Meta’s Expands Developer Programmes to Encourage Horizon Worlds Building

Meta’s Horizon Worlds platform might only be available to US and Canadian Quest owners at the moment but to truly get the social world off the ground and out to more people it needs more content. To aid in that endeavour Meta is looking towards virtual reality (VR) developers within the Oculus Start and Launch Pad programmes, offering incentives to build within Horizon Worlds.

Horizon Worlds

If you’re already part of Oculus Start or Oculus Launch Pad then you can apply for the new Horizon Worlds Builder Tracks today. Why would you want to? Well, Meta will give you all the following goodies:

  • Training on tools through a Horizon Worlds boot camp
  • Support from Meta experts
  • Access to top VR developers building in Horizon
  • Opportunities to share feedback that will inform future roadmaps
  • A chance to earn funding or cash prizes through an exclusive competition
  • Swag (always important)

When it comes to those cash prizes, Meta is putting aside over $500,000 USD for developers to win by creating innovative Horizon Worlds. As mentioned, you need to be a part of these programmes to apply. If not, you can still apply to join them first before going down the builder track route.

Horizon Worlds

Oculus Start provides developers who qualify with hardware, software related savings, technical support, and more. While Oculus Launch Pad is all about supporting creators interested in VR from diverse backgrounds, providing expertise, hardware and software, and eventually getting the chance to apply for the Launch Pad Scholarship programme.

The Builder Track initiative follows on from Meta’s $10 million funding announcement last year, to build a creator community for Horizon Worlds. Meta has yet to reveal when the platform will expand beyond North America to a worldwide audience. For further updates, keep reading gmw3.

Half-Life Alyx Footage, Nreal Hand-Tracking & Win Eleven Table Tennis VR – VRecap

New Half-Life: Alyx footage, new hand-tracking tech, new VRecap – let’s go!

Did you check out the new Half-Life: Alyx footage released this week? We got a good look at gameplay, including enemies, weapons, and incredible physics from opening doors to interactions with nearly every object in sight. The thing that got me the most was the many injections to your hands for health.

Facebook has hinted it’s looking into creating a middle ground platform for games that can’t quite make it onto the Oculus Store. It looks like it could be a good deal for developers to take advantage of if they’re not initially elegible to get on Quest, and it makes us wonder if we’re going to start seeing Early Access titles on the Oculus Store.

And finally, Nreal only just announced its new hand-tracking support for the Nreal Lite today. We tried out the XR headset back at CES, which you can read about right here.

This week’s competition gives you a chance to win one of our five Eleven Table Tennis VR codes! Enter via the Gleam below – best of luck!

GIVEAWAY: Win A Free Copy Of Eleven Table Tennis VR On Oculus Quest!

This week saw more than three big stories and you can check them out here:

Alright, that’s it from us! Make sure to check out our Twitter and Facebook over the weekend for additional VR content if you haven’t had enough this week. Ciao!

The post Half-Life Alyx Footage, Nreal Hand-Tracking & Win Eleven Table Tennis VR – VRecap appeared first on UploadVR.

Here’s What’s Inside The ‘Surprise’ Mystery Oculus Start Box

Here’s What’s Inside The ‘Surprise’ Mystery Oculus Start Box

Yesterday we reported on a mystery box that Oculus was sending out, as a surprise, to developers that signed up for the Oculus Start program. Now, we know what’s inside.

Dedric Reid, founder and creator of ambitious VR MMO MetaWorld, posted an image on Twitter today showing off what he found inside the box.

Once the wrapping and cardboard are peeled back, it looks like developers have received an Oculus Rift with Touch controllers and two sensors, an Oculus Go, and memoralbilia such as an Oculus Start hoodie, moleskin journal, and glass. Not a bad goodie box to suddenly find on your doorstep.

Oculus Start is a program that Facebook created earlier this year to help small indie teams find their footing in the VR space. As it turns out, hardware is a key first step in the program. Hopefully this will help teams get the ball rolling faster with upcoming projects.

What do you think of what’s inside? Let us know down in the comments below!

Tagged with: ,

The post Here’s What’s Inside The ‘Surprise’ Mystery Oculus Start Box appeared first on UploadVR.

Oculus Sending Out ‘Surprise Shipment’ To Start Devs Soon

Oculus Sending Out ‘Surprise Shipment’ To Start Devs Soon

Back in January we reported that Oculus was starting up a new initiative to help smaller, independent VR developers find their feet in the industry. The program was simply called Oculus Start. This week, developers accepted into the program are going to be getting a surprise.

Oculus’ official developer Twitter account yesterday posted a message teasing a mysterious package that’s being sent to Start teams “very soon”. The tweet shows a package wrapped in brown paper with an Oculus Start sticker attached to it. Oculus is encouraging developers to share their reactions when they open the box.

Not to get all Brad Pitt about this, but we want to know what’s in the bahx. If Start is aimed at giving developers a leg up then the most likely answer is new hardware, perhaps a free Oculus Rift or Oculus Go headset. We’d love to say it’s Santa Cruz but that’s probably too generous.

That said, to be a Start dev you have to have already published an app (and, notably not taken anymore than $10,000 in funding from others). Instead of a headset, then, could it perhaps be a new PC to develop with?

Either that or we’re getting far too ahead of ourselves and it’s Oculus-branded toilet paper. We’re really sorry if that’s the case.

We’ll no doubt start seeing some very excited tweets in the coming days as packages start arriving at developer’s door stops.

