oculus rift game – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

June 17, 2020

Space-Noir Adventure ‘The Rig: A Starmap to Murder’ Coming to PC VR Next Week

Indie studio Sunset Division announced it’s bringing its space-noir adventure game The Rig: A Starmap to Murder to PC VR headsets next week.

It’s been a long time coming for the self-professed “small and scrappy” San Francisco-based VR studio, which was founded in 2016 to create its first VR passion project, The Rig.

Although we’ve never heard of the game before, the trailer for the story-driven adventure certainly looks intriguing.

Anyway, here’s the game’s setup:

You’re Willard Pike, failing Mars-based travel agent, now sent to the far reaches of edge-space by your desperate sister-in-law. She’s charged you with tracking down Dixon, your estranged, deadbeat brother. Dixon’s last known whereabouts are the AMR Alexey Stakhanov — a remote, ominous mining rig hitched to the side of a massive asteroid. But if you do find Dixon, if you stop him from running… what then? Do you bring back the man who ruined your life?

The studio is slated to release The Rig on Steam on Friday, June 26th. It supports your standard swath of SteamVR headsets, including HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows VR, and Valve Index.

The post Space-Noir Adventure ‘The Rig: A Starmap to Murder’ Coming to PC VR Next Week appeared first on Road to VR.

June 17, 2020

‘Pistol Whip’ Gets New DLC & Long-term Roadmap Reveal, Heading to PSVR in July

Hit VR rhythm shooter Pistol Whip got a brand new DLC level today on PC VR and Quest. Developer Cloudhead games also shared its long-term roadmap, including DLC planned for Q4 which will mark “a whole new era” for the game with a “cinematic campaign built from linked scenes.” The studio also announced a July 27th release date for Pistol Whip on PSVR.

Pistol Whip got a brand new level today called ‘Religion’, available now on both PC VR and Quest. Cloudhead Games describes the new track as its “most intense yet—fans will think ‘Death’ meets ‘High Priestess’—boasting a five-and-a-half-minute gauntlet of pure physicality that is sure to push even veteran players to their limits.” The new track includes three difficulties and a new John Wick-inspired collection of pistol skins.

The new track is the latest in a string of regular updates since the late 2019 release of Pistol Whip which now boasts 15 tracks. But Cloudhead Games is far from done.

The studio announced today that it has plans for a brand new, free DLC pack called ‘Heartbreaker’ which is due to launch in August. This upcoming update will add three new levels, two new modifiers, new customization options, and it will bring achievements to the game for the first time.

Heartbreaker will also see Pistol Whip reaching into new musical territory. The studio says the levels will be accompanied by a “poppy and summery vibe, with abstract, colorful, and highly musical scenes.” Sounds like a chill time compared to the heavy EDM of the game’s existing levels.

Cloudhead also announced today the next DLC after Heartbreaker. Slated for release in Q4 this year, ‘The Concierge’ is the first of what the studio is calling an ‘Action Pack,’ which will “mark a whole new era for the game,” the studio says.

While prior updates have added new levels and songs, The Concierge sounds like it will be more ambitious and significantly shake up the gameplay. Cloudhead says the update will bring new weapon types, enemy types, and a “cinematic campaign built from linked scenes.”

And last but not least, the Pistol Whip PSVR release date is set for July 27th. The game will include all of the DLC available on existing platforms (though the Heartbreak update isn’t expect to be added until after launch). Pistol Whip on PlayStation VR will include 26 trophies.

The post ‘Pistol Whip’ Gets New DLC & Long-term Roadmap Reveal, Heading to PSVR in July appeared first on Road to VR.

June 16, 2020

‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Update Adds New Weapon & Example Content for Workshop Modding

A modded pistol added to Alyx | Image courtesy McMessenger

Half-Life: Alyx has been updated to version 1.4.1 which adds an example weapon to the game’s Workshop modding tools, allowing modders to experiment with bringing new weapons to the game. The update also includes improvements to the Workshop tools, including more example content for animation, audio, and shaders, along with new documentation.

