Virtual Reality

[MartyG]

I just can't see typing in air ever replacing a keyboard - if you get to a point where you can physically feel a virtual keyboard and it feels like a keyboard then yes - but I feel that's in the realms of science fiction - even looking forward a decade or two.

Nor would I want to be programming via voice recognition - speaking all day would be exhausting, and touchscreen keyboards still too inaccurate, even after all this time.

And having a brain implant that types out what I think? I'd be fired after my first email to the boss

[wakka]

Marty, you are hung up on the typing in the air and via Siri to do your day job of coding. I am not proposing anyone does this. You connect your keyboard over Bluetooth to the headset. That's always going to be an option.

The point is that not everyone all the time needs a truck (physical keyboard), sometimes you just need a car (touchscreen keyboard).

[Lebowski]

I'm not sure I agree. Is there anyone in the world who can type regularly on their phone or tablet screen without typos everywhere or autocorrect making them look like an idiot? I don't think there is. I think the reason we use them is not because they are faster or even really more efficient but simply because they are built into the devices we use all the time. Devices that have already proven their use in many other ways. Whereas with the Vision Pro, what I'm seeing is that some of how it is being sold is on so many things that our other devices already do better.

I'm with you here, modern phones touch screens are a nightmare for things like web browsing, try bringing up eurogamer on a smartphone autoplaying ads stupid pop-ups that you have to dismiss and god help you if you somehow press anywhere near an advert you will be off to the Volvo website whether you like it or not. Desktop browsing you have so much more precise control over it as well as much more choice in how content is presented to you via ad blockers, plugins and browser choice. Don't even get me started on the awfulness that is virtual on screen joysticks and simulated buttons.

Theirs no mass adoption model for gesture control like with smart-phones either, the only companies to go all in on it are xbox with their Kinect which was awful and now apple with their £3000 not going to be mass adopted headset.

[MartyG]

I don't disagree - but if the ultimate goal is to replace computers entirely - then gestures are never going to be an entire replacement because sometimes you need a truck.

So I don't think the future is going to be people wearing their computers in their eyes, and that I think mostly comes down to people not wanting to do it.

We've had phones that are more than capable of replacing laptop computers for some time now, at least at an entry-level and maybe even mid-tier now, yet people still want laptops.

There are definitely applications for AR in industry, anything that needs a head up display etc - these are consumption activities. And that's where these devices will sit - as consumption devices, things you don't need a lot of input for.

[wakka]

Totally a fair perspective. I disagree, honestly, mostly because I think that eye mounted technology will eventually in the future end up being more convenient and a better experience for both handheld and desk based computing, with accessories paired as needed for work based tasks (mostly keyboards and some mice).

But we're a long long way from that right now, so who knows? Def respect your view that's not where we're going and you could well be right.

[huxley]

Metro Awakening trailers


State of play had a few more games. Judas looks good but thats been in development on PCVR for quite some time, trailer is still good. Music reminds me of DSOTM.

[Neon Ignition]

Quest 3 Pushed Meta Reality Labs to Record Revenue in Q4, But Also Record Costs (roadtovr.com)
Meta's Catch-22 problem continues

[Asura]

I got to try the Vision Pro. Won't go into details but I know someone in the media who wanted my take on it, as they knew I do a lot of VR.

Honestly... I wasn't impressed? I mean there were elements of it I liked, it's not like it's a train wreck. But it felt very heavy, I didn't like having the battery separate, and honestly the screen... The passthrough looked better than the Quest 3 when reasonably still (the Q3's passthrough is quite noisy, as if at a high ISO) but I got a lot of motion blur when I moved my head rapidly, while the Q3's is much more responsive. I guess that makes sense as the Apple Vision Pro isn't a gaming device.

I think just that for $3500 I was expecting some real shift in quality, and I just didn't get it. Even the field-of-view felt smaller.

[Lebowski]

Looks like legendry tales is pretty special, this is a review of the PSVR2 version (It's also out on steam)



Hard to believe you're getting these tiny one man teams bringing out these amazing fully fleshed out VR games, seen a lot of people saying how good the parry and weapon system is here and how deep you can go into build crafting your character.

[Neon Ignition]

Nice that's paid off for the devs, one of those cases it seems where PSVR2 in particular will bring the game added attention which will be good for them given it was in Early Access for quite a while

[Neon Ignition]

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[Asura]

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This is being misquoted a bit. If you read the entire thing, he comes off as less negative than some of the outlets are suggesting.

But the main thing he said about Assassin's Creed Nexus is that it failed to demonstrate some sort of unknown market; like if it was made with an "If you build it..." mindset, then that mindset hasn't panned out.

I personally feel the release calendar for the Quest platform was a real cluster**** at the end of 2023. For starters, you had Nexus, Vampire: The Masquerade and Arashi which all came out within several weeks. While they're very different, they're all first-person VR stealth-action games. Plus they were competing for eyeballs with Asgard's Wrath 2, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, Journey to Foundation, BulletstormVR (irrespective of how good/bad these games actually turned out or when they actually arrived).

[Lebowski]

It's the problem with VR as a whole, it's very tricky to make exclusives pan out in such limited marketplaces, the high price of Assassin's Creed Nexus is at odds with a lot of other software on the platform, its not alone as their are other recent high-priced games on their like Asguards Wrath 2 and Arizona sunshine 2, but its definitely not the norm, and it becomes a harder sell when you have so much cheap throw away software bumping shoulders with it.

[Brad]

The next feature update for windows 11 will remove all Windows Mixed Reality software from your PC. They aren't just stopping support, they're actively removing the capability to use their own tech. Version 24H2 is the version that will remove WMR. It's all a bit confusing, with MS saying you'll still be able to download it even after they removed it but also stating that once you install 24H2 your pc will be incompatible with WMR. So basically if you use WMR you need to start only accepting security updates. The latest inside release has already removed WMR support.

[huxley]

I wonder if steam will pick up the slack for WMR HMD owners.
My understanding is Steam VR runs with the Windows WMR app at present?