‘Lone Echo 2’ Announced, Immersive Trailer Available on Rift, Go, & Gear VR

Oculus today announced Lone Echo 2, a sequel to the highly praised Lone Echo which was developed by Ready at Dawn and published by Oculus Studios in 2017. While the game, like the original, is expected only to launch on the Rift, the announcement comes with an immersive trailer available on the Rift, Go, and Gear VR.

Now a little more than a year after the launch of Lone Echo, Oculus today confirmed that Lone Echo 2 is finally on its way. An immersive trailer, available on the Rift, Go, and Gear VR headsets, shows that the game is likely to be a direct continuation Jack and Liv’s story, the main characters of the first game. You can download immersive trailer on those headsets, or watch the flat version below:

The Lone Echo 2 immersive trailer is seen from the perspective of Jack, and shows Liv coming to terms with a challenging situation arising apparently shortly after players last left things at the end of Lone Echo. Not much is revealed in the trailer about exactly what’s going on or how Lone Echo 2’s gameplay will or won’t evolve from the original.

SEE ALSO
Ready at Dawn CEO on 'Echo Combat', Growing the 'Echo' Universe, & the Studio's Commitment to VR

Lone Echo received high marks for its immersion and narrative, and is often regarded as one of VR’s top titles to date; we gave it a 9 out of 10 in our review. The game is unique for its high production values while steering completely away from first person shooter action, instead focusing on threats and conflict introduced by the environment rather than generic baddies or humanoid aliens dispatched with hot lead or lasers.

Granted, developer Ready at Dawn has been working hard on Echo Combat, a multiplayer FPS component to Echo VR—the multiplayer spinoff that’s set in the Lone Echo universe. Given what the team has learned about mixing handheld weapons with the games’ unique zero-G locomotion may mean that armed conflict isn’t entirely out of the question for Lone Echo 2, for better or for worse.

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‘Lone Echo 2’ Announced, Immersive Trailer Available on Rift, Go, & Gear VR

Oculus today announced Lone Echo 2, a sequel to the highly praised Lone Echo which was developed by Ready at Dawn and published by Oculus Studios in 2017. While the game, like the original, is expected only to launch on the Rift, the announcement comes with an immersive trailer available on the Rift, Go, and Gear VR.

Now a little more than a year after the launch of Lone Echo, Oculus today confirmed that Lone Echo 2 is finally on its way. An immersive trailer, available on the Rift, Go, and Gear VR headsets, shows that the game is likely to be a direct continuation Jack and Liv’s story, the main characters of the first game. You can download immersive trailer on those headsets, or watch the flat version below:

The Lone Echo 2 immersive trailer is seen from the perspective of Jack, and shows Liv coming to terms with a challenging situation arising apparently shortly after players last left things at the end of Lone Echo. Not much is revealed in the trailer about exactly what’s going on or how Lone Echo 2’s gameplay will or won’t evolve from the original.

SEE ALSO
Ready at Dawn CEO on 'Echo Combat', Growing the 'Echo' Universe, & the Studio's Commitment to VR

Lone Echo received high marks for its immersion and narrative, and is often regarded as one of VR’s top titles to date; we gave it a 9 out of 10 in our review. The game is unique for its high production values while steering completely away from first person shooter action, instead focusing on threats and conflict introduced by the environment rather than generic baddies or humanoid aliens dispatched with hot lead or lasers.

Granted, developer Ready at Dawn has been working hard on Echo Combat, a multiplayer FPS component to Echo VR—the multiplayer spinoff that’s set in the Lone Echo universe. Given what the team has learned about mixing handheld weapons with the games’ unique zero-G locomotion may mean that armed conflict isn’t entirely out of the question for Lone Echo 2, for better or for worse.

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Oculus Announces Quest, The High-end Standalone Headset Starting at $400

Oculus today introduced Quest, the consumer version of the ‘Project Santa Cruz’ headset that the company first revealed way back in 2016. The headset is high-end standalone, meaning it doesn’t rely on a PC, but still manages to include the positional head and hand tracking that makes high-end headsets so immersive.

First introduced back in 2016 as Project Santa Cruz, the Quest brings full head and hand tracking to world of standalone headsets, something not yet available in similar offerings like the Lenovo Mirage Solo or Vive Focus (which both offer positional head tracking but not positional hand tracking).

Revealed today by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Quest took a premier spot in today’s Oculus Connect keynote.

To boot, the headset and Touch controller combo is said to start at $400 for the 64 GB model, and launch in Spring 2019.

