Unplugged’s first official DLC pack arrives next week and adds Muse, Slayer and more to the setlist.
The Riff Pack arrives on April 14 for both the Quest and PC VR version of the game for $5.99. Included in the pack is Won’t Stand Down by Muse, South of Heaven by Slayer, Crow Killer Blues by Rob Zombie, and Standing in the Way of Control by Gossip. That’s four new tracks for essentially $6, then.
In a press release, Vertigo Games and Anotherway said that the DLC was the “first realization” of its plans to bring more music to the game, so expect more DLC in the future. A new Steel Panther song was also added to the game late last year, expanding on the existing setlist that includes Weezer, Ozzy Osbourne, Tenacious D and T. Rex among others.
We’re big fans of Unplugged (at least on Quest) at Upload, so it’s great to see the game getting more tracks. “Unplugged feels like the first proper app to take Quest’s hand tracking to a new conceptual and technical level,” we said in our review. “Even if you could hypothetically rework the game to support Touch controllers, doing so would defeat the point. At its core, Unplugged uses hand tracking as a way to fulfill a fantasy and bring to life something that previously only existed in your imagination.”
Are you going to be picking up Unplugged’s Riff Pack? ~What other artists would you like to see in future packs? Let us know in the comments below!
Muse is a meditation company known for its EEG headbands that are focused on mental wellness, especially when it comes to meditation and sleep. It has now revealed plans to enter the virtual reality (VR) market building a new EEG headband designed to fit the most popular headsets including Meta Quest 2.
The new VR headband will be built off of Interaxon Inc.’s (Muse’s parent company) second-generation EEG headband, the Muse S. No images of the Muse S-VR headband have been released just yet as it’s still under development, with a launch currently slated for Q2 2022. It’ll feature the company’s four-channel EEG system with PPG, ECG, EMG (muscle tension), and EOG (ocular movements) biosensing capabilities.
Ahead of the hardware launch, Muse has released the VR software development kit (SDK) in beta form, supporting Android, iOS, Windows, Unity, and Unreal game engines.
Muse sees a lot of potential in the integration of biosensor data into Web3 and the metaverse, where users are looking for new ways to improve their mental performance and fitness. The EEG headband provides real-time access to brain and heart biosignals, ideal for medical, educational and training applications currently being developed for VR.
“Soon, the broadly adopted technology and paradigms that we use to control and interact with our environment – and with each other – will dramatically change. Our interactions with the built environment, communications systems, entertainment platforms, transportation systems, social platforms, etc – will all be enhanced by technology that personalizes our experiences by sensing, analyzing, interpreting, and adapting to our arousal level, our cognitive status, and to our mood,” said Interaxon’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Walter Greenleaf in a statement. “Precision analytics driven by biosensor and physiological inputs, in real-time, are a key component to providing substantially more engaging and more personalized immersive digital experiences.”
Muse hasn’t said if it has found any VR SDK partners or teamed up with applications to utilise the new headband just yet. However, the idea of meditation and mental wellness in VR is nothing new, with apps already available for most headsets. And then you’ve got the likes of Vive Flow, the latest VR device from HTC that’s been entirely promoted as a way to relax and switch off from the world.
If you’re not too keen on more sensors tracking what your body is doing in VR then we’ve got some bad news, that’s exactly where things are going. Meta’s Project Cambria will have a raft of eye and face tracking sensors, PlayStation VR2 will get eye tracking and HTC Vive already has add-on modules for tracking your face and body movements. All so VR can be as immersive as possible.
Gmw3 will continue its coverage of the Muse S-VR headband, reporting back with further updates.
Another chance to experience the music of Muse in VR is here, this time inside new social VR concert app, Stageverse.
Stageverse just launched via App Lab on Oculus Quest. It’s an all-new social VR platform that lets you meet up with others and dive into virtual concerts, presented in 360-degree video. As part of its beginnings, the app is offering a limited-time free experience based around Muse’s Simulation Theory Tour. An entire two hour show has been recorded to enjoy inside VR. Check out the trailer below.