Tagged with:

The post Oculus Sending Out ‘Surprise Shipment’ To Start Devs Soon appeared first on UploadVR.

Oculus Start: Unterstützungs-Programm für VR-Start-ups

Mit Oculus Start legt die Facebook-Tochter ein neues Programm auf, mit dem man junge VR-Entwickler unterstützen will. Geld gibt es zwar keines, aber Hardware und Unterstützung. So sollen qualifizierte Programmierer Entwickler-Kits für existierende und neue Hardware bekommen und beispielsweise eine befristete Lizenz für eine der großen Spiele-Entwicklungsumgebung.

Oculus Start für Start-ups geht an den Start

Ab sofort können sich Entwickler bei Oculus Start bewerben: Das Programm soll dabei helfen, qualifizierte VR-Start-ups mit Hardware und einigen anderen Annehmlichkeiten zu unterstützen. Die Kriterien dafür sind einfach: Maximal zwei VR-Programmierer vom gleichen Team oder Unternehmen können sich bewerben. Außerdem sind eine veröffentlichte App auf einer der VR-Plattform sowie ein Oculus-Entwickler-Account notwendig. Wenn man die Kriterien erfüllt, kann man sich über folgende Unterstützung freuen:

  • Entwickler-Kits für existierende und neue Hardware.
  • Zugriff auf Beta-Tools und -Services.
  • Kontakt zu anderen Entwicklern beispielsweise auf Events wie der Oculus Connect.
  • Technischer Support.
  • Treffen mit erfahrenen Entwicklern bei lokalen Veranstaltungen.
  • Zugang zur Community mit VR-Entwicklern.
  • Ein Jahr lang eine Unity-Plus-Lizenz oder freie Unreal-Lizenz.
  • Wallet Credits für den Oculus Store.

Bei den jährlichen Lizenzen für Unity und Unreal gelten allerdings Beschränkungen – so dürfen die Umsätze bei Unity nicht höher sein als 200.000 US-Dollar im Jahr, bei Unreal liegt die Grenze bei 5 Millionen Dollar. Den Zufriff auf das Programm erhalten interessierte Entwickler auf dieser Webseite.

Der Beitrag Oculus Start: Unterstützungs-Programm für VR-Start-ups zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

Oculus Announces Oculus Start, a Scheme to Help New Developers

With a CES full of hardware announcements where Oculus took on something of a cameo role thanks to their partnerships with both Qualcomm (creators of the Snapdragon series of processors) and Xiaomi (creators of what is essentially the Oculus Go’s Chinese twin in the Mi VR Standalone headset), now over. The Facebook owned virtual reality (VR) firm is now looking into additional support for the software side with a brand new global program for developers who are just starting out into the world of VR.

Called Oculus Start, developers who qualify for the scheme will receive access to hardware, support, and savings. Members will enjoy special access and other benefits from the Oculus team and its network of partners. Further details are as follows:

Access

A direct path to early tech and networking opportunities get you going faster, first. Benefits may include:

  • Get development kits for new and existing hardware.
  • Receive access to beta tools and services.
  • Gain new knowledge and bond with fellow developers at industry events like Oculus Connect.

Support

Oculus experts will help you troubleshoot and elevate your VR creations. Benefits may include:

  • Receive five (5) dedicated support instances per year.
  • Meet 1:1 with our veteran VR team at local events.
  • Connect with the community of VR developers to share your development experiences.

Benefits

Oculus partnerships and network benefits will help offset development costs. Benefits may include:

  • Receive one year free Unity Plus license or a royalty free Unreal license (Conditions apply).
  • Get to know the Oculus Store better with Oculus wallet credits.

Oculus Go headset

Interested developers can now apply and will be accepted on a rolling basis. Criteria for qualified applicants includes: two or fewer developers from the same team/company programming in VR, a published app on the Oculus Store or another VR platform, and an Oculus developer account.

Oculus add that there are aren’t any catches or fees, and that the company wants to make things easier for developers to get that initial foot up on to the ladder so that they can concentrate on the thing they most want to do – develop – and not have worry so much about everything else that comes with it, thus continuing building a vibrant VR ecosystem. “At Oculus, we look forward to supporting you on your journey as a VR developer,” the company notes.

VRFocus will bring you more details on this scheme for VR developers as it is revealed.

Oculus Start Is Facebook’s New Program To Help Small Dev Teams

Oculus Start Is Facebook’s New Program To Help Small Dev Teams

Oculus is launching a new program targeting self-funded independent developers, promising developer kits, beta tools and a direct line of communication with Facebook’s VR experts.

Developers who have already released VR software, but might have been overlooked or unable to grab the attention of Oculus, could use the Oculus Start program as a way to get early VR hardware and tools. That, in turn, could help developers bring their software to more platforms.

Oculus, of course, got its start as a crowdfunded effort on Kickstarter in 2012, and in 2015 the first product powered by its technology arrived in the form of the Samsung Gear VR. Oculus hosted a game jam that year to inspire developers building apps for mobile VR and its Studios team funds a large quantity of content for both Rift and Gear VR. With Oculus Go’s release soon and developer kits coming this year for Santa Cruz, this could end up being an important program for developers looking to take their next step.

Oculus outlined clear approval terms, limiting applicants to those who have already published an app but taken less than $10,000 from Oculus, Google, Microsoft, Valve, Steam, HTC or another platform. Find more information and apply on the Oculus developer blog.

Tagged with: