Virtual Reality Club

[Guitar]

I didn't notice the SDE effect except when the screen was really bright, but I am pretty picky about displays anyways so YMMV. I noticed it less than I did the Vive for reference.

 

[Guitar]

Tried the headset again briefly. Played the pong game, tried a bit of Job simulator, and Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. A little more of The Heist shooting gallery part too.

The pong game was just moving your neck/head, was simplistic but showed that headset tracking when it works is good with just the eye.

Job Simulator was a clusterfuck for the short time I played. Basically when I loaded up the demo disc it had me sit/move the camera to where it could see my head sitting. Okay great. Job Simulator loaded up and it wanted me to stand, told me to hold controllers to calibrate positions; okay cool whatever. When I was in the world, my hands felt weird and my view was in the middle of a standing/sitting type scenario. There was also a lot of jitter (I noticed this in other games too) so I said fuck it, put the PS4 camera on top of my TV (previously below) and tried it again. Was way worse because I hand't recalibrated; this could be me not finding/knowing, but couldn't recalibrate my position and said F it and closed the game. Same thing happened with The Heist, was in bad position, went to standup, couldn't wouldn't recalibrate and everything was fucked up including hand controls. Went back in and tried Until Dawn...and it wasn't terrible, but move controllers feel worse than the Vive controllers for holding a gun. The game wasn't scary at all, actually made me laugh. It would make me scared if I was a vegan I guess lol (the first part was all pig corpses in a fun house or some shit, kinda dumb).

Anyways....getting to the point where I think VR may just not be there for me. I think the tech still has to come a long way, and while I get why people might like it, I think traditional games are superior right now if you want just a good experience that generally works. VR is too clusterfucky and finicky right now for me to recommend to the average person. Contemplating selling both my headsets and revisiting where everything is a year or two down the line.

 

[Mindweaver]

That's really odd man.. I'm really enjoying my Vive. Regular gaming just doesn't do it for me anymore.. But I am ready for real AAA content. If you sale them then good luck, but if you're not hurting for money then I would say keep them. Thanks for sharing.

 

[marmiteonpizza]

I totally get what you say about traditional "monitor gaming" being superior right now and VR being a bit...finicky; I really do enjoy my Vive, but I only get it out for social occasions, I stick with monitor gaming other than that!
I haven't used my Vive since August now I think.

 

[Mindweaver]

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope comes out today for the Vive on Steam!

 

[marmiteonpizza]

Looks pretty fun
I wouldn't buy it for its full price while it's in early access though as I know VR games tend to be pretty expensive for what they are. So would wait for reviews to come out and probably get it if it was reduced if still in early access.

What do people think the next major technological advancement will be for VR headsets?
Smell? Gloves instead of controllers?

 

[Guitar]

@Mindweaver I boxed up my Vive yesterday and am going to list it sometime this week. I am in no way in need of the money, but can't foresee keeping it at this point. I have not touched it for months; I will wait for Vive 2 or whatever else comes next that has great motion controls, wireless, and preferably something easier to setup than lighthouses etc.

I am debating keeping PSVR -- it looks like I can get back what I paid for it right now (tax and all) because it is in short supply, so I may just do that.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Personally I have been round at my Psvr owning mate's playing driveclubvr with a wheel and a fair bit besides ,I will be getting one.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

 

[Octavean]

Apparently, Microsoft announced (partners HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer) new VR headsets for Windows 10 starting at ~$300 USD.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/26/...aphic-virtual-reality-headset-announced-price

This includes inside-out tracking sensors.

 

[xkm1948]

Illusion's VR Girlfriend game has a demo available free to download now.

http://vrkanojo.com/index_en.php

 

[alucasa]

Illusion's VR Girlfriend game has a demo available free to download now.

http://vrkanojo.com/index_en.php

The default game will suck with the censorship. Gotta wait for HF's complete nude patch.

