Oculus Quest Gaming Showcase Recap in 4 Minutes

The meta quest gaming showcase started off with a bang or a chainsaw featuring the new trailer for the walking dead saints and sinners chapter 2 retribution to be released “later this year” and expect to have fewer resources and a new boss featured in the trailer that will hunt you across new orleans.

Next up we got a look at a new the new officially licensed game NFL Pro Era that featured fast feet lamar jackson which touts that you can participate in drills, play catch virtually with your quest friends in your favorite stadium and run the offense in first person. The graphics looked much better than I expected even if they did look lik madden 2005 but honestly I’m okay with it and EA isn’t behind this game. Thank you Oculus!

Among us got its official trailer featuring all the hands. I’m still very intrigued on how exactly it will work in VR but its a day one buy for me anyways. Also I never saw a knife in the trailer so I’m wondering what the kill will actually look like? Either way this is a big title for the quest and was said to be released this holiday so that accidental steam store release date might be correct. So mark november 10th on your calendars

All aboard the sequel train!

Red matter 2 was announced and it looks incredible. It picks up where the original left off so we have not made it out completely from the red matter. Red matter 2 will feature longer and more ambitious puzzles along with new tools and a more mobile jetpack. Keep your eyes peeled for the red matter again this summer

Another sequel was announced in Espire 2. Locate and stop the launch of an untraceable missile aka a doomsday device. Race against the clock and try to save the world for a second time. Also there is a separate co-op campaign to play with your friend. Set to release sometime in 2022

Next up on the sequel ride is Moss Book 2 is coming to quest 2 this summer. Book builds on everything before it and continues the adventure as quill finds out she is being hunted within the hexed castle that once held her uncle captive. Set to release this summer

Ruinsmagus a JRPG set in a vast labyrinth of ruins and features 26 fully voiced quests is set to release later this year.

Cities VR got a launch trailer so get ready to lay some roads, place hospitals and create the city of your dreams next week on April 28th, pre-order now and get 10% off.

New Beat Saber DLC was announced as the electronic mixtape featuring deadmau5 pendulum marshmallow and more. The pack was labeled as coming soon so I would be it will be here before the summer

More excited DLC was revealed in the new Resident Evil 4 mercenaries pack is out now so go download it! RE the mercenaries has been entirely rebuilt for VR just like RE 4 and features online leaderboards 20 new challenges and fun new modes like Big Head, classic horror black and white and golden gun skins for our lovely weapons. Fun fact: the skins are unlocked in the main campaign as well.

The star of the show in my opinion was of course Bonelab. I’m so excited for this to hit standalone. Bonelab builds on boneworks with a new story and over 2 years of innovation with stress level zero’s  interactive engine. Fight, climb and explore a beautifully detailed combat sim where every object reacts exactly the way you’d expect. And you’ll be happy to know mods are supported along with new maps, weapons and avatars. I seriously can not wait for this to be released later this year. I’d assume around the holiday release window.

The showcase concluded with zuck bucks coming out and announcing a new Ghostbusters VR game in the works by the creators of Phantom Covert Ops nDreams studios.  Get ready friends to Strap on your protonto to trap some ghosts and solve some mysteries. You will get to team up with 3 friends to bust some ghosts. No release date on this one yet but Halloween would make sense.

Well that was the showcase we didn’t get all we wanted but honestly Bonelab was enough for me. Let me know what you thought of the showcase and I’ll catch you in the next quickie!

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

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5 Oculus Quest 2 Games That Changed My Life (For Real)

Until recently VR was a wild initial investment requiring a beefy PC and expensive hardware but the quest came along and changed the dang game for us filthy casuals. I’m sure just like many of you out there the impact of standalone affordable VR has been quite literally life changing. So lets go on a journey together visiting these 5 Quest apps that changed my life.

I am going to start with gaming. Fumbling through the early pile of clunky smartphone VR devices like google cardboard the dream was to put myself inside an actual video game preferably from one of my favorite genres ala the first person shooter. And the first game for me that made this a reality and blew my mother flippin mind was SuperHot VR. 

Having never played the flatscreen version I really had no idea what to expect but the free quest demo opened my eyes (and maybe my heart) to what VR immersion really could feel like. Of course the environment is simple but its effect of placing you in a whole new world (hashtag aladdin) was game changing for me. After that game I have honestly stayed exclusively VR. I mean I even have a series X people and I never play it. (whats wrong with me) 

Next up lets talk about our bodies… I’m talking about fitness you freak!

