Oculus working on new Haptic tech for extrasensory VR.

HapticWave, an Oculus research project, uses a metal plate on a ring of electromagnet actuators to send vibrations to your hand to let you feel virtual objects. A headset and audio help the illusion along, says Ravish Mehra, a research scientist at Oculus. 

With this tech, your hand would stand in for your entire body, says Ravish Mehra, a research scientist at Oculus. If someone in a video game is creeping up behind you, you might feel vibrations at the base of your palm. If you're in an educational experience exploring the world of dinosaurs, your entire hand might vibrate with each step. "Our hope around this project was being able to generate this extrasensory input so users can be more perceptive and more believable of virtual objects," Mehra says.

There has been some recent demos created to showcase this new tech and will be showcased later this month at the Siggraph computer graphics and interaction conference. http://s2016.siggraph.org/

Oculus Touch will launch with more than 30 full, made-for-VR games later this year.

Launch titles include Oculus Studios games like Insomniac’s Unspoken, Dead & Buried, Rock Band VR from Harmonix, VR Sports Challenge by Sanzaru, Crytek’s The Climb (now Touch enabled), as well as independent games like Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope by Croteam, Pro Fishing Challenge VR by Opus, I Expect You to Die by Schell Games, Luna by Funomena, Giant Cop by Other Ocean, Job Simulator by Owlchemy Labs, and Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games. Oculus Medium will also ship with Touch, which brings the tactile satisfaction of sculpting into the world of VR.

Four new Touch games that will launch first on Oculus.

Introducing Wilson's Heart, a psychological thriller with a one-of-a-kind visual and narrative style from developer Twisted Pixel, coming to Touch in 2017!

In Killing Floor: Incursion, a cooperative VR shooter from Tripwire Interactive, you take on the role of an elite soldier tasked with eliminating hordes of sci-fi monsters with guns, blades, and more. This Touch-enabled take on the well-known Killing Floor universe will take you to diverse environments and force you to scavenge for survival as you face an unrelenting onslaught of monsters.

Superhot is an over-the-top, stylistic FPS that blurs the lines between cautious strategy and unbridled mayhem. Time only moves when you move, creating a unique bullet ballet that is brought to life with Touch. Your every gesture and movement lets you dodge bullets, disarm enemies, and return fire in a way that has yet to be experienced in gaming.

Ripcoil by Oculus Studios and Sanzaru Games lets you enter a futuristic player vs. player arena where you can launch, catch, and punch a speeding Ripcoil disc. 

Over 300 VR Apps on Oculus Store for Gear VR
Today there are more than 300 games and apps available in the Oculus Store for Gear VR, and at E3  titles like the medieval action-strategy CastleStorm VR and zombie action shooter Drop Dead will be previewed.

Cats And VR

Oculus launches VR for Good Program.

Virtual reality has unlimited potential for gaming and entertainment, but it’s also a powerful way to drive important social change. Filmmakers everywhere see this and are pushing the boundaries of cinematic VR to tell stories with an impact. There’s also a large community of nonprofit organizations eager to embrace VR as a tool to raise awareness for causes in need of a voice.

Today Oculus kicked off a new initiative today called VR for Good by launching two pilot VR film programs to inspire the next generation of VR creators – starting with high school students, rising VR filmmakers, and nonprofit organizations.

The first program, the 360 Filmmakers Challenge, partners nine San Francisco Bay Area high schools with professional filmmakers to create 3-5 minute 360 films about their communities. Students will receive everything they need to create 360 videos for VR, including a Samsung Gear VR, a Galaxy S6, Ricoh Theta S 360 cameras, access to editing software, and VR film mentors.

The second program, 360 Bootcamp for Nonprofits, kicks off this summer and teams up 10 rising filmmakers with 10 nonprofits to bring a variety of social missions to life through unique 360 videos designed for VR. Teams will start their filmmaking journey at a two-day bootcamp at Facebook HQ, July 26-27. Oculus will supply the film teams with everything they need to create professional 360 videos, including Nokia OZO cameras, post production support, travel budget, and one-on-one mentorship with industry veterans. The first videos will be showcased at Sundance 2017.

Nonprofits can nominate their organizations and filmmakers can apply to be part of the program on May 30.

Information provided by the Oculus Blog

Check out Cats And VR's 360° Videos here: http://www.catsandvr.com/360/

Oculus Rift gets some upcoming high quality content from Insomniac Games.

Well it is late at night so what better time to write about Insomniac Games, the studio that brought you Spyro The Dragon, Ratchet And Clank, and one of my all time favorites Resistance: Fall Of Man.

