Yesterday, virtual reality vlogger ThrillSeeker reviewed the KAT Walk C (the world’s first VR omnidirectional treadmill intended for the consumer market) in the following 13-minute video, which is an absolute must-watch. The video is epic, mind-boggling, and at times absolutely hilarious!
ThrillSeeker reports that he was easily able to set up the device and get it to work with various VR apps and games. He doesn’t shy away from criticism in his review, about what he thinks are the weak parts of the system. While he says that most VR games probably wouldn’t greatly benefit from the US$1,399 treadmill, he found that adding the ability to use your legs to walk around in open world VR games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim VR and No Man’s Sky gives you a completely different sense of scale and realism, compared to using your thumbsticks to walk and/or teleport in virtual reality.
ThrillSeeker, wearing a Valve Index VR headset, walking on the KAT Walk C
For those of you, like Thrillseeker, who have to be on the absolute bleeding edge of virtual reality, you might well want to add to the body-tracking pucks, the Vive Facial Tracker, the FeelReal Multisensory VR Mask, and any haptic vests or any other haptic equipment may you already have, and open your wallets for this device! (Yes, they’re even having s sale!)
I leave you with a 3-minute promotional video for the product by the company behind this device, KAT VR (which also sells a version for business use):
UPDATE Oct. 3rd, 2021: VR vloggers Cas and Chary have also released their review of the KAT WALK C:
I last wrote about XRSpace in May 2020, but I decided that it was time for an update on the ambitious project to create both a new standalone, wireless VR headset and a new social VR platform called Manova. (Yes, as far as I can tell, they are using the same name for both. The headset used to be called Mova, but is now called Manova, and I have seen the social VR platform referred to as “Manova World”, to differentiate it from the VR headset.)
XRSpace is working with Deutsche Telekom on Manova, and a German vlogger called VoodooDE had an opportunity to try out the new headset and the social VR platform, posting the following review video with in-world footage:
To put it mildly, he’s not a fan, citing problems with the visual display of the headset and calling the internal cooling fan a “disaster”, comparing it to someone turning on a hairdryer nearby. He played a clip of the sound and yes, it’s horrible! I can’t imagine wearing this headset for any length of time for that reason alone.
While the app store includes games such as Angry Birds and Bait!, it’s still rather limited. There’s also a selection of 360-degree videos you can watch. The various locations in social VR look pretty good, including a traditional German Christmas market, a dance club, a beach with an underwater world to explore, and a spa.
VoodooDE saved his harshest criticisms for the clumsy gesture system. In its current incarnation, you can’t just wave at somebody using your hands. Other people do not see you waving at them! You literally have to open the gesture menu, select Wave, and only then does the other avatar see you waving at them! Mindboggling.
In short, Manova seems to be a hot mess. But it’s still very early days, and we can hope that they make some improvements to both the headset and the social VR platform in future. It would be nice if XRSpace Manova could give Facebook some competition in the wireless headset market, but the hardware and software problems are pretty serious, and definitely need to be addressed.
German vlogger MRTV also reviewed the Manova (but unfortunately, he can’t really share his opinions because of an non-disclosure agreement with Deutsche Telekom).
Other than that, there is still frustratingly little information out there about this product. But I’ll continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted!
It’s also one of the only headsets to feature built-in hand tracking (not to mention outside-in tracking, generally), but its execution is a bit patchy. It regularly lost track of where my hands were floating, and the pinch-to-select menu gesture worked – but would often select the wrong item as my VR hands inadvertently veered over an unwanted menu option. This led to a humorously-brief excursion during my demo session with Manova World’s creators where I was whisked away and accidentally became lost in some sort of circus land after arranging a rendezvous at Manova’s beach environment instead. Thankfully, I was not met by any creepy virtual clowns.
Interestingly, I learned from Gerald’s article that XRSpace has plans to make the Manova social VR platform available for other headsets:
But XRSpace is pragmatic about Manova World’s future. It’s aware of its own hardware’s limitations (understandable, given the blueprints were drawn up around four years ago, a time when all-in-one hand tracking VR solutions weren’t commercially available), and sees the long-term future of Manova extending to other hardware and VR platforms. XRSpace is expecting to bring Manova World to other VR platforms later this year, and is aiming to have 50,000 users in the next 12 months as a result.
So, I anticipate future announcements! Stay tuned.
A look at the social VR platform Manova (sometimes called Manova World)
I received an email announcing that VIVE has released their new standalone virtual reality headset, called the VIVE Focus 3. This is the first major standalone headset which is not part of the Facebook/Oculus ecosystem, which means that you do not have to sign up for an account on the Facebook social network in order to use it—in my books, a major selling point!
This headset, which is intended for the corporate market, retails for UD$1,300 (which works out to $1,750 Canadian dollars due to our lamentable exchange rate).
