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Nice thanks! I should probably pick one up for my GearVR because I share that a TON D:
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Price breakdown on my HTC Vive order:
Sub-Total: $799.00
Shipping: $32.95 (I selected 2-day instead of 3-8 days)
Tax: $52.83
Total: $884.78
I placed the order on Tuesday & it arrives Friday (so either ordered too late to ship by Thursday, or had a day of processing time, or stock is still coming in). Bonus, it comes with 3 games for free: (didn't realize it had a bundle deal with it, nice!)
1. Fantastic Contraption ($39.99)
2. Job Simulator ($29.99)
3. Tilt Brush ($29.99)
That's $100 worth of games for free, which is great because Tilt Brush & Job Simulator were on my Steam wishlist anyway & Fantastic Contraption looks pretty fun. VirZoom Arcade is free with my VirZoom bike. I'll probably pick up Holopoint, Hover Junkers, Final Approach, and Pool Nation VR as well. The upcoming Budget Cuts & Serious Sam VR are looking pretty cool. May give Audioshield & Battle Dome a try as well, and of course Elite Dangerous looks pretty cool.
As far as the gaming rig goes, I've decided to hold out for a GTX1070 laptop, probably for Christmas. For now, I'm mooching a buddy's gaming desktop while he's away. Man, this is not a cheap hobby to get into...
Sub-Total: $799.00
Shipping: $32.95 (I selected 2-day instead of 3-8 days)
Tax: $52.83
Total: $884.78
I placed the order on Tuesday & it arrives Friday (so either ordered too late to ship by Thursday, or had a day of processing time, or stock is still coming in). Bonus, it comes with 3 games for free: (didn't realize it had a bundle deal with it, nice!)
1. Fantastic Contraption ($39.99)
2. Job Simulator ($29.99)
3. Tilt Brush ($29.99)
That's $100 worth of games for free, which is great because Tilt Brush & Job Simulator were on my Steam wishlist anyway & Fantastic Contraption looks pretty fun. VirZoom Arcade is free with my VirZoom bike. I'll probably pick up Holopoint, Hover Junkers, Final Approach, and Pool Nation VR as well. The upcoming Budget Cuts & Serious Sam VR are looking pretty cool. May give Audioshield & Battle Dome a try as well, and of course Elite Dangerous looks pretty cool.
As far as the gaming rig goes, I've decided to hold out for a GTX1070 laptop, probably for Christmas. For now, I'm mooching a buddy's gaming desktop while he's away. Man, this is not a cheap hobby to get into...
Aikouka
Lifer
- Nov 27, 2001
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The biggest complaint about Holopoint is that if you play Valve's The Lab, you may get too used to Valve's bow and arrow game, and the bow physics are not the same. A friend of mine played The Lab first and then Holopoint, and he just didn't care for the latter.
I do own Hover Junkers and I tried it out a bit ago, and my biggest problem is that I wanted to get into the action quickly, but the menu is one of those "real world objects in front of you" sort of things, and I had no idea what did what. I just went to something else that propped up a normal menu in front of your face... and that game was one that isn't on your list, Space Pirate Trainer. That's a fun game that you should definitely try out. My friend had seen all those Brookhaven Experiment videos on YouTube, so that's the game that he wanted to try out first. In the end, he ended up liking Space Pirate Trainer the most.
The game that I thought was the most fun to watch was probably the arcade game in The Lab. It's sort of like a Japanese shmup, but you control the ship in 3D space by grabbing it with one of the controllers. It auto-fires, which simplifies that aspect, but it can get intense with lasers flying around from every which way.
EDIT:
The worst part about it is that they ship them in batches. So, mine won't even ship until the end of this month. I did consider getting the thinner, built-in ones, but since I wear glasses, that would probably not work out too well. Speaking of glasses, I have been tempted to get the VR lenses as you can add your prescription to them. The only bad part is that you'd have to remove them if someone else wants to use it.
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Yeah, they really need to partner up with Amazon or something and get them sold here in the US.
As far as games go... anyone pick up Raw Data today? Currently the top seller on Steam - 1st time that has happened for a VR game. Apparently all the hype was well placed, seems the game is in a league of its own. Not sure I'll get it tonight but I'll probably get it before the sale ends on the 21st.
Nvidia's VR Funhouse also came out today for those that want something free and have the horsepower to run it.
As far as games go... anyone pick up Raw Data today? Currently the top seller on Steam - 1st time that has happened for a VR game. Apparently all the hype was well placed, seems the game is in a league of its own. Not sure I'll get it tonight but I'll probably get it before the sale ends on the 21st.