Well Insomniac just revealed 2 additional Oculus Rift exclusive VR games to go with the already announced Edge Of Nowhere that will be set to launch on the Oculus Store on June 6th.

Looks like Oculus is really pushing to get some quality exclusives and pulling this much content from a AAA studio like Insomniac has really got me asking if Sony will be able to deliver measurable content with PSVR. Check out the trailers below.

Feral Rites: Avenge the death of your father by fighting your way through missions and quests in this VR adventure-brawler. Set on a mystical island, explore unique areas of the island from jungles to temples, while mastering new abilities including the power to transform into a feral beast. Feral Rites will be playable at E3 this year and will appear on the Oculus Store in Fall 2016.

The Unspoken: An Oculus Touch‐enabled VR action game that pulls players into a hidden world of spellcasting and magician’s duels. Manipulate the environment around you with the powerful arcane forces that flow through your fingertips, summon ghastly monstrosities with your bare hands, and rise up through the ranks of an urban magic fight club in supernatural PVP combat. The Unspoken will also be playable at E3 and will release in November 2016.

Check out the trailer for the previously announced Edge Of Nowhere that will be released on June 6th. 

Edge of Nowhere is a VR third-person action-adventure from acclaimed independent developer Insomniac Games. Travel to the far reaches of the Antarctic mountains in search of a missing expedition team. What appears to be a rescue mission takes a turn as you venture into the deep unknown, and discover a surreal world that will test your wits and sanity.

Cats And VR

From EVR to Eve: Valkyrie! CCP made a killer VR game.

Back at E3 2013 CCP's EVR demo left me awestruck and totally a VR fanboy. Now as Oculus RIft releases and EVR has now become EVE: Valkyrie I want to share this moment in time that introduced me to Oculus Rift for the first time. 3 years later and EVE: Valkyrie is live check out the gameplay footage. 

Bobby Venomous takes a look at CCP's EVR Demo at E3 2013 and talks with developer David Gundry about his work on the project. 

Experience the future of space combat in the EVE: Valkyrie VR gameplay launch trailer. The most intuitive, intense, and immersive dogfighting game ever made is here, developed by CCP Newcastle and powered by Oculus Rift. Read the launch day blog here: http://bit.ly/1SqZlCg Oculus Rift pre-orders include the EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack. 
 

EVE: Valkyrie is also coming to PlayStation VR in October 2016

Oculus Rift Review Round UP

March 28th has been filled with tons of news about VR. Since today is when Oculus Rift consumer Preorders would be arriving much media coverage has been put out today.

Now here is the wrap up for the day.

• "It’s very hard to convey with words, pictures, or videos just how different this experience is from looking at a standard 2D monitor. You’ll find yourself instinctively flinching away from objects as they fly at your face or doing a double-take when you see something surprising in the corner of your eye. The virtual reality illusion can give a real sense of vertigo when looking over a cliff or an overwhelming sense of awe looking across a vast vista." Going from a monitor to the Rift’s VR is like going from looking at nothing but moving paintings in a dark cave to looking at the real world in sunlight for the first time." - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica

• "You simply must try the Oculus Rift. It’s breathtaking. I just wouldn’t buy one right now -- and there’s no reason you should feel the need to, either (especially with its archrival, the HTC Vive, also just days away). The longer you wait to buy, the better it will get. This is just day one for Oculus -- and for the future of virtual reality." - Scott Stein and Sean Hollister, CNet

• "Over the course of a week using the Rift, I found that experience beguiling and thrilling at times, uncomfortable and awkward at others. Overall, entering the Rift is expensive, unnatural, and utterly addicting. Virtual reality is often talked about as a revolution, a paradigm shift, a really, really big deal. Using Oculus Rift proves this kind of talk isn’t hype." - Lisa Eadicicco, Time

• "This is an astonishingly well-made device. It delivers rock-solid, comfortable VR, and it does so easily. You’ll be able to put this thing on anyone and show them the magic. You’ll have friends coming over just to go through the Dreamdeck. (Seriously, you will.) But you’ll have to make your peace with the idea that your $600—or realistically, $1,500 or more, if you need a PC to go with it—is an investment. It’s an investment in the things you’ll be able to do in the Rift, the places you’ll be able to go." - Peter Rubin, Wired

• "Over the past week, I tested the Rift and many pieces of content for the system to see how true Mr. Zuckerberg’s words might ring. I can report that while the Rift is a well-built hardware system brimming with potential, the first wave of apps and games available for it narrows the device’s likely users to hard-core gamers. It is also rougher to set up and get accustomed to than products like smartphones and tablets." - Brian Chen, the New York Times

