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Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#201

Post by ilikehurdles »

It seems like a bulky novelty. Like something we would very much enjoy but because of the cost and involved setup I'd rather go to an arcade to experience VR than throw it into a room and turn gaming into an even more socially isolated thing than it already is. I also don't know how often I'd use it past. Seems fun for racing and flight games, but I also can't justify keeping a ton of simulation racing/flight gear around in my house. A simple handheld controller seems "good enough" for achieving 90% of the fun.

I do wish there'd be more VR availability in arcade-style places.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#202

Post by mhh__ »

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #147
rafaelvasco wrote: post #134

The price. That's the only reason for me. Other than that it's wonderful; Once the prices reach affordable for the masses level, it will surely blow up, given the right apps come with it. People yearn to fantasize, break away from reality, new sensorial experiences etc. If VR offers that at good prices it'll be an explosion. That's my view on it.

100% this for me. Every 6 months or so I go and price out a VR capable desktop machine along with a headset. It's hard not to spend close to $2000 and still have confidence the rig will hold up in 2-3 years. I've seen builds out there around the $1000 price point with people marketing it as "VR-ready", but honestly I'm skeptical of what exactly that means and whether or not it's durable towards upcoming content. The…

VR is fine (with lots of upscaling) on my 1070 which isn't cheap but equally is years old.

Keep in mind you'll probably be playing beat saber for the most part so graphics don't mean fuck all (some people on Reddit claim to play on integrated graphics) for the game to be as addictive as crack cocaine.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#203

Post by freediver »

iguanayou wrote: post #183

As a pilot, I use VR with the XPlane flight simulator and it seriously feels like I'm in a real Cessna. True, the flight controls are a little off (for example, stalls and landings don't feel like a real plane), but other than that, everything is absolutely spot on. It's a great way to scratch my aviation itch and is also great for practicing procedures, especially when paired with a live air traffic control network…

can you describe your setup in more detail?

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#204

Post by chinesempire »

d--b wrote: post #193

FIELD OF VISION. Why can’t VR people understand that humans are used to ultra wide vision angle? Peeping into a VR headset removes all peripheral vision, meaning you have to rotate your head all over to see things. It’s like playing quake with your neck. Make a 180 angle headset and maybe people will feel transported to another place. Right now it’s more like looking into a doll’s house. No wonder immersive rooms are…

Actually for Formula 1 racing games VR is just perfect

In fact it's the tool used to simulate field of view on F1 cars and how they tested the halo

https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images...

My girlfriend's mother has a genetic disorder of the eyes called retinitis pigmentosa which causes tunnel vision.

VR is the tool she uses to explain to medical students how it feels to suffer from it.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#205

Post by iguanayou »

freediver wrote: post #203
iguanayou wrote: post #183

As a pilot, I use VR with the XPlane flight simulator and it seriously feels like I'm in a real Cessna. True, the flight controls are a little off (for example, stalls and landings don't feel like a real plane), but other than that, everything is absolutely spot on. It's a great way to scratch my aviation itch and is also great for practicing procedures, especially when paired with a live air traffic control network…

can you describe your setup in more detail?

Sure, it's a scratch-built PC (i7 / 2070 Super) with an HP Reverb, which is a lightweight VR headset. I use a physical yoke (Honeycomb), rudder pedals (Thrustmaster), and throttle quandrant (Saitek), but everything else in the cockpit can be manipulated with the VR controllers that come with the headset.

You just interact with the cockpit as you normally would, pressing buttons, pulling levers, and twisting knobs.

In the virtual cockpit, there is a tablet app that displays all of your maps/charts/checklists/reference materials. Works pretty slick.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#206

Post by dade_ »

It isn't ready yet. We have come a very long way, but the hype always sets expectations - too soon for the quality and price consumers demand.

Compare what was an amazing experience in 1995 with MechWarrior 2 VR ($3000 headset + $3000 PC in 1995 dollars) to the experience that Sony offers with the PS4 for less than 1/6th the cost today. I am still excited to see what comes next.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#208

Post by ggreer »

oblio wrote: post #138
scottlocklin wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never saw captain Kirk recharging his, nor fiddling with it when he was bored. Space1999 commlocks were also way better than an ipotato. http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/cguide/umcomlock.html

> I never saw captain Kirk recharging his Well, if the current trend of battery improvements holds, and considering the unfathomable amounts of money and time thrown at the problem, we're hopefully about 10 years away from devices that can last 1 week on a single charge. Not quite Captain Kirk material, but we have about 240 years to get there. > nor fiddling with it when he was bored Do you consider this a minus? Mo…

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has a 15 watt-hour battery. If it lasted a week on a single charge, it would need a 105 watt-hour battery. That's the same amount of energy in 90 grams of TNT.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#209

Post by hindsightbias »

wutbrodo wrote: post #190
scottlocklin wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never saw captain Kirk recharging his, nor fiddling with it when he was bored. Space1999 commlocks were also way better than an ipotato. http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/cguide/umcomlock.html

You don't see that with smartphones in fiction set contemporarily either (or for that matter, fiction set during the dumbphone Era)

The most scify thing about the future is that people actually talk to each other.

The Trek franchise should have some reference to the Texting Ban of some stardate.

Re: Why we've never fallen in love with virtual reality

#210

Post by bronco21016 »

iguanayou wrote: post #183

As a pilot, I use VR with the XPlane flight simulator and it seriously feels like I'm in a real Cessna. True, the flight controls are a little off (for example, stalls and landings don't feel like a real plane), but other than that, everything is absolutely spot on. It's a great way to scratch my aviation itch and is also great for practicing procedures, especially when paired with a live air traffic control network…

Since the release of the original Oculus I’ve been curious about this. I fly for a living which is a very rewarding and satisfying way to earn a paycheck but it does come with some monotony and takes away some of the ‘fun’ that can really only be had from GA flying low and slow and taking in the scenery. I’m not able to afford an actual aircraft yet but I’m wondering if a good VR simulator set up could scratch that itch.

I guess it depends what kind of flying you do in the sim but do you find it still provides a fun factor? Like is it immersive enough to go fly around in the mountains? Or hop around some lakes in a seaplane? Is manipulating switches and buttons other than the primary controls cumbersome within VR? I remember the original ‘virtual cockpits’ in MS Flight Sim and planning around go find the right switches and buttons to click really took away from the experience.

I’m really interested in this idea but haven’t found a setup to try out and I’m hesitant to spend a bunch on it just to test it out.

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