Scott Hayden – Page 292 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

September 15, 2017

HTC Registers ‘Vive Focus’ Trademark in EU & US, Likely Intended for Standalone VR Headset

HTC has submitted a new trademark application in both Europe and the US, specifically requesting the use of a new name: Vive Focus.

First revealed at Google I/O 2017 developer conference, both HTC and Lenovo announced they were building standalone VR headsets for the Daydream platform. Neither headset revealed its perspective name, only showing concept art and a black silhouette for HTC’s new headset.

Today, the Dutch publication LetsGoDigital (via VRFocus) brought the trademark applications to light, which were initially filed on September 8th. While HTC still hasn’t said anything on the matter, leaving some doubt about whether the naming scheme is indeed intended for the standalone headset, Google had said the devices will launch later in 2017. With the holiday season fast approaching, we’ll have a definitive answer either way soon enough.

The standalone Daydream VR headsets are said to include inside-out positional tracking—a decisive upgrade over the rotational-only tracking of the smartphone-powered Daydream View headset. Using a computer vision-based sensor system, that the company is calling ‘World-sense’, the tracking tech won’t require any external beacons or sensors to enable a room-scale mobile VR experience.

Both HTC and Lenovo standalone headsets are basing their work on Qualcomm’s ‘VRDK’ reference device, unveiled at Google I/O in May. We got a hands-on with an early prototype of Qualcomm’s VRDK standalone headset, and despite the fact that it was essentially one year-old tech at the time, Road to VR executive editor Ben Lang said that when left to roam a 10 diameter circular carpet, that the tracking was pretty robust. More importantly, the reference design clearly showed the signs of integrated eye-tracking, which puts the Focus naming scheme in a different light. If the supposition is true, it would mean Focus was named specifically to sell the benefit of eye-tracking to consumers.

Check out the hands-on here.

We’ll have our eye on HTC in the coming weeks when they finally reveal the standalone headset’s name.

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September 14, 2017

‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’ Won’t Be Supporting PSVR Headsets After All

Criterion Games, the EA studio that developed the PlayStation VR-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One: VR Mission, says Battlefront II won’t be getting the virtual reality treatment the developers previously announced, and that no VR missions will be present in the game.

As tweeted by tech directior Alex Mole back in April, VR headset owners would be seeing “something awesome in Battlefront II.” It was previously thought that PSVR support would come lock, stock and barrel with Starfighter Assault Mode, the game’s dogfighting expansion.

Our most recent release was the VR mission for Star Wars Battlefront. Next up is something awesome in Battlefront II

— Alex Mole (@TheRealMolen) April 14, 2017

Metro spoke with game designer John Stanley and Criterion general manager Matt Webster at this year’s GDC. According to the interview, it now appears PSVR support—or any VR support for that matter—has been abandoned completely.

Metro: The other obvious question I have is whether there are any VR options in the game?

Matt Webster: [hesitant] There is no VR.

Metro: Nothing at all?! But you were doing so well!

MW: [laughs] It’s taken enough effort to make [Rogue One VR].

John Stanley: VR for Criterion is something that’s very important.

Metro: You must have learnt so much doing that, it’d be a crime to let it go to waste.

MW: Well it doesn’t, you don’t forget it. I think as Andrew [Wilson, EA CEO] was saying a few months ago. VR is going to be a part of gaming’s future in the coming decade.

Metro: Oh, don’t give me all that!

Both: [laughs]

Metro: It’s a particular shame because first person mode with a starfighter is still useless.

MW: At some point we could sit down and spend a good number of hours talking about where VR needs to get to in order to work with that, because in something like this you’re doing the job of a fighter pilot. And in the real world that has a significant physiological effect on you, which would dramatically limit the audience.

JS: Matt mentioned at the start, how the handling doesn’t feel the same as in VR, and that’s because they’re completely different beasts.

MW: But making the VR demo absolutely informed the work we’re doing now. So there’s a lot of the VR mission’s soul in Starfighter Assault.

This comes as a surprise since a number of job openings first appeared at Criterion, all of which mentioned Criterion’s involvement in Battlefront VR Mission, including an Environment Artist listing targeted devs with “experience developing for VR.”

There was also some apparent mock-ups of a Battlefront II box art featuring an advertisement for PSVR compatibility, as first spotted by a Danish user of the web forum NeoGAF and later corroborated by German forum users.

