General VR discussion thread

[JTsyo]

An older co-worker had picked up a Rift. Most the first person games tend to get him sick. He enjoyed Defense Gird 2, anything else like that available?

 

[sxr7171]

First time I did something like that was in one of the hidden rooms in The Lab - was in there popping balloons, started to lose my balance, and put my hand out to catch myself on the virtual wall. :\

How do you get to these hidden rooms?

 

[Mutilator]

How do you get to these hidden rooms?

On the board where the postcards are move the plug from the pictures over to the valve on the left.
Guide.

 

[gorobei]

valve opens lighthouse licensing royalty free.
but you have to send someone to valve school.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/steamvr-tracking-hardware-development-kit,32400.html

 

[Kaido]

First night with the Subpac vest. Mixed thoughts. History: in one of my previous apartments, I couldn't have a subwoofer, so I stuck 4 Aura bass shakers in my couch & it was pretty good (feel the bass!). When I moved from that place, I stuck two of them in my computer chair (base & back), and that was pretty dang cool with headphones. The Subpac isn't as much of a boom in your back like those were, so much as a live-instrument feel. My initial thought was that it replicates the feel of a concert, but what it really replicates is being in the middle of a live performance, such as (1) being in a recording room, (2) playing in a band, or (3) being in a garage where people are playing together. It's particularly evident on bass drums & bass guitar.

Is it worth $350? Hmm. I am a gadget nerd, so I can't really answer that haha. I love me some new gadgets! It definitely adds another dimension to the music. I need to spend more time with it in VR before giving a solid answer to that. I would say yes, it's worth it IF you are looking for even more immersion because, especially with music, it makes you feel like you're in the room with the band. Or maybe YOU are the one playing the drums - it has that body-feel. But not in the same way as tranducers optimized for movies...it's not just a kick, it's more of an accurate representation of how music should feel to your body, kind of like when you get near a really big, awesome subwoofer and can FEEL the bass. I would say it is a lot different from my Auras in the sense that, thanks to the backpack design, it is far more tuned for music. The default crossover is very good & only picked up the low notes.

Going back to the price...there's the M2 vest ($350) and the S2 seatback ($300). Although I haven't tried the S2, I would probably just buy a couple of bass shakers & bolt them to the seat for far cheaper. Dayton makes some budget models for $20/ea that you could probably pair with a $25 Lepai TA2020+ amp & get pretty similar results, I'd imagine. You could probably do the same with an old backpack & some tranducers, if you don't mind the extra wires, although then you'd lose out on the compact battery, integrated Bluetooth, yada yada yada. So is it worth $350? If you like music & want more immersion in VR, it's a fun - but expensive - toy.

Everyone I've had try it so far has had a "this is really cool!" but not a "WOW, I gotta get one of these!" reaction to it (even without telling them the price). It's not uncomfortable, but it's not the most comfortable thing to put on because you put dual straps across your front torso. I'm all about hardware, so I'm definitely keeping it. Along with my upcoming VR cover, I have a Vive, a Subpac M2 (bonus: it weighs just over 5 pounds, so that's some extra training weight!), some 3-pound ankle/wrist weights, a VirZoom bike, and a Training Mask. VR has pretty much replaced my daily 30 to 45-minute cardio routine in the few weeks that I've had it. I actually look forward to working out every morning now, haha!

As far as headphones go, I have a cheap pair of Philips wrap-around headphones for exercising (they are OK to get sweaty), my Sennheiser HD-280's (which unfortunately tend to fall off when using VR vigorously), and my Etymotic 6i in-ear earbuds, which I only use by myself & don't share due to earwax collection. The Ety's are absolutely incredible. The Philips are mediocre, which makes for a funny pairing because the Subpac is pretty accurate in its bass response & the Philips don't really match up as well in terms of quality. So I'd definitely recommend springing for some good-quality headphones or earbuds if you're going to get an M2.

TL;DR: It's neat, but it's expensive & you can live without it. If you have the bucks to burn, go for it, but make sure you get some really good-sounding cans to go with it!

 

[Kaido]

I'm still waiting for my VR Cover before I really get into playing some of these, and they've shipped... from Thailand. :\

Yeah I just got a shipping notice for mine, really need it due to sweat!

 

[Aikouka]

Yeah I just got a shipping notice for mine, really need it due to sweat!

Good luck. You're going to be waiting quite a while since it ships from Thailand. Mine has been in shipping for two weeks so far, and it still hasn't even reached the United States yet.

 

[Kaido]

Good luck. You're going to be waiting quite a while since it ships from Thailand. Mine has been in shipping for two weeks so far, and it still hasn't even reached the United States yet.

