The First $100 You Should Spend on Quest 2 Games

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So you’ve got your greasy mitts on a Meta Quest 2, and you’re wondering what to buy after you’ve exhausted all of the best free games and experiences available on the standalone headset. Whether you’re into active games, puzzles, or just want to slice or shoot the ever-living crap out of something, we’re here to help you settle into your new headset with a few games that should keep you playing for hundreds of hours yet to come.

Note: This list includes only native Quest games. Don’t forget that you can also play PC games with either Oculus Link or Air Link and a VR-ready PC. Find out if your PC is ready for Link.

This list below is a great starting point if you’re looking to burn pretty close to a single Benjamin, although you should definitely check out our list of the best and most rated Meta Quest games now available, which also includes prices to help you whittle away your hard-earned cash.

Each genre section breaks down pretty close to $100 bucks, which includes games to get your heart pumping, shooter fans, puzzle nerds, fantasy swordplay geeks, and much more.

Multiplayer Shooting Madness

After the Fall – $40

After the Fall is basically Valve’s Left 4 Dead in VR. This four-player co-op shooter pits you against hordes of zombies across a handful of linear levels, all of which are characteristically dotted with safehouses. Zombies aren’t very intimidating as individuals, but when the masses start streaming in from every corner, you’ll be glad you have a good team to back you up and the gun you grinded for with the points you picked up from—you guessed it—shooting zombies.

‘After the Fall’ on Quest

Population: One – $30

Population One is VR’s very own battle royale, letting you team up in 24-player matches so you can climb, glide, run, and scrounge your way to victory. You’ll be battling against teams of hardcore players in this heavily populated, cross-platform shooter, so make sure to pick your squad wisely.

‘Population: One’ on Quest

Onward – $25

The Quest version of Onward was widely maligned for bringing down the PC VR experience when it went cross-platform, but it’s still one of the best mil-sims on Quest. This online mil-sim shooter is filled with hardcore users thanks to its realism, which means you’ll need to use all of the sort of military tactics to win against the other team. Communicate clearly, make sure you’re not running ahead of the pack Leroy Jenkins-style, and get good at shooting.

‘Onward’ on Quest

Continue on Page 2: Single Player Shooters»

The post The First $100 You Should Spend on Quest 2 Games appeared first on Road to VR.

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25 of the best movies on Netflix right now

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Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Fast Color
Image: Lionsgate

From cannibalistic coming of age stories to superhero family dramas

What’s the best movie I can watch on Netflix? We’ve all asked ourselves the question, only to spend the next 15 minutes scrolling through the streaming service’s oddly specific genre menus, and getting overwhelmed by the constantly shifting trend menus. Netflix’s huge catalogue of movies, combined with its inscrutable recommendations algorithm, can make finding something to watch feel more like a chore than a way to unwind when really what you want are the good movies. No… the best movies.

We’re here to help. For those suffering from choice paralysis in September, we’ve narrowed down your options to 25 of our favorite current movies on the platform. These run the gamut from taut thrillers to eccentric comedies to newly minted classics. We’ll be updating this list monthly as Netflix cycles movies in and out of its library, so be sure to check back next time you’re stuck in front of the Netflix home screen.


21 Jump Street

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street
Image: Scott Garfield / Columbia Pictures

Based on the 1987 TV series of the same name, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s 2012 buddy cop comedy 21 Jump Street stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, two high school classmates from radically different social circles who befriend one another later in life as police academy cadets. After a humiliating screw up, the pair are sent undercover to pose as high school students in order to find the source of an illegal synthetic drug. Accidentally mixing up their identities, Morton and Greg get a taste of what life was like for one another back when they were in school, all while getting into all types of shenanigans and shootouts. Acutely self-aware and frequently hilarious, 21 Jump Street is a comedy reboot done well. —Toussaint Egan


At Eternity’s Gate

Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate
Photo: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Julian Schnabel’s 2018 biographical drama stars Willem Dafoe as Vincent van Gogh, following the late Impressionist master in the final years of his life as he struggles with aspersions towards his artistic career and ability as well as his own tortured psyche. Named for van Gogh’s 1890 painting, At Eternity’s Gate is a dreamlike work of art, diving into the painter’s point of view as the picture violently spasms and shakes as his life becomes increasingly more dire. Dafoe’s performance was celebrated at the time of the film’s release, earning him his fourth Oscar nomination at the 91st Academy Awards. —TE



The Burial of Kojo

Esi (Cynthia Dankwa) standing under a shower of sparklers holding an umbrella in The Burial of Kojo.
Image: Ofoe Amegavoe / Array Releasing

If you were a fan of either 2012’s Beasts of the Southern Wild or 2020’s Night of the Kings, you’ll love The Burial of Kojo. The directorial debut of musician Blitz Bazawule and filmed entirely in Ghana, the mythic drama stars Cynthia Dankwa as Esi, a young girl recounting the story of her childhood and the tumultuous relationship between her father Kojo (Joseph Otsiman) and her uncle Kwabena. When her father goes missing, Esi embarks on a journey to an otherworldly plane of existence where she must contend with a powerful creature known only as the Crow in order to rescue him. Narrated by actress Ama K. Abebrese, The Burial of Kojo is a stunning dream-like odyssey told with evocative visuals, richly lit colors, and captivatingly somber performances. —TE


