games for S7 edge and gear VR?

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
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getting a controller in a few hours and have seen some vids on youtube about the games.

more the horror/FPS type if possible?
 

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
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EDIT

ah, that's only for S6 etc. comments about it not working with s7/edge yet :(
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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I have a GearVR, Note 5, and iPega PG-9021 gamepad. I'd recommend picking up some Sennheiser HD 202 II headphones if you don't have decent ones already (especially if you share your goggles...I bring my setup everywhere & don't want people using my earbuds haha). Also grab a microfiber cleaning cloth (like for glasses) to keep the lenses & phone screen clear of dust. As far as horror games go, check out Dreadhalls & Sisters. You definitely want to play Dreadhalls with (good) headphones:

http://www.dreadhalls.com/

Sisters is another good creepy game:

http://otherworldinteractive.com/project-view/sisters/

The horror genre is amazing on the VR because scary content because a VERY personal experience. Here's a recent viral video that illustrates it pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6urJejluX44

I will note that there are two main problems with VR right now:

1. Lack of (cheap) content
2. Lack of experience

Because this stuff is so new (the Consumer Edition of the GearVR was only released in November of last year), there's not a ton of quality content out yet, and what does exist is extremely short. For example, Adventure Time is REALLY cool (imagine Mario 64, but in VR), but it's only three levels, which equates to about 30 minutes of gameplay. That, and a lot of games cost $10 or $15 - so you're really paying for an early-adopter experience.

Aside from lack of content & lack of quality cheap content (I'm used to paying 99 cents for a mobile game on my iPhone, you know? maybe $2.99 at most), the other big problem is the lack of experience on both the developer side & consumer side. We're still learning how VR works & how it affects us. For example, Minecraft for the GearVR just came out (it's awesome), but it's one of the few games that gives me simulator sickness (after turning off the VR controls & making it act like a regular FPS). And developers are still learning what is & isn't OK. For example, most headset makers recommend not doing any jump scares in VR games (for obvious reasons). And Dreadhalls utilizes snapturns by default (click-turns instead of allowing you to spin freely around) so you don't get motion sick.

Another issue is that you're running off cell phone graphics, so you're going to get a much better experience fro a PC-based headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. That's not to say games on the GearVR don't look cool & aren't fun, but you can get a lot more horsepower out of a computer vs. a mobile device. On the flip side, the GearVR is the best $99 I've spent in a LONG time. I have endless fun playing on it & showing it off to others (actually, introducing other people to VR is half the fun, for me at least). Here are some apps I recommend:

1. Omega Agent: Jetpack game. My current favorite one to play. Whee!

2. Neverout: Kind of a puzzle-maze game, basically the reverse of a Rubix Cube, you're kind of inside of a padded cell & can walk on the walls & ceilling and have to figure out how to get into the next room. Addicting, easy to burn through 20 levels in no time.

3. End Space: Not so much for the gameplay, but for the visuals - it's really fun flying a spaceship around. Not a huge fan of the controls or speed, but worth the investment simply to feel like you're in outer space.

4. Minecraft: Basically Legos in 3D. If you're already into it, it adds another level of controls & immersion that you don't get in the screen-based 2D versions.

5. Adventure Time: Short game but REALLY fun. They characters talk to you & involve you in the game, which I absolutely love.

6. Land's End: This is a really mellow experience game with some simple gaze puzzles. Think of it as VR yoga. It's neat because it puts you in a very surreal world, but your brain starts acclimating & thinking it's real, like when you go the edges of stuff like cliffs.

Other stuff to check out:

1. Oculus 360 Photos: 360 photos from all over the world. REALLY cool.

2. Oculus Video: Lets you watch a movie in an empty theater or on the moon. You can watch 2D or 3D movies. I bought Taken (2D), Shrek (2D), and The Martian (3D). The 3D effect wasn't very pronounced for me, and cartoons look better than film because you're using a cell phone screen with a magnifying glass in front of it.

3. Netflix: Lets you stream Netflix. If you stare up at the ceiling & click (iirc there's a chandelier or something) you can go into "void" mode, which (1) sets you in pitch darkness with just a screen, (2) lets you resize the screen (go from a 50" TV to a 120" projector screen to an IMAX-sized screen, it's basically just a floating video window), and (3) lets you recline in your chair or lay flat on your couch or bed and re-orient the video screen directly in front of you. Although personally I don't like watching movies because you can see the pixels of the screen, which gives it a strong screen-door effect & cuts out detail in the movies, which gives me eye fatigue & makes me tired. Fun to play with tho!

4. MilkVR: More 360 videos. I recommend The Interrogation, Sonar, and the hot air balloon one to start out with. The problem with 360 videos is that playing back a single 1080p screen is one thing, but 360 in HD is like a bazillion pixels, so most videos don't really look all that great. But it's fun to try a few out & some of them are actually really cool. I think these will be better on the computer-connected headsets where you can drive more data through them with bigger file sizes.