Nvidia's VR Funhouse also came out today for those that want something free and have the horsepower to run it.
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Wow, Funhouse's graphics are pretty awesome! Anxious to give it a try!
Raw Data looks crazy!
Aikouka
Lifer
- Nov 27, 2001
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ViRGE
Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
- Oct 9, 1999
- 31,516
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- 106
Funhouse is a tech demo, so NVIDIA goes all out. It has a massive PhysX simulation and another massive audio simulation on top of the standard graphics requirements for VR.
- Feb 14, 2004
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Got my Vive setup tonight. First-blush thoughts:
1. Cables. Cables everywhere. So many of the cables. Haven't gotten my Subpac yet; I can't imagine what a wire mess it's going to be
2. The headset is surprisingly lightweight for being so big.
3. What makes this better than the GearVR is (1) computer rendering = far superior graphics = more immersive gameplay, and (2) the VR controllers (which are very accurate & have vibration) = really put you into the game. I'm really glad I didn't go with the Rift; the VR controllers is what sets this apart from GC & the GearVR for sure.
4. Did the tutorial with one of the little computer ball dudes from Portal. There's a part where you blow up balloons with the controllers & then can pop them with lasers...if you let them go, they just float up really high. Good quick showcase of how desktop computer rendering can improve VR.
5. Aside from the tutorial, I only had time to play with NVIDIA's Funhouse for a few minutes. WOW. The VR controls come surprisingly naturally...everything from the Micky Mouse hands to shooting arrows. The arrows mini-game was surprisingly well-done...it was actually very natural. Aside from the graphics improvement, the VR controllers is what makes all the difference.
6. I have it setup in an extremely limited space right now. You absolutely want to use roomscale with this. Do what you must to make room! Moving around, with great graphics, with VR controllers...it's just awesome!
7. My Vive lenses fogged up right away. Need to look into this. Although it is like 60% humid here right now.
8. The VR interface for Steam is surprisingly easy to use. Thought it would be more clunky. The VR controllers are so accurate (they shoot a laser beam at the menu items & then you click to select) that it's a piece of cake.
9. The screen didn't seem like an enormous improvement over say my Note 5 in the GearVR, but it was better for sure. I'll have to try out some video apps to see how those look, because that's where the pixels were most apparent in the Samsung.
Next, I need to setup my VirZoom bike & play a few more VR games, watch some movies, etc. I can see how the Subpac could really add another dimension (I previously had bass shakers in my HT couch & loved them, and when I moved, I bolted a couple to my gaming chair haha. Playing Fear was epic!). They need to get the wireless & battery stuff figured out for the HMD ASAP (including for the headphone audio). I'd also like to see an induction charging system for the headset & controllers once that happens. What might work for the wireless, for now, is having a mini-computer built into the headset with a battery & doing Steam streaming. But I know they're working on some high-speed video streaming stuff for VR so they'll probably skip straight to that. The backpack computers might be a hit until then though (they should design it to look like a Ghostbusters pack!).
I can see how an omni-treadmill like Virtuix has would be really excellent. My play area for roomscale was taken over, so I basically have a little more than standing room at the moment, and being able to put down something you could not only walk around in, but freely roam in say a game like Minecraft, would be awesome. That's one of the problems with the GearVR & VR in general, regarding simulator sickness...if you could let your body dictate the movements rather than a controller, that will go a long way to avoiding any feelings of nausea that go along with VR. Oh, and even tho my introduction to the Vive was brief, I didn't seem to get the same fatigue that I did from the GearVR. It's not anything heavy with the GearVR, but I suspect that the screens & 90FPS stuff are different enough that it helps to reduce eyestrain or whatever.
They did a really good job of making the system kid-friendly. Pop on the headset & headphones, hand them the motion controllers, and they figure it out in about ten seconds flat. The Funhouse game is a great introduction for children because the controllers are so simple & straightforward that they can jump right into it. I think this has huge potential for learning games...education in a room can be so boring; imagine doing it like they do from the library scenes in Star Wars with the Jedi kids, where stuff pops out at you in 3D & you can explore it & really be able to understand it because rather than just visualizing it, you can literally SEE it. For example, I have a really hard time with math visualization...I can visualize my art projects no problem, but give me numbers & after a couple lines mentally, it all just disappears. I can see this being huge for education.
