The VR Digest for February 2018 discusses updates in Unreal Engine, Unity, and Godot, highlighting new features that enhance game development and rendering capabilities. It also announces the formation of Neurogaming by Wargaming & VRTech for VR gaming, alongside new hardware releases including Oculus and HTC products. The issue features upcoming VR game releases and Intel's new volumetric video capture studio while also noting a growing interest in Nintendo Switch game development.

1. VR digest
February 2018
by Marina Kolesnichenko
Software Developer at ElifTech

2. www.eliftech.com
Technologies

3. www.eliftech.com
Unreal Engine 4.19: Using Material Layers
Features:
The Epic team has added support for
Material Layers in the latest version of
Unreal Engine.
All instances of a Get Shared Input node
will read the same shader input data, in
this case, our global parameters.
When editing a Material Instance with a
parent Material that contains a Material
Attribute Layers node, the Material
Instance Editor also contains a Layer
Parameterstab
Read more - here

4. www.eliftech.com
Unity 2018
Features:
Scriptable Render Pipeline: Unleash the
Power of Modern Hardware Without the
Burden of Building a New Engine
C# Job System – A New Coding System
That Unlocks Major Performance
Increases
Developers can add more effects and
complexity to their games, or use that
horsepower to add complex AI, to make
rich worlds that immerse gamers.
Read more - here

5. www.eliftech.com
Godot
The latest version introduces a brand new
rendering engine with PBR workflow for
3D, an improved assets pipeline, C# 7.0
support
Wargaming&VRTech
Wargaming and VRTech announced the
formation of Neurogaming, a global,
location-based VR gaming provider with in-
house technology and content expansion.
Read more - here Read more - here

6. www.eliftech.com
Features:
new version removed the need for
licenses and development keys
new expression editor
some great 3D rendering filters
a few Unity plugin novelties
couple more generation algorithms
Read more - here
Sceelix, a procedural engine for 3D scenes is now free

7. www.eliftech.com
Audi
Audi has released a new AR smartphone
application that is triggered by their TV
commercials.
Facebook
Facebook Preparing New Wave of Full
Body AR Camera Lenses
Read more - here Read more - here

8. www.eliftech.com
Marmoset
The Marmoset team has
presented Marmoset Toolbag
3.03, a free update for all
Toolbag 3 users.
Houdini
The latest Houdini production
build comes with new
improvements to the licensing
and render restrictions
FJTools 1.0
FJTools 1.0 For ZBrush
Released
Read more - here Read more - here Read more - here

9. www.eliftech.com
Hardware

10. www.eliftech.com
Intel
Intel has presented an impressively
normal-looking smart glasses
Nintendo
Nintendo Labo combines the magic of
Nintendo Switch with the fun of DIY
creations.
Read more - here Read more - here

11. www.eliftech.com
HTC Reveals the VIVE Pro
Features:
New headset improves integrated
audio
Brings the second camera on the
front
Has been improved too, and the device,
features dual microphones.
Read more - here

12. www.eliftech.com
Apple’s Latest VR Patent Describes a Compact VR
Headset with Eye Tracking
Catadioptric optics, commonly used
in high magnification optical systems
like telescopes and microscopes,
‘fold’ the optical path to create a
more compact arrangement.
Microdisplays, which are small but
offer high pixel density, are desirable
for VR because of their compact size
but require lenses with high
magnification.
Read more - here

13. www.eliftech.com
Microsoft Garage
News:
Include an area called The Reality Room
Spatial flexibility was important to
accommodate change and the fast-pace
evolution of hardware innovation.
Sensors and speakers were blended into
the walls and workstations are placed in a
way to create an environment that allows
for people to collaborate, think, and be
social.
Read more - here

14. www.eliftech.com
Axel Springer
Axel Springer announced that it has taken
part in a new round of financing of Magic
Leap
HaptX Glove
Grabbing Virtual Objects with the HaptX
Glove
Read more - here Read more - here

15. www.eliftech.com
News

16. www.eliftech.com
Results:
Interest in Nintendo Switch development
rising, with 1 in 3 developers interested
Most developers’ games sell as well or
better on Switch as other consoles
1 in 10 developers are working on a game
that will monetize using “loot boxes”
PC and mobile platforms are the most
popular platforms to make games for, but
mobile development is slipping
Read more - here
The 2018 Game Developers Conference

17. www.eliftech.com
Intel Launches LA Studio for Volumetric VR & AR Projects
News
Intel Studios, the new site, is said to present
the world’s largest stage for volumetric video
capture.
Its 10,000 square-feet dome was designed to
capture actors and objects in volumetric 3D,
generating high-end holographic content for
VR and AR.
Intel Studios will work with ad agencies,
producers of scripted content and live
events producers.
Read more - here

18. www.eliftech.com
VR/AR Association
During all february VRARA team organized
great webinars about next topics:
WebVR and WebAR
Architecture Engineering Construction
AEC
Storytelling
Enterprise
Marketing & Advertising
Retail and eCommerce
Healthcare
Read more - here

19. www.eliftech.com
February 2018 VR Game Release Date
▪ DwarVRs – HTC Vive (Feb. 1)*Early Access
▪ Realm Quest – HTC Vive (Feb. 1)*Early Access
▪ Ground Runner: Trials – HTC Vive (Feb. 2)*Early Access
▪ Hub Culture VR – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (Feb. 2)
▪ Star Epica 3720 – HTC Vive (Feb. 5)*Early Access
▪ NewTypes – HTC Vive (Feb. 5)*Early Access
▪ Neon – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (Feb. 5)
▪ Bubble Blast Rescue VR – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (Feb. 8)
▪ For The Stars – HTC Vive (Feb. 8)*Early Access
▪ Foosball VR – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (Feb. 9)*Early Access

20. www.eliftech.com
February 2018 VR Game Release Date
▪ Flying Turkey – HTC Vive (Feb. 9)
▪ Pop Up Pilgrims – PSVR (Feb. 13)
▪ Alien Food Frenzy – HTC Vive (Feb. 15)
▪ Apex Construct – PSVR (Feb. 20)
▪ Data Thief – HTC Vive (Feb. 20)
▪ Conquer – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (Feb. 21)
▪ Mike was Сursed – Oculus Rift (Feb. 28)
▪ Way Out – HTC Vive (Feb. 28)
▪ The Afterwoods – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (February 2018)*Early Access
▪ Coins Challenge – HTC Vive (February 2018)
▪ Edge of Atlantis – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (February 2018)*Early Access
▪ Fruit Attacks VR – Oculus Rift/HTC Vive (February 2018)*Early Access
▪ John Lazarus – Episode 1: Dead Man’s Origin – HTC Vive (February 2018)
▪ Space Crawl – HTC Vive (February 2018)

21. www.eliftech.com
Thank you for reading!
Subscribe not to miss next month VR digest.
Find us at eliftech.com
Have a question? Contact us:
info@eliftech.com