Cloud Atlas

Zachry (Tom Hanks) clutching a child to him while surrounded by marauders in Cloud Atlas.
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Cloud Atlas offers the best hint at what to tonally expect from a Matrix sequel in the year 2021, aside from The Wachowskis’ Netflix sci-fi drama Sense8. Adapted from David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name, the epic sci-fi odyssey charts the story of several characters from the 1900s to the middle of the 21st century as they attempt to grapple with the challenges of their respective eras and find meaning in their lives. Starring an ensemble cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Susan Sarandon, and more, the film is a cofounding, ambitious, and at times deeply moving story with an “anything goes” attitude that equally results in some of the most inspired scenes and questionable directorial decisions the Wachowskis have ever produced in their careers. From the looks of the trailer, if you want to brace yourself for the kind of wild cinematic experimentation you’re likely to find in The Matrix Resurrections, then Cloud Atlas will point the way. —TE


The Edge of Seventeen

Nadine (Steinfeld) does the human version of the shrugging kaomoji.
Photo: STX Entertainment

Hawkeye star Hailee Steinfeld stars in the 2016 comedy-drama The Edge of Seventeen as Nadine Franklin, a high school junior with a tumultuous home life exacerbated by the death of her father. Things only get worse when her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) begins hooking up with her older brother Darian (Blake Jenner), driving a wedge between them. Exasperated with her life, Nadine finds herself leaning on the support of her teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) in order to navigate the challenges of growing up. Quirky, slightly morose, and deeply earnest, The Edge of Seventeen is a solid coming-of-age story powered by great performances on part of Steinfeld and Harrelson. —TE


Fast Color

Ruth (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and her daughter Lila (Saniyya Sidney) manifesting their powers in Fast Color.
Image: Lionsgate

Julia Hart’s 2018 superhero drama Fast Color stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror, Loki) as Ruth, a homeless wanderer with inexplicable powers who returns to her family home after years of hiding from the police. Reunited with her mother Bo (Lorraine Toussaint) and her young daughter Lila (Saniyya Sidney), who both possess the same powers as her, Ruth attempts to regain control over her abilities and reconcile with Lila, all while alluding the authorities who seek to capture and study her. As we wrote back in our review, Fast Color is less a “superhero” film as it is an intimate family drama set in a speculative universe à la 2016’s Midnight Special. The spectacle on display is not the manifestation of Ruth’s powers, but in the masterful trio of performances at its center combining to create a story as poignant as it is exhilarating. —TE


The Florida Project

willem dafoe and brooklynn prince
Image: A24 Films

Central Florida is a weird place to be a kid from a poor family. You grow up in the shadow of corporate dreamlands, where people from around the world come to live out a fantasy of a weekend at the “happiest” places on Earth, fueled by workers who historically have made an average of $10 an hour. Directed by Sean Baker, The Florida Project is one small story set in this shadow, about a six-year-old girl named Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) who lives in a Kissimmee motel called The Magic Castle with her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite), who, trying to make ends meet, often leaves Moonee to her own devices, and the reluctant supervision of motel manager Bobby (Willem Defoe). The Florida Project is one of the best stories about Central Florida and Walt Disney World, a story about childlike wonder and joy a stone’s throw away from its monolithic commercialization, and the economic hardship that keeps the monied dreams of tourists afloat. —Joshua Rivera


Identity


Image: Columbia Pictures

If you’re up for an eerie, psychological ensemble slasher with grimy cinematography à la Seven or Fight Club, director James Mangold’s 2003 horror movie Identity is just the film for you. Based loosely on Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None,” Identity follows ten strangers who, stranded at a Nevada motel during a violent storm, find themselves terrorized by a mysterious killer. As the story unfolds however, Identity reveals itself to be another story entirely; one which raises the stakes as the questions of what these strangers share in common and why their respective paths brought them together in the first place comes into focus. With terrific leading performances by John Cusack, Ray Liotta, and Amanda Peet, Identity is a solid early-aught horror flick with a twist as bonkers as it is entertaining. No spoilers. Just go watch it. —TE


It Follows

It Follows - Jay Height (Maika Monroe) in swimming pool
Radius-TWC

David Robert Mitchell’s breakout supernatural horror film It Follows centers on a young teenager Jay (Maika Monroe) who, after a strange sexual encounter, finds herself stalked by a nightmarish entity that no-one else but her can see that intends to kill her. In order to stave off death, Jay and her friends must stay a step ahead of the creature while attempting to find a means of defeating it, or else resort to passing the curse on to another hapless unassuming victim herself. With a terrific score provided by Hyper Light Drifter composer Richard Vreeland (aka Disasterpeace), It Follows is a memorable, unique, and entertaining teen horror drama that flips the script on the genre’s traditionally puritanical framing of sexuality with terrific results. —TE


