Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Abe Davis and his co-researchers have been working on extrapolating data from vibrations recorded in 2D video for some time now and the potential effect it could have on augmented reality, CGI and architecture is huge.
The post How imperceptible vibrations could take augmented reality to a new level appeared first on Digital Trends.
Gaming is complicated. Maybe that’s the wrong phrasing but it will do in this instance. Some games seem simple but can prove the most difficult, the short can be more engrossing than the long and what may seem throwaway can provide repeat enjoyment for longer than a 50 hour opus. This clash of expectations. The less is more/more is less is somewhat similar to a particular saying we have all likely used at one time or another and that is also true of video game play. Namely that “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
This can also be true of a well crafted virtual reality (VR) experience as well; which brings us to this week’s edition of VR Moments, which is something that happened to me at the Insomnia 58 event in Birmingham late last month. As I mentioned in one of my Tuesday VR Vs columns I spent a lot of the event observing how people were interacting with and reacting to VR more than anything else.I was actually very impressed with how was being adopted by all ages and it was seemingly giving as much joy a spectator attraction as the person playing Nvidia VR Funhouse, Space Pirate Trainer or Job Simulator to name but three. The real reason though I wanted to go was to play Battlezone and finally get my hands on the PlayStation VR.
I’ve been kind of harsh on Sony the last couple of weeks from a marketing perspective, something I still believe incidentally, but being the social media bod of VRFocus I’m not exactly at the front of the queue for trips and so I’d not actually been able to try it out yet myself. That was something I sought to rectify and rectify with Battlezone‘s rebirth as a VR experience. Why? It looked right up my street. The queue was, continuing the contradictory expectations theme, short but long. A Rebellion rep explained to me that they were giving full everyone a full ten minute experience so that’s why the queue was moving slowly.
When it came to my turn it was late in the day and in fact I was in fact one of the last attendees for the Saturday, I sat down and placed the PlayStation VR headset on my head – which frankly doesn’t get enough praise in its design, considering the ease of putting it on (specially for any glasses wearers like myself) – and then I was in the tank. I’d seen enough trailers to have an idea of exactly what I was supposed to do so I didn’t mess around. I had a virtual tank after all and I wasn’t afraid to use it. So long after my first tentative trip in a VR vehicle (EVE: Valkyrie) didn’t end so well, this time I was determined to looks around and treat the 360 degree combat space as just that. Soon I was flinging the tank backwards in a right curve whilst simultaneously eyeballing targets on the far left and shooting at things in front of me. I was a man on a mission and that mission was destruction. My moment of total immersion however was also the moment I got taken out of the game, in an effort to perform what my brain considered an advanced combat move my hand automatically reached out to grab one of the armrest levers for (again my brain assumed, based on its position and design) more power.
I sort of half stopped myself when the rest of my brain threw up a big “What are you doing, idiot?!” Truth of the matter is though I was at that point so engrossed I believed I was in the tank surroundings were real and I needed to be in complete control of that. I was a little bit sad in a way because from that point on I was out of the illusion and it wasn’t quite the same. Whatever the case I had a heck of a time – a time that though short most definitely flew.
You can be forgiven if you thought Apple was going to unveil something, anything, to do with virtual reality (VR). The VR community was buzzing, as well as the general tech community, wondering what kind of VR accessory was going to be revealed, let alone if there was even going to be any. Alas, all we were given was a hint towards augmented reality (AR), but only in the sense that they appropriated it for the Smart Watch to be included with a companion app for Pokémon GO which actually ignored the app’s AR qualities in exchange for promoting the new tech.
After this relatively disappointing event for the VR community, you cannot help the feeling that there was an absence of what really should have been there, especially when some of the announcements would have been more than suitable to lead up to VR additions. So instead here at VRFocus we have taken it upon ourselves to list a couple of things that we should have really heard:
Was it only us who stopped and looked around when they mentioned the two cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus? Yes, we understand that the main aim to this was to create a depth of field effect that DSLR cameras effortlessly achieve, but what if it went one step further?
The only other answer is to hope that this is actually a trial leading up to enabling some sort of 3D or even VR recording for the next installment (which, let’s be honest, is right round the corner and has already been designed).
This was the main announcement that we were all expecting. Let’s face it – it’s what everyone (except Nintendo) is creating, so why are they not? We can already imagine it: a rose gold HMD, a massive illuminated Apple symbol, and a new take on how it is strapped to your head such as a whole helmet or even Yeezy-branded shades with integrated Beats headphones. But, there was no sign of such thing.