I think, especially with room scale, that design projects will be enormous. Like if you're designing a car or an airplane, you can see if it's really big enough & see how things feel without having to even 3D-print a prototype. Or with houses, especially with roomscale & omni-treadmills, you can walk around your house design. IKEA already has a demo, which I think is a great introduction of what you could do with it...imagine having a catalog of stuff you can buy & being able to demo it before doing a new-home build or renovation. No more mentally imagining it & then being disappointed when it actually goes in! Basically like the IKEA scene from Fight Club:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exL51n3py6g
Oh yeah, as far as my desire for a laptop to make this portable...hahaha. This would be such a pain to go anywhere with. HMD + mega-cable coil. Two controllers + chargers. Two Lighthouses + power supplies. Laptop or computer/monitor/keyboard/mouse. Surge strip & extension cords for everything. The GearVR wins hands-down here. In fact, I really hope that VirZoom releases the games for the GearVR soon because it'd be soooooo much easier for cycling. I am currently undecided on a computer. I will probably end up with a GTX1070 laptop, but my original idea of the 380T with the handle wouldn't be bad either. Having a screen there to see what's going on inside the HMD is really handy when you have someone else (especially kids) playing, but I just don't think I'd be willing to pack everything up & go visit a friend's house with the full kit all that often because it'd be such a pain.
Anyway, it's super awesome, love it, definitely look forward to using it more! Have a whole slew of fun games lined up to play
1. Cables. Cables everywhere. So many of the cables. Haven't gotten my Subpac yet; I can't imagine what a wire mess it's going to be
2. The headset is surprisingly lightweight for being so big.
3. What makes this better than the GearVR is (1) computer rendering = far superior graphics = more immersive gameplay, and (2) the VR controllers (which are very accurate & have vibration) = really put you into the game. I'm really glad I didn't go with the Rift; the VR controllers is what sets this apart from GC & the GearVR for sure.
4. Did the tutorial with one of the little computer ball dudes from Portal. There's a part where you blow up balloons with the controllers & then can pop them with lasers...if you let them go, they just float up really high. Good quick showcase of how desktop computer rendering can improve VR.
5. Aside from the tutorial, I only had time to play with NVIDIA's Funhouse for a few minutes. WOW. The VR controls come surprisingly naturally...everything from the Micky Mouse hands to shooting arrows. The arrows mini-game was surprisingly well-done...it was actually very natural. Aside from the graphics improvement, the VR controllers is what makes all the difference.
6. I have it setup in an extremely limited space right now. You absolutely want to use roomscale with this. Do what you must to make room! Moving around, with great graphics, with VR controllers...it's just awesome!
7. My Vive lenses fogged up right away. Need to look into this. Although it is like 60% humid here right now.
8. The VR interface for Steam is surprisingly easy to use. Thought it would be more clunky. The VR controllers are so accurate (they shoot a laser beam at the menu items & then you click to select) that it's a piece of cake.
9. The screen didn't seem like an enormous improvement over say my Note 5 in the GearVR, but it was better for sure. I'll have to try out some video apps to see how those look, because that's where the pixels were most apparent in the Samsung.
Next, I need to setup my VirZoom bike & play a few more VR games, watch some movies, etc. I can see how the Subpac could really add another dimension (I previously had bass shakers in my HT couch & loved them, and when I moved, I bolted a couple to my gaming chair haha. Playing Fear was epic!). They need to get the wireless & battery stuff figured out for the HMD ASAP (including for the headphone audio). I'd also like to see an induction charging system for the headset & controllers once that happens. What might work for the wireless, for now, is having a mini-computer built into the headset with a battery & doing Steam streaming. But I know they're working on some high-speed video streaming stuff for VR so they'll probably skip straight to that. The backpack computers might be a hit until then though (they should design it to look like a Ghostbusters pack!).
I can see how an omni-treadmill like Virtuix has would be really excellent. My play area for roomscale was taken over, so I basically have a little more than standing room at the moment, and being able to put down something you could not only walk around in, but freely roam in say a game like Minecraft, would be awesome. That's one of the problems with the GearVR & VR in general, regarding simulator sickness...if you could let your body dictate the movements rather than a controller, that will go a long way to avoiding any feelings of nausea that go along with VR. Oh, and even tho my introduction to the Vive was brief, I didn't seem to get the same fatigue that I did from the GearVR. It's not anything heavy with the GearVR, but I suspect that the screens & 90FPS stuff are different enough that it helps to reduce eyestrain or whatever.
