Something for the Weekend: Steam Spreads Some Luna Love

The weekend is supposed to be a time of rest, you end up doing chores and things yes but ultimately it’s the two days of the week where you are more likely to meet friends or family, sit back, relax, chill and do the things that you want to do. Yes, something usually will get in the way but to heck with that! So something for you this weekend. 

Steam are, naturally enough, all for this espsecially when they’ve got a sale on for the Lunar New Year. You didn’t know it was the Lunar New Year? Well it is. The Year of the Dog incidentally, and Steam are celebrating with a sale. (Naturally.) Today’s selection of virtual reality (VR) titles picked by VRFocus come from it and for the most part the promotional prices end when the sale does after February 19th 2018. So check out the below and maybe save some cash on something good.

Project CARS 2Project CARS 2

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

Less of a straight racing videogame than a realistic driving simulator, Project Cars 2 lets players experience what driving is like not just on smooth tarmac race tracks, but also on ice, dirt and mud with the addition of other modes such as rallycross and touring races all of which use realistic physics models to make the experience as close to reality as possible.

Project CARS 2 is currently half price, at £22.49 (GBP) rather than the usual £44.99.

Keep Talking and Nobody ExplodesKeep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

Woukd you trust your friends with your life? Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes revolves around one player in VR who’s got a bomb to diffuse, there’s just one problem – how to actually do it. Each bomb is made up of several panels, with wires, dials, timers, codes, symbols and more to figure out. To do this players in the real world have a manual explaining how each particular puzzle works, and it’s only through cooperation and teamwork that avoids everything going boom!

The ultimate test of friendship has a whopping 60% off at present and is available on Steam for a mere £4.39 (GBP) rather than £10.99.

Space Pirate TrainerSpace Pirate Trainer

Compatibility: Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

“In the case of Space Pirate Trainer the title has built up a pedigree and fan following for one simple reason, playability. Its design and gameplay mechanics aren’t overly difficult or complicated to learn – which is why it’s great as an introductory experience for new VR players – yet for seasoned pros Space Pirate Trainer offers that old school arcade action of ever bigger and more elaborate attacks that try to whittle those lives away as you try to beat your highscore.” – Read VRFocus‘ Senior Writer Peter Graham’s review of Space Pirate Trainer here.

You can purchase the title on Steam at 34% off, for £7.25 (GBP) rather than £10.99.

superhot vr - first screenshots 8SUPERHOT VR

Compatibility: Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

SUPER… HOT. SUPER… HOT. SUPER… HOT! Time moves when you move in this popular videogame for VR and non-VR alike. Survive pristine white rooms filled with vivid red enemies as the air becomes thick with bullet tracer.

You’ve until February 19th to get 25% off of SUPERHOT VR, bringing the price down to £14.24 (GBP) from £18.99.

BattlezoneBattlezone

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

“Straight from the off, Battlezone lets you know what it is and what you’ll be doing – if you’ve managed to avoid coverage like this. There are no fancy intro screens, video’s, or elongated fluff to wade through, as soon as the videogame starts you’re sat in a hulking tank with lights, screens, levers and all sorts dotted around you. Everything feels and looks solid, giving an overwhelming sense of power and control at your finger tips. The tank design is highly stylized, especially the environments, but the inside isn’t too OTT that this couldn’t be some futuristic concept vehicle.” –  Read our Battlezone review here.

Rebellion have slapped a hefty discount of 66% off on Battlezone, so make sure you buy it now at £10.19 (GBP) rather than the usual cost of £29.99.

Unvierse Sandbox 2Universe Sandbox ²

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

An Early Access title, this sequel to Giant Army’s popular space simulator is bringing VR support this time around.

“Universe Sandbox ² is a physics-based space simulator that allows you to create, destroy, and interact on an unimaginable scale. It merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet.”

If you fancy a bit of playing God with the galaxy (or beyond it) you can for £14.24 (GBP) 25% off its usual price of £18.99.

I Expect You To DieI Expect You To Die

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

The spy’s the limit in this VR title that puts you in the shoes of a sterotypical secret agent dealing with situations straight out of the genre from the fifties and sixties. With surprises around every corner and the odds stacked against you it’s only a matter of time before you perish. Or is it?

I Expect You To Die is on sale through Steam for the slightly odd price of £11.39 rather than £18.99. A 40% discount.