 

[xkm1948]

The default game will suck with the censorship. Gotta wait for HR's complete nude patch.

I will be downloading it anyway. Gonna try it tonight.

Kinda wish Nekoworks would release a full version of Nekopalive. The demo version of Nekopalive already blew me away.

 

[xkm1948]

Also I find it amazing that Illusion always say "our games are only for domestic Japanese consumers", yet the entire game description and control are in English. Haha.

 

[alucasa]

I recall watching a video of Illusion head office. Half of staffs were females. It was a fun video.

Their games are indeed only for Japan. Some of their games are about raping, so they need to protect themselves. They often use English to look cool. I even own few Illusion game retail boxes.

 

[xkm1948]

I recall watching a video of Illusion head office. Half of staffs were females. It was a fun video.

Their games are indeed only for Japan. Some of their games are about raping, so they need to protect themselves. They often use English to look cool. I even own few Illusion game retail boxes.

VR and some adult softwares are, well you know, harmless.

 

[alucasa]

VR and some adult softwares are, well you know, harmless.

Completely harmless.

Far better than actually going out there, do the stuff, serve time, and then get registered as a sex offender for life.

 

[xkm1948]

Just spent 2 hrs in VR GF demo. See my review here:

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...dult-vr-games-have-built-in-benchmark.227393/

 

[Guitar]

Brought my PSVR into work on Friday, everybody loved it. Played a bit of The Heist and some of that space game on the same disc, then brought out Batman which we had a lot of fun playing together figuring out the 'puzzles' and stuff. Most of my fun VR experiences have come from meeting others (in VR or playing with others locally). I still have my Vive boxed up ready to sell, but Arizona Sunshine comes out next month and I really want to play it.

They also announced a $220 accessory to make the Vive wireless. It is interesting, especially if it works, but I can't help think the Vive 2 or something better will probably be announced within a year and include that so why bother.

 

[P4-630]

Google Earth VR

Bringing the whole wide world to virtual reality
"The world has so many beautiful and amazing places to visit. If we're lucky, we're able to travel and see a few of them.
But even the most active travelers can only see a fraction. What if we could see them all?

Ten years ago, Google Earth began as an effort to help people everywhere explore our planet.
And now, with more than two billion downloads, many have.
Today, we are introducing Google Earth VR as our next step to help the world see the world.
With Earth VR, you can fly over a city, stand at the top of the highest peaks, and even soar into space."

"Google Earth VR lets you explore the world from totally new perspectives in virtual reality.
Stroll the streets of Tokyo, soar over the Grand Canyon, or walk around the Eiffel Tower.
This virtual reality app lets you see the world’s cities, landmarks, and natural wonders.
You can fly over a city, stand at the top of the highest peaks, and even soar into space.
Earth VR comes with cinematic tours and hand-picked destinations that send you to the Amazon River,
the Manhattan skyline, the Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, and more."

http://store.steampowered.com/app/348250/

FREE.

 

[marmiteonpizza]

Google Earth VR

Bringing the whole wide world to virtual reality
"The world has so many beautiful and amazing places to visit. If we're lucky, we're able to travel and see a few of them.
But even the most active travelers can only see a fraction. What if we could see them all?

Ten years ago, Google Earth began as an effort to help people everywhere explore our planet.
And now, with more than two billion downloads, many have.
Today, we are introducing Google Earth VR as our next step to help the world see the world.
With Earth VR, you can fly over a city, stand at the top of the highest peaks, and even soar into space."

"Google Earth VR lets you explore the world from totally new perspectives in virtual reality.
Stroll the streets of Tokyo, soar over the Grand Canyon, or walk around the Eiffel Tower.
This virtual reality app lets you see the world’s cities, landmarks, and natural wonders.
You can fly over a city, stand at the top of the highest peaks, and even soar into space.
Earth VR comes with cinematic tours and hand-picked destinations that send you to the Amazon River,
the Manhattan skyline, the Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, and more."

http://store.steampowered.com/app/348250/

FREE.