They did a really good job of making the system kid-friendly. Pop on the headset & headphones, hand them the motion controllers, and they figure it out in about ten seconds flat. The Funhouse game is a great introduction for children because the controllers are so simple & straightforward that they can jump right into it. I think this has huge potential for learning games...education in a room can be so boring; imagine doing it like they do from the library scenes in Star Wars with the Jedi kids, where stuff pops out at you in 3D & you can explore it & really be able to understand it because rather than just visualizing it, you can literally SEE it. For example, I have a really hard time with math visualization...I can visualize my art projects no problem, but give me numbers & after a couple lines mentally, it all just disappears. I can see this being huge for education.
I think, especially with room scale, that design projects will be enormous. Like if you're designing a car or an airplane, you can see if it's really big enough & see how things feel without having to even 3D-print a prototype. Or with houses, especially with roomscale & omni-treadmills, you can walk around your house design. IKEA already has a demo, which I think is a great introduction of what you could do with it...imagine having a catalog of stuff you can buy & being able to demo it before doing a new-home build or renovation. No more mentally imagining it & then being disappointed when it actually goes in! Basically like the IKEA scene from Fight Club:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exL51n3py6g
Oh yeah, as far as my desire for a laptop to make this portable...hahaha. This would be such a pain to go anywhere with. HMD + mega-cable coil. Two controllers + chargers. Two Lighthouses + power supplies. Laptop or computer/monitor/keyboard/mouse. Surge strip & extension cords for everything. The GearVR wins hands-down here. In fact, I really hope that VirZoom releases the games for the GearVR soon because it'd be soooooo much easier for cycling. I am currently undecided on a computer. I will probably end up with a GTX1070 laptop, but my original idea of the 380T with the handle wouldn't be bad either. Having a screen there to see what's going on inside the HMD is really handy when you have someone else (especially kids) playing, but I just don't think I'd be willing to pack everything up & go visit a friend's house with the full kit all that often because it'd be such a pain.
Anyway, it's super awesome, love it, definitely look forward to using it more! Have a whole slew of fun games lined up to play
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A few more notes:
1. Had family swing by. Older members had no problem playing it. It's far more accurate than the Wii; it was kind of funny to see older people NOT struggling with technology.
2. My wife is very sensitive to 3D & VR. The GearVR makes her super sick. Absolutely zero nausea with the 90fps Vive. Even modern 3D movies with the polarized lenses gives her migraines, but HTC nailed it here.
3. Tilt Brush OH MY GOSH. I originally got into computers through art (airbrushing to Wacom tablets to CGI to upgrading my computer to make it render faster to the nerd I am today). Drawing in 3D has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I got a relative one of those 3D doodle pens for Christmas, which is getting close to the idea, but having a full array of brushes, colors, sizes, and being able to move around in 3D space was just incredible. Unfortunately the screenshots look like garbage so I won't post any, it's just not the same when you're not walking around it in 3D, but oh man - SO AMAZING!!! If I had the free time, I could literally spend hours plugged into it every day. I can't wait until they merge stuff like Corel Painter & Google Sketchup into a VR environment. Some people over on Reddit are already working on Unity VR for gaming...the future holds amazing stuff!
1. Had family swing by. Older members had no problem playing it. It's far more accurate than the Wii; it was kind of funny to see older people NOT struggling with technology.
2. My wife is very sensitive to 3D & VR. The GearVR makes her super sick. Absolutely zero nausea with the 90fps Vive. Even modern 3D movies with the polarized lenses gives her migraines, but HTC nailed it here.
3. Tilt Brush OH MY GOSH. I originally got into computers through art (airbrushing to Wacom tablets to CGI to upgrading my computer to make it render faster to the nerd I am today). Drawing in 3D has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I got a relative one of those 3D doodle pens for Christmas, which is getting close to the idea, but having a full array of brushes, colors, sizes, and being able to move around in 3D space was just incredible. Unfortunately the screenshots look like garbage so I won't post any, it's just not the same when you're not walking around it in 3D, but oh man - SO AMAZING!!! If I had the free time, I could literally spend hours plugged into it every day. I can't wait until they merge stuff like Corel Painter & Google Sketchup into a VR environment. Some people over on Reddit are already working on Unity VR for gaming...the future holds amazing stuff!
Aikouka
Lifer
- Nov 27, 2001
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I don't think being portable would be too bad, but the hardest part is that you don't get a carrying case out of the box (unlike with the Rift) and you really need to use tripods for the Lighthouses so you can move them around easily. I think I saw some people just getting some Pelican cases for the Vive, and I believe they even used the Vive's original foam packaging to go inside the Pelican case.