Sports Bar VR - checkersSports Bar VR

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

Casual pub game simulator Sports Bar VR was a PlayStation VR launch title that received a fair amount of acclaim upon release and has since been ported to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. It has enjoyed regular updates since launch, with new mini-games and features being added, such as the addition of a jukebox, updates to multiplayer game-finding features and video streaming capability.

Another specifically for the Lunar New Year sale, which gives 50% off the regular £14.99 (GBP) price to give you a sale value of £7.49.

Raw Data

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

Raw Data puts the player in the role of part of the Resistance, who are seeking to bring down the corrupt Eden Corporation, who in the future of 2271, control much of the world. The player can choose from several types of heroes, including Saija the Cyber-Ninja, Bishop the Gun Cleric, or Boss the Street Merc.

Raw Data is on sale now for 30% off its usual price of £29.99 (GBP).

The Solus Project

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

“Many virtual reality (VR) users are waiting for in-depth experiences which have expansive worlds and tell rich, absorbing, immersive stories. VR is perfectly place to get players involved in an entirely new world, and that’s what The Solus Project aims to do… The first thing that becomes apparent is the atmosphere. Bleak, eerie and uninviting is the surface of the unknown alien planet upon which you find yourself marooned.” Read

The title is available on Steam at present for £7.49 as opposed to £14.99.

Setting The Table: Table Sports And Virtual Reality

Table games are extremely popular because they offer you a chance to invite your friends over, grab a beer and relax while playing foosball table, air hockey or even pool table. There is something about those games, where you can sit and relax, wait your turn (enjoying the beer in meanwhile) and the atmosphere is pretty relaxed.

People in virtual reality (VR) industry seem to have noticed the interest people are giving to gaming tables and with the technology constantly improving, have decided to begin to develop VR videogames which offer you the opportunity to play those tables games virtually.

For now, there are two notable titles on the market where you can enjoy a selection of game tables, although more are certainly around. Let’s take a look at them.

VR Table Sports

VR Table Sports offer you a chance to play 3 table games: ping pong, foosball and ice hockey. The atmosphere in the game is pretty relaxed. There are no crowd and cheering, there is just you and your opponent. I like the fact that you have the ability to choose so many options in the game.

The first option is obviously the game table. Before you start the game you can choose your character and the game offers you an unconventional choice. You can choose from a banana, robot, the President of the Unties States or other interesting characters. Also, before the game starts you can choose to practice with A.I. or you can play against someone all over the world. You can change the height of every game table or move it somewhere else.

Since we are already talking about moving, there is another thing you can change and that is the room you are in. You can play in the fitness room, the Oval Office or in a fancy house by the pool.  When it comes to game experience, the game is pretty decent. It has been on the market since August 2017 and they have made few updates to improve the game, especially physics on every game table.

SportsBar VR

One that’s been in the news on VRFocus recently thanks to its latest update, SportsBar VR (which used to be known as Pool Nation VR) is a virtual sports bar where you do just about anything you can in an actual bar. It is not just about game tables (even though it has them) it is about hanging out with other people and having fun.

There are four games in the bar; pool, ice hockey, darts and skee ball. The great thing about the title is that you can play with other players all over the world. You can actually hang out with them, have fun and playing some game tables. Not that that’s the only option in the bar. You can drink beer, walk around, mess with the fixtures and fittings and when things get particularly intense, you can even throw the jukebox. (Why not?)

People actually say that this game is great because you can do whatever you want, there are some troubles with the physics but the atmosphere in the bar is so relaxing that nobody seems to mind. This is an interesting social game with the bonus which allows you to play game tables.

Sports Bar VR screenshotBoth games are made just to have fun which means it is a good option to play when you want to relax or kill time. I doubt you will be able to improve your skills using the VR version of your favourite game table, but you can always try and let us know the results.

 

 

 

Something For The Weekend: Swords, Sorcery, Sport & Steam

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday consigned to oblivion for another year… or at least until we look at our bank statements at any rate… it’s back to our usual trip through the stores in Something for the Weekend. This week VRFocus is looking at Steam for anything playable on any of the supported head mounted displays (HMDs). Be it the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift, the OSVR or even Windows Mixed Reality headsets that are both up for grabs and available with a good percentage of money off. So let’s see below just what you can get, for how much and on what right now.

