General VR discussion thread

[clamum]

Dude it's funny, I've been in the same boat lately. I've discovered that VR does require motivation to use. Flopping onto a couch to watch TV or into a chair to surf the web is one thing, but putting on the headset, firing up Steam VR, getting the controllers ready, the headset adjusted, etc...even though VR is awesome, some days it just presents too much mental friction to use. Honestly it's even felt a tiny bit like that mental hurdle you encounter when you walk through the garage, realize you really need to clean out the garage, and walk back in the house and do something else to kind of avoid it lol.

I do think VR will take off...eventually. They need to get rid of SDE & go Retina. They need to go wireless. They need to make setup less of a hassle...figure out an easier way to do Lighthouses or else dump them completely & switch to really accurate accelerometers & something like Leap Motion sensors for your fingers. Maybe a unified wireless charging station for all of the accessories. I would love to play with family & friends, but no one wants to (1) buy an expensive gaming computer, (2) buy an expensive VR setup with a pricey yet limited library of games/experiences, and (3) have to go through setting up the room with Lighthouse installation, have a cord draped across the floor, etc.

Like, I think VR exercise has the potential to be huge, but they need to iron out the details first. The price for sure...too expensive right now for anything but interested enthusiasts. I don't regret getting my Vive at all, but I've had a hard time talking anyone IRL into actually getting one.

Agreed on all points (geniuses tend to think alike). It does require some motivation to use so mine hasn't gotten a lot of use, although like you I do not regret buying it. It's a pretty great system (the Vive) and I'm confident VR will take off and be huge, ala "Ready Player One." We're just in the infancy of it now.

 

[RockinZ28]

the resolution isn't the problem it's aliasing - it takes a very strong video card, but if you can do super-sample anti-aliasing you can effectively increase the experienced resolution of your VR experience to something I would call "worth playing".

Hopefully the 1080Ti can do that then. I've only tried Cardboard and GearVR, and the apparent low res at that viewing distance was very bothersome.

Still just buying this mainly as a demo to play with for a bit and see how cool VR is, until things hopefully mature some more, 4k+ res, wireless headset etc. Then I can justify paying big $$$.

 

[Aikouka]

Hopefully the 1080Ti can do that then. I've only tried Cardboard and GearVR, and the apparent low res at that viewing distance was very bothersome.

Still just buying this mainly as a demo to play with for a bit and see how cool VR is, until things hopefully mature some more, 4k+ res, wireless headset etc. Then I can justify paying big $$$.

I never really had an issue when I was running my Vive with a 980 Ti. Most games aren't that graphically intensive. In fact, I'd say the best games to play are usually either made with lower fidelity graphics or use a more cartoony aesthetic to keep the requirements down.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Honestly the ones who complain about all of that are not the audience. They want perfect photo realism, and somehow they don't get that even normal gaming is far from that. None of the graphical fidelity has ever bothered me. What bothers me is the radial curves, the god rays, the heat (didn't really notice it until summer got here), the cables, judder, punching objects outside of VR...etc.

Speaking of which ,watch this Steam Release trailer of Gorn....it is me so much...

 

[Craig234]

Darn guys, not a lot of discussion about the $400 Rift sale.

From the bit I looked at I'd been leaning Vive when it goes on a good sale or 2.0, but this Rift+touch for $370 (w/AMEX deal) is awfully tempting.

 

[Kaido]

Darn guys, not a lot of discussion about the $400 Rift sale.

From the bit I looked at I'd been leaning Vive when it goes on a good sale or 2.0, but this Rift+touch for $370 (w/AMEX deal) is awfully tempting.

A good comment on the Rift deal:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comme..._medium=front&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=Vive

Seems like an awesome deal. Probably not being discussed much because most of us already have HMD's already. Join the club!!

 

[Kaido]

Apparently I completely spaced Google Blocks, has anyone used this yet??

https://vr.google.com/blocks/

Ties in with TiltBrush, NICE!

 

[Kaido]

Lone Echo looks siiiiiiiiick!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/6mhbn3/lone_echo_launch_trailer_will_work_with_revive/

Apparently works with Revive!

