Category: Harmonix

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Audica Adds Four DLC Tracks Including Lizzo, The Weeknd, CHVRCHES

Harmonix announced the addition of four more DLC tracks to Audica, including tracks from Lizzo, The Weeknd, CHVRCHES and Flo Rida. The tracks are available now, dropping just days after the Oculus Quest version of Audica released. 

In our initial impressions of Audica on PC VR back in early access, we noted that the music library on offer was perhaps one of the weaker points at the time, with most of the music sounding similar and lacking diversity. This was one of the reasons it seemed hard to recommend Audica to anyone who was already enjoying Beat Saber.

However, since then the Audica library has really expanded and added some high profile tracks. As we noted earlier this week, the existing DLC tracks added since early access include high profile artists like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Maroon 5. Now with this new drop of four DLC tracks, Harmonix is strengthening the selection even more.

The four new DLC tracks include Juice by Lizzo, Can’t Feel My Face by The Weeknd, The Mother We Share by CHVRCHES and GDFR by Flo Ride ft. Sage the Gemini and Lookas.

The DLC is available on all platforms, including the newly-launched Oculus Quest version of the game. I tried out Juice earlier today and had quite a bit of fun. It’s certainly nice to see rhythm games like Audica invoke such a wide and varied library of different songs – a book that Beat Games could probably take a page out of, in my opinion.

Will you be checking out these new DLC track in Audica? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Audica Launches On Oculus Quest January 28 With Rift Cross-Buy

Initially announced last year at Oculus Connect 6, Audica is finally launching on the Oculus Quest on January 28. The Quest version of the music shooter was initially scheduled for a release last year, but will now launch next week after a small delay.

Oculus Quest is the last of a multitude of VR platforms that the game has reached. Initially launched on PC VR in early access, Audica left early access and also made its way to PSVR last year. The Oculus Quest version will also support cross-buy with the Rift version of the game, which is always welcome news.

We reviewed the game on PC VR back in early access, and had mixed feelings. While the game will probably be enjoyed by rhythm game fans, David did note that “if you’re picky about styles of music or already enamored with Beat Saber, we don’t think there is enough here to pull you in just yet.”

That being said, a lot has changed since early access, especially when it comes to the variety of song tracks. The PC VR and PSVR version of the game now have some very popular songs available as DLC, such as ‘bad guy’ by Billie Eilish and ‘Into You’ by Ariana Grande, which we can expect to launch on the Quest version of the game as well. That might sway some people into trying the game out.

Now that the game is out of early access and will soon be available on Quest, you can expect an updated review of Audica on the site soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Will you be picking up Audica on Quest? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The post Audica Launches On Oculus Quest January 28 With Rift Cross-Buy appeared first on UploadVR.

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Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ to Launch on Quest Next Week with Rift Cross-buy

Audica (2019), the VR ‘rhythm shooter’ from Guitar Hero studio Harmonix, is officially set to arrive on Oculus Quest on January 28th. This, the studio said in a recent tweet, also includes cross-buy with the Rift version available through the Oculus Store.

Audica first launched on PC VR headsets in Early Access back in March 2019, and then later on PSVR late last year, which carried with it four new songs exclusive to PSVR as well as five paid DLC songs from household names such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons, and Post Malone.

Now, the Quest version is set to arrive next week alongside four new paid DLC tracks and four free DLC songs that were once PSVR exclusives.

New Paid DLC Songs

  • Chvurches – “The Mother We Share”
  • Flo Ride Ft. Sage the Gemini and Lookas – “GDFR”
  • Lizzo – “Juice”
  • The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
SEE ALSO
'Beat Saber' Takes Top Spot as PSVR's Most Downloaded Game of 2019

Free Songs (previously PSVR exclusives)

  • ASMS – “Reeds of Mitatrush”
  • Darren Korb ft. Ashley Barrett – “We All Become”
  • James Egbert ft. Nina Sung – “Exit Wounds”
  • James Landino – “Funky Computer”

In Audica, players shoot and smash targets to the beat of a soundtrack; you’re tasked with not only trying to shoot on beat, but accurately too.

An Oculus Store page for the Quest version is already live. The game will be priced at the same $30 as the Rift version for new players, or free if you already own it on the Oculus platform.

The post Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ to Launch on Quest Next Week with Rift Cross-buy appeared first on Road to VR.

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Audica Leaves Early Access, Adds Campaign Mode & PlayStation VR Support

After its first foray into virtual reality (VR) with Rock Band VR in 2017, Harmonix returned earlier this year with Audica,  blending shooting mechanics with rhythm action gameplay. Today, the title has left Early Access, bringing with it new content and expanded headset support. 

Audica new screenshot

Audica 1.0 sees the addition of a dedicated campaign mode where you can play through the entire soundtrack across four tiers, each offering several challenges to complete. These can range from playing a song with invisible guns to reducing the reaction time to shoot each note. Successful completion of each tier unlocks the next, as well as rewarding you with new environments and blasters.

