Sólfar Studios’ Everest VR Now Available for HTC VIVE
Experience the Thrill of Summiting Mt. Everest
From the Comfort of Virtual Reality
August 2, 2016 (Reykjavík, Iceland) – Virtual reality developer Sólfar Studios, in partnership with RVX, Nordic’s leading visual effects and animation house, has released EVEREST VR, an immersive and highly interactive recreation of summiting Mt. Everest for HTC Vive. A journey that was once reserved for daredevil explorers with deep pockets and a taste for danger is now available to download on SteamVR. EVEREST VR has been called “beautiful” by IGN, “terrifyingly realistic” by BuzzFeed and “more powerful than any video game” by VICE.
EVEREST VR guides adventurers through a sequence of first-person experiences while ascending Mt. Everest. The journey includes notable milestones and interactive events from Base Camp, the Khumbu Icefall, Hillary Step, Camp Four, and the ascent to Summit, as well as a God Mode that allows users to take in the sweeping views from a breathtaking vantage point standing above the Himalayas.
EVEREST VR guides adventurers through a sequence of first-person experiences while ascending Mt. Everest. The journey includes notable milestones and interactive events from Base Camp, the Khumbu Icefall, Hillary Step, Camp Four, and the ascent to Summit, as well as a God Mode that allows users to take in the sweeping views from a breathtaking vantage point standing above the Himalayas.
“For the first time, people will be able to experience the thrills and milestones of climbing Mt. Everest from the convenience and safety of virtual reality devices,” said Kjartan Pierre Emilsson, co-founder and CEO of Sólfar Studios. “While many have called 2016, ‘The Year of VR,’ a majority of the public is still unfamiliar with the space. We see the release of EVEREST VR as a way to showcase the power of the medium, by delivering a transcendent experience that goes far beyond the goal of winning a game – allowing users to experience the physical and emotional sensation of conquering one of world’s greatest wonders.”
Utilising advanced stereophotogrammetry techniques and multi-resolution shading, Sólfar Studios and RVX pieced together thousands of high resolution images of the mountain range to create a definitive CGI model of Mt. Everest that pushes the envelope of real-time graphics. The team then generated a 3D mesh and textures made to measure for the demands of a real-time VR application, to give the experience depth, and the user a true sense of presence on the mountain.
Built on the Unreal Engine 4, EVEREST VR brings a level of visual authenticity and player interactivity that promises to become an apex experience for the virtual reality industry.
The minimum required specifications to enjoy EVEREST VR on HTC Vive are a Windows PC with 8 GB RAM, an Intel® i5-4590 or greater CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or better or an AMD RX480 or better GPU.
EVEREST VR is available today for £18.99 (plus a 10% launch week discount) at http://store.steampowered.com/
