Category: Live Streams

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VR Download: Facebook Cancels Mind Reading, Can Steam Deck Do VR?

We’re going to get into a big week of VR-adjacent news on our live show today as we digest the likeliest implications for visiting simulated worlds.

At noon Pacific we’ll be driving through the news that Valve announced its “open” Linux-based handheld PC, aka Steam Deck, Facebook cancelled a head-mounted brain-reading research effort, and there might be a larger-storage entry model for Oculus Quest 2 coming in the near future. It is sure to be a lively discussion as both Valve and Facebook have expressed considerable interest in more direct brain-computer interfaces than we have today, but the exact approach these companies pursue, how far away it is from actual consumers and how directly these systems will integrate with VR and AR headgear remains unclear.

And while Valve made clear that its Steam Deck handheld PC is technically capable of VR, its performance isn’t tuned for that use case. Still, some people are going to dive right in and start experimenting with VR nonetheless on Steam Deck and its existence might offer a playground for experimentation with things that Facebook’s Oculus Quest simply doesn’t allow.

We’ll be discussing all this and more on today’s show produced live in VR in our custom-built studio using hand tracking, Oculus Avatars, and standalone VR headsets. You can tune in live and we’ll be able to see YouTube comments and incorporate them into our discussion, or subscribe to our VR Download podcast on the platform of your choice and listen to it after the recording session.

Watch at the YouTube link embedded below:

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Swarm Live VR Interview And Q&A Video

Swarm is a recently released arcade shooter for Quest and PC VR that mixes fast-paced gunplay with grappling traversal mechanics. We’re sitting down in our virtual studio with Greensky Games to talk about the history of the game and its development.

The interview is set to take place later today at 2pm PST on our YouTube channel. I’ll be joined by Peter Le Bek from Greensky Games, one of the lead designers and developers who worked on Swarm. We’ll be talking about the history of Greensky Games, what drew Peter and the studio to a VR game and the design and development process of Swarm.

You can watch it live down below or simply watch it like a normal YouTube video if you miss the live broadcast. If you are joining us live, be sure to leave any questions you have in the comments section — we’ll try get some of the audience’s questions answered as well.

Swarm released earlier this month — here’s an excerpt from my hands-on:

Swarm is a entertaining distillation of a few other elements we’ve seen in VR before. It’s got fantastic swinging mechanics for traversal, solid arcade gunplay and a wave-based enemy structure with hints of bullet hell. What makes the game fun is the intersection of all three, which (from what we’ve played so far) ensures that none of them outstay their welcome.

You can read the rest of my hands-on here.

Let us know what you think of Swarm and be sure to leave your questions in the chat during the live broadcast — we’ll try to get as many answered as possible.

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Upload’s VR Livestreams This Week

From live podcasts in our very own VR Studio to trying out the latest games in VR, Upload has something for you! Read on for what’s scheduled for this week’s Upload VR livestreams.

For the week starting May 10th we’ll be jumping into our VR studio for the weekly VR Download podcasts, and playing randomly selected App Lab games in VR Roulette!

Tuesday – VR Download Industrycast 1pm PT

Every Monday we go live in our very own VR Download studio to talk about the latest industry and hardware news – except this week we’re going live on Tuesday to talk about Vivecon 2021!

Wednesday – VR Roulette 9am PT

Upload’s Jamie and Zeena select a handful of the latest App Lab games and try them out at random! There’s a spinning wheel, plenty of questionable games, and good times. This week we’ll be playing games like Unstung and Zooma.

Thursday – VR Download Gamescast 10.30am PT

Join the Upload gang as they talk through the biggest gaming stories of the week and give review rundowns for the week’s releases.

Subscribe and hit that notifications button to keep up with all of our latest YouTube content from livestreams to exclusive new looks at VR games and hardware. Make sure to set reminders for the upcoming streams and check back here for our latest livestreams every week.