5. The Night Cafe: Go into a painting, super surreal. I always show this one off to people when they first try the GearVR.

6. GrooVR: Basically a 3D music visualizer. You start out floating down a river with sci-fi stuff floating around, lava streams blinking to the beat, etc. It's way cool if you want to chill & listen to some music. You can hook up your Spotify or SoundCloud account & also buy more visualizers.

7. VRSE: Has some neat VR art projects & video stories. Check out "Take Flight" as a neat demo of what VR can do.

8. theBluVR: Narrated underwater CGI experience. If you like this one, also check out Ocean Drift (lets you walk around by holding the touch button on the side of the headset).

There's a bunch of other stuff, but that's enough to get you started. There's also SideloadVR, and you can do stuff like play GTA or Crysis from your PC using a GeForce card, Gamestream, StreamTheather, and TriDef 3D, although the phone tends to overheat pretty quickly in the GearVR enclosure. Oh yeah, that's another thing to note - the phone sometimes overheats, especially if you're streaming stuff online for long periods of time, so be aware you may run into that issue from time to time. I've only had it happen maybe three times since I've gotten the GearVR tho.
 

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
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:D

thanks for that. have messed about with netflix and watching movies on mine (had to look for that lock option so there's no movement when using on a plane - just got back from italy). downside was it doesn't seem that you can use another video player so HEVC content doesn't play :(

i have used it to watch videos and photos i took with my ricoh theta S and it is quite cool

would you recommend watching a 3D movie on the gear vr or a 3d TV with powered glasses?
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
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That is an article-worthy post with lotsa information. Big kudos to Kaido.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
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Played with some of the games I got free for about an hour. Other than wanting a different input method it was rather fun.

Would like to see how it does with movie/tv.
 

tommo123

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2005
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re: sisters. i've seen it on the play store but it's for G cardboard only right? the oculus store online doesn't seem to have a way to remotely install something on the phone. do you really have to take your phone out of the case, put in VR kit, search for the game to install when you just want it to play later?
 

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,256
406
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I guess I haven't heard of GearVR until this thread. I watched a few videos on YouTube and I think I'm gonna pick it up since I got a S7 Edge recently. Man, for $99 it seems like it's worth the money.
 

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,256
406
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Well I did end up picking up the Gear VR. It's my first foray into VR and I'm very impressed, especially considering the $99 price point.

I finally got a controller in yesterday so I was able to try Minecraft VR. I was really disappointed until I saw you had to touch the touchpad to get into "Immersion Mode." Anyway, I was a little bummed that your character doesn't turn when you move your head (your view does, but you need the controller to rotate around). Is that because I chose "VR Controls" instead of "Classic?" I sure hope so; it would be perfect if turning your head turned the character. Even so, man, I'm really impressed with the Gear VR.

I think my biggest complaint so far is keeping the left and right lenses clear of dust, haha. It somehow manages to get on them and I've had trouble keeping them clear. But it doesn't detract too much from the experience.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Land's End is the game I use to show off VR to other people.

Also, check out Annie Amber. Same idea as Land's End (yoga-ish VR experience) but in space. You basically follow the life of a girl from birth to death through her physical history. There's one part where you're kind of floating over the rings on Saturn with music records floating out around, super trippy awesome :thumbsup:

http://pantumacabarcelona.com/portfolio/annie-amber/

Oh and definitely play it with headphones!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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:D

thanks for that. have messed about with netflix and watching movies on mine (had to look for that lock option so there's no movement when using on a plane - just got back from italy). downside was it doesn't seem that you can use another video player so HEVC content doesn't play :(

i have used it to watch videos and photos i took with my ricoh theta S and it is quite cool

would you recommend watching a 3D movie on the gear vr or a 3d TV with powered glasses?

The experience is far better on an HDTV with 3D glasses. That's due to the quality of the movie screen. The GearVR is just a magnifying glass in front of a Samsung cell phone. I've watched a few movies on it (The Martian 3D, Taken 2D, and one of the Shrek movies) and it's okay, but not great. I get fatigued from trying to see details & end up just seeing the pixels on the GearVR. On the flip side, although annoying to setup (3D HDTV + 3D cable + 3D player + 3D movie + 3D glasses), 3D movies on a 3D HDTV at home is actually excellent, quality is really really good these days. But the only things I've ever really liked are the made-for-3D movies like Avatar & Gravity, so I've never bothered going that route myself. Although my HT2050 projector has 3D capabilities...haven't messed with it yet tho!

