We previously reported on being able to explore the photogrammetric capture of the Valve lobby in the Destinations application (there were no Half Life 3 answers to be found). The free software is a cool virtual reality perspective into different environments and is primarily a voyeuristic experience, but not so much in the latest update. A recent update is adding some new activities for players to engage in on top of new territories to explore. The Thames River next to London’s Tower Bridge is the new destination to virtually tour, but the two other areas have setting specific interactions that level things up a bit.
First up, players can serenade their friends (or no one in particular) with a guitar, drums, or marimba in a Liverpool bar. If you’re not familiar with the marimba instrument, it’s essentially a xylophone and involves wooden bars being struck by mallets. Next up is Cannon Wars. Players attack each other’s fortifications by loading up cannons with a multitude of items from beach balls to cakes and fire them in order to dismantle the opposition’s dwelling. A revamped user interface is part of the new update as well, making things easier to see while exploring and menu navigation much more efficient while searching or hosting.
Recently, Campo Santo artist Jane Ng brought the lookout tower from Firewatch to life in the Steam workshop for Destinations and you can find other user created places like a medieval castle, photogrammetric heritage sites in the UK, and more. Valve has added a few tools to make creation a bit more interesting, specifically geared toward hand interaction in this update, so we’ll hopefully see even more inspired developments in the near future.
Destinations can be downloaded on Steam for free and works with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The application works best with motion controllers, as that is the only means to manipulate the many props available to players.
