Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
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 Hubto 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.
I would not consider myself to be a racing game enthusiast or connoisseur of authentic car simulation games. As a result, when I heard that Project CARS 3 was aiming to be a more accessible entry in the series, complete with native VR support on PC, I was naturally quite intrigued.
To be clear though: I haveactually played and written about racing games before. Several years ago I wrote a detailed hands-on impression of Project CARS 2 and I even reviewed DriveClub VR on PSVR back when Sony’s headset first launched. But I’m absolutely not a racing sim enthusiast, even if I do dabble from time-to-time.
This is all important background information to take in because Slightly Mad Studios have designed and marketed Project CARS 3 not as the ultimate driving simulator that its predecessor was supposed to be, but as a racing game for anyone and everyone. That’s an important distinction.
Project CARS 3 makes a good first impression. After some introductory moments and menu toggling, I took off into the Career mode. The structure is reminiscent of DriveClub VR and other arcade-style racing games with event-based missions like time trials and races that each have a short list of objectives and challenges to complete. Luckily it’s more nuanced than just “Win the race” every time and instead includes things like tasking you with hitting top speed goals or mastering a certain number of tricky curves. These mini-challenges that are tracked mid-race have heavy DriveClub VR vibes and that’s a very good thing in my opinion.
Each challenge you complete awards you points and you spend those points to unlock higher tiers of missions. It’s all very basic and straight forward but the actual races themselves are so snappy and concise there’s good encouragement to replay stuff until you nail it.
During races you also earn cash that can be spent to upgrade your cars and purchase new cards. The interesting bit here is that if you invest enough in a specific vehicle, you can actually end up upgrading its class beyond where it started. I did this by accident early on with the first car I bought. I dumped a bunch of money into it trying to make it as badass as possible, only to realize it was now nearly two classes above where it started and could no longer be used for any of the races I’d actually unlocked in the Career. I ended up having to spend even more money downgrading and buying worse components to demote the stats and make it usable again.
At its core, it’s all a numbers game and it’s all about as streamlined as you could hope for. I didn’t have much trouble coming to grips with it all and series fans will immediately realize though just how far the push towards accessibility has gone. There are tons of small features missing that dramatically added to the depth and realism of Project CARS 2 such as tire wear and tear during races, the need for pit stops, and needing to monitor fuel consumption. All of that is gone here.
Admittedly, I’d be lying if I didn’t say the streamlining of features was a bit of a relief for me personally. I typically play these games with a light amount of assists left on for things like braking and I never learned how to drive a manual transmission in real-life so I don’t bother in games either; I’m an automatic kind of guy.
With those caveats listed, I absolutely had a lot of fun playing Project CARS 3. Hitting a curve just right and drifting around the edges as you let off the gas, pump the brake, then slam back on the pedal to accelerate through the turn is exhilarating — especially when using a racing wheel setup. But after every 2-3 minute thrill ride the reality sets in that you can see most everything there is to see here in just a few hours of time.
And in terms of VR support, a lot of the issues start and stops with the poor performance. There is noticeably bad pop-in on lots of textures outside the track such as spectators and trees, not to mention low quality distant shadows. I could be wrong, but I also don’t think it ever lasted more than a continuous minute on-end with 90 frames-per-second. I kept experiencing dips and hiccups. Early on I even had a race crash the game back to desktop every time I launched it in VR so I had to re-boot the game in non-VR to complete it.
Racing Edge: Using A Wheel Peripheral
The majority of this review was conducted using a racing wheel and pedal set, specifically the Thrustmaster T300RS GT. For comparison I tried out an Xbox One controller and keyboard/mouse, but both simply pale in comparison to using an actual wheel peripheral. Not only does it significantly add to immersion when wearing a VR headset, but I found that I had much more accurate control over my vehicle and could take sharp turns and hard corners much more effectively. That being said, controller support does still feel quite good. Avoid playing with a keyboard/mouse at all costs.