The Quest is said to include “the same best-of-class optics as Oculus Go with a display resolution of 1,600 × 1,440 per eye, while incorporating a lens spacing adjustment to help maximize visual comfort.” Built-in audio, similar to Oculus Go’s, will also be included, although it’s said to include “deeper bass.”

The company is calling the 6DOF optical tracking system ‘Oculus Insight’, the system that powers inside-out tracking, Guardian, and Touch controller tracking. Using four “ultra wide-angle sensors” combined with computer vision algorithms, the setup is entirely wireless and doesn’t rely on external sensors.


This story is breaking. Check back for more details as they come.

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Oculus Quest für 399 US-Dollar angekündigt

Gerade findet die Oculus Keynote zur Connect 5 statt und Oculus lässt einige Katzen aus dem Sack. In diesem Artikel möchten wir auf die neue Hardware eingehen, die das Unternehmen angekündigt und gezeigt hat.

Oculus Quest

Oculus Quest

Zum Start  betrat Mark Zuckerberg die Bühne und lobte die aktuellen Fortschritte, auch wenn man noch weit entfernt davon sei, eine Milliarde Menschen in die Virtual Reality zu bringen. Genauer gesagt, seien 1% dieses Ziels erreicht. Doch Zuckerberg ließ sich davon nicht beirren und hob hervor, wie wichtig die Form bzw. der Komfort für VR sei und kam so schließlich ziemlich schnell zur Oculus Santa Cruz. Die Oculus Santa Cruz hat nun auch einen finalen Namen erhalten. Die neue autarke VR-Brille von Oculus hört auf den Namen “Oculus Quest” und die Brille macht sich für das ersten Quartal 2019 zur Auslieferung bereit. Für Konsumenten soll die Brille soll nur 399 Euro kosten.

Oculus Quest 2

Zudem versprach Zuckerberg, dass zum Start bereits 50 Titel bereitstehen werden und darunter befänden sich auch spannende Titel wie Robo Recall. Zudem soll Oculus Quest eine Erfahrung bieten, die an die Oculus Rift heranreiche. Das Besondere an der Oculus Quest: Die Brille kann ihre Umgebung erkennen und somit Positional Tracking und das Tracking der Controller ermöglichen. Zudem gewährt Oculus einen Blick in die Wahrnehmung der Brille, wodurch ihr euch auch mit VR-Brille in eurer realen Umgebung orientieren könnt. Zwar sieht der Nutzer bzw. die Nutzerin hier nur eine Umgebung mit Anzeige der erkannten Kanten, aber dies soll ausreichen, um beispielsweise eine Tastatur zu verwenden.

 

Aktuell läuft die Connect 5 Keynote noch und wir werden diesen Artikel updaten, sofern es neue Informationen gibt.

Der Beitrag Oculus Quest für 399 US-Dollar angekündigt zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

OC5: Watch Oculus Connect 5’s Opening Keynote Right Here

OC5: Watch Oculus Connect 5’s Opening Keynote Right Here

Today’s the day! Oculus Connect 5 is kicking off in San Jose, California, and we’re expecting a host of new announcements from Facebook’s VR team. The keynote speech gets underway at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm GMT, but where to watch the action unfold?

Right here, of course. We’ll have live feeds of the show as soon as they’re available. Expect to see an update on Santa Cruz, Oculus’ new standalone VR headset, as well as apperances from Mark Zuckerberg and co.

Want to watch in VR? You can! That is, if you have a Gear or Go – Oculus Venues is livestreaming the keynote as it happens so you can watch with your friends from across the globe.

Stick around for after the keynote; we’ll have plenty to talk about. Enjoy!

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The post OC5: Watch Oculus Connect 5’s Opening Keynote Right Here appeared first on UploadVR.

Watch Oculus Connect 5 Opening Keynote Livestream Here

Oculus Connect, the company’s annual developer conference, is returning for its fifth year today. While we’re not entirely sure what the company has to announce in its all-important opening keynote, you can watch along with us here, starting today at 10 AM PT (local time here).

Taking place both today and tomorrow in San Jose, CA, Oculus Connect 5 undoubtedly will arrive with what we think will be some pretty major announcements.

On the docket of possible announcements include: Oculus Santa Cruz launch date announcement, more info on Oculus Half Dome ‘varifocal’ display headset, and more details surrounding its second-party titles including Lone Echo, Echo Combat, Stormland, and Defector. Check out our full predictions here.

You’ll be able to watch it live via the Oculus YouTube channel, or via the Oculus Facebook page. Once the links go live, we’ll embed them here, so check back soon.

