Kickstarter Goal Within Reach for VRGE VR Headset Dock in Final 24 Hours

vrge vr dock (1)The sleek-looking VRGE VR headset dock Kickstarter looks set to come down to a photo-finish. Heading into its final 24 hours, the crowdfunding campaign is within $2,000 of its $30,000 goal.

We’ve had our eye on the VRGE Kickstarter since it launched back in January. The smartly designed dock has universal support for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and their controllers, as well as the option to sit flat on a desk or mount to a wall. Thanks to cable channels underneath, the dock can be set up to charge the controllers too.

VRGE Kickstarter

While the $59 Early Bird option is long gone, the $79 Standard and $99 Limited Edition offerings are all purported to ship in April, which—if they can pull it off—would be an impressively quick turnaround compared to many Kickstarter projects we’ve seen. Thankfully the creators of the project are well passed the mockup stage, having displayed prototypes of the dock in multiple wood finishes.

vrge vr dock (5)With an ‘all-or-nothing’ funding model for the campaign, the project won’t move ahead with any of the pledged funds unless it hits the $30,000 goal. Presently with $27,948 raised, the project is tantalizingly close in its final day.


Disclosure: The VRGE Kickstarter campaign is running banner advertisements on Road to VR.

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VRGE VR Headset Dock Passes 50% Mark on Kickstarter with One Week Remaining

The impressively svelte VRGE VR headset dock has passed the 50% mark of its $30,000 Kickstarter campaign goal. With support for the Vive, Rift, and PlayStation VR (and their respective controllers), the dock appears to be a smart accessory for VR early adopters, but it won’t be a sure thing until the campaign is fully funded.

The VRGE VR headset dock is a smartly designed bit of kit, with multiple finish options and universal support for the three major VR headsets presently on the market. It includes adapters to not only hold the respective VR controllers as well, but will also charge them while docked (except in the case of the Touch controllers, which use AA batteries). Wire-routing channels on the bottom of the dock aim to keep everything neat and tidy.

VRGE Kickstarter

In addition to extra storage space inside the base for cables and gamepads, the $80 dock is designed to work sitting down or mounted to a wall.

vrge vr dock (5)The creators behind the project have already shown prototype models and promise product delivery as early as April, which would be a very fast turnaround compared to many Kickstarter products which have little more than a rendering to show at the outset.

Still, the VRGE dock isn’t a sure thing just yet. The company sought $30,000 to kickstart the production of the accessory, and recently passed the 50% mark. With their campaign hinging on the ‘All or nothing’ funding model, it looks like it’ll be a race to the finish in the last week of the Kickstarter.

The post VRGE VR Headset Dock Passes 50% Mark on Kickstarter with One Week Remaining appeared first on Road to VR.

This VR Headset Charging Dock Helps You Organize Cluttered Desk Space

This VR Headset Charging Dock Helps You Organize Cluttered Desk Space

My home office isn’t the most organized place on the planet. To my left is my Blue desk microphone, which lets me record sultry smooth audio for stuff like this Resident Evil 7: Biohazard video review. To my right is a printer, but I have to unplug and move it off my desk if I want to set up extra Oculus sensors to use Touch. I’ve got my base stations set up in opposite corners of the room for the Vive. On the ground to my right, in a muddled heap, are the Vive headset, my audio headphones, the Rift headset, two Touch controllers, two Vive wands, and a bunch of cords.

Meanwhile, the living room is very nicely maintained. I’ve got the PSVR on a great Power A display dock with two Move controllers and a DualShock 4 (all charging) right next to the couch, the breakout box cord is stuffed into the entertainment center (where the PS4 Pro lives) when not in use. It’s very tidy. My PC area admittedly lacks that sort of organization, which is why this VR hardware display and charging dock from VRGE is particularly appealing.

We’ve seen a few different charging dock prototypes in the past, including from Nyko, but they lacked the polish, versatility, and sheer functionality of this offering from VRGE. You can tell from the video above and their Kickstarter page that they’ve mostly thought of everything.

You can order variations that are designed for either the Rift, Vive, or PSVR, and each edition has a spot to place the headset and its accompanying gamepads or motion controllers. The cord slides through the slit in the front, the headset rests in the middle, and the controllers stand on the sides. USB dongles are fed into the units for easy charging all in one spot.

Best of all is the creators even provide mounting hardware with each charging dock so you can neatly mount it on the wall next to your desk instead of taking up a big chunk of precious space. For a proper office or game studio it wouldn’t be as big of a deal, but at home, every inch of desk space feels like a rare commodity these days for me.

The folks at VRGE sent UploadVR two production prototypes, very similar to the ones shown in the video above, and I can thankfully report that it exceeded my expectations. It’s hard to judge build quality from a video, but the units were extremely sleek and attractive. They feel much weightier than they look, which is great considering they’re designed to support relatively hefty and expensive VR HMDs. The rubber feet on the bottom kept them still on my desk when not in use and the wall mounting process was very simple.