 

[sze5003]

I ordered the rift bundle from Amazon this morning for $399. Just saw this and noticed they have Doom 3 in VR???

Oh man that's going to freak me out. It would be cool if I could use the headset with the PS4 to play resident evil 7 but it doesn't have that compatibility.

I'll most likely be using it for my A-10C flight simulator.

Amazon also included a $100 gift card. Couldn't pass it up at that point.

 

[Pheran]

I ordered the rift bundle from Amazon this morning for $399. Just saw this and noticed they have Doom 3 in VR???

Oh man that's going to freak me out. It would be cool if I could use the headset with the PS4 to play resident evil 7 but it doesn't have that compatibility.

I'll most likely be using it for my A-10C flight simulator.

Amazon also included a $100 gift card. Couldn't pass it up at that point.

I'm pissed off that I missed this sale, saw it on SD this morning but by then it was too late - OOS. Damn you Amazon for releasing this stuff at 3 AM!

 

[sze5003]

I'm pissed off that I missed this sale, saw it on SD this morning but by then it was too late - OOS. Damn you Amazon for releasing this stuff at 3 AM!

To be honest I would have missed it too. I have no idea why I woke up randomly at 5am today and when trying to fall back to sleep, couldn't. Was messing on my phone when I saw it pop up.

It was still in stock until like 8:20 am eastern time. I hit purchase right before leaving for work and I think I got one of the last ones.

Told a coworker at work about it and when he tried the link it was no longer available.

There is still the $399 motion bundle without the gift card.

 

[RockinZ28]

Used mine a decent amount the last couple days. Definitely a lot of fun. Racing games are amazing, should get my G29 tomorrow . Haven't received my Touch yet either, expecting that to be pretty badass.

Like I thought tho, resolution is painfully low. I'd be happy with something that's equivalent to 1080p, right now it reminds me of an old 800x600 CRT. So if they can double the res for generation 2 on Vive, I'd probably pre-order that regardless of cost.

 

[Kaido]

Used mine a decent amount the last couple days. Definitely a lot of fun. Racing games are amazing, should get my G29 tomorrow . Haven't received my Touch yet either, expecting that to be pretty badass.

Like I thought tho, resolution is painfully low. I'd be happy with something that's equivalent to 1080p, right now it reminds me of an old 800x600 CRT. So if they can double the res for generation 2 on Vive, I'd probably pre-order that regardless of cost.

Yeah, when QuiVR changed from Alpha to Early Access, the graphics got more detailed but the enemies also got further away (depending on the portal spot), and because of the low resolution, it makes them kind of hard to see in detail.

I would love to have a Retina-quality VR HMD, especially for stuff like remote desktop...

 

[RockinZ28]

Yeah, when QuiVR changed from Alpha to Early Access, the graphics got more detailed but the enemies also got further away (depending on the portal spot), and because of the low resolution, it makes them kind of hard to see in detail.

I would love to have a Retina-quality VR HMD, especially for stuff like remote desktop...

Yeah stuff up closer to you looks decent enough, other than text, especially with a darker scene.

Hides the SDE more. If there was 0 space between pixels it would be a whole lot better.

 

[UberNeuman]

Okay. I jumped in with the 399 Rift deal. Any advice for a newbie, things to deal with, games to check out, old games that can be played with the system?

 

[sze5003]

Okay. I jumped in with the 399 Rift deal. Any advice for a newbie, things to deal with, games to check out, old games that can be played with the system?

I hear Arizona sunshine is very good. It also comes with 7 free games upon setup or so I hear. There is a robot game that I forget the name of.

If you plan on using for sims like flight or racing you should turn the pixel density to 1.5. It will help clear things up such as dials and switches in a cockpit for example. You may need to mess with the settings of the game to get the best visual quality and performance.

 

[RockinZ28]

Ok got my G29 set up. Pretty amazing, first sense of it feeling kinda real. My setup sucks ass tho, clamping it to my desk with the pedals on the floor is hopeless. Sold my G27 + Playseat earlier this year when I moved.

