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EVE: Valkyrie to be co-published by Oculus
It's fairly obvious to interested observers that EVE: Valkyrie is intimately tied to the Oculus Rift. Its biggest selling point is creating that feel of really piloting a nimble little starfighter yourself, after all. And it looks like that's obvious to the team at Oculus as well, as the studio behind the VR headset has announced it will be co-publishing EVE: Valkyrie along with CCP Games. The net result is that Valkyrie will be an exclusive launch title for the Oculus Rift, making it one of the first AAA titles developed specifically for the device. Oculus is also reaching out to other development studios interested in potentially introducing more titles designed with the VR experience in mind. While there are still no firm details regarding launch dates for the title, expect to see more information about it as the headset moves toward completion.
Oculus VR's first published game will be EVE: Valkyrie
EVE:Valkyrie is no longer just a neat proof-of-concept demo for Oculus' prototype VR headset -- it's now an exclusive launch title. Today, Oculus announced that it'd be entering into a co-publishing agreement with developer CCP Games to make its space dogfighter one of the Rift's first AAA "made-for-VR" games. That Oculus would seek to back EVE:Valkyrie in this way shouldn't come as much surprise to those following the nascent VR outfit's saga. The two companies have had a closely intertwined relationship that reaches back to Oculus' Kickstarter days. So when CCP revealed plans to develop the VR shooter as a standalone title within its EVE Online universe back in August of last year -- previously a go-to demo for the Rift -- it seemed likely the title was destined for Oculus. At the time, CCP had even mentioned 2014 as a target for the games' commercial release, a date which coincided neatly with the same vague release window Oculus had set for a commercial launch of the Rift.
Cheat on a dolphin exam in Oculus-enabled Classroom Aquatic
Indie developer Sunken Places recently launched a Kickstarter project for Classroom Aquatic. The PC, Mac and Linux game uses, but does not require, the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. In it, players assume the role of an exchange student that is completely unprepared for an exam in a classroom full of dolphins. In order to pass the test, players need to sneak glances at their neighbors' answer sheets without being caught by both the finned students and the teacher. A demo version of Classroom Aquatic is currently available on the developer's official website. It is seeking $30,000 by March 5 to fund the full version, which will feature multiple languages, and more classrooms and mechanics than the demo has to offer.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is local bomb-defusing fun
Three developers at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada recently offered a novel multiplayer bomb-diffusing game for this past weekend's Global Game Jam. Dubbed Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, the game has one Oculus Rift-wearing, Razer Hydra-holding player lifting and examining a ticking time bomb while at least one other player holds the manual with instructions to disarm the virtual destructive device. The accompanying video for the game shows three fellows hovering over a spread of papers, shouting instructions (and not always the correct ones) at the bomb's diffuser with choice quotes like "Oh fuck," and "How much time is on the bomb, Owen?" Developed by the team of Allen Pestaluky, Ben Kane and Brian Fetter with dramatic music by Liam Sauve, the Windows-only game is freely available for players to check out on the Global Game Jam website. Kane works with Going Loud Studios, developers of the satirical platformer DLC Quest. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes requires the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra devices, so the rest of us will have no choice but to pray others will snip the correct wires.
Valve: Consumer-priced virtual reality headsets feasible for 2015
During a Steam Dev Days talk last week, Valve Research and Development leader Michael Abrash said he expects virtual reality to hit big in the coming years, and that it "could transform the entire entertainment industry," USA Today reported. "Compelling consumer-priced VR hardware is coming, probably within two years," Abrash said. With Oculus VR leading the way, virtual reality headsets aren't anything new to those that have been watching their growth in recent years. The key words here are "compelling consumer-priced VR hardware" then, which Abrash thinks can be built to the following specs in 2015, per a slide (PDF) in his presentation: 110-degree field of vision, 95 Hz refresh rate, 1K x 1K resolution per eye, three millisecond pixel persistence and 20 millisecond latency. Abrash said a VR headset with those specs is "doable with relatively minor tweaks of existing technology; no breakthroughs or miracles are needed, just solid engineering." In fact, Valve has built prototypes of head-mounted displays with those specifications already, and will "share what we've found with PC companies that want to develop VR hardware." Valve has already built a working relationship with VR hardware manufacturers, working directly with Oculus VR on consumer-level virtual reality options and launched its SteamVR beta just ahead of its Steam Dev Days conference. We went hands-on with Oculus VR's latest internal prototype hardware "Crystal Cove" at CES 2014.
