Everest VR Developers Announce New ‘Roguelite’ VR Shooter, In Death

Everest VR Developers Announce New ‘Roguelite’ VR Shooter, In Death

Solfar Studios, the same developers behind the visually impressive Everest VR, are working on a “roguelite shooter” for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift called In Death. We’ve got an announcement trailer and a collection of screenshots to go off of so far and we can already tell it takes the studio in a very different direction.

According to a press release, “In Death is a first person medieval Shooter with roguelike elements, set in a godless afterlife,” and based on the footage it looks like your character will use a bow and arrow as his/her primary weapon of choice.

My favorite bit from the trailer embedded above is how each vanquished foe erupts into a confetti-spray of gold coins like some sort of deranged piñata. There will be an achievement-based progression system to help encourage replayability of the procedurally generated dungeons. The developers mention a “unique locomotion system” but we don’t know anything else about it other than that.

Hopefully the movement system offers something other than teleportation or node-based movement because we’ve seen plenty of that in VR shooters. Something with a bit more freedom would certainly be appreciated, but it’s hard to tell based on the limited trailer footage.

Beta signups on the game’s website are live now for both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive “with support for additional VR platforms to follow” in 2018, which is also when the game is scheduled for release.

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Sólfar Studios Announces New VR Videogame IN DEATH For 2018

Icelandic developer Sólfar Studios has had an interesting few years since its founding back in October 2014 by a group of videogame industry veterans. The Reykjavik based studio has so far produced only one virtual reality (VR) videogame title but the second has just been announced and the difference between the two titles is rather striking.

The first was, of course, EVEREST VR. An acclaimed “videogame-that-isn’t-a-videogame” as VRFocus put it in our preview back in March this year. A VR climbing experience created in partnership with leading Nordic visual effects and animation firm RVX, in which you take on Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. Initially for PC VR, EVEREST VR came to PlayStation VR a couple of months ago, whilst an update to the videogame was also released at the beginning of November that incorporated unique 360 degree footage that was filmed by VR explorers.

The second title, announced today sees users get ready for battle in what Sólfar Studios are referring to as their “first core VR game”. The title, IN DEATH, asks a question of what if you die… and God isn’t there? What happens when you die, arrive in the afterlife, and find that it’s actually not all strumming harps and sitting on clouds but instead a battle for your very survival.

Which considering you’ve only just gone and died is kind of a bummer, frankly.

A first person shooter (FPS) with roguelike elements and a distinctly medieval flavour, the world of IN DEATH is procedurally generated with an “achievement-based progression system”, meaning that no run will ever be the same and you’ll need to be on the lookout as you travel through the changing castle in the clouds. As around every corner could be monsters to slay, at close range with your melee weapons or at distance with your bow and other weapons.

Currently in development using Unreal Engine, interested players can already sign up for a free closed Beta on the Sólfar Studios website. Due for release at some point next year, support for both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift has already been confirmed, although a PlayStation VR version isn’t ruled out at this time. Sólfar Studios stating that “support for additional VR platforms to follow in 2018” and that IN DEATH will “release across multiple PC and Console platforms.”.

As we get ready to move into the New Year, VRFocus will bring you further details on IN DEATH as they are revealed. In the meantime, you can check out the announcement trailer below.

Sólfar Studios Release Everest VR: The Seeker Expedition Update

Icelandic virtual reality (VR) developer Sólfar Studios first launched its Everest VR experience back in August 2016 for HTC Vive, going on to release the content for Oculus Rift and most recently PlayStation VR. Today, the studio has announced a free content update called Everest VR: The Seeker Expedition for both PC and console versions.

Developed in co-production with Seeker, a digital science and exploration specialist, and visual effects house RVX, Everest VR: The Seeker Expedition is a creative and editorial collaboration that allows virtual climbers to explore and navigate Mount Everest through a series of guides and infographic sequences. The update incorporates unique 360-degree video footage filmed by the VR Explorers, documenting their successful 2016 summit attempt.

EverestVR Seeker DeathZone2

“Seeker is constantly looking for new, engaging ways to explain the world through the lens of science, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with Sólfar Studios and RVX to create The Seeker Expedition in EVEREST VR,” said Caroline Smith, Chief Content Officer at Seeker in a statement. “The Seeker Expedition will enable consumers to be visually immersed in new ways while they learn more about what it’s really like to ascend Earth’s largest mountain in VR and on Facebook 360.”

The update lets users explore a fully navigable, real-time 3D reconstruction of Mount Everest and discover accounts of    man´s encounters with the world’s most iconic mountain. In a series of audio guides, contextual infographic sequences and 360 video, the experience showcases multiple perspectives of the mountain. From the geology of the Himalayas to the impact of climate change on Everest and the summit experiences of mountaineer Conrad Anker, expedition captain Lakpa Rita Sherpa, and geologist and author Mike Searle.

“EVEREST VR: The Seeker Expedition uses the medium of virtual reality to tell a story that reveals itself only through exploration and serendipitous encounter within the VR experience,” said Kjartan Pierre Emilsson, co-founder and CEO of Sólfar Studios. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the results of our collaboration with the team at Seeker who share our fascination with the creative potential that VR uniquely offers to convey stories and science from the one of the most inaccessible places on Earth.”