Valve released “beta” Workshop modding tools for Half-Life: Alyx back in May, and subsequent updates of the game have been largely focused on improving the toolset to allow modders to create more ambitious content.

Released this week, Half-Life: Alyx 1.4.1 continues to flesh out the Workshop tools.

Valve has added a new object blueprint to the game, technically known as hl_vr_weapon_generic_pistol, which is a “data-driven weapon entity for workshop customization.” The company says the goal of the object is to give modders access to weapon properties to enable the “creation of custom pistols.”

This entity provides the same behavior as Alyx’s initial pistol without any upgrades. It exposes properties in hammer including models, effects, sounds as well as various values like damage and firing rates. […] They all can be overridden to make different looking and animating pistols.

While this particular object is most suitable as a basis for making magazine-fed pistols, like the one in the game’s campaign, it seems likely that Valve will add additional weapon blueprints based on the game’s other weapon types (shotgun, SMG, grenade) so that modders can make a greater variety of custom weapons for Half-Life: Alyx.

Beyond the new weapon, the update also tweaks existing Workshop tools and adds additional example content to act as blueprints for the game’s animation, audio, and shader systems. Valve has also added the following documentation to help modders use the tools:

You can see the full update details, including bug and crash fixes, right here.

Even before the generic pistol blueprint, modders have been experimenting with adding new weapons to the game, including custom models and animations.

For instance, Modder McMessenger has adapted the M6C pistol from Halo: ODST (2009) for Half-Life: Alyx.

The weapon can even be upgraded just like the original pistol in Alyx, including a custom scope, laser pointer, burst-fire mode, and auto-loader.

The new generic pistol blueprint in the Alyx Workshop should make it easier for modders to add new weapons like this. D’eagle coming in 3… 2… 1…

The post ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Update Adds New Weapon & Example Content for Workshop Modding appeared first on Road to VR.

June 16, 2020July 14, 2020

‘The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners’ Gets New Horde Mode in ‘Meatgrinder’ Update Today

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (2020) launched earlier this year to critical acclaim, and now the single-player zombie game just got an update that promises to bring more carnage to the dank, zombie-infested world with a wave-based horde mode.

Update (July 14th, 2020): Skydance Interactive has launched ‘The Meatgrinder Update’ for The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. It’s now available across all supported platforms, including PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, and SteamVR headsets.

The studio also released a dev walkthrough video, which is linked below:

Original Article (June 16th, 2020): As revealed during Upload VR’s summer showcase today, the so-called ‘Meatgrinder Update’ will bring a new arena-based horde mode to the game.

All weapons are said to be unlockable during the new mode, and it will include new difficulty settings as well.

The Meatgrinder Update is said to arrive sometime in July on all supported platforms, which includes Oculus, SteamVR, and PSVR.

It’s good to see the game’s creators Skydance Interactive and Skybound tossing in more replayablity to what we considered a [9/10] game in our review on PC. Being able to step back into the game well after finishing the campaign mode will definitely be a welcome return to some of the best zombie slashing and shooting we’ve seen in VR.

The post ‘The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners’ Gets New Horde Mode in ‘Meatgrinder’ Update Today appeared first on Road to VR.

June 16, 2020

‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ to Support HOTAS, No Mention of VR Motion Controllers

Star Wars: Squadrons is EA’s upcoming dogfighting game from a galaxy far far away, and it’s going to include VR support when it launches on consoles and PC in the fall. If you were hoping for an immersive in-cockpit cluster of virtual controls to poke at, you may be a bit disappointed though.

According to its Steam listing, the game is set to support Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index, although it only lists support for traditional gamepad, or keyboard and mouse on PC.

Furthermore, in the game’s FAQ EA has specified that outside of gamepad and keyboard/mouse, that both joysticks and hands on throttle-and-sticks (HOTAS) will be supported as well. The studio says it will have more details on supported sticks closer to its October 2nd launch.