Looper

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Seth (Paul Dano) in Looper
Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Rian Johnson’s sci-fi noir action-thriller Looper follows the story of Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a hitman working for a crime syndicate in the year 2044 who specializes in killing people his employers send back in time from the future. In exchange for his services, Joe is offered the opportunity to retire provided that he close his own “loop” by executing his future self (Bruce Willis). When his future self overpowers him and sets off on his own mysterious mission, Joe must track himself down and close his loop before his employers opt to kill both of them to cover the whole mess up. From there, it only gets more complicated. Filled with exciting chase sequences, exhilarating gunfights, a memorable score by composer Nathan Johnson, and some frankly bizarre makeup designed to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like a younger Bruce Willis, Looper is a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining action movie with a heart as big as the ideas that power it. —TE


Middle of Nowhere

Omari Hardwick and Emayatzy Corinealdi in Middle of Nowhere.
Image: Participant Media

Ava DuVernay’s 2012 drama Middle of Nowhere centers on the story of Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi), a nurse living in Compton, California separated from her husband Derek (Omari Hardwick) who has been arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison. While regularly visiting Derek and attempting to negotiate his parole, Ruby meets Brian (David Oyelowo), a bus driver whom she eventually pursues a romantic relationship with. As she struggles to reconcile her growing attraction to Brian with her lingering attachment to Derek, new discoveries are brought to light that force Ruby to reckon with the consequences of both her and her husband’s choices as she attempts to move towards an uncertain future. Beautiful, evocative, and thoroughly heart wrenching, Middle of Nowhere is a stirring portrait of finding truth in love and vice-versa. —TE


Moneyball

Brad Pitt in Moneyball.
Image: Columbia Pictures

Bennet Miller’s sports biopic Moneyball takes a staid premise, that of sports manager using statistical analysis to assemble an all-star baseball team, and turns it into an electrifying drama playing and defying the odds. That Miller manages to do this is owed in no small part to Brad Pitt’s charismatic leading performance as Billy Beane coupled alongside Jonah Hill as math whiz Peter Brand. Bobby Kotick cameo aside, this film’s a winner through and through. —TE


The Nightingale

Clare (Aisling Franciosi) racing through a forest and touting a rifle in The Nightingale.
Image: IFC Films/Shout! Factory

Set in 1825 during the British colonization of Australia, Director Jennifer Kent’s (The Babadook) period drama The Nightingale stars Aisling Franciosi (The Fall) as Clare, a young Irish convict who serves her 7-year sentence only for her abusive master Lt. Hawkins (Sam Claflin) to refuse to release her. After being subjected to a horrific act of sexual violence at the hands of her master and his officers, and with no hope of justice served on part of the British authorities against their own, Clare embarks on a relentless chase through the Tasmanian wilderness to exact her revenge on Hawkins when he leaves to take up a captain position up north. Known for its extreme historically accurate depictions of rape, murder, and racism perpetuated by British settlers against the indigenous people of Australia, The Nightingale is an visually striking and emotionally enthralling tale of revenge conveyed through deft performances, striking cinematography, and unflinching harshness. —TE


The Paper Tigers

Ron Yuan and Ray Hopper in The Paper Tigers
Photo: Well Go USA Entertainment

Quoc Bao Tran’s Kung-fu action comedy stars Alain Uy, Ron Yuan (Mulan), and Mykel Shannon Jenkins as the eponymous Paper Tigers: three former martial arts prodigies who, after a lifetime of strenuous training and hard fighting, have grown into beleaguered middle-aged nobodies. But when their master is murdered, the three swear an oath to avenge his memory and bring his killer to justice. If that sounds serious, please know this falls into the Apatowian camp of Dumb Man comedy. —TE


Passing

Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing
Photo: Netflix

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, actor Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut stars Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga as Irene and Clare, two childhood friends who reunite in adulthood having been radically affected by their respective lived experiences as African-American woman. While Irene (Thompson) lives as a Black woman, Clare’s lighter skin allows her to “pass” for a white woman, escaping and inadvertently enforcing the prejudices of her time. As their rekindled friendship begins to strain under the weight of their shared secret, both must reckon with challenges that come with performance and essence of their respective identities. Shot in exquisite black-and-white — which quickly goes from obvious metaphor to integral lens — Hall charts the course of two women with a deep sense of psychology. A million movies have been shot around New York, and yet Passing discovers an entirely new corner of the world in its streets.