If you only have a single headset it’s a great choice if you’re not interested in a head bust for display. If you have multiple and want to wall mount your setups, then these are by far the best options available. As of the time of this publication, the Kickstarter still has 7 days to go and it’s sitting at just about half of the $30,000 goal with approximately $15,000 raised.

We don’t report on a lot of Kickstarters at UploadVR, but since this one is already such high quality and the production prototype feels close to a consumer product, we can’t help but recommend these charging docks.

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Survival Horror Organ Quarter Arrives on Kickstarter

In January Outer Brain Studios announced it would be launching a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for its upcoming survival horror title Organ Quarter, a demo of which was released via Steam in October 2016. That campaign has now begun looking to secure $6,500 USD in funding.

A nightmarish experience which the studio describes as: “Resident Evil by way of David Cronenberg and David Lynch,” Organ Quarter looks to combine labyrinthine environments, resource management and puzzles with a focus on hand-tracking and room-scale virtual reality (VR) for intense gameplay.

Organ Quarter screenshot 2

Wanting to create a proper adventure rather than the usual wave shooter style of videogame popular in VR, Outer Brain Studios has built large areas to explore whilst keeping with traditional gameplay designs by requiring players to find keys and complete dungeon style levels to progress through the story.

Playing as an unnamed character who’s isolated them self from the world, players must venture out into a city that’s become squalid and infected, at the request of of a mysterious man going by the name of Dr. Alset. Soon they’ll find a wasteland of a city, filled with grotesque creatures and elaborate puzzles.

To achieve its funding target Outer Brain Studios has created several funding tiers, starting from a basic $5 all the way up to $350. To secure a digital copy of Organ Quarter backers will need to pledge $15 for the early bird special. Once this tier has sold out the standard price will be $20.

While Organ Quarter currently supports just HTC Vive the team does plan to add Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch support in the future, as well as creating a non-VR version.

As the campaign progresses VRFocus will bring you the latest updates.

BluAtomVR Launches Kickstarter for Wireless VR Vest and Gun Controller

Virtual reality (VR) is about getting players into the experience, making them feel as if they’re actually in these amazing virtual worlds developers create. Aiming to aid that immersion even further is California-based company BluAtomVR, launching a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for a wireless VR vest and gun controller system.

A fully self-contained system that’s designed to work with head-mounted displays (HMDs) like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, the BluAtomVR campaign is looking to raise $25,000 USD to support the project.

BluAtomVR

The vest includes a range of functions such as haptics and motion sensing. There are 12 vibration actuators in the vest, split between six on the front and six on the back, while the motion sensors are able to provide forwards, backwards and left/right turning motions simply by leaning in the required direction. Controls can also be customised and saved on swappable RFID tags. While the gun features a dual trigger system and standard gaming buttons on top.

For those interested in backing the campaign there are a range of options available depending on the rewards that most interest you. To get just the BluAtom Gun Controller you need to pledge $129 USD, while its $229 for the Vest. Really you’d want both with an super early bird kit available for $239 (limited to 50). Once that tier has sold out the price climbs to $265 for the early bird then to $287 for the standard price.

“Our Virtual Reality Motion Control System provides the gamer with a more organic, intuitive gameplay,” said Steve Kearsley, CEO of BluAtom. “With our system, you can let your body create the movements within the game.”

For further updates on BluAtomVR’s Kickstarter campaign, keep reading VRFocus.

rEvolve: Kickstarter-Kampagne ist extrem erfolgreich

Dank Crowdfunding Schwere los – Die kommende Third-Party-Erweiterung für die HTC Vive aus den fachkundigen Händen von SynergyWiz hat ihr Kickstarter-Ziel längst erreicht und wächst stetig weiter. Das erweiterte Design der Vive soll vor allem für Komfort und Usability sorgen, indem die Last der schweren VR-Brille vom Gesicht auf die Stirn verlagert wird.

rEvolve: Komfort-Upgrade für die Vive

Die HTC Vive wird seit Veröffentlichung von vielen Experten als Klassenprimus im Bereich der VR-Technologie angepriesen. Dank Roomscaling-System und den hochgradig präzisen Vive-Controllern sichert sich die Virtual Reality Brille im Vergleich zurecht einen der Spitzenplätze. Ein Manko der Vive, das in zahlreichen Tests immer wieder angesprochen wurde, ist das schiere Gewicht der VR-Brille. Die Gummibänder, die das Gerät vor dem Gesicht der User halten, schienen als erste Lösung wenig ausgereift und sorgten selbst nach kurzen Sessions schnell für rote Striemen rund um die Augen.

HTC hat bereits reagiert und kündigte auf der Consumer Electronics Show 2017 in Las Vegas bereits ihre neuen Deluxe Audio Straps, verbesserte Halterungen für die Datenbrille, an. Ein etwas robusteres Design mit der Möglichkeit, die VR-Brille per Rad an den Kopf anzupassen sowie im Setup versteckte Kopfhörereingänge sollen die Vive im zweiten Quartal 2017 deutlich komfortabler und benutzerfreundlicher machen.