Project CARS 3 VR Final Impressions
Project CARS 3 is a commendable effort to craft a racing game that can be enjoyed by anyone from the most casual of gamers to the most hardcore of racing simulation fanatics. Ultimately though, I don’t think Slightly Mad Studios really succeeded. The end result is a game that’s inferior in virtually every way to Project CARS 2 in terms of authentic racing simulation and when compared to more arcade-style games like The Crew 2, Forza Horizon, GRID, or even DriveClub VR, rest in peace, Project Cars 3 struggles to keep up. By trying to create the racing game for everyone, the developers ended up making the racing game that’s not really targeted at anyone. But if you do lean more on the arcade side of the spectrum, you’re likely to find quite a lot to love here.
Project CARS 3 is available right now with VR support on PC. You can find the game on Steam starting at $59.99. Project CARS 3 can be played with or without a VR headset on PC using either keyboard/mouse, gamepad, or steering wheel controls. The majority of this review was conducted using an Oculus Rift S and a Thrustmaster T300RS GT wheel and pedals set.
The game is also available on PS4 and Xbox One without VR support. For more details on Project CARS 3 in general, check out the official website.
Personally, I’ve never been much of a racing game kind of guy. My few exceptions are for more sci-fi racers such as Wipeout and F-Zero, or even going as far as arcade racing games like Split/Second, Need for Speed, and Burnout, as well as full-on party games like Mario Kart. Other than, I typically stayed away.
Naturally, I reviewed DriveClub VR back when it launched with PSVR and actually had a good time. What I found is that through VR, I could enjoy genres that I’d otherwise overlook without a second glance. Racing games definitely qualified here and Project Cars 3 VR is certainly one of the slickest yet in that regard.
If you hadn’t heard, Project Cars 3 is a bit of a deviation for the long-running franchise. Instead of leaning heavily into its authentic simulation roots, this entry is more of a middle-ground to foster accessibility for newer racers like myself. For me, Project Cars 3 VR is packed full of good news, For diehard fans, probably not so much.
If you’re curious what Project Cars 3 VR looks like then look no further than the video embedded above. We’ll have a full review, livestreams, and likely more footage once we get to spend more time with the game.
In the meantime, enjoy! And let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Today Slightly Mad Studios announced that the latest entry in its popular sim franchise, Project Cars 3 will release on August 28th for Xbox One, PS4, and PC with support for PC VR headsets at launch.
We have not tried the game yet at UploadVR, but according to reports from people that have tried the game out pre-release note that it has a slightly more arcade feel to everything, meaning they may be partially toning down the focus on hyper-realism. For VR users, it’s unclear how this could impact the experience.
From what we’ve seen, the theme for Project Cars 3 seems to be focused on accessibility and streamlining things. There will be new tracks and new cars as most can expect, but there is also now a revamped career mode focused on progression giving the game something akin to a more traditional “campaign” structure.
According to the official website that the game has “12K and best-in-class VR support (on PC).” We don’t have a full list supported headsets yet, but you can likely expect a SteamVR release with support for all the major devices like Rift, Vive, and Index.
Project CARS 3 will bring together elite brand’s from around the world with new and classic cars alike for players to jump in the driving seat. It’ll feature a new career mode where players can “rise from weekend warrior to racing legend.”
Slightly Mad Studios explains that: “New to the franchise is a deeply engaging metagame that challenges players to race hard and earn in-game Credits with which to buy and own hundreds of cars from the world’s most elite brands and race them all on dynamic and spectacular circuits around the globe featuring stunning all-weather, all-seasons conditions.”
There will be 200+ elite-brand race and road cars, 140+ tracks at locations around the world ” a completely redesigned and unrivalled controller experience, an even more accurate and fun handling model, adjustable skill settings for every level of driver.”
Players will also have a wealth of customisation options to play with, swapping performance parts that affect handling and power, car liveries to make that motor standout as well as rims, tyres, license plates, race numbers, and more to modify.
When it comes to support Project CARS 3 has virtual reality (VR) headsets well covered with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index all compatible. As with previous editions, while PlayStation 4 is supported, PlayStation VR isn’t.
Project CARS 3 will launch on 28th August. For further announcements from Slightly Mad Studios, keep reading VRFocus.
Slightly Mad Studios has continually supported virtual reality (VR) players with its Project CARS racing series since 2016 and that will continue with 2020’s third instalment. The studio has announced that Project CARS 3 will be arriving soon, with PC VR support still included.
