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‘Pool Nation VR’ Gets NVIDIA Multi-Res Shading Support and More in Latest Patch

Good news for NVIDIA GPU owners today as Pool Nation VR was updated to include support for Multi Res Shading alongside other feature additions and improvements.

See Also: ‘Pool Nation VR’ Review
See Also: ‘Pool Nation VR’ Review

Pool Nation VR is a firm Road to VR favourite, with our own Garret Bullard awarding the title a very respectable 4.7/5 in his recent review, stating that the game is “responsive, looks good, and is great simulation of the game we all know and enjoy. If you enjoy pool and have a friend with an HTC Vive this game is a must.”

Now, the developers Cherry Pop Games and Perilous Orbit have released a patch which adds some significant enhancements to the title. Chief among them is the implementation of NVIDIA’s proprietary Multi-res Shading rendering method. According to the patch notes:

“Multi-Res Shading is an innovative rendering technique for VR whereby each part of an image is rendered at a resolution that better matches the pixel density of the lens corrected image. Multi-Res Shading uses Maxwell or later architecture features to render multiple scaled viewports in a single pass, delivering substantial performance improvements in pixel shading. “

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Steam users are already reporting significant performance gains allowing them to ramp up super-sampling by 33% or more, which massively increases the quality and clarity of the visuals in the game.

The developers haven’t stopped there either. Darts is now its own fully fledged mini-game, Skreeball has been improved, and a collection of usability improvements have all made this patch along with a change to the layout of the play area. Cryptically, the patch notes ask “Hmmm… I wonder why we’re readying the map with more spaces and machines” which might suggest there are more minigames on the way.

Hopefully these updates will introduce more people to one of the best VR experiences available. If your interest is now piqued, you can buy Pool Nation VR for HTC Vive on Steam right here.

The post ‘Pool Nation VR’ Gets NVIDIA Multi-Res Shading Support and More in Latest Patch appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC makes $5 million investment in VR gaming startup Steel Wool Studios



HTC is continuing to invest heavily in building up the virtual reality ecosystem that it hopes to one day dominate. Steel Wool Studios, an Oakland-based gaming studio made up of Pixar veterans with a few decades of animation experience under their belts, announced today that it has closed a $5 million round of Series A funding coming entirely from HTC, the manufacturer of the Vive… Read More



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HTC Invests $5 Million in VR Game Developer Steel Wool Studios

Steel Wool Studios has picked up a $5 million investment from HTC. The studio was formed in 2011 by Pixar and LucasArts alumni.

Steel Wool Studios, which today announced a $5 million Series A investment from HTC, was founded in 2011 and shifted their focus to VR in 2014, eventually launching Quar: Battle for Gate 18, a virtual reality RTS for the HTC Vive. Among the company’s future projects is Mars Odyssey, a “simulation” for the HTC Vive that’s set to launch on September 9th.

“The Steel Wool Studios team carries an impressive pedigree of creative talent that has already proven its ability to build cutting-edge content for the nascent VR category,” said HTC CEO Cher Wang. “Taking a look at Mars Odyssey and Steel Wool’s other projects under development, it’s immediately clear that this studio will drive VR adoption with great content that balances amazing visual fidelity with strong storytelling.”

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See Also: HTC-led Venture Capital Consortium Represents $10 Billion Earmarked for VR

In Mars Odyssey, players will head to Mars to repair some of the many robot emissaries that have been sent to the planet. The rovers will be in their actual location on the planet according to NASA data; players will learn more about the planet as they progress through the experience, the company says.

While HTC recently launched the HTC Vive X accelerator—a $100 million VR investment fund and accelerator program—it’s not clear whether or not the investment in Steel Wool Studios is being drawn from the same fund; the studio wasn’t listed among the first investments made by the accelerator. We’ve reached out to the company for clarification.

Steel Wool Studios says that beyond Quar and Mars Odyssey, they’ll soon be talking about upcoming projects which “span game, simulation, and narrative-based concepts.”

The post HTC Invests $5 Million in VR Game Developer Steel Wool Studios appeared first on Road to VR.

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Batman: Arkham VR Devs Detail Gadgets and Scenes in Latest Video

Despite it being the week where EVE: Valkyrie is the highlight for PlayStation Blog Europe, it seems as though they couldn’t help themselves when it came to the release of this juicy behind the scenes video of Batman: Arkham VR, and we hear about a few more details than what we previously knew about the title.

The guys who were behind the main development at Rocksteady Studios feature in an in-depth video that may give you more of an idea as to what Batman: Arkham VR really is all about.

batman arkham vr screen

Bill Green, Acting Lead VR Designer, shared what kinds of equipment you will come across in the suiting up sequence and into the investigative tasks: “We were keen to bring in Batman’s gadgets with the gadget belt. We’ve got the old faithful bat claw that gets you round the environment. You get to take it off the belt, you aim, you shoot, and off you go. And then on the other side we came up with a new gadget, the Scanner gadget, that is effectively a detective mode for the VR world where you can use it like a torch and then Batman can piece together the evidence using the Scanner gadget.”

Watch the video below for more info, and check back with VRFocus for the latest news, updates, and features in the world of VR.

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Valve and Quark VR Are Working On A Wireless Version of the HTC Vive

There’s no doubting that PC virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) are the more powerful when it comes to comparing platforms, but one of the downsides that developers and users have to work their way around is the fact that it is tethered, and with HMDs like the HTC Vive which require room scale movement it can be a real pain. However, this could soon become a thing of the past as Valve is working with Quark VR on developing a wireless version of the HTC Vive.

In Quark VR‘s latest newsletter, it is said that it is working with Valve on this wireless version of the HTC Vive, and a prototype will be ready for Autumn. For those who aren’t familiar with Quark VR, it is a software development kit (SDK) that translates VR projects between any tethered or untethered HMD, and appears to be a branch-off from the Bulgarian company Intugames.

quark VR Valve

In the way that Quark VR, or Intugame, can project VR images between both tethered and untethered HMDs, the HTC Vive will use this technology to enable it to not require any wires. Essentially, it will be video streaming, but it won’t take away from any VR features or visuals.

There are no further details on how this wireless HTC Vive will be powered, if it will then adopt a mobile-like device, or what Valve is even saying, but VRFocus will keep you up to date on the latest developments as the prototype will be coming out soon enough with its deadline of Autumn nearing ever so quickly. We have also reached out to Quark VR for further information.

For the latest news, updates, and features in the world of VR, make sure to check back with VRFocus.