Dem Third-Party-Hersteller SynergyWiz genügen diese neuen Komfort-Funktionen allerdings immer noch nicht und so setzt das Team mit der Kickstarter-Kampagne für die rEvolve, einer kompletten Erweiterung der HTC Vive, noch einen drauf.

Ähnlich der PlayStation VR soll die Überarbeitung des amerikanischen Startups eine Abwandlung der Halo-Technologie nutzen, die in Kombination mit HTCs Deluxe Straps das enorme Gewicht der Brille gleichmäßig vom Gesicht auf die Stirn umverteilt.

Darüber hinaus bringen die kreativen Köpfe hinter der rEvolve die Möglichkeit an den Start, die Vive unkompliziert und kurzfristig abzunehmen, bzw. nach oben zu klappen. Der Klappmechanismus, mit dem ihr das komplette Vorderteil der VR-Brille ohne Probleme nach oben flippen könnt, ermöglicht kurze Pausen zwischen den VR-Erfahrungen, Austausch mit Kollegen oder schlicht, sich an der Nase zu kratzen, bevor es in der virtuellen Welt weitergeht. Wo man bisher für jede Kleinigkeit das verkabelte Schwergewicht abnehmen musste, reicht mit der rEvolve ein Handgriff. Fraglich ist allerdings, ob mit dem Klappmechanismus auch Unschärfen ihren Weg in die virtuelle Realität mit der Vive finden.

Das ursprüngliche Ziel der Kickstarter-Kampagne waren 5.000 US-Dollar. Mittlerweile hat die Community das Projekt mit satten 35.000$ unterstützt. Wir sind gespannt, was sich das Team von SynergyWiz noch für den VR-Klassenprimus einfallen lässt.

Der Beitrag rEvolve: Kickstarter-Kampagne ist extrem erfolgreich zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

Crowdfunding In VR: NOLO VR Begins Kickstarter Campaign

With HTC Vive primarily flying the flag the desire for roomscale virtual reality (VR) experiences grows steadily. As does the amount of companies looking to bring them to the consumer. The latest to do so is Califonian company LYRobotix who have brought a new front-facing, room scale motion tracker to Kickstarter.

NOLO VR Set + Box Packaging

Called NOLO VR and consisting of two controllers, a base station and a headset marker, according to the makers it will be a bring six degrees of freedom tracking in a 13ft squared space, operating at low latency. LYRobotix also promises that it will be compatible with PC systems operating SteamVR and Android-based mobile VR headsets such as Google Cardboard. The controllers and base station being designed to work out of the box with any headset that is Android based and will operate on battery for 7 hours.

Setting a price point of $99 (USD) LYRobotix are attempting to provide a budget alternative to the solutions already on the market.

“With NOLO VR, you can put on your mobile headset and interact with the environment naturally, turning the usual passive VR experience into an active one.” Explains LYRobotix COO and Co-Founder Lisa Zhao.

At the time of writing NOLO VR has already surpassed it’s initial $50,000 (USD) goal by nearly $25,000 and continues to gain support with 38 days still to go on the campaign. VRFocus will bring you more news on the project when the campaign finishes.

Point and Click Thriller The Lighthouse Looks for Success on Kickstarter

Crowd-funding has proven to be a successful avenue for indie video game developers to bring their projects to life. While never a guarantee of success, sites such as Kickstarter allow traditional titles and virtual reality (VR) to go hand in hand, with some studios offering immersive support as stretch goals. Yesterday VRFocus reported on a video game version of Apocalypse Now in the works, looking to raise a hefty $3 million for VR support. Aiming for slightly more realistic goals, Shadow Knights Studio has a campaign running for its point and click adventure The Lighthouse.

Starting life almost three years ago as a 48 hour game jam project, Shadow Knights Studio decided to expand the original premise fully rebuilding the title using Unreal Engine 4. “The Lighthouse takes place in Maine in the 1960’s,” states the official description. “You play as a P.I., investigating a disappearance in a cabin perched along the shore. While playing, you will encounter environmental obstacles and challenges that, once overcome, will reveal truths about the mystery. Not everything is how it seems as you’ll soon discover the presence of something else coming for you.”

The Lighthouse image 1

The team aims to raise $25,000 USD to fund the project, with backing tiers starting at just $1. To get a digital copy of the video game you’d need to pledge $10 or more, with the top $7,500 tier putting the backer into The Lighthouse. Whilst that first funding goal should see the project release on Steam for PC and Mac in October this year, if the campaign proves to be even more successful wider support is planned.

Xbox One and PlayStation 4 support come in at $45,000 and $50,000 respectively, with the next three goals all being VR. $55,000 unlocks Oculus Rift support, $60,000 for HTC Vive, and $65,000 brings PlayStation VR into the fold.

Shadow Knights Studio has until 7th March 2017 before the Kickstarter campaign ends, so for any further updates on The Lighthouse, keep reading VRFocus.