This isn’t the first update Sólfar Studios has rolled out. There was the expansion of God Mode, adding 18 different historical expedition routes as well as other smaller improvements.

For any further updates on EVEREST VR, keep reading VRFocus.

Climb to the top of the World as Everest VR Arrives on PlayStation VR

Originally launched on HTC Vive in August 2016, Sólfar Studios virtual reality (VR) experience Everest VR then came to Oculus Rift earlier this year and today the title has now made its way to PlayStation VR.

Available from the PlayStation Store for $14.99 USD, the PlayStation VR version of Everest VR will feature all of the updates the PC version has acquired such as ‘God Mode’ which offers players sweeping views of Mt. Everest and the surrounding mountain ranges at scales ranging from 1500x to 1x resolution. Other additions include 18 different historical expedition routes to God Mode, including the 1953 British Expedition when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first successful summit of Everest.

EVEREST VR_Camp II with Pumori in Distance

“When we set out to develop EVEREST VR, our mission was to traverse a new frontier for virtual reality,” said Kjartan Pierre Emilsson, co-founder and CEO of Sólfar Studios. “We wanted to push the boundaries of what VR technology is capable of doing and create an immersive experience so realistic that it evokes an emotional response. Since its initial release for HTC Vive last year, we have continued to expand upon EVEREST VR with exciting new content. We’re thrilled to be able to have PlayStation VR users summit Mt. Everest in VR, starting today.”

Created in partnership with Nordic visual effects house RVX, Everest VR uses photogrammetry techniques and multi-resolution shading, to create this first-person experience by piecing together thousands of high resolution images of the mountain range to create a definitive CGI model of the mountain. They then generated a 3D mesh and textures made to measure for the demands of a real-time VR application, to give the user a true sense of presence as they scale to the top of the worlds highest peak.

For any further updates on EVEREST VR, keep reading VRFocus.

Sólfar Studios Donates EVEREST VR to the Royal Geographical Society

Today Icelandic virtual reality (VR) developer, Sólfar Studios, has announced a charitable donation of EVEREST VR to the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) as part of the Society’s Everest Collection.

The donation aims to support the Society’s charitable and educational work in promoting awareness and knowledge of its historical Mount Everest-related Collections. These will include presentations and demonstrations for public audiences, schools, academic and research communities in the UK, linked to the Society’s Everest Collection.

“As we became familiar with the work of the Society, and the wonderful collection of photographs held in their Everest Collection, we set out to include photographs from the 1953 Expedition within our VR experience such that viewers could gain a stronger appreciation of the setting for this historical moment in mankind’s urge to explore the unknown,” commented Kjartan Pierre Emilsson co-founder and CEO at Sólfar. “The unique ability of VR to transport us to impossible places is something we strongly believe in and we’re deeply honoured that the Society feels VR has this potential to support their mission.”

Everest VR image 2

Release in 2016 for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, Sólfar continued to extend the experience’s educational utility by incorporating 18 historical expedition routes into a real-time 3D map of the mountain that participants can follow at their own pace and traverse the mountain at scales ranging from 1:1 to 1500:1 metres.

EVEREST VR’s donation was made possible by the support of HTC, NVIDIA and Scan Computers, with each company contributing the high performance VR and PC hardware needed to form the system required for EVEREST VR to be displayed alongside the Society´s Everest Collection.

“We are delighted to receive this generous donation and using historic stills imagery from our Everest-related photographic collection within the virtual reality environment provides added context and value for the viewer”, said Alasdair MacLeod, Head of Enterprise and Resources at the Society.

Peter Frolund, VP for VR (Europe) at HTC commented, “Everest VR offers a spectacular journey to the top of the earth, showcasing stunning visual fidelity combined with room-scale technology, which allows players to walk around the virtual space, only possible on HTC Vive. Virtual reality is an incredible tool to explore and discover real life environments few have had the chance to visit first hand, and we are thrilled to support the Royal Geographic Society’s Everest Collection with HTC Vive.”

For any further updates on EVEREST VR, keep reading VRFocus.

Preview: Everest VR On Oculus Touch

Sólfar Studios’ videogame-that-isn’t-a-videogame, Everest VR, is continuing to expand with new interactive elements and grand scale designed to please the early adopters. However, there’s also a brand new element being incorporated to enhance the true raison d’etre for the project: the experience of climbing Mount Everest. It’s part information and part exploration, and it’s wholly commendable as an example of the power of virtual reality (VR) in education.

Everest VR image 1

For the uninitiated, the basic experience of Everest VR includes five short chapters in which the player is tasked with tackling small elements of a real mountain ascent: climbing ladders, crossing rope bridges, sidling around snowdrifts. However, this is just one part of Everest VR. This is the interactive entertainment; a taste that on paper sounds like Crytek’s The Climb, but in play is much more sedate. See, Everest VR isn’t The Climb: it’s presumed to be a videogame, but is in fact far removed from the traditional expectation that such a label brings.

