Oculus’ latest Rift 1.17 software update is officially out of the Public Test Channel and is now rolling out to all Rift owners across the Oculus platform.

In the new Rift 1.17 software update, Oculus adds support for launching Rift-compatible games and apps acquired from outside the Oculus Store directly from within Home. In addition, the update brings the long-awaited ‘Parties’ feature to the Rift, which allows up to four people to connect and chat with each other across VR apps on the platform, as well as improvements to the mixed reality capture functionality. According to the release notes, the 1.17 software update includes the following:

Features

Oculus Library:

• You can now see detailed release notes for recent app updates, including the Oculus system software, from the Updates screen in Library.
• You can now quickly launch all apps that support Rift from within the Oculus software, even if you acquired those apps from outside the Oculus Store.

Parties for Rift:

• In Oculus Home or Universal Menu, select a friend and choose Invite to Party. Friends in your party can chat with you across Rift apps, or wherever you go in VR. Each party can support a total of 4 people at a time.

Mixed Reality Capture:

• Further improvements to the calibration tool.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where reconnecting the Rift headset wouldn’t fully restore functionality after being disconnected.
• Fixed an issue with lens slider settings not being respected in some situations.
• Fixed an issue with the floor shifting while you’re in VR.
• Miscellaneous performance improvements, stability enhancement, and bug fixes.