![]() After an initial calibration, its AR-calculated position is sent to the PC, which then places an additional camera in the VR scene-Mobile Spectator’s point of view. The phone and PC communicate directly via WiFi. The company says in a blog post that they took a “different approach from a traditional multiplayer networking solution” to create the unique third-person view. Owlchemy Labs recently unveiled research on an experimental mobile app, dubbed ‘Mobile Spectator’, that uses an Android smartphone running Google’s ARCore to track the device’s position in physical space while the VR headset user sees a floating phone, rendered within the game, the smartphone user has a window into the virtual world, letting you watch a live feed of the VR player, snap pictures, and even interact by doing basic things like tossing beach balls. Owlchemy Labs, the studio behind the critically acclaimed VR game Job Simulator (2016), however recently revealed an ingenious way of watching and interacting with users in VR which may be as simple as pulling the smartphone from your pocket. And while mixed reality capture basically addresses this by letting you see the action from the comfort of a traditional monitor, it oftentimes requires purpose-built green screen stages with external cameras-great if you have it, but it’s time, space and cost-intensive. It’s slated for release on Rift, Vive, and PSVR later this year.It’s notoriously difficult to transmit exactly what’s happening in a VR game without actually strapping on a headset yourself. ![]() And just like both previous Owlchemy games, we expect the majority of the fun will come from messing around with things, going off the beaten path, and seeing just how far the game’s physics will let us go. You can read more about the demo’s content and mechanics here.Īll in all, Vacation Simulator is shaping up to be a worthy successor to Owlchemy’s iconic ‘simulator’ line of VR games. My demo only offered a brief glimpse of the beach environment, but we’re told there will be several in total. ![]() Now, with Vacation Simulator, there are entire worlds full of these zones that you teleport between to play. Rick and Morty VR, Owlchemy’s second game, used that same concept but instead let you teleport back and forth between four squares on a grid that were each sized like the levels from Job Simulator. Each level has everything you need within arm’s reach so you never need to move around beyond your play space. You might recall that Job Simulator is a series of small, mini-game style jobs like being a chef, a car mechanic, or a convenience store clerk. ![]() I didn’t actually notice the re-organization, as it’s very subtle, but this way they’ve ensured you never need to fully spin around on PSVR to access everything. It still looked and ran great, mind you, because bright, bold visuals like this look great in any headset, but it was noticeably downgraded from the Vive Pro.Īdditionally, since the PSVR doesn’t truly support 360 tracking for anything other than your actual headset (if you turn around your body blocks the camera from tracking the controllers) the layout was reorganized a bit I’m told. The Pro was significantly more crisp with next to no noticeable screen door effect in a game with this sort of art style, whereas the PSVR didn’t quite reach that point. What stood out to me most in terms of differences between playing on Vive Pro and PSVR is obviously the visual quality. It was like the VR-fueled vacation I never knew I wanted. I built a sandcastle, tossed a frisbee, took selfies in the water, and played a ball game with a robot. I got to visit the idyllic, colorful beach landscape you see in the screenshots and trailers here. In terms of content, the demos were basically the same. Designed as a direct successor to the comedic menial labor simulation experience, Vacation Simulator puts players in a wide range of stereotypical “relaxing” situations.Īt a recent pre-E3 preview event we got the chance to go hands-on with the PSVR version of the game for the very first time after previously trying it out on a Vive Pro at GDC earlier this year. Vacation Simulator from Owlchemy Labs may look a lot like Job Simulator, but it packs a whole lot more than the studio’s first VR game. This has been republished from late May 2018 to coincide with E3 2018 coverage.
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