Rift
Latest
Oculus' DRM could have unintentionally helped VR piracy
Oculus' recent software update that locked exclusive games to its hardware has already been circumvented. On Friday, Oculus implemented changes that -- among other things -- added "platform integrity checks." These checks disabled use of a popular tool called Revive that let Rift-only titles play on HTC's Vive. Over the weekend, the team behind Revive has released a new version that not only avoids Oculus' hardware check, it bypasses the part that confirms ownership of the software altogether -- raising concerns it could be used for piracy.
'Rock Band VR' will only let you shred guitar
Abandon all hope, ye Rock Banders who live to bang on the drums, lovingly 'pluck' that bass or croon like you're America's next top someone -- for now, at least. According to UploadVR, developer Harmonix has confirmed that its upcoming Rock Band VR for Oculus Rift will only be playable with the guitar. Harmonix had hinted as much this past March when we attended a Rift preview event, saying that support for those three other instruments would likely be left off the table. But it seems like the effort to put the "band" back together in VR was just too challenging for the developer's first Rift effort. Instead, Harmonix has decided to perfect the immersive experience using only the guitar, which requires a clip-on Oculus Touch controller to track its placement in the virtual space.
Mini review video: Our verdict on the Oculus Rift in a minute
We're only three months into 2016, but it's already safe to say that the Oculus Rift will have been one of the most hotly anticipated products of the year. The virtual reality headset, which began shipping a week ago, debuted to mostly positive reviews this week, including on Engadget. Our own Devindra Hardawar concluded that the headset is immersive, comfortable to wear, and boasts an impressive catalog of games and apps, even at launch. As a first-generation product, though, it's not without its flaws. At $599 for the headset alone it's pricey, and it requires a powerful PC that's probably expensive in its own right. Motion sickness will also be an issue for some, and the device can be cumbersome to take and off if you wear glasses. That said, despite these growing pains -- and the considerable expense -- it's worth it if you want an early taste of the future.
Oculus founder flew to Alaska to deliver the first consumer Rift
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus, took it upon himself to deliver the first consumer version of his company's virtual reality headset, the Rift. Ross Martin, a VR enthusiast and indie developer from Anchorage, Alaska was the lucky recipient of the device, which will arrive on other customers' doorsteps starting tomorrow. Martin, who documented part of his experience with Luckey on Twitter, is the first person to have the device in hand and he'll likely never forget this moment. "So grateful to Palmer Luckey and Oculus for coming all the way to Alaska," he said in a tweet. "You guys are super cool!"
Oculus reduces latency with shiny new tech
Today Oculus announced that its SDK for the Rift supports Asynchronous Timewarp (ATW). While that sounds like something that keeps the TARDIS from smashing into a star, it's actually going to make virtual reality seem so much smoother.
Steam is ready to play all your games in VR
Not too long ago Valve announced that it had a way to play all of your Steam games in virtual reality, rather than just those built solely for the medium. Well, it's officially out in beta form and if you're one of the lucky folks who already has an Oculus Rift or Vive Pre, you can take it for a spin right this moment. Valve says that any game that supports Steam Broadcast should work with Desktop Game Theater, but you might have to fiddle with graphics settings on a per-game basis to get everything working properly. Consider it the modern analog of jiggling the handle to get the giant virtual screen working in your VR cave.
Palmer Luckey on why there's no Oculus Rift for Mac
Oculus founder Palmer Luckey had some harsh words for Apple products when he spoke to ShackNews at a recent Xbox event. When asked whether the company's forthcoming Rift VR headset will ever be compatible with the MacOS, Luckey stated, "That is up to Apple. If they ever release a good computer, we will do it."
IBM's supercomputer will power an online, anime VR game
It's a bit odd that no one's thought to fuse the virtual-reality, role-playing game centric anime Sword Art Online into a proper VR experience before now, but that's the future we live in. No worries though, because IBM is using (Japanese) its Watson Cognitive Computing tech and SoftLayer cloud computing for Sword Art Online: The Beginning. It's a massively multiplayer VR game, of course, and perhaps other details will clear themselves up come a Tokyo-based event running from March 18th to the 20th. There, a 3D scanner will put folks' likenesses into the game for use as an avatar, Siliconera reports.
Ride along with Apollo 11 astronauts on launch day
David Whelan, lead developer for the kickstarted Apollo 11 VR Experience, announced on Wednesday that the game will be a launch title for three upcoming VR systems: the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. The team is also reportedly working on a version for the Oculus DK2 dev set, however they have no current plans to port the game to the Samsung Gear.
The Oculus Rift made you forget what the first iPhone cost
Yesterday, Oculus VR finally announced the price of its first consumer virtual reality headset: $599, plus shipping. Fans reacted quickly, shocked that the price was twice as much as the original developer kit and furious that the company was charging so much. During Palmer Luckey's evening AMA on Reddit, fans were petitioning the company to remove the Rift's audio tech and packaged Xbox One controller to bring the price down. That's denial, anger and bargaining, guys. Let's skip the fourth stage of grief and jump to the end: acceptance. The Oculus Rift's launch price is completely normal.
