Sci/Tech Virtual reality thread

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kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
So to celebrate the election finally arriving and some personal achievements, I bought myself a PlayStation VR. It's my third VR headset. I was an early adopter several years ago with Google Cardboard (which is still incredibly efficient and worth it) then moved on to the Samsung Gear VR when it was out, but it was marred by limited development.

For my next purchase I was on the fence between an HTC Vive, the new standalone Occulus system or PSVR. I didn't want to invest in a gaming PC, so skipped the Vive, though I've played with it and remain incredibly impressed by its field of view. The Occulus would've been my choice, but once they got in bed with Facebook, I decided I didn't want everything I ever looked at to be sold to marketers and whoever else. So, since I already had a PlayStation and knew there were devoted developers already in the PlayStation ecosystem, I opted for PSVR. I got the whole rig plus two games for about $200.

I've been playing with it for the past couple weeks. I fell in love with No Man's Sky on the console so I figured it would be great in VR and it hasn't disappointed. Easily the greatest game of my lifetime for sheer scale, though it's mostly exploration of the multiverse. I got some other games like Blood & Truth, which is a fun action shoot em up, Creed Rise to Glory, which is an excellent workout trying to avenge your death as Apollo Creed against Drago. I also got Tilt Brush which is a very cool creative app for artistic projects and Dreams where you can design whole games and experiences. I played the VR mode of Star Wars Battlefront and got to be an X-Wing pilot warding off the empire. I also grabbed a sampler pack of games just to try stuff which led me to buy the truly acid trip inspired game Job Simulator. I then picked up Spider-Man Far From Home which allows you to web sling around a few blocks of New York, but otherwise lacks depth. I picked up LA Noire VR because my kids and I got into the regular game and I got a demo of Iron Man VR but haven't taken the plunge on the real game yet.

But the game that's changed everything for me is Skyrim VR. Other than No Man's Sky, I'd say this is the game I have spent and will spend the most time in. I've had friends preach the gospel of Skyrim being this all time great game to me for years, but I skipped it because I'm not that into fantasy as a genre and also because I knew it would be a time sink. I also wasn't crazy about it being first person. But playing it in VR has made me a total convert and it's very hard to stop playing. The graphics could be better as it's already being ported from a generation back, but the scale and scope of it is basically a whole world of interesting things to see and do. No Man's Sky does with with a whole multiverse, but there aren't necessarily as many things to find and people to interact with as there are in Skyrim.

So I say all this to say in light of this reality being the way it is, I'm likely to simply die in this headset of starvation because the virtual worlds are so awesome. I can't recommend it enough. It's not quite perfect and there are still some technical glitches to PSVR that the Vive and Occulus do a much better job of addressing, but for the price it's legit.

Anyone else have/had a rig they've played with? I also have a 360 camera I've experimented with over the last few years to create my own immersive spaces with varying degrees of success.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
Oh, lest I forget, if you do have Google Cardboard, the Pornhub app is your friend during these trying times of social distance.
 

FINGERS

TMMAC Addict
Nov 14, 2019
16,508
19,574
I’m going to generate a fake face book account and populate it with fake content from another fake gmail account and purchase games with gift cards.

Im 90% sure I’m going to get the occulus at Christmas. It’s the future and it’s stand alone which is what I need as I stopped using consoles 6 years or so ago.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
I’m going to generate a fake face book account and populate it with fake content from another fake gmail account and purchase games with gift cards.

Im 90% sure I’m going to get the occulus at Christmas. It’s the future and it’s stand alone which is what I need as I stopped using consoles 6 years or so ago.
Agreed. It's a safer bet because Sony isn't really betting much on VR for the PS5 so development will likely grind to a halt in a few years while Occulus will probably continue unless Palmer Lucky has a stroke or Facebook ruins it.

PSVR is still pretty cheap though if you already have a console and game prices should hopefully drop once the ps5 is more widely distributed.

This mode is definitely difficult to top. Once you really go down the rabbit hole of quality gaming and porn, there's almost no going back to the old way.
 

FINGERS

TMMAC Addict
Nov 14, 2019
16,508
19,574
Agreed. It's a safer bet because Sony isn't really betting much on VR for the PS5 so development will likely grind to a halt in a few years while Occulus will probably continue unless Palmer Lucky has a stroke or Facebook ruins it.

PSVR is still pretty cheap though if you already have a console and game prices should hopefully drop once the ps5 is more widely distributed.

This mode is definitely difficult to top. Once you really go down the rabbit hole of quality gaming and porn, there's almost no going back to the old way.
How would a chap go about getting porn on an oculus 2?

Asking for me.
 

blas4ublasphemy

Well-Known Member
Oct 25, 2015
227
261
I bought the PSVR and a steering wheel for Gran Turismo and the VR made me absolutely sick to my stomach. Awesomely realistic feeling of sitting in a car but not something I can handle apparently. The Nintendo Labo VR is tons of fun IMO and I didn't suffer any ill effects from it. I'd love a Virtual Boy Labo kit but I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
I bought the PSVR and a steering wheel for Gran Turismo and the VR made me absolutely sick to my stomach. Awesomely realistic feeling of sitting in a car but not something I can handle apparently. The Nintendo Labo VR is tons of fun IMO and I didn't suffer any ill effects from it. I'd love a Virtual Boy Labo kit but I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one.
Yeah that gets to the technical problems I mentioned that I think other headset makers have solved. Some games on PS VR suffer bad "drift" where the frame moves a bit to the side (or the hand controllers do) and the frame rate isn't quite high enough on them to persuade your eyes. I could see a game like Gran Turismo being rough. I got a little sick my first time in Skyrim due to the lower graphics, but games with more accommodating physics and movement styles haven't been as bad.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
So as an experiment, I decided to see how long I could go in the headset uninterrupted so see how feasible the Matrix is. I made it about 5 hours in No Man's Sky and didn't feel like it had been more than an hour or two, which was odd. Eyes feel normal and no headaches or vertigo. I watched a video of a guy doing 2 weeks in one, but he didn't enjoy it much. It's not quite good enough yet to justify weeks (or even 5 hours), but you can definitely get lost if you have the time and the will and an engaging app.
 

IschKabibble

TMMAC Addict
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
15,829
21,573
Yeah that gets to the technical problems I mentioned that I think other headset makers have solved. Some games on PS VR suffer bad "drift" where the frame moves a bit to the side (or the hand controllers do) and the frame rate isn't quite high enough on them to persuade your eyes. I could see a game like Gran Turismo being rough. I got a little sick my first time in Skyrim due to the lower graphics, but games with more accommodating physics and movement styles haven't been as bad.
I ended up using teleportation in Half Life, even though it offers joystick movement. Not sure I'll ever get my VR legs.
 

kneeblock

Drapetomaniac
Apr 18, 2015
12,435
23,026
I get instant motion sickness with VR. That really sucks ass because I work in tech and this blocks off a whole part of the industry for me to get into.
Sorry to hear. Has it been variable depending on what you're looking at or is it universal? Like have you mostly experienced it with 360 videos or with cgi stuff also? Some apps have teleporting features as mentioned above so you don't feel a sense of motion.
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,737
19,619
I get instant motion sickness with VR. That really sucks ass because I work in tech and this blocks off a whole part of the industry for me to get into.
You ever play this?

1605574036628.jpeg


Great game but would get sick as shit ...got a feeling the same would happen if I try VR