Oculus' best practices explains how to create a VR experience that doesn't make people sick
Couldn't make it out to Valve's Steam Dev Days to hear Palmer Luckey gab about how to build a good virtual reality experience? No worries - Oculus' new VR Best Practices guide will fill you in on the details. The 39-page document is designed to help combat simulator sickness, which can leave users of a poorly optimized virtual reality experience feeling nauseous, disoriented and uncomfortable. Inside it has guidelines for minimum framerates, graphics aliasing and response times, but most of it focuses on creating an experience that feels natural to the user. Seemingly simple things, like a player's walking speed or limitations in camera control, can have a major impact on how uncomfortable a player can feel in a virtual space. The user's awareness of their own presence in VR is also pretty important. "Looking down and having no body is disconcerting," the document reads. "A full character avatar can do a lot to ground the user in the virtual environment." The guide has health warnings too, suggesting that users take 10 to 15 minute breaks for every hour spent in the Oculus Rift and declaring its 3D technology potentially unsafe for children. Gee, that sounds familiar.
SteamVR beta launches just ahead of Valve developer conference
As promised, Valve launched an experimental SteamVR mode this week, allowing users to test out virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift with the Steam UI. The launch comes just a day ahead of Valve's Steam Dev Days conference in Seattle, where talks feature discussion on VR hardware development, and how to integrate VR with various Steam features. In one talk, Valve is showcasing a prototype that reveals "what VR is capable of within a couple of years," and the studio looks likely to be working on its own VR headset, though no official announcement has been made. Valve's Brian Coomer recently said "there's also technology in development at Valve based around head-tracking and headset manufacture and design," and that the studio is working with other companies on VR tech, too. To test out SteamVR for yourself, follow the instructions here.
The Oculus Rift 'Crystal Cove' prototype is 2014's Best of CES winner
Virtual reality has captured the imagination of developers, consumers and businesses for decades, but most VR headsets produced so far have been notable more for their limitations than their capabilities. With its latest prototype, code-named "Crystal Cove," Oculus VR has taken a massive leap forward, eliminating the stomach-churning motion blur that has plagued previous generations of VR headsets, and adding sensors and a camera to track the position of both your head and body and provide more accurate simulated movement. With the latest Rift, Oculus has created a device that may usher in an era of truly immersive gaming and entertainment, and even create new opportunities for businesses to use virtual reality in everything from manufacturing to medical environments. Of all the exciting, innovative products we've seen at CES this year, the Oculus Rift "Crystal Cove" prototype is unquestionably the best of the best.
Oculus VR gets into game publishing with some help from former EA VP
Between virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR's Share portal and a recent infusion of $75 million, it's not exactly a huge surprise to hear that the startup is branching out into game publishing as well. Former Electronic Arts senior VP David DeMartini is now heading up Oculus' game-publishing arm, which aims to give, "developers additional resources to help them achieve their vision." In case it wasn't already clear, "resources" in this instance means money, though it likely also means development assistance. As DeMartini puts it, "What I'm doing at Oculus, it's not particularly different from what I did for seven years at EA as part of the EA Partners program." While at EA Partners, DeMartini helped shepherd game development from third-party, non-EA-owned studios through the perilous world of game publishing. During his tenure, hit series like Rock Band and Left 4 Dead made EA Partners a success story. He's applying that same curatorial experience to Oculus, traveling the world to visit developers and other content partners with the hope of having a robust lineup when the consumer Oculus Rift headset launches at some point in 2014.
