PC gaming news and reviews

The latest PC gaming news and reviews of gaming PC hardware, software and accessories.

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Google envisions smart roller skates for walking endlessly in VR
Right now the solutions for walking through large virtual reality environments are quite limited. You're typically looking at either a 360-degree treadmill or playing in a gigantic physical space. Google, however, might have a better solution -- although we're not sure if we'd call it elegant. The company has applied for a patent on VR shoes (really, roller skates) that would let you walk anywhere in VR without bumping into a very real wall. The technology would track your feet and use motorized wheels on the footwear to bring you back to a "return zone" whenever you venture beyond a safe area. You'd avoid embarrassing collisions -- though you'd also look like a massive dork, if Google's less-than-flattering illustrations are any indication.
Steam Link game streaming box is almost gone for good
If you've been thinking of getting a Steam Link box, you may want to buy it soon -- if you can even find one, that is. Valve has announced that its Steam Link boxes are sold out in Europe and are almost gone in the US, as well. Further, it sounds like that company has no plans to release more. The game developer said in an announcement that it intends to support existing Link hardware and to distribute its software versions going forward. A Steam Link box allows you to play your games in your living room or anywhere else in your home away from your PC. Just plug it into a TV, and it will discover any computer running the platform.
Fan-made 'Half-Life' remake 'Black Mesa' is nearly complete
Want to feel old? The original Half-Life has turned 20. Valve released its definitive shooter on November 19th, 1998, both stretching the possibilities of the genre (both in technology and storytelling) and laying the groundwork for the company's gaming empire. But it's not Valve celebrating the momentous occasion -- instead, it's up to the fans. Crowbar Collective has released a trailer for the final portion of its Black Mesa remake, introducing its take on the strange Xen dimension that ends the first Half-Life game.
Ben Wander's quest to become a household name
Even casual video game fans know Sid Meier's name. They've seen it countless times, printed in sturdy text across every box in the Civilization series for the past 27 years, the most recent one being 2016's Sid Meier's Civilization VI. It's come to the point where most gamers can't hear "Civilization" without immediately thinking, "Sid Meier," and vice versa. "People know who Sid Meier is because his name's on the front," indie developer Ben Wander said on the busy Tulsa Pop Culture Expo show floor. He was showing off his first game as independent developer The Wandering Ben, a noir murder mystery called A Case of Distrust.
Google releases gorgeous VR short film 'Age of Sail'
Google Spotlight Stories has released its latest short, Age of Sail. Directed by Academy Award winner John Kahrs (Disney's Paperman short), it blends beautiful animation with the story of an old, lonely sailor, played by Ian McShane, who is adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1900. When he rescues a young woman (Cathy Ang), who fell overboard from a passing ship, his outlook changes to one of hope.
Discord now offers early access games on its PC store
The most popular chat platform for gamers, Discord, will now be selling early access games, adding to the growing catalog of titles on the Discord Store. Early access was popularized initially by Steam and allows gamers to buy games that are still in development. It gives players access to games months -- or even years -- before launch, while giving valuable feedback to developers.
PlayStation Black Friday sale includes $200 'Spider-Man' PS4 bundle
Sony isn't about to let Microsoft's week-long Black Friday sale go unanswered. It's running its own PlayStation sale at the same time (November 18th through 26th), and there promise to be some solid bargains -- if not necessarily all the bargains you'd hope for. The star of the show is a $200 PlayStation 4 Slim 1TB Spider-Man bundle. If you've wanted to see why the web-slinging game generated a whole lot of buzz without shelling out extra for a copy (or buying a fancy PS4 Pro bundle), now's your chance.
Shadow VR is the latest rival to the Oculus Quest
This new Vive Wave-based 6DoF headset comes with the company's self-developed 6DoF controllers.
Gorgeous platformer 'Gris' arrives December 13th
Indie platformer Gris, which caught our attention for its beautiful visuals, now has a firm release date. Publisher Devolver Digital has revealed you'll be able to explore the game's gorgeous landscape starting December 13th.
The EFF’s VR experience helps users spot surveillance devices
With surveillance technology becoming ever more ubiquitous, it would be useful to know where to look for it. At least that's the thinking behind the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Spot the Surveillance VR experience. It puts users in a virtual neighborhood as a young resident navigates an encounter with police, and it challenges users to spot all of the various surveillance technology that surrounds them. That includes devices like body cameras, automated license plate readers, drones and biometric devices.
Facebook reorganizes Oculus to further its long-term VR goals
