The much-anticipated 2019 update for social VR app Bigscreen is finally here. Well, in beta form at least.
The 2019 update comes packed with a heap of features, many of which are highlighted in the trailer below. For starters, there are new environments, including an improved social lobby to meet other visitors and a new cinema. The latter now has a curved seating layout. It encourages you to chat with your friends as you watch content. It’s especially concerned with mobile headsets that don’t have the same tracking capabilities as PC VR.
Another major improvement to BigScreen is, well, the screens. The app now uses real-time raytracing for more realistic lighting effects. Screens will light up rooms in realistic ways, without placing intense demands on the hardware running the app. There’s also improved clarity on virtual displays thanks to Oculus Overlay support.
That’s far from the end, though. The app’s UI has been completely retooled for accessibility, avatars have a huge number of new customization options, teleportation now enables movement around environments and desktop audio streaming has been massively improved. On the mobile VR front, the app also adds the ability to create public and private rooms.
Wrapping up, there’s a wealth of bug fixes addressing crashes and audio blips.
But Bigscreen isn’t done yet. It’s 2019 roadmap includes yet more big updates. Chief among them is a port to Oculus Quest, Facebook’s upcoming standalone headset. The team is also working on a new friend and party system, the ability to play local video files and more movie nights. The hope is that Bigscreen 1.0 will be ready for summer 2019.
Bigscreen is available for free on Rift, Vive, Windows VR, Go and Gear VR.
