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Google's free 3D drawing app is like MS Paint for VR
Google has released a new app that will make it much easier to create that VR experience you've whipped up in your head -- and it won't cost you a single cent. The big G's "Blocks," now out for the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, will give you a way to draw 3D objects directly in virtual reality. It's like Oculus Story Studio's Quill and Google's own Tilt Brush in that respect, except it leads to blocky, Lego-esque final products instead of painterly illustrations.
bHaptics' TactSuit is VR haptic feedback done right
Every now and then, we come across a new attempt to bring haptic feedback to VR, but we've yet to see one that's fully convincing; those that are still around tend to be both pricey and far from ready for the market. Well, this is apparently no longer the case thanks to bHaptics. At HTC Vive X demo day in Shanghai, I got some hands-on time with this Korean startup's TactSuit, a wireless kit consisting of a haptic mask (which is a rarity), two haptic sleeves and a haptic vest. The fascinating part here is that it comes with a total of 87 feedback points, which is a lot more generous than what the other suits offer. It'll also cost less than its direct competitor, Nullspace VR's $549 Hardlight suit which only has 16 feedback points.
Palmer Luckey donates to software that breaks Oculus exclusivity
Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey has always railed against the idea of locking VR games to a single platform. Now, several months after leaving Facebook following controversy about his political donations to a pro-Trump group, Luckey is stepping back into the VR world in a surprising way. Waypoint reports that he's contributing $2,000 a month to the Patreon campaign for Revive, a tool that lets HTC Vive owners play games that are only available on the Oculus Rift.
Zombie shooter 'Arizona Sunshine' invades PSVR
When zombie apocalypse VR game Arizona Sunshine came out for SteamVR and the Oculus Rift last year, it quickly became the game everyone name-checked when talking about good VR. The game went on to sell more than more than $1.4 million in first month after release. It also won the VR Game of the Year award from Upload VR. Now, the immersive shooter is headed to Sony's popular PlayStation VR headset on Tuesday, June 27th.
'Duck Season' on HTC Vive revives the NES blaster with a dark twist
Duck Season brings back the classic NES light gun that holds a special place in any Duck Hunt fan's heart -- but with a dark VR twist. Duck Season is heading to the HTC Vive "very soon," complete with an updated version of the NES blaster, turned into a motion-tracking controller via the Vive tracker. Its core gameplay is essentially an upgraded, 3D version of Duck Hunt, though the story runs much deeper than it initially appears.
Mario Kart is drifting into a Japanese VR arcade
Few things in life are as uniquely stressful as pulling into first place in Mario Kart, only to hear a Blue Shell hurtling at you from behind. There's no escape -- all you can do is close your eyes and accept your inevitable defeat. That experience is going to get infinitely more dreadful for players who visit the VR Zone in Shinjuku, Japan: Bandai Namco has developed a version of Mario Kart for the HTC Vive, complete with the tiny pseudo-cars for players to plop down into.
HP’s VR backpack PC doubles as a desktop
Last year, HP revealed its solution to the trail of cables that plagues every Vive experience -- a VR powered-PC in a backpack. Aiming to make virtual reality a more immersive and portable experience, the latest in the company's Omen gaming range promised to transform users into a cable-free, VR-ready turtle. Now, a year later, HP has redesigned the Omen in an attempt to make it more versatile.
macOS finally supports VR
Until now the only way to run a high-end VR system on a Mac was by booting into Windows, but that didn't solve the fact that Apple had yet to offer a GPU option that was actually good enough for VR. The next best thing was to plug in your desired NVIDIA card via an external enclosure like the Razer Core, but you'd still be stuck with Windows. Thankfully, Apple has finally decided to take matters into its own hands by adding VR graphics support to the upcoming macOS High Sierra due this fall, and it's also offering a Thunderbolt 3 external GPU dev kit as of today at WWDC.
VR arcades need to be social to succeed
Viveland, HTC's VR arcade, opened in Taipei eight months ago, with the Taiwanese company calling it the "world's first premium VR arcade." It has three jobs: make money, sell people on VR and serve as a testbed for future arcades that HTC plans to build around the globe. Since Engadget was in Taipei for Computex, it made sense to take the short cab ride across town to sample its charms. Now that I've seen Viveland and experienced what it has to offer, it's clear what these facilities need in order to succeed. High-end PCs and VR headsets are important, sure, but it's the social experience that will determine Viveland's success.
Time-bending shooter 'Superhot VR' arrives on HTC Vive
Superhot VR didn't start life as an Oculus Rift game, but it eventually made it to the VR headset. With dual-wielding guns and further tweaks to improve the title for a new interface, it turned into a short-but-sweet slice of virtual reality gaming. Now it's HTC Vive owners' turn to slow time, evade bullets, and return them in kind.