The Power of the Dog

Benedict Cumberbatch in a cowboy hat, standing in a field in The Power of the Dog
Photo: TIFF

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in The Power of the Dog as Phil Burbank, a charismatic yet ruthless rancher who sets his sights on tormenting Rose (Kirsten Dunst), a widow and her impressionable son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). When Phil’s brother George marries Rose, his desire and method of intimidating them only intensifies … that is, until he takes the young Peter under his wing. Does Phil harbor some unrequited, ill-communicated love for Rose and her son, or are there darker motives behind his strange behavior? From our review,

No seismic events occur in The Power of the Dog. There are no gun fights or cattle stampedes. Its meditative quality makes its abrupt ending feel even more sudden. But this is one of those movies that invites rewatches, and Campion is one of those directors who rewards careful subsequent viewing. On a second watch, the connective tissues surrounding the narrative’s tendons don’t just become apparent, they gain a muscular meaning, a robustness that makes the film’s one major reveal even more enlivening. The Power of the Dog doesn’t just mark Campion’s return — it’s the best movie of 2021 so far. This psychological Western’s themes of isolation and toxic masculinity are an ever-tightening lasso of seemingly innocuous events, and they import more horror and meaning on every closer inspection, corralling viewers under an unforgettable spell.


Raw

Justine (Garance Marillier) in Raw.
Image: Focus World

Titane director Julia Ducournau’s 2016 feature debut Raw is neither for the faint of heart nor weak of stomach. A coming of age body horror drama following a veterinarian student’s growing hunger for human flesh, Raw is an appropriately titled film of horrific appetites and the many consequences borne out of them. Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf’s lead performances as Justine and her amoral carnivorous sister Alexia are riveting, the pacing is taut, and the gore is as engrossing as it is thoroughly gut-churning. –TE


Sabrina

Greg Kinnear, Julia Ormond, and Harrison Ford in Sabrina.
Image: Paramount Pictures

Julia Ormond stars in the 1995 rom-com drama Sabrina as Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of the chauffeur of a wealthy family who has nurtured a crush for their son David (Greg Kinnear) since she was young. Growing up and coming home from a fashion internship with Vogue, Sabrina catches David’s eye, who before had never noticed her for the attractive and sophisticated woman that she is. David’s newfound interest in Sabrina however threatens his imminent marriage to his fiancée Elizabeth, as well a delicate business deal orchestrated by his workaholic brother Linus (Harrison Ford) that hinges on said marriage. All three must navigate their feelings for one another in a story that is a charming and hilarious as it is heartfelt and disarmingly earnest. —TE


Sankofa

Oyafunmike Ogunlano in Haile Gerima’s “Sankofa.”
Image: Array

Haile Gerima’s Ethiopian-produced drama Sankofa centers on the story of Mona (Oyafunmike Ogunlano), an African-American model on a film shoot in Ghana who finds herself spiritually transported into the body of a Ghanaian woman named Shola who is being kidnapped into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Experiencing the brutal physical and psychological torture of chattel slavery firsthand, Mona joins her fellow slaves in an uprising as they seize their freedom. Overlooked by US distributors when it was initially released in 1993, Sankofa was recently acquired and restored by Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing before being released on Netflix this year. While the film’s premise on its face may sound reminiscent to 2020’s abysmal horror thriller Antebellum, don’t come to Sankofa expecting Shymalan-like twists attempting to ape the cultural resonance of Jordan Peele’s Get Out. Gerima’s film is a bold, beautiful, and bracing depiction of the redemptive power of community and rebellion and a stirring cinematic call to embrace, understand, and most importantly remember the history of human struggle. —TE


Silver Linings Playbook

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook.
Image: Anchor Bay Entertainment

The film that kicked off the Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, David O. Russell combo. Cooper plays Pat, a man with bipolar disorder freshly released from a psychiatric hospital, set on winning back his estranged wife. While going on runs, he meets young, surly widow Tiffany (Lawrence), who offers to help him if he enters a couples dance competition with her. It’s a story about two very messed up people trying to be better and learning a little bit from each other along the way. Part romance, part dramedy, with a touch of family turmoil, Silver Linings Playbook is bolstered by its lead actors’ electric chemistry and stellar performances. —Petrana Radulovic


There Will Be Blood

Dillon Freasier stands next to a seated Daniel Day Lewis in a screenshot from There Will Be Blood
Photo: Miramax

For a while, Paul Thomas Anderson’s mesmerizing story about the rise and fall of an oil baron was best known for an unfortunate milkshake meme. But it’s been 14 years since its release, surely by now we can let go of that particular gag and get back to appreciating Daniel Day-Lewis’ typically intense performance and the film’s particularly uncompromising severity. It’s a severe-looking film, all cracked, dry surfaces and angry desperation, and the clash between Day-Lewis’ viciously competitive oilman and a struggling young preacher (Paul Dano) is just as severe. This is not a film about moderation or kindness, and the end is pure Grand Guignol, but it’s a hell of a ride to get there. —Tasha Robinson


Tremors


Image: Universal Pictures

The 1990 horror comedy Tremors is a cult classic for a reason. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward’s odd-couple performance as best friends Val McKee and Earl Bassett is a direct precursor to the likes of Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk’s dynamic in 2010’s Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, albeit with less gruesome aw-shucks mishaps and more general buffoonery. Set in the desert town of Perfection, Tremors follows the story of Val, Earl, and a band of townspeople who attempt to fend off a mysterious subterranean creature that threatens to engulf them and the rest of the world if not stopped. The success of the original film has spawned six sequels to date, including a 2003 television spin-off that aired for only one season. If you’re looking for a monster comedy action film in the vein of 2002’s Eight Legged Freaks or 2001’s Evolution, why not go to the film that gave the genre its second wind in the first place? —TE