Thrill of the fight brought joy to working out. I wish I knew what it was but for some reason even though you know he isn’t real you still want to knock your opponent made up of zeros and ones the mess out. 

No matter how tired you are in real life something kicks in to push you to land that big time blow to win the fight. This game has made me the most sore I have ever been after a workout and has exposed me to muscles I never knew existed in my body. (I’m talking to you teres major and minor) This game hates my shoulders.


Personally I hate endurance training exercises you know like running or whatever but with Thrill of the Fight I don’t realize that I’ve thrown 150 punches in 3 minutes without stopping because its flat out fun trying to beat up a virtual character you projected your childhood bully onto.

Bottom line if you want to lose weight and push your fitness level, this game will do it. I’ve lost weight, gained muscle and just overall feel like a healthy human from this one game. Best $9.99 i've ever spent.

Now onto our minds. A way to handle daily stress besides is to enter into a meditation app. My mindfulness app of choice is maloka. 

For one Maloka is free and inside the app you not only can take part in guided meditations and sound baths (its like a shower for your ears) but you grow your own island and spirit character.

It gamifies mindfulness, keeping you wanting to come back for more calm and leveling up your island. I won’t lie I’ve dropped into Maloka on my lunch break to help escape some early morning stress and to prepare for the rest of the day and no joke it worked! 

Pro tip if you have kids this a great way to wind down at the end of the day after they go to bed, plus your partner will be thankful for a more calm and stress free you! Even if you are wearing your headset in bed…

Life change app number 4 is the FireFox Reality Browser. It sounds silly but its true. I had heard of the term web 3.0 but I never really understood or experienced it until downloading the FireFox browser onto the quest.

 

FF reality showed me the ease of popping in and out of virtual reality. Right on the homepage everyday there are new 3D sites I could explore and fun little games to like this flappy bird recreation.

This browser also opened me eyes to the world of 3D video, more specifically 180 stereoscopic video. The 3D effect of these 180 videos really makes you feel like you are in the room. 

There is a depth in the videos that honestly I can’t describe. A great example of this is wes anderson’s special vignette from Isle of the dogs. Its truly just something you have to experience to appreciate. Web 3.0 is gonna be wild, just watch out for NFTs. Seriously

Lastly, I want to talk about connecting with other people. And no I’m not talking about Horizon rooms or VRChat, I’m talking about the hitting the links and the 18 hole putt putt battle that is walk about mini golf.

This game absolutely blew me away when I first played it. It was actually the first game I bought as a recommendation from a friend. Through Walkabout I have reconnected with friends I hadn’t seen in years and it honestly just feels like you are at a putt putt course in heaven with your friends. 

Since there is an activity with a goal the conversation just seems to flow. This game alone led to my wife buying a quest 2 so that we could have virtual date nights. 

Just two american kids in the same house but separate rooms on a date. Thats how that classic john mellencamp song goes right?

 Honestly with a toddler its hard to get out on a date but walkabout is a beautiful escape for connecting with your significant other. Heck even the bachelor can’t create a putt putt course filled with ice cream, and candy. Good luck ABC.

Well those are my 5 apps that changed my life what are yours?

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

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Oculus Quest 2 Pro or Project Cambria?

What the Quest? Project Cambria, Oculus Quest 2 Pro so many rumors are swirling right now. Heres a quick round up of what has recently surfaces as far as specs and release date for project cambria or maybe the quest 2 pro.

The rumors are swirling, the image leaks are falling from the sky so what in the oculus hemmingway is happening???

Supply chain analyst Ming CHi Kuo doubles down on his claims of a quest 2 pro coming in the second half of this year. With two 2160 by you guessed it 2160 mini led panels (you know because they are square), dual element pancake lenses, with facial expression recognition and he believes the headset should ship nearly 2 million units this year. Just in time for a rich person’s christmas. Here’s to you blank check kid.

Now the question we all are asking, is this project cambria zuck bucks was talking about back in october or is it something different? The reality is we just don’t know.

Youtuber and VR data miner extroidanaire Brad Lynch gave his details on what he too believes to be a quest 2 pro from a source that he also knows in the supply chain world that actually was able to use the device. Sounds like I need a supply chain friend, any takers? I can give you an oculus store referral code for 30 bones, don’t spend it all in one place (wink) oh wait.