This is evident in Everest VR’s newly expanded God Mode. Already available in a very basic form for the HTC Vive version of the videogame (for which Sólfar Studios promise parity in updates between the two PC based VR formats), on Oculus Rift with Oculus Touch. Here, the user can switch their scale from standard human size to 50m, 300m or 1500m; surveying the mountain from a number of different viewpoints. When in this mode the user can see a number of coloured lines running down the mountain, each representing one of the paths that previous exploration teams have taken. At 50m, a brand new addition to Everest VR reveals itself.

Sólfar Studios has engaged in partnerships which allow the team to bring real-world content into the experience. At 50m, the user can engage with info points along each of the paths that showcase elements of each expedition; photographs, descriptions of the teams and the troubles they faced. This is evidence supporting the argument for bringing VR to education. A child learning about Mount Everest and the expeditions to the summit would likely find it much more engaging to actually be invited into the environment opposed to learning from a text book or flat, 2D screen. This is where Everest VR excels: the interactivity is fine, but the educational aspect makes it unique.

Everest VR image 2

Of course, one of the most talked about aspects of Everest VR is the quality of its visuals, and this hasn’t changed at all for the Oculus Rift build. Making use of NVIDIA’s VR Works technology, Sólfar Studios are quick to shout about Multi-Res Shading and Lens Matched Shading, but to the end user these terms will mean very little. However, the immersive nature of real-time particle effects for the snow and the hugely impressive lighting technology – witnessed through a day-night cycle upon reaching the summit – are a better showcase for the visual design than any industry buzzwords.

Sólfar Studios intend to launch the Oculus Rift edition of Everest VR in the coming weeks, with Xbox One controller support intended to follow. Furthermore, the studio will continue to update the experience on both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive post-launch, with much more content planned for the future. Of course, VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest from Sólfar Studios.

The Brookhaven Experiment and Everest VR Coming to Viveport Arcade

When HTC launched Viveport back in August the selection of experiences available was fairly reasonable. After which it introduced Viveport Arcade, a content management and distribution platform giving virtual reality (VR) developers an end-to-end solution for monetizing their content at physical locations such as arcades, internet cafes, theatres and shopping centres. Today the company has announced it’ll be expanding the content line up for Viveport Arcade with the introduction of Phosphor Games’ The Brookhaven Experiment and Sólfar Studios’ Everest VR.

Phosphor Games’ The Brookhaven Experiment, has proven to be a popular title as a fast-paced zombie survival videogame, ideally suited for arcades. Receiving ‘Very Positive’ feedback from the Steam community, the hectic shooter for HTC Vive is a good showcase of the headset.

Everest VR image 1

While Sólfar Studios’ Everest VR guides adventurers through several sequences while ascending Mt. Everest, including notable milestones and interactive events from Base Camp, the Khumbu Icefall, Hillary Step, Camp Four, and the ascent to the summit.

“Viveport Arcade will represent a more than $100 million market opportunity for VR developers in the next two years,” said Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport and SVP of Virtual Reality at HTC. “From the largest amusement centers to arcade installations at family entertainment locations, virtual reality is clearly becoming the next big draw for entertainment. We believe this will be a cornerstone in democratizing access to high-end virtual reality and turning curious consumers into longtime fans.”

“Arcade distribution is going to prove very important for VR and we’re thrilled to be partnered with HTC to lead the charge on Viveport Arcade,” said Justin Corcoran, CEO of Phosphor Games Studio. “As developers, getting our content in the right consumer friendly locations gives us the chance to reach bigger and broader audiences globally, empowering us to continue creating great VR experiences.”

Viveport Arcade is set to launch initially in China and Taiwan before rolling out to thousands of locations by the end of 2017, creating revenue opportunities for VR developers, and greater access to VR for the public.

For all the latest HTC Vive, Viveport and Viveport Arcade news, keep reading VRFocus.

Everest VR Falls in Price, Releases MR Trailer & Receives User Movement Updates

Since the launch of Solfar Studios’ Everest VR experience there was already a bit of talk regarding the high prices of virtual reality (VR) games, but along with the updates that Solfar Studios has posted to make the user experience more involved with the surroundings, there has also been a price cut and a brand new trailer to top it all off.

The updates that were implemented from today onwards include a zooming functions using the trigger buttons: “From a near view scale of 1:50 meters, up to 1:1500 meter scale, this mode gives you a fantastic and varied perspective on one of Earth´s most iconic peaks, not to mention vistas that no human will ever experience in real life! Look out for the little people (aka climbers), if you crouch down in 1:50 scale they´ll come into focus.”

Everest VR image 1

The second update from today is a teleporting function: “Teleport along the historic climbing route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in their 1953 expedition, the first succesful attempt on Everest summit. On the Tibetan side of Everest, follow the climbing route along the North Ridge, used by the first Chinese expedition to climb the North Face and reach Everest summit in 1960.”

Now here is the factor that is make or break with most customers: the price drop. Everest VR has reduced from $24.99 (USD) down to $19.99, which is a $5 dollar difference.

Below you can check out the mixed reality (MR) trailer for Everest VR which shows off how close you can get to the nature around you and what you can achieve with these new features.

For more on the latest in VR check back with VRFocus.