Uncut Gems

adam sandler in uncut gems
Photo: A24

2019’s Uncut Gems is a contemporary crime drama shot through the frenetic rhythm and terror of a heart attack. Adam Sandler, far from just a simple case of stunt casting, delivers an electrifying performance as Howard Ratner, a New York jeweler and gambling addict who comes into possession of a rare black opal that might finally settle his outstanding debts once and for all. The only catch is that Howard’s worst enemy is himself, and his habitual attempt to fleece and manipulate everyone from his family, friends, and acquaintances in search of his next big score imperils both his life and the lives of those around him. With a powerful orchestral EDM score courtesy of Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never), dazzling performances by Lakeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, and Kevin Garnett as himself, Uncut Gems is an unforgettable film that plays out like a pulse-pounding Greek tragedy set in 2010s New York. —TE


Under The Shadow

Under the Shadow - Shideh
Vertical Entertainment

During a string of Iraqi airstrikes in late-1980s Tehran, the Iranian government bars medical student and political activist Shideh (Narges Rashidi) from continuing her studies. She retreats to her family’s apartment, and despite her husband’s wishes, remains with her young daughter in the war-torn capital — this is her home, and she’s not leaving. But when a missile blasts directly through her building, the normal life Shideh and her daughter knew becomes marked by an invisible, nefarious presence. Is it a djinn? Much like in The Babadook, first-time director Babak Anvari allows the question of the supernatural to orbit the action of Under the Shadow as he captures the erosion of his plain, main set, and Shideh’s very existence. —MP


White Girl

Morgan Saylor and Brian Marc, also known by his rapper name, Sene, in “White Girl.”
Credit: FilmRise

Elizabeth Wood’s White Girl caused quite a stir when it premiered back in 2016, earning comparisons to Larry Clark and Harmony Korine’s 1995 city portrait of teenage nihilism Kids. Starring Morgan Saylor, India Menuez, and Brian Marc, Wood’s film centers on the story of Leah (Saylor), a sophomore college student who strikes up a passionate love affair with Blue (Marc), a a young dealer after moving into an apartment with her friend Katie (Menuez). Things take a disastrous turn when Blue is arrested by an undercover police officer after been sold out by one of his regular customers, leaving Leah with over a kilo of cocaine he had recently acquired. With no other options and desperate to save Blue from prison, Leah attempts to sell the cocaine in order to earn enough money to afford a lawyer. White Girl is a shocking and frenetically paced movie, a nightmarish thrill ride comparable to the Safdie brothers’ 2017 Good Time that’s equal parts exhausting, exhilarating, and heartbreaking to watch. —TE

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Sword Art Online-inspired VR Headset ‘HalfDive’ Hits Kickstarter, Starting at $750

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halfdive

Japanese startup Diver-X has finally launched its Kickstarter for HalfDive, a unique VR headset that’s designed to be used while laying down, drawing some pretty clear inspiration from hit anime Sword Art Online.

HalfDive isn’t a brain-computer interface like SAO’s NerveGearhowever it does promise to let users play SteamVR games like VRChat and experience some pretty interesting object interaction via its tethered force feedback solution too.

The Kickstarter launched today, and is asking for ¥20,000,000 or around $176,000 USD. At the time of this writing, the project has already garnered over $70,000, putting it around one-third of the way there.

Diver-X is offering two distinctive models through the Kickstarter, what it calls a ‘HalfDive Minimum Model’ (starting at $750) and ‘HalfDive Basic Model’ (starting at $1,050).

The minimum model includes the headset and base, a pair of HalfDive controllers, and a proprietary head tracker. The basic model includes that, plus the force feedback module and a pair of wind feedback modules (re: fans) for both greater immersion and cooling.

halfdive diver
Image courtesy Diver-X

The company previously said it would be providing a more expensive version with variable focus lenses, however the creators say the variant is too difficult to mass produce. There won’t be a stretch goal for vari-focal lenses either, something Diver-X says they’ve decided as to better focus on development and production.

Controllers haven’t been revealed yet either. The creators are ostensibly still working on its promised foot-worn ankle controllers and the Vive Index-style hand controllers, which it teased in previous marketing material. Its force feedback cuffs appear to provide a place to attach Vive Trackers at least. The company says its working to integrate support for Tundra Trackers as well.

As for functionality: unlike standard VR headsets, which require you to strap them to your head for optimal fit and image clarity, HalfDive is more of a passive experience that seems to cradle your head rather than tightly affix it in place. Diver-X CEO Yamato Sakoda adjusts himself into a prone position and slips on two hand-worn cuffs that are tethered with retractable wires to force feedback modules in the base of the unit.

Diver-X says its design primarily allows users to operate in VR without any pressure on the head, and as a result covers 99% of all human head sizes.