Obduction screenshotObduction

Compatibility: HTC Vive & Oculus Rift

Whenever you get a film nowadays it always says at some point in the trailer ‘from the makers of [blank]’ with blank filled in by some other film someone on the higher ups has been involved in. Videogames tend not to do that, concentrating on the big name producers alone. Obduction bucks the trend by wearing its ‘from the creators of Myst‘ badge proudly. And if your game was created by the people behind Myst… well you would, wouldn’t you?

“Abducted far across the universe, you find yourself on a broken alien landscape with odd pieces of Earth. Explore, uncover, solve, and find a way to make it home.”

Obduction is currently at 50% off until December 4th 2017, and you can get it now at £11.99 (GBP) as opposed the usual £23.99

Don't Knock Twice Screenshot 08Don’t Knock Twice

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

We might be getting into all things winter but that doesn’t mean you can’t also get a scare. Beginning yesterday and continuing all the way until December 15th 2017, Wales Interactive’s Don’t Knock Twice is also available at a 50% discount. Bringing the total to £7.99 (GBP) from £15.99.

“For a true horror experience you have to be almost defenceless, surviving in the darkness with that glimmer of hope you’ll escape, listening to every creak and whistle of the wind wondering what’s around the corner. If that sounds like your type of VR videogame then Wales Interactive’s Don’t Knock Twice might be just what you want, possibly.” – Peter Graham, VRFocus‘ Review

SportsBar VR

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

The former Pool Nation VR just announced their biggest update ever with cross-play and other updates and not only that you can get it for a third off on Steam until December 8th.

Always a favourite of VRFocus since its early days, we reviewed it back in March and it received a five star review from Editor Kevin Joyce. “[SportsBar VR] isn’t simply a VR recreation of a pool table, balls and a ruleset. It is, in fact, a virtual environment for players to enjoy a game of pool in, as well as a number of other entertainment activities. It’s more than the name suggests, and because of this [SportsBar VR] is one of the most enjoyable experiences currently available for the HTC Vive.”

SportsBar VR is currently available for £10.04 (GBP) from £14.99.

Eternity Warriors VR

Compatibility: Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift

One for virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR), this Early Access title from Vanimals Games has its roots outside of VR. The original Eternity Warriors having launched six years ago on smartphones. Since that time it has had three sequels and this version looks to continue the first-person hack and slash tradition.

Previewing the title back in September VRFocus described it as “a hoot” and you can get Eternity Warriors at 20% off on Steam until December 12th 2017. With a price of £8.79 (GBP) from £10.99.

Lucid Trips

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

The developers describe Lucid Trips as “a Virtual Reality experience which takes places in planetary dream worlds. You explore an artistically designed surrounding with a completely new concept, defining and navigating your avatar in a distinctive way, using hand motion controllers.”

Another Early Access videogame, it is available at £2.79 (GBP) from £5.59 – or half price – until December 7th.

The Wizards screenshotThe Wizards

Compatibility: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality

Another Early Access videogame, this time from Carbon Studios and set in a land of magic and enchantment. You, the player, take on the role of a young sorcerer tasked with defending the realm from an army of rampaging creatures. You’ll need to rely on your magical arsenal of elemental spells (lightning bolts, fireballs, etc) and your defensive skills in order to survive and expell the foul orcs and goblins threatening your home.

 

Presently available at £11.99 (GBP) from £14.99, The Wizards is currently discounted on Steam by 20% until December 7th 2017.

Titanic VR Cover Art VR Landscape imageTitanic VR

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

A relatively new release on Steam, the title by Immersive VR Education takes you underwater to explore the wreck of the famed passenger liner. Discover secrets, artefacts and unlock upgrades to go deeper inside the once thought ‘unsinkable’ vessel.

Titanic VR is available on Steam for £11.69 (GBP), a 40% discount.

Unknightly

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

A title we’re actually yet to feature on VRFocus, but one we’ll no doubt be looking at in the future. Developers Portal Studios describe the title as “a medieval VR stealth game designed from the ground up for VR. You play the role of a former member of the Knight’s Order. You have thrown betrayed and thrown into prison by someone very close to you. But by who? Hungry for revenge and fortune you seek to uncover the identity of those who double-crossed you, gain insight into their motives and eventually set the record straight.”

Currently in Early Access, Unknightly has a 40% discount on its regular price of £15.49 until December 7th. Meaning you can pick it up for only £9.29.

Space Panic: Room Escape

Compatibility: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

As the name likely suggests Space Panic: Room Escape is a VR escape room videogame, developed by Xefier Games. Set in the future aboard a space station, your freedom is at stake and you’ll need to solve a number of fiendish puzzles in order to secure your escape.

