Fully Charged: Google Maps’ massive mobile update, Oculus Rift’s billion-player aspirations, and Star Wars Battlefront is coming soon
All the news you need to get your day started off right
Google Maps mobile apps add numerous features
Getting around just got a little bit easier thanks to numerous enhancements made to the Android and iOS versions of Google Maps. Both were updated yesterday to add in some helpful functionality, notably official support for offline maps on both platforms.
The latest version of the app also adds lane guidance for turn-by-turn navigation, ensuring you’re in the best position for turns and exits, plus it’s easier to view route options. New Uber integration is also a highlight, letting you compare the speed of the ride-sharing service to walking and public transit options, and then be sent directly to the Uber app for booking.
[Source: Google Maps]
Oculus wants to build a billion-person MMO experience
When Oculus VR was recently acquired by Facebook, it noted the scale of the social networking company’s resources as something that could drive down costs of its Oculus Rift headset. Now that it’s in the fold, however, more ambitious plans are surfacing.
Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said at this week’s TechCrunch Disrupt conference that his team aspires to create a massively multiplayer virtual reality experience for a billion people. “[It’s] going to take a bigger network than exists in the world today,” he added.
What’s cooler than a billion people? No clue—but hopefully Facebook can find out soon enough to match the sizeable goals of its new colleagues.
[Source: The Verge]
READ MORE: Next-gen Oculus Rift is coming and "twice as good" as the current version
EA will show new Star Wars Battlefront at E3
After the game was teased at last year’s event, Electronic Arts disclosed yesterday that it will show off more of upcoming multiplayer shooter Star Wars Battlefront at the Electronic Entertainment Expo next month.
Set to launch next year, the rebooted Battlefront will come a full decade after the last major entry in the shooter series. Previous sequel attempts were canned, but Battlefield series developer DICE has been tapped to put a fresh spin on the premise.
In other EA news, the publisher revealed in an earnings call yesterday that it will not release a new Need for Speed game in 2014—the first such absence in 13 years. A new entry in the racing series is planned for next year, with the team at Ghost Games being given extra time to bring it to life.
READ MORE: Why does Battlefield 4 hate dogs?
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
