Hotel R’n’R, the rock star lifestyle simulator, is headed out of early access on PC VR headsets soon, which will coincide its release on PSVR.
Developers Wolf & Wood Interactive say the full version is set to release on May 28th, which will be available on SteamVR headsets, Oculus Rift, and PSVR.
Hotel R’n’R landed on Steam and the Oculus Store for Rift back in late August, serving up plenty of opportunity to approach destruction with a creative flair. As a failed musician who struck a deal with the Devil, you smash up different physics-based hotels with over 30 weapons, letting you take out a bit of that pent up rage in the process.
In addition to single player mode, the game also supports up to five players in its ‘Pass and Play’ mode, which lets you compete against your friends in a number of mini-games.
Wolf & Wood are also known for creating VR titles The Exorcist: Legion VR (2017) and A Chair in a Room: Greenwater (2016).
Manually creating beat maps for your favorite songs in Beat Saber (2018) requires a bit of know-how and time. If you’re looking for a quick and surprisingly effective solution to automatically creating beat maps for any song, look no further than the fan-built service called ‘Beat Sage’.
Beat Sage is an AI which creates custom beat maps with any song on YouTube, or any mp3 in your possession. Simply navigate to the Beat Sage website, plug in the song’s YouTube URL (or upload your own mp3), tick a few boxes for level difficulty, game modes, and song events, and you’ll have a brand new mess of levels for Beat Saber on SteamVR headsets and Oculus Quest. And it’s free.
Created by Beat Saber fans Chris Donahue and Abhay Agarwal, Beat Sage is said to use two neural networks to map an audio file into what the team calls “a plausible Beat Saber level.”
Image captured by Road to VR
“These neural networks were trained on Beat Saber levels created by humans,” the team explains. “The first neural network listens to the audio and predicts at what points in time blocks should be placed. The second neural network looks at the predicted timings and maps each to a timestamp to a block type (e.g. red up, blue down, red up + blue down).”
Check out the promo below to see some of the results, timestamped showing Ariana Grande’s song ‘thank u, next’.
Installing the songs is fairly straightforward on PC, as it doesn’t require any modding. Find the ‘CustomLevels’ subfolder in your directory either via Steam or Oculus Home—depending on where you bought Beat Saber. Here’s the default locations.
From there you unzip the downloaded folder into CustomLevels and you’re off to the races.
Installing for Oculus Quest is a bit more involved, as it requires modding through the unofficial sideloading app SideQuest. Check out the full instructions on how to install the custom songs on Quest.
Beat Sage is free, however the team is taking donations through its Patreon, which they say will help keep the service free moving forward.
DAVIGO, the indie VR game where players battle in a duel of scales, has officially opened its public alpha, bringing it one step closer to its Early Access launch on Steam.
As a VR player, you play as a titanic giant, battling the little people below, who scurry about launching rockets and hiding for dear life.
Davigo’s public alpha, which is now live, features the map ‘Proving Ground’ where one VR player and up to four PC players play against each other. This is done either locally or online, the latter of which is accomplished via Steam Remote Play or Parsec, two solutions which essentially turn local play into a de facto online play.
If you want to get your hands on a Steam code for the public alpha, simply head to the game’s Discord channel.
According to a Steam news update, the team behind Davigo is currently exploring more gameplay mechanics, including frangible armor, destructible levels, and flammable terrain—perfect for obscuring the vision of a would-be Goliath.
The studio also says that both the current art and sound are placeholders at the moment, and that they’re hoping to bring greater polish to the game in the meantime.
Furthermore, the studio wants to support Oculus Quest, however is still in the process of researching how to make it possible. Davigo is slated to support your standard swath of SteamVR headsets, including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.
Make sure to check out Davigo’s Steam page to follow along with the game’s development.
Controller-less hand-tracking (like what’s currently available as an experimental feature on Quest) has a handful of advantages over using controllers, like convenience and intuitiveness. However, common VR game actions like shooting and moving are difficult to do with hand-gestures alone. Aldin, the studio behind Waltz of the Wizard, has developed a new approach to VR locomotion called Telepath, and it could be a great fit for controller-less hand-tracking.
Aldin rolled out the first-generation of its Telepath system back in late 2017 with its VR classic, Waltz of the Wizard. The system lived on in an expanded version of the game, Waltz of the Wizard: Extended Edition, when it launched in 2019. Today the studio revealed an upgraded version of Telepath with new features that improve and refine the locomotion scheme.
