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When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

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Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#271

Post by jsemrau »

wlesieutre wrote: post #16
binarymax wrote: post #7

Technology is not the problem. Flashback to 1995. I'm a 17 year old PFY invited to beta test a VR headset from a local company. My Uncle was an investor and I was technically savvy and the target market. I had a copy of Descent that supported VR, and while it was a bit of a hassle to get setup, I got it working. The experience was incredible. After the first use I said to myself "this is the future". I had permission…

That depends entirely on your living situation. If you live on your own, a VR headset becomes just the opposite - you go from being isolated to being in a room full of people. Those people can be on the opposite side of the world, but you're carrying on a conversation and playing mini-golf with them. Or for local play, there are one-vs-many party games where one player wears a headset and interacts with a group of pe…

>That depends entirely on your living situation. If you live on your own, a VR headset becomes just the opposite - you go from being isolated to being in a room full of people.

That is a really depressing and dystopian future that I am not sure if I want to live in. Yes, MMOs and games like GTA-O, Roblox, or Fortnite are in the same area already now available. But in my opinion this only increases the actual isolation and I would believe that the post VR experience emotional drop down could be severe. It also brings up the backdrop of Ready Player One, where everybody is occupied by the VR while living in decrepit containers seemingly without a desire to fix it.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#272

Post by chaostheory »

Animats wrote: post #149

I should have made a bet like that with the "thought leader" who threatened to ban me from his blog after I said VR looked to be the next 3D TV. The problem isn't the cost. It's that moving around while wearing VR headgear is only safe in either customized environments, like the Star Wars location based entertainment system, or when movement is in a small area, like Beat Saber. Which is why Beat Saber is the #1 VR ga…

> The problem isn't the cost. It's that moving around while wearing VR headgear is only safe in either customized environments, like the Star Wars location based entertainment system, or when movement is in a small area, like Beat Saber. Which is why Beat Saber is the #1 VR game.

You are on point with most VR systems. However, you should try the Oculus Quest 2. All you need to do is clean a room regularly. That said, Oculus Quest 2 has excellent and obstacle detection compared to other VR systems, as long as you're more conservative making your boundary (leave extra space between the boundary and an actual obstacle like your couch) you should be fine.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#273

Post by ab-dm »

I was pretty anti-VR until a friend wouldn’t shut up about how good the rift-S was and I finally picked one up this year during lockdown.

Now I have an index a quest 2, and spend far, far too much time in VR. Nothing comes close to PCVR gaming in VR, and quest 2 titles are starting to become really good. Population 1 is probably one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played in my entire life, and I don’t even like battle royals.

Yes there are some things we need to get better at, but I just can’t imagine something this transformative, that is consistently sold out, doesn’t take off at one point, even if it is 5 years away.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#274

Post by ipsum2 »

kreddor wrote: post #54
memetherapy wrote: post #28

The quest 2 is pretty much a revelation. Untethered, light, cheap, high quality display and inside out tracking and connects wirelessly to a gaming PC allowing you to play virtually any title if you pay $15 for vrdesktop. Obviously you have to be comfortable with facebook but it's just a better end to end experience than any other headset I've tried, although it would be better if VR desktop or something similar was…

Is it that much better than Quest 1? The first Quest was already pretty great compared to everything else, Facebook or not.

It's not substantially better. It's only a good upgrade if the screen resolution bothers you.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#275

Post by chaostheory »

simonswords82 wrote: post #200
zmmmmm wrote: post #195

I'm sold on VR because it has completely revolutionised my fitness regime. It turns what is otherwise a boring, painful chore into immersive, interactive and fun experience that leaves me sweating and heart pounding and running late because I wanted to do just one more round ... If my headset broke today, I would order a new one same day.

What headset do you have and what do you play to work out?

I use a Quest 2 and I can vouch for it as a fitness machine.

You can even use it on a stationary bike if you get a $20 cadence sensor

https://www.virzoom.com/

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#276

Post by ipsum2 »

blhack wrote: post #233
rocky1138 wrote: post #229

I know I'm late to the conversation, but one of the biggest unreported problems with VR adoption is that it's impossible to show anyone what it is like to actually experience it. You can't share a video or a photo with a friend and have them understand. They have to do it to understand it.

And what's worse is that the most accessible version of "VR", google cardboard (or equivalents) is actually a terrible representation of VR. So people will try that, dismiss VR as a gimmick, and not revisit it again. A proper VR rig is likely going to cost you >$2000, and it's going to need a dedicated room of your house. It's really inaccessible. But man when it works... Playing skyrim, or fallout in my vive was suc…

> A proper VR rig is likely going to cost you >$2000, and it's going to need a dedicated room of your house. It's really inaccessible.

Oculus Quest 2 is $299. If you have a 1m x 1m space you can play a majority of games.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#277

Post by yreg »

wlesieutre wrote: post #16
binarymax wrote: post #7

Technology is not the problem. Flashback to 1995. I'm a 17 year old PFY invited to beta test a VR headset from a local company. My Uncle was an investor and I was technically savvy and the target market. I had a copy of Descent that supported VR, and while it was a bit of a hassle to get setup, I got it working. The experience was incredible. After the first use I said to myself "this is the future". I had permission…

That depends entirely on your living situation. If you live on your own, a VR headset becomes just the opposite - you go from being isolated to being in a room full of people. Those people can be on the opposite side of the world, but you're carrying on a conversation and playing mini-golf with them. Or for local play, there are one-vs-many party games where one player wears a headset and interacts with a group of pe…

Even single player VR games can be fun in a party setting. In our group we sometimes let one person play VR and mirror it on a TV. The rest of us continue talking while casually watching and taking turns.

The player is not isolated because they know they are being watched. Works good with BeatSaber, SuperHot, etc.

It's basically the same as a group taking turns at an arcade machine — not solitary.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#278

Post by chaostheory »

daemonk wrote: post #58

I can't get past the motion sickness. I wonder what percentage of the willing market also can't handle it.

I used to get motion sickness with previous gen VR headsets. Not so much with the higher resolution models with better lenses. There's also feet based movement that help

https://store.steampowered.com/app/798810/Natural_Locomotion...

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#279

Post by chaostheory »

ColFrancis wrote: post #205
abraxas wrote: post #167

Rhythm, exercise, boxing, fencing games are second to none in VR thanks to the medium itself. They are much more compelling in VR vs jumping in front of a television set while waving a pair of Wii wands. The reason VR is struggling is the same reason that most exercise games eventually struggle. Humans are lazy and prefer sitting on their asses and click buttons with near zero muscle activity.

But how many people play wii sports? It was awesome fun, super novel, and was huge for a while there but now it's died off. It'll be interesting to see if VR does the same. One thing going for VR is that there's more than one company making stuff.

The problem with Wii Sports is that you couldn't make it a high intensity workout. High intensity workouts are a reality in VR. This is just one example out of many

https://www.getsupernatural.com

Even boxing is amazing and tiring

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/3008315795852749

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#280

Post by chaostheory »

kreddor wrote: post #54
memetherapy wrote: post #28

The quest 2 is pretty much a revelation. Untethered, light, cheap, high quality display and inside out tracking and connects wirelessly to a gaming PC allowing you to play virtually any title if you pay $15 for vrdesktop. Obviously you have to be comfortable with facebook but it's just a better end to end experience than any other headset I've tried, although it would be better if VR desktop or something similar was…

Is it that much better than Quest 1? The first Quest was already pretty great compared to everything else, Facebook or not.

The visuals are already a big improvement, but I think the big difference will happen once 90HZ unlocked with Quest 2
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