Muse VR Concert Debuts
The experience uses its own avatars, which you can collect costumes for along with other toys and interactive items. Create an account now and you’ll get an exclusive Muse outfit, too.
Though the experience may be a 360-degree video, you can choose between 16 spots to watch the concert from and talk with your friends as it’s playing. The experience sounds similar to what’s on offer in the Oculus Venues app, where friends can meet up and watch concerts on a giant 2D screen in a virtual theater.
Want to get involved? The experience airs at 7pm PDT, EDT, BST and JST every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. You can also join in on a mobile device if you don’t have a Quest, too.
Muse is having a weirdly busy month in the VR world. Last week we reported that another DLC pack starring the band was launching for Synth Riders. It’s the second song pack to feature Muse in the game.
Stageverse is a new social VR platform debuting this week with a two-hour immersive capture of the Muse: Simulation Theory concert. The platform allows multiple viewers to experience the concert together through 360° 3D footage captured from multiple angles around the venue. In addition to Oculus Quest, Stageverse also supports iOS and Android devices.
Founded initially back in 2017, Stageverse is making its debut this week after purportedly raising $7.5 million in venture capital. The company has built a social VR platform that it hopes will be home to entertainment and social interactivity. You can find the app for Oculus Quest, iOS, and Android.
At the outset the company is focused on building out a virtual concert venue, and has partnered with the hit band Muse to debut the platform with an immersive two-hour capture of the band’s Simulation Theory concert.
“Simulation Theory has always been about creating experiences that redefine the human role in programming and technology,” said Muse frontman and co-founder Matt Bellamy. “We can’t wait for our fans to be able to truly immerse themselves in our Simulation Theory world and take full advantage of everything that the Stageverse experience will offer.”
The Simulation Theory Concert was captured in 360° 3D in 2019. Users can meet up in a social hub space in the app then watch the concert together in avatar-form from any one of 16 viewpoints.
Part of the Stageverse social hub | Image courtesy Stageverse
The concert is available now in Stageverse, free for a limited time, with shows starting at 7PM ET (your timezone here) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. An on-demand preview of the concert can be seen at any time.
Although the Muse concert is clearly the keystone content at launch, Stageverse says the platform is capable of more than just concerts. Founders Tim Ricker and Claire Seidler see the platform extending to host all manner of immersive social experiences. In October the company plans to launch an immersive art exhibit by visual artist Shantell Martin that will be seamlessly integrated into the platform alongside the Muse concert.
Image courtesy Stageverse
Stageverse is also hoping to create an “NFT economy and marketplace” built around avatar clothing and customization that will “unlock community capitalism to the fullest extent.” To kick off that effort the platform has also partnered up with Parisian fashion house Balmain to offer up a small set of avatar fashion items. Though it isn’t yet clear what kind of prices the company will be asking for, nor precisely how its NFT ownership model will work.
Just before Christmas Kluge Interactive announced that it would be bringing British rockers Muse to rhythm action title Synth Riders. That DLC arrives today, alongside free songs as well as a unique visual experience for Muse’s Algorithm.
Kluge Interactive has revealed the five songs from Muse which are all paid DLC content and the three free songs released as an update. The first two Muse tracks come from the band’s synthwave-inspired album Simulation Theory.
“Empire of Steel” (MASKED Remix) – Essenger (feat. Scandroid)
“Automatic Call” – NINA
“We have been wanting to make a true audio-visual Synth Riders “experience” for a while now, and I’m incredibly happy with how “Algorithm” turned out, this has opened the doors for us to continue to keep putting music at the foreground of VR!” said Abraham Aguero Benzecri, Kluge Interactive’s Creative Director in a statement.
Released back in 2018, Synth Riders‘ music library has now expanded 67 songs (52 free and 15 paid). Plus there’s official custom song support so players can add their own.
