I now have the basic terrain system with water working for Zotbox. This all runs very smoothly on the Quest 2 with a lot of headroom for future CPU/GPU needs. I use the Quest 2 for testing since this is the baseline. The terrain is scalable so on Quest 3 there will be a larger view distance for example. Getting to this point hasn’t been easy and I am very excited for where this is… Continue reading
I was very fortunate to be able to attend both Unite 15 and Oculus Connect 2. Unite was is Boston, and since I live there, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of that. Unfortunately the two conferences were one after the other and even overlapped for a day. This made for a fun but exhausting week of Unity and VR. There were many exciting moments throughout both events, and way… Continue reading
This pretty much sums up how everyone in the VR community felt on Wednesday. Seeing an Oculus Kickstarter email arrive always makes my day. This time I knew it was going to be something special. I was thinking input, but better than that, an actual release date! Yes, finally a date – Q1 2016! Ever since Oculus Connect last fall I have always been thinking of the amazing demos with Crescent Bay and how… Continue reading
The next update to Lost Loot is now available. This new version has taken the game in a completely different direction with a miniature world third person design that is extremely immersive and very comfortable. A preview video… Some screenshots… Check out the this new version and let me know how you like it. There are many aspects that improve the overall experience that I covered in my blog post called The… Continue reading
I am still working hard on the Lost Loot Pre-Alpha #2 release which will be landing very shortly. This version switches the game to a miniature world third person design primarily for comfort.Check out my last blog entry on The quest for comfortable VR for more details about why I am making the change and what it looks like. I was lucky enough to get Cymatic Bruce from AltspaceVR to try out this new version at the Boston VR… Continue reading
When I put on the Rift and play a game, I want it to feel good. I want to be able to stay plugged in for hours and hours and become lost in another world – to explore, have adventures, do things not possible in the real world. That is the general expectation of the average consumer and at the same time the ultimate dream of any VR enthusiast. So what happens when we have… Continue reading
The DK2 compatible version of Lost Loot is here! The 0.4.3 runtime is required and it is built with the 0.4.3.1 version of the sdk. The build is a DX11 build and should run fine using direct mode. If you do run it in extended mode, I recommend forcing it to DX9. I have still experienced problems using DX11 in extended mode. There are details in the instructions on how to force it… Continue reading
I don’t attend many conferences, but when I first heard about Oculus Connect I knew it was going to be awesome. An invitation only developer conference for something as world changing as VR is just too hard to resist. Now that it is over, I have to say that it has inspired me, and put a human face on Oculus and the larger VR community. I hope they do it the same way… Continue reading
The initial pre-release is still essentially the VR Jam game I created, although cleaned up and improved significantly. The gameplay is also still simple with only a few basic exploration and treasure hunting mechanics. My plan right now is to continue improving and enhancing the foundation of the game. I also intend to rework the terrain with new shaders, revise the art pack used for the island, and put in a procedural sky system with… Continue reading
So, what does it take to utterly blow your mind? VR! It has happened twice now for me. The last time was experiencing VR for the first time with the Rift a year ago. This time it was experiencing the famous Valve demos that everyone has been talking about since the beginning of the year. I am convinced more than ever that this new wave of VR technology is going to change the world. There… Continue reading
I have been busy fixing bugs the last few weeks and now have the first pre-alpha version of LOST LOOT ready to go. This version is more or less the same as the VR Jam game however it has been cleaned up, enhanced, and optimized to provide a much nicer experience. I hope you like it! The trailer… Some screenshots… Please try it out and give me feedback. It is… Continue reading
Well, the last few months have been another rollercoaster ride for the VR world. I think we are on a path to a very promising future for VR and as I have said before the next few years are going to be very exciting! Sony Legitimizes VR Things really started to heat up at GDC. We had Sony taking center stage with the unveiling of Project Morpheus (after the god of dreams) for the PS4,… Continue reading
Well, it is that time again… There has been much happening in the VR world. I guess we are now calling it the second coming of VR with all the new technology showcased at CES and of course the huge Valve announcements at Steam Dev Days. Now for a little recap… Oculus showed off the Crystal Cove Prototype at CES which has a camera based positional tracking system and a low persistence display. I won’t… Continue reading
It has been a while since my last Rift Ramblings. I was mildly burned out after pulling together Lost Loot for the VR Jam, but I have been busy developing the concepts for the successor to it. During this process I have been trying to grapple with what makes a true VR game. VR games extend beyond simply adapting current games to use a stereoscopic HMD. They also need to bring interaction closer to the… Continue reading
It is finally done! The last week of the jam was torture and I spent many late nights and two days with no sleep up until the final submission late Sunday. It has taken some time to recover and that is why this update is a week late. Here is a video of some random gameplay from the final version of LOST LOOT. It is rather long, but as a reward you get to find… Continue reading