• "The high cost of buying and running high-end VR headsets makes them inaccessible to many people, and the Rift in particular is relentlessly focused on gaming. Within these limitations, though, the Rift makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what’s to come. The headset you can buy today is not Oculus’ most ambitious vision for virtual reality — but it’s a vision that Oculus has successfully delivered on." Adi Robertson, The Verge

• "After spending a week with the Oculus Rift, I have no doubt that its approach to virtual reality is indeed the real deal. It's well built and easy to set up, and there are already a few games and apps that'll make VR believers out of the most ardent naysayer. The only problem: It's $600 and requires a powerful gaming PC. Just as with every new technological milestone, it has the potential to change the world. But at this early stage, only a few can afford it."  - Devindra Hardawar, Engadget

• "Oculus Rift is the 2016 product you hope your neighbor buys. You’ll definitely want to try it, but there’s little reason to own one unless you’re a serious gamer. I’m not talking about Candy Crush addicts, or even most of us with a PlayStation at home. Oculus Rift only works with high-end gaming PCs—the recommended Asus model I tested costs $1,449 and requires not one but two power plugs. No Macs will do." Geoffrey Fowler, The Wall Street Journal

• "The Oculus Rift is a crazy device that is more than the sum of its parts. As the first consumer high-powered virtual reality headset, it deserves props for just existing, but incredibly it manages to kick ass as well. Whether you should buy now, just try it out or wait until Oculus Touch arrives depends mostly on your patience and cashflow." - Lucas Matney, TechCrunch

• "What Oculus has accomplished is remarkable. There’s plenty that even the completely uninitiated user can enjoy. More importantly, the Rift is truly immersive in most cases. The image quality is mostly excellent, and the head-tracking is nearly flawless. Indeed, perhaps what’s most significant is that there are moments when I can say unreservedly and without caveats that I am enjoying the Rift right in the moment—not as a device indicative of some desirable future, but as a device to own right now. I still can’t afford the future of virtual reality, but for the first time, I actually want to." - Mario Aguilar, Gizmodo

Upcoming Games Coming To Oculus!

Overall the top upcoming game I am looking forward to is Dragon Front from High Voltage Software. I have been a fan of HVS since the Conduit days on the Wii and know they will deliver an awesome game.

The first collectible card game built for VR is here! Developed by High Voltage Software, and produced by Oculus Studios, Dragon Front combines traditional high fantasy with a dieselpunk aesthetic for a one-of-a-kind experience. 

We’re all super avid CCG fans so developing the game has been an amazing experience. In fact, we built the game after prototyping a physical game board and cards so we could get it exactly right,” explains Eric Nofsinger, Chief Creative Officer at High Voltage Software. “It’s a true card game come-to-life all around the player, and with features both surprising and familiar, Dragon Front is a highly engaging nail-biter till the end.”

“Dragon Front represents an important milestone for our studio,” says Kerry Ganofsky, CEO and founder of High Voltage Software. “Not only have we created a fantastic VR card game that’s easy to pick up and play, but we’ve also demonstrated the incredible versatility of the Oculus platform for endless replay value. They’ve also been so supportive and collaborative with us developing in this new terrain.”

News provided by VRandCats.com

Gunfire Games Releases The Official Trailer For Chronos Third-Person RPG Rift Launch Title Will Be Available March 28

Gunfire Games, a leading independent developer of video games, today released the official trailer for Chronos, their Virtual reality role-playing game available only on Oculus. The hardware and the game both launch on March 28.

Chronos is an atmospheric RPG that chronicles a hero's lifelong quest to save their homeland from a great evil.  Grow wiser, stronger and more powerful as you explore the depths of the mysterious labyrinth. But beware, the labyrinth takes a heavy toll – each time your hero dies, they lose a year of their life! 

Adventure RPG - Refreshing combination of Adventure Game elements and RPG mechanics. 

VR - Explore an atmospheric fantasy world in full Virtual Reality.  An unparalleled level of immersion, scale and detail! 

Deep Combat – A variety of weapons, abilities and powers are available to the player in the pursuit of their quest.   

Unique Aging Mechanic – Every time the player dies they age one year.  Player's must adapt to their advancing age as they progress their character; starting the game young, nimble and quick, and ending wise and more attuned to magic. 

About Gunfire Games: 

Gunfire Games is an independent game developer based in Austin, Texas.  The core team members are the remnant of Vigil games and are best known for creating and shipping the DARKSIDERS franchise. We started the studio because we love what we do:  Crafting worlds – building games – it's in our DNA.  For more information about Gunfire Games and Chronos visit (http://gunfiregames.com/)

News provided by VRandCats.com