Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#61

Post by AgentME » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:22 AM UTC

cven714 wrote: post #7

HTC Vive owner. Mine is mostly on the shelf. I bring it out when new people visit and want to give it a try, but I haven't played otherwise. It's still a good time and the novelty isn't completely worn off...games like Chamber 19 (Xortex from The Lab) or Fantastic Contraption are a lot fun once I get myself to turn it on. But I haven't played a really compelling game--I'm hoping Budget Cuts is as good as it looks. Th…

>But I haven't played a really compelling game

I've liked a lot of VR games, but Out of Ammo was the first that really hooked me. The "sandbox" style -- not sandbox in the sense of Minecraft, but in the sense I felt like a kid again in my sandbox placing little army soldier toys around me and making little barricades and walls defending from imaginary threats -- was great. It's a shame that the game is a bit short and buggy right now. I think that style of gameplay is somewhere the Vive (VR+motion controllers) really shines and has a lot of untapped potential.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#62

Post by burkaman » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:31 AM UTC

lucb1e wrote: post #59

troymc wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also possible that there is no killer app, and the whole thing just stays niche, like 3D movies or Second Life.

> niche, like 3D movies I don't know where you live, but in the Netherlands at least they still advertise with a movie being in 3d and you pay a surcharge for viewing the 3d version, on top of the glasses (one time purchase). I wouldn't mind so much, preferring 2d anyway, but often the 2d version is not even available...

Same situation in the US, although in my experience the 2D version is always available. People who don't like 3D always say it's a fad, but I think it's just a normal product that not everyone likes.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#63

Post by chenster » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:34 AM UTC

nilkn wrote: post #25

I was in the very first wave of Vive shipments and I got a Rift at the very beginning of June. So at this point I've had both for a pretty decent chunk of time. I haven't been using them much, but that's largely due to lack of content. I used them both heavily when they arrived, and the Vive in particular got a ton of playtime, but after a certain point I just don't want to fire up SPT again. Recently it got to a poi…

How does VR do to your eyes after wearing it for a long time?

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#64

Post by bane » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:36 AM UTC

Of three coworkers who bought VR headsets, the Vive user says he plays about once every week or two. The Rift users have completely stopped.

I have a cardboard that sits unused, but that's mostly because my phone doesn't quite fit into it and I can't be bothered to fix it.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#65

Post by nkw » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:41 AM UTC

Nope. On the shelf. Ordered both. Purchased Vive. Cancelled Oculus when they couldn't get their stuff together. It was neat but I thought the resolution was awful. My laptop, desktop and gaming box (w/ 4k TV) have good enough quality I can't see discrete pixels. I guess I've become a 'retina' snob. They are huge on the VR headsets. Video quality is like I'm playing Sierra games from the early nineties.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#66

Post by kirrent » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:47 AM UTC

Yeah, I play Elite Dangerous, Chronos, blaze rush, and Assetto Corsa. I don't try and play every little thing like I used to want to. It's only the really well done games that I find super compelling, but those games are so compelling that it makes me excited about games in a way I haven't been in years.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#67

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:47 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#68

Post by raptorpark » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 1:58 AM UTC

irq wrote: post #48

arielweisberg wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't really had the blocked off issue. With the Rift I can hear things outside the headset and I can pop up one ear to talk more easily. The games are mirrored to our 65" TV so my spouse can see what I see and enjoy games vicariously the way she usually does. They enjoy when I play horror games and let loose with the color commentary. I actually pulled her into the game and play Elite with her now. I'm in VR and…

The HTC Vive has this (instantly available full screen pass through of a camera mounted on the headset).

It's not a clear camera though like we were led to believe. Unlike your phone camera, it draws the room in weird wiggles in black and white. It also creates a performance impact so most people prefer to brave without it.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#69

Post by dawnerd » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:13 AM UTC

Have a vive, I use mine whenever I get a block of an hour+ for setup and actually playing. It's not something you can just impulse play.

That said I haven't found many games that really do vr right. Job simulator nails it I think. I tried Elite Dangerous out briefly and it looked quite amazing. I just don't have the controls down enough to play comfortably with a headset on. American Truck Simulator is okay once you get it working. The screendoor effect is quite apparent though.

So far the best of the games have had cartoon style graphics. Anything that tries to look realistic is hurt by the poor (relatively speaking) resolution.

The other thing keeping from playing more is the price of the "games". I put it in quotes since most of them are just tech demos for 20+ bucks.

Re: Ask HN: Do you still play with VR actively?

#70

Post by raptorpark » Thu, Aug 04, 2016, 2:14 AM UTC

Wow, lots of shelfers. Only two people in here talking about Raw Data, really?

The games are starting to mature beyond games. I would never part with mine because to me it's the cheapest/fastest form of travel. I look for content daily and try to test something new every night. Of course, I'm an aspiring VR developer.

Since nobody's talking about porn, please allow this burner account to speak up for it. I'm talking room-scale VR, not 360 videos. It does take a lot of digging and tinkering since that stuff is not on Steam, but if you know where to go on subreddits, torrents, etc. Try it for science, it's fantastic.