The new Telepath system is available as of today in Waltz of the Wizard: Extended Edition, and Aldin says it will roll out Quest once Oculus allows developers to publish content which makes use of the headset’s hand-tracking capabilities.
The studio previously explained its ‘Ghostline’ analytics system which it uses to understand player behavior in depth; the studio says that the data shows that Telepath is comfortable and causes players to be more physically interactive with the VR world compared to thumbstick movement. While teleport and thumbstick movement are available in the game, Aldin says that 90% of users chose to stick with Teleport after being told that the other options were available.
Beyond demonstrating the ability for Telepath to work with controller-less hand-tracking, Aldin is also rolling out new Telepath features: Presence Control, Smooth Motion Mode, and Arc Roll.
Oculus Quest has experimental controller-less hand-tracking which can be enabled in the headset’s settings. Developers aren’t yet permitted to publish applications that use the tech. | Image courtesy Oculus
Presence Control, as Aldin calls it, attempts to understand player intent without any button presses while adjusting the movement along a given path in real-time. The studio gives the example of being able to step away from the path to stop and interact with an object that catches your eye before continuing forward, or ducking behind an object for cover and having movement automatically pause.
While the default Telepath system moves players in short dashes along the path, the new Smooth Motion Mode instead moves players smoothly. While this may be less comfortable for those more sensitive to artificial motion, it can be more immersive for players that are ok with it. Granted, Alind says Smooth Movement Mode tends to be more comfortable than regular thumbstick movement.
Arc Roll is a new feature which makes it easier to draw more complex paths, including around corners and through doorways. It works by taking into account the rotation of the player’s wrist to influence the control of the path cursor.
Aldin says it plans to continue to develop Telepath to refine its features and continue to focus on measuring player intent—especially through new signals like eye-tracking—to make the system feel as natural as possible.
Blade and Sorcery, the physics-based combat sandbox, isn’t out of Early Access on PC VR just yet, however developers WarpFrog are taking a big step in the right direction today by releasing a major update that includes a new map, weapons, armor, and magical effects—finally a little more sorcery to add to its many, many blades.
Update (June 4th, 2020): After an uncertain wait today, the new U8 update is now live on Steam. The Oculus Store update is slated to follow at some point.
Community manager and YouTuber ‘The Baron’ released a full walkthrough of what’s in store, which goes much deeper than the original U8 trailer. If you have a few minutes to spare, check out The Baron’s video below:
Original Article (May 6th, 2020): The ‘U8’ update is slated to arrive near the end of May, the studio says in a recent Steam update.
WarpFrog shared some work-in-progress video from the upcoming update, first showing off the game’s new bow and arrow effects to the backdrop of a new map, ‘The Citadel’.
In U8, you’ll be able to ‘imbue’ arrows when you draw the bow, infusing it with a number of effects. This also comes alongside a new model for the bow, arrows, and quiver.
Additionally, the update will bring modular armor, which includes three tiers: cloth, leather and plate. Since different tiers of armor have different penetration resistance levels, you’ll have to mix and match techniques to slaying the game’s endless AI foes.
Arrows aren’t the only things that can be imbued with magical effects; swords can also be magically set alight, which allows it to “sear through metal like a hot knife through butter,” the teams says. You’ll also be able to imbue other melee weapons too, such as blunt weaponry “for twice the smashing fun.”
WarpFrog says that all of what is seen in the clips above has been newly created, and isn’t ported over from the original EA launch, which includes new enemies, armor, map, textures, and weapon models.
Check out Blade & Sorcery on Steam here and on the Oculus Store here, which is priced at $20. Through Steam, the game supports Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows VR, and Valve Index.
The game’s looting, shooting, crafting, and melee gameplay comes to PSVR today and Skydance Interactive has thrown together a new trailer for the occasion which shows off the game’s brutal physics-driven melee combat.
The game is available digitally at the PlayStation Store in two versions, the Standard Edition ($40) and the Tourist Edition ($50), the latter comes with a few exclusive in-game weapons: ‘The Sheriff’ revolver, ‘The Judge’ bat, and the National Guard Knife, as well as a set of “collectible” voodoo dolls.
Carbon Studio, the Poland-based team behind The Wizards (2018), today announced that their upcoming sequel to the spellcaster series, The Wizards – Dark Times, is slated to arrive on PC VR headsets June 4th.
Carbon initially planned for Dark Times to be a standalone expansion when we first saw it at Gamescom 2019, however now the studio says it will be a full sequel “similar in scope to its predecessor.”