Space Panic: Room Escape can be purchased through Steam for £3.49 (GBP), 30% off its regular cost of £4.99.

SportsBar VR New Update Introduces Cross-Play

SportsBar VR was launched alongside the PlayStation VR as a launch title, and subsequently ported to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The title is now receiving a significant update, which will introduce the ability for users of different platforms to play the title together.

The two developers behind SportsBar VR, Perilous Orbit and Cherry Pop Games have announced the new update as being available for download now from Steam, Oculus Home and the PlayStation Store. SportsBar VR 2.0 will offer cross-platform support along with new features and gameplay modes.

Sports Bar VR screenshot

Along with Cross-platform play, new mini-games have been introduced, such as the new Chained Reaction mini-game, which challenges players to see who has the fastest reaction times in three different game modes. Existing mini-games have also got a revamp, with new AI opponents introduced, and darts, air hockey, ramp ball and shuffleboard all getting improvements.

The new updates allows players to play eight different game modes on seven different pool tables.

Online matches are now open to up to eight players, and spatial audio has been brought in so players won’t be overwhelmed by noise, and for those who need a little more callm and quiet, a personal space bubble option is available.

For regular players, a new ticket economy has been introduced, which gives daily login bonuses to players along with happy hour multiplyers. These tickets can be spent on cosmetic items such as new pool cues, hats and table skin decals.

Sports Bar VR - checkers

Finally, the user interface has been given a makeover, with the pub being renovated and given a mini-map that makes it easier for players to find their friends. There are also new options that lets players switch a dominant hand or change cue locking style, all of which can be found on the hand menu.

A trailer for SportsBar VR 2.0 is available to view below.

VRFocus will bring you further news on SportsBar VR as it becomes available.

Sports Bar VR Adds PC/PlayStation 4 Cross-Play, New Mini-Games and More

Cherry Pop Games has today announced the release of its highly anticipated cross-play update for Sports Bar VR, for PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The update, labelled Sports Bar VR 2.0, is available to download for all three platforms now.

Sports Bar VR screenshotIn addition to cross-play between PC and PlayStation 4 formats, Sports Bar VR 2.0 adds a host of new content. Up to 12 players can now enter a single instance, opposed to the previous limit of six, with new gameplay opportunities including a new Whack-a-Mole style reaction mini-game and Interactive Puzzle walls, in addition to the previously available air hockey, pool, darts and ramp ball.

Pete Jones, CEO CherryPop Games said, “We’ve always believed in post release support for our games, and Sports Bar VR 2.0 is the epitome of this.” He added, “We’ve brought platforms together with cross-play, increase the number of players online with up to a huge twelve players online, and crafted new game modes specifically designed for VR. We’ll continue to bring updates to our fans to offer great value, and the best social experience in VR.”

All seven pool tables are now playable in the bar with CherryPop Games’ Pool Nation physics engine. Four different match types are available, playable in 1v1 or doubles.

Sports Bar VR screenshotSports Bar VR originally launched for HTC Vive as Pool Nation VR, before being renamed ahead of the PlayStation VR launch in October 2016. CherryPop Games first teased the cross-play update for Sports Bar VR back in June of this year, and has now made the updated available for free to all existing players. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Sports Bar VR and other VR titles from CherryPop Games.

Getting Social in VR

Evidence for the human need to share experiences stretches back to the earliest cave paintings. Scenes from real life or the artist’s imagination were recreated and displayed for others to share.   Social interactions have accompanied almost all communication platforms. Reading and writing facilitated theatre and the formal play, early movies facilitated the cinema industry, radio and television broadcasts resulted in families and friends huddled around a single device to consume sports and entertainment. This article explores how innovators are making Virtual Reality (VR) a social experience.

Social interaction within VR can be distilled into three core elements – speech, movement, and emotional expression. Speech is easily captured and communicated using a microphone and VOIP. All VR devices support capture of head movement, and many capture arm/ hand movement. A surprising amount of non-verbal communication can be inferred from these movements, particularly gestures and gesticulations. Whilst elements of body language can be communicated in VR, the communication of emotional expression is lacking. As a work-around some VR social apps are relying on user-triggered emoticons and arm movement tracking to imply feelings and reactions.  We’ve seen some interesting demos from Oculus and others using cameras to capture mouth movements. Eye tracking will provide improved face to face interaction but eye tracking by itself is not sufficient.