There’s no telling at this point exactly why the studio decided to scrap the VR project, but we’ll be keeping our eyes out for more information as it comes in. Lets take a look at that Starfighter Assault gameplay trailer one last time and let out a collective sigh, shall we?

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September 14, 2017

STXsurreal Partners With Google to Launch Pay-Per-View VR Video, Aiming to Become ‘HBO of VR’

STXsurreal, the immersive media division of STX Entertainment, is partnering up with Google’s VR team to launch a new “pay-per-experience” app on the Daydream VR platform, which will host a selection of curated live-action 360 films.

Casting it as the ‘HBO or Showtime of VR’, the deal allows STXsurreal to develop and produce multiple live-action scripted VR series coming to Daydream in the next few months. STXsurreal Co-Presidents Andy Vick and Rick Rey maintain the deal allows them to “bring the highest caliber of talent to this new medium and create a premium destination for VR.”

Setting itself apart from other 360 video apps, the company says they’ll be “highly selective with a true programming voice.”

Surreal, a cinematic VR company that’s produced more than 70 videos with over 35 million views, was acquired by STX in August 2016. The company has produced 360 videos featuring celebrities such as Gordon Ramsay, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, John Hamm, and many more.

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September 14, 2017

Report: Magic Leap Could Reach $6B Valuation, First Device Shipping in 6 Months to “small group of users”

Magic Leap, the mysterious augmented reality startup with a multiple-billion dollar valuation, could soon be taking on more investments, bringing its total valuation close to $6 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Citing sources “familiar with the situation,” the report contends that Temasek Holdings Pte., a Singaporean investment company, is considering taking part in a new financing round amounting to more than $500 million.

After closing a nearly $800 million Series C investment led by Alibaba in February of last year, the company was then valued at $4.5 billion—remarkable for a startup that hasn’t shown a viable product outside the confines of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Although not citing official sources, Bloomberg reports Magic Leap’s headset will cost between $1,500 and $2,000, and is set to ship its first device “to a small group of users within six months.”

Both Temasek and Magic Leap declined to speak on the matter.

“It would be bigger than a pair of glasses, but smaller than virtual reality headsets such as Facebook Inc.’s Oculus Rift,” the unnamed sources told Bloomberg. “Magic Leap’s device would require users to carry a puck-shaped device, around the size of a smartphone, that would wirelessly provide processing and information to the glasses.”

In a recently granted patent (filed in 2015), the company shows a small form-factor headset, that while not entirely fashionable, look to fit what sources have told Bloomberg.

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After receiving the latest $800 million cash injection a year a half ago, the company said they had exited the R&D phase and were moving toward large-scale manufacturing. Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz tells Fast Company:

We’ve developed what I call a photonics chip, which Includes the design of it, novel materials, even designing the fab that will make it. That’s fundamentally important for us to deliver the experience that’s the natural fit of how the eye-brain system works. We had to build something that accommodates what your eye-brain system is used to getting, which is not available in any off-the-shelf way.

We have achieved mass miniaturization. We’ve gone beyond the computer simulations and one-off prototypes. We’re not on the risk side. We’re on the other side. It’s like talking about making an Intel chip versus actually making them.

The Magic Leap headset is said to use a light field display powered by a novel array of nano-structures, giving the digital imagery true-to-life depth cues which in turn makes the projected image seem more real. While the company has shown its tech to journalists and celebrities alike, all impressions are held within the strict confines of a NDA, so we won’t know much more than what we can tell from public sources such as patents and research papers.

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September 13, 2017

‘Onward’ Mil-Sim Shooter is Hosting a Free Weekend Starting Thursday

Onward, the mil-sim tactical multiplayer shooter, has garnered a hardcore playerbase since it released on Steam Early Access a year ago, and if you want to know what all the hubbub is about surrounding what many are hailing as the end-all VR shooter, you’ll be able to get a taste from September 14-17 during the game’s free access weekend.

Onward isn’t your typical shooter. As a project developed by a single core dev, the mil-sim multiplayer has a character of its own, focusing on a brand of realism that emphasizes coordination, communication, and marksmanship skill. This is a strictly ‘no cross hairs and no HUDs’ experience, and the better you know your way around a firearm and the better you can communicate, the more effective you’ll be on the battlefield.

‘Onward’ on Steam

Onward, which currently sells for $25 on Steam, supports HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The 360 nature of the game though makes a third Oculus sensor a much better choice to eliminate occlusion of the Touch controllers.

