Unreal Engine 4 powers Star Trek Voyager virtual reality demo

By Adam Rosenberg Published April 23, 2014

unreal engine 4 powers star trek voyager virtual reality demo — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Virtual reality boldly goes where it hasn’t gone before in developer Thomas Kadlec’s Starship Bridge Demo, which allows players to explore Star Trek Voyager‘s titular ship in a demo powered by Unreal Engine 4 (via Road To VR). It’s the first VR demo to use Epic Games’ newly released development tools, which feature built-in support for Oculus Rift VR’s headset.

Rift dev kit owners can download it right here (alternate link). This should go without saying for anyone that owns one of the headsets, but the demo’s visual fidelity will be restricted by the technical limitations of the first-generation Rift’s low-resolution twin displays.

What’s more, like most tech demos, this is an interactive toy to ‘ooo’ and ‘aah’ over, but there’s not a whole lot to it. Star Trek fans will get a kick out of stepping into the Voyager’s bridge, but the real point here is to showcase what UE4 could mean for VR development.

Unreal 4 was released on April 2, which means Kadlec was able to build this demo in less than one month. He praises the flexibility of the development tools in allowing him to implement ideas quickly and easily, in a statement given to Road To VR.

It’s clear that Epic’s recent shift to a subscription pricing model for Unreal is going to encourage more and more so-called bedroom developers to step up, and out-of-the-box support in UE4 for the Rift suggests we’ll be seeing plenty more like Starship Bridge Demo soon.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Ubisoft confirms Assassin’s Creed remakes are in the works

Basim perched on a ledge overlooking Baghdad

In a company interview with CEO Yves Guillemot posted on the Ubisoft website Thursday, the executive reveals that there are remakes of Assassin's Creed games in the works, although he doesn't specify which ones.

"Players can be excited about some remakes, which will allow us to revisit some of the games we've created in the past and modernize them," he says, implying that it could pertain to games made before Odyssey. "There are worlds in some of our older Assassin's Creed games that are still extremely rich."

Gaming

Surfaced patent shows what an Xbox streaming console would’ve looked like

An Xbox Series X sits next to both Series S models.

There have been a few Xbox devices that have never come to fruition, one of which was Keystone, a prototype for an affordable game streaming device you could hook up to your TV or monitor. Thanks to a surfaced patent, we've gotten an even closer look at what it would've potentially looked like.

The patent, first spotted by Windows Central, gives us a more complete view of the device. We've previously seen the Keystone in the flesh. Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer is known for hiding teases and interesting collectibles on the shelf in his office. In a 2022 X (formerly Twitter) post congratulating Bethesda on Fallout's 25th anniversary, you can see a small white device on the top shelf that's actually a Keystone prototype. Xbox told Digital Trends that it was a version of the device made before it decided to "refocus our efforts on a new approach.”

Gaming

Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for June 28

Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on June 28, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "ORDER." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D.
Today’s Wordle uses two vowels.
Today's Wordle can refer to a large number of animals, particularly livestock like cattle or sheep, that are moving together in a group.