Might just have to get my Vive out for this!

 

[newconroer]

I finally found a review of Rift vs Vive which informed me of things I did not know before, though somewhere in my brain I was looking to find such details, yet didn't know how to ask the question.

The summary as I understood it - using an analogy - is that the Vive is like the Nintendo Wii. It's interactive, full room experience, and focuses more on 'fun' games and activities. Where as the Rift is more about detail and depth to particular titles, where you are mainly sitting or standing without much moving.

Both platforms can work with the other's titles. Rift is a simple GUI setting to allow third party applications and Vive can achieve it with some third party software installed.
I've been told that the real comparison can only be had when the Rift release it's touch controllers. It may not make it any better than the Vive experience, though it will create a little more immersion.

My concerns are that :

A) I don't have a ton of space to move around in any ways, so the 'full room' experience isn't going to work. I certainly won't be doing any bowling or sports like activities.
B) There may yet still be titles that feel better with the Xbox controller, as opposed to touch controllers. The Rift then gives you the flexibility of using either or
C) That the games that benefit most from Vive's full immersion approach(similar to full room experience), are some what silly or fun games, such as cooking in a kitchen or etc.
D) Vive has that over the head strap which is apparently aggravating and also is bigger/clunkier/heavier
E) I use a preamp/amp in front of my sound card. What happens to my audio/headphone options when using the VR units?


Further questions for VR owners:

A) If I put the headset on in a title that doesn't support 3D/VR, will it still bring the image to my eyes, effectively making it so that I no longer need a monitor for most games and that it blocks out the room/world around you, giving you a pseudo-immersive experience?
B) Does the head tracking work in non VR supported titles?
C) Does the cabling of either cause a lot of restriction or were any supplied cables so short that it was problematic, even when sitting down?
D) Both units require HDMI ports. Do they have to be HDMI ports via the GPU or can it work with a motherboard's built-in HDMI as well? I already have multiple monitors, one DVI-D, one HDMI. Modern NVIDIA GPUs do not play nice when filling up all the inputs simultaneously.
E) I am pretty 'eww' about things on my face for extended period of times. I get a bit freaked out if paintball too long or wear a motorcycle helmet more than a few hours. I hear the insides can get a bit gunky, any one had that problem? Could I slip a wash cloth or a rag in between the padding and my skin?
F) I am told the resolution of the headsets makes it feel like you're looking at 480p content. Would this mean then VR is currently more about the full room/full body 'Wii' type experience with fun games, rather than a high quality imagery immersion?

Games such as the following would be top of my list currently, however if the VR experience is good, I am definitely open to not only new games though new genres :

ARK
Osiris
The Forest
Savage Lands
Fallout 4
Skyrim


Thanks

 

[Guitar]

The summary as I understood it - using an analogy - is that the Vive is like the Nintendo Wii. It's interactive, full room experience, and focuses more on 'fun' games and activities. Where as the Rift is more about detail and depth to particular titles, where you are mainly sitting or standing without much moving.

Not the worst summary I guess - I wouldn't say that is True. I'd say the Rift is similar to the 360 where it's got the power and games are fine/fun to play on it. The Vive is like the PS3 where it is super powerful but nobody has quite yet to unlock the possibilities yet. The PSVR is more like the Wii, easier for casuals, fun, sacrifices price/quality of graphics etc for fun gameplay and affordability.

Both platforms can work with the other's titles. Rift is a simple GUI setting to allow third party applications and Vive can achieve it with some third party software installed.
I've been told that the real comparison can only be had when the Rift release it's touch controllers. It may not make it any better than the Vive experience, though it will create a little more immersion.

I don't believe there are be a true comparison of Vive vs Rift until the Rift does get room scale - but even then, it's been at least 6 months on the Oculus without it - it is very clear that it isn't their first priority with the headset so that worries me a bit.