What might be pretty awesome is if you live in a not-so-humid/hot place, and you could do Vive demonstrations outside. You could get one of those tents, and setup a Lighthouse on two of the support poles while creating some rig for the main cable that goes to the top... or just mount some PC to the top.
As for the lenses, I haven't really had an issue with the lenses fogging up, but I do have issues with my glasses gunking up. It's the same reason why I can't wear contacts as they get too much protein build-up.
Although, I did cringe when my friend used my Vive and took a paper towel to the inside lenses. Fortunately, it was a Viva paper towel, which is pretty darn soft, but I would have strongly preferred a microfiber cloth for the difficult-to-replace lenses in my $800 headset.
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Yeah, you'd just need something like a golf bag with wheels & some foam to pack everything in. If you have the room & a carryable case, it wouldn't be too bad. I could see this being fun for all sorts of stuff, from Boy Scout activities to weddings to family holidays.I don't think being portable would be too bad, but the hardest part is that you don't get a carrying case out of the box (unlike with the Rift) and you really need to use tripods for the Lighthouses so you can move them around easily. I think I saw some people just getting some Pelican cases for the Vive, and I believe they even used the Vive's original foam packaging to go inside the Pelican case.
What might be pretty awesome is if you live in a not-so-humid/hot place, and you could do Vive demonstrations outside. You could get one of those tents, and setup a Lighthouse on two of the support poles while creating some rig for the main cable that goes to the top... or just mount some PC to the top.
As for the lenses, I haven't really had an issue with the lenses fogging up, but I do have issues with my glasses gunking up. It's the same reason why I can't wear contacts as they get too much protein build-up.
That's odd, my Vive came with a microfiber cleaning cloth (sealed in a plastic bag from the factory!). And yeah, I was only introduced to Viva paper towels last year, but they are amazing! They are like shop towels for your kitchen! No other brand is even close.
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Got the VirZoom setup. Quick thoughts over in H&F:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2480499
Setup review:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4tchsa/just_got_my_virzoom_holy_crap/
In a nutshell: if you hate exercise but want to exercise, BUY THIS THING!
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2480499
Setup review:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4tchsa/just_got_my_virzoom_holy_crap/
In a nutshell: if you hate exercise but want to exercise, BUY THIS THING!
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I ordered the waterproof cover since I get pretty sweating using the VirZoom bike. Doesn't ship until next month but I'll report back!
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My family has been having a blast with Funhouse. The graphics are borderline ultra-realistic (the Mickey Mouse hands kind of break up the mirage tho haha). For those wondering, there are 8 mini-games; it's just like being at a carnival:
1. Throwing Game: (I don't know what the official name of this game is) You have baseballs, soccer balls, a baseball bat, and an Acme-sized mallet to throw at stuff on a shelf to break them & knock them off. The physics are crazy accurate. Be careful of the Wiimote effect (some players will want to throw your VR controller across the room!). Sometimes a ball will fall on the floor & roll and you'll have to bend down & pick it up...really highlights the Vive's tracking capabilities.
2. Clown Painter: You have two squirt guns filled with what looks like Nickelodeon's green slime. The guns run out & refill, so you have to use both to keep the pace. You basically squirt the goo in the clown's mouths, which then fills up a water balloon that pops over their heads. The game isn't really very fun, but the fluid simulation is extremely impressive - make sure you try spraying the green stuff all over the floor & other stuff in the room just to see how the fluid dynamics react!
3. Fire Archer: One of my favorite games. I don't know how they managed to make this feel so fluid & natural, but after your first few arrows, it's no problem at all. You use one remote to pick up & cock the arrow & the other acts as your bow. After you pick up the arrow, you turn to the other side to light it on fire, and then shoot it at a target. Again, the physics are great. It gets especially hard because there are some far-away moving targets, so you have to figure out the arch in order to hit them.
4. Balloon Knight: You have a pair of swords & have to pop confetti-filled balloons that continually fill up out of the valves all around you. This is one of those things that sounds super dumb to any regular gamer, until you've played it in VR. You can use your swords to swirl the air around & make the confetti go flying everywhere. You can poke, slash, and otherwise pop the balloons however you want. More & more balloons & confetti appear as the pace picks up. Kids love this one!