The headset as bradley’s source describes it has two cameras on the front under each eye for gathering depth data and then 1 high resolution RGB camera in the center, that works in tandem with the 2 depth cameras to create a full color passthrough mode for XR experiences.

His source also confirmed that the field of view is similar to the Quest 2 and that the front is much thinner than the Q2. The IPD adjustment is full movement and smooth rather than the 3 clicky settings we have now and comes with a visual indicator for what your IPD actually is in milimeters. Me I’m a 59.1 and you know what that means..

The source shared that the HMD was very good at facial recognition and was able to track their eyebrows and yes nostril movement.

Sadly though the source did reiterate that it didn’t feel like a big upgrade in the terms of resolution and FOV but was very impressed with the light weight, clarity and form factor. The audio experience was also similar to quest 2.

So basically this may be an xbox one s or playstation slim for your face. 

Finally brad believes it will launch along side a facebook connect presentation in the fall.

Well what you you all think? I mean I still like my Q2 so I’m diamond handing until I see a full iteration but glad to see another VR headset in the works.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

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New Oculus Quest 2 Update 39 Official Release Notes

Here are the final details on new features and updates coming to the quest 2 via the version 39 update.

A Quest update is upon us version 39 will soon be rolling out. In it you will find the mountain study home environment that places you in a mountain retreat so you can set up your desk and virtual office in the view of a snow capped mountain. 

Personally I would have liked to just you know be outside, maybe put my computer on a rock looking up at the actual mountain not through a window? Why stay inside when in VR we literally go anywhere! Anyways to find this new environment hit the new virtual workspace tab in your quest settings menu.

Up next multitasking is now official and no longer experimental so it is here to stay along with a few quality of life tweaks like making it easier to swap between multiple apps and return to whatever you last had open. The tri window experience is ELITE!

The king of update 39 is for us mac kids. Share to headset is finally coming to ios. SHare to headset if you missed it lets you send vr content from your phone to your headset much more easily. So instead of finding that VR post on reddit and then going to your quest then browser and then searching and sifting through posts you can send the link right from your phone and have it waiting on your headset the next time you put it on. 

Reminder for this to work make sure your quest is on and bluetooth is enabled on your phone. Then find your link on your phone, click share, choose the oculus app on your phone then “open now” and choose your headset and it will be waiting for you like your dog waits for you at the door for you to come home from work. Its kinda like that…

Lastly the quest browser logo has changed. Please quiet down its hard to finish this video over your excitement!. 

There you have it version 39. Not much to write home about but hey regular updates are better than no updates, well unless they start bricking and screwing up your headset.  Dang you 38!!!!

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/QuestQuickie/

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Oculus Quest 2 Airlink Wireless Dongle? (VR Air Bridge)

Meta may be working with wireless manufacturer D-Link to create a USB wireless air link dongle that will connect your headset to your PC for more PCVR goodness.

Basically take air link or Virtual Desktop but instead of relying on the quality of your router and it’s connection that’s probably shared with 15 other devices in your house you rely on a single connection from your headset to this wireless USB dongle currently known as VR Air Bridge. 

Twitter user ItsKaitlyn03 a software engineer discovered the code found inside a new driver update package from Oculus. Kaitlyn believes this VR Air Bridge is based off the D-Link AX1800 Wifi 6 USB adapter that currently sells for $65 which basically gives your PC an external wifi card. This Meta Dongle would do the same but a direct connection from your quest 2 your pc. This would absolutely boost the quality and stability of airlink for most people especially those without wifi 6 routers. And with many of us sharing our wifi router connection with people in our home and probably aren’t able to be right next to our router, a dedicated wireless connection would be primo. 

This dongle was actually alluded to back in 2021 during a twitter spaces conversation with Oculus CTO John Carmack and VP of Reality Labs Andrew Bosworth. Lets listen in:

Well I hope this possible dongle won’t be “boutique” and at $200 be more expensive than the renewed 64 gig models of the Quest 2 floating around.. I do wonder if there will be another piece that plugs into the usb c port of my headset to handle the connection? I assume that there would be and then the question of battery life comes into effect and its all a mess from there. 

But at the end of the day this is all conjecture though it could be very promising for the future.

Getting a new quest? Get $30 free store credit on me by using my oculus quest coupon code: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/SlurpeePinata

Woodie VR is your stop for Oculus quest news, games, updates and more.

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