A) I don't have a ton of space to move around in any ways, so the 'full room' experience isn't going to work. I certainly won't be doing any bowling or sports like activities.

This is a good consideration, but remember even with just motion controls you don't need to walk, you can interact just by moving arms around and moving in a small square/circle. Room scale can be very big or very small.

B) There may yet still be titles that feel better with the Xbox controller, as opposed to touch controllers. The Rift then gives you the flexibility of using either or

So does the Vive.

C) That the games that benefit most from Vive's full immersion approach(similar to full room experience), are some what silly or fun games, such as cooking in a kitchen or etc.

My main problem with the Vive at the moment is lack of games. Once games start coming out like Arizona Sunshine and Budget Cuts, we hopefully will see more "AAA" content, but who knows. I've heard a lot of Oculus games are fun, but would be better with motion control and are short experiences as well rather than full games (everest for example).

A) If I put the headset on in a title that doesn't support 3D/VR, will it still bring the image to my eyes, effectively making it so that I no longer need a monitor for most games and that it blocks out the room/world around you, giving you a pseudo-immersive experience?

You will sit in a theater in VR basically. Is it immersive? Meh, to some people sure. There are also programs like VorpX where you can trick other games into working in 3D/VR btw, but doesn't always work great.

B) Does the head tracking work in non VR supported titles?

Very hit or miss, without a dedicated profile for something like VorpX or a third party mod, usually miss.

C) Does the cabling of either cause a lot of restriction or were any supplied cables so short that it was problematic, even when sitting down?

When sitting down, not at all. When standing/moving on the Vive, yes. I have an extension cable set that works well and I can just barely strain that ---- but I have a BIG play space.

D) Both units require HDMI ports. Do they have to be HDMI ports via the GPU or can it work with a motherboard's built-in HDMI as well? I already have multiple monitors, one DVI-D, one HDMI. Modern NVIDIA GPUs do not play nice when filling up all the inputs simultaneously.

Considering your video card is what powers it, definitely needs to be hooked up to the video card.

E) I am pretty 'eww' about things on my face for extended period of times. I get a bit freaked out if paintball too long or wear a motorcycle helmet more than a few hours. I hear the insides can get a bit gunky, any one had that problem? Could I slip a wash cloth or a rag in between the padding and my skin?

Use sleep masks or a VR Cover or other disposable/washable covers, they are out there.

F) I am told the resolution of the headsets makes it feel like you're looking at 480p content. Would this mean then VR is currently more about the full room/full body 'Wii' type experience with fun games, rather than a high quality imagery immersion?

False.

Games such as the following would be top of my list currently, however if the VR experience is good, I am definitely open to not only new games though new genres :

ARK
Osiris
Fallout 4
Skyrim

If you want to play games like this, then get a Rift. The Vive is meant to be played with motion controllers and ideally standing/moving, these games really are just meant to be seated experiences with controllers (ideally KBM but).

 

[newconroer]

Thanks a lot GUitar.

For the covers, did you mean : https://vrcover.com/ or similar?

In regards to HDMI connection, I read one of the headsets had a separate unit (probably for the array sensors) that also required an HDMI plug.

I am also aware Razer has a unit coming out, which if they manage to make performance a bit better and the item more comfortable, then the price tag looks impressive.

 

[Guitar]

That is what I meant yes. The Vive has a separate unit but it is like a jump box before it goes to PC - it still has to go into the video card. No idea about the Rift but it uses a camera which should be USB.

Razer had a beta/alpha unit out for a while, but it didn't get much support. I doubt there new one will either. However, there are multiple companies coming out with headsets.

IMO, now is not the time to get into VR unless you have money to spend. I believe in a max of 2 years time, we will have a handful of very good headsets that have some form of wireless, motion tracking, and or compatibility across systems/games.

Not sure how much headsets are going for used, I haven't bothered to list my Vive yet, but I would definitely get something used if you can find something in good condition just so you can avoid part of the premium.