#Apache VR

[brid-jagtap]

Practice 2: Apache VR- Result

Blog#25

20/03/25

Today, we received feedback on our VR project from the Apache team. Our game was one of two that they were able to run on the Meta Oculus 2.

The Apache team loved Bloop and enjoyed interacting with it in the game. They commented that both the trailer and the demo video were well produced. Among all the projects presented, they found ours to be the most cohesive in terms of style and appearance. Aside from some minor issues with the Blackbox, our project performed well on the Oculus 2.

[being-mughal]

Blog Post 23: Getting Curious About Lighting

Etihad Airways continued to fascinate me while I undertook work with APACHE. My research into lighting tutorials went further to explore the interaction between fog volumes and emissives and post-process volumes to set the mood of virtual environments.

One of my experimental exercises included deleting the entire geometry before working with light and fog effects. It felt poetic. I began considering whether lighting art specialization would be a good match for me.

Reference: Faucher, W. (2024) Lighting for Mood & Atmosphere in Unreal Engine. Availabl

[portfoliodocumentationandpitch]

Portfolio, Documentation and Pitch (Aryan Raj Adhikari)

Introduction

The classes for our developing projects resumed once again on 12th of February and we were emailed by our lecturer Neil that there would be a VR company who would do a live brief session for our assignment this term. I was under the impression that that would be the only assignment but it was actually the first assignment of a combined project with the second one involving the creation of a pitch and a thorough documentation of an idea that you will bring to life for your final media project.

The first project is a live brief set by Apache, an industry leading XR (Extended Reality) Studio that specialize in AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and Body Tracking. One of the earliest established business of its kind, Apache has created a lot of immersive and interactive experienced that are based on major motion pictures and television IPs. They have worked with some of the major entertainment businesses in the world, notably Disney, Marvel, Warner Brothers, and so on.

Figure 1 (Bardo from Apache, (Apache, 2018))

One of their recent releases, Bardo, is an action game, exclusive for VR which offers a satisfying and challenging archery experience. Set in a Tibetan architecture, you use a bow and try to shoot down as many reanimated and corrupt spirits.

With a very established experience on XR, Apache Studios created the live brief for this assignment. It was an eye opening experience for me to be briefed on XR by one of the industry leading studios and to see its history and how it has come about. Virtual reality, while not a new topic for me, was however a new specialization indeed. I had never used a virtual reality headset before, nor was I familiar with playing VR games.

The brief was named 'Through Time and Space' where students were tasked with the creation of a playable environment on an Oculus Quest 2 that would feature objects and/or assets from all time and space. This was a bit confusing for me to understand at first but then they elucidated the theme by providing us with a simple example of how a museum exhibit would feature items from all over the worlds that are from different periods of time.

They also wanted the theme of the environment to be cohesive and consistent where the elements belonging together would make complete sense and should be consistent. Finally, we would be required to publish an APK that can then be sideloaded onto the Oculus Quest 2 so that they can view the experience for themselves.

Figure 2 (Oculus Quest 2, (Sciarrino, 2020))

This was an exciting yet a scary project for me to undertake. I have experience creating game environments but have never dabbled with themes that would incorporate different time periods into one consistent style. Moreso, I have never created nor experienced Virtual Reality headsets firsthand, thus I knew I had lots of research and experimentation to do before I could create a final product.

REFERENCES

Apache, 2018. Steam. [Online] Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/939230/BARDO/ [Accessed 12 February 2025].

Sciarrino, J., 2020. MAXIM. [Online] Available at: https://www.maxim.com/gear/the-oculus-quest-2-is-the-vr-headset-you-need-2020-10/ [Accessed 12 February 2025].

[ali-kharaghanian]

APACHE How the Idea for My VR Game Was Born

It all started with a simple question I asked myself:

What if I could step inside the world of a famous artist—see what they saw, sit where they sat, and paint what they painted?

That’s how the idea for my VR project was born.

At first, I was just playing around with concepts—something interactive, something visual, something personal. Then I thought about painting, and how powerful it would be to let players actually become artists like Da Vinci, Picasso, or Munch. But instead of just copying their work, what if the player could experience their world from the inside?

[bhanu-prakash-practice-2]

Part 01: VR Project

Blog Post 1: Project Kickoff and Initial Research

Our VR project, "Through Time and Space," kicked off today after Apache​ Through+Space+and+Time briefed us. We aim to build an immersive VR world for the Oculus Quest 2, mixing objects from different eras and locations while keeping everything consistent. Apache emphasized how we should use VR's unique features, such as changing scales, real-time interactions, and giving players control. This project has an impact on how we create virtual environments that blend various times and spaces.