5. Whack-a-Mole: This is one of the most realistic games because you're standing directly in front of it. Thanks to the vibration motors in the remotes, it really does feel like you're whacking moles! One of my fears with VR was that you'd run into issues with feedback, especially with graphical clipping, but it's completely a non-issue thanks to the high-quality graphics, motion-tracking accuracy, and motor vibration.
6. Mole Boxing: Your remotes turn into boxing gloves. Fairly realistic but also oddly creepy. The hair rendering is absolutely fantastic tho.
7. Shooting Gallery: You have two guns & a bunch of stuff to shoot (don't forget the top row!), including a spinning arm wheel with plates on it. The sound & destruction graphics are what makes this game.
8. Canon Skeet: This is one of my favorite games. You have a pair of guns & a canon shoots tableware at you, skeet-shooting style. The pace picks up as time goes on & the smoke effects really add to the fun.
Some visuals here:
http://techgage.com/article/nvidias-vr-funhouse-is-a-skeet-shootin-mole-whackin-clown-paintin-good-time/
The graphics & rendering features are discussed here:
http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/nvidia-vr-funhouse-released-download-for-free
I can imagine a future where this is the norm for VR. I can't remember what book series it was, maybe Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers, but there was a teen book series set in the future where people plugged into the Internet via VR through an implant & that's how people experienced a lot of stuff. There was so much build-out that you could go & virtually do anything you wanted. With how good NVIDIA's Funhouse is, I can see the future of the VR Internet to be like that...visit a web "site" & pay to do certain things like play vintage arcades, or go to a fair, or ride a rollercoaster. This would have to be in a future where we have a lot more bandwidth for streaming these experiences (as they currently require multiple gigs to download) & graphics hardware is improved (the app called my GTX980 Ti a "low-end" card lol), but I could see that happening in the future!
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I had fun with the shooting games in the funhouse yesterday - I'm trying to figure out if the guns were 100% accurate or helping some by registering hits that were simply close enough. I'm a naturally accurate shooter IRL but most games don't reflect that because they artificially add inaccuracy to the game (like weapon sway and what not).
I had to order an Inateck USB card because my USB ports on my Z170-A were starting to cause my Vive troubles with the controllers floating away. Since this corresponded with some updates on the Steam side and driver side I figured this was the easy route to go instead of trying to narrow down which caused the problem knowing there probably wasn't much fixing it anyway. On the other side I also covered every reflective surface in my living room with either blue shop towels or bed sheets lol. The things we do for VR.
I also went ahead and ordered some of those 6mm replacement pads - 1 because they'll help make my Vive a bit clearer and 2 since I demo it enough it'll be nice to just wipe the leather off and hand it to the next person. They claim to ship on the 22nd, we'll see. I'm an incredibly patient person - until it comes to something being shipped to me.
I had to order an Inateck USB card because my USB ports on my Z170-A were starting to cause my Vive troubles with the controllers floating away. Since this corresponded with some updates on the Steam side and driver side I figured this was the easy route to go instead of trying to narrow down which caused the problem knowing there probably wasn't much fixing it anyway. On the other side I also covered every reflective surface in my living room with either blue shop towels or bed sheets lol. The things we do for VR.
I also went ahead and ordered some of those 6mm replacement pads - 1 because they'll help make my Vive a bit clearer and 2 since I demo it enough it'll be nice to just wipe the leather off and hand it to the next person. They claim to ship on the 22nd, we'll see. I'm an incredibly patient person - until it comes to something being shipped to me.
blurredvision
Lifer
- Oct 19, 2000
- 17,861
- 3
- 81
I appreciate the thread here, lots of good info. I ordered a Rift and 1070 card today, both will be here Thursday, so I'm trying to get caught up on everything VR. This is an amazing time for me, as I remember reading about the upcoming VR headset revolution in a videogame magazine in the mid-to-late 90s. That obviously didn't happen. I thought it was PC Gamer but in looking through some thumbnails of their covers, I didn't spot the cover that's etched into my mind. I must have read through that VR article a dozen times. This is literally a childhood dream coming true for me.
I chose the Rift because of a few different things. First was price. I knew I needed a video card to go with a VR headset purchase so $200 was quite the difference maker. I don't really feel that I'm getting the lesser deal, either, since the difference in price seems to obviously be the controllers. When Oculus Touch comes out, I'll have the funds to purchase.
I also chose the Rift because I just don't have the room for the room VR. With 2 young kids in a small 3 bedroom house, my computer sits in the dining room tucked into the corner. The dining table is right behind me, so even if I wanted to move around, I can't. Maybe one day I'll have a bigger house and there will be many more options on the VR market to upgrade to.
