Category: Beat Saber

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Budget Cuts, Beat Saber, Skyrim Among SteamVR’s ‘Top-Selling’ Games Of 2018 So Far

Budget Cuts, Beat Saber, Skyrim Among SteamVR’s ‘Top-Selling’ Games Of 2018 So Far

As part of its Summer Sale, Valve has published a list of the top-selling VR games of 2018 thus far, and there are some new faces included.

As with the list shared at the end of 2017, games are split into four brackets: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. However, Valve stated that the previous list was ‘measured by gross revenue’. This list apparently consists of the ‘top-sellers, most played and new releases’, so it’s not actually clear if all the games in a certain bracket had similar sales. We’ve reached out to the company for clarification.

For the Platinum section, new faces like Beat Saber, Budget Cuts, OrbusVR and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR are included. We do know that Beat Saber managed to sell over 100,000 copies in less than a month of its Early Access launch. The rest of the Platinum section is filled with the usual suspects: Pavlov VR, Job Simulator, Arizona Sunshine, Fallout 4, Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Onward, Superhot VR and Gorn.

There are some worthy games in there. Like everyone else, we adore Beat Saber and Skyrim VR. We weren’t hugely keen on Budget Cuts, though it’s still good to see a developer that bet it all on VR having success.

Survios’ Sprint Vector and Mixed Realms’ Sairento VR are the only truly new titles in the Gold section, which also includes the likes of Tilt Brush, Rick and Morty, I Expect You To Die and The Talos Principle. Silver, meanwhile, features critical darling, Moss, which only launched a few weeks back. It’s joined by The Mage’s Tale, In Death and a number of other familiar faces like Doom VFR and LA Noire.

There are some notable inclusions in the Bronze section, too, like excellent Early Access shooter, Compound, and the promising Primordian. Oddly enough The Mage’s Tale is included in this section too, which we’ve also asked Valve to clarify.

We’ve still got another six months left of 2018 and lots of big games we’re still looking forward to. What releases will be able to climb into these lists by the end of the year?

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Best Of UploadVR Livestreams: Skyrim, LA Noire, Beat Saber, And More

Best Of UploadVR Livestreams: Skyrim, LA Noire, Beat Saber, And More

You might have noticed over the last few months that we’re trying to increase our livestream frequency here at UploadVR. We’ve been using Restream, a service that allows you to stream to more than one platform simultaneously so that we can hit both YouTube and Twitch. Then using OVRDrop, we can see chat from both services while inside VR without having to look at the monitor at all.

We’re still gearing up to start doing some more mixed reality streaming with a smooth, easy pipeline, so keep an eye out for that in compatible titles going forward. But since today is the Fourth of July and that means taking the day off for most Americans, I decided to put together this roundup of some of our best recent VR gaming livestreams all in one handy spot.

Check some of them out and if you like what you see subscribe to use on YouTube and Twitch to get involved the next time we’re live! We usually try to go live two or three times per week around 2:00PM or 3:00PM PT.

Skyrim VR

LA Noire: The VR Case Files

 

Beat Saber

 

Archangel: Hellfire

 

Echo Arena

 

Gunheart

Thanks for checking out some of our livestreams! If you’ve got suggestions for games you’d like to see us play live, let us know down in the comments below. And keep an eye on our channels next week as we will be livestreaming Seeking Dawn, the highly anticipated VR shooter ahead of its launch in mid-July.

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Neue Details zum Multiplayer-Modus für Beat Saber bekannt

Vor wenigen Tagen gab Entwicklerstudio Hyperbolic Magnetism bekannt, einen Multiplayer-Modus für den VR-Erfolgstitel Beat Saber zu veröffentlichen. Dafür holte sich das Team das ehemalige Community-Mitglied Umranoxus ins Boot. Wie dieser Modus genau umgesetzt werden soll, blieb bis dato noch unbekannt. Nun veröffentlichen die Entwickler/innen neue Informationen über Twitter.

Multiplayer-Modus für Beat Saber – erster Ansatz bleibt simpel

Die Entwickler/innen von Hyperbolic Magnetism gaben auf Twitter neue Details über den kommenden Multiplayer-Modus für Beat Saber bekannt. Demnach soll die erste Version des Mehrspieler-Modus recht simpel gehalten werden: Zwei Spieler treten mit demselben Song gegeneinander an, um herauszufinden, wer mehr Punkte am Lichtschwert erzielt. Die beiden Spieler sollen dabei in Form von Alter Egos auf der linken bzw. rechten Seite sichtbar sein. Doch dabei soll es nicht bleiben, denn das Entwicklerstudio kündigt bereits jetzt zusätzliche Spielmodi für die Zukunft an, jedoch ohne Details zu nennen.

