Singularity Lab – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

March 17, 2019

The VR Job Hub: Singularity Lab, Pixvana, Rebellion & More

Regular as clockwork it’s time for another Sunday VR Job Hub, featuring job positions around the world with some of the most exciting companies working in the field of VR today.

Location	Company	Role	Link
Almaty, Kazakhstan	Singularity Lab	C++ QT/Unreal Engine 4 Developer	Click Here to Apply
Almaty, Kazakhstan	Singularity Lab	C#/ Unity Developer	Click Here to Apply
Seattle, Washington	Pixvana	Sales Executive – Enterprise VR	Click Here to Apply
Oxford, Warwick or Runcorn, UK	Rebellion	Multiple Vacancies	Click Here to Apply
Seattle, WA/Oakland, CA	Big Fish Games	Multiple Vacancies	Click Here to Apply
Oxford, UK	Vicon	Senior Hardware Design Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Oxford, UK	Vicon	C++ Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Oxford, UK	Vicon	Development Program Manager	Click Here to Apply
Oxford, UK	Vicon	Customer Support Administrator	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

March 15, 2019

Preview: JetX – Hold on to Your Hats (and Stomach)

Speed in virtual reality (VR) can be both a blessing and a curse. One the one hand whizzing around a virtual world at breakneck speeds can be super exhilarating and only experienced with a VR headset. On the flip side, it can be a direct one-way journey to sick central, with way too much going on it can get a little nauseating. So it’s always interesting to see how a developer tackles this conundrum when speed is at the core of their experience. And that’s certainly the case with JetX, the latest title being developed by Singularity Lab.

JetX is going to be a competitive multiplayer experience with oodles of gameplay options and modes to play with. In this early demo publisher FIBRUM sent VRFocus it was all about the single-player side, showcasing what are likely to be the two main modes, Race and Arena. While these are your standard affair, the presentation and quality of the gameplay make JetX instantly stand out.

If you’ve ever played Survios’ Sprint Vector and much smaller indie title Jet Island, then you’ll be at home on JetX. The videogame seems to have combined the intensely colourful visuals and environment style of the first, with the latter’s hand-mounted jet propulsion technology.

Mounted on either hand is a gun, with this unique weapon you can shoot opponents, and fly all at the same time. The main firing ability can be changed depending on whether you prefer a more rapid-fire style approach, charging up for a powerful blast, or the more up close and personal shotgun method. And of course, no multiplayer focused experience would be complete without a few powerups to collect, such as rockets, shields, slow down, overpower and even a black hole.

JetX But none of this matters if you’re going to instantly feel ill after five minutes. Which is why the Arena was the first port of call. Looking as though Picasso had created a Tron themed enclosure, with a dizzying array of nooks and crannies to fly through or hide in, on offer was a deathmatch with bots. While the bots tended to perform as simple automatons, flying head on all guns blazing for easy kills, the actual flying was nice and smooth even when performing tight turns or other usual jarring effects – the things VRFocus does to test out a videogame!

Even though the Arena was reasonably entertaining with bots it soon becomes a bit boring. The Racing mode, on the other hand, wasn’t, in fact, this is the centrepiece of JetX. Again only one level to test, the track was a beautiful mixture of high-speed sections, sweeping corners and viciously tight segments. With plenty of routes to choose from it would take a while to find a preferred path, as the course gives you complete freedom to fly anywhere. The only problem, there’s a central translucent tunnel which keeps your speed up, leave it and it’s like flying through custard. So while there’s the encouragement to stay in this slip steam so you can win the race, just on the outside are where all the powerups generally lay. So JetX has this great twist in strategy between going fast or getting tooled up.

At the moment from what VRFocus has seen so far, JetX is coming along very nicely. It looks like Battlezone with wings – which is no bad thing – big monoliths of colour that create vivid landscapes to fly around in. Most important is the movement which by first impressions Singularity Lab has nailed already. Now it’s just the matter of delivering sufficient content, to provide players as much variety as possible so that JetX can stand out from the growing list of multiplayer VR titles.

February 22, 2019

Frantic Sci-fi Racer JetX Coming to Steam, Demo to be Released Soon

Russian virtual reality (VR) company Fibrum may be well known for its Desirium content platform and creating in-house VR titles, but today the studio has announced it’ll be publishing a new immersive experience by Singularity Lab. The indie developer is in the process of making a rather extreme looking arcade racer called JetX, which is due for release via Steam soon.

JetX

Featuring both single-player and multiplayer options with cross-platform gameplay between VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, as well as normal PC gamers, JetX is a visceral, no-holds-barred shooter.

There are a multitude of modes available, from traditional track-based races where winning isn’t just about placing first, to arena battles that are a fight to the death. Online you can fight against mates or other opponents from around the world, while single-player features bots for you to practice against. There are also Boss Battles to be had, missions to collect energy cores, missions to defend cores and endless race modes to keep you entertained.

Of course, for this style of racing experience weapons are a must, with Singularity Lab garnishing your craft with a selection of offensive armaments, all of which can be swapped on the fly depending on your preference. You’ll also be able to make use of several powerup options during each mode.

JetX

“This is one of our first complete game projects and we are extremely excited to hear any feedback you may have!” says the team in a statement. “The whole team at Singularity Lab has carefully crafted and polished each aspect of the game, in order to bring you the best possible experience.”

Currently, Singularity Labs is aiming for a March launch, on PC and VR headsets. Prior to that taking place, a demo will be released. When dates for the demo and full launch are made available VRFocus will let you know.