When we got our first 10-minute demo of the game at Gamescom 2019, we were treated to a new spellcasting system, which focuses on taking the game’s elemental spells and making the resultant damage more in line with standard RPGs, i.e. an ice attack can freeze an enemy in its path so you can transition to a more powerful spell to deal more damage.
Carbon says there are 11 individually designed spells which you can mix and match in combat on their way through the story-driven game (read: not arcade-style arena play like the first).
Furthermore, the studio says the game will receive a series of free post-launch content updates following its release in June.
“Since Gamescom 2019, where the Dark Times’ press demo received overwhelming praise, we decided to extend the scale of the project. We made sure our spellcasting adventure will keep everyone slinging fireballs and roleplaying as the Emperor for hours, without any pesky magical barriers that slow your progress,” says Jakub Pander, Carbon Studio’s producer.
The Wizards – Dark Times is headed to SteamVR headsets via Steam and Viveport, and to Rift on the Oculus Store on June 4th, priced at $25.
Espire 1: VR Operative (2019) launched late last year on all major VR headsets, offering up some very Metal Gear Solid style stealth action to VR players. Now developers Digital Lode have announced a major update, called ‘Assimilation’, which is slated to bring to the game a host of new weapons, challenges, and features next week.
Launching on May 5th, the update will be available on all supported platforms, which includes Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows VR headsets, and PSVR.
Check out the changes coming to the game below:
New Weapons
Vector SMG: This semi-auto weapon is an excellent choice for mid-range combat, providing for accurate and quick bursts of controlled fire with one bullet firing upon the first trigger press and the last bullet firing upon release. With an extended clip of 45 rounds and very low recoil, it is the weapon of choice for the new “SMG” weapon challenge mode.
Sawed-off Shotgun: Get up close and personal with this new shotgun, boasting a wider spread fore close quarters combat. Its compact design allows for the shotgun to be holstered as either a sidearm or primary weapon — and reloads via magazine clip instead of individual shells.
New Virtual Challenge Game Modes: Experienced Espire agents can also look forward to three new Virtual Challenge game modes, featuring new stealth gameplay not featured in the campaign. These new Virtual Challenges focuses on Weapon mastery, Climbing, and Intel gathering stealth skills essential to completing missions quickly and efficiently. Test your skills against players around the world with an improved leaderboard.
Weapon Challenges: Run, weave, duck, climb, jump and zipline your way through seven courses designed to test your mastery with each weapon class. Rack up the highest combo while eliminating static, moving and explosive targets, as well as enemy combatants in order to reach the top of the leaderboard.
Climbing Challenges: Overcome climbing puzzles where speed and timing is paramount to completing the course with the highest score. Make sure to avoid getting squashed by the fast-moving crushers!
Intel Challenges: Explore four completely new environments. Locate and hack intelligence from all workstations in the area, and reach the extraction point. This game mode builds on the core Espire gameplay from the campaign.
Vertigo Games has now released its final paid DLC for its co-op zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine (2017) on Oculus Quest.
First released on PSVR and PC headsets in October 2019, ‘The Damned DLC’ is now available on Oculus Quest, priced at $5.
This, the studio tells us, includes Oculus Store cross-buy support, so buying it for Quest will also allow you play it on Rift and vice versa.
The Damned DLC precedes the events of the main story, sending you and a team of US Special Forces to reactivate the generators of a massive hydroelectric dam to restore power to the military’s nuclear missile systems.
Priced at $40, Arizona Sunshine supports all major VR headsets, including PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows VR headsets, and Oculus Quest.
Half-Life: Alyx (2020), Valve’s made-for-VR entry into the fabled Half-Life series, launched late last month on SteamVR-compatible headsets to near-universal praise. If you don’t own a VR headset but still want to play though, I’d caution you against playing it for the first time with the new, unofficial PC monitor mod. Get a VR headset and don’t spoil it for yourself.
Whatever your opinion on the nuts and bolts of Half-Life: Alyx, it’s actually an honest-to-goodness VR game, and not a glorified experimental mod like we’ve seen in the past. There’s nothing wrong if you like playing those sorts of VR-supported titles (Alien: Isolation is great, don’t get me wrong) but with four years of consumer VR under our collective belts, it’s safe to say we’ve moved beyond those sorts of things from a game design standpoint.
Valve has made many ground-up VR design choices, rendering the game ostensibly un-portable to traditional monitors. I say ‘ostensibly’, but it seems that there’s now a keyboard and mouse mod for Half-Life: Alyx, which you can see in action below in the developer’s promo.