The Oculus Rift costs $599 and ships in March
Pre-orders are now open for the first Oculus Rift consumer virtual reality headset and the company finally revealed the all-important price: $599 (€699 in Europe and £499 in the UK). Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey knows that the long-term success or failure of the Rift depends a lot on that number, but he appears to have calculated well. The initial ship date was marked as March 28th, but started showing as April soon after, so it appears that the early run sold out after just 15 minutes. While $599 is a considerable chunk of change for most consumers, early adopters appear to have jumped on it, thanks no doubt to the years-long launch buildup.
Oculus pushes Rift Touch launch date to second half of 2016
Oculus announced on its website Thursday that the Touch handheld controller accessories to its highly-anticipated Rift VR headset will be delayed to the second half of 2016. Pre-orders for the controllers will similarly be delayed. Oculus cites the need to "improve hand pose recognition" as the reason for the setback. The Rift headset itself is still on track for its Q1 release and its pre-order system will come online in the coming weeks. The company is reportedly also ramping up production of its developer units to meet growing demand.[Image Credit: Getty]
'Oculus Cinema' will let friends watch movies 'together'
If you've ever peered into a VR headset, you'll know it can be a pretty lonely experience -- much like going to an empty cinema in the real world. VR heavyweight Oculus will kill these two birds, with a forthcoming "multiplayer" mode for its virtual movie theater app Oculus Cinema. The update for the app lets friends enjoy films at the same time, and see them next to you in the same virtual cinema. Features like this are part of the push to make virtual reality a little bit more social, something Oculus-owners Facebook has been eager to do ever since it snapped up the virtual reality hardware company.
Oculus offers $10 million to help indie developers make VR games
Oculus' top brass showed a slew of new VR games at a special event today -- including a closer look at the badass-looking EVE Valkyrie -- but they need more than big-name developers if they want the Rift to be a hit. That's why the company is earmarking $10 million to fund indie game makers who want to build the new big thing in virtual reality content. Coders, you'd better get crackin'.
How serious are you about virtual reality?
The absolute best/worst virtual reality stock photo we could find Are you prepared to dedicate a room in your house to virtual reality? Perhaps you're a little less crazy than me, but you're okay with a wire running across your living room to a headset? Or maybe both of those sound crazy to you, but a headset that can plug into your phone is okay? These are the emerging options for virtual reality: a medium finally coming into its own, that's poised to disrupt industries and hairdos the world over.
Sail to Tyrant's Throne with RIFT 3.1
RIFT's Patch 3.1: Storm at Sea came out yesterday, building upon the water-based madness that came with last fall's Nightmare Tide expansion. The biggest addition to the Plane of Water is the Tyrant's Throne zone (which is so very fun to say six times fast), which includes five new story quests that cover the tale of Crucia's horrible experiments. The patch also adds three zone events, more planar attunement levels, a new nightmare rift type, a new chronicle, and improvements to the minion, dimension, and crafting UI systems.
RIFT's 3.1 Storm at Sea arrives next week -- with capes
There's a preview of RIFT's new Tyrant's Throne content on the game's official website. On January 28th, Trion says, players will see some "titanic zone events" as well as a new 20-player raid, a 2-player chronicle, and more. The journey into RIFT 3.1 Storm at Sea is nearly at hand. On January 28, players will make landfall at the harbor of Tyrant's Throne – just in time for titanic zone events that bring ancient akvan lumbering out of the abyss! Ascended will have one week to wipe them from the island before the opening of Tyrant's Forge, a new 20-player raid pitting the strongest Guardians and Defiant against the Dragon Queen of Air. The most important bit, of course, is capes. Yes, capes. "New capes debut for all," says the studio.
RIFT spurns hoverboards and brings out hoverbikes for 2015
Do you all like your current MMOs? More than you like RIFT? That's fair. But do you like your current MMO more than you like... hover bikes? Faced with the choice, the team behind RIFT is hoping that when it comes down to the wire, your answer of what game you love the most will be answered with a resounding chorus of "hover bikes!" Hey, it's close enough. Yes, bikes that do not roll but instead hover slightly above the ground are being floated out to RIFT for a limited time. If you want to not-actually-roll through Telara with these stylish mounts, you'd best log on and grab them promptly; they're available for only a limited time. And who doesn't love hover bikes, after all? Especially when they have a video showing off just past the break.
RIFT plans improvements to dimensions and minions
Two of RIFT's more popular systems, dimensions and minions, will be getting some major dev love when Patch 3.1 arrives. In a new dev diary that went out yesterday, the team lays out a list of improvements for these systems. Dimensions will be getting a free-fly camera to allow for even more building precision, permissions options for visitors, ban lists, and -- prepare for this to blow your mind -- a bigger +1 button. As for minions, players will have even more options in how they deploy these hard-working followers. The team is adding minion stamina potions, the ability to shuffle adventures, and the option to link to minions in the chat window.
One Shots: Shadow play
Welcome to a new year -- and the best year of One Shots you'll ever see. I know this because I've been to the future (December 31st, 2015) and spent those precious time-bending moments flipping through all of the One Shots column this year. Amazing stuff, people. Really well done. Well, we might as well get started with your glorious photo journeys! Our very first pic of the year is from reader Becca, who sends us this groovy bit of shadow play in Elder Scrolls Online: "While waiting for a boss to spawn in a public dungeon, my friend Arkslan and my character Rozyn had some fun with lighting." Great. Now I know what will be lurking under my bed tonight: a sing-songy bard. Terror knows no name, but it does sing harmony.