As you’d imagine, a user laying on the ground has a different expected range of motion is than someone using a VR headset in either sitting or standing positions. The headset’s range of motion was previously described by Diver-X as 4.5 degrees of freedom (DOF), further calling it “virtual 6DOF”. We can see what that means functionally in the video of the 3D printed third prototype below as he adjusts the visor down into the optimal viewing position and angles it left and right, also called ‘yaw’.

What the gif doesn’t show is it can also apparently pitch up and down (relative to the user’s point of view) to a lesser degree. Still, that action looks pretty stiff, and even with the promise of a smoother injection molded body, looking around will decidedly require more effort than with a standard VR headset in either seated or standing position.

Construction of the mold for mass production is said to take place in February 2022, with completion estimated for May. Shipping is said to arrive sometime in Summer 2022; Kickstarter funding tiers are marked as releasing in August 2022.

It’s an innovative design for sure, however HalfDive is probably not for everyone. Playing VR games whilst laying down—but positioned in the VR world as if you’re standing up—may cause discomfort in some users depending on the amount of movement required in the game. Vection, or the motion that’s implied by movement in your visual field, can lead to discomfort if artificial motion and your body’s expectation of that motion don’t match up well enough.

That’s essentially why room-scale games without any type of artificial locomotion are usually the most comfortable to play, while games that toss around your point-of-view with topsy-turvy game geometry, or include heavy expectation of frenetic movement, are often the least comfortable among the bunch.

Granted, HalfDive looks pretty ideal for watching Netflix in the void theater, and maybe even hanging out in VRChat for a chill virtual face-to-face that doesn’t require too much virtual locomotion. We’re looking forward to seeing more as the headset exits its third prototype phase and heads closer to mass production in early Summer 2022. Again, you can check out the Kickstarter here.

Specs

  • Display – 2,880 × 1,600 LCD at 90Hz (1,440 × 1,600 per eye)
  • Optics – 10-element aspheric lens array
  • FOV – estimated 134°
  • Adjustable IPD – 58-84 mm range
  • I/O – Located in headset base: DisplayPort 1.2 / USB3.0 / 3.5mm audio jack / 12V power source / I2C (module connection),
  • Tracking – HalfDive tracker, Vive tracker supported (Tundra Tracker support coming soon),
  • Audio – built-in 4-spear array, microphone
  • Supported OS – Windows 10 (Linux support coming soon)
  • Minimum PC specs – Dual Core CPU with hyper-threading, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX970 / AMD RX 480

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Ben Affleck is done with Batman, IP movies, theatrical releases, traditions in general

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ben affleck as batman in batman v superman dawn of justice
Warner Bros. Pictures

Maybe popcorn movies need Affleck more than he needs them

At least one Batman plans on hanging up his cowl. Ben Affleck, in an interview with The Playlist, didn’t specifically mention his role as the Caped Crusader, but spoke broadly about losing interest in the DC Extended Universe and making movies based off previously created intellectual property, better known as IP.

“I don’t want to do IP movies, where you have this sort of built-in audience,” he says. “That’s something I was interested in and liked, and I just don’t like anymore. I like other people who do it. And if you are going to do it, you should love it. And I love something different.”

That declaration comes with a few caveats: Affleck isn’t likely done with all IP, considering the pride he’s taking in his new movie The Tender Bar, which is an adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s memoir of the same name. There might be a little of his experience with 2004’S Daredevil as well. But chances are the bulk of this sentiment comes from his experience as Batman, a character he was cast as in 2013 and who he has portrayed on screen since 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Back in 2013, Dawn of Justice director Zack Snyder said he wanted Affleck to create a “layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent.” Dawn of Justice, now mostly remembered for a scene where Superman and Batman both realize their mothers are named Martha, was widely panned and reportedly left Affleck feeling “humiliated.” The movie was eventually nominated for eight Razzies, including one for Affleck’s performance. (He eventually “lost” to Dinesh D’Souza for his role in the documentary Hillary’s America.)

Batman headbutt
Affleck and Henry Cavill fight in Dawn of Justice

Then came the saga of Justice League, a movie whose production, Affleck noted in January 2021, coincided with when he “started drinking too much.” The experience of working with Joss Whedon after Snyder was pulled away from the movie due to personal tragedy proved to be a deeply negative one for several cast members, including Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher. In January 2021, Affleck said that he did Batman “for my kids,” and that wearing his costume to a birthday party was “worth every moment of suffering on Justice League.”

But parties aren’t meant to last. While Affleck is reprising his Bruce Wayne in 2022’s The Flash, it appears to have given him some closure on the whole experience. “It was a really nice way to revisit that as the prior experience had been difficult,” he told Variety. “Really fun.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Affleck says that his recent work on Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel is “probably the last theatrical release I’ll have.” One big difference has been the growing technical and artistic abilities of television. A person “can get a good 65-inch flat screen for $180 at Walmart. It’s kind of democratized that access because it’s not the 11-inch black and white that I had when I was a kid,” he says. And on top of that, competing with shows like Succession — which is “just too good” — and Ozark makes a theater even less tempting.