Over on the official Project CARS 3 website Slightly Mad Studios notes that the upcoming title will feature ‘Best-in-Class’ VR support for PC headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index. While the videogame will support PlayStation 4 the launch will continue a trend where PlayStation VR still isn’t included in that lineup.
Set to launch this summer, Project CARS 3 is set to feature over 140 tracks taking players around the world, 200 race and road spec cars to play with, as well as the option to customise them to their own personal tastes. These range from the cars’ liveries, internals – with realistic performance parts – and the look of the driver.
There will be plenty of new features by the sounds of it, from 12K support to authentic crash effects and car-to-car contact. Tracks will have a 24-hour cycle for day and night racing, dynamic seasonal changes and all-weather scenarios.
The studio also mentions that the racing title will new multiplayer and community modes, a ‘deeply engaging’ career mode and daily challenges to keep racing fans coming back again and again. Cars confirmed so far include the Acura NSX and NSX GT3 while Brazil’s Interlagos track will be a new addition to the circuit roster.
Project CARS 3 is shaping up to be the premier racing title of the year for VR fans, shame there’s still no PlayStation VR support. That might be because the ageing PlayStation 4 can’t quite handle pushing the slick graphics into VR. If Project CARS 3 supports the upcoming PlayStation 5 then maybe that’ll become a possibility.
As further updates are released, VRFocus will let you know.
Project CARS 3, the upcoming sequel to the racing simulator franchise, is set to include VR support when it launches on PC this August.
Update (June 24th, 2020): Slightly Mad Studios has confirmed that Project CARS 3 will be releasing on all supported platforms on August 28th, 2020. The original article follows below:
Original Article (June 4th, 2020):The game, which was recently unveiled by Slightly Mad Studios, is set to include a bevy of new features in addition to 12K resolution and what it calls “best in class VR support” on PC.
The studio says it will include over 200 race and road cars, over 140 global tracks, customizable liveries, and car upgrades with ‘realistic’ performance parts. Tracks are said to include a 24-hour night and day cycle with all weather represented in addition to “enhanced” AI racers. A new career mode promises to be “deeply engaging.”
The Project Cars franchise has included VR support since the first in the series was released in 2015, which at the time was experimental but notably a step in the right direction for racing sim fans. Project Cars 2 (2017) improved upon it predecessor with, among other things, a better physics engine, putting in more firmly in the simulator side of things. It also included full SteamVR headset support for the modern era of consumer VR.
There’s no word yet on whether the studio is working on PSVR support as well for the PS4 version, or whether a possible PS5 version will offer it thanks to the upcoming console’s beefier specs, which is said to pack an 8-core AMD Zen CPU, AMD Navi GPU, custom SSD, 4K Blu-ray player.
Don’t have the PC to power Project Cars in VR? No worries; it’s on its way to VR arcades.
Slightly Mad Studios is bringing the B2B version of its popular racing series, Project Cars Pro, to location-based VR installations through SynthesisVR. Operators using Synthesis will be able to set up games either in VR or using multiple monitors.
Through Synthesis, you can set up LAN multiplayer games, manage sessions by laps, races or time and incorporate motion seat platforms and racing wheels. Pro features a huge number of cars and tracks seen throughout the series. It’s traditionally been used for more enterprise applications. Last year, for example, Slightly Mad used the platform paired with StarVR to introduce the new Porsche 911 Carrera S debut at The LA Autoshow.
SynthesisVR, meanwhile, offers a location-based entertainment operation package for VR arcades. It gives operators the chance to control the experiences seen in VR. Existing partners include Arizona Sunshine developer Vertigo Games. A standard plan starts at $25 though the company also just announced the release of a free version.
We think Project Cars and its sequel are two of the best racing games you can play in VR. In fact we put Project Cars 2 in such a list earlier this month. The series strikes a fun balance between simulation and accessibility and features some of the best visuals you’ll find in a VR game. On PC, the series supports Rift, Vive and Index. Sadly the PS4 versions of the games never got PSVR support.