We get it, Apple. You want to make your camera quality better, and take away yet another common accessory feature to make you seem like you’re ahead of the game by setting your own standards. However, you are missing out on a massive market right now that is counting down the days till when you give in and accept that VR is going to diversify what you can offer.
Yes, it is sounding like we are in slight denial of what really went on yesterday, and that we are starved of some tasty announcements, but there needs to be a few explanations as to why there is such a lack of interest in VR.
Today finally saw the announcements of what PlayStation and virtual reality (VR) fans had all been buzzing about the past few months, and we were all left wondering if that really was it. The PlayStation Pro is what we expected the Neo to be, but it looks as though it had an over-sized silhouette. So, the only way to truly process what we have been told is to have a side-by-side comparison to really see what is happening.
Before we jump to any assumptions, let’s compare the specifications of the original PlayStation 4 to the PlayStation 4 Pro that really matter in VR.
| Original PlayStation 4 | PlayStation Pro | What is the difference? | |
| Processor | Low power x86-64 AMD “Jaguar”, 8 cores | x86-64 AMD “Jaguar”, 8 cores | Pretty much the same, but more powerful. |
| Graphics | 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next-generation Radeon™ based graphics engine | 4.20 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon™ based graphics engine | An incredible increase in graphics, enabling 4K |
| Memory | GDDR5 8GB | GDDR5 8GB | None |
| Storage Size | 500GB | 1TB | Double the storage |
Okay, now let’s go back to jumping on those same assumptions. The first question that comes to mind is why didn’t they just call it PlayStation 4K or HD? All that is different at all is the quality of the graphics, and the storage size, so there is a little confusion around as to why there would be such a big fuss surrounding it. Of course, the improves graphics isn’t something that we should argue about necessarily as it will benefit gamers tremendously, but considering the hype of the PlayStation Neo it does seem a little disproportionate.
Although VR had a relatively small mention, with perhaps a sentence or two telling us what it could do for VR, this all still makes a difference. Yes, the original PlayStation 4 is able to handle VR, but with the addition of better graphics and a slightly faster processor, it will serve as a machine that can better handle what is expected of it with more ease.
Yes, there could have been more to the new model, and yes, it is only a step up to what the Xbox One Scorpio has achieved (as Xbox cheekily pointed out in its tweet during the PlayStation Meeting), but today was more about making a point for players of both of the extremes. The “Slim”, which had been leaked for ages and is similar to what PlayStation has already done for the PlayStation 3, and the Pro, which is ultimately aimed at the types of gamers who want only the best experience.
Virtual reality has finally made its way into console gaming. This fall, Sony will change the way we play with the Playstation VR. Check out our comprehensive roundup of all the news and rumors about Sony's forthcoming gadget.
The post PlayStation VR: Everything we know so far appeared first on Digital Trends.
So. If you followed VRFocus over the weekend – and if you don’t you probably should do because there’s always stuff to see – you’re likely expecting me to talk about our Virtual Reality Challenge (VRC) game jam we held over at Google Campus in London. Well I could. I mean it was a super duper rare chance to see virtual reality’s (VR’s) fourth most popular Kevin actually out in the wild at a VR event. An event I kinda had a hand in running. So it would make logical sense I would talk about that right?
Nope. I’m afraid I have to drag you kicking and screaming back to the topic of my observations of Insomnia 58 instead – but as usual I do have my reasons. In fact I want to ask you all a question.
As you may recall I spoke previously about one of the reasons I wanted to be at Insomnia was not necessarily to try VR (although one item I’d been wanting to try is in this week’s VR Moments) but to see how people were reacting to VR. Well one of the things I noticed, apart from VR being particularly popular and big ol’ crowd-pleaser was the fact that the most frequent users I saw using it were kids. Kids. Children. You know, the ones recommended by all corporate sides not to use VR in case little Jane and Johnny’s eyes pop out on stalks. It was they who were the ones most enthralled, most embracing and, from what I saw, they also asked a lot of questions. There was the ‘oh my god’ moment of putting the head-mounted display (HMD) on, for the HTC Vive the realising there was movement correlation and the joy of causing mayhem.
