The Big VR Thread

[Lu]

We had a thread for Oculus, but now that Valve throws its hat in the VR headwear ring with HTC, the new fancy Sony Morpheus prototype, and other tech companies likely to soon follow, maybe a nice place to discuss all our VR news!?

 

So a few interesting bits of information concerning VR hardware: Yesterday, Sony unveiled the new Morpheus prototype that seems a lot closer to the final specifications. They're now using a 1080p OLED screen running at 120(!)Hz, which is a big improvement over the 1080p60hz LCD they previously had. They announced they're bringing it to consumers in the first half of 2016!

 

Another interesting thing: Valve talked a little bit about their tracking solution for VR called Lighthouse. Aside from being able to track the VR HMD in a rather large space (15x15ft) it can track an arbitrary number of targets in this space. So controllers and potentially even another HMD? Being able to walk around and and interact with objects in a natural way is something I really miss with the current Rift prototype.

 

Competition is heating up and I love it!

 

[dibs]

I'm worried that people will stop living in reality, and start living in virtual reality. So worried:/

[Spud]

I was pretty shocked when Sony announced that Morpheus update. That's a serious step up in hardware over a relatively short period of time.

 

Feel that race stepping up.

[BigJKO]

Are we allowed to talk about Microsoft's AR revolution and other AR-related things? In general, just any big, stupid-looking goggle device you put on your head?

[kaputt]

Both Sony and HTC devices are looking hot. HTC has a better resolution, and when using a cardboard with my Moto X I saw that 1080p at a close distance doesn't look so hot, looks a bit too grainy, however, it's still acceptable. Sony's is still 1080p, but the 120Hz is a nice upgrade. Also, their VR surely looks better and more comfortable to use.

Will be interesting to see how devs will approach VR. I think they should go for an art style and aesthetics that make it viable to have good looking games at the best framerate possible, otherwise the motion sickness can really hurt the general view of consumers on VR.

After trying the cardboard, I'm really interested in VR, surely is something else.

[tegan]

Hearing the 8-4 guys talk about trying looking at an enormous Portal robot while using the HTC Vive on yesterday's Bombcast got me thinking: Sony kind of has an edge, in my mind, because they have an enormous back catalogue of software that could be ported for the Morpheus while waiting for the real software to arrive. Can you imagine a VR remake of something like Jumping Flash or Shadow of the Colossus?

 

Are we allowed to talk about Microsoft's AR revolution and other AR-related things? In general, just any big, stupid-looking goggle device you put on your head?

 

I'm actually more interested in AR than I am in VR. I want to have a

application that can tell me about anything I look at, or get together with a group of friends wearing AR goggles to solve a procedurally-generated murder mystery using clues hidden in my apartment.

[clyde]

I'm worried that people will stop living in reality, and start living in virtual reality. So worried:/

This is already the case. But it is getting harder and harder to jack-out.

[kaputt]

Digital Foundry made an article about the new Morpheus prototype, their impressions are pretty positive.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-the-near-final-project-morpheus

I think we're almost ready to leave our finite physical existence and live forever in a virtual reality managed by our computer overlords.

[Badfinger]

Head's up, that link doesn't go anywhere Kaputt.

 

Is this the one you were linking? http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-the-near-final-project-morpheus

[kaputt]

Head's up, that link doesn't go anywhere Kaputt.

Is this the one you were linking? http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-hands-on-with-the-near-final-project-morpheus

Yep, this one, thanks!

I'll correct my post.

[J.C.]

Can you imagine a VR remake of something like Jumping Flash or Shadow of the Colossus?

 

Oh my god yes please! I can see SotC being terrifying though!

[syntheticgerbil]

I'm worried that people will stop living in reality, and start living in virtual reality. So worried:/

This is not my beautiful house.

 

I kind of wish someone would release a final FINAL retail version of these headsets before everyone jumps on board making their own, but I guess that's the tech world.

[BobbyBesar]

For the record, since nobody else mentioned it, nice deep cuts on the thread title.

[rohlfinator]

This is not my beautiful house.

 

I kind of wish someone would release a final FINAL retail version of these headsets before everyone jumps on board making their own, but I guess that's the tech world.

 

Yeah, I'm having a hard time getting excited about new hardware announcements when it seems like the software piece is still a long way off. It's hard to tell if these companies have strong plans about the future of VR or if they're just trying to jump on the bandwagon early.

[Ninety-Three]

Yeah, I'm having a hard time getting excited about new hardware announcements when it seems like the software piece is still a long way off. It's hard to tell if these companies have strong plans about the future of VR or if they're just trying to jump on the bandwagon early.