The next game from Braid's creator supports the Oculus Rift
After indie game darling Braid's mass popularity, creator Jonathan Blow didn't go crazy and buy a Lamborghini or something. He started a game studio instead, to create his next big thing: The Witness. Blow was on-stage at Sony's big PlayStation 4 announcement event back in February (that was this year!), where he announced The Witness as headed to the PlayStation 4 as a "console exclusive" -- a coup for Sony's PlayStation 4 after Braid initially debuted exclusively on Microsoft's Xbox 360 in 2008. Since that announcement, Blow's been in development mode. The Witness was featured at Sony's PlayStation 4 review event, as well as trade shows like E3 and Gamescom, but he and his team have otherwise been pretty quiet. A few weeks ago, however, Blow posted a duo of enticing images (one of which is seen above) with the headline, "What could it mean??" The internet answered with the logical response: "Jonathan Blow possibly teasing Oculus [Rift] support for The Witness. This game seems like a perfect fit." is Reddit's headline. Surprising no one, The Witness -- at least the PC version -- will support the Oculus Rift. "The main work we are doing is not for the Oculus," Blow told Engadget. "But then, since we are doing 3D it is not that big a step to support the Oculus also, so we are implementing support for it." In other news, apparently The Witness will support 3D televisions! It's not clear how the headset will interact with the game in terms of gameplay input, but we're thrilled enough by the thought of exploring The Witness' first-person open-world using the Oculus Rift. And hey, maybe there'll be a consumer version in sight by the time The Witness launches in 2014!
Insert Coin: capture 360-degree video with DLSRs and GoPros, viewable on an Oculus Rift
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Turning around is for suckers. Just screw a GP360 onto the front of a DSLR, GoPro or other video camera, and you can capture 360-degree video or stills. You can watch the video on your computer or mobile device or upload it to the Eye Mirror site for sharing. Pretty snazzy, no? The GP360's makers assure us that the add-on is rugged, too. They've tested it at down to 60 meters diving, in Arctic conditions and at up to 160 miles per hour while skydiving. Sounds like a pretty gig at the end of the day. The project's Kickstarter page has a lot more information, including links to some interactive demos that let you scroll around the aforementioned 360 degrees while the video plays. Pledge $196 and you can score a GP360 of your very own - or heck, if all you want is someone to talk to, $33 will get you the personal phone numbers of the guys behind the project. Previous Project Update: Looks like the GPS Cookie did just fine, thank you very much. The journey tracking device scored almost $30,000 out of a $7,500 project goal.
Weekly Roundup: Nexus 5 hands-on, Dell goes private, new FAA rules on electronic devices and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Interview with Oculus Rift, G Pad 8.3 review, iPad Air teardown and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Oculus Rift retail headset will tether to Android [update]
Update: Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe has clarified that there will be one Oculus Rift headset available at retail, despite the Gamesbeat report calling out a different lighter headset for Android. Oculus VR, the technology company behind the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, is preparing a special variant of its product for Android mobile. Chief executive officer Brendan Iribe revealed at the Gamesbeat 2013 video game conference the mobile headset will be a lighter version of the current headset, hoping to launch at the same time or close to the retail launch of the PC version. "We have some exciting plans on the mobile VR side as the PC VR side," Iribe said, as transcribed by Gamesbeat. "We're really looking at hitting the consumer market. We're very excited about what we're seeing. Skeptical about how good mobile VR could be on such a small platform. It's pretty incredible what [John Carmack has] been able to do." John Carmack, who signed on as Chief Technology Officer for Oculus in August, said the retail headset will likely run on an Android processor. In an interview with Engadget earlier this month, Carmack envisioned "a head-mounted display that probably runs Android, as a standalone system, that has a system-on-a-chip that's basically like what you have in mobile phones." Oculus has yet to announce when the Rift will officially launch, though some developers have had the development kit headset since March. Oculus began as a Kickstarter campaign late last year and managed to earn over $2 million through crowdfunding. The company completed its first round of investor funding in June, securing $16 million.
