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How ILMxLAB's 'Vader Immortal' is bringing 'Star Wars' into VR
The first episode of ILMxLAB's Vader Immortal for the Oculus Quest and Rift got everything right: the scale of volcanic Mustafar, the imposing presence of Darth Vader himself, and the joy of swinging a light saber. Where could they go next? How about more force powers and even deeper Star Wars lore cuts. Vader Immortal episode 2 had its surprise launch on Wednesday, the first day of the Oculus Connect 6 conference. Unfortunately, I didn't have my Quest on hand to sit through the entire episode, but based on its training dojo alone, I'm sure it'll please Star Wars fans.
Oculus Quest's hand tracking is a new level of VR immersion
Even though we had an inkling Oculus was working on hand tracking, it was still a huge surprise to see just how it would be implementing the feature. It'll be coming to the Oculus Quest next year — but best of all, it doesn't require any additional hardware, unlike Leap Motion's solution. Instead, Facebook is tapping into the Quest's four monochromatic cameras and a heavy dose of computer vision. To be honest, it sounds like magic — and it basically feels like that, too.
Oculus CTO John Carmack on the VR challenges of the Quest and Rift S
Give Doom co-creator and Oculus CTO John Carmack 90 minutes to talk, and you can expect be inundated with tons of geeky technical details. That basically describes his keynote for the second day of the Oculus Connect 6 conference, where the legendary developer spoke frankly about the challenges the company faced as it launched the Quest ($399) and Rift S ($399) headsets this year. But of course, he also couldn't help but give us a taste of where things are headed.
Watch the Oculus Connect 6 day 2 keynote at 1PM ET
Yesterday's Oculus Connect 6 keynote was a doozy. We learned that the standalone Quest headset would soon play PC VR games; it's getting hand tracking next year; and that Facebook is building a new social VR world called Horizon. Oh yeah, it's also attempting to map the entire world to make its AR glasses work better. We're scared too. On the brighter side of things, the company is also still trucking along with prototype VR headset technology, including electronic varifocal lenses. Where could Facebook go from here? (And really, how could they have enough news for another 2-hour presentation?) We'll find out more today at 1PM Eastern, when the company kicks off its day 2 keynote. You can watch the livestream over at the Oculus Facebook page.
Oculus Link hands-on: It really makes the Quest feel like Rift VR
There's one common question I've heard from Oculus Quest ($399) owners over the past few months: Why can't I plug it into to my PC? Perhaps that's why Facebook developed Oculus Link, a new feature that'll let its standalone VR headset connect to gaming PCs for more complex games and experiences. On paper, Oculus Link seems like a killer feature, one that practically makes the Rift S irrelevant. And now that I've had some time with a Link-equipped Quest, I'm even more convinced that's true.
If Facebook owns reality, it'll be impossible to opt out
Facebook is developing augmented reality glasses -- but that's not the wildest bit of future tech the company revealed during today's Oculus Connect keynote. For these coming AR headsets, Facebook is building a virtual Earth, and it expects all of us to live in it, every day, for as many hours as possible. Maybe even all the time. And, chances are, we will.
Who needs the Rift S when the Oculus Quest can do everything?
With a slew of updates on the horizon, the Oculus Quest ($399) is now a must-have purchase for anyone getting into VR. Today's Oculus Connect 6 keynote was jam-packed with major new features for the Quest: Oculus Link will let it connect to PCs and play any Rift title; hand-tracking is coming next year; and it's even getting Go apps and better passthrough support. All of this begs the question, what purpose does the Rift S ($399) serve now? Not much, I'd say.
Facebook lays out its vision of our communal VR future
After all the new products were announced and surprise features revealed at Oculus Connect 6 on Wednesday, Facebook Reality Lab (FRL) lead Michael Abrash took to the stage to discuss the future of VR, AR, and the company's leading role in their continuing development.
Fandango launches its video service on Oculus Go and Quest headsets
You now have a particularly easy way to watch newer movies and TV shows on Oculus' self-contained VR headsets. Fandango has made its FandangoNOW video store available on the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest, providing quick access to about 90,000 titles overall and "hundreds" of 3D movies. You can rent a recent flick like Yesterday without disturbing anyone else in your home, or catch up on shows in between Beat Saber rounds.
Oculus' latest concept headset has electronic varifocal lenses
Facebook might have had plenty to share about its immediate VR future at Oculus Connect 6, but it's looking even further ahead. Michael Abrash, Facebook's Reality Lab chief scientist, discussed two newer versions of the Half Dome prototype Facebook revealed last year, which uses moving lenses to sharpen focus.