The launch also sees six more tracks added to the roster, bringing the total up to 33:

  • David Guetta ft. Sia – “Titanium (Cazzette’s Ant Seeking Hamster Remix)”
  • deadmau5 & Wolfgang Gartner – “Channel 42”
  • Logic & Marshmello – “Everyday”
  • ODESZA – “Loyal”
  • Polyphia – “G.O.A.T.”
  • Wolfgang Gartner – “Illmerica”

In addition to the core soundtrack four playable full-length Album Versions can be unlocked by playing through Audica’s campaign mode:

  • 1788-L & Blanke – “Destiny”
  • DragonForce – “Highway to Oblivion”
  • K/DA ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns – “POP/STARS”
  • Zedd ft. Bahari – “Addicted To A Memory”

Audica new screenshot

If that’s not enough five DLC tracks are also available for purchase, either individually or as a pack:

  • 5 Seconds of Summer – “Youngblood”
  • Ariana Grande – “Into You”
  • Billie Eilish – “bad guy”
  • Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
  • Post Malone – “Better Now”

To finish all these musical shenanigans off there’s the PlayStation VR version. PlayStation VR players also get exclusive access to four free songs:

  • asms – “Reeds of Mitatrush”
  • Darren Korb ft. Ashley Barrett – “We All Become (from the Transistor: Original Soundtrack)”
  • James Egbert ft. Nina Sung – “Exit Wounds”
  • James Landino – “Funky Computer”

In Audica you’re armed with two guns, one blue one orange. It’s pretty much about precision target shooting to a beat, hitting a variety of single and multiple coloured targets to a soundtrack featuring some of the best artists in the pop and EDM space.

Supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR headsets, Harmonix also has plans for additional content and updates in the near future. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.

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Audica Is Coming To Oculus Quest Later This Year

Announced at Oculus Connect 6 last week, Harmonix’s music shooter Audica is coming to the Oculus Quest sometime this year.

Released in early access on SteamVR and Oculus Home for Rift earlier in the year, we had mixed feelings about the game. The gameplay is clearly inspired by Beat Saber, and offers “plenty to sink your teeth into” for fans of rhythm games. However, ultimately David noted that “if you’re picky about styles of music or already enamored with Beat Saber, we don’t think there is enough here to pull you in just yet.” That being said, it’s an early access release and still in development, so we didn’t give it a final score.

Despite still being in early access on PC VR, the game is now also coming to the Oculus Quest at an unspecified date before the end of the year.

There’s a lot going on for the rhythm shooter at the moment. This Quest announcement comes hot off the back of a similar announcement for a PSVR release coming in the fall. The game also released an update last week which featured a Borderlands 3 tie-in. The update lets players use the Maliwan Pistol from Borderlands 3 in Audica, although the item is just an aesthetic one and doesn’t change the gameplay in any way. The update also featured some minor changes as well, including Twitch chat integration.

Have you tried out Audica? What did you think? For those Quest and PSVR owners who haven’t, will you pick up the title when it launches in the next few months? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Audica Is Coming To Oculus Quest Later This Year appeared first on UploadVR.

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Borderlands 3 Guns Get VR Treatment With Audica Tie-In

Borderlands 3 VR might not be a thing (yet), but Harmonix’s Audica brings you a bit closer to it.

Revealed last week (which we missed because, you know, Oculus Connect), Audica is bringing Borderlands 3’s Maliwan Pistol into VR. The gun has orange and blue variants to fit the game’s rhythm-based action. It doesn’t change the gameplay itself in any way, but it’s a really cool way to crossover with another gaming series.

Audica is a little like a shooter version of Beat Saber. Notes fly in from in front of you and you have to blast them based on the corresponding colors. At release, we thought the game was fun if bare bones. There’s been plenty of updates bringing in new features and more tracks since then, though.

The Borderlands 3 guns arrived as part of a free update last week. Said update also brought in new calibration options for better audio syncing, Twitch Chat integration and a few other things.

Of course, Borderlands 3’s predecessor, Borderlands 2, already got the VR treatment on PSVR. A PC VR version of the game is due to launch later this month with all the DLC intact. As for Borderlands 3 VR? Gearbox says its been talked about but doesn’t have any real plans as of right now. Hopefully, that changes in the near future.

Elsewhere, we know that Audica is on the way to PSVR later this year. For now, the game remains in Early Access on PC VR headsets. What other iconic videogame guns would you like to get hold of in Audica?

The post Borderlands 3 Guns Get VR Treatment With Audica Tie-In appeared first on UploadVR.

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Dance Central VR Finally Gets Fitness Tracker

Harmonix’s Dance Central VR is one of the best ways to stay fit with a headset on. That’s as true as it’s ever been with this week’s free update.

Dance Central VR just got an excellent new addition; a fitness tracker. We first revealed this feature was coming at our E3 VR Showcase in June. The tracker keeps count of all the calories you’ll be burning when strutting your stuff. You turn it on inside the experience and then it sits in clear view during songs.

Players can customize the experience to make sure the game knows their weight (which doesn’t change avatar appearance). It’s a pretty neat way to encourage you to keep going; it’d be great to see games like Beat Saber get a similar feature.

