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Google Earth VR

vr.google.com

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Re: Google Earth VR

#91

Post by strictnein »

rvanniekerk wrote: post #88
strictnein wrote: post #7

Now just make it so you can destroy the buildings as you walk around and you have VR Rampage. I'm honestly surprised no one has made a VR Rampage for the Vive. I tried to play around with the idea a little bit, but game development is just something I don't have any time for.

This is actually in development, it's called Maximum Override - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U

Interesting. May have to check it out since it's in Early Access.

Also this looks fun - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKd6y-8a8Y

Re: Google Earth VR

#92

Post by mattdotc »

saurik wrote: post #83
matthjensen wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What else is on the list of things you show people who are new to VR?

No one has yet mentioned Raw Data. Go into the settings, under advanced control settings, and switch the control style to "hold" (which it points out will be more difficult to play using... that isn't the point); I seriously started to feel like I had hands in the world: the user interaction of this game sets a new bar. (I will also mention Fruit Ninja, as many people have played the game on their phone, so getting t…

Fruit Ninja is a blast. Even my father (non-gamer) had a blast with it and picked it up right away.

Re: Google Earth VR

#93

Post by russelldc »

oopsies49 wrote: post #51
thearn4 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, I use both and vastly prefer most things on the rift (especially flight and driving sims). The room-scale experiences on the Vive are fantastic and definitely the direction this tech will go, but the majority of the SteamVR experience are... unpolished? That's the best way i can describe it. SteamVR itself is also extremely buggy, but I've also had USB 3.0 issues on the Rift, so there are some issues on both pl…

Steam vr recently added asynchronous reprojection.

SteamVR's implementation is equivalent to ATW, but not Oculus' new ASW.

Re: Google Earth VR

#94

Post by johansch »

Just tried it on my Vive for ten minutes.

So, of course, it's essentially Google Earth ported to VR.

There's some obvious Snowcrash vibes to this. :)

The left hand touch pad is used to switch between perspectives (top or "being a 100 meter tall giant walking around on the land") while the right touch pad is used to zoom in/zoom out.

In places where they have 3d maps (like e.g. SF) it's amazing. I was also blown away by how fast the scenes loaded.. in Google Earth/Maps there is always a lengthy download process. This was almost instant. (I wonder why it was so slow before?)

Walking around in cities as a giant is pretty fascinating. I guess this is why they went with the Vive as their first platform - roomscale VR really kicks as in this particular usecase.

Re: Google Earth VR

#95

Post by zardo »

6stringmerc wrote: post #86
zardo wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seeing the Sahara on a screen, and climbing a sand dune, are two very different experiences.

Depends on one's imaginative capabilities, honestly. Yes, I'm quite serious. What I've been able to do in dreams (controlled or otherwise) rivals any sand-in-hand experience I could have while waking. I won't claim imagination is a pure replacement for personal experience, but there's something special about abstract thought.

I think you're comparing dreams to memories of experiences. Try comparing your dreams to an experience while it's happening, and I think you'll find the dream was not quite so vivid as the feel, taste, smell, and sight of the world.

Re: Google Earth VR

#96

Post by johansch »

mdrzn wrote: post #5

Why only on HTC Vive? Does this require huge computing power, or is it because of the controllers? I hope it'll become available on the Google Daydream phones.

The roomscale VR that let's you walk around in cities as a giant is really the killer feature of this tech demo.

Re: Google Earth VR

#97

Post by bitdeveloper »

qume wrote: post #69
jliptzin wrote: post #60

I really think something like this will displace some tourism/sightseeing (at least at the margins). I have done a ton of traveling all over the world and would much prefer a VR experience like this instead of cramming onto an airplane like cattle for hours, getting accused of being a drug lord at every border crossing, dealing with foreigners who seem to hate Americans, etc. Most tourist cities are pretty much the s…

Wow. You are why united states citizens have such a bad rep overseas. For the sake of the good people of the US im glad you will now only travel in VR

Give me a break. A guy wants to reduce his carbon footprint on the earth and save money and just enjoy a scenic view and that makes him a bad guy?

Re: Google Earth VR

#98

Post by CobrastanJorji »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #4

I am going to go with - "at last !" It is nearly 25 years since I read Snow Crash, and read the description of the virtual earth - able to dive down form Space, and look round cities, seeing data feeds in real time, including your own position... We are soooo close. Just don't trust the guy with the glass knives [#] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

Does Google Earth have some sort of real-time weather capability? That would really help us get the last mile.

Re: Google Earth VR

#99

Post by prawn »

zardo wrote: post #82
jliptzin wrote: post #60

I really think something like this will displace some tourism/sightseeing (at least at the margins). I have done a ton of traveling all over the world and would much prefer a VR experience like this instead of cramming onto an airplane like cattle for hours, getting accused of being a drug lord at every border crossing, dealing with foreigners who seem to hate Americans, etc. Most tourist cities are pretty much the s…

Seeing the Sahara on a screen, and climbing a sand dune, are two very different experiences.

They are, and I've done both. But I think two things will limit the majority of people doing the latter: it's expensive, and some experiences are getting very crowded and even limited by ticket.

Things like The Wave, Half Dome, etc are already on permit/lottery systems. Other places are so crowded that it seriously impacts the experience (parts of the Louvre, the Vatican).

Visiting the Sahara from Morocco requires flights, mixture of land travel including hiring a car or driver, procuring camels and so on. Fine for anyone remotely adventurous, but daunting and expensive for others.

Re: Google Earth VR

#100

Post by 13of40 »

aianus wrote: post #36
derrickdirge wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Mecca was like, the opposite of a forbidden place.

It's forbidden to go within 15km of Mecca if you're not Muslim.

You need a certificate signed by an Imam, which you can likely get at your local Islamic center. Challenges include convincing the Imam that you're not just getting it to sneak into Mecca, and being able to answer follow-up questions at the roadblock in Mecca, such as, "So you're Muslim, eh? Tell us the Five Pillars."
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