Category: Google Daydream View

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Google’s new Daydream View Launches Later This Year

Google has now unveiled its new Daydream View head-mounted display (HMD) to the world in conjunction with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones. 

The new model features a range of improvements over the original, with high-performance Fresnel lenses, for better image clarity and a wider field of view (FoV) – around 10 degrees. The headset is now covered in a new fabric three new colours: Fog, Charcoal and Coral, that makes it lighter and comfier.

Google Daydream View New

Alongside the new headset announcement Google also stated that when Daydream View launched a year ago it had 25  apps and videogames. Now the platform has more than 250 titles available.

The company also has plenty of new and exclusive content planned such as The Confessional, a YouTube VR original from Felix & Paul Studios. There will also IMAX VR movies available for free to Pixel 2 owners.

But the new Daydream isn’t just designed for the new smartphones – although that’s the ideal pairing – with all the other Daydream-ready smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ & Note 8, Moto Z & Z2 still being compatible.

The new Google Daydream View will go on sale later this year for $99 USD in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, India, Italy, France, Spain, Japan and Korea. For customers based in the US, Korea and UK the headset will come bundled with several titles: Wands, Lola and the Giant, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Eclipse and Virtual Rabbids.

For the latest updates on Google Daydream, keep reading VRFocus.

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The Chinese Room Release So Let Us Melt for Google Daydream

Award-winning Brighton-based studio The Chinese Room – best known for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – has announced its first virtual reality (VR) title, a science-fiction fairy tale called So Let Us Melt for Google Daydream.

Featuring a story that spans ten million years, So Let Us Melt is about a living machine called Custodian 98 who, together with its sisters and brothers is given the task of making a world. Deep below the ice in Polar City, the sleepers are waiting whilst the Custodians create a paradise for them – living machines made to sculpt a perfect garden. Over these millions of years, 98 wakes and goes to work, alongside its friend Drone, to create clouds, tend the ecosystem, measure the rain, gently preparing the planet for the wakening. Until the day a new star is spotted in the sky and everything changes.

So Let Us Melt Screenshot04

So Let Us Melt is like an interactive animated film broken up into chapters which The Chinese Room said on its blog should last around 5-7 minutes each, coming in at about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Dan Pinchbeck, Creative Director at The Chinese Room, said in a statement: “People have been telling us for the last couple of years we ought to be making a VR game, so we’re delighted to say we have… Daydream really feels like a great platform for us, as it’s got a broad appeal where you don’t need complicated, expensive kit to engage with really engaging and immersive stories. We’ve loved working on So Let Us Melt – we see it as like an interactive animated movie that starts with a simple science-fiction premise but really it’s all about universal human themes. This is a game about friendship, and parenthood, and what we leave behind, about being lost and getting found again. And fundamentally, it’s about a little machine that goes on a big adventure, and we’re really proud of it.”

The title is available today through Google Play for Daydream. For any further updates keep reading VRFocus.

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Images Emerge Showcasing new Daydream View Headsets

Earlier today VRFocus reported on the Google announcement that the company would be holding a special event in October to launch the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones. Surmising that might not be all Google would be unveiling – leaning towards something Daydream related – its seems we might not have been too far off the mark, with images coming to light that showcase a slight redesign and new colours.

In an image attained by Droid-Life the new Daydream View looks a lot more clean cut, with a new fabric covering offering a more contemporary design. The most noticeable changes are the colours: Charcoal, Coral and Fog which also appear on the controllers. As for any internal improvements or upgrades, there aren’t any details just yet.

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There does seem to be a jump in price however, increasing from the original price of $79 USD to $99.

Whatever Google does decide to announce VR wise during the event, VRFocus will bring you the latest details.

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Google Daydream Summer Sale Begins

Google Daydream may not be the most talked about – or developer supported for that matter – head-mounted display (HMD) but that doesn’t mean the company has given up. In fact just the opposite as Google has recently launched a free headset promotion alongside purchases of Pixel, and widened support by finally bringing Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ out. Now for those customers who do own the HMD there’s a summer sale on a range of videogames.

Don’t expect the sale to be in the same league as Oculus Home or Steam however, with masses of titles all seeing a price chop. Instead Google has selected a choice of nine for those wishing to expand their content libraries.

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These are:

Google isn’t just focused on Daydream for its virtual reality (VR) aspirations. As you’re probably aware during the Google I/O conference a few months ago the company announced plans for a standalone headset that would use the Daydream platform and be built by HTC and Lenovo. That’s due to launch later this year, at present however, details on its final design and specifications have yet to be announced.

When they are, VRFocus will bring you all the announcements.