I will admit that it's very slightly concerning to see that Oculus has fell so hard from the good graces of the internet community but it sounds like maybe they're aware, so hopefully they right any wrongs.
So one question for you guys that I haven't really seen an answer to...what is the must have game? To me this is like a new console purchase, I'll be picking up a couple of games and want to know what's worth my money. I've heard of the big ones like Eve Valkyrie and Dirt Rally. Any others that are fun with the controller or keyboard?
I thought it was PC Gamer but in looking through some thumbnails of their covers, I didn't spot the cover that's etched into my mind. I must have read through that VR article a dozen times. This is literally a childhood dream coming true for me.I chose the Rift because of a few different things. First was price. I knew I needed a video card to go with a VR headset purchase so $200 was quite the difference maker. I don't really feel that I'm getting the lesser deal, either, since the difference in price seems to obviously be the controllers. When Oculus Touch comes out, I'll have the funds to purchase.
I also chose the Rift because I just don't have the room for the room VR. With 2 young kids in a small 3 bedroom house, my computer sits in the dining room tucked into the corner. The dining table is right behind me, so even if I wanted to move around, I can't. Maybe one day I'll have a bigger house and there will be many more options on the VR market to upgrade to.
I will admit that it's very slightly concerning to see that Oculus has fell so hard from the good graces of the internet community but it sounds like maybe they're aware, so hopefully they right any wrongs.
So one question for you guys that I haven't really seen an answer to...what is the must have game? To me this is like a new console purchase, I'll be picking up a couple of games and want to know what's worth my money. I've heard of the big ones like Eve Valkyrie and Dirt Rally. Any others that are fun with the controller or keyboard?
- Feb 14, 2004
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Setup a temporary roomscale area tonight. My living room isn't even big enough! I had to cheat when drawing the lines lol. I do notice the pixels sometimes, not as much as my GearVR, but the resolution & more important the tracking accuracy kind of make you ignore them. Games are driven by high-quality graphics & look great, and the combination of 90hz & hyper-accurate motion tracking almost immediately tricks your brain into immersion. I really can't wait until we get 4K & eventually 8K screens, it will be bananas with how good things look in VR!
Played a couple games tonight & bought a handful of others, so those should keep me busy for awhile. Initial thoughts:
1. Trials of Tatooine: This is a very short but cool demo of what can be done in VR. It's only a few minutes long...you're standing out in the desert, the Falcon flies in & blasts some bad guys, you fix one of the landing gear thingies, and then the best part, you get a lightsaber & get to deflect blaster bolts! The bolts come a little slower than lightspeed, so you have a brief moment to position yourself to hit them, which is really nice. One thing I never thought about, as a Star Wars fan, is how dang bright the lightsaber is in front of you! It's like waving around a lit-up florescent tube in front of your eyeballs! It's entirely too short, but it is awesome & I would love to play a full-on SW games in VR for sure!
2. Raw Data: Kind of a horror action-scifi game. It's in Early Access right now (and still $32 even with 20% off), but it's really really cool! The opening training sequence is crazy...you have hands & forearms and for some weeeeeeird reason you feel like those are actually your fingers. That mind-body connection is pretty trippy! You get a couple weapons like a pistol & a sword and have to fight robots. Think of it as iRobot with Will Smith, except scary instead of just lightly-veiled scary. I ran out of free time & only got partway into the first level, but I was already working up a sweat ducking & dodging the attack robots.
Also, I don't know if Eden Corp's tour guide narrator is voiced by Jack McBrayer or not, but it sure sounds like Kenneth from 30 Rock to me! Oh yeah, and one interesting trick they use for getting around is teleportation, so you aim your glove at an area & then zap over to it - ZERO sim-sickness, it's a genius way to get around in the game. It also makes it tricky (in a good way) when fighting multiple robots, because if you're not thinking quick enough, you can land yourself in real trouble real fast when trying to escape situations quickly.
Played a couple games tonight & bought a handful of others, so those should keep me busy for awhile. Initial thoughts:
1. Trials of Tatooine: This is a very short but cool demo of what can be done in VR. It's only a few minutes long...you're standing out in the desert, the Falcon flies in & blasts some bad guys, you fix one of the landing gear thingies, and then the best part, you get a lightsaber & get to deflect blaster bolts! The bolts come a little slower than lightspeed, so you have a brief moment to position yourself to hit them, which is really nice. One thing I never thought about, as a Star Wars fan, is how dang bright the lightsaber is in front of you! It's like waving around a lit-up florescent tube in front of your eyeballs! It's entirely too short, but it is awesome & I would love to play a full-on SW games in VR for sure!