Whilst we await the release of emotionally expressive VR, there are still a number of companies creating social platforms. One of the largest is AltspaceVR, founded by former SpaceX engineer Eric Romo. AltspaceVR is freemium software that supports high- and low-end VR headsets, as well as a 2D experience on computers and mobile. It allows users to chat, watch videos, and join a range of special events, from NBC News Q&A sessions to live music. Like many early social VR spaces, it’s similar to a VR-based Second Life –built less around sophisticated communication, and more around sharing experiences.

AltspaceVR focuses on simplicity and shared experiences.

For emotional interaction, Altspace focuses largely on voice and physical movement. As platform-agnostic software, it features many ways to communicate physical movement for social interaction – everything from simple controller-based movement, through to full-body motion tracking with Microsoft’s Kinect. However, this approach limits the sophistication of social interaction between platforms – users won’t often have equally elaborate set-ups, and so some modes of interaction might not be reciprocated. In terms of emotional expression Altspace supports a range of emoticons, largely selected by the user through a menu. It also supports eye tracking but, again, this is dependent on the VR platform being used supporting it. The main focus appears to be on connecting with friends and sharing experiences like live events or streamed video in a VR setting, which it does very effectively.

In real life, gaming is naturally a social experience and so it’s inevitable that social spaces are being built and enable playing together.  The gaming community has always been quick to embrace new technology that allows them to share play time in new ways. As such, many social applications for VR are heavily game-based, offering up a variety of minigames and tools for users. For example, Sports Bar VR offers competitive pool, darts, and skeeball, Anyland invites users to add and tinker with anything (really, pretty much anything) to their avatars or environment, and Rec Room has online multiplayer paintball, dodgeball, disc golf, charades, and more. These games have simple avatars, often cartoony and without arms, but all players can communicate through voice, movement, emoticons, and hand-gestures. In Rec Room, a fist bump results in an explosion of light – physical interaction is used to perform actions, and now you’ve formed a private party to go play paintball.

Rec Room’s use of the game charades is great for showing the capacity for fun brought with physical interaction in the digital world; getting someone halfway across the world to correctly guess that you’re acting out the movie Jaws in your office is a strange but compelling pastime. VR gaming social spaces focus on the fun of physically interacting and exploring the world and other users around you, and anything they miss in the subtleties of communication are often compensated for with absurdity and silliness from fellow players.

Gaming spaces like Rec Room revel in communicating through exaggerated avatars and situations.

In April Facebook finally launched its own foray into social VR with Facebook Spaces. In Spaces, users are represented by a cartoon avatar, with customised hair, face, and clothing. Spaces integrates Facebook services heavily – users can share photos and videos, take their own inside the space (to share on Facebook, of course), play simple games, or call non-spaces users through Messenger.

Interaction in Facebook Spaces is simple, but effective.

Facebook Spaces is part of a third subset of social VR applications – one step beyond sandboxes like AltspaceVR that focus on sharing content, Spaces is a polished experience built around all aspects of communication. Spaces is sophisticated and modern, and seems to pay quite a lot of attention to conveying authentic interaction. The Oculus Rift headset’s tracking communicate head, arm, and hand gestures to others in the social space reliably and universally. Facebook also invested time in making human-like avatars. Development lead Mike Book stated, “Facebook is about authentic identity, which is fundamentally about humans”, and this ethos is carried through to Space’s characters, who are stylised, but also authentically human and full of emotional range.

Facebook Spaces’ avatars, though stylised, look and feel human in their actions.

What makes Facebook Spaces interesting is the focus on communicating the emotional aspects of conversation. Like many similar applications, avatars’ mouths move in time with microphone output. In addition, the eye positioning of all users is interpreted, creating “eye contact” with others. Given that eye contact is a key form of nonverbal communication, this is a very important development. Spaces also integrates a wide range of emoticons, triggered by movement and by buttons on the Oculus touch controllers. Movement-based emoticons enable some spontaneity in the conversation, but, as Book says, “You have to invoke them. They’re not supposed to be accidental.” The need to deliberately remember to respond in a certain way abstracts emotional communication. Nevertheless, interaction-focused social spaces in VR are making big steps forward to providing authentic human communication in the space.