Zu Beginn sollen nur Default-Avatare zur Auswahl stehen. Um mehr Individualismus zu gewährleisten, sollen jedoch in späteren Versionen auch frei erstellbare Charaktere nutzbar sein. Auch die entsprechenden Lichtschwerter sollen nach eigenen Wünschen anpassbar werden.

Neben dem Multiplayer-Modus arbeiten die Entwickler/innen weiterhin am vielseits gewünschten Level-Editor, der definitiv vor dem Mehrspieler-Modus erscheinen soll. In einem Statement erläuterte das Team, warum sich dieses wichtige Feature bisher verzögerte.

Demnach sind Fehler im Code verantwortlich für die Probleme. Aufgrund des Riesenerfolgs des Rhythmusspiels nach der Veröffentlichung zogen die Devs die Funktion vorerst zurück, um die fehlerhaften Parts neu zu schreiben.  Allerdings bringt dies auch einen positiven Aspekt mit sich, denn zukünftig sollen neue Features und Updates wesentlich einfacher integrierbar werden.

(Quellen: Road to VR | Steam | Beat Saber Twitter)

Der Beitrag Neue Details zum Multiplayer-Modus für Beat Saber bekannt zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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‘Beat Saber’ to Get a Multiplayer Mode, Custom Avatars & Sabers Considered

Beat Saber developer Beat Gamers (formerly Hyperbolic Magnetism), has confirmed work on a competitive multiplayer mode for the popular rhythm game, which may in the future include custom avatars and sabers.

Beat Saber currently offers global, friend, and local leaderboards for users to compare high scores, but developer Beat Games says that a real-time competitive multiplayer mode is now in the works. The company hired a former community member (‘Umbranoxus’), who was already developing an unofficial multiplayer mod for the game, to spearhead the project.

The studio says that the first multiplayer mode will be “very basic”, allowing players to play the same level together and see who comes out with the top score. It’s expected that more varied multiplayer modes will be offered in the future. We expect the PC and PSVR versions of Beat Saber will both get multiplayer, but probably won’t see cross-play between platforms.

SEE ALSO
'Beat Saber' Sells 100K Units in First Month for $2 Million in Revenue

The initial version of Beat Saber multiplayer will offer default avatars, but the studio says they plan to add custom avatars to the game in the future. Custom sabers are also under consideration for future updates, Beat Games says.

But what of the highly anticipated custom level editor? While it was initially planned to be released shortly after the game’s launch, the studio wrote recently there were large underlying adjustments that needed to be made to the game to support the custom level editor:

On release day, the game in Early Access was working properly, but we were aware of a few smaller issues in code, which needed to be solved. We decided to release Beat Saber anyway.

And it was huge! The community and the whole VR world was amazed by the game and we knew we have to work hard to make it even better. We decided to get back to those problematic parts of the code and rewrite them. Soon realising it would need a whole refactoring of UI and editor code. To be honest, refactoring took us much longer than we expected and it still requires some more work. But the good thing is that from now on, it will be much easier for us to implement new features or deploy updates and make edits. Now we can focus only on a new content.

The level editor continues to be the studio’s top priority, and they say it will launch before the multiplayer mode.

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Beat Saber Developer Is Currently Working On A Multiplayer Update

Beat Saber Developer Is Currently Working On A Multiplayer Update

Music-based rhythm games are great. Some of my favorite gaming memories involve being huddled around plastic guitars and drum sets in Rock Band or pounding on a DDR dance pad with friends. What those games have in common that’s missing from Beat Saber though, is multiplayer. Hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.

According to a tweet today from the official Beat Saber account, the developers are working with a dedicated member of the community to add actual multiplayer support to the game. Currently there is a Party Mode which simply supports passing the headset and controllers around, but that’s not “real” multiplayer.

As for what form the support will take, we don’t really have any idea. Perhaps it will be a competitive mode in which two people play the same song at the same time and try to get a higher score, or perhaps it will be more collaborative where you trade off playing parts of the same beat map.

Between the core game’s excellent pacing and the seemingly endless stream of user-generated content, it’s already taking the VR world by storm. It’s also just a ton of fun to livestream.

