technology Anyone into Virtual Reality?

[Azatrot 66]

Do anyone here own a VR-device, or intend to buy one? About one and a half year ago I brought an Oculus Rift DK2, and now more recently I have brought a Samsung Gear VR.

The DK2 was a nice and fun experience, but not something I would recommend to the average consumer (There is however a Ponyville game for it, so that's a big plus). Don't get me wrong: It was great, but not great enough. The consumer version of the Oculus Rift was however just released (but it's quite expensive and requires a beefy computer). From what I have heard, it is much better than the DK2.

The Gear VR however is something that I STRONGLY recommend if you have one of the required phones (Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S7 and one of the Notes (forgot which one)). I often use it to watch youtube-videos or movies in my own "portable cinema" (I'm sitting in an actual virtual cinema-theater) while sitting on the train to work (the other passengers probably think that I'm nuts). It's also possible to browse the internet with the Samsung Internet app (I could have written this through my gear VR, but it would admittedly be a bit tedious).

There are also some really good games for it. Like EVE: Gunjack (Being a stationary gunner in space), Smash Hit (A game about throwing balls at glass) and Ocean Rift (Swimming under the ocean. An excellent app to introduce friends and colleagues to VR).

I could gush about how much I like the Gear VR a whole lot more, but I would like to hear what you have to say: Do any of you plan to buy a VR-device? Have anyone tried the HTC Vive, the consumer Oculus Rift or the Playstation VR? Or even the Microsoft Hololens? Do you know any good apps for VR?

[Member Berry 1,217]

Certain video games make me feel sick :| Mostly first-person games. I'm worried that VR would give me virtual reality sickness:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_sickness

 

I think my boyfriend will get an Oculus Rift at one point so I will try his out before buying one. It'll probably make me vomit :/ 

[Phanact 333]

I would love to own one if they were readily available to people like me

[Azatrot 66]

Certain video games make me feel sick :| Mostly first-person games. I'm worried that VR would give me virtual reality sickness:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality_sickness

 

I think my boyfriend will get an Oculus Rift at one point so I will try his out before buying one. It'll probably make me vomit :/ 

I used to get a bit sick from the DK2, but not from the Gear VR. VR-sickness is something that they have been working on to prevent, but there are of course still no guarantees. So trying one out before buying it is probably a wise choice.

 

I would love to own one if they were readily available to people like me

The Gear VR is only 99$, but then you still need a compatiable phone, and those are all quite costly. Stationary VR is even more expensive. There is however a cheap alternative: Google Cardboard. It's compatiable with a lot of phones, and very cheap (I don't know the exact price, but I think it's somewhere around 10$). I haven't tried it myself, but I have heard that it have a quite decent quality. It's obviously not the best VR-headset (it's made of cardboard), but it is great as an introduction to VR for someone who wants to test the waters without spending a lot of money.

[Phanact 333]

The Gear VR is only 99$, but then you still need a compatiable phone, and those are all quite costly. Stationary VR is even more expensive. There is however a cheap alternative: Google Cardboard. It's compatiable with a lot of phones, and very cheap (I don't know the exact price, but I think it's somewhere around 10$). I haven't tried it myself, but I have heard that it have a quite decent quality. It's obviously not the best VR-headset (it's made of cardboard), but it is great as an introduction to VR for someone who wants to test the waters without spending a lot of money.

Its a cool idea, but yeah I don't think enough games are really ready for it yet.

 

I'm perfectly fine with the screens we have right now lol

[Azatrot 66]

Its a cool idea, but yeah I don't think enough games are really ready for it yet.

There are some good games, but still just small ones. The bigger titles hopefully comes later.

 

I'm perfectly fine with the screens we have right now lol

But they are so boring! When you have a screen attached to the front of your face you feel like an awesome cyborg! Especially when walking around with the passthrough-camera on. No ordinary screen can beat that.

[Jonny Music 3,307]

Yes, I find Virtual Reality right now to be much more interesting and advanced compared to the 90s versions (especially after seeing gameplay of the PonyVRVille Demo).

I would most certainly get either or both the Oculus Rift and/or the HTC Vive as there are a good amount of games being released for both platforms.

 

The HTC Vive has most of my attention though because of it supporting SteamVR and being an open-source VR headset compared to the Oculus Rift which has a closed platform thanks to Facebook who bought Oculus just to help it reach the masses.

 

The one thing I currently am not really liking from what I have been hearing so far is that the headsets are tethered to the PCs with wires instead of them being wireless, which may cause issues if you will be moving around in the space required for you to use it properly (without tripping on the wires) for the optimal VR experience (I'm referring to the HTC Vive, as the Oculus Rift mostly has you mostly sitting for now as the Touch controllers for the Rift don't yet have a release date).

Edited March 29, 2016 by Jonny Music

[BoopMan 2,392]

I'm interested in the technology for sure. As a PS4 owner I am quite interested in the PSVR.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,237]

I would totally be interested in it, if the prices weren't insane. I would absolutely love something like this for Elite Dangerous, as that would be incredible, but the price for these things, to me, is not justified at this point. 

[Azatrot 66]

Yes, I find Virtual Reality right now to be much more interesting and advanced compared to the 90s versions (especially after seeing gameplay of the PonyVRVille Demo).

 

I would most certainly get either or both the Oculus Rift and/or the HTC Vive as there are a good amount of games being released for both platforms.

 

The HTC Vive has most of my attention though because of it supporting SteamVR and being an open-source VR headset compared to the Oculus Rift which has a closed platform thanks to Facebook who bought Oculus just to help it reach the masses.