I saw one very young child trying Job Simulator. He probably wasn’t up to my waist he was so young. He understood what was going on though, or picked it up very quickly at least. His height did have one unexpected problem as he was thought to be so low down by the Vive that he was standing on tiptoes to look over and into the virtual box of donuts on his cubicle desk. There was something wonderful about that scene. There was also something ever so slightly sad. I saw another kid, probably about eight or nine judging by eye. He questioned the demonstrator, genuinely curious as to how it was all done. At the end there his grin faded a bit. “Our PC won’t be able to handle that.” He said sadly. His dad, previously looking on in happiness, frowned. There were kids queuing to shoot lasers, kids queuing to beat the blazes out of balloons at a fun house, kids queuing to magically paint in the air. So with all this in mind my question is a simple one.
Are Nintendo right – and also wrong?
Yes, Nintendo. Nintendo who can’t seemingly make up their mind on VR, but are at least still looking into it. Depending upon who you ask, and even more interestingly when you ask them, VR is either promising or they don’t see anything in it. One thing Nintendo has always understood though is children, they know what makes them tick and how to press their buttons by getting them to press Nintendo’s. When I think about it probably the only other company with the same sort of ability is Pixar. The undisputed master of this process is Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto. He’s been questioned about VR directly several times now and the answers he’s given have certainly been interesting from the point of view of both the game industry and Nintendo shareholders.
To quote Miyamoto back at E3: “It did not feel like VR was that big of a topic. This could be because VR is not that much to look at for the spectator.” I feel pretty bad for saying this, but I think you’re dead wrong, Miyamoto-san. Insomnia 58, as well as the growing number of Let’s Plays (you know, those great advertisements for games that Nintendo isn’t too keen on you doing with their products) on YouTube from specialist channels and big names prove there is definitely an audience. People like watching other people have fun. I’m not sure why Nintendo has such difficulty grasping this concept in general.
Moving forward then to the investors meeting. A meeting at which talk of VR came up time and again. “We are also looking into how to make sure that a parent doesn’t need to worry when their child puts on a VR device in their living room.” Miyamoto confirmed and this is where they might be very right indeed. Because if Insomnia showed me anything it’s that kids really want to try out VR and Nintendo are determined that if they’re going to do it they’re going to make it so that it is available for everyone. Which is good for those kids because whilst they can use VR the other headsets the makers would much rather they didn’t. Nintendo are the only ones saying that’s wrong, and in this case I do think they’re right. They seem to be the only company actively working on a solution to the problem that we are aware of anyway.
Kids get the potential. They’re your excitement level times ten with a cherry on top. Kids are going to try VR despite any warning you put on the box and if Nintendo unlocks a way how to provide it to them without that worry everyone else might watch out. The idea of ‘gaming for everyone’ is a profitable one. You’re increase the available market for you to target and it has a track record of working as the Wii demonstrated by transforming the way we look at the console gaming market.
Remind me who made that again?
The ‘cinematic mode’, aka ‘Virtual Cinema’, offered by PlayStation VR has remained a mystery for some time. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has revealed that all PlayStation 4 software and experiences – including videogames and video content – can utilise the feature, and yet has been seemingly reluctant to showcase it. That is, until now, as VRFocus has been hands-on with the PlayStation VR’s most interesting alternate use case.
First, the technical aspect of the cinematic mode: there are three simulated screen sizes available; 117 inches, 163 inches and 226 inches. The middle option encompasses your entire field-of-view, making the largest option practically redundant: in cinematic mode, the simulated screen is locked to your forward-facing view and will not change viewpoint with head movement.
In order to assist with comfort, the screen can be set to dynamically rotate in accordance to the angle of your head. So, should you wish to watch a movie laying on the couch the screen will rotate to align with your new position. This function can also be turned off or switched to a manually operated system.
In its debut hands-on session VRFocus was treated to a preview of a light-hearted comedy movie showcasing all of the above technical capabilities. The largest virtual screen option proved impressive here: a true virtual cinema in which the movie almost completely encompassed your field-of-view. It was a demonstration that highlighted the strengths of the PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode yet called into question it’s versatility and comfort: can you really use the HMD whilst lying with your head resting on a pillow or cushion?
A later demonstration allowed the cinematic mode to come into its own: not every PlayStation 4 videogame it going to be made for virtual reality (VR), and yet every single one can be played via the PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode. Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the most highly anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusive releases of 2017, and in PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode becomes wholly immersive.
