience the LA Galaxy like never before,” said LA Galaxy President Chris Klein. “We’re proud to be working with best-in-class partners like Laduma and our work together on this project demonstrates our desire to deliver the very best in innovation to our fans.”

And for LA Galaxy fans who can’t go to the matches Laduma will be releasing the LA Galaxy VR app across all VR platforms, and via the Laduma website. “It gives fans a more real-life sense of things,” said LA Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes. “It’s amazing for people who can’t make it out to Los Angeles to experience the atmosphere at the stadium.”

For all the latest VR news from around the world, keep reading VRFocus.

New Content Bundle Announced for HTC Vive Purchases

From today customers ordering a HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) will now get a new content bundle with the headset.

Still featuring three titles the new bundle still includes Google’s Tilt Brush, but now it also comes with The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed by Cloudhead Games and Zombie Training Simulator by Acceleroto. These replace the previously available Job Simulator by Owlchemy Labs and Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games.

New HTC Vive Content bundle

The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed has been built from the ground up for virtual reality (VR) with the storyline revolving around your characters missing sister, an ancient machine, and a sinister presence that’s been inspired by dark 80’s fantasy films.

While Zombie Training Simulator is a cartoon styled videogame, placing the player in a shooting gallery against cut-outs of hordes of zombies as a school for taking care of business during a zombie apocalypse. Players will be able to make use of a variety of weapons as they learn about the tactical advantages required to survive in the new, dangerous world just around the corner.

As for Google’s Tilt Brush that needs no introduction as the app has been synonymous with the HTC Vive almost from day one. An update for the title earlier this month added audio reactive brushes – essentially allowing players to paint with sound. Eight brushes where included, so that users can paint as they normally would, but now allowing audio to be introduced. Active a saved song and the brush strokes start to pulse, blink, flash and move to any sounds and music introduced.

The new content bundle hasn’t changed the price of the HTC Vive, it’s still $799 USD. UK customers should have noticed a price increase from 1st August which HTC put down to market conditions.

For all the latest HTC Vive news keep reading VRFocus.

Immersive Deck Public Beta Program Announced with KolossVR

German technology company Illusion Walk has announced that its virtual reality (VR) device, Immersive Deck is now ready for a public beta launch, and with it the firms VR experience KolossVR.

The company has relocated to a new office in Berlin extending its VR lab to 150m². The real-time platform allows multiple users to walk and interact as teams in virtual worlds, and now after its last testing phase both single users and teams can register for the public beta program.

koloss_vr_01

Jim Rüggeberg, CEO of Illusion Walk KG said in a statement: “We are very excited to announce the start of the Immersive Deck beta program. After two years of development behind closed doors, it’s now time to open the platform for interested beta testers and potential licensees. We expect to gain valuable feedback and first results of system key figures. Content development targeted at walkable, real-time VR holodecks is still at the very beginning and we also hope to get support from the VR community. Being in direct contact with the testers will help us enormously and the feedback will be directly used in our further development.”

Alongside Immersive Deck Illusion Walk has been working on KolossVR a large scale VR title for teams to use with the platform. Very few details have been released on the actual features and content of the videogame other than a couple of images. One which can be see above and the other below seem to show warring factions using a range of medieval weaponry mixed with magic.

Head to the Illusion Walk beta sign up page if you’re interested, but you’ll need to be over 18 and live in Germany. As VRFocus learns more about KolossVR and the Immersive Deck we’ll let you know.

koloss_vr_02

Battlerite Challenge’s Valve’s Dota 2 VR Mode

Swedish developer Stunlock Studios is currently busy creating its PvP brawler and the spiritual successor to cult title Bloodline Champions, Battlerite. Alongside the videogame development the studio has now revealed work on a virtual reality (VR) observer mode, similar to Valve’s VR Theater for Dota2.

Stunlock Studios has been experimenting with VR-technology by developing its own in-house software to capture the gameplay action.

Battlerite VR Observer Mode Still_1

In the video below the studio demonstrates the new mode, allowing spectators to become a part of the roaring crowd, exploring ways to create unique interactions between players. There will be flowers to throw into the arena, cheer the best plays and more. Showcased using the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD), viewers can move the arena round with one hand or use both controllers to spin the viewpoint, while zooming is handled by moving the controllers apart.

“This is a cutting edge filming technique when it comes to recording gameplay footage and we are now working on integrating a VR option into our observer mode. We have this thing we call “Pinch-To-Zoom-3D” that works just like on your smartphone – but in VR. With this function you can zoom in and out without breaking the immersion and flow. We are aiming on throwing you into a virtual coliseum at the final release of the game,“ said Tobias Johansson – Head of VR, Stunlock Studios.