We split up our project tasks right from the start. I took on environment design, Kamal handled 3D asset modeling, Steve worked on character sculpting, and Joel managed Blueprint scripting and technical integration. This clear breakdown gave us a solid foundation to begin.

We kicked off our research by looking at games like "The Lab" and "Moss." We paid attention to how they created engaging, player-focused environments. These examples showed us that to do well, we needed to make spaces that look good and feel alive around the player.

While everyone was excited at first, we figured out we needed to nail down a solid idea before we could get started on building anything.

References: Valve Corporation. (2016). The Lab [VR game]. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/450390/The_Lab/ (Accessed: 20 February 2025).

[hdrahul]

Blog #2

The VR headset I tried was the Meta Quest 3S, currently we are required to develop for Meta quest 2 which has limited processing power and those limitations have to be taken into consideration when making assets and textures. So the texture have to be downscaled 2k textures and models should have low poly count to give a high framerate output. If the framerate is low, then the player would get nauseous side effects, These were all the facts layed out by the people from Apache.

Anyway, I've only played 2 VR games extensively which are 'Batman:Arkham shadows' and 'Elder scrolls V:Skyrim VR'. Both of these games were very well optimized and intuitively designed to use the VR controllers and headset into consideration. The textures were obviousely downscaled for optimization purpose. With the observation of all these things, I now have an idea of how the output level has to be.

[himanshupractice2]

Apache Project | Crafting a Sci-Fi Factory in Unreal Engine | Step 11

Adding Cloth Simulation to the Factory Flag To give the environment a touch of realism and movement, I added a cloth simulation to a flag placed at the entrance of the factory. This wasn’t just a visual flair—it added a sense of scale and dynamic motion, especially important in a VR context.

Here's how I approached it:

Modelled a simple triangular cloth flag in Unreal itself using modelling mode.

Used Chaos Cloth Asset.

Used wind actors and physics settings to get the cloth fluttering realistically—perfect for an industrial vibe.

The flag now ripples gently in the background, reacting to the environment’s airflow and adding life to the static structure.

It was a subtle addition, but one that really pushed the environment forward, giving it that lived-in, industrial feel.

[vrassignment]

Blog Post 1: Introduction to the VR Project & Concept Discussion

Apache provided our four-person team with a collaborative virtual reality brief for our University of Hertfordshire project. The objective was to create a visually and conceptually coherent setting with things from various eras and locations in order to create an immersive, explorable virtual reality world that could be played on an Oculus Quest 2.

Following a few sessions of discussion and idea exchange, we decided to combine architecture and nature to create a large, ancient setting with three or four temples scattered around a mystifying landscape.

The idea was centered on atmosphere and exploration. To generate a sense of scale and spiritual mystery that would allow the viewer to explore and become fully immersed, we put a lot of effort into designing the atmosphere.

We began the project with a few brainstorming sessions in which we proposed a variety of environmental themes, such as floating islands, overgrown ruins, and sci-fi cities. We finally focused on an antique setting full of temples.

We pictured it as a place that had been forgotten, complete with tall trees, stone walkways, shattered buildings, and temples in various ruins.

[jian-wei-24]

VR Project (Environment Set Up Part 2) [Assignment set by Apache]

Figure 1-2: Usage of Decal Champ.

Decal Champ, a decal generator set up by Akshat, was widely used to create various stains on the environment such as floor marks, ink spills, tea stains, and signs of aging on the walls. These details were added to enhance storytelling within the environment and to make the space feel more believable and less visually flat.

Figure 3: Commanding officer's personal communication section

Since the commanding officer of the castle holds a high-ranking position and is regularly contacted for various scientific and military matters, a small emergency or stable communication line was installed in his office. This setup helps speed up communication and avoids excessive bureaucracy, ensuring important messages reach the commanding officer and other relevant individuals quickly and efficiently.

Figure 4: Hidden room within the commanding officer's office (Left). Figure 5: Inside the hidden room (Right).

The environment is designed to give the illusion of a standard military headquarters. However, as the player reaches the final section of the main room, which is the commanding officer’s office, they discover an exposed hidden room concealed behind two tall bookshelves placed against a large wall, as shown in figure 11. This unexpected reveal leads deeper into the true purpose of the location. In this area, players also encounter the distinct scientist stone statues, placed near the concealed science testing facility where the resurrection of the Basilisk is being carried out.

In figure 15, large ashes and debris piles can be seen as the resurrection succeed that caused the dungeon facilities to shake huge amount of debris and ashes off the walls. The stone statues can all be seen looking or running towards the door as a sign that they were trying to escape the area.

Figure 16: Basilisk's head.

Around the corner of the dungeon, the Basilisk head lurks and seems is ready to come out of its enclosure to find more victims and cause destruction to anyone who stand in its way.