BigScreen VR has an interesting approach. Here, the social element largely revolves around sharing 2D content within VR. Users can share their work, games or entertainment content by allowing others to view their PC screen. Lip sync and inferred gaze tracking adds to the interactivity or the cartoony avatars. According to CEO Darshan Shankar, engagement  levels have been impressive, and to show their commitment to this new way of collaborating the company holds its meeting in VR.

Most VR platforms can be divided into these three subsets – sharing experiences, gaming, or authentically communicating. In the fledgling VR industry, developers largely haven’t yet looked to tackle more than two of these at a time. While sharing experiences and gaming in VR are natural fits that have seen massive growth, authentic communication in VR is still difficult to implement successfully. While almost all platforms support good interactions in speech and movement, emotional expression is still largely based on emoticons that have to be purposefully triggered by users.

At Emteq, we are working to deliver a virtual reality experience that can interpret and respond to a user’s emotional state. Our Faceteq™ technology allows user avatars to react in conjunction with the user’s own facial expressions – essential to truly authentic communication. Our expression recognition solution will integrate to common headsets and capture the wearer’s expressions accurately. We believe this affective computing is the key to authentic VR and AR social interaction, and will open up new avenues in digital social spaces. . If you’re interested in learning more, do get in touch.

 

Sports Bar VR Developers Tease Cross-Play

Casual pub game simulator Sports Bar VR was a PlayStation VR launch title that received a fair amount of acclaim upon release and has since been ported to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Now one of the developers behind the title has teased fans with the possibility of a new update for cross-platform play.

The official twitter account for Cherry Pop Games, who along with Perilous Orbit created the mini-games contained within the title, teased audiences with the following words: “If you could tagline the NEW Sports Bar VR crossplay update what would it be?”

The Tweet seems to suggest that an upcoming update for Sports Bar VR will be introducing cross-platform multiplayer, to allow friends who use different virtual reality (VR) headsets to compete against one another. It has not yet been confirmed which platforms the update will apply to. Most fans are hoping for cross-platform compatibility between PC-based platforms and PlayStation VR, but the update may just allow compatibility between Oculus Home and Steam VR.

In addition, a subsequent tweet from Cherry Pop Games answering a question about VR Snooker was responded to with the words ‘Big Plans’ and the hashtag ‘Snookerteaser’. This seems to suggest that Cherry Pop Games are planning to bring the ability to play Snooker into Sports Bar VR alongside the existing games of Pool already available, or perhaps that the company is planning a separate VR Snooker title.

Sports Bar VR has enjoyed regular updates since launch, with new mini-games and features being added, such as the addition of a jukebox, updates to multiplayer game-finding features and video streaming capability.

Sports Bar VR is available for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for £14.99 (GBP)

VRFocus will bring you further news on Sports Bar VR as it becomes available.

PlayStation VR Party: The Best Games for a Fun Night with Friends

The launch of the PlayStation VR has been deemed a success by many, with even Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) seemingly caught unawares by the demand for the virtual reality (VR) hardware. But satisfying the early adopters is a much easier task than achieving mass market appeal, as has been seen time-and-again with peripherals in the videogame industry. One ideal is for those early adopters to become evangelists for the hardware, but doing so takes just the right kind of software.

Keen to ensure that VR can be enjoyed by families and friends as well as the core videogame demographic, every early adopter of the head-mounted display (HMD) should consider a purchase of PlayStation VR Worlds. A selection of mini-games both family friendly and more maturely themed, PlayStation VR Worlds offers a taste of the potential of VR without daunting newcomers with the possibility of a ten hour experience; or even just an hour, for that matter. Once that initial boundary has fallen what else can PlayStation VR offer to get the party swinging?

The Playroom VR

Playroom VR – Sony Interactive Entertainment

Playroom VR is a free download for all PlayStation VR early adopters, so why haven’t you got it yet? Well you probably have, and already have dived into the couch multiplayer style mini-games included. The essence of Playroom VR is that players armed with a DualShock 4 controller both work with and against the player wearing the PlayStation VR HMD. Monster Escape grants the solo HMD wearing player the ability to crush their foes as they combat one-to-four players who are trying to evade the large green beast towering down upon them, while Ghost House has the players working co-operatively to hunt supernatural beings in a cartoon haunted house. Playroom VR is a fantastic way of demonstrating this new technology without the fear of the many complicated implications of VR.

