Virtual Reality

[Dogg Thang]

Business is definitely one of the main ways it will prevail, so many uses and applications. For true VResque full integration into everyday lives etc though, that I see having to wait until the day Holo technology is nailed. I can't shake the headset as being a limitation current VR will be held back by.

For me, the limitation is more the input and feedback methods. I think they have a long way to go.

And personally, I do think it's a long road (hence the 15 years). I think it will be a big curiosity this year. I think then it will fade, but it will have gained a small niche hold with what effectively will be enthusiasts. Like those of us on newsgroups back before websites wondering what else could be done other than talk about Star Trek.

Then I think it will be the business uses that take hold, particularly businesses that are moving to models where their employees or suppliers work remotely. Probably just a few companies at first using it for virtual conferencing. Then whole virtual studios.

And then I think the kids will get it and that's it. It takes hold and it's everywhere. It's a long process but I reckon we're seeing the start of it now. Of course, I could be completely wrong. But let's see!

[Lebowski]

I had a play on my friends Samsung gear vr Best two games on it where

Gunjack a fixed point shooter that uses head movement to point the guns, of a fixed position ship turret



Lands end

A puzzle based walk about adventure game from the team that did monument valley.



The thing that hit me most about these two games was they where emersive fun and a really unique experience running well on a smartphone. I'd seriously consider trading iOS for android to play this and a few other games again they worked that well. So regarding the Morpheus and the the ps4 if the Samsung s6 can create fun immersive experiences I'm sure Sony can do the same too.

The thing I found that worked less well is things that moved the camera for you some of the apps where vomit inducing temple run really didnt work well on vr and are well documented as causing people to throw up, likewise one experience had you being pushed about a mental hospital in a wheelchair and the on rails nature and disconnect didn't make for comftable viewing. Browsing around the App Store I found it funny that all the apps had a comfort (vomit) rating.

[MartyG]

Plus, of course:
[hide][/hide]

I was thinking more
[hide][/hide]
But that's closer to Microsoft Hololens, which makes you wonder what the real intentions are there.

[Cornflakes]

Then I think it will be the business uses that take hold, particularly businesses that are moving to models where their employees or suppliers work remotely. Probably just a few companies at first using it for virtual conferencing. Then whole virtual studios.

I cannot what companies it was, but bigger engineering companies do have similiar system in place for designing concepts. OR and Vive will allow smaller companies to use it as less expensive alternative.
I wonder if ptc and autodesk have support for both of them.

[Neon Ignition]

Plus, of course:
[hide][/hide]

Why is it useless for film and programme watching? I'd quite like to go to a virtual IMAX cinema from the comfort of my own home!

For film and TV it's limited to what you can already do with the cardboard version. It's just a case of having a small 3DTV screen an inch or two from your eyes. It's like a less comfortable version of an already consumer rejected experience.

[QualityChimp]

I think we're thinking differently about it, Supes.
I was more imagining the Oculus Rift makes it feel like you're in a massive cinema like at a supersized IMAX, rather than just the film in front of your eyes.

You can look around the room and at different points on the screen, like a real cinema. The screen itself isn't 3D within the "cinema", just the environment. Like looking at a wall in Oculus Half-Life or something. Am I making sense?!

[Neon Ignition]

Oh yeah, it can definitely do that. Though you'd have to also buy a popcorn shooting machine aimed at the back of your head and sticky seats to complete the immersion

[MartyG]

You'll not be able to see where the popcorn actually is with a Rift stuck on your head.

[Neon Ignition]

You just know someone would simulate watching a film at the cinema from the backrow so the film displayed about quarter of an inch in size.

[Dogg Thang]

With someone's really huge head right in front for that extra touch of realism.

[Cornflakes]

I thought the rift has a front camera, or was it one of the others?

[wakka]

Lot of agreement from me with Dogg's posts in this thread. The possibilities for VR are huge, I think that right now it's hard to imagine the type of entertainment and social interaction that will be made possible by the technology in the future.

These are the tech's first baby steps, and as DT said, we'll see a burst of interest and excitement followed by a lull I think. Any backlashes regarding required specs etc will be short term - I'm thinking a bit longer term, wondering what type of new entertainment experiences might emerge.

For me it's very exciting. I don't really understand the complaints about price. ?500 for a brand new piece of technology like this? They charge more for the friggin iPhone. I'm not saying it's cheap enough to go mainstream yet with the software available (clearly it isn't), but I certainly don't think it's an unfair price.

[eastyy]

As someone rightly said if you wanted a decent gaming monitor you would pay more then that.

Though will it be able to compare to a decent monitor though that is the question.

But i think it is more they shot themselves in the foot with discussing prices before and of course when the guy said this



I do think they should have come out with several versions like a mid range and a high end version and perhaps option of not having a controller with it

[VR46]

Exactly eastyy, what half serious gamer doesn't already own their preferred gamepad and decent set of headphones etc.
Maybe they don't want to fragment the market just yet though.
[MENTION=2737]Cornflakes[/MENTION] it's the Vive that has the forward facing camera to let you partially see your surroundings if you wish.

Can't believe not one of you has mentioned the

->Open Spoiler<-

porn

aspect. The relevant thread was probably the biggest thread on the OR forums until yesterday. Hence the forward facing camera so you can see if anyone enters the room

Some good impressions on Reddit from people who have used both devices at CES today, lets see if the Vive is available in April (for delivery) and they expect.

[Asura]

The type of thing that Second Life once was for whatever types of people used that but in a way that reaches different people. I see kids hanging out with other kids, like an immersive cross between real life and Tumblr (as horrifying as that sounds).

I did hear a while back that Second Life has been "bleeding" for some time now, and it's still going because if VR headsets do take off, they might see a massive influx of new users because they're really the only service of their kind; all the other ones gradually failed and closed up, but Second Life is still trundling along.

That being said, as someone who has used it briefly, although some people really make an effort with their locations and areas, many of them have the feel of early blaring-music-MySpace, realised as an actual factual virtual hell.

Can't believe not one of you has mentioned the

->Open Spoiler<-

porn

aspect.

Jokes aside, people have suggested in the past that you need it to make a format or technology successful. I'm sure I read an article years ago that suggested "carnal media" was the driving force behind a bunch of stuff.

>> It has been suggested it's the reason VHS beat Betamax
>> It's also been suggested that Sony actively pursued it for Blu-Ray, to avoid a repeat with HD-DVD
>> There are obvious ones too, like photography (to get to see better pictures of sex), video (to get to see videos of sex), postal mail (to communicate in private with people, to make it easier to get sex), telephones (an extension of postal mail in sexual terms)