The Tobacco Dock in London, UK is an unusual place to have a big show like EGX Rezzed. The videogame event – which is primarily geared towards PC gaming – has been held there for a number of years, providing a much more intimate feel than its bigger brother EGX (normally held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham). The small rooms allow studios to create a shop front feel to their displays, for a very British style of gaming event. There was just one problem when it came to VRFocus attending, the notable lack of virtual reality (VR).
Image Credit: Tobacco Dock
That’s not to say there wasn’t any but it was a shame to wander around and really have to search for any hint of a VR experience when the UK has some of the best developers in the world creating awesome content. A good example was the fact that PlayStation was there in all its blue glory but not a PlayStation VR was in sight. On demonstration was Media Molecule’s Dreams – which will get VR support – but April’s Early Access release doesn’t include it.
The ever-popular Coatsink Software – purveyors of fine VR titles like Augmented Empire, Esper, Esper 2, A Night Sky and They Suspect Nothing – was also there but alas no VR, not even a hint of newly revealed Shadow Point.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom as VRFocus not only found some VR, it’s also worth trying out if you have the chance. The centrepiece was most certainly at the Porsche stand with racing simulator specialist Vesaro displaying one of its Commercial VR simulators with full pneumatics and Oculus Rift headset – which has a retail price starting from £20,000 GBP – where players could race on Project CARS Pro title Porsche 911 VR-Racing Experience built specifically for the car manufacturer by Slightly Mad Studios.
Continuing with that sense of adrenaline is London-based studio Blackwall Labs which was demoing its recently announced title NYC Bungee. Using an HTC Vive the core of the experience is being able to bungee jump off the statue of liberty – something you couldn’t do in real life. Other parts to the title include being able to climb the statue, take a zip wire from the top of the statue, or for something a little more tranquil there’s a balloon ride to the top.
Primarily designed for VR arcades, NYC Bungee will eventually come to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality home users as well.
Next to Blackwall Labs was Spillage Games with its title A Dragon’s Tale, where player’s are the dragon, having to hold the HTC Vive controllers out like wings to flap them to gain height. Once aloft you could then soar around the landscape, learning how to breathe fire and deal with monsters.
The last on the list was located in the Unreal Engine area, with indie developer Ben Lunato demoing his videogame A Ton of Feathers. It’s about chasing down a serial killer through a series of novellas that he’s anonymously published online whilst trying to discover his identity.
Tomorrow is the last day of EGX Rezzed 2019 with some tickets still available. For the latest events featuring VR, keep reading VRFocus.
A couple of days ago the CEO of Project CARS developer Slightly Mad Studios, suddenly announced on Twitter that the company was in the process of designing its own console called the Mad Box. Spouting some figures as well as proclaiming the powerful console would be VR capable, today has seen Ian Bell return to the social platform with further info as well as a couple of images.
So first up the images. Well as you can probably tell these are all computer renderings to give you an impression of what the Mad Box will supposedly look like. Even though it’s being touted as a console, the Mad Box looks more like a high-powered desktop PC, with liquid cooling.
Giving a few more details Bell notes that: “The Mad Box has a one press deployable carry handle, between the ‘m’s… It weighs very little and will talk to other Mad Boxes without cables…” going on to add: “Controller work is in progress. We have a great partner and will show it when it’s ready.”
If you’re somewhat sceptical about Slightly Mad Studios’ ‘Mad Box’ then join the queue. Not only is VRFocus taking all this sudden info with a heavy pinch of salt, but so are Twitter users themselves. When grilled that the concept sounded no better than a shady Kickstarter, Bell responded: “I’m not asking you for any money. A shady Kickstarter would start with that premise… You’re way off.” Going on to say: “We’ll ship a product and you can choose to buy it, or not. Any other issues I think are yours…”
While somewhat unorthodox Bell has certainly succeeded in grabbing both industry and gamers attention, whether they believe all the tweets or not. And just because its CES 2019 next week don’t expect to see anything at the event regarding Mad Box, as Bell claims the console is approximately 3.5 years away from release. That’s a long time for this industry, with new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) likely to have arrived by then.
VRFocus still isn’t 100 percent convinced about the Mad Box, going into the hardware market is a very risky business. As always, if more concrete information appears, VRFocus will let you know.