What are some ideas you’ve got for multiplayer in Beat Saber? Tweet at the dev team here and let us know down in the comments below!

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Hands-on: ‘Beat Saber’ on PSVR Makes a Promising Debut at E3

Beat Saber has been making big waves on the Rift and Vive since its early access launch back in May, having sold more than 100,000 copies in its first month. Now the game is officially headed to PSVR and this week at E3 we got our first look at how it plays on the console.

Beat Saber puts a pair of lightsabers in your hands and then throws blocks at you set to the beat—pretty typical rhythm game setup. Things get a little more interesting as the game asks you to cut in the correct direction indicated on each block, and with the correctly colored lightsaber, in order to score points and survive each track without failing. The game merges great original music with custom-made note patterns to create a very intuitive and compelling experience.

On PC, the game works great with Rift and Vive’s high-end tracking tech (check out our Beat Saber Early Access review here), and is even plenty playable with the inside-out tracking of Windows VR headsets. Generally speaking, PSVR has the least precise tracking of the bunch, so I was interested to see how it would hold up to Beat Saber’s highly active gameplay.

At the game’s first showing on PSVR, here at E3 2018, Beat Saber made a promising impression. While the Move controllers don’t feel quite as responsive as the controllers on the major PC VR headsets, but tracking on PSVR was solid enough that I could handle the game’s tracks on the highest level of difficulty without much frustration. The only major issues came when my controllers exited the camera’s narrow field of view, which happened at one point in a song when I had to duck under one of the obstacles and hit notes while ducking, which ended up leaving my hands outside of the tracking cone, and unable to hit the notes.

Of course, this could be remedied with some more careful placement of the camera, but therein lies the challenge: Sony doesn’t do a great job of helping players understand how to optimize their tracking setup (and some games are better with one arrangement over another) or even offer a simple way to visualize the camera’s actual tracking cone. And that means if players don’t have a good understanding of how the system works, and what they need to do to ensure their setup is as perfect as it can be, they could have a really frustrating time playing Beat Saber, especially if their setup is dialed in for seated gamepad-based games like Moss (which would have them closer to the camera and therefore in a more narrow part of the tracking cone).

Perhaps Beat Saber, which appears to have a strong retention rate not seen from many other VR titles, will encourage Sony to improve the PSVR setup process to help players dial in their tracking for the best experience.

SEE ALSO
Here's All 14 PSVR Games PlayStation is Showing off at Its E3 2018 Booth

Speaking with the developers of Beat Saber at E3, they also mentioned that the current PSVR version is mostly unchanged from the PC version, and they expect there are further optimizations they can do to improve the experience before launch. That could mean adjusting the notes on some tracks to reduce the likelihood that players swing outside of the play volume, or further technical optimizations to help the game better understand the intent of the player’s swing in edge cases. The developers also confirmed the game is currently running at 90Hz, which also helps things feel more responsive, compared to most PSVR games which run at 60Hz.

Image courtesy Hyperbolic Magnetism

Beyond the tracking limitations, the Move controllers physically feel quite nice for Beat Saber, considering that the shape of the handle is very hilt-like and easy to hold without accidentally squeezing the trigger during play. The haptics in the Move controller is also well suited to the game, offering a strong and satisfying vibration when hitting each note.

There’s also a new track called ‘Kumquat’ that’s confirmed for the PSVR version of Beat Saber (hear it in the trailer above) and not currently available in the PC version. I got to play the new track and can say it’s worth looking forward to.

While Beat Saber doesn’t currently have a custom track editor, the developers have confirmed one is in the works, though it isn’t clear if it will make its way to the PSVR version. They also said they’re planning to release more original music for the game, but haven’t talked about a timeline for new tracks.

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PlayStation E3 Keynote Puts Blockbusters Center Stage, Relegating VR to the Sidelines

With mostly prior confirmed PSVR titles presenting at E3 2018, we expected Sony to dedicate a few moments during its E3 2018 keynote to highlight the platform’s upcoming VR games, of course with the understanding that high-profile PS4 titles would mostly overshadow VR titles. Well, that’s a bit of an understatement.

After all was said and done, the only PSVR title to get time on the big stage was the PSVR-compatible title Trover Saves the Universe, a platformer from Justin Roiland’s Squanch Games that supports both PSVR and PS4. As one of the most tepidly-received games to debut at Sony’s patently declamatory presentation (which was first held in church-like venue to show off The Last of Us Part II, and then in a secondary auditorium to show the company’s other big-budget games), the level of evangelization of the platform and its upcoming VR games was lacking to say the least; it was a decisive emphasis on blockbusters over less crucial titles, and therefore PSVR in general.

