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VR

blog.ycombinator.com

111–120 of 568 posts

Re: VR

#112

How is VR "physical" when you are tethered to a computer?

The cable is very long and it is "room-scale" (You can move around), meaning games involve actually moving around. And soon there will be wireless adapters.

Just to clarify this point: by "soon", we mean in this context "a few months".

TP-Link has one coming very soon indeed, I believe: http://vrscout.com/news/htc-tether-less-vive-upgrade/

Re: VR

#113
post #79

I'm a casual gamer, enjoy gaming and like to buy a game and play it with my kids as a family activity. I bought an oculus rift when it came out, figuring it would be fun to try out. Everyone used it a few times and then it just sat there. Most of the enjoyment we get out of gaming is sitting around and interacting while playing, that really didn't work very well with the bulky headset on one person. I think maybe in…

I completely agree! My wife and I are very interested in VR, we keep wanting it to be something though we can't quite figure out what. What I want for sure is a multiplayer experience. PS4 Pro w/ 2 headsets exploring a VR world for instance. I want to look to my right and see her there. With just one of us playing at a time it isn't fun.

Maybe this is already the case and I just haven't figure out how to search for it correctly.

Re: VR

#114
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP, but familiar with this - I don't notice it much while I'm still in it, but if you take it off and on again, it's then like putting on a sweaty shirt - it's gotten cold and clammy, but warms up and you stop noticing pretty quick. You do need to remember to rinse the padding tho, just like a sponge in the sink. Super easy.

Good point - on the Vive you can easily remove the face padding and rinse it off. They also sell replacements, I have a few so I rotate them in/out depending on which is driest etc.

I recall reading in most places that you are not supposed to get the HTC default foam pads wet and that it causes them to degrade quicker. Anecdotally, my wide face cushion has way less definition and is squishier than my narrow face cushion. This is definitely in part because the narrow one gets used less often, but I figured sweat was definitely a factor

Re: VR

#115
I can't believe some people are saying VR is a fad, that it's not going to work, etc, etc. Are you kidding me?

The only real question is how long it's going to take before it's fully integrated into our daily lives, there is absolutely no doubt this will happen (unless we somehow go backwards technologically, due to world war or some other unforeseen event).

It may not happen for another 10-15 years, but it WILL happen.

The term "virtual reality" is actually selling the technology short. Virtual reality does not merely replicate reality, it allows you to defy the laws of physics and expand into new dimensions and "realities". Replicating "reality" is only a small part of what it's capable of.

Re: VR

#116
post #9

One thing I can't stand is the resolution, it really needs to be 2x-10x increased for me not to feel like I'm staring really closely at a screen. And when you increase the resolution by an order of magnitude, you need more processing power, which makes it harder to solve the giant problem of the size, cost, and awkwardness of the hardware. I can't wait until contact lenses are VR enabled.

> I can't wait until contact lenses are VR enabled.

I doubt this will happen, simply because physics and optics won't allow it (unfortunately - because I'd love VR contact lenses myself!)...

Re: VR

#117
post #43

I think that AR (think magic leap) is going to be much bigger, at least in the short term. VR is like the desktop. It will have its uses, sure, but you'll be tied to your desk/room. Gaming will probably still be the most popular VR application. Your AR glasses will be your smartphone, on you the entire time, and you won't even need to reach for your pocket.

Indeed, I think AR glasses will replace at least the display portion of smartphones. If I had to guess, the progression would go something like this: Initially, it will be glasses connected to the smartphone. Then, glasses connected to a watch-like device. Finally, just the glasses.

I touched on this before https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12104656. Imagine waiting in an airport and browsing instagram or watching videos on a relatively large, private display via glasses. The tiny, visible-by-others smartphone display would look very primitive in comparison.

Re: VR

#118
post #88

I'm making a VR game with giant mechs that has a totally unique movement mechanic. Anybody want to fund me? :P

Not VR (yet?) but have you ever played Hawken? A wonderful mech game.

Re: VR

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, sorry to hear that! The end of that level does seem to stump people - I'm working on making it much more accessible. If you'd like to either email me (email in my HN profile), reply here, or put up a post on the Steam forums ( http://steamcommunity.com/app/488760/discussions/0/ ) I'd be more than happy to help you past that, as there's lots of good stuff beyond! Climbey - yeah, the locomotion does get a little na…

What background did you have before you went into VR? Anywhere you would point beginners who want to get started?

I've been making Machinima films using game engines for the past 20 years or so, including working with people like EA, the BBC, et al.

(I'm actually the guy who coined the word "Machinima", with a colleague, because we needed a better way to describe what we did than "Quake Movie".)

So I had a lot of game engine experience before I jumped in.

As for beginners getting started: Unity, Unity, Unity. Grab Unity and start learning - you can get a simple VR experience going in a fairly minimal timeframe.

Re: VR

#120
I feel like a lot of the comments here blasting the technology are related to its ability to output at the hi-fidelity we are now used to on the web / mobile 3D experiences.

This level of immersiveness/naturalness/fidelity will obviously come in due course.

Michael Siebel is here talking about the opportunity (obviously) — which is IMMENSE.

This is basically the iPhone/App-Store bandwagon all over again. If you can jump on it, do so.

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