All of this largely makes sense from a developer standpoint. The game is simultaneously launching on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, and serving a minority of VR players by creating an interactive cockpit with reactive virtual controls—where one likely doesn’t already exist—may be both time and cost prohibitive.

Still, it’s possible motion controllers may be supported to some degree insofar they can be used as normal gamepads—as long as all of the traditional buttons are present like on Oculus Touch and Valve’s Index controllers. Although if that’s the case, you might as well grab a HOTAS to get the immersion you’re sure to jettison behind you.

The post ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ to Support HOTAS, No Mention of VR Motion Controllers appeared first on Road to VR.

June 16, 2020

‘Population: One’ to Begin Invite-only Playtesting on Oculus Quest

BigBox VR announced that its upcoming VR battle royale shooter Population: One is heading back into invite-only playtesting soon, this time focusing on Oculus Quest.

“We’re going to start with Quest playtests in the month of June and then we’ll add in PC crossplay shortly after,” an email invite reads. “We’ve never done Quest playtests before, so we want to focus on one platform before we add multiple headsets into the mix.”

Playtesting appears to be pretty limited; the invite specifies that closed matches may take place on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, likely to make better use of a smaller group of testers.

Population: One may be a bit behind the wave of trendy battle royale games—even when it was initially unveiled at Gamescom 2018—but we were impressed with the scrappy little multiplayer shooter in our first hands-on for its distinctly VR-native approach to things.

You can climb, fly, build structures, and (of course) shoot and scrounge for weapons & ammo—all under the threat of a constantly closing circle of death.

It was already a comfortable and ostensibly well-polished game from the starting gate, and although we’re hoping for more past our initial impressions from nearly two years ago, being able to have just that with SteamVR-Quest cross-play will be a treat any way you slice it.

That said, there’s no launch date in sight yet, however the game’s website says it’s coming in 2020.

The post ‘Population: One’ to Begin Invite-only Playtesting on Oculus Quest appeared first on Road to VR.

June 15, 2020

‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ to Support PSVR & PC VR at Launch This Fall, Trailer Here

Star Wars: Squadrons is an upcoming first-person dog fighter that’s set to release on PC and consoles this fall. As luck would have it, both PSVR and PC VR owners will also be able to play the game when it arrives.

The game was first discovered on Friday due to a leak by Xbox.com, and was later formally confirmed by EA a few hours later with the promise of a trailer reveal, scheduled for today. At the time, there was no indication that we’d be getting a full-fledged VR Star Wars game.

According to the game’s website, you can:

Compete in intense 5v5 dogfights, unite with your squadron to tip the scales in monumental fleet battles, and take off in a thrilling Star Wars single-player story. Immerse yourself in the pilot’s seat completely with the option to play the entirety of Star Wars: Squadrons in virtual reality (VR) on PlayStation®4 and PC with cross-play support.

Created by EA’s Motive Studios, the Star Wars dog fighting game is said to take place after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), letting you take part in both a campaign and multiplayer modes.

Star Wars: Squadrons is set to launch on October 2nd for $39.99 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Pre-orders are now available.

Although there’s no word on precisely which PC VR headsets it will support, it’s likely we’ll see the standard mix of SteamVR headsets.

This news is breaking. Check back for more soon.

The post ‘Star Wars: Squadrons’ to Support PSVR & PC VR at Launch This Fall, Trailer Here appeared first on Road to VR.

June 12, 2020March 10, 2023

Open World Cyberpunk Adventure ‘LOW-FI’ is Coming to PSVR 2 This Year

IRIS VR, the studio behind TECHNOLUST (2016), announced that its long-awaited open world cyberpunk adventure LOW-FI is slated to launch sometime this year on PlayStation 5, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets via Steam and the Meta PC platform.

Update (March 10th, 2023): It’s been nearly two years since IRIS VR announced a PS5 version was coming, which initially was set to arrive sometime in 2021. Now studio head Blair Renaud says in a tweet that LOW-FI is officially coming to PS5 and PSVR 2 this year. You can wishlist it on the PlayStation Store here.