The Synthwave Essentials 2 music pack will be available today with the five DLC tracks purchased individually for $1.99 USD or bundled together with a 20% discount. The core Synth Riders videogame supports Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Oculus Rift (cross-buy supported on Oculus Store). As further updates are released for Synth Riders, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Virtual reality rhythm game Synth Riders (2019) is getting a new music pack tomorrow called ‘Synthwave Essentials 2′ which is set to feature the heavy-hitting English rock band Muse. Now, developers Kluge Interactive have unveiled the full tracklist for its upcoming DLC in a Road to VR exclusive, and also sat down to talk about some of the finer points of grooving to the infectious electric beat of synthwave in VR.
Synth Riders is all about freestyle dancing, and getting into flow state as you hit incoming orbs to the beat. A unique rail system gets you stretching in every direction; it feels a bit like the neon-soaked lovechild between Thumper (2016) and Kung Fu.
Launching tomorrow, January 14th, Synth Riders Synthwave Essentials 2 Music Pack will include five paid songs, which will be available for purchase for $1.99 each, or as a bundle for $7.96 (-20%).
The game is also getting three free songs, which will arrive in an update tomorrow for all supported platforms. Synth Riders is available on SteamVR headsets via Steam and Viveport, and cross-buy with Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest. PSVR support is also coming sometime this year. More on that below.
Headlining Synthwave Essentials 2 is “Algorithm”, Muse’s title track from their acclaimed 2018 album Simulation Theory. For the song, the studio created a new immersive level that synchronizes the game’s patently ’80s-inspired visuals to the beat, something Kluge Interactive CEO Arturo Perez told us results in “the blending of sight, sound, and movement together into a transformative VR experience.” Check out the video here:
‘Synthwave Essentials 2’ Paid Tracks
“Algorithm” (Alternate Reality Version) – Muse: The title track of Muse’s “Simulation Theory” is given an atmospheric, darkly symphonic treatment and combines with the included Synth Riders Experience to explore the song’s concept that we are caged in simulation.
“The Dark Side” – Muse:The second track of Muse’s “Simulation Theory” continues to explore the struggle to escape from a dystopia with controlling technologies, from our own anxieties and from the Dark Side.
“Days of Thunder” – The Midnight: Like something straight out of an ’80s movie, this melodic synthwave track comes complete with a saxophone player in the back seat as you cruise along the Pacific highway.
“Tech Noir” (Carpenter Brut Remix)– Gunship: Taken from Gunship’s 2015 self-titled first album, this synthwave classic is given a new funk-driven uptempo push by French synthwave artist Carpenter Brut.
“Running In The Night”– FM-84 & Ollie Wride: A massive synthwave hit for producer Col Bennett, better known as FM-84, which pairs sparkling synths with the incredible vocals of long time collaborator Ollie Wride resulting in a modern-yet-classic ’80s soundscape.
Free Songs Arriving Jan. 14th
“Abyss” (Gancher & Ruin Remix) – 3FORCE (feat. Scandroid): Gancher & Ruin takes the synthwave epic from 3FORCE featuring Scandroid and twists it into a relentless EDM track that will have you moving.
“Empire of Steel” (MASKED Remix) – Essenger (feat. Scandroid): Essenger and Scandroid join forces in “Empire of Steel” in this remix by MASKED that takes early 80s synth pop and gives it a harder, modern EDM-and-guitars edge, all set in a cyberpunk future.
“Automatic Call” – NINA: With a strong bassline and shimmering synths all topped with Nina’s beautiful vocals this is a breakup song you’ll always come back to.
We also got a chance to virtually sit down with Arturo Perez, CEO and partner at Kluge Interactive, to learn a little more about what makes the studio’s love letter to synthwave tick.
Founded in 2007, Kluge Interactive is a Los Angeles-based creative agency which builds interactive experiences for a number of sectors including healthcare, B2B, and the public sector. The studio created and published Synth Riders in 2018, making it their first VR game for consumers.
You seem pretty excited about the upcoming DLC. What’s all the hubbub?
