2 bears studio – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

April 30, 2020

‘Sync’ is HTC Vive’s Step Into the World of Online Collaboration

With many countries in lockdown and those staff that can now have to work from home, online meeting platforms such as Zoom or Google Hangouts have become even more important for companies worldwide. Current technology means that these can range from simple video conferences all the way up to interactive discussions using virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) technology. HTC Vive has now added its hat into the ring with the beta launch of Vive Sync.

First revealed back in 2018, Vive Sync was initially created by 2 Bears Studio (Super Puzzle Galaxy, Arcade Saga) as an internal collaboration tool between its worldwide offices. Since that announcement, the platform has been in a closed beta, accessible by invitation only. That changes today as Vive Sync moves into an open beta phase for business and their employees to test out.

Compatible with all of HTC Vive’s headset range, from Vive Cosmos and the Vive Pro Eye to standalone headset Vive Focus Plus, Vive Sync also supports a viewing mode on Android and iOS mobile devices. The platform has a range of useful features to make VR meetings immersive and customisable, from avatars to importing useful files.

Supporting up to 30 attendees simultaneously, Vive Sync has a variety of meeting rooms depending on user preference. Teams can create their own avatars simply by taking a selfie which gives them a base to work from, adjusting further by selecting body types, hairstyle, skin tone, glasses and other accessories. There’s even full-body tracking for natural movement representation.

When it comes to working in Vive Sync the platform integrates with Microsoft OneDrive and OneDrive so users can securely access their files in VR, from PowerPoints to PDFs and videos. The same goes for 3D models. Thanks to support for FBX and OBJ files, as well as Unity Asset Bundles, importing and reviewing 3D assets is also possible.

Vive Sync is being designed so that’s it’s hardware-agnostic much like retail platform Viveport. While it’s just HTC Vive headsets which are supported, to begin with, PC VR devices like Oculus Rift as well as Oculus Quest are slated to receive support by the end of the year.

For further details on Vive Sync check out this webinar from David Sapienza, AVP Content Production at HTC Vive. When more features are rolled out VRFocus will let you know.

July 5, 2018

Super Puzzle Galaxy Leaves Early Access, Warp Ball DLC Pack now Available

Indie developer 2 Bears Studio has worked with HTC’s own in-house developer/publisher Vive Studios on a couple of exclusive titles for the headset, Arcade Saga and Super Puzzle Galaxy. The latter arrived in Early Access back in December 2017, proving to be a novel physics sandbox puzzler. Today, Super Puzzle Galaxy has left Steam Early Access whilst adding further DLC to expanded its gameplay.

Super Puzzle Galaxy

Super Puzzle Galaxy is very much like a sci-fi sandbox on some alien world. The core 32 level campaign is all about the manipulation of sand (no sandcastles though), having to guide an orb from a starting position to a goal whilst avoiding traps and other dangerous obstacles on route and collecting little glowing HTC Vive emblems on route.

To expand the gameplay further there are 16 challenge levels to test your sand crafting skills on, plus a fully featured level editor. This features the exact same content as the main campaign so you can build as many fiendish levels as you can think of.

VRFocus previewed Super Puzzle Galaxy earlier this year, remarking: “Super Puzzle Galaxy might be a single-player experience yet it’s one of those VR titles that’ll thrive through community content creation.” Going on to add: “Even at this early stage there’s a reasonable amount of content on offer, all of which looks highly polished and very well put together.”

Super Puzzle Galaxy

With the launch from Early Access 2 Bears Studio has released another DLC pack for the title. The Warp Ball DLC contains 24 new levels and 2 new objects; the new ice trap that can freeze your ball and slow down your momentum, and the new rotating obstacle that will turn other obstacles. Plus there are 8 new challenge levels. The previous Boost Ball DLC came out in February and featured 24 new levels, 2 objects, and 8 additional challenge levels. Both DLC packs retail for £1,69 GBP.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of 2 Bears Studio, reporting back with any further content updates.

May 24, 2018

What to Expect at E3 2018: HTC Vive

The biggest question surrounding HTC Vive’s hardware plans right now is the western release of the Vive Focus. The standalone mobile virtual reality (VR) platform has been reportedly performing well in China, and the access to development kits for studios in western territories has been available for some time. A North American and European launch has always been on the cards; is this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) the place to make such an announcement?