The still in-development game has been available for purchase on PC and PC VR headsets for some time via the game’s itch.io, however Renaud also says we should expect to see it on Steam and the Meta PC platform in 2023 as well. You can wishlist it on Steam here.

If you haven’t followed along with the project, here’s a description courtesy of IRIS VR:

As the player, you are “low-fi”, the street name given to those who cannot merge with the platform, a ubiquitous virtual reality simulation where most of the population now live their lives. You are a police officer and have been transferred to a particularly crime ridden section of city-block 303. The only inhabitants of note in your jurisdiction are other low-fi, and the human intelligence (or lower) artificial life forms who have remained among the citizens after the AI singularity.

The original article announcing LOW-FI’s PS5 availability follows below. We’ve also included the latest trailer below this update:

Original Article (June 12th, 2020): A successful Kickstarter campaign late last year helped get LOW-FI off the ground, having garnered IRIS VR over $80,000 USD. At the time, it was pitched as a VR-native game intentionally built from the ground-up for PC VR headsets and “next-gen PSVR.”

The game’s developer, Blair Renaud, says that anyone can pre-order the PC version now, which gives you early access on SteamVR headsets. At the time of this writing the pre-release PC VR version costs $35 USD.

And it’s certainly an ambitious undertaking, boasting a massive, non-linear open world, “hundreds” of crimes and stories to solve and explore, branching narratives, and dialogue from what the studio says will be “photo-realistic NPCs.”

While the game’s creator seems fairly certain of LOW-FI’s 2021 launch window (see update), Sony hasn’t actually released word on when a next-gen follow-up to the PSVR is set to arrive.

We do however know that the current PSVR will be compatible with PS5 when the console launches holiday 2020, so upcoming VR releases for PS5 don’t necessarily indicate any implied time frame for a prospective PSVR 2.

June 10, 2020

‘No Man’s Sky’ is Getting Cross-play Support on PSVR & SteamVR Headsets

After adding VR support and a host of new features, one of the biggest redemption stories in gaming history still isn’t over. No Man’s Sky is finally getting cross-play support for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, which of course includes PSVR and SteamVR headsets.

Developer Hello Games today announced on their official blog that the space faring sim No Man’s Sky is getting cross-platform multiplayer support starting Thursday, June 11th.

“A tremendous amount of work has gone into this update and the underlying technology and systems,” Hello Games founder Sean Murray says. “We’ve moved to an entirely new networking architecture, with more flexibility for the future, allowing players to play together regardless of platform. I’m very proud of the team that has worked so hard to make this happen.”

Murray additionally says new content updates, “large and small for the future” are in the pipeline.

Tomorrow’s update comes hot on the heels of the game’s April update, which brought bipedal mechs to the game.

The post ‘No Man’s Sky’ is Getting Cross-play Support on PSVR & SteamVR Headsets appeared first on Road to VR.

June 8, 2020

‘World of Darkness’ Horror Game ‘Afterlife’ Coming to All Major VR Platforms

Fast Travel Games, the studio behind Apex Construct (2018) and Budget Cuts 2 (2019), today announced its next VR project, a horror game based in the ‘World of Darkness’ universe called Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife.

Fans of the World of Darkness universe and its many tabletop role-playing games are no doubt familiar with Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse.

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is said to follow in the footsteps of its 1994-era tabletop RPG namesake by placing you in the modern Barclay Mansion and putting you in the ghostly shoes of a Wraith who unravels the mysteries “that await beyond the Shroud.”

Erik Odeldahl, Creative Director at Fast Travel Games, says that horror games such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Alien: Isolation have influenced the studio to create a similar “narrative-driven, exploration-focused” horror title in the World of Darkness universe.

The game, which doesn’t have a release date yet, is slated to arrive on “all major VR platforms,” Fast Travel says.

A gameplay reveal and details are said to arrive during the Gamescom Now, which starts August 27th. Hopefully we’ll be getting a release date then too.

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