Rather, Affleck imagines a future where “there’ll be three directors” who make non-superhero movies that draw people out to the theaters. While that might sound depressing, Affleck prefers to look on the bright side, which is that while people might be watching at hone instead of in theaters, “they’re watching more, they’re appreciating more.”

One movie people will have to watch on streaming is Deep Water, Affleck’s erotic thriller he made with his ex, Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time to Die). An adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel — hey, that’s IP! — from Fatal Attraction and 9 1/2 Weeks director Adrian Lyne, Deep Water was supposed to hit theaters in 2020, before being bumped for COVID reasons all the way to 2022. But according to reports, Disney has pulled the movie from theatrical release, with intentions to drop it on Hulu. There’s no current release date.

Regardless, Affleck’s meme status, mostly achieved through smoking sadly, wearing a blue towel while pondering the ocean, and his reunion with early-aughts girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, will not be affected. He’s living his dreams, and they no longer include Batman.

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Simula One is a Standalone VR Headset Running Linux Desktop, Kickstarter in January

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simula one vr

Developers looking for a unique Linux-based workstation may be interested to hear that SimulaVR, the startup behind its own open-source VR Linux distro, is creating a standalone VR headset that aims to offer just that.

Dubbed ‘Simula One’, the standalone VR headset isn’t meant for gaming, rather it’s targeting programmers, software engineers, developers—essentially anyone who uses Linux for work-related stuff.

For now, the company has mentioned basic features and has also shown off a prototype of Simula One. It’s certainly capturing the cool, retro vibe that’s ostensibly taking inspiration from early home computers such as Magnavox Odyssey, Atari 2600 and Apple II.

vr simula one
Image courtesy SimulaVR

So far, we only know a few definite things about Simula One. The headset is said to come with a detachable x86 compute pack which will arrive with the company’s SimulaOS open-source VR window manager installed by default, the very same which can be installed and run on SteamVR headsets such as Valve Index and HTC Vive Pro.

Simula One is also said to include hand tracking via UltraLeap, a passthrough AR mode so you can keep an eye on your surroundings, and “other goodies to be unveiled in the coming weeks and months,” SimulaVR founder George Singer says in a blog post.

The company is tentatively aiming to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the headset in January 2022. Singer says we’ll hear more about delivery and price for Simula One in the coming weeks, as well as product updates, pictures, and videos of the headset.

It’s clear Simula One is appealing to a pretty small subset of VR users with its hardware-focused approach—i.e. not a virtual machine running Linux, which is admittedly a more general purpose solution. Still, the promise of a standalone VR headset that natively runs Linux out of the box is pretty intriguing, and it will be interesting to see what developers can do with it besides simply using command line to continue work within VR.

In any case, we’ll be following Simula One in the coming weeks as it nears its Kickstarter launch. Make sure to check back for more info as it arrives.

The post Simula One is a Standalone VR Headset Running Linux Desktop, Kickstarter in January appeared first on Road to VR.

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Succession and On Cinema show how sad media’s ‘alpha males’ are

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Logan Roy (Brian Cox) sits at the head of a dining table in Succession
Photo: Peter Kramer/HBO

Two very different shows approach the same dark emptiness

This was supposed to be a season of growth for Tim Heidecker on On Cinema at the Cinema. With subscriptions funded by the HEI Network, and supported by his loving wife Toni, Heidecker unveiled one tremendous plan after another — there were Hei Points, which Heidecker described as “the U.S dollar 2.0,” Hei-lot Season, in which his various friends make pilots to run on the network, and perhaps most grandiose of all, the Hei Ranch, which at the moment is 25 acres of sand but will, after a 10-year plan, be a fully functioning society.

Over time, Tim’s plans are wrecked. By the season’s last episode, ostensibly a review of American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story, Tim is a rambling mess barely able to put two words together. Even the only light in his life, a recent appearance of his once-deceased doctor which Tim is convinced is an angel, has stopped visiting.

Brick by brick, On Cinema viewers watch Tim’s life get destroyed for reasons that are both within and outside of his control. It’s a downfall matched only by one other performance this year: Jeremy Strong’s Kendall Roy on Succession.

Heidecker has been lampooning varieties of masculinity on On Cinema for years now, moving between being a vindictive king like Brian Cox’s Logan Roy and a righteous, crazed, eternal loser like Kendall. Between the two shows, a vicious appraisal of the masculinity at the heart of American media comes shining through.

At first glance, the shows might not have much in common. Succession is the definition of prestige TV, an HBO show filled with big budgets for expensive wardrobes that set Twitter flying (Shiv’s blue dress!) and far-flung locales, not to mention an accompanying podcast hosted by Kara Swisher. It concerns itself with the lives of the Roys, zero-point-zero-zero-one-percenters who run an empire consisting of everything from cable news to theme parks to cruise ships.