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Samantha Gorman Talks Reality and the Future of VR with Tender Claws

VRFocus speaks to co-founder Samantha Gorman of Tender Claws, the indie team behind the comedy satire virtual reality (VR) experience Virtual Virtual Reality. It’s a commentary on the VR experience as a whole and is available on the Google Daydream store right now. All you need is a compatible phone and controller to enjoy it.

This three hour game was made for the Google Daydream and was released in March 2017 winning the Google Play Award as best VR experience. Tender Claws were also behind the interactive novel and game PRY, which was selective as the top apps of the year. Samantha’s experience in the interactive field of VR in 2002. Virtual Virtual Reality is therefore a culmination of Sarah’s eight year experience in VR. She tells VRFocus that she is both an optimist and cautious critic. “We need to be careful about hype and how we need to develop for long form content that is meaningful in the form of VR right now.”

VRFocus‘ Nina Salomons asked what the best tip Samantha could give for artists and writers, “One of the things I see is the danger of thinking that you can make something in 2D or think of a game or even a screenplay and import into VR I think you really need to think about what the medium can do, and design for the space and think about the user experience in VR and what it does best accordingly.”

The game will also be available on Google’s new stand alone headset as well as other platforms at the start of 2018. Samantha says that Tender Claws is working on two other VR projects, with one of them being the spiritual successor of Virtual Virtual Reality, whilst the other project would combine video and CG to create suspense. Watch the video below to find out more.

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Darknet Gets Steam Release Date, Google Daydream Version in the Works

Since its first announcement all the way back in 2014, VRFocus has extensively covered E McNeill’s much loved virtual reality (VR) title Darknet. The vidoegame is available on Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, PlayStation VR, an very imminently HTC Vive. McNeill also has a Google Daydream version planned as well.

Darknet will be released on Steam for HTC Vive tomorrow (8th June) – which the developer teased back in March – and there will also be a non-VR version available for those keen to play the hacking title but haven’t taken the plunge into VR.

Darknet - PSVR

And for Google Daydream owners there’s good news to. E McNeill has confirmed to VRFocus in an email that: ‘a Daydream version should be launching later this month.’ So keep an eye out for that on the Play Store – VRFocus will let you know a release date once its been finalised.

As if regular readers of VRFocus didn’t know already, Darknet is a strategy/puzzle game that began life as the Grand Prize winner of a VR Jam in 2013. As an elite hacker on the Net, players must plug into cyberspace, using viruses, worms, and exploits to steal the data before their signal gets traced.

E McNeill hasn’t just been busy expanding support for Darknet, he’s also created two other strategy titles, Tactera and most recently Skylight. 

Darknet is scheduled for release at 9am PT for HTC Vive. For the launch it’ll be discounted down from $15 USD to $10 for a limited time.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of E McNeill and Darknet, reporting back with any further updates.

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Google Daydream Sales to Grow Massively in 2017, Gear VR to Keep Lead States Report

Samsung launched its Gear VR mobile headset way back in 2015 and during that time the head-mounted display (HMD) has seen sales success, but business information provider IHS Markit forecasts these sales are going to slow while main rival Google Daydream are set in increase.

According to the company Google Daydream are expected to jump from 120,000 in 2016 to 2.23 million in 2017, and this will see increased support from third-party developers and smartphone manufacturers. The Samsung Gear VR on the other hand is expected to see sales dip by 9.6 percent, dropping from 4.56 million to 4.12 million. Even with a reduction Gear VR will still be the market leader for mobile VR.

New Samsung Gear VR and Controller

Over the course of 2016, Samsung aggressively used the Gear VR headset as a powerful marketing tool to promote sales of its Galaxy S7 smartphone, implementing pre-order bundling strategies across many sales territories. The company has taken that methodology and gone for a more targeted approach during 2017, retaining the offer for the launch of the Galaxy S8 in USA and Australia, but dropping it in a number of European territories.

“The arrival of competing platforms is playing out against a backdrop where Samsung has dialed down its previously aggressive pre-order bundling centered on its flagship smartphones and the Gear VR,” said IHS Markit’s Harding-Rolls.

Samsung also noted the competition from Google Cardboard by recently launching its own 3DoF controller back in April, which can be bought separately or in a bundle.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the VR industry, reporting back with the latest growth estimations.

 

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Guild Software Discuss the Finer Details of its Online Space Adventure Vendetta Online

Guild Software’s sprawling space-based MMORPG Vendetta Online has been available for quite some time, with the title originally integrating with the Oculus Rift DK1 and then the DK2. Then in late 2016 the studio added support for Samsung Gear VR before bringing the videogame to Google Daydream just over a month ago. VRFocus managed to catch up with Guild Software’s CEO and founder, John Bergman to discuss the title.