Gear VR and Oculus Go users will also be able to keep up with the following events through the Oculus Venues app, which is only available on Gear VR and Go:

  • September 26th
    • 10AM PT: Oculus Connect 5 keynote
    • 12AM–5PM PT: Esports coverage begins
    • 6PM–10PM PT: Onward Grand Finals
  • September 27th
    • 10AM PT: Oculus CTO John Carmack Unscripted Keynote
    • 12PM–4PM PT: Echo Arena Grand Finals

The post Watch Oculus Connect 5 Opening Keynote Livestream Here appeared first on Road to VR.

[Update]: Star Wars: Vader Immortal: “Secrets of the Empire” dient als Vorgeschichte zum kommenden Quest-Titel

[Update]:

Vicki Dobbs Beck, Executive in Charge bei ILMxLAB, veröffentlichte neue Details zu Star Wars: Vader Immortal. Demnach soll die VR-Arcade-Erfahrung Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire in The Void als Vorgeschichte zum kommenden Quest-Titel dienen.

So heißt es innerhalb des Statements:

“Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire leitet im Wesentlichen die Geschehnisse von Vader Immortal ein. Während man sich in Secrets of the Empire in einem Außenposten auf Mustafa befand, und in der Ferne Vaders Monolithen sehen konnte, hat man nun die Möglichkeit, zu besagtem Monolithen zu gehen und Vader in seinem Heimatumfeld zu stellen, ganz zu schweigen von der Möglichkeit, dabei ein Lichtschwert zu führen.”

Innerhalb der Arcade-VR-Erfahrung schlüpfen die Besucher in die Rolle eines Rebellenmitglieds, das sich in einer Gruppe auf die Suche nach einem mysteriösen Objekt auf dem lavaüberzogenen Planeten begibt. Dabei trifft man bereits auf den ikonischen Antagonisten, der die Gruppe aufhält und zur Flucht zwingt.

Bereits bestätigt wurden im Vorfeld die Lichtschwertkämpfe innerhalb des kommenden Quest-Titels. Ein Kampf, Auge um Auge mit dem düsteren Sithlord, ist laut neusten Informationen also mehr als wahrscheinlich.

(Quelle: Upload VR)

[Update vom 4. Januar 2019]:

Per Twitter veröffentlichte ILMxLAB einen neuen Teaser zur kommenden VR-Serie Star Wars: Vader Immortal für Oculus Quest. Innerhalb des kurzen Videos werden zwar keine Einblicke gewährt, dafür soll es laut Verantwortlichen möglich sein, dem Tod von der Schippe zu springen:

[Update vom 26. September 2018]:

Auf der Oculus Connect 5 verkündete Oculus, dass die erste Episode der neuen Star-Wars-VR-Serie Star Wars: Vader Immortal 2019 als Launch-Titel für die Oculus Quest erscheinen wird. Die interaktive VR-Serie führt die Zuschauer auf den Planeten Mustafa, der Basis von Darth Vader, um die Geschichte des Antagonisten näherzubringen.

Star-Wars-Vader-Immortals-Oculus-Quest

[Originalartikel vom 26. September 2018]:

Der Drehbuchautor David Goyer kündigte im Jahr 2016 die Arbeit an einer interaktiven VR-Erfahrung Star-Wars-Universum an. Die Darth-Vader-VR-Erfahrung soll den Bösewicht in die immersiven Gefilde befördern. Ein neuer Tweet von Disneys Studio ILMxLAB verweist nun auf diesbezügliche Neuigkeiten, die auf der heutigen Oculus Connect 5 präsentiert werden sollen.

Oculus Connect 5 – Darth-Vader-VR-Erfahrung von ILMxLAB

Auf einem Star-Wars-Event in London sprach David Goyer (bekannt für sein Drehbuch zur Batman-Trilogie von Christopher Nolan) erstmals über die neue VR-Erfahrung im Krieg-der-Sterne-Universum. Der Fokus soll auf dem tragischen Bösewicht Darth Vader liegen und diesen den Fans näher bringen.

Dabei sollen neben einer Story interaktive Elemente integriert sein, welche es ermöglichen, mit Objekten und Charakteren zu interagieren. Weitere Informationen blieben seitdem vorbehalten. Auf Twitter verwies ILMxLAB mit einem Teaser nun auf die anstehende Oculus Connect 5. Dort soll uns ein Update zur VR-Erfahrung erwarten.

Auch zeitlich würde der Release passen. Schließlich kündigten die Verantwortlichen damals an, dass die VR-Erfahrung ungefähr ein bis zwei Jahre Entwicklungszeit benötigen würde. Der Twitter-Account des Viveports reagierte ebenso auf die Ankündigung. Entsprechend sollte die VR-Erfahrung nicht nur exklusiv im Oculus Store verfügbar sein.

