Certain journeys in life are so powerful and enriching to the soul that they can transform into a life-changing experience which imprints on your mind for evermore. One such experience is reaching the summit of the magnanimous Mount Everest. As much as the journey is enticing, it is dangerously fatal and no everyone can conquer its ascent. But Wait! Maybe now everyone can.
Recently, a mesmerizing new application named Everest VR was released which let the viewers experience the journey to the summit of Mount Everest in virtual reality. The application has been created by Sólfar Studios with special visual effects and animation contributed by Studio RVX. The application has been out just for a day and yet it holds the potential of becoming an exemplary VR rendering application at its best. The application has many advanced features with Nvidia’s GameWorks VR, Multi Res Shading and VR SLI to name a few. The graphics in the feature film boast of 30,000 high resolution images and stereo Photogrammetry techniques used to build mountains.
Thinking of Everest VR as a game could be the biggest mistake as it is clearly a VR experience category feature with only a few mini game-like interactions apart from being a plain walking simulation. There are however a few tutorials to teach you how to store items in your backpack, climbing ladders and attaching carabiners etc.
Apart from this, the experience offers immersion just as one can hope, imagine and expect of an application like such. The experience begins with you staring through a window which at first seems like a small enclosed theatre. As you begin to explore you realize the vast expanse of the Himalayas right in front of you and you are left feeling minute compared to the wide scale mountains and landscapes. It is just unbelievably enriching to take in the majestic beauty that lies in front even in VR. The immersion breaks at certain instances such as the animations rendering your fellow mountaineers is played in loops. Then there are also the transitions from various interactions which end up fading to black which can be very strident. Other than that the experience makes complete use of super sampling rendering near to reality 360 videos of the real thing.
As much as the game offers a nice overall experience with a few hiccups, the comfort offered is appreciable except for those who struggle with heights and aversion. Everest VR in terms of performance is an extravagant experience which unfolds the mystic beauty of the Everest.