Be ready for plenty of stiff competition too, because many long-time players have upgraded their controllers to include a physical stock, giving them a clear leg up as they can steady their shots more easily. The level of competition is so high, that some players have formed an unofficial Onward Championship League.

Its sole developer, Dante Buckley, is a new game designer at 20 years old, while the game is still a work-in-progress, it’s amazing what he’s done with pure determination in such a short time. UploadVR’s David Jagneaux details Buckley’s story of dropping out of college to teach himself game designing from scratch. Buckley told UploadVR that he works “continuous 14+ hour work days. It’s been worth it though.”

In the post announcing the free weekend, Buckley says there will be new content coming out in September and October, including new maps “and more”.

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September 13, 2017

PSVR Gaming Bundle ‘HeroCade’ Available This Month in Europe, Australia & New Zealand

HeroCade is a compilation of nine VR games for PlayStationVR, and while it’s already been out in North America since earlier this year, European countries will finally able to buy the cheap and cheerful game pack this month, which features a number of VR favorites previously available only Samsung Gear VR and PC VR platforms.

Launching in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, UK, Australia, and New Zealand on September 26th, HeroCade offers and interesting mix of genres, recalling memories of the old PlayStation demo discs from the PS1 era. Dreadhalls alone is definitely worth the €12 price tag (or regional equivalent), making for an easy buy for anyone looking for a swath of games with at least one surefire winner in the bunch.

HeroCade Games

Dreadhalls (horror adventure)
Sisters (horror adventure)
PolyRunner (arcade racer)
Space Bit Attack! – (Space Invader-inspired arcade shooter)
Gumi no Yume – (arcade puzzler)
Z-Strike (bomber-style zombie shooter)
Turkey Hunt (shooting gallery)
405 Road Rage (driving experience)
Jurassic Survival (dinosaur survival-shooter)

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September 13, 2017October 5, 2017

‘ARKTIKA.1’ Gets Launch Trailer Ahead of Next Week’s Release

ARKTIKA.1, the sci-fi shooter from Metro developers 4A Games, is launching on Oculus Rift October 10th. Pre-orders are currently live on the Oculus Store, selling for a 10% discount off of the game’s $30 price tag.

Update (10/5/17): Developer 4A Games has released a new Arktika.1 launch trailer which shows the spookier side of the game (just in time for Halloween it would seem):

Nearly a century in the future – in the aftermath of a silent apocalypse – the planet has entered a new ice age known as the Great Freeze. Only the equatorial regions remain habitable, yet pockets of humanity still manage to survive in small numbers all over the planet. These regions of civilization sit on resource-rich, highly desirable territories to the north and south. As a mercenary hired by Citadel Security, you must protect one of the last colonies in the wastelands of old Russia from violent raiders, marauders, and horrifying creatures. Be the saviour. Give humanity a second chance.

The game launches on Tuesday, October 10th and is still available for pre-order with a 10% discount from the Oculus store.

Hyped for the game? Don’t miss these stories:

25 Minutes of New ‘ARKTIKA.1’ Oculus Touch Gameplay

‘ARKTIKA.1’ Devs Detail Game’s Deadly Weaponry

Lead FX Artist on ‘ARKTIKA.1’ Shares Strategies for Great Effects in VR

Original Article (9/13/17): We got a hands-on with Arktika.1 back at GDC earlier this year, and from what we saw there, it’s going to be a game with a level of attention to detail and polish that you might say (for the lack of a better word) puts it in the ‘AAA’ category.

Climate change has world is plunged into a new ice age, and as a security employee of the Citadel, a Russian outpost in the year 2120, you find yourself hired to protect the colony in the wastelands of the Vostok region from raiders, marauders, and horrifying creatures.

Even for first-person shooters, the game is gun-centric, with a bunch of different futuristic pistols to collect and customize with a number of parts as you sweep the base for baddies.

With its node-based teleportation locomotion system, the demo played out to mostly forward-facing, meaning once you enter a room, all of the action happens in front of you. We published 25 minute gameplay session, so if you want to see more about how the locomotion system works, check it out here.

Apple is Bringing AR to “Hundreds of Millions” of iPhones and iPads Starting September 19th

Apple’s iOS 11 is coming to compatible devices starting September 19th, which means that if you own a recent Apple iPhone or iPad, you may have an augmented reality-capable device in your hands before the new iPhone line even launches.

Apple’s big iPhone 8/8 Plus/X unveiling this year promised a bevy of information surrounding augmented reality, thanks to the release earlier this summer of ARKit. As a tool that lets developers make AR games and apps on what Apple says will amount to “hundred of millions of iPhones and iPads,” we had our hopes pretty high for a slew of app announcements.