[mitheshkotianmajorproject]

Blog Post 1: Starting the Live Brief – Timeless Shop (VR Game)

Date: February 16, 2025

As part of our Apache Live Brief, I worked alongside my teammate Jayant Jadhav to create a virtual reality game called "Timeless Shop." The project involved the creation of a virtual shop filled with objects that symbolized different time periods, such as Spartan helms, swords, typewriters, flora, and glowing futuristic objects. The objects allow the player to explore the space in a place of virtual reality, discovering each one in an atmospheric and interactive environment. My tasks involved the gathering and preparation of assets, as well as scene building in Unreal Engine 5, with the Oculus Quest 2 as the target platform for deployment.

First, we defined the look that the shop should have and the kind of artefacts to implement. Most of the assets were sourced from the Unreal Marketplace or from other available repositories, and spent considerable time carefully placing them in the engine to try to attain a balance and level of visual interest. At that point, the main concern remained to make sure that the scene functioned effectively in standalone virtual reality hardware with a high level of aesthetic appeal. The idea was exciting; however, I knew that a number of technical issues would be involved in creating a smooth experience in virtual reality.

[abdelrahman-alhussien]

VR Project ; Exporting the Game

Blog #20

Lakshay was able to render a low quality version of his Portal VFX

I quickly imported and put it on a plane that will become visible when the artifact is placed on its station.

then i met up with kevin to do some final testing on the VR headset and export the APK file.

we did face some problems with exporting it. The packaging kept failing because of the FAB assets. all i used from FAB were some books so i removed them from the scene and tried packaging again and it worked.

then we tested the APK file on the VR headset and it was working fine.

I also screen recorded me playing the game, Just incase Apache are not able to open the APK file.

[brid-jagtap]

Practice 2: Apache VR- Demo

Blog#21

12/03/25

We have officially completed the VR project, and it has been a unique experience working in a VR-based environment despite its challenges. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with my team, and it was a great team effort. We are extremely pleased with our final output.

Here is the trailer and demo that Kevin has prepared for our submission.

References:

Kevin Adanan (2025). VRAnimation. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIPaSVX9qqY

[being-mughal]

Blog Post 20: Submission & Panel Feedback

I decided AnimAPK export would not be ready in time so I developed a different solution. By utilizing Unreal editor viewport together with cinematic camera cuts I created a full VR simulation recording.

During my work I maximized the use of smooth transitions, fades and close-up shots for key areas inside the tomb. The simulation lacked VR functionality yet effectively simulated it through different camera angles.

This backup plan saved me. The change enabled me to create a final project that brought satisfaction.

[portfoliodocumentationandpitch]

Portfolio, Documentation and Pitch (Aryan Raj Adhikari)

Reviews - Apache

As this brief was ultimately put forward by Apache, ultimately, they were the ones us students needed to impress. As seasoned professional veterans who have been in the industry for over 30 years and 12 years of profound experience in immersive technology, this was a great learning point for us to have our works critically analyzed and evaluated.

There were other students who did really well on their projects with different ideas for the same theme and it was really interesting how people did what they did. I believe I was the only person to have chosen the stylized route as everyone else focuses heavily on realism.

It was a real shock and a pleasant surprise to find out that my project was heavily favored by the professionals over at Apache. While they believed they could have had much more input if my export build was not corrupted, they critically analyzed my VR preview video that I had submitted alongside the project files.

Figure 1 (Final stylized junkyard environment)

They were really fond of the lighting palette and commented that it perfectly coexisted with the assets and the idea of the theme I was going for. They also liked my choice of assets I had created for this scene but they believe that some of the assets like the energy core and the greeble parts could have been detailed much better.

They loved how I utilized the height fog for my scene as they commented that it brought out the vibrance out to the max.

Figure 2 (A final still preview of the stylized junkyard environment)

The professionals of Apache did highlight a critical point of how some assets were scaled properly and some assets were really bigger in size. They noted that the aesthetic of an environment is also greatly amplified by uniform scale of assets used to dress it. This is something I will take into consideration while working on my future projects.

After they finished reviewing all of the projects, they voted my solo project VR game titled 'Stylized Junkyard' the best along with another 5 man team project. This was an immensely motivating moment and it really felt great to know that hard work is always appreciated in the field of art.

I would really like to thank the professionals over at Apache and my lecturer Neil Gallagher to have granted us this wonderful opportunity. This project really helped build me up technically from the ground up and I will take the critiques, the encouragement and the well-received reviews as motivations to further improve my craft and I am hugely motivated to move onto the next phase of the brief.

