Virtual Reality

[stevie vip 99]

So I was lucky today to have hands on experience with one of these bad boys.
Only a running demo off a PC with low res but I was very impressed. Was a demo of a rollercoaster. You could really feel the movement of the turns and you could turn and look around and it all worked really well.

Only in the early stages but high hopes for future gaming if they can get the balance right of an immersive gaming experience rather than a gimmick that they try to shoehorn into every game.

[tonyk100]

where did you try it?
how much of a pain was the wiring?
do you wear glasses?

[stevie vip 99]

You wear the headset shown in the picture, wiring wasn't a problem but as it was a demo rather than a game I didn't have to do much so not sure if it'd be a problem with proper games.
A friend who works in gaming development has one for work purposes.

[importaku]

Seen skyrim running on one on youtube, my god it looks lush I can only imagine how immersive it feels to be that close inside the world. One of them & oblivion & I probably wouldn't come out at all lol.

['Press Start']

One of them & oblivion & I probably wouldn't come out at all lol.

Maybe your plugged into a game right now........

[Wil]

I had a go on one a few months back and it made me feel thoroughly sick. I just couldn't reconcile myself with feeling like I was moving about but not really moving about. Fantastic effect but I couldn't stomach it for more than a few minutes at a time. Lots of other folks at work felt the same way to differing degrees. One girl was physically sick.

The one we had was a dev version and I guess the production one will have a higher framerate or something that negates this effect. I hope so. It was so cool but I could/would never use one as it stands.

[Neon Ignition]

It's this years big thing that will never come to pass. Every year there's one and it's forgotten in due course. I'm sure the effect is impressive in person but ultimately it carries many of the same drawbacks old school 3D, which audiences are creeping away from, have. I'm sure at some point 3D or some other tech will crack it but it won't involve headset or glasses and it won't be this.

[wakka]

Once VR becomes reliable and commonplace, I think we'll have massive problems with people becoming so absorbed in the game that they don't even want to leave. Look at the addiction people get to something as relatively crude as WoW - in-game achievements can be a great surrogate for real life ones, and relationships with other players can take precedence over relationships with people at work or school. Once it feels like you're actually there, people aren't going to want to log off.

I can't wait LOL

[kryss]

"but in Bedford Falls, it's always Christmas..."

[Decider-VT]

"but in Bedford Falls, it's always Christmas..."

"More dogs, Sidney!"

[PeteJ]

It's this years big thing that will never come to pass. Every year there's one and it's forgotten in due course. I'm sure the effect is impressive in person but ultimately it carries many of the same drawbacks old school 3D, which audiences are creeping away from, have. I'm sure at some point 3D or some other tech will crack it but it won't involve headset or glasses and it won't be this.

I don't agree with that, for me the Rift is more exciting for gaming than the next-gen power of PS4\XBO. I think it has masses of potential.

[Neon Ignition]

I'd be amazed if by 2015 it's still even news worthy. They're refining an old method of 3D, audiences have proven repeatedly that they want viewing experiences to be passive an unobtrusive and glasses/headsets of any kind just won't cut it. The short term lies with glasses free 3DTV and beyond that probably not much else unless someone cracks Holodecks

[wakka]

I think VR is fundamentally different to just looking at a '3D' image on a TV screen though. There's nothing particularly immersive about that, it just tacks the illusion of depth onto the television you're looking at. But immersive VR is a MUCH more effective way of 'tricking' your brain into believing that you're actually there. The 3D element of it I can take or leave.

The possibilities are just so exciting. I think Oculus could be the first consumer VR headset to actually sell. The thing is, everyone has to learn how to use this technology - so few games have ever been made with VR in mind, and most that have are simple 'ghost train' type affairs. No devs really know yet what works in a VR world.

The short term lies with glasses free 3DTV

Is this technology even worth it? I think VR has far more possibilities. 3D is a bit of a lame duck, what with its obvious layers of images. I would much rather strap a headset on and look around a virtual world using the muscles in my neck rather than an analogue stick.

[Neon Ignition]

VR still holds a lot of possibilities but after a day at work peeps want passive experiences, I reckon the 'next big thing' isn't even on anyones radar yet, there's just no big drive at the moment towards anything just a thousand none starters trying to fill a gap that doesn't exist yet.

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-19-oculus-opens-pre-orders-for-new-improved-dev-kit

Sony revealed there's so here's the obligatory Oculus Rift update, the updated but not final version of the hardware will go up for preorder shortly for $350