As a MMORPG, Vendetta Online gives you the ability to create your own character and roam the stars however you choose, whether that’s as hero fighting the good fight or a criminal looking to loot the next unsuspecting space traveller.

A completely multiplayer experience, Vendetta Online features entire cross-platform support whether that’s in VR or on mobile or PC. While some versions work on a subscription model the Gear VR version for example costs £2.29 GBP with optional purchases to accelerate or unlock certain benefits.

In a wide ranging conversation Bergman goes into detail about Vendetta Online’s VR implementation and the studio’s plans for the future (the interview was conducted prior to the Daydream launch), as well as VR in general.

Checkout the full video chat VRFocus had with the CEO below, and for further updates on the videogame, stay tuned.

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Google Daydream mit allen Android 7 Smartphones starten (Root erforderlich)

Das Daydream-System von Google ist großartig, doch leider sind die unterstützten Smartphones häufig sehr teuer oder man ist mit seinem aktuellen Smartphone zufrieden und möchte sich nicht für VR ein neues Smartphone anschaffen. Es gibt jedoch eine Lösung, wie man dennoch in die VR Spiele reinschauen kann, auch wenn die Qualität nicht gewährleistet wird.

Google Daydream mit allen Android 7 Smartphones starten (Root erforderlich)

Wenn ihr ein Smartphone mit Android 7 und Root-Zugriff besitzt und den Google VR Service und die Daydream App installiert habt, könntet ihr theoretisch schon in die virtuelle Welt abtauchen, doch dies wird durch eine Erkennung verhindert. Deshalb müsst ihr folgende XML-Datei (Root-Explorer) suchen:

/system/etc/permissions/handheld_core_hardware.xml

Innerhalb dieser Datei findet ihr einen Abschnitt mit den „Permissions“. In diesem Abschnitt fügt ihr die beiden folgenden Zeilen ein:

<feature name=“android.software.vr.mode“ />

<feature name=“android.hardware.vr.high_performance“ />

Nach der Änderung wird das Smartphone neu gestartet und anschließend können die VR-Spiele aus dem Daydream Store verwendet werden. Solltet ihr keine Daydream Brille und keinen Daydream Controller besitzen, dann könnt ihr außerdem einen Emulator für den Controller verwenden und somit trotzdem die Anwendungen nutzen. Der Emulator wird offiziell von Google angeboten und kann gefahrlos verwendet werden.

Die Idee stammt von einem User auf Reddit und mittlerweile konnten beispielsweise LG V20, Nexus 6 und Nexus 5X Besitzer in Daydream-Anwendungen hineinschnuppern. Wenn ihr das Vorgehen ausprobiert, würden wir uns freuen, wenn ihr uns über die Resultate informiert.

Der Beitrag Google Daydream mit allen Android 7 Smartphones starten (Root erforderlich) zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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Digital Domain Launches VR App for Original Content and Livestreamed 360 Events

Visual effects and immersive experience creator Digital Domain has announced the launch of its first virtual reality (VR) app, Digital Domain VR, allowing users to VR fans to checkout its library of work as well as offering livestream 360-degree events.

The new Digital Domain app includes a wide array immersive content created in-house by the company, covering a mixture of genres, styles and formats. Alongside Digital Domain’s own content the app will also feature original works from its entertainment industry partners.

Digital Domain VR App_1

Whether you enjoy animation, short films, and documentaries or livestreamed and VOD content from musical, political and entertainment events, there’s something to suit most tastes. There will be trailers for original immersive content developed by Digital Domain’s Content Studio team—including its new Monkey King series, Storm and Micro Giants. Or visit new destinations with Digital Domain’s Teleport series, heading to Africa, Dubai, Hong Kong, Iceland, Istanbul, New Zealand and more.

“In 2016 we saw significant advances in devices for virtual reality experiences,” said Amit Chopra, Executive Director and CEO of North America, Digital Domain. “From mobile phones to room-scale VR systems, there are more ways than ever to explore virtual reality. However, there’s now a tremendous demand for new and engaging VR content for the audiences using those devices. At Digital Domain, we’re leveraging our visual effects artistry and technology to produce VR storytelling experiences that inspire audiences. Our new app is our platform for sharing our livestreamed and curated VR experiences with the world.”

Digital Domain’s app is freely available for Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream, and for iOS and Android smartphones using Google Cardboard.

Back in March Digital Domain announced the purchase of Sprawly, a company that specialises in helping those with no coding experience build VR content.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Digital Domain, reporting back with the latest updates.