[acceptedguy]

Blog Post 61: VR PROJECT: Creating the Executable 

After finalizing the scene and placing all the visual and interactive elements, the final task ahead of me was one of the most technically important—building the executable file for the VR experience.   

The Build Process 

To guide myself through the process, I followed the tutorial made by “The Epic Singh” on YouTube. The tutorial was extremely helpful in breaking down the process, but the journey was far from smooth. Here are the key steps involved: 

Project Settings Tweaks  The first major hurdle was configuring the project correctly—this included setting the correct rendering options, enabling the required VR plugins (like OpenXR), and making sure the target platform was set to Windows. 

Maps and Modes  I had to manually assign the correct default map, game mode, and player controller—without which the build wouldn’t function as intended. 

Plugin Conflicts & Warnings  Unreal threw up several warnings during the packaging process, particularly about unused or experimental plugins. These had to be reviewed and disabled or configured properly to avoid failed builds. 

Packaging Settings  Setting the build to Shipping mode with appropriate compression and platform settings required a fair bit of trial and error, especially with some settings being buried deep in the menus. 

Lighting Issues & Rebuilds  After initiating the build, I noticed some baked lighting errors which forced me to go back, rebake, and repackage the scene multiple times. 

The Roadblock – Testing on Meta Quest 2 

While the executable was eventually built and successfully compiled on my local machine, there was one major issue I could not overcome: 

The VR console (Meta Quest 2) was Dev Locked. 

Because of this, I wasn’t able to test the executable on the actual hardware. It was a major letdown after all the effort, but unfortunately, it was out of my hands. Without access to developer mode or sideloading options, the executable remained untested in its native environment. 

Final Thoughts 

Despite the challenges, creating the executable was a huge milestone. It marked the transition from development to delivery—a symbolic moment showing the culmination of all the work I’ve put into this project. 

Even though I couldn’t test it on the VR headset itself, getting the build to package successfully was a win in itself—especially given the number of hoops Unreal makes you jump through just to get there. 

RESOURCES USED:   

Interactive Entertainment Group, Inc. (2023). Interactive Entertainment Group, Inc. [online] Available at: https://interactiveparty.com/product/vr-beat-saber/.  

Darktide (2022). Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Official Website. [online] Available at: https://www.playdarktide.com.  

Owlcat.games. (2025). Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. [online] Available at: https://roguetrader.owlcat.games [Accessed 13 Feb. 2025].  

Apache.co.uk. (2018). Apache: BARDO Virtual Reality Experience | APACHE. [online] Available at: https://apache.co.uk/work/bardo/ [Accessed 13 Feb. 2025].  

Stealthoptional.com. (2023). Darktide error code 3001 - how to fix ‘Failed joining server’ error. [online] Available at: https://stealthoptional.com/article/darktide-error-code-3001-fix-failed-joining-server-error [Accessed 13 Feb. 2025].  

DiSalvo, P. (2021). The Best Eldritch Invocations In Dungeons & Dragons. [online] TheGamer. Available at: https://www.thegamer.com/dungeons-dragons-best-eldritch-invocations/ [Accessed 13 Feb. 2025]. 

to, C. (2024). War in Heaven (Necron). [online] Warhammer 40k Wiki. Available at: https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/War_in_Heaven_(Necron). 

Focus-entmt.com. (2023). Space Marine 2 - Focus Entertainment. [online] Available at: https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/warhammer-40000-space-marine-2. 

hbitproject (2023). Mastering details in Blender - trim sheets tutorial. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M-GNe_pB9M. 

Sketchfab (2022). Sketchfab. [online] Sketchfab. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/spartan-helmeta391427a539e40788432e84835e62e3a [Accessed 10 Mar. 2025].  

Sketchfab (2017). Sketchfab. [online] Sketchfab. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/ak47-weathered9d3315806e524acf8f411a9c22442cf6 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2025]. 

 Sketchfab (2023). Sketchfab. [online] Sketchfab. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/military-artillery-gun-low-poly-from-scandc18a91f8cee48a5ba6f992cca167131 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2025].  

Sketchfab (2020). Sketchfab. [online] Sketchfab. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/war-hornc0bd664d2b9e41398862a2c1c1831cdb [Accessed 10 Mar. 2025]. 

[hdrahul]

Blog #1

Today was the beginning of the live brief assignment and 2 people from Apache studios visited the classroom to deliver the brief for the assignment which was a functioning VR game that need to follow the concept of "Time and space". This was a challenging endevour as we do not have the technical capabilities to create a game much less VR. We were given 3 weeks time to make a APK file to submit.

VR gaming is not widely popular as the gear required is often more costly and requires suitable environment to play. I, myself have played for 2 days when I was visiting my brother during christmas break.