Arturo Perez, CEO of Kluge Interactive: We are very excited indeed! Synthwave was our creative inspiration in making Synth Riders to begin with, and we have seen a lot of requests for a follow-up. When we were making the game, synthwave was more of a niche, and we can’t believe how much it’s grown since then. We are proud to release a pack with classic artists such as FM-84 & Ollie Wride, The Midnight, Gunship, and Scandroid, who are all legends to us. And then there is Muse, who pulled off some legendary songs of their own in “Simulation Theory,” and we couldn’t be happier to feature two songs from that album on this pack.
This pack is special for us for one more reason. For the first time, we are launching a dedicated, playable experience for one of the songs in the pack, “Algorithm” by Muse. Rather than a stage that could be used with any song, this is a unique, artistically-driven, immersive visual feast, perfectly synchronized with the song, that results in the blending of sight, sound, and movement together into a transformative VR experience. The final effect went beyond our expectations and we hope that the “Algorithm” Experience will blow the minds of many VR newcomers and let the veterans relive the “wow” factor of VR one more time.
You can really burn some serious calories playing just about any track in Synth Riders. When you set out to make the game, were you specifically targeting fitness, or was that more of a happy side effect?
Our main inspiration for the game was Thumper (2016), so the initial idea was all about making a good music game for us – VR Fitness was nowhere in our periphery. Once we had a prototype, we did realize this game could work great for dancers and fitness enthusiasts. I remember this came up in an audience exercise we did internally. But it wasn’t until our community confirmed this that we got intentional about it.
Today, we are lucky to have someone like our Product Manager Wirrel in our team, who comes with 20 years of fitness experience. We have gotten more intentional about the movements we guide our players to do, and especially in making sure that these movements are good for their bodies. For example, we know that ongoing repetition is bad for you, so we are always intentionally mixing dance and fitness patterns we insert into each song, in a way that it won’t have negative repercussions. We are also constantly QA’ing with how it feels for the body. We are thrilled that the game is widely used for fitness and dancing; what started off as a happy accident has become core to how we bring new features to the game.
Developers seem to be experiencing significant upticks in both installs and user engagement thanks to Quest 2. Is this also the case for Synth Riders?
Absolutely. The weeks before the Quest 2 seemed to be lower-than-usual for everyone we spoke to. Our numbers immediately spiked 5x the day it came out. And we are seeing another interesting spike with the new year too; it’s clear that there are more and more new headsets out there. The percentage of Quest buyers over every other platform we are on continues to grow and widen over time.
PSVR users have been waiting patiently for Synth Riders. When can we expect to start grooving on PSVR?
We are very excited to finally be coming out with PSVR this year. We don’t have an exact date yet but we can confirm that after a number of false starts, we do now have it solidly in the roadmap. Our conversations with the Playstation team have been very encouraging and we look forward to making some exciting announcements about our PSVR release in the short future.
The game’s Mario Kart-style multiplayer power-ups are my personal favorite addition as of late. Across all available modes, where do you find users spending most of their time? Why is that?
Thank you! We love power-ups, and we are continuing to work on them thanks to precious community feedback. We are having a LOT of fun with it as we believe Synth Riders is first and foremost about having fun, and even though we do have a competitive side to the game, we felt the need to bring this Kart-style approach in order to get people engaged with each other, regardless of where they are at in the game.
One of our current challenges now is that we do have a lot of different modes, and players are not always aware of them all. According to our stats and the reviews we get, the favorite seems to be Spin Mode, especially because it works across every single song in the game, including the customs, and across all levels of difficulty. Some players like to play 360 wild and some players like 180 mild. We are also especially pleased about the way this update turned out!
The game has grown a great deal since it was first released in Early Access. Any hints at cool features we can look forward to in 2021?
We don’t want to spoil too much but we can say that we are working on our own version of a Campaign mode which will be a pretty significant update for us. We are also thinking of this mode as the one to help us guide our players to really understand all of the different features that the game now has. We launched this game in Early Access in 2018 and we can’t believe how far it’s come; this also means that it’s feature-rich and we hope Campaign Mode will be a great introduction to the world of Synth Riders.