 

I'm not sure 'bandwagon' is the right assessment. It is of course, impossible to tell at this point, but I think it's plausible that rather than VR turning into a "console wars" thing, it could be more of a format war like HD vs Blu-ray, where eventually a winner will be declared and everyone else falls away.

 

Assuming VR takes off anyway. I'm still cynical because of the catch 22 of "No one makes games for VR, because so few people own VR hardware, because there aren't enough games to justify the purchase".

[gavku]

TommyRefenes did a write up of his experience with Valves VR  http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/112739516902/vr-isnt-a-gimmick-anymore

[Merus]

How does Valve's system handle people moving down a corridor? Because I would love a game where you explore a dungeon or something at that kind of resolution, but if the game gets weird when you move down a corridor...

 

I feel like this is an interesting case study for patents, actually, and I say this as someone who's been traditionally very suspicious of them: Oculus has been almost left behind by people with a lot more money, and a lot of it was kick-started by the approach Oculus took to make it viable.

[Lu]

An in-game corridor or a real life corridor?

 

And I wouldn't count out Oculus yet. I think this years E3 will be huge for them.

 

 

Some impressions from the folks at Tested of both Morpheus and Vive.

[Merus]

In-game corridor. It looks like it's much more dependent on moving about than the primarily headset-based equipment.

[prettyunsmart]

All that I've been reading about the Valve VR demo made it sound pretty great in theory, but I can't help but think about the practical limitations that would limit my ability to enjoy it. It sounds like you need a seriously beefy PC to even consider running it. Not only that, you'll need a big, open space to play in to take advantage of the device's spatial awareness. I live in a tiny apartment, and doing a major upgrade to my PC isn't really in the budget for me right now. I imagine I'm not alone in either of those circumstances, so I have to wonder how well the retail version of the Vive or whatever it's called is going to do. 

 

EDIT: All that said, I really want this stuff to work out and be accessible to as many people as possible. It's just that I can see a small headset/camera combo that costs $200-300 being an easier sell for someone like me than the craziness of Valve's prototype.

[Jutranjo]

I dunno if this has been posted but here's an interview with a valve VRgineer. Then impressions. Makes some sense of why Valve hasn't done anything public, they've had all teams locked up with 3D printers making the future of gaming.

 

 

ALSO since I got the top of the page, here's the title joke 

 

[Lu]

I'm not that clever.

 

[Vasari]

I'm not that clever.

 

 

Oh thank god, not knowing what the thread title meant was really bugging me.

[kaputt]

All that I've been reading about the Valve VR demo made it sound pretty great in theory, but I can't help but think about the practical limitations that would limit my ability to enjoy it. It sounds like you need a seriously beefy PC to even consider running it. Not only that, you'll need a big, open space to play in to take advantage of the device's spatial awareness. I live in a tiny apartment, and doing a major upgrade to my PC isn't really in the budget for me right now. I imagine I'm not alone in either of those circumstances, so I have to wonder how well the retail version of the Vive or whatever it's called is going to do.

EDIT: All that said, I really want this stuff to work out and be accessible to as many people as possible. It's just that I can see a small headset/camera combo that costs $200-300 being an easier sell for someone like me than the craziness of Valve's prototype.

Yeah, those things sure give some uncertainty about it. I honestky think it won't work if it requires you to walk and move through your room. It might be successful as a novelty first, but it's too impractical. Also a big part of gaming is connected to challenge and reward, and you can't increase challenge that much if it requires too much physical effort of the player, it won't work.

However, I think it can work for smaller and quicker games/immersive experiences, like some indie games already do. In fact, this might be the kind of work that will benefit the most of VR, never realized that before.

[Twig]

I proposed something earlier this morning in the Idle Thumbs IRC channel (where everyone should be because it's the coolest place on the internet), but here it is again:

 

I wonder how viable it'd be to have a VR HMD in a sensory deprivation tank. With little sensors/vibration pads at various points on your body. So every movement you make can be interpreted by the game, and also you get some feedback (however minor, although in a sensory deprivation tank I imagine even minor feedback is going to feel More Than Usual). I'm imagining like an ocean diving simulator or a floating-in-space simulator. Ohhh it'd be rad. Yes, yes.

 

Disclaimer: I have no idea what a sensory deprivation tank actually consists of, or if you'd even have that freedom of movement, but it seems like a good idea to me. Had I the money I'd probably try to figure something out. U: