Jesus H Chrisolopis! I leave the thread for 3 months or so and it explodes? Took me over an hour to catch up on everything!
I can't speak for PSVR as I didn't try it myself but although in some respects it's technically inferior, as usual software makes a difference and a few of these like RE7 and Farpoint are homeruns. RE7 is coming to the PC I think in a few months (maybe Feb '18 at worse?) so I'll eventually see what the fuss is about but Farpoint ain't coming anytime soon so hopefully so me other company will create an awesome peripheral as that gun controller for the PC. The game I'm not so worried, lots of good titles out or in development.
Intent is not to rehash the arguments from May (yuck!) but felt the need to say that although I am a huge supported of VR (owned the DK2, have owned Vive and Rift since launch), VR will never, EVER be for everyone so it's moot to try and argue this point. There are many people who despise having their visions blocked in anyway so for those people, until at the very least the form factor is akin to a pair of sunglasses, then I gather AR application will be as close as it gets.
In saying that, most other limitations of the technology will eventually resolve itself. The wireless Kit for the Vive (and soon Rift) has just gone through FCC approval so that will take care of itself soon (except for price). Ability to see more detail is being resolved via foveated rendering (except for the price). Additional tracking via the "PUCKS" that Steam is putting out is resolving leg tracking (except for the price). better resolution headsets are coming via gen 2 or 3 to a quality that should match 4K monitors (might be pricey
). Motion dizziness is real but strides have already been done in this area (90FPS/artificial locomotion) and it's nice that money isn't the solution here, expept to consider that you need high end to alleviate those cases where the tech is causing the issue (but it's not always the tech!). Already compared to the DK1 and DK2, there are improvements to the form factor/size/weight/quality of lenses/etc but there is a lot more room for improvement.
Yes, the common denominator is that although everything is fixable (lots' of lessons learned this generation), price usually does sort itself out to some extent via time. There are exceptions but the world is crazy that way. If 10 years ago you would have told me that people would spend $800 every 2 to 3 years on a new cell phone and there would be over a billion iphones alone (never mind the Android smartphone market which is I think larger? I would have said you are nuts considering the prices on these. The money is there, if VR isn't massively adopted out of the gate, it's not because it's too expensive it's because it's footprint is presently too large. I assure you if you could get the same vive/rift performance but in a wireless form-factor that resembles sunglasses, VR would be the next iphone. I'm pretty sure Valve and Oculus know this, no doubt Sony does as well (not sure on HTC, really don't know if they grasp the tech behind what they build) and I am sure that's their end-game. That might not be achievable for 10 years but you betcha there's a roadmap at Facebook and Valve that shows this
But it is what it is, VR has technical limitations but so did other great techs, it's a slow starter but the big difference between it and the 3DTV is that for MOST people who try high-end VR, it feels like a game-changer to them. I have gone through Pong, to Colecovision, to the C64, to the Amiga, to the PC 3D engines, to the various modern consoles and nothing, NOTHING has hit me like the potential I see in high-end VR, it's simply that good an experience. For 3D, although lots of people went and saw Avatar in the theatres because of the game-changing 3D it offered, you can't replicate that same 3D at home because of limitation in the technology... like an IMAX screen just can't fit at home. Curiously enough, a 200 foot screen can exist in VR, but more on that later. In fact a lot of people love to discuss VR in 3D terms and of course I can see why, yet it's also totally inappropriate. Stereoscopic 3D is a big portion of it, yet many people with vision in only one eye report the same feelings of immersion, without the 3D. This is done through positional tracking and is one main reason why the current mobile VR is really not a fair comparison to high-end VR like the PC's Rift or Vive or the PS4. It's coming though but then you have the motion controls and it seems those mobile headsets who are coming out with positional tracking (really inside-out tracking) will have motion controls but only when they are in range of the sensors located on the front of the headset. IE: this next generation of mobile still won't quite cut it, at least until both Oculus and HTC come out with their all-in-one headset..
Anyway, I know I rambled there a bit, sorry
. TLDR: There are barriers but they will eventually be overcome. VR is here to stay, maybe not as a homerun for a while but it will eventually get there. Why? Because like so many inventions, it's a game-changer.
Onto games, even though there is little AAA support right now (Lone Echo, Robo Recall and Superhot VR seem to be the current standard and I'd call those AA games) I am amazed at how so many independent experiences still manage to be very immersive, and my mind is blown thinking what will it be like in 5 years time when HMD's are in more hands to lessen the financial risk?
For the PC, games to try if you have a Vive or Rift and some comments, reminders for those unaware:
IF you've tried VR before and had issues with dizziness, these are caused by:
- pc wasn't strong enough therefore you weren't achieving 90FPS, therefore tracking couldn't keep up, therefore dizzy.
- some people get sick in a car and that feeling of moving without you actually moving is what causes artificial locomotion (your body moving via you doing so by pushing a joystick) to cause the same dizziness. IF you are subject to this, you can still enjoy VR but for crying out loud stop trying games and experiences that use artificial locomotion. Doing so is like burning your hand when you touch fire and keep trying to see if it goes away. Yes, some are able to get VR legs but not all and really you should let your body adjust by trying something where you yourself move around for real. In the 50 or so people I've demo'd VR, ZERO have had dizziness when trying room scale games on the Vive that have zero artificial locomotion (rift not quite but at the time I was getting tracking issues). Yes, ZERO. That doesn't mean 100% of the population is immune to roomscale dizziness but it's at least a better chance of trying VR and seeing what it's about then just burning your hand again and again.
Some games:
- Google Earth VR: Tried it again last night and even though detail close to the ground is more like ground zero after an atomic Bomb exploded, I'm amazed at the range of emotions it invokes when viewing an area I visited in my youth. I'm sure at some point, some psych student will focus his thesis on this very question
. Anyway, amazing, simply amazing and this from an app where you are just an observer!
- Lone Echo: It's been said already but it's simply put a polished experience that's maybe not a system seller (that tech and $ barrier) but it's pretty close!
- cock pit racers and space games: If you can handle it without dizziness, then it's an incredible experience. For those who like racers, I tell you I think a game like space truck... er I mean Elite Dangerous is just as immersive, maybe even more so than racers. Don't know why maybe it's psychological because everyone can drive a car but 99.9999999% of us can go into space and those spacecship VR cockpits really help you feel like you are there
- finally this is arcadecontrols and no one in the recent pages of this thread has mentioned NewREtroArcade? (maybe I missed it?). Anyway, I can't say enough about it, what a great experience and a fun way to revisit the arcades of old. latest updates to the app even allows you to mix up the games fairly easy and supports lightgun games too! There are other games such as pinball titles too like Zacarria and Pinball FX2 and yes, our favorite arcade pass-time is covered.
Ok, that was probably too long, sorry about that