Werewolves Within screenshot 1

Werewolves Within – Ubisoft

A somewhat underrated PlayStation VR title, Werewolves Within is the essence of social interaction in VR. Although there’s no local multiplayer option – meaning the laughs will come from sharing the HMD around your friends opposed to getting the better of one another – Werewolves Within is an elaborate guessing game that is as fun as you choose to make it. Don’t underestimate the comedy value of merging new players online with the friends sat next to you on the couch.

Carnival Games VR-Alleyball

Carnival Games VR – 2K Games

One of the biggest selling franchises on the hugely successful Nintendo Wii console is also available on PlayStation VR, however this time around things are a bit different. Those looking for an immediate and accessible videogame to play with their family or a friend unacquainted with VR – or videogames as a whole, for that matter – could do far worse. Carnival Games VR promises a palatable experience with extremely low barriers for entry.

Ace Banana – Oasis Games

Ace Banana tasks the players with defending a pile of bananas from evil invader monkeys. Who doesn’t want to do that? You’ll have to put your archery skills to the test using PlayStation Move controllers in a VR experience that is designed to increase in difficulty as players choose their own play style: from short bursts to longer endurance tests. What’s more, the entire videogame can be played co-operatively. How’s that for multiplayer monkey-wrangling?

Sports Bar VR - checkers

Sports Bar VR – CherryPop Games

Much like Werewolves Within, Sports Bar VR isn’t social multiplayer for local players. However, it is the most social VR experience currently offered across any HMD. Originally launched as Pool Nation VR on HTC Vive, the PlayStation VR version lags a little behind the debut due to the lack of roomscale tracking, however CherryPop Games has worked very hard to ensure that the experience of being in a virtual space with complete strangers is just as entertaining. The name change came about due to the fact that pool became just one element of the videogame, with air hockey, ball games, darts and more now included as standard.

NVIDIA & HTC Announce New GeForce & Vive Bundle Deal

Virtual reality (VR) platforms and devices have seen a great deal of discounting for the holiday season, and today NVIDIA has announced their new pricing strategy. Starting today, those wishing to experience brand new worlds can purchase a GeForce GTX 1080, 1070, or 1060 graphics card, PC system or laptop and a HTC Vive from participating retailers and receive three VR videogames for free.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX and HTC Vive Bundle

Available from today until 31st January 2017, gamers who purchase a GeForce GTX 1080, 1070 or 1060 graphics card, PC system or laptop and a HTC Vive headset will receive Survios’ hugely popular Raw Data, CherryPop Games’ ever-expanding Sports Bar VR (formerly known as Pool Nation VR) and wave-shooter Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope for free.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10- series launched earlier this year and has proven to be a very popular range of graphics cards for VR use. VRFocus delivered a comparison chart of NVIDIA’s most popular graphics cards soon after the announcement, so you may find the best one to suit your needs and budget.

More details on the bundle deals from NVIDIA and HTC are available on the official GeForce website, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest deals for VR coming this holiday season.

Sports Bar VR Update Adds New Games And Toys

Sports Bar VR Update Adds New Games And Toys

As one of the few PlayStation VR games to have been ported over from a roomscale HTC Vive experience, Sports Bar VR (known as Pool Nation VR on PC) does a great job of showing developers it can be done. Now it’s showing them how to support their games post-launch too.

Developers Cherry Pop Games and Perilous Orbit today released a free update to the social sports title, adding three new games to it. Chess, Checkers and Shuffleboard all join the PlayStation Move-supported experience, adding to the list of things players can do when they meet up with friends online or challenge AI opponents. There are also more toys to mess around with in the environment, including a ping pong ball gun, a beach ball, baseball, and American football.

You can’t actually play American football — the sport doesn’t take well to bars and places with lots of glass — but you can still throw them between friends.

Opponent AI has also been upgraded, “to make the game more enjoyable.” I’ve played against the computer pre-patch and it can beat you around a little bit on the pool table. Interestingly the update doesn’t support Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro, which hits next week and gives developers the chance to improve the visuals and performance in PS VR titles. We’ve reached out to Cherry Pop to see if it might add support for the console in the future.

I really liked the developer’s port of Pool Nation for PS VR. “If you have a Vive then Pool Nation is easily still the better way to go, but PS VR owners shouldn’t feel short changed by the console edition,” I said when we compared the two versions. “If all developers show this kind of attention to porting their room-scale projects to the less capable headset, then PS VR has got a very bright future ahead of it.”

With free updates like this, that’s truer than ever.