Oculus Rift VR Jam finalists announced - here there be dragons
Oculus and IndieCade have announced the VR Jam 2013 finalists. If you've got an Oculus Rift and the compatible hardware, 14 of the 20 finalists are available to download and check out for yourself. Reinforcing the common knowledge that dragons are awesome and everyone wants to be a dragon, there's not one, but two dragon simulators on the list: Dragon by James Scott, and Epic Dragon by Aurelian Kerbeci. The winning team will be announced September 19, at which point they'll receive the $10,000 grand prize and a trip to Oculus HQ. The winning team will also receive a trip to the IndieCade Festival, which runs October 3 - 6, where they'll have a showcase exhibition of their game. Check out the full list of finalists after the break.
Virtuix Omni pre-orders open, time to clear some space in the living room
Good news for everyone who's been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to run in place. A fortnight after closing the door on a successful Kickstarter campaign, Virtuix is ready to open up Omni pre-orders. $500 will get you the massive Oculus Rift add-on, a price that includes the treadmill, a harness, those special shoes and the necessary tracking hardware and software. That price, however, doesn't include a Rift, shipping or Gatorade. Still, for a limited time, entering the "VR50" coupon code at checkout will get you $50 off.
Oculus Rift planned for PC and mobile, consoles 'not a focus'
Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe recently told EDGE that the Oculus Rift headset will focus on PC and mobile devices. "I love consoles but internally we're a lot more excited about where mobile's going to go, and being able to plug it right into a next gen cellphone," Iribe said. "Those things are almost doubling every year, compared to a console that's just stuck it out for eight years." Iribe hopes to have the Oculus Rift on the market by next year, but he's unwilling to make any promises. "We don't want to announce any dates because frankly we just don't know when it's going to be really ready," Iribe said. "You have the form factor, HD, motion blur...we don't know how long that will take."
Intuitive Aerial takes the Oculus Rift on its first FPV drone flight (video)
The Oculus Rift: it's not just for gaming. Erik Torkel Danielsson, one of the co-founders of Intuitive Aerial, decided to put his shiny new Rift through its paces this week by pairing it with his company's Black Armor Drone. The hexacopter is designed for aerial photography, and the payload is pretty hefty -- attached to the rig are two cameras simultaneously recording video and an onboard laptop. The video is encoded by the laptop and transmitted to the land-based computer via WiFi for display on the Rift. It all sounds pretty nifty, but it's not quite a perfect system yet. There's a latency of about 120 milliseconds, which is feasible for FPV flight, but not ideal. That being said, it's still fun to see the Rift being put to new, innovative uses. To watch Intuitive Aerial's first flight, check out the video after the break.
Oculus dreams of offering a free, subsidized Rift
The Oculus Rift being offered as a free product is just one "fantasy idea" posited by Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe. "We have all kinds of fantasy ideas," Iribe told Edge at last week's Develop conference in Brighton. Though the company is set on a $300 price for the virtual-reality headset at the moment, there is "potential that it could get much less expensive with a few different relationships and strategies." Iribe also said, "You can imagine if Microsoft and Sony can go out and subsidize consoles because there's enough money to be made on software and other areas, then there's the potential that this, in partnership, could get subsidized." He stressed caution, however, since Oculus isn't "there yet," and the company is constantly thinking about how it can offer the Oculus Rift free of charge. "You want everybody to play it and the cheaper it is, the more people are going to go out and buy it. Today it's a $300 dev kit but we're thinking about how to get it out to as many people as possible." The Oculus Rift is currently only available as a $300 developer's kit. Oculus has yet to announce when the consumer version will hit retail.
Oculus explains the battles against latency and motion sickness in VR
Current VR just can't match our natural experiences -- real life doesn't have much lag, for example. However, Oculus has just published a pair of research posts showing the ways that it's closing the gap between simulation and reality. Steve LaValle, Oculus' Principal Scientist, explains how prediction minimizes the latency inherent to head tracking; coder Tom Forsyth, meanwhile, has advice on what developers can do to reduce motion sickness. Both studies dive deep, and may not be for the faint-hearted. If you're willing to follow Oculus down the rabbit hole, however, you may learn a thing or two about VR's future.