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Live On Upload This Week: Until You Fall Hard Mode Challenge!

We’re getting in the fighting spirit for this week’s livestreams. Join Jamie and Zeena on a quest to topple Until You Fall’s toughest mode, starting today at 8:30am PT/4:30pm GMT!

Schell Games’ arcade-style roguelike remains one of our favorite VR games to date, but we’re yet to tackle Until You Fall’s greatest challenge – beating the hardest difficulty. Trust us when we say, that’s no easy task.

Make sure to watch along below:

In Until You Fall, you take multiple runs at a procedurally generated gauntlet filled with enemies. Players can equip two weapons which they first use to block incoming attacks from enemies and then return fire. The game uses on-screen prompts to deliver a fast-paced, arcadey battle system that feels great in VR. Think of it a bit like Hades in VR.

“The genre’s staple elements feel wholly refreshed by swapping out fast fingers for realistic movements, and the foundation of upgradable gear, new weapons and different loadouts encourages you to return again and again,” we said in our review of the game. “Its combat system has some unfortunate quirks and I would have liked to see more elements rooted in reality, but as an addictive arcade treat you’ll find hard to put down, Until You Fall stands a cut above the competition.”

So join us this week as we bravely take sword(s) in hand and take the fight to gauntlet of monsters. Are we up to the challenge? Tune in to find out! And don’t forget to subscribe to Upload’s YouTube channel while you’re at it.

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Oculus App Lab Livestream: Second Wave Of Releases Live!

Oculus App Lab has now been available for a few weeks and yet more VR games and apps have launched on the platform. So what’s new? Join us today at 8:30am PT/4:30pm GMT to find out!

App Lab is Facebook’s new way of letting developers release content on Quest without passing Store requirements or sideloading. Developers can submit much more experimental applications to be included, launch pre-release versions of titles or even release full games for a price. To find App Lab games, all you need is the link to their store location – you won’t find them just browsing the store regularly.

When it launched earlier in February, we checked out titles like MarineVerse Cuop, Gym Class and Descent Alps. Now another five experiences have launched, which we’ll be checking out today.

New Oculus App Lab Livestream

Join Jamie and Zeena as we shoot our way through Rhythm ‘n Bullets and dive into promising VR RPG, Arcaxer. We’ll also be warming up our racket arm in Cyber Tennis and fulfilling our weird life-long dreams in Bard Hero VR.

Here’s the full list of titles we’ll be checking out today (time permitting). You can find all of these listed in the new App Lab section of SideQuest:

– Rhythm ‘n Bullets
– Arcaxer
– Bard Hero VR
– Cyber Tennis
– Shinobi Breaker

Like the stream? Then don’t forget to comment, like and subscribe! We’ll be back later this week with the games instalment of the VR Download podcast and of course be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest VR news.

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Steam Games Festival Livestream: New VR Demos Live!

What’s next for SteamVR? Find out today as we stream the latest demos from the Steam Games Festival at 4:30pm GMT/8:30am PT!

Steam Games Festivals offer users a taste of what’s to come on Valve’s digital storefront, and VR has carved out a little space for itself. The latest event is coming to a close tomorrow, February 9th at 10am PT, so we’re taking some time to see what’s on offer before we wave goodbye.

Join Jamie and Zeena at they take a look at new games like JRPG hopeful, Sword Reverie, the brilliantly-named Toss! and stomach-churning risker-taker, Jumps VR. With any luck we’ll find some gems. Without any luck, well, let’s just say those missing our VR Roulette show will probably be happy with today’s stream.

Like what you see? Then don’t forget to subscribe to us over on YouTube and hit the notifications button.

 

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Population: One Quest 2 Livestream – VR Battle Royale!

For today’s livestream we’re playing Population: One in VR using an Oculus Quest 2 natively! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.