Think I'm going to order this: https://www.mainperformancepc.com/product/obutto-gaming-cockpits/obutto-ozone-gaming-cockpit/

 

[Dr. Zaus]

I hear Arizona sunshine is very good. It also comes with 7 free games upon setup or so I hear. There is a robot game that I forget the name of.

If you plan on using for sims like flight or racing you should turn the pixel density to 1.5. It will help clear things up such as dials and switches in a cockpit for example. You may need to mess with the settings of the game to get the best visual quality and performance.

I don't have a rift, but it's vital you experiment with supersampling anti aliasing

 

[sze5003]

I don't have a rift, but it's vital you experiment with supersampling anti aliasing

Yea I notice that the flight simulator I'm using has the option to set the pixel density within the options section. Although overriding it though the SDK would make it so for everything. I will attempt both methods when mine arrives. I just hope overriding it in the SDK does not have adverse effects.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Yea I notice that the flight simulator I'm using has the option to set the pixel density within the options section. Although overriding it though the SDK would make it so for everything. I will attempt both methods when mine arrives. I just hope overriding it in the SDK does not have adverse effects.

Let us know - I don't know which one takes precedence, and I haven't studied the Rift. I just know that SSAA transformed my experience in the vive from "I hope they fix the resolution some day" to "oh, this is what I was hoping for when I ordered this".

 

[sze5003]

Let us know - I don't know which one takes precedence, and I haven't studied the Rift. I just know that SSAA transformed my experience in the vive from "I hope they fix the resolution some day" to "oh, this is what I was hoping for when I ordered this".

Yea I know what you mean. The A10 is the plane I fly and this guy goes through all the display settings for pixel density and compares them to each other as well as changing graphics options. 2.0 pd offers the best visual quality but there is noticeable head movement lag. Although not sure what he has in his rig. Even those with a 1080ti mentioned a pixel density of 2.5 will introduce lag.

But I think a lot of this can be tweaked if the app you are using is optimized for it correctly.

https://youtu.be/vYl7CLhxDxk

 

[RockinZ28]

Let us know - I don't know which one takes precedence, and I haven't studied the Rift. I just know that SSAA transformed my experience in the vive from "I hope they fix the resolution some day" to "oh, this is what I was hoping for when I ordered this".

I will try it with the dev tool later today. Thought I had set it with some other tool, and also in the Project Cars ini files but haven't noticed any improvement. Maybe need to just flip back and forth to see the difference.

Has been a huge pain in the ass trying to configure/use the Rift due to my 1080Ti only having a single HDMI out that my tv(monitor) also needs. Have a DP to HDMI adapter arriving today thankfully.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

I will try it with the dev tool later today. Thought I had set it with some other tool, and also in the Project Cars ini files but haven't noticed any improvement. Maybe need to just flip back and forth to see the difference.

Has been a huge pain in the ass trying to configure/use the Rift due to my 1080Ti only having a single HDMI out that my tv(monitor) also needs. Have a DP to HDMI adapter arriving today thankfully.

Cool.

It made the most noticeable difference to me when playing chair in a room - the pill bottle went from illegible to readable.

 

[slugg]

Is there a decent explanation of exactly what pixel density means in the context of the Rift?

Edit: never mind. It's just a scalar coefficient for the pre-warp texture (that is, before lens-corrective transformation and re projection) resolution. It doesn't affect the actual resolution within the Rift, but it may provide more data to interpolate from, so it may make some scenes more crisp. It seems to suffer greatly from diminishing return; we'd be better off with higher resolution HMDs.

 

[sze5003]

Is there a decent explanation of exactly what pixel density means in the context of the Rift?

I believe it increases the number of pixels displayed in the view which makes things a little clearer when it comes to reading and viewing instruments, dials, labels, etc.

Apparently 2.5 looks great but is not very playable in some games like the flight simulator I will be using it for. It takes a bug performance hit so most people use a range from 1.5-2.0 and lower some graphics settings like msaa and shadows to get smoother gameplay and better visuals on instruments.