2. Raw Data: Kind of a horror action-scifi game. It's in Early Access right now (and still $32 even with 20% off), but it's really really cool! The opening training sequence is crazy...you have hands & forearms and for some weeeeeeird reason you feel like those are actually your fingers. That mind-body connection is pretty trippy! You get a couple weapons like a pistol & a sword and have to fight robots. Think of it as iRobot with Will Smith, except scary instead of just lightly-veiled scary. I ran out of free time & only got partway into the first level, but I was already working up a sweat ducking & dodging the attack robots.
Also, I don't know if Eden Corp's tour guide narrator is voiced by Jack McBrayer or not, but it sure sounds like Kenneth from 30 Rock to me! Oh yeah, and one interesting trick they use for getting around is teleportation, so you aim your glove at an area & then zap over to it - ZERO sim-sickness, it's a genius way to get around in the game. It also makes it tricky (in a good way) when fighting multiple robots, because if you're not thinking quick enough, you can land yourself in real trouble real fast when trying to escape situations quickly.
ImpulsE69
Lifer
- Jan 8, 2010
- 14,793
- 828
- 126
Teleportation is a hot topic. MANY people hate it. I prefer it at this point because any sort of control movement or automated movement makes me sick :/
My understanding is though that Raw Data does it slightly differently than everyone else with a kind of blurry run action that makes it less jarring that normal teleportation.
My understanding is though that Raw Data does it slightly differently than everyone else with a kind of blurry run action that makes it less jarring that normal teleportation.
Aikouka
Lifer
- Nov 27, 2001
- 30,186
- 754
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I think that's kind of the hard question as there really isn't one that I can think of, and the problem is that some answers that you get may be roomscale games, which you can't do. For example, my friend loved Space Pirate Trainer the most, but I think that one requires at least a standing VR setup. (You don't actually need roomscale for a good number of games as standing is allowed.)
Eve Valykrie and such can be fun, but I wonder if the people getting the most fun out of those are the ones that really want to play a game like that (and possibly have a full-on realistic controller setup), and not someone just looking for a game to play.
Ultimately, the biggest knock that I can give VR is that most games don't feel a lot like games. They'll remind you more of mobile games with their simplistic gameplay. It doesn't mean that they aren't fun, but if you're looking for some engrossing, AAA-style game, you may not find it.
EDIT:
I can definitely understand why people don't like teleporting, as it can feel rather awkward at first. I mean... you're in this world and walking around, but at a certain point, you have to point at another spot on the floor and warp. It definitely feels a bit disjointed, but unfortunately, we're trying to emulate vast worlds in small 1.5m x 1.5m to 3m x 3m setups. :\ I think that once you get used to teleportation, it becomes fairly second nature to do it. The most important thing that developers need to keep in mind is to avoid requiring quick teleporting as part of the gameplay. I think that would end up being a bit too much for some.
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Not sure if I mentioned it in here yet or not but one game to keep an eye out for (especially if you don't like teleporting) is Onward. I believe it uses the touchpad for movement instead.
I guess we're already moving from Pong to Quake as far as VR goes? And it didn't take 24 years.
Edit: And the Rec Room Paintball update is out - if you haven't played Rec Room yet wtf are you waiting for?
I guess we're already moving from Pong to Quake as far as VR goes? And it didn't take 24 years.
Edit: And the Rec Room Paintball update is out - if you haven't played Rec Room yet wtf are you waiting for?
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- Feb 14, 2004
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You know, I am really enjoying VR so far. The last thing I got really excited about was Hackintosh, which was years ago, and now that's gotten to the point where it's almost easier than installing a real Mac. Smartphones have pretty much peaked too...I'm still on my iPhone 5S, never bothered to upgrade. VR has been a nice (albeit pricey) change of pace!
- Feb 14, 2004
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I had no problem with Raw Data's teleportation, which was surprising because I thought it WOULD be jarring. I suspect it has to do with the blink effect in film, when they cut to new scenes...for some reason it doesn't really bother us.
ImpulsE69
Lifer
- Jan 8, 2010
- 14,793
- 828
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I guess I didn't explain it well. Most people are saying they like Raw Data's way of doing it because it is less jarring than normal teleportation.
I haven't tried it yet. I have a backlog of VR games I haven't messed with yet.
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