The other feature we are very excited about is “Experiences,” something we had in mind for a long time but only came to fruition with Muse’s “Algorithm” which is our first visual-to-song unique experience. We are thinking about how to allow our Community to make even more experiences for themselves, and also about the kind of music we want to work with to get even more official experiences onto the game. We can’t wait to see what we can do here, but for now, we just see a lot of exciting potential.
Final question: any favorite experiments with Synth Riders that just didn’t work out?
A lot hasn’t worked! At one point in 2019, we tried to bring additional mechanics to the game, including a way to play more with your elbows and of course with the feet. We also thought of ways to bring in shooters, something you see a little bit with our “Space Invaders” power-up. It’s not like we’ve discarded any of it, but we decided to stay focused on what really worked; primarily around a great rail experience and versatility in the way we can design patterns around our regular notes and their specials. The community has been critical for us, they keep us focused and grounded on what makes this game so special for everyone. We really try to listen to them and make it a game that is created by both of us. While at the same time we are constantly thinking of ways to push boundaries and bring our own flavor and approach to the rhythm genre.
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Synth Riders is available for $25 on SteamVR headsets via Steam and Viveport, and features cross-buy with Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest. You’ll find the new DLC on all platforms starting tomorrow, January 14th.
The developers behind Synth Riders revealed a brand new update and announced that songs from the popular English rock band Muse will be coming to the game in its upcoming third music pack.
Update 01/14/21: The Essential 2 DLC is available, featuring the following tracks:
“Empire of Steel” (MASKED Remix) – Essenger (feat. Scandroid)
“Automatic Call” – NINA
The original story from 12/16/20 and a new trailer is below.
The Muse announcement comes alongside the new Power-Ups update, available now across all platforms, which adds new features to the rhythm game’s multiplayer mode. The developers describe power-ups as “kart racer-style boosts and attacks that you can use against other players to turn the tide of the battle.” There’s 9 different power-ups, each with their own effects — the ‘warp’ effect will speed up notes to an impossible speed, for example, while the “embiggen” power-up will turn them all into beach balls.
You can see some of those power-ups in action in the new mixed reality trailer, embedded below.
As the power-ups are designed to affect other players, they’re a multiplayer-exclusive feature.
However, perhaps the bigger news is the announcement of the “Synthwave Essentials 2” music pack. This will be the game’s third music pack and will feature tracks from English rock band Muse. The music pack will be available early next year on January 14.
While no specific tracks were announced yet, if we had to guess, we think we might see some songs from the band’s latest album, Simulation Theory, which came out in 2018. The album had a science-fiction aesthetic and sound to it, incorporating 80s synthesizers and influences from 80s pop culture. Those tracks would probably be a perfect fit for Synth Riders.
The Power-Ups update is available for Synth Riders now and the Synthwave Essentials 2 pack featuring Muse will release January 14.
Synth Riders (2019), the VR rhythm game for PC VR and Quest, is getting a new music pack soon that will feature British rock band Muse. Starting today, the game also includes a new update that brings some more competitive features to its multiplayer mode.
The game’s DLC featuring Muse will arrive in the ‘Synthwave Essentials 2′ music pack, scheduled to arrive on all platforms January 14th, 2021.
Today, developers Kluge Interactive also launched its free ‘Power-Ups’ update, bringing Mario Kart-style boosts and attacks to Synth Rider’s multiplayer mode, which lets up to 10 players virtually dance-off with built-in voice chat.
Launched in 2019, Synth Riders combines freestyle dancing with a Beat Saber-style game mechanic; instead of chopping blocks to the beat, you hit colored orbs and follow long chains of notes.
Now with ‘Power-Ups’, you’ll be able to use special effects to either help your progression through the song, or foil another player as they encounter seven stackable attacks. Attacks include:
Embiggen – turn the notes into beach balls
Warp – make competitors approach at an impossible speed
Invaders – flying aliens target the player with projectiles
“Power-Ups made our whole team smile and laugh during testing and we are excited to finally share them with our entire community,” said creative director Abraham Aguero Benzecri. “We hope our players will have lots of laughs and unforgettable moments playing Synth Riders multiplayer with their friends and family.”