Horizon: Zero Dawn casts the player as Aloy, a skilled hunter, and grants them the opportunity to explore a vibrant and lush world inhabited by mechanised creatures. All of this is realised in remarkable visual fidelity from a third-person perspective. Some will lament the loss of screen quality when playing on PlayStation VR due to the comparative low resolution given the HD screen is mounted so close to your face, but when the outside world is no longer a part of the experience it’s easy to see how hours can be sucked away in what feels like mere minutes.
The largest virtual screen presented by PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode may struggle with some videogame titles due to important information being displayed in the lower corners of the screen. However, this will largely be an individual concern than a one-size-fits-all problem. Some will be more forgiving of the flaws of the experience in favour of the immediate immersion PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode can offer.
The PlayStation VR is set to launch on 13th October 2016, and you can make sure you’re ready to take full advantage of the device with VRFocus‘ guide to the best accessories for PlayStation VR.
Yesterday was the kickoff of VRFocus‘ first ever game jam, The VR Challenge (VRC), and it hasn’t only been new for us. The two mentors who attended yesterday stuck around and gave a helping hand to each of the developers who have been bound to their workstations, and through working with them the mentors themselves were even surprised.
Below you can see how Bradley Hester of Cherry Pop Games and Russ Earwaker of Climax Studios helped out the attendees, and guage how well each of the teams are doing. There is even a bit of a hint as to what one of the teams is doing to interpret “a safe pair of hands”, the topic for this game jam. It seems as though there is a mix of ability, but despite that they are all as equally likely to get stuck on the simplist of problems.
Stay with VRFocus for the developments of VRC as it progresses throughout today and concludes at 5pm BST. But, in the meantime make sure to check back for all the news, updates, and features in the world of VR.
It seems as though the spotlight for virtual reality (VR) sport applications this week is shining on basketball, as there are two different ways for fans of the sport to immerse themselves into the sport this week.
The basketball player who previously played for the New york Nicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has been reportedly talking of creating an NBA fan experience where you can step into his shoes and experience his life.
“I get asked all the time, ‘What is it like to be an NBA player?’” he said in the report by National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). “So I thought it would be interesting to actually show people, like put them in my shoes, put them in an NBA player’s shoes, and they’d get to experience more or less what it’s like to be an NBA player. It can be a powerful experience to actually show them and be there in that experience. And people love authentic content; people love stuff that they know is like a voyeuristic view into someone else’s life.”
This week saw the addition of Nothin’ But Net to the Steam Store for the HTC Vive, but at this time it is only a demo, with the full title to come out at a later date.
Nothin’ But Net is a multiplayer basketball simulation where you can compete against your friends online, or even practice by yourself offline. As well as these two modes, where you can master realistic dribbling, shooting, and balancing, you can even listen to your own music throughout the videogame in the Steam Music Player to get you in the zone.
The basketball title is out right now as a free demo, and it isn’t clear when the title will advance as a full title.
Check back next week for your next instalment of VR sports events and news with VRFocus, but in the meantime make sure to keep updated on the latest news and features in the world of VR.
Right now we are two hours into VRFocus’ VR Challenge, and there is no ambiguity surrounding the challenge bit, especially for attendees who are programming for the chance to win an HTC Vive. Looking around the room there is no shortage of creativity, and each person has come with a way to influence the game jam in a unique way – whether it is by music, colour, or narrative.
As you can see in the opening speech that was broadcast live earlier today at around 1:30pm BST (courtesy of Virtual Umbrella), our Community Manager, Kevin Eva, shared that the theme to this game jam is “a safe pair of hands”. This can be interpreted in any which way the groups desire for an HTC Vive application, and over the next 48 hours we shall see how it turns out.
The groups who are competing for the free HTC Vives are:
Virtually Done: Anna Stoilova, Morgan Page, Sean Gorman
Supraliminal: Billy Mansell, David Matthewson, Josh Saunders
Catastrophe: Mark Bailey, Mat Burri, Jan Kaniewski
Group D (casually known as Team Deadly): Jing Tan, Daniel Poulsen, Omar Mohamed Ali Mudhir
Currently present to help mentor each of these groups is Bradley Hester from Cherry Pop Games, who has worked on the studio’s flagship VR title Pool Nation VR, and Russ Earwaker of Climax Studios, who has specialised in VR for the last two years. This won’t be just it as there will be more mentors to come tomorrow, just as it says in the Meet The Mentors post that was shared a couple of days ago.
VRFocus will be reporting on the progress of each of the groups as they work through the last 22 hours that they have to have a chance, so stick around for some video interviews with the jammers and mentors, as well as all the news and updates in the world of VR.