 

The one thing I currently am not really liking from what I have been hearing so far is that the headsets are tethered to the PCs with wires instead of them being wireless, which may cause issues if you will be moving around in the space required for you to use it properly (without tripping on the wires) for the optimal VR experience (I'm referring to the HTC Vive, as the Oculus Rift mostly has you mostly sitting for now as the Touch controllers for the Rift don't yet have a release date).

If I had to pick I would also probably choose the HTC Vive over the Oculus Rift. Still, I don't think that unseated VR will become popular until it's untethered.

 

I'm interested in the technology for sure. As a PS4 owner I am quite interested in the PSVR.

I have read rumors that the PSVR will be made available to PC to. That's only a rumor though.

 

I would totally be interested in it, if the prices weren't insane. I would absolutely love something like this for Elite Dangerous, as that would be incredible, but the price for these things, to me, is not justified at this point. 

If you wish to try out VR without spending a lot of money then you could always buy a Google Cardboard. Very cheap, and I have heard that they are quite good (at least in relation to the price).

[Rarity Is Best Pony 634]

I'm very interested in the technology so I'll be buying an Oculus Rift in the fall after I upgrade my GPU. 

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

im in too. id love to virtualize myself and fight monsters in here

[\/ 650]

I'm too poor to experience such things. I also don't have the ability to go somewhere and demo it at a gaming convention or other such place. : (

[Stormlight 1,371]

I am highly interested in the future of technology, especially about Virtual Reality. If I am able to afford the different VR gears, I would definitely play many games to have an immersive experience.

[Scrubbed user 3,415]

As much as I like the technology behind it, the devices we have (or are upcoming) are first-generation, so while we have come a hell of a long way since something like the Virtualboy, it's not quite read for mainstream just yet. Just having a PC that can run a Rift or Vive is gonna cost close to $1,000 on top of the price for said device. All of the games and applications that are made to take advantage of them are just glorified tech demos at the moment.

 

I am seriously considering buying a Vive in the future, but I think I wouldn't be getting much more use than as a novelty item.

[boiteporte 591]

I'm going to wait until I'm sure it's worth it. When 3D first came out, I was hyped and bought the kit along with the screen. And now, 3D is completely abandoned, and if you talk about it to an NVidia representative, you only get an embarrassed smile from them.

 

I WILL NOT make the same mistake with Virtual Reality. It's been done before, it has failed before. Of course, technology has progressed...but has it progressed enough ? That is the question, and that is why I'm going to wait.

Edited May 22, 2016 by boiteporte

[EpicEnergy 22,066]

I'm not really into virtual reality, it just doesn't interest me.

[Splashee 28,537]

Virtual Reality is really cool, once it actually works. Might be a few more years before we can enjoy it! It is similar to how smart phones were nothing until iPhone was invented, and now everyone is using them. VR would be the same thing, only it hasn't been done in a good way yet.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

I would enjoy it more if I had a headset because right now I just play flat VR games if I’m able

[Jonny Music 3,307]

5 years later, and I'm still very interested in VR.

I've visited a few local VR arcades a few times since then and almost never had a dull moment with every visit. Superhot VR is by far one of my most favourite VR games. My only gripe with it was trying trying to get past the level which requires you to "microwave" kill distant targets has been really annoying to make it work properly. I have no idea how you're supposed to get past that darn level. No matter how hard I tried, the actions I made were not properly working or being detected.

Other than that annoyance, I'm still looking forward to playing some more VR, since it can be a lot of fun and a great excuse to get some exercise with it. I'm even looking forward to producing a music-related VR game/simulation (different from Beat Saber, Audioshield, etc.) in the medium to long-term future, as I still have my actionable short-term goals to worry about first.

How about the rest of you? If you haven't yet bought a VR set, though you've at least been to a VR Arcade, which VR game was the one you've enjoyed playing the most?

[Pentium100 2,056]

VR does not interest me the way it is right now. I think I would need touch feedback to be interested. From what let's plays I have watched of VR games, one of the most difficult things to do in VR seem to be pushing a button (in game) or reloading a gun. Both can be easily done in real life, maybe even without looking, but this is because in real life I can feel where the button is etc.

[Allen 1,371]

I have, and I've seen Virtual Reality a few times for Beat Saber by my little brother. I recently seen Virtual Reality on my family's trip to Chicago for my cousin's wedding.

[Dreambiscuit 8,022]

I love VR. It's the next logical step in immersive entertainment and would make gaming actually seem fun. I have an Oculus Go and it's great for watching YT videos in 360, playing the very limited games available on the system and loading with my own 360 home movies. But it really needs to have more content to make it truly worthwhile, especially considering the price of the headset. It is massively addictive plunging into a 3D world and I recommend it to anyone. The main drawback for me is the buffering. My Oculus freezes up constantly while I'm trying to watch anything on it, especially if it's hi-rez. If you have access to a fiber optic network it works astonishingly well. But right now it seems that technology has yet to catch up with the possibilities. VR has been around long enough to justify pouring more resources into the content available, so media companies really need to get on the ball if they're going to make VR work as a mainstream platform. 

[Jon the VGNerd 842]

Never really been into VR, truth to be told. One is that I'm nearsighted and don't really see well when wearing VR goggles. Two is that I have limited space to move around and I'm at risk of breaking objects whenever I have to move my arms, or my upper body, around. And add that to the potential dizziness along with my lack of surroundings and I'm basically asking for collateral damage.

[Steve Piranha 28,751]

I’m interested, but I’ll wait a while. 
1-didn’t check prices, as they aren’t a priority in the first place, but I can imagine they are crazy expensive 

2-space

3-library of good games is still small