‘Power-Ups’ is available for free on all supported platforms starting today, which includes cross-platform play via Steam, Oculus Quest (cross-buy with Rift), and Viveport.
When it comes to rhythm-action videogames winning over fans, they need to have a combination of addictive gameplay and stellar tunes to enjoy. Today, Kluge Interactive has announced a ‘Power-Ups’ update is rolling out for Synth Riders whilst a new music pack is soon to arrive featuring alternative rock band Muse.
The ‘Power-Ups’ update is a free multiplayer addition, enhancing the mode with racer-style boosts and attacks. With the multiplayer mode supporting up to 10-players, they’ll now be able to access an arsenal consisting of two boosts and seven attacks to send to each other, trying to win the match in the process.
Some of these power-ups include “Embiggen” turning notes into beach balls, “Warp” will suddenly make the notes approach at a ludicrous speed and then there’s the “Invaders” attack where spaceships target an opponent with projectiles.
“Power-Ups made our whole team smile and laugh during testing and we are excited to finally share them with our entire community! We hope our players will have lots of laughs and unforgettable moments playing Synth Riders multiplayer with their friends and family,” said Abraham Aguero Benzecri – Creative Director in a statement.
As for new music, Kluge Interactive will be releasing its third DLC music pack, Synthwave Essentials 2, on 14th January 2020. At the moment only Muse has been confirmed, no details yet regarding which of their songs have been licensed. The last music pack Cyberpunk Essentials arrived back in August with a total of 10 songs.
Synth Riders isn’t the only VR title trying to attract players with big-name bands. Rival Beat Saber has been doing this for a while, adding the likes of K-pop band BTS, rock band Linkin Park and Timbaland to its roster in 2020.
Synth Riders is available for Oculus Quest as well as PC VR headsets like HTC Vive, Valve Index and Oculus Rift, with the ‘Power-Ups’ update available on them all. As further updates are released for Synth Riders, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Stage Inc., creators of the the virtual entertainment app Stageverse, announced that rock band Muse will be bringing their 2019 Simulation Theory tour to virtual reality as part of a new experience developed for mobile devices and VR.
‘Muse’s Simulation Theory: Virtual Experience’ will launch on iOS and Android mobile devices this fall through the Stageverse app, and will launch for VR exclusively on Oculus Quest later this year. Stage told UploadVR that there’s no set release date for the Quest version at the moment, but the team is currently looking at sometime in Fall.
The Muse event will be the first event held in the Stageverse app, which creates virtual event spaces powered by the company’s proprietary engine. Users will be able to attend the event with a custom avatar, meet up with other attendees and experience a version of the band’s 2019 Simulation Theory tour in a “purpose-built virtual concert venue.” The event will use 360-degree footage captured last year at the band’s sold-out Madrid show combined with “show visuals reimagined for a 3D space” to create a new virtual event. Users will also be able to experience the show from multiple viewpoints and purchase “exclusive virtual merchandise from the band.”
Interestingly, it sounds like this will merge captured footage with new effects in environments designed specifically for virtual viewing. This marks a difference from other virtual live music offerings such as Oculus Venues, where you simply watch a recording in arena-style virtual seating, surrounded by other users who you can interact with.
Stage confirmed that while the main concert experience will be paid, users will still be able to explore the virtual Muse venue for free, which includes “some audiovisual experiences, virtual merch and interactive toys.”
“The music of Simulation Theory was conceived as a 50/50 blend of analog and electronic instruments, so our goal has always been to create experiences that redefine the human role in programming and technology,” said Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. “We can’t wait for our fans to be able to truly immerse themselves in our Simulation Theory world and take full advantage of everything that the Stageverse experience will offer.”
Muse’s Simulation Theory: Virtual Experience is set to launch soon for mobile devices, and will come to VR exclusively on the Oculus Quest this Fall. Keep an eye out for more details.