Vive Focus

Sadly, at this time it’s looking unlikely. HTC Vive has yet to reveal any plans concerning an E3 showcase of any kind, and while the hardware manufacturer will most definitely be at the show in some capacity, it’s more likely to follow last year’s appearance of demonstrating new videogames from third-party developers opposed to anything new from the company itself.

New VR Games

As stated above, HTC Vive is likely to showcase a number of new titles coming to the Vive platform. However, what will be on show has not yet been confirmed. Could we see more from the internal development studio, Fantahorn? The studio’s debut release, Front Defense, received a multiplayer rendition, Front Defense: Heroes, in December last year, but since then we’ve not heard anything about what the studio might be working on.

In addition to this, there’s likely to be many third-party titles available on the show floor at this year’s E3. Indeed, last year saw a HTC Vive hidden in every nook-and-cranny, with practically every third booth offering some hands-on time with anything from a VR viewer to a fully-fledged VR videogame experience. As time continues and VR matures, the hope is that we’ll see more of the latter.

There’s also 2 Bears Studio to consider, from which the debut VR title, Super Puzzle Galaxy, was published by Vive Studios late last year. Could we see a second title coming from the Californian team?

Vive Focus Coming to the US and Europe

As stated above, it’s unlikely we’ll get a release date announcement at E3 2018, but one can hope, right? What is more likely is that we’ll receive word from developers with knowledge of the situation which have teams working on content. While they may not be in a playable form, we should expect word on what studios are developing projects in anticipation of a western launch for the Vive Focus.

November 17, 2017

HTC Announces New First-Party Titles, ‘Front Defense: Heroes’ & ‘Super Puzzle Galaxy’

HTC’s internal development and publishing arm Vive Studios has announced two new games coming to Vive in early December. Physics puzzler Super Puzzle Galaxy from 2 Bears Studio and multiplayer WWII shooter Front Defense: Heroes from Fantahorn Studio will both launch with promotional pricing.

As detailed in a recent entry on the official Vive blog, both games are second entries from Vive Studios development partners 2 Bears Studio and Fantahorn Studio, creators of Arcade Saga (2016) and Front Defense (2017) respectively. Although Arcade Saga was updated with Oculus Touch support, both games were originally designed to take advantage of the Vive’s room-scale VR capabilities, and the new games Super Puzzle Galaxy and Front Defense: Heroes have also been described as ‘room-scale’ experiences.

Image courtesy 2 Bears Studio

Super Puzzle Galaxy will be available in early December on Steam with 75% off the standard $9.99 price at launch “for a limited time”. This physics-based puzzler involves terrain and object manipulation and will contain 48 levels and an in-game editor to create more.

“Super Puzzle Galaxy was born out of a passion for creating compelling and engaging VR content for the whole family that challenges the player’s problem solving and creative abilities,” said David Sapienza, Executive Producer of 2 Bears Studio. “Adding user-generated content was a core tenet of creating something that empowers the community, and Super Puzzle Galaxy delivers a unique room-scale VR experience. We’re excited to see the levels and Rube Goldberg contraptions the community is able to come up with.”

Front Defense: Heroes aims to build on the strengths of the first Front Defense title, but with a focus on multiplayer – a feature missing from the original. Launching on Steam and Viveport in early December at a promotional price of $4.99, the new game will feature multiple maps, offering 5v5 multiplayer across capture the flag, deathmatch, and defense mission modes. As described in our Front Defense review, its room-scale game design was the highlight, as you could only physically move around a predetermined space (no artificial locomotion was possible), taking cover behind your virtual defenses. Front Defense: Heroes appears to be expanding on this concept, introducing a new locomotion system called ‘V-Move’, described as “unique” and “innovative” on the Vive blog.

“With Front Defense: Heroes we’ve built upon our experience with Front Defense to engage the community and offer new challenges with every match,” said River Ho, producer at Fantahorn. “As a dynamic multiplayer shooter, Front Defense: Heroes lends itself perfectly to the competitive ethos of VR e-sports, an important feature as VR gaming matures.”

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