Die Oculus Connect 5 findet ab heute in San Jose statt. Im Livestream können deutsche Zuschauer das Spektakel ab 19 Uhr mitverfolgen.

(Quellen: Upload VR | ILMxLAB Twitter | Video: ILM Visual FX YouTube)

Der Beitrag [Update]: Star Wars: Vader Immortal: “Secrets of the Empire” dient als Vorgeschichte zum kommenden Quest-Titel zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

Plan Your Oculus Connect Experience With OC5 App

2018 will mark the fifth year of the Oculus Connect conference, an event which first began as a small collection of virtual reality (VR) developers and creators, and which has now grown into a massive conference that does its best to make a big impact on the immersive technology scene. For those who are planning on attending the event, Oculus have made a special mobile app available to ensure attendees get the best out of the event.

Oculus Connect 5 is now right around the corner, and will reveal much about the future plans for products like the Oculus Rift, Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR, along with news of upcoming Oculus hardware and software.

In order to give attendees and other interested parties the best experience, Oculus have released a free app which will provide all the information about the event. Users of the app will be able to stay up to date on announcements as well as sign up for demonstrations, create a personalised schedule or browse maps of the venues, among other things.

The app contains a full conference agenda, with details on topics, speakers and descriptions along with a personalised itinerary with saved sessions, accessible maps so users can locate product demonstrations and sessions, reminder notification of upcoming sessions and FAQs and details on wi-fi configuration.

The app has been designed to be invaluable for attendees at Oculus Connect 5, and might also be useful to users who plan on engaging with OC5 remotely using the Oculus Venues VR livestream.

A large range of keynotes and sessions are planned, which will cover topics such as designing for mass market VR, creating content for the Oculus Go and storytelling using 3DoF.

Oculus Connect 5 will take place from 26th-27th September, 2018 at the McEnery Convention Centre in San Jose. Further information can be found on the Oculus Connect website. For future coverage on Oculus Connect 5, keep checking back with VRFocus.

VR vs. No Cause For A Llama

There is but one videogames related event I always attend each year.  That’s not through my choice but it’s what seems to be the way the dice have landed. I don’t go anywhere else. We’ve discussed this in this column before.

Said event I do attend is the Eurogamer Expo, as was, now known simply as EGX. Appearing, as does Insomnia – which also occasionally gets my alternance, but that’s more for my own personal as opposed to professional interest – at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. I attend this because, frankly, it is a ten minutes Uber ride up the road from where I live and damned if I’m going to miss a major industry event in my own backyard.

EGX 2018 LogoAs one developer and friend I spoke to told me during a quick chat, “It’s so nice to see you out and about and know you’re not stuck in your office 365 days a year.”

I told them that was not the case, it merely seemed that, and then joked that they should enjoy seeing my face professionally before I was slung back into a cardboard box in the basement for another year.

I’ve talked about my adventures at EGX, such as they are, on VR vs. on a couple of occasions, and at some point over the next month or so I’ll be dipping back into the topic. I’m not going to be specific on that as we do have Oculus Connect 5 this week and I’ll no doubt want to cover the things that are said – or not – during the Facebook-owned company’s annual get together.

However, one thing I’ve noted previously on VR vs. is that the last couple of years have been particularly good for VR at the event. I’d be lying if I said it was as good a turnout in 2018, however.

Oh, PlayStation had their VR stand there. With the likes of Astro Bot, The Persistence, Blood & Truth, Tetris Effect all present. The booths were (mostly) active this year, with people at least in queue as opposed to all of them being empty and Sony staff turning genuinely interested people away. As far as I’m aware nothing had really changed from previous years where you had to register though.  Why they can’t just let people queue heaven only knows.

PlayStation VR - EGX 2018Beyond that though, I didn’t see a heck of a lot of VR on display. There was PokerStars VR which we ironically had news come through about not long after I queried after it. Arca’s Path VR which I’ll discuss more at a later date, another VR experience which I believe was ParadropVR, but don’t quote me on it (someone was constantly leaning against the sign and all I could make out was the ‘Para’ bit) – and that was pretty much it. I saw nothing else.

The thing I noticed most of all though was the hardware side.  A couple of years back the booths were positively dripping in VR displays as being VR Ready had such importance on it. Every single one had at least one headset setup. This time I spied none. It wasn’t about how well PC maker X, new processor Y or GPU Z could run a VR headset, it was about how amazing they could make Fortnite look – and that’s not a knock on Fortnite.  In comparison VR just wasn’t important.

Yesterday’s sales driver.

