Comparison

Under the Bay vs hero machine

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Under the Bay

Experience the hidden world beneath the Chesapeake Bay through augmented reality. Point your device at water to reveal stories, hear original music, and see animations that change based on live environmental data.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality underwater exploration
  • Live environmental data integration
  • Dynamic music and animation
  • Artist-narrated stories
  • Selectable scenes
  • Historical data playback
Features
Read full description

“Under the Bay” tells the story of a world beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay and really all estuaries and oceans. In this augmented reality project a user can point their cell phone at the water — or anywhere in the world — like a microscope and see and hear the hidden invisibilities under the Chesapeake Bay. When they do, a series of stories between humans and non-humans emerge told by the artist Lisa Moren with original music by Dan Deacon. The narrator describes the Chesapeake Bay in both enlightenment and medieval terms where personal observation is intertwined with scientific knowledge unpacking recent political events and arguing for diversity broadly. Some episodes see microbes like faeries and the planet as an ensouled body soaked in a wet film that breaths like a living organism. Other meandering topics include cryonics, meditation, the origins of the Internet, monuments, protests, US elections, and algae blooms all describing a world out of balance. Underwater sensors located throughout the Chesapeake Bay collect data on the water’s oxygen and salt levels, pH, temperature, etc. This live data streams into the app allowing the stories, images, and electronic music to be driven by the current conditions of the Bay water. The data from the Bay will direct how the organisms appear and how the story is told. In addition to affecting the animation’s speed and color, originally composed music will change volume, reverb, EQ, and other parameters, based on the water conditions. For example, the narrator's voice will sound choppy, or even choking, when the oxygen is low or anoxic, but when oxygen conditions are good, the voice is clear. Behind the scenes, marine biologist, Dr. Tsetso Bachvaroff, shares his expertise on the Bay water, its data, and the DNA of the invisible organisms. Dinoflagellates and diatoms produce most of the world’s oxygen and are the ancestors of humans for hundreds of millions of years. Before they outlive humans, they reveal their remarkable survival strategies to us and inspire how we may learn to live in this project. Viewers may select one of 8 scenes with images and sounds evolving each time they open the app. In the evening the app offers originally composed music and animation inspired by bioluminescence that’s also affected by the incoming water data. A calendar will allow the user to go back in time to hear what the Bay was saying on a particular date, perhaps during an algae bloom. The user may also change sites in the Bay or turn off the data altogether to experience different effects. “Under the Bay”, tells a unique story for every user, changing over time, over seasons, but always influenced from the viewpoint of the water itself. TEAM Lisa Moren, Artistic Director + Script Writer Dr. Tsvetan Bachvaroff, Marine Biologist, Data Analysis Dan Deacon, Electronic Composer Marc Olano, Software Engineer + Developer John Boutsikas, Lead Programmer Austin Samson, Modeler + Animator William Forrest, Animator + Technical Artist Woody Lissauer, Voiceover Engineer + Narrator, Ted Nelson Ruskin Nohe-Moren, Narrator, Theodore Schwenk Aliyah Baruchin, Copy Editor + Fact Checker ++ This project is generously supported by the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at Johns Hopkins University and the R.W. Deutsch Foundation. THIS PROJECT ORIGINATED DURING AN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM SUPPORTED BY THE INSTITUTE OF MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY [IMET] AND CIRCA AT UMBC. WE’RE GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT FROM MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES; DANIELLE MCPHATTER AND HARVESTWORKS DIGITAL MEDIA ART CENTER, IRC AND CAHSS AT UMBC, AND ANTOINE CAYROL OF ATLAS V IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES IN AR, XR, AND VR.

About

hero machine

Features
Read full description

・You can easily enjoy setting up a secret base, just like playing with a nostalgic toy base! Accompanied by powerful sound effects such as mechanical sounds, the imaginary machines move dynamically with various mechanisms. ・This app is very easy to use. The gimmicks move just by touching the game screen, so you can enjoy the content easily without having to master difficult controls or memorize complex rules. It's also great for killing time at the hospital or in a store instead of reading a book. Some music and sound effects used in the game Site name: Music material / Demon King Soul URL: https://maoudamashii.jokersounds.com I'm using one.

Screenshots

Under the Bay4 screens
hero machine2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Under the Bay at none against hero machine's shown. hero machine's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 25 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Under the Bay ships an update every 25 months, hero machine monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Under the Bay versus hero machine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnder the Bayhero machine
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size930 MB139 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLisa MorenHARUNOBU SATAKUNI

In-app purchases

None

Under the Bay

No in-app purchases

None

hero machine

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Under the Bay free?
Under the Bay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is hero machine free?
hero machine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Under the Bay or hero machine have ads?
hero machine shows ads; Under the Bay does not.
Which is updated more often, Under the Bay or hero machine?
Under the Bay ships an update every 25 months, and hero machine monthly. Most recently, Under the Bay was updated on October 21, 2026 and hero machine on October 11, 2026.

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