While we only saw four AR apps revealed on stage demonstrating the phone’s AR capabilities, Apple has said in the past that they’re working with Pokemon GO creators Niantic, IKEA, and Lego to name a few to bring AR apps to the App Store. To that end, starting this month any iPhone, iPad or iPod that can upgrade to iOS 11 will be able to get in on the action, which the company says will let you do things like “redecorate your home, explore a city you’ve never visited, or even try on a new tattoo.”

Apple is advertising the new iPhone line as custom designed “for the ultimate augmented reality experience,” featuring specially calibrated cameras, a screen low on bezels, and the new A11 Bionic processor that drives the room and face-mapping power of the new devices. That may not be enough for many to take the $1000 iPhone X upgrade, but if you’re looking for the most capable AR-capable phone out there, you can bet it’s going to be an Apple product until other manufacturers get in the game.

Google also recently released an AR developer kit, ARCore, which aims to give similar AR abilities to “100 million [Android] devices at the end of preview.” Google is working with Samsung, Huawei, LG, ASUS and unnamed others to accomplish it, making AR the next battle ground for the competing brands.

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September 12, 2017

Apple Reveals Short List of AR Apps Coming to App Store This Month

With ARKit in the wild for a few months now, Apple’s special iPhone 8 event was the place to announce the coming wave of augmented reality apps. Senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller took the stage to introduce a few apps coming to the App Store later this month, which left us wanting more.

Calling augmented ‘the smartphone camera’s third category’ behind its ability to take video and photos, Schiller only introduced four AR apps—less than we’d hoped for, but pretty cool none the less.

There’s likely plenty more coming, as the company has already revealed that they’re working with IKEA, Lego, and a number of others to bring AR apps and games to the App Store—not to mention the slew of creators developing AR apps on the “hundred of millions of devices” that can already run iOS 11. Critically missing was anything from Niantic, the creators behind breakout success Pokemon Go.

The Machines

Coming from Directive Games was the star of the show, The Machines. Warranting an on-stage demo, the competitive multiplayer RTS lets you duke it out with your friends in the same room in augmented reality. Using two Apple 8s, the developers played a quick game to show off the little tabletop game.

Warhammer 40k: Freeblade

Much like a true AR-version of Pokemon Go’s ‘AR mode’, Pixel Toys’ Warhammer 40k: Free Blade lets you activate a special AR camera mode to bring characters from the game into the physical world and play it right where you’re standing.

Major League Baseball – At Bat

So you’re already watching a game a baseball game on TV, but with MLB’s At Bat app, you’ll soon be able to see real-time player info and stats overlayed on the game you’re watching.

Sky Guide

One of the coolest app updates we’ve seen is Sky Guide’s new AR function, which lets you quickly learn the constellations by simply gazing up into the sky and looking at your phone.

This story is breaking. We’ll fill in more info as it comes in.

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September 12, 2017

Watch Apple’s Live iPhone 8 Event @10am PT, Suspected Augmented Reality Announcements

Today at 10am PDT, Apple is releasing news about upcoming products like the new iPhone 8 and Watch, taking place at the company’s newly debuted Steve Jobs Theater. Among the announcements, many of which have supposedly already been leaked, is sure to be news surrounding the public release of apps built using Apple’s ARKit.

We knew Apple had been working on AR/VR for some time now, evidenced by a growing number of jobs published by on the company’s job site, but it wasn’t until they released a preview version of ARKit back in June—the augmented reality developer tool lets artists, companies, and game developers create AR apps—that Apple had publicly gone full tilt into their next big platform feature: augmented reality. With hundreds of millions of Apple devices pushing iOS 11, therefore being capable as development platforms, its no wonder we saw cool experiments in a matter of days after its release.

It’s not certain at this time if Apple will be delving into VR too, maybe with a hypothetical headset akin to Samsung’s Gear VR or Google Daydream. iPhones already work with Google Cardboard, but the company hasn’t said anything to make us think that an Apple-built VR solution is around the corner. We can’t say for sure though, so we’ll be watching with the rest of the world to find out.

How to watch

Starting time: 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm BT / 7 pm CET (your local time here)

Live stream: Apple’s live stream is only available on through Apple TV, Safari on Mac or iOS, or the Windows Edge browser on PC. There’s no support for Chrome or Firefox, so make sure to have one of those browsers before it starts.

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