Which is why I’m particularly interested in this year’s Oculus Connect. VR’s honeymoon period is well and truly over, so what does the future bring? What keeps the technology moving forward, and makes upgrading essential for those that already have a headset. What experiences has Oculus got up its sleeve that’ll renew the desire for a VR future. What videogames announcements will it have that it was apparently incapable of showing at Gamescom to actual consumers, that’ll turn the head of those people who gathered round a PC seller’s booth just to check out how well a random kid did as he landed at Fatal Fields?

VR needs its own Victory Royale this week, let’s hope Oculus bring enough mats.

 

What to Expect at Oculus Connect 5 This Week

Oculus Connect, the company’s annual developer conference, is here once again. Now in its fifth year, Oculus is expected to update the world on what’s next from in VR content and hardware. Here’s a look at what we expect to see this year.

Taking place this week on the 26th & 27th, Oculus Connect 5 will be hosted in San Jose, CA. The opening keynote on the 26th is where most of the major announcements will happen, while smaller developer-focused sessions across both days will likely give deeper glimpses into what Oculus and partners have been up to. You can find the full OC5 schedule here, and if you aren’t attending yourself you’ll be able to watch the keynotes and some of the VR esports action via livestream (details here).

Here’s a look at what we’re expecting to see from the company this week.

Santa Cruz, Oculus’ High-end Standalone Headset

Image courtesy Oculus

Santa Cruz is the code name of Oculus’ high-end standalone headset. While the company launched Oculus Go just earlier this year, at $200 Go is built as an entry-level VR device for casual users. Go lacks positional tracking on the head and hands, limiting its capabilities to the point of being in a different class of VR device compared to high-end VR headsets like the Rift.

While Go targets the casual user, Santa Cruz is being built with the same positional tracking features as high-end headsets, meaning it’s expected to be able to play the same class of high-end games. As a ‘standalone’ headset however, all the compute hardware is built in, with no reliance on an expensive gaming PC to power Santa Cruz. While that brings ‘take-it-anywhere’ accessibility, it also means users should expect mobile-class graphics.

While we don’t expect Oculus to outright launch Santa Cruz at Oculus Connect 5, we do expect them to formally announce the consumer version, which means branding the headset with a proper name and detailing some features that will be included at launch. The actual launch of Santa Cruz is presently rumored for Q1 2019.

It seems Oculus could take a similar approach to Santa Cruz’ announcement and launch as they did with the Go headset. Go was announced at Oculus Connect 4 (right around this time last year), and then launched in the first half of 2018. At Oculus Connect 5 this week, we could see the company formerly announce the consumer version of Santa Cruz with a launch date set for early 2019, which aligns with the headset’s current release date rumors.

If you want to dig deeper into what’s known (and still unknown) about Santa Cruz, check out this article.

Half Dome, The Next Step for Rift

Image courtesy Facebook

Oculus’ first PC VR headset, the Rift, is still going strong now 2.5 years after its 2016 launch. Even so, earlier this year Oculus offered a glimpse at a what could be coming to the next Rift.

The company showed what they call the ‘Half Dome’ prototype at Facebook’s F8 developer conference back in May. Oculus said that Half Dome manages to pack a 140 degree field of view (up from the Rift’s ~100), eye-tracking, and a ‘varifocal’ display into a Rift-like form-factor.

SEE ALSO
Oculus Affirms Commitment to Rift, Believes PC Will Lead the VR Industry for the Next Decade

While an expanded field of view and eye-tracking would be big improvements alone, the varifocal display could prove to be Half Dome’s most unique feature. A varifocal display is one that can focus at multiple focal lengths, compared to today’s VR headsets which are locked at a single focal length. In Half Dome, the headset identifies what part of the scene the user is looking at (thanks to eye-tracking), and then physically moves the display inside the headset to achieve the correct focal length. Doing so could be a solution for what’s called the vergence-accommodation conflict in today’s VR headsets.

A Rift-like field of view compared to the Half Dome prototype. | Image courtesy Facebook

Worth noting: Oculus has stated that we shouldn’t “expect to see all [of Half Dome’s] technologies in a product anytime soon,” meaning that the next Rift might incorporate some but not all of what Half Dome can do.

That said, we don’t think that Oculus will announce a Half Dome-based ‘Rift 2’ at Connect this year. Instead, the company may do what they’ve done in years past with Santa Cruz: show Half Dome to a select group of press and developers in a ‘behind-closed-doors’ setting so that it doesn’t steal the spotlight from products that are nearer to launch (namely, Santa Cruz).

Beyond that, it still feels a little early for the company to give any indication of a release date for an eventual Rift 2, which we may not see until late 2019 or even into 2020.

Continue on Page 2: New Content for Oculus Rift »

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