Image courtesy Squanch Games

Not even Beat Saber, the impressively successful VR indie title that’s done over two million dollars in revenue—practically unheard of for an indie game that hasn’t seen funding support from one of the big VR players—got time on the big stage. At-home viewers were treated to only a few seconds of the game during the intermission while actual attendees of the PlayStation E3 keynote moved from one auditorium to another.

Instead, Sony quietly put out a PSVR highlights reel shortly after the presentation ended, which wasn’t shown during the E3 keynote. Games shown in the video below (in chronological order) include: Trover Saves the Universe, Tetris Effect, Moss, Ghost Giant, Beat Saber, Firewall Zero Hour, DOOM VFR, Creed: Rise to Glory, Evasion, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, The Persistence, Star Child, Skyrim VR, Jupiter & Mars, AstroBot: Rescue Mission, Vacation Simulator, and Superhot VR—many of which were previously known or even launched last year.

Sony has more games coming to PSVR (that much is certain), and there’s also a number of new games being shown at E3 2018 for the platform too. Although unlike Oculus or HTC, Sony’s gaming lifeblood is still inexorably tied to its traditional console titles, and as the PS4 console inevitably starts what PlayStation Chief Tsuyoshi Kodera calls the “final phase of its life cycle,” consolidating that investment where it counts the most—in its big budget console exclusives—makes it clear where the company’s priorities lie.

For comparison, last year’s E3 PlayStation presentation featured six PSVR games presented on stage: Skyrim VR, The Inpatient, Starchild, Monsters of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV, Bravo Team, and Moss, all of which amounted to seven minutes of stage time. It wouldn’t have been hard to sandwich six or seven extra minutes into this year’s presentation, but obviously Sony thought differently for whatever reason. Maybe more and better is coming. Maybe now just wasn’t the time to trumpet its VR platform.

We’ve had the chance to try out many of the newly debuted titles (including Trover Saves the Universe), and it’s clear these games are either commensurate, or above last year’s games in quality, which means really only one thing: Sony has decided to publicly care less about PSVR for now. While good games worth your time are still coming to the platform, the company just didn’t feel like PSVR deserved the limelight this go around—not a guarantee that they’ve given up on PSVR, but noteworthy just the same.

For a VR headset selling at the all-time low of $200 during its ‘Days of Play’ sale, the company really ought to care what new players think though. As the headset becomes more and more affordable, Sony needs to reassure the world even more so that PSVR isn’t a stagnant platform, lest it fall entirely off the radar at the most important gaming expo on the planet. In the end, it’s all a bit of shame, as important and extremely fun titles like Sony Japan Studio’s Astro Bot Rescue Mission finally dial into what makes the platform great, but are completely overshadowed by what the higher-ups most likely considers the safest investments for now.

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All the VR Games Sony is Demoing for PlayStation VR at E3 2018

The presence of virtual reality (VR) at the biggest videogame event in the world, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018, tends to be a bit of a mixed bag. There will be indie developers showcasing their latest projects while the bigger studios put on a smaller display. That’s not the case when it comes to Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), with the company showcasing 14 PlayStation VR titles at its booth, with other compatible experiences elsewhere.

Evasion Enemies - Paragords and Bombers

All of the titles available on the booth have been announced in some fashion, some only very recently like Beat Saber, and Space Pirate Trainer, whilst others like Blood & Truth were unveiled last year.

With the launch of the PlayStation Experience booking app the full list of playable VR videogames for PlayStation VR at E3 2018 are as follows:

Sony booth:

Other booths:

creed-rise-to-glory

VRFocus has previously played titles such as Archiact’s sci-fi first-person shooter Evasion, finding it to be one first-person title to keep an eye on and Creed: Rise to Glory on PC VR headsets, saying for the latter: “Survios has already established itself as one of VR’s premium content developers, with Creed: A Rise to Glory looking to continue that trend.”

Among the main three, high-end VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) PlayStation VR has the biggest and most prominent presence at E3 2018. Neither Oculus or HTC have booths dedicated to their headsets. Obviously, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive do feature at other booths, but there’s no official support from the manufacturers. This certainly goes in SIE’s favour as E3 now allows consumers to attended, offering dedicated PlayStation fans the opportunity to trial PlayStation VR, encouraging that temptation to purchase and increase its sizeable sales lead.