Beat Saber's 360-degree mode arrives in December
Oculus Connect is as much about games as hardware and services, and at the event, Beat Games had some news about upcoming additions to Beat Saber. In December, you'll be able to slash your way through stages in 360 degrees, keeping you even more on your toes. To tide you over until then, a new music pack is on the way next week featuring tunes from Panic! At The Disco.
'Medal of Honor' returns as an Oculus Rift exclusive next year
When Steven Spielberg approached DreamWorks Interactive with his idea for a WWII video game (after wrapping Saving Private Ryan), even he couldn't have predicted the franchise's success. More than a dozen Medal of Honor games were released on 11 platforms between 1999 and 2012. After an eight year hiatus, Medal of Honor returns in 2020 on the Oculus Rift with an extreme take on first-person shooters.
Darth Vader’s ‘Immortal’ saga continues on Oculus headsets
Darth Vader is back. In a surprise announcement on Wednesday at Facebook's annual Oculus Connect conference, LucasFilm's ILMxLAB shared new details on Vader Immortal: Episode II. The new game picks up exactly where Episode I left off, with you, a Force-sensitive smuggler, learning how to use the Force from Vader himself. From a gameplay perspective, this means you'll have new abilities to use in combat. Like any good Sith apprentice, you'll be able to pick up and toss both objects and individuals, as well as throw your lightsabre at enemies. The Force will also come into play when you need to solve puzzles.
Facebook is mapping the planet to create a foundation for its AR glasses
Facebook is actively developing augmented reality glasses, with plans to completely recreate the planet in a 3D map, allowing users to live in enhanced, interactive spaces. That's right -- Facebook is building a new, virtual reality that lays directly on top of the physical world, designed to be accessed as often as we look at our smartphones today.
Oculus Quest is getting Go apps and improved Passthrough
If being able to use the Oculus Quest as a PC VR headset wasn't exciting enough, Facebook is also adding some other new features soon. First up, the Quest will get Oculus Passthrough+, which lets you see a stereoscopic view of the outside world whenever you hit the borders of your playspace. It's something that the Rift S already offers, and it'll be a huge improvement over the flat, 2D version of Passthrough currently on the Quest. You'll also be able to activate that feature anytime with Passthrough "on demand," a new feature coming late this year, that'll let you get a glimpse of your surroundings whenever you want. Additionally, Facebook is bringing over Oculus Go titles to the Quest, starting with 50 Go apps next week. You'll also be able to upgrade to the Quest versions of any apps you've purchased on the Go until the end of the year. (Honestly, that's something Facebook should offer indefinitely.)
Social VR world 'Facebook Horizon' comes to Oculus in 2020
Facebook, at its core, is a social networking company, so it's perhaps not too much of a surprise it has a major social project in the works for Oculus. At Oculus Connect 6, Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook Horizon, described as a "social VR world coming to Oculus Quest and the Rift Platform." However, as it focuses on that new VR experience, the company will shut down Facebook Spaces and Oculus Rooms October 25.
Oculus Quest gets gadget-free hand tracking in 2020
Upon taking the stage at the Oculus Connect 6 event in San Jose, CA on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed hours-old rumors that the Oculus' Touch controllers could soon become obsolete. In their stead, users will be able to interact with their virtual environment using only their hands.
Oculus Link turns every Quest into a Rift this November
Oculus Quest owners will soon have access to the entire library of Rift PC experiences, but not in the way you'd expect. Today at the Oculus Connect 6 conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Oculus Link, a new feature that'll let Quest owners connect their headsets to gaming PCs with a USB-C cable. Basically, it turns that standalone headset into a fully functional Oculus Rift.
Mark Zuckerberg hints finger tracking is coming to Oculus
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted a finger-tracking feature is on the way for Oculus headsets. Ahead of his opening keynote at Oculus Connect 6, he posted a video that showed hands making the letters O and C and holding up six fingers. That's a clear reference to the conference, as if the text on his post and an OC6 logo at the end weren't enough. "I'm excited to share our latest work in augmented and virtual reality," he wrote.
Watch the Oculus Connect 6 keynote at 1PM ET
Where can Oculus go next? We'll find out later today during the Oculus Connect 6 keynote, which kicks off at 1PM Eastern. We've already seen the astounding Quest VR headset and the so-so Rift S this year, so that leaves the door wide open for the company to wow us with something truly new. It might be asking too much to see another consumer headset so soon, but we wouldn't be surprised if Oculus is ready to talk more about the content side of things. Killer hardware needs killer software to succeed, right? And maybe, just maybe, we'll get a preview of how Oculus intends to tackle augmented reality.