Kendall and Shiv stand silently as Logan rants off screen in Succession
Image: HBO
Kendall and Shiv

On Cinema actually started much more modestly, as a podcast between Heidecker and Gregg Turkington, both of whom play twisted versions of themselves on what’s ostensibly a movie review show. Once funded partially by Adult Swim and a Patreon, On Cinema is now entirely crowdfunded. And the basic premise of the show is simple: one of the hosts, Tim, doesn’t really care about movies, while the other, Gregg, only cares about movies. Through this, the two have spun out a complex mythology featuring quack doctors, a deadly EDM festival, and two Italian guys who love rock and roll.

The plots of On Cinema often revolve around Tim’s various schemes, which range from alternative medicinal vaping to starting the rock group Dekkar. But when the HEI Network came into being, the comedy became focused on a new target: Joe Rogan, NewsmaxTV, OANN, and the growing slew of right-wing echo chambers. A huckster eager to sell his own currency and health shake, Heidecker the character wants to strip down his audience for every last dollar with a song and a smile.

The show reboots itself to some extent every season, with Heidecker taking on new forms of masculinity in it’s every changing shapes. There’s a season where Tim moves to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and embraces riding a motorcycle, simple living, and being pro-life — until his partner has an abortion and he realizes his Jackson Hole friends were white supremacists.

Tim becomes a rock guy, starting a band with the Italian guys Axion and Manuel, Dekkar, which eventually morphs into an EDM act called DKR. He becomes an entrepreneur, opening a movie theater called Six Bags Cinema. He creates the Electric Sun Desert Music Festival, where kids die. He makes a Trumpian ran for District Attorney. Each of these journeys ends with total disgrace, only to find him sinking lower, and in turn coming out with a brand-new messianic high.

Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington in On Cinema
HEI Network
Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington in On Cinema

Where On Cinema is scattered, Succession is direct. It’s an amalgamation of families with media empires, but it’s most clearly the Murdochs of Fox. Their fictional network, ATN, is clearly a parody of Fox News, with jokes about aging viewers and news anchors getting into a rage about cancel culture; one of this season’s best jokes takes place in the opening credits, with a news chyron reading, “I smiled her by the photocopier — now I’m facing chemical castration.”

Logan seeks only to conquer, which is easy enough if you’re willing to follow Mr. Burns’ advice: “Family, religion, friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.” Add ignoring a massive sexual abuse scandal in the cruise division. Kendall seeks to rule through some amalgamation of fear and love, and ends up attaining neither. It’s no surprise they’ve destroyed their relationship, and yet they’re stuck with each other, just like the host of a movie review show and the only film buff he knows.

The two shows began working the same question — what is at the heart of people making some of the most popular media today? Their answers include delusion, rage, and a growing isolation from everyone you love. Therapists for billionaires have confirmed that Succession hits close to home, and right-wing streamers spent the year pushing horse dewormer as a COVID cure. Satire isn’t far from reality in either show.

But while there’s no real end to the waking nightmare of modern life in 2021, narrative insists on one. Jesse Armstrong, Succession’s creator, and Tim Heidecker seem to agree on this much: if these things end, they will end poorly. Succession’s brutal finale showed the hopes of the three main Roy children decimated by one of their spouses, call it Succession III: Rise of the Wambsgans. Despite their own respective awfulness, it was hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy for cruel Shiv, creeping fascist Roman, and egotistical Kendall.

In On Cinema, Heidecker moves between the abuser and the abused seamlessly. Mark Proksch (better known these days as What We Do in the Shadows standout Colin Robinson) spends season after season as a victim of Tim’s physical and verbal abuse — at one point Tim declares during a trial “I have a right to strike you!” He regularly destroys Gregg’s collection of VHS tapes, either through magnetization or arson.

“I grew up in Pennsylvania around car dealers, these German, stoic, World War II–generation men, serious men, and masculinity was very strong, and there was not much but boring tendencies to watch sports and drink beer,” Heidecker told The Believer in 2019. “I saw it all around me. Repressed men get very angry.” While they stare at Twitter and stock prices instead of sports, the men on Succession aren’t much different.

Mark Proksh as “The Living Oscar” during an On Cinema Oscar Special
Mark Proksh as “The Living Oscar” during an On Cinema Oscar Special

All Tim lacks is the Roys’ never-ending font of money. If he could just get that rich, if everyone would just convert their dollars into Hei Points, he believes he would be fine. But Kendall and Logan show what a lie that would be. If you’re set on conquering no matter what, then the world looks like a permanent battlefield. When Kendall rightly points out to Logan that he has no need for the money from Waystar sale, Logan agrees. Except that it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the next win.

The question hanging over Tim, Gregg, the Roys, and everyone unfortunate enough to be dragged into their circles — why can’t they leave? Why do they insist on hating the people closest to them, to embracing the worst aspects of their humanity for money they don’t even need, to making a show about movies where they don’t even talk about movies?

The closest thing to an answer is that they don’t know anything else. They somehow started making money like this and can’t stop now, because the fall would be even worse than anything in front of them. So they’ve convinced themselves this is one true way. All they can do, all they want do, all they must do, is whatever they’ve done over and over again.

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