General VR discussion thread

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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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The talk made me finally get my leap motion out and set it up. Pretty nifty.

Their VR integration (called Orion) is still very much in the beta stage, but at least they have a foundation in place, and it's SUPER COOL to use your fingers in VR! Especially for airplane stuff where controllers are hundreds of dollars & are fairly airplane-specific...no hardware investment required other than the Leap because you can use the virtual gloves to manipulate the cockpit controls. Also, the Leap is super cheap (relative to other VR costs, lol), so even if all you do is play Cut the Rope in 2D (which I highly recommend doing, it's like magic!), it's still worth it haha.
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
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I'm still trying to hold out for the GTX1080 Ti, although I'm testing this little Zotac EN1070 unit & it's really nice to have a compact machine. I'd love to get the EN1080 model, but not for $2,000:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856173143
The thing is a 1080 will run any game on the market that's going whole room. BUT there is a lot to be said for super sample AA: which can thereby consume as much graphical power as you want to throw at it.

I run most games at 2.5x
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
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The thing is a 1080 will run any game on the market that's going whole room. BUT there is a lot to be said for super sample AA: which can thereby consume as much graphical power as you want to throw at it.

I run most games at 2.5x

Yeah I'm just thinking for as much future-proofing as possible. But I'll probably end up with a WAF-friendly EN1070 or something. The laptop would be convenient for mobility, but more of a pain to operate in my tiny corner entertainment center (cords & lid-shut & whatnot).
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
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The thing is a 1080 will run any game on the market that's going whole room. BUT there is a lot to be said for super sample AA: which can thereby consume as much graphical power as you want to throw at it.

I run most games at 2.5x

Yeah was thinking more for future-proofing
 

Dr. Zaus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2008
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Yeah I'm just thinking for as much future-proofing as possible. But I'll probably end up with a WAF-friendly EN1070 or something. The laptop would be convenient for mobility, but more of a pain to operate in my tiny corner entertainment center (cords & lid-shut & whatnot).
Mobility is where the oculus wins!

If you can run 2x you should be able to run new games next-gen
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
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Yea, that is kind of an overstatement.....neither is a 'win' when it comes to mobility. People are MUCH more blown away at first with room scale than standing/sitting. Vive isn't any more difficult to deal with than Rift when it comes to mobility. The lighthouses are way more versatile than the 3 cameras needed to do the same thing.(mostly I'm annoyed by all the USB needed)
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
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Lighthouses easily mount to camera tripods. They can also be run off battery with the right adapters (can't say the same for the Oculus cameras). Quite mobile.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
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Amazing how you fanboys think that a power chord, let alone an extra adapter is more convenient than a single USB cable. J/K..but seriously guys.
(And of course you can mount the Rift cams on tripods..easily even)

-> And of course, the Rift gets you more chicks because it looks sexy and the Vive doesn't. ;)
 

funks

Golden Member
Nov 9, 2000
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I have a rift but my opinion is that it's easier to find a power plug near the lighthouse compared to running a USB cable for a third sensor.

In my case, I have tiles in my floor, no way for me to run that USB cable under a carpet and hide it. For a permanent install, running the cable across is a visual wart and most significant others won't want that in the living room.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
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Amazing how you fanboys think that a power chord, let alone an extra adapter is more convenient than a single USB cable. J/K..but seriously guys.

Power can come from a multitude of sources offering varying levels of convenience. USB cameras can only go back to one place: the host PC.

In my particular setup, if I had to run a USB cable around my room I'd be more than mildly annoyed. Instead, the lighthouse just plugs into the power plug right below it.
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
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I tried out my Daydream View today. In short, it's fairly good for what it is. The image is quite crisp, and it has pretty good optics. Very little SDE thanks to my Pixel XL. However, it is a phone experience and that means no translation at all. It's also weird not having access to an external camera. They did okay with the remote, but it too doesn't really measure anything other than rotation.

Overall I like it, but the only things it has on the Vive are PPI and mobility.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
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I assume no translation = no head tracking? I cannot even imagine VR without head tracking.
I am feeling already extremely limited without my Touch controls right now. Seems everything that comes out now in some way wants motion controllers. (This is a good thing of course, I just didn't buy mine yet :) )
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
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I assume no translation = no head tracking? I cannot even imagine VR without head tracking.
I am feeling already extremely limited without my Touch controls right now. Seems everything that comes out now in some way wants motion controllers. (This is a good thing of course, I just didn't buy mine yet :) )

It has head tracking in rotation but not translation. Rotation is just that: rotation of the head up, down, left, right, left tilt, right tilt. Translation is what happens when you step forward without rotating your head. That linear motion is translation.

As for controllers, if you had a Vive you would've had the complete package from the start.

I kid, I kid. But really.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
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As for controllers, if you had a Vive you would've had the complete package from the start.

I kid, I kid. But really.

Yes but also the "hassles" of setting up 4 lighthouses where I wouldn't even know WHERE to set a gaming area up...plus the initially higher price....plus the awkardish over-sized wands :)
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
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Yea, power is easy because you don't have to route cables back to the PC. It really isn't comparable. That and
Yes but also the "hassles" of setting up 4 lighthouses where I wouldn't even know WHERE to set a gaming area up...plus the initially higher price....plus the awkardish over-sized wands :)


2...not 4, and it would be the same area you are using now, and...wtf about the wands? really? no.
 

Sabrewings

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2015
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2...not 4, and it would be the same area you are using now, and...wtf about the wands? really? no.

Yeah, the Vive wands look awkward to the naked eye, but to the hand and in VR, they're great. Perfect for guns, lightsabres, etc. I know people complain about the grip buttons, but I find them quite useful.
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
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One thing I admit...and it's not even about "the cables".

It's the fact that USB3.0 on many chipsets or USB expansion cards is more than flaky. I have fortunately no issues but many do.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
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It's more than Oculus has been pretty lazy about drivers, but I am able to use my 2.0 ports for the Rift and it works fine 99% of the time. Even the Vive has issues with USB 3.0 as well. For some reason most cannot update the firmware in the 3.0, and have to use 2.0 ports.
 

WhiteNoise

Golden Member
Jun 22, 2016
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Been looking into this more and more lately. I have a dedicated cockpit for sim racing and flight. I use motion tracking for my head as it is with trackIR but I'm starting to think a VR headset is the way to go. The downside being I wouldn't be able to see all of the buttons when playing some flight and space games.

The Rift at this point gets my vote. I am very tempted to pick one up.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
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Been looking into this more and more lately. I have a dedicated cockpit for sim racing and flight. I use motion tracking for my head as it is with trackIR but I'm starting to think a VR headset is the way to go. The downside being I wouldn't be able to see all of the buttons when playing some flight and space games.

The Rift at this point gets my vote. I am very tempted to pick one up.

I would suggest if you know anyone nearby that has one, you give it a try first. Those type of games tend to give people pretty bad motion sickness. Some people are able to overcome it, but some can't.
 
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WhiteNoise

Golden Member
Jun 22, 2016
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Unfortunately i don't know anyone with VR. In fact non of my friends are into anything tech wise like myself. Most don't even own a PC or game console. So yeah this will be either something I try or not on my own.