“As we worked on Dance Central, we started to realize that this game is perfect for fitness gaming enthusiasts,” Creative Lead Arthur Inasi told the Oculus Blog. “People who would playtest for us would always comment, “Whew! That’s actually a pretty good workout!” or, “Wow, I got more of a workout than I thought I would!” At the same time, there was more and more interest from the VR community for games that would provide light to moderate workouts.”

Elsewhere, Dance Central is also getting NPC challenges. Accept a challenge and you’ll face off with an AI dancer. Truly, we are in the future.

Elsewhere in Harmonix VR news, the studio’s Beat Saber-esque rhythm shooter, Audica, is due for release on PSVR soon. Dance Central, meanwhile, is available on Rift and Quest.

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The VR Job Hub: Tripwire Interactive, Cortopia Studios, HTC and More

Job hunting isn’t one of those activities that people relish. For the most part, you’re looking for a job because you don’t have one or the one you’re in hasn’t quite turned out to be the glorious career path you’d imagined or been sold by the recruiter. Trying to make the hunt less of a chore is the VR Job Hub, your portal to vacancies around the world with some of the best companies involved in virtual reality (VR) content creation.

Location Company Role Link
Roswell, US Tripwire Interactive Senior Quality Assurance Tester Click Here to Apply
Stockholm, Sweden Cortopia Studios Software Engineer Click Here to Apply
Slough, UK HTC Product Operations Director Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California Insomniac Games Animator Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California Insomniac Games Environment Artist Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California Insomniac Games Sr. Project Manager Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California Insomniac Games Sr. Engine Programmer: Tools Click Here to Apply
Boston, US Harmonix Senior Server Engineer Click Here to Apply
Boston, US Harmonix Software Engineer: Senior Generalist Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

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Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ Launches on PSVR with 4 Exclusive Songs

Harmonix, the veteran music game studio behind the Guitar Hero series, released their latest VR game Audica on PC VR in Early Access back in March. PSVR users have been patient, but now the unique shooter-meets-rhythm game is available today on PSVR.

Update (November 5th, 2019): Audica is  now available on PSVR. In addition to the songs listed in the article below, the PSVR launch includes 4 free songs exclusive to the platform:

  • asms – “Reeds of Mitatrush”
  • Darren Korb ft. Ashley Barrett – “We All Become (from the Transistor: Original Soundtrack)”
  • James Egbert ft. Nina Sung – “Exit Wounds”
  • James Landino – “Funky Computer”

The studio is also making five downloadable songs available right away, purchasable on their own or as a package deal.

  • 5 Seconds of Summer – “Youngblood”
  • Ariana Grande – “Into You”
  • Billie Eilish – “bad guy”
  • Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
  • Post Malone – “Better Now”

The original article announcing its fall launch window follows below.

Original Article (August 28th, 2019): Harmonix released the news on a PS blogpost, saying that Audica will arrive on the PSVR platform sometime this Fall.

The studio says they will reveal more details surrounding exact date, price, and full soundtrack in the coming months (see update).

At launch, Audica is said to include four arenas, a variety of blasters, a suite of customization options to personalize the gameplay experience, and a campaign taking you through the game’s 30+ song soundtrack.

Image courtesy Harmonix

We had the opportunity to go deep in our first preview of the game before it hit Steam and the Oculus Store ($20) a few months ago. The studio has since pushed several quality of life updates and included more and more songs to its playable soundtrack.

As the PlayStation platform doesn’t have any official Early Access program, we imagine Audica will likely launch out of Early Access on Steam/Oculus Store shortly afterwards.

Check out the trailer below:

The post Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ Launches on PSVR with 4 Exclusive Songs appeared first on Road to VR.

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Harmonix’s Audica Is Coming To PSVR Later This Year

Rock Band developer Harmonix’s second PSVR title is on the way.

A port of its likable music shooter, Audica, will hit Sony’s headset later this fall. The company confirmed as much on the PlayStation Blog earlier today, though a specific date wasn’t given.

https://youtu.be/VyTbiFfss8o

Audica is a little like a shooter version of, you guessed it, Beat Saber. The game has you blasting notes with different colored pistols to the tune of a beat. The game will launch with all four arenas and over 30 songs.

Artists include Dragonforce, DEADMAU5 and Knife Party and Harmonix says there’s more to come. It’s not clear if these will be via free updates or paid DLC.

Indeed, the game is currently in Early Access on PC and has had a host of songs added since launch. There’s also a level editor and a full campaign. Harmonix confirmed to UploadVR that the PSVR version will be feature-complete with the PC edition at launch. The PC version should also come out of Early Access when the game hits PlayStation.

In our Early Access review of the game (which we didn’t score), we took issue with Audica’s small number of tracks. We did, however, think the game was visually arresting. It could just do with being more intuitive. Hopefully we’ll find a more rounded product later on in the year.

While Harmonix has made a lot of VR games at this point, many of them have been exclusive to Oculus platforms. Audica is only the second Harmonix VR game to hit PSVR since its headset launch title, Harmonix Music VR.

The post Harmonix’s Audica Is Coming To PSVR Later This Year appeared first on UploadVR.