Newsletter
HTC took the stage at CES 2018 to announce, among other things, a revamped version of Viveport made for use in virtual reality. Viveport VR puts the full Viveport experience into VR, along with a few additional features. Users stand over a massive cityscape, looking over a room-scale version of Viveport. All of the VR titles available are laid before them, with menus allowing them to choose categories. One of those categories is VR previews, which is exactly what it sounds like; users can check out VR games and content on a preview basis before committing to a purchase. The new Viveport VR is available in Early Access status to all current Viveport users, with no word on when it will leave Early Access.
Users can browse all Viveport content in Viveport VR, and almost all of the features found in the normal Viveport are available. Searching, unfortunately, is not available just yet, but HTC is apparently working on that. Switching accounts while in VR is not supported, and may not end up becoming supported. Sorting and filtering VR titles is available, and can be done using the menus on the left side of the screen. Users can also teleport or walk around the platform they’re standing on, to look at the Viveport content menu from any angle. Almost all of the normal options for content are available once a certain piece of content is highlighted. If that piece of content has a VR preview available, users can interact with that preview in much the same way that they would interact with the full content.
HTC has been steadily improving the Vive experience since the system’s debut, refusing to allow it to stagnate and falter in its continuous fight against Oculus and ecosystems outside of the PC space to be the reigning champion of the premium VR space. HTC Vive was the first VR system to have dedicated touch controllers, with a new set dubbed “Knuckles” on the way soon, set to rival VR gloves in flexibility, detail, and ease of use. An update containing this newest feature should already be out to all Vive users; it began rolling out on January 8th.