Facebook isn't done shaking up its strategy for Oculus. TechCrunch has learned that Facebook reorganized its augmented and virtual reality teams this week to focus on areas of technical expertise, rather than specific products. The company acknowledged the change in a statement, saying that they were "internal changes" that shouldn't affect end users or developers. However, that's not entirely true -- this appears to be as much about making AR and VR more viable in the long term, rather than revolving around near-term releases.
'Alan Wake' is back on Steam thanks to new music licenses
Game developer Remedy Entertainment has some good news for fans of the game Alan Wake. Publisher Microsoft has renegotiated the game's music licenses, and as a result, Alan Wake is heading back to online stores, starting with Steam. The game is currently 80 percent off, priced at just $3, through November 1st.
Oculus Go now casts your VR sessions to other devices
As promised, it's now easy to share your Oculus Go sessions with everyone else in the room. Oculus is rolling out beta support for casting Go experiences to phones and tablets using the Oculus app. So long as both the Go and the mobile device are on the same WiFi network, friends and family can watch you grapple with a VR game or marvel at a 360-degree video. You can't yet share VR to a TV, but it beats having to describe what you're seeing to curious onlookers.
Oculus stops offering movies on Rift headsets due to low demand
It's a lousy time to be a fan of PC-based VR, apparently. Oculus told both customers and Variety that it's shutting down its movie store for Rift headset owners, leaving you to use third-party services (or watch on a regular screen) if you want to buy or rent flicks. The store is closing as of October 22nd, and you'll have until November 20th to watch your catalog before that too goes away. Oculus will offer refunds to anyone who bought movies before the closure.
Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe leaves Facebook
Add another person to the list of high-profile leaders departing Facebook. Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe is leaving both his own team and the social network. He didn't say where he was going next or why he was exiting, but he noted that this would be his "first real break" in the space of 20 years. This is a chance to step away from the grind for a while, in other words. With that said, there are hints that it's about more than some overdue rest and relaxation.
HTC's standalone Vive Focus will soon get 6DoF VR controllers
While Facebook's Oculus Quest won't arrive until the spring of 2019, its seemingly beefier inside-out tracking plus 6DoF controllers may already pose a threat to HTC's Vive Focus, as well as to other Vive Wave-based standalone VR headsets -- including Pico's Neo (whose ultrasound-based 6DoF controllers are still missing) and the more recent G2. As such, HTC's first order of business is to release a developer kit for adding not one, but two 6DoF controllers to substitute the Vive Focus' single 3DoF controller -- one that relies on software to simulate a 6DoF feel, but also often requires re-centering.
NBA League Pass transforms games into VR viewing parties
Live sports broadcasts in VR tend to be solitary affairs, but they're about to become decidedly more social. Now that the 2018-2019 NBA season is getting underway, NBA League Pass and NextVR have revealed that they're offering shared viewing through Oculus Venues. If there's a friend across the country who can't show up to watch a game in person, they can don a VR headset and enjoy that sense of camaraderie. You'll even unlock a team jersey for your avatar if you tune in, so you can rep your favorite squad whenever you like.
Sixense refunds backers for VR controller, five years later
More than five years after funding its Stem virtual reality controller system on Kickstarter, Sixense is paying back those who pledged for the device. Sixense is no longer making a consumer version of the controller, as it is focusing on producing hardware for enterprise and healthcare companies.
Qualcomm's new 60GHz WiFi chips promise better VR
Mobile chip manufacturer Qualcomm has announced a family of 60GHz WiFi chips, the QCA64x8 and QCA64x1, which can deliver speeds of over 10Gbps. The WiFi 802.11ay standard that these chips use bring with it theoretical speeds that can surpass even most types of home Ethernet connections. To put the speed of 802.11ay at 60Ghz into context, that's 10 times more than the 1Gbps internet connection speeds that most major US cities top out at. Given the theoretical speeds of 802.11ay at 60GHz, the bottleneck would likely be your computer's internal components.
Facebook's 3D photos are here
In May during its F8 conference, Facebook announced that it was working on a feature that would take a typical 2D picture and make it appear three-dimensional when posted in the News Feed. Now, it's beginning to roll out 3D photos to everyone, allowing users to "bring scenes to life with depth and movement." All you have to do is take a photo in portrait mode and then start creating a new post on Facebook. Tap the menu icon in the top right of the post screen and select "3D Photo," and that will bring you to the portrait photo folder in your phone. Once you select the photo you want, just post it as you usually would, adding a caption and sharing it to your feed.

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