I won’t go as far to say the mod is entirely terrible per se. It no doubt took time and dedication to make, but it definitely feels like it’s entirely missing the point of VR’s existence. Looking past some of the inherent jank, which you can see when the user moves his POV too quickly for the renderer to catch up, there’s so much you’d miss out on by jumping the proverbial VR turnstile and playing Half-Life: Alyx on your monitor.
Getting Handsy
Motion controllers aren’t just there so you can breathlessly inspect the front and back of your hands in virtual reality. They’re actually additive to immersion in other, more important ways.
The fact that the controllers themselves have very few buttons in comparison to a keyboard, and are closer to gamepads in manufacture, shouldn’t fool you into mistakenly writing off VR controllers as a more simplistic input method.
Image courtesy Valve
Motion controllers may offer less ‘mechanical’ complexity, however VR game designers instead focus on creating ‘virtual’ complexity with things like shooting and reloading weapons, throwing objects, gestural commands, managing resources—all the things that would otherwise be handled with a scroll, hotkey or floating 2D menu.
That doesn’t mean using motion controllers is exactly effortless at first blush either, but provided you grew up with working hands, reaching forward and grabbing something is probably second nature to you by now.
Doing a common task like reloading a magazine, force grabbing a grenade with your ‘gravity gloves’ and throwing it through a broken window while shooting a head crab in one smooth chain of movements is a whole different experience to whipping your viewport around with a mouse and pressing a combination of ‘E’, ‘1’, scrolling the little mouse wheelie and left clicking. Executing the somewhat bizarre dance of hitting key combos may be commonplace for entrenched PC gamers, but it doesn’t get any more bizarre than when you try to essentially drag your limp virtual hands with your face and grip with a left click.
While motion controllers are fundamental to interacting with those sorts of objects, it’s fair enough to say you can technically abstract those tasks away simply enough with cursor and a few key strokes to some extent. But when confronted with 3D puzzles, like Half-Life: Alyx’s many puzzles, both dexterity and the ability to naturally look around is key. That’s where the mod really starts to break down and you really wish you had a VR headset.
Like fun, fear is also subjective, although it’s hard to argue that you’d be more afraid of an enemy when sitting in front of a monitor as opposed to confronting it in stereoscopic 3D. I’ve played my fair share of flastcreen horror survival games that have left me barely able to blink, but nothing has prepared me for the terrifyingly immersive feeling of something literally breathing down my neck.
Watching Twitch streams of Half-Life: Alyx played in VR doesn’t do it justice either. The game’s comparatively fewer enemies look laughable when compared to the never-ending hordes of Half-Life titles past. It seems Valve’s mantra throughout creating Alyx was ‘less is more’, as each enemy requires more user concentration to kill in VR than with a mouse and keyboard, making it an objectively less interesting game when viewed through the lens of a computer monitor. Not so in VR. One name comes to mind (no spoilers) and it rhymes with ‘Reff’. Enough said.
Image courtesy Valve
Flatscreen videos of the game only show a thin slice of its environments too. And not to understate just how visually stunning Half-Life: Alyx’s visuals are, which feature a wide range of interactive objects and detailed interiors and exteriors—as a new VR user you might be surprised at just how much of this immersion comes from positional audio. Something clicks in your brain that says “I’m really here” when you turn your head and audio is anchored to your skull correctly. Even more so when that audio is coming from a headcrab lurking in the airduct above your head.
Wearing a VR headset is essential to syncing up these perceptual systems, putting you more on edge in a game like Half-Life: Alyx than you might normally be at your desk. Check out our interview with game designer Robin Walker to get an inside peek at Valve’s development process, which approached the game’s development with a ‘one room at a time’ design philosophy.
Image courtesy Valve
That said, even if the PC monitor mod gets more polish to the point that it makes HLA look like a native PC game, it would still be missing these fundamental pillars of immersion that just aren’t worth hobbling to say you finally played the first Half-Life game released in over a decade. You’ll blow past intricate rooms just begging to be explored. You’ll frustratingly fumble with objects that would take you a split-second to pick up and throw in your inventory. You’ll rob yourself of what we considered a [10/10] VR gaming experience.
A word of advice: get a used headset for cheap. Hunt online for a deal on a new, cheaper headset like an Oculus Rift S. Heck, borrow a 2016-gen PC VR headset from a friend. Play it in VR. You bought the game, so you might as well actually enjoy it.
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If you’re still curious you can download the driver on GitHub, which includes a quick installation guide. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