Battlerite will launch on Steam Early Access on 20th September 2016, and as further details on the VR observer mode are released, VRFocus will bring you the latest updates.

Oculus Updates PC SDK to v1.7

Its now been almost five months since the launch of the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD), and in that time its not all been plain sailing for the virtual reality (VR) device but now everything is going a lot smoother. Oculus VR has released several updates in that time the latest being a new version of the company’s PC software development kit (SDK), version 1.7.0.

Not a great deal has been added, there are more known issues than anything else, but there is one telling piece of information. The one new feature lists values for IndexTrigger, HandTrigger, and Thumbstick which likely relate to the upcoming Oculus Touch controllers, and the first known issue also refers to the Touch devices.

Oculus Touch

It’s still unknown when Oculus VR plans to launch the controllers other than Fall 2016, and no price has yet been revealed. These details will probably be announced at Oculus Connect 3 in October, so we’ll have to wait until then to find out.

The full list of update details can be seen below, and for all the latest Oculus news, keep reading VRFocus.

 

Oculus PC SDK 1.7.0 Changelog:

New Features

The values for IndexTrigger, HandTrigger, and Thumbstick include deadzones. Added IndexTriggerNoDeadzone, HandTriggerNoDeadzone, and ThumbstickNoDeadzone, which return values for the trigger, hand trigger, and thumbstick without deadzones.

API Changes

There are no breaking changes to version 1.7.0.

Known Issues

When Touch controllers wake up from idle, they might move erratically for up to 10 seconds before tracking is reestablished.

If you bypass the shim and communicate with the DLL directly, without specifying a version to ovr_Initialize, the DLL has no way of knowing the SDK version with which the application was built. This can result in unpredictable or erratic behavior which might cause the application to crash.

There are some USB chipsets that do not meet the USB 3.0 specification and are incompatible with the Oculus Rift sensor. If you receive a notification in Oculus Home or the Oculus App, plug the sensor into a different USB 3.0 port (blue). If none of the USB 3.0 ports work, plug the sensor into a USB 2.0 port (black).

Antivirus software, such a McAfee, can cause installation issues. To work around the issue, make sure you have the latest updates and disable real-time scanning.

If you encounter installation issues, delete the Oculus folder and install the software again.

If the Rift displays a message that instructs you to take off the headset, remove it and place it on a flat surface for 10-15 seconds.

The keyboard and mouse do not work in Oculus Home. To select an item, gaze at it and select it using the Oculus Remote or Xbox controller.

Bandwidth-intensive USB devices, such as web cams and high-end audio interfaces, might not work when using the Rift. To work around this issue, install the device on another USB host controller or a separate computer.

For dual-boot systems using DK2 or CB1 HMDs, the OS selection screen might appear on the HMD instead of the monitor. To work around this, try plugging the HMD into a different port or unplug the HMD while booting.

If you are running your application from the Unity Editor and you press the controller’s home button to return to Oculus Home, you will be prompted to close the application. If you select OK, Unity might remain in a state where it is running, but will never get focus. To work around this, restart Unity.

Island 359 Gets Launch Date for HTC Vive

Fledgling virtual reality (VR) developer CloudGate Studio – founded by Jeremy Chapman and Steve Bowler who helped create The Brookhaven Experiment and Mike Fischer – are working on upcoming dinosaur title Island 359. The team first revealed the videogame back in June and today revealed a Steam Early Access launch date.

Island 359 will be arriving for the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) in just under two weeks time, on Tuesday 23rd August for $19.99 USD.

Island 359 - T-RexRoars

The videogame is all about survival as players hunt for dinosaurs on an dense jungle island. Dropped in by helicopter you play a skilled mercenary whose mission is simple, kill as many dinosaurs as possible to earn as much money as possible before escaping with your life. But whose to say the hunter doesn’t become the hunted, as the dinos are just as skilled at hunting through the dense foliage as you might be.

For the biggest cash rewards you’ll need to kill the biggest dinosaurs, but to do that will take thought out tactics and strategies in order to preserve health and stamina for the long fight ahead. There will be weapons and ammo to find but not all of it may fit in your backpack, so choosing the right combination will be key. Loot drops can also be gained providing health and resources but only when certain kill milestones are reached.

Several dinosaurs have already been revealed through teaser trailer and screenshots. These include Raptors, Allosaurus, Compsognathus and T-Rex. Each has its own style of attack responding to your actions in different ways.

Taking notice of an incoming attack they may run away, hide, or counterattack to defend themselves. CloudGate Studio has integrated its own sprinting mechanic into Island 359, that aims to make you feel as if you’re are actually immersed in the jungle environment.

As CloudGate Studio releases further details on Island 359 VRFocus will keep you updated.