The Vive Focus 3 product page on the VIVE website gives some examples of use cases for this new standalone headset (which can also be used as a PCVR headset with the addition of an appropriate cable to your gaming PC):
Mike from the Virtual Reality Oasis has already reviewed the VIVE Focus 3 in this 15-minute YouTube video:
In this video, he discusses whether or not the Focus 3 is any good for gaming, and compares it with the Oculus Quest 2. He loves the design of the product, and says it took only 10 minutes to get up and running. Mike notes a few of the limitations of this headset (notably, a noisy fan and a very small sweet spot for the lenses), and says that, in his opinion, “it’s just not ready for consumers”.
Cas and Chary also reviewed the VIVE Focus 3 in the following 15-minute video:
Like Mike, Cas and Chary note the high-quality design, the removable, swappable 26.6Wh Lithium-Polymer Gel battery, the expandable memory slot (128 GB / 8 GB with support up to 2TB microSD), and the excellent hand tracking. I am also happy to note that both reviews mention that glasses will fit into the VIVE Focus 3 headset!
Again, the major market for the Focus 3 is the business market, and it is a rather expensive standalone headset for consumer use, especially compared to the Oculus Quest 2, a product which I have been told Facebook sells at a loss (no doubt hoping to recoup the investment on games and app sales in the Oculus Store).
I’m sorely tempted to buy, but I think I will wait for version 2 of this headset (or perhaps, another non-Facebook standalone product, like the Pico Neo 3?) before I decide to purchase a replacement for my trusty Oculus Quest 1 headset, which is currently sitting in its box, waiting to be mailed to my sister-in-law in Alberta for use in her work with developmentally-challenged adults. I’ll stick with my beloved Valve Index for now! 😉
This is not a freebie, but it is a deal! From now until the end of the year, Meshbody is selling their entire line of Legacy male and female mesh bodies for only L$2,500 each—a savings of 50% off their regular price! The bodies on sale include:
the Legacy female body (their standard female mesh body);
the Legacy Perky female body (for those who prefer smaller breasts);
the Legacy Athletic male body (the more toned, muscular version of the male body).
I was not willing to pay the full L$5,000 price for the female Legacy mesh body, but at half price, I decided to take the plunge! Here is my review of the female Legacy body by Meshbody.
Here’s what the contents of the unpacked package looks like in my inventory:
First, I tested the body with the recent free group gift of the LeLutka Lilly head, using the included skin tones on the default Legacy body to match the head skin as close as I could, and using a choker to hide the resulting neck seam:
The detail on the Legacy female body is outstanding, particularly on the hands and feet:
Next I paired it with the recent free group gift of the Strong Face mesh head from The Genus Project (still available here; the GenusProject group is free to join), using a free Bakes on Mesh skin from the group gift wall at MILA (available here; the MILA Poses group is free to join).
The Legacy body is Bakes on Mesh-compatible, and the result looks great!
I quite like the alpha sections on the HUD, allowing you either to remove whole sections of the body at once (via a double-click on the body in the HUD, or clicking on the eight buttons on either side of the body), or to select the sections in much finer detail with a single mouse click on any part of the body shown in the HUD:
One of the signature features of the Legacy mesh body is a package of three deformers (for the upper body, lower body, and feet) which allow this body to wear apparel and footwear originally designed for Maitreya Lara mesh bodies. I tested it out with some Maitreya clothing I already had in my inventory, and here are the before and after shots:
The Legacy mesh body wearing Maitreya Lara clothing, BEFORE the deformers were added
The same body AFTER the upper body and lower body deformers were added
However, I must caution that, in some cases, the deformers do not work 100% perfectly, as you might be able to tell around the neck are of this particular top by Bumblebee, both in the picture above and the closeup below:
So, what do I think overall?
The Meshbody Legacy female body, on sale for L$2,500, is a good deal compared to the regularly-priced L$2,750 Maitreya Lara body. You do get a much richer selection of included skin tones and nail colours with the Legacy body than you would with Maitreya (and, of course, you can choose to use Bakes on Mesh skins and cosmetics). The details on the Meshbody legacy female mesh body are superb.
With the included deformers, the Legacy body can wear both Legacy clothing and Maitreya clothing (although the deformers do not work perfectly all the time). I have noticed that more and more designers are now creating and selling apparel and footwear specifically for the female Legacy body (including a few who formerly were exclusive to Maitreya), and I would say that over the past year, the Legacy mesh body has overtaken both the Belleza and Slink female mesh bodies in popularity among womenswear designers in Second Life. You will have absolutely no difficulty finding clothes to fit this body!
A year ago, I would have said wait before buying the Legacy body by Meshbody; now I would say that, if you are interested, now is the perfect time to buy! The 50% off sale only runs until the end of the year, so hurry down. Here’s the SLURL to the sales sim.