HTC Vive and Lenovo are developing standalone Daydream VR headsets
Google has another way to differentiate its mobile VR platform from Samsung's: standalone headsets that have all the hardware you'd need built right in, without the need for a phone. At Google I/O today, the company revealed that we'll be seeing standalone Daydream headsets from HTC Vive and Lenovo later this year. They'll be based on Qualcomm's 835 VR platform and use WorldSense, a variation of Google's Tango 3D mapping technology, for positional tracking without the need for any external sensors.
Old-school tank shooter 'Battlezone' comes to Oculus and Vive
If you grew up in the age of arcades, you probably played Atari's seminal first-person tank game, Battlezone. In the arcade version, you'd play the game with your face stuck into a set of faux goggles that helped you feel like you were in the sweaty confines of an actual tank. It felt like stepping into a virtual world. When developer Rebellion rebooted the classic for PSVR, that 1980 promise of actual virtual reality was fulfilled. Battlezone is now making the leap from PlayStation to the PC via the VR goggles of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.
Valve brings 360-degree videos to Steam VR
While it's not quite as immersive as a full virtual reality experience, 360-degree videos and photos are becoming more common (especially on Facebook and YouTube), and now Valve has released a Steam 360 Video Player. It uses adaptive streaming from a company called Pixvana, which should enable playback with just one click on your Rift or Vive headset. According to the FAQ, even if you don't have a headset, it will soon support playback on the desktop with control and navigation by mouse.
'Payday 2' puts you inside the bank heist with free VR mode
Popular multiplayer bank heist shooter Payday 2 has been around since 2013, but it's about to get a new life as a virtual reality game. Developer Overkill showed off the new mode at its Starstream event, with players using an HTC Vive VR headset and dual wielding weapons via the motion controllers. It uses a full body system, letting players duck or lean to shoot around walls or other obstacles.
The next generation of VR enhancements coming to HTC Vive
The first year of consumer virtual reality has been exciting, to be sure, but ask anybody in the industry, and they'll tell you that it's only the beginning. Engineers and developers are always chasing the next big thing in VR technology: wireless headsets, better walking simulation systems, eye-tracking and more. It's a long road to getting that better VR experience, but there's tons of room to grow -- and Vive's Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance is one group trying to help that happen. We stopped by the VRCA's fourth member meeting to see how the next generation of VR is coming along, and some of it is closer than you might think.
HTC realizes most people don't have a VR-ready PC
HTC is making it easier for you to buy a Vive. The company just rolled out three new bundles for the virtual reality headset that include PCs and graphics cards for the first time. If you already have a decent rig but need a new graphics card, you can now get the Vive and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition for $999.99. That's $200 cheaper than the suggested retail price, HTC says. You can also finance the bundle for as low as $49 per month for 24 months (estimated shipping plus tax), but these are temporary offers that run through April 24th.
Google hires Vive and Oculus developer to bolster its VR team
If you want to see the potential of virtual reality, check out SoundStage: a virtual reality music sandbox app for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Google just snapped up developer Logan Olson for its VR team, further proving the company's continued interest in becoming a true player in the space.
HTC launches a monthly subscription for Vive VR apps
Virtual reality is still in its infancy, so it's no surprise that most apps for the HTC Vive are smaller, experimental and ultimately expendable experiences. If you're a new headset owner, it can be hard to know which games are worth buying, or to get a good sense of what the medium has to offer without spending hundreds of dollars. To help, HTC is launching the Viveport Subscription, a scheme that offers five VR apps for $6.99 per month. You choose from a pool of 50 and can rotate your selection every four weeks, keeping your library and knowledge of the platform fresh.
HTC targets the classroom with 10-headset Vive bundle
The folks over at HTC Vive have been talking up the potential of VR in education since day one, and this year, they're hoping to make a bigger push into this space by focusing on multi-user scenarios. At this week's Vive Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen, the company announced the Vive Group Edition bundle for China, which includes ten Business Edition headsets plus two Business Edition base stations for 49,999 yuan or about $7,260, and it's due to ship in May. This offers a much lower entry barrier for commercial users, as it's almost a 40-percent saving when compared to buying ten full Business Edition kits, meaning schools and small businesses are more likely to afford the system.
MakeVR turns the HTC Vive into a virtual design tool
Consumers are giving the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive a tepid reception, but organizations like NASA and BMW think the VR headsets are great for things like training and design. HTC is today launching MakeVR, a program built in collaboration with Sixense that lets you do modeling and sculpting in VR, then export the results to a CAD program or 3D printer. As we saw last month, it uses the Vive's controllers (and maybe the new trackers, more on that in a sec) to let you do freeform modeling and design.