Today, we’re picking a drop spot in Population: One, the popular battle royale VR shooter from Big Box VR. While this is a bit similar to Fortnite and PUBG, there are some differences as well. For example, you have a wingsuit for gliding and you can climb any and every surface in the whole game. I’ll be jumping in solo on Oculus Quest 2 playing the native version of the game and will allow viewers to join my party after a bit. Just don’t be vulgar or mean!

Read my full Population: One VR review for more about the game.

We’re going live with our Population: One VR livestream at about 1:30 PM PT today and will last for around an hour or so, give or take. We’ll be hitting just our YouTube and we’ll be streaming from an Oculus Quest 2 while we try and check chat every now and then to stay up to date.

 

Livestream: Population One VR Battle Royale On Quest 2

Check out the stream here or embedded down below:

You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!

And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely. Let’s get ready to go!

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Walkabout Mini Golf VR Multiplayer Livestream: Chilling and Chatting

For today’s livestream we’re playing Walkabout Mini Golf VR on Oculus Quest; I’ll be joined by Ian Hamilton! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.

Today, we’re playing Walkabout Mini Golf VR, one of the most popular multiplayer mini golf games in VR right now. It’s a simple and accessible game, but it’s a ton of fun to play with friends and should be a great game to just hang out and enjoy for a bit before the weekend gets started. We’ll let viewers join us as well if it’s a simple process to get people into the game.

We’re going live with our Walkabout Mini Golf VR livestream at about 1:15 PM PT today and will last for around an hour or so, give or take. We’ll be hitting just our YouTube and we’ll be streaming from an Oculus Quest 2 while we try and check chat as often as we’re able.

 

Livestream: Walkabout Mini Golf VR Multiplayer

You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!

And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely. Let’s get ready to go!

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VR Download: Battlescar, Doom 3 For Quest, System Shock 2, And The Outlook For 2021

This week’s VR Download Games discussion covered Battlescar, Doom 3 on Oculus Quest, System Shock 2, and the overall outlook for virtual reality in 2021.

We also encountered a funny bug in our custom-built virtual recording studio wherein David couldn’t hear me, which forced him to depend on our live viewers to ensure I wasn’t insulting him live on YouTube.

Check out the discussion here:

Here’s a list of the key timestamps if you don’t have time to watch the whole show:

  • 1:08 – Battlescar
  • 3:36 – Doom 3 for Quest
  • 9:04 – Mare
  • 10:21 – Quest getting multiple accounts
  • 14:14 – Dragon Quest VR?
  • 17:13 – 1.7 million new SteamVR users in 2020
  • 20:42 – PSVR 2020 Top Sellers
  • 27:22 – System Shock 2 VR
  • 31:53 – Hitman 3 PSVR
  • 37:20 – Where is VR going in 2021?
  • 56:40 – Outro

The VR Download broadcasts live to YouTube Mondays at 1 pm Pacific and Thursdays at 2:30 Pacific, with a tech-focused discussion on Monday and a games-focused event on Thursday. We have YouTube comments up in VR so we can interact live with our audience and we’d love to have you join us with questions or to join in the discussion.

You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content.

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Real VR Fishing Multiplayer Livestream: Relaxing In Quest 2

For today’s livestream we’re playing Real VR Fishing on Oculus Quest; I’ll be joined by Ian Hamilton! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.

Today, we’re playing Real VR Fishing on Oculus Quest 2, one of the most visually impressive games on the platform with a relaxing tone and wonderfully simple co-op multiplayer. Ian Hamilton from Upload will join me on our impromptu fishing trip around the world as we chat about the latest trends and games in VR and probably a bunch of random stuff too.

We’re going live with our Real VR Fishing livestream at about 12:45 PM PT today and will last for around an hour or so, give or take. We’ll be hitting just our YouTube and we’ll be streaming from an Oculus Quest 2 while we try and check chat often.

 

Livestream: Relaxing in Real VR Fishing on Quest 2

You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!

And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely. Let’s get ready to go!