Although VR movies are, of course, great on a GearVR because it's made for VR, so you can spin around with your head & body instead of dragging the video around with a mouse on a flat 2D monitor or television. My only grip with 360 movies & 3D-360 movies is the low quality on the GearVR, which I'm guessing is due to only having mobile processing power available.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
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Also, check out Annie Amber. Same idea as Land's End (yoga-ish VR experience) but in space. You basically follow the life of a girl from birth to death through her physical history. There's one part where you're kind of floating over the rings on Saturn with music records floating out around, super trippy awesome :thumbsup:

http://pantumacabarcelona.com/portfolio/annie-amber/

Oh and definitely play it with headphones!

Sweet thank you.

Yeah watching movies aren't optimal because the quality has to be low. All the videos I encoded for the Oculus Player are 720p or worse.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Well I did end up picking up the Gear VR. It's my first foray into VR and I'm very impressed, especially considering the $99 price point.

I finally got a controller in yesterday so I was able to try Minecraft VR. I was really disappointed until I saw you had to touch the touchpad to get into "Immersion Mode." Anyway, I was a little bummed that your character doesn't turn when you move your head (your view does, but you need the controller to rotate around). Is that because I chose "VR Controls" instead of "Classic?" I sure hope so; it would be perfect if turning your head turned the character. Even so, man, I'm really impressed with the Gear VR.

I think my biggest complaint so far is keeping the left and right lenses clear of dust, haha. It somehow manages to get on them and I've had trouble keeping them clear. But it doesn't detract too much from the experience.

Good news, you can do that! Go into Start > Options > VR > VR Controls and turn on "VR Controls". This lets you turn & steer simply by looking in a different direction with your head. They dial things down by default so you don't get sick right off the bat in VR. You basically have 2 turning controls:

1. Your head (VR Controls)
2. The right joystick (VR Turning)

Whereas VR Controls lets you use your head to turn, VR Turning uses snapturns by default (the turns where you click left or right instead of smoothly turning), which I think looks horrible, but the reason they do that is so that you don't get sick when running around like crazy in Minecraft. So disabling VR Turning lets you smoothly (and quickly) turn with the joystick, as well as turning with your head with VR Controls enabled (I like the combination of both). I recommend using a spinning chair (either an office chair or a drum throne) because turning off VR Turning & turning on VR Controls disconnects the physical motion of your body vs. the VR movement you see with your eyes & has caused simulator sickness is nearly every person I've tried it with. It's a really nasty feeling, so be aware of that.

Also, I have a Minecraft 101 guide up over on Reddit, I'd recommend reading through it for the basics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GearVR/comments/4gzonv/minecraft_101/

Make sure you turn on 3D, it looks so much better in 3D-360 than just 360. Also, double-tapping the left joystick forward lets you sprint, so you don't have to walk everywhere.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Yeah & I'm not sure how they're going to get around that. This 360 video goes all the way up to 8K & isn't necessarily the best quality you've ever seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdHaeBhT9Q

OK, here's a bit more information about data requirements:

http://www.360heros.com/2015/02/4k-vr-360-video-what-is-it-and-how-can-i-produce-it/

12K 360 video = 4K in 120-degree FOV (4096 pixels wide) = equirectangular image resolution is 12,288 x 6,144 pixels. For perspective, 2D 8K video is 7,680 x 4,320, which is 33.2 megapixels. So the data processing required to have 360 video actually look good is really really high. And really, you want 3D 8K 360 video for eyeball-resolution graphics; I don't even know if we have any hardware capable of processing that yet :awe:

We'll get there eventually though. NVIDIA has a 24-gig Quadro card out now. The new Pascal stuff is looking pretty insane. 8K televisions are in the works & 4K smartphone screens exist. For right now? 360 video on the GearVR looks like crap. That doesn't mean you can't have fun micro-experiences though...Sonar, the hot-air balloon ride, The Interrogation, etc. are all pretty awesome in 360 video, despite the resolution looking closer to 240p Youtube than anything near HD :D
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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re: sisters. i've seen it on the play store but it's for G cardboard only right? the oculus store online doesn't seem to have a way to remotely install something on the phone. do you really have to take your phone out of the case, put in VR kit, search for the game to install when you just want it to play later?

No, there's a VR store on the GearVR. Sisters has been in there since like December I think. I've got it on my phone (Note 5).
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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I think my biggest complaint so far is keeping the left and right lenses clear of dust, haha. It somehow manages to get on them and I've had trouble keeping them clear. But it doesn't detract too much from the experience.

I have a microfiber cloth in my GearVR carry bag (just one of those cheap Amazon camera bags). My current setup:

1. GearVR
2. Note 5
3. Huge battery bank & a couple long Micro-USB cables
4. Headphones
5. iPega Xbox-style Bluetooth gamepad
6. Microfiber cleaning cloth
7. Drum throne
8. Cheap camera bag to tote everything in

At some point, I'll be adding a Subpac subwoofer vest & padding cover for the GearVR (since I let a lot of people use it). There's a couple options out for overheating as well, including a large heatsink, so I may look into one of those in the future as I have had it overheat a few times so far.