VRFocus will be at E3 2018 all week to bring you the latest news and announcements from SIE regarding PlayStation VR.

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PlayStation VR: Beat Saber für PSVR offiziell angekündigt

Werbung für Virtual Reality Hygiene

Sony kündigte gestern in seinem Countdown-Stream zur E3 die offizielle Veröffentlichung des “heiß begehrten” VR-Titels Beat Saber für PlayStation VR (PSVR) an. Viele Konsolenbesitzer warten bereits auf den Release des VR-Rhythmusspiels, um endlich selbst Hand anzulegen und die Lichtschwerter im Takt der Musik zu schwingen. Doch auch Entwicklerstudio Hyper Magnetism meldete sich per Twitter zu Wort und präsentierte zeitgleich einen völlig neuen Song, der eventuell auf eine erweiterte Musikauswahl schließen lässt.

Beat Saber – Release für Playstation VR soll 2018 stattfinden

Beat Saber soll noch 2018 für PlayStation VR (PSVR) veröffentlicht werden, verkündete Sony in seinem Livestream zum Countdown zur E3. Die Entwickler konnten bereits im ersten Monat nach der Veröffentlichung für die Oculus Rift und die HTC Vive mehr als 100.000 digitale Einheiten verkaufen und das Spiel erfreut sich weiterhin großer Beliebtheit bei der Spielerschaft.

Indie-Entwicklerstudio Hyper Magnetism meldete sich nach dem Livestream ebenfalls zu Wort und bestätigte die Veröffentlichung des VR-Titels auf Konsole per Twitter. Dabei stellte das Studio die Konsolen-Version mit einem völlig neuen Song vor, der möglicherweise eine Erweiterung der Musikauswahl zum Release ankündigt.

Aktuell arbeiten die Entwickler nach wie vor an einem integrierten Level-Editor für die PC-Version, der es den Fans ermöglichen soll, neue Musikinhalte ins Spiel zu integrieren und dadurch für mehr Abwechslung zu sorgen. Zwar befürwortet das Team bereits die Nutzung von Third-Party-Programmen, um der Community mehr Abwechslung zu bieten und diese kreativ tätig werden zu lassen, jedoch warten viele Spieler auf eine handlichere Lösung.

Innerhalb des VR-Rhythmusspiels zerschlagt ihr anfliegende Blöcke mit Laserschwertern rhythmisch zu diversen Musikstücken. Der spaßige VR-Titel fordert nicht nur eure musikalischen Fähigkeiten, sondern ebenso eine gute Kondition und Reflexe. Eine Runde am virtuellen Lichtschwert verbrennt dabei genauso viele Kalorien wie ein Tennismatch.

Ein offizielles Veröffentlichungsdatum gibt es derzeit leider noch nicht. Beat Saber soll jedoch noch 2018 für PlayStation VR (PSVR) erscheinen.

(Quellen: Road to VR | Video: PlayStation Youtube)

Der Beitrag PlayStation VR: Beat Saber für PSVR offiziell angekündigt zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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‘Beat Saber’ to Land on PSVR Later This Year, Studio Teases New Track

Hyperbolic Magnetism, the indie studio behind Beat Saber (2018), today announced that the hit PC VR rhythm game is headed to PlayStation VR headsets later this year.

The Czech Republic-based studio announced PSVR availability via a tweet, which featured a brand new song to the lineup. While Hyperbolic Magnetism is staying mum on a specific release date, musician Jaroslav Beck, who created the music for the game, teased that the PSVR availability announcement may mean at least a new level.

Since the game’s launch on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets in early May, the studio has gone on record saying they’ve generated $2 million is revenue with at least 100,000 units sold—a big milestone both for the two-person studio and VR as a whole. Now with a PSVR launch around the corner, E3 would be a great platform to announce new levels, new songs, or even new artist collaborations.

SEE ALSO
Playing 'Beat Saber' Could Burn the Same Number of Calories as Tennis

The studio has been busy creating its own first-party level builder, which would allow any user to import their own music and build custom levels. Although it’s been officially in-the-making since Hyperbolic Magnetism released last month, the studio has endorsed a few third-party solutions, which has resulted in some pretty wild creations to say the least.

While we’re waiting on further news this during E3, which goes June 12 – 14, check out our Early Access review of Beat Saber.

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