It's made it to Singapore!

 

[Aikouka]

It's made it to Singapore!

Yeah... mine just arrived in NYC today.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah... mine just arrived in NYC today.

Nice, let me know how you like it when it arrives!

My housemates just left, so I get my VR room back (woot woot!). I'm thinking about attaching some sort of swivel for the wiring on the ceiling. There's some interesting setups over on Reddit I've been looking at.

I think the only other piece of equipment I'm looking at is something like a tiny Dragonfly DAC to see how it affects SQ. That & a GTX1080 laptop at some point (my budget, ouch! see you at Christmas lol)

 

[Kaido]

Got the room setup & re-mapped and played an hour or so of AudioShield & Holopoint with the 3-pound wrist weights & Subpac. For starters, the Subpac really kicks on both of those games (not to mention adds an extra 5 pounds of weight to carry for the workout!). Both have pretty good bass soundtracks (in most of the songs, at least), which makes it pretty fun. Also, the weights can really kill your arms haha. With AudioShield, you can wuss out & hold the shields close to you (although you get more points by using artistic flair to punch the notes), but with Holopoint, you're constantly moving your arms by grabbing the arrows, pulling the string back, and aiming your shot. I'm totally soaked right now...my hair is as wet as if I had just been swimming lol. May have to shave my head! I will probably order a second set of weights for my ankles because you do a lot of legwork in Holopoint & also in AudioShield if you get into a really good song & start dancing to the beat. I wish they had some sort of leg trackers with the Vive for tracking dance moves, like Kinect does for DDR-style games!

So after a few days with the Subpac: I wouldn't say it's worth $350 for 90% of usage. The last 10% being if (1) you have money to burn & want yet another cool accessory for VR (because let's face it, we are early adopters & nothing in VR is cheap), and (2) you want to amp up your VR workouts with an extra audio kick & a bit of extra weight to carry. I don't really see myself ever using it outside of VR, maybe if I get into digital drumming at some point (kinda miss my old Guitar Hero drums setup!), but it is really super awesome for music-based games like AudioShield & Holopoint. So if you have $350 lying around & want an enhanced VR workout, then by all means go for it, it's pretty dang cool. Otherwise, I dunno...I don't think it's compelling enough. Maybe if it was priced at like $79. Even then, if I didn't have VR, I would be more inclined to buy the seatback version for regular gaming where you sit down in your chair, or when you're surfing the net or working & listening to music. But with that, you could always just buy some bass shakers & DIY, which is what I did in years past, and you get the bonus of having one on both your back AND under the seat for extra kick.

The ankle/wrist weights are good. 3 pounds isn't very heavy, but boy do you realize how little arm endurance you have once you play intensely for more than five minutes

 

[Kaido]

HP has some more info on their VR PC backpack: (the "OMEN X VR PC Pack")

http://store.hp.com/us/en/ContentView?storeId=10151&eSpotName=OMENXVRPCPack

Forbes has some additional info:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/moorins...ckpack-is-better-than-you-think/#15696ebc69da

* Under 10 pounds
* Dual batteries
* Batteries can be hot-swapped

It's not a huge deal, but the HDMI cord getting tangled around your feet can be annoying sometimes, especially when you're dancing around in something like HoloPoint.

 

[blurredvision]

Minecraft released on the Oculus Store today. It's exactly as you'd expect, although it's really neat to switch between the VR mode and 2D mode. It would make a great intro to VR, to have somebody viewing in 2D mode and be like, "yep, that's Minecraft", then hit the button to go into the world in VR. Awesome effect.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Haven't used it in awhile but wanted to play some Keep Talking or Explode with the wife so fired up the Rift and it had a firmware update. Now the d@mn driver keeps crashing. I think it is somehow conflicting with the Xbone controller, but not sure. Also seems to not like the display driver, and I've installed 3 different ones. Getting less impressed by the day.

 

[Kaido]

Intel announced Project Alloy, an AIO standalone VR headset:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/16/intel-announces-project-alloy-an-all-in-one-vr-headset/

Moving one step beyond Samsung's Gear VR, Intel just announced Project Alloy, an all-in-one VR headset that doesn't need to be connected to a phone or computer. Yes, that means it's completely wireless, with its own processor and battery. Alloy can also track rooms on its own, and it tracks your fingers for interacting with virtual objects. There's also a camera that lets you see other objects in your room, as well as nearby people. It's part of Intel's push around "merged reality," which combines both VR and augmented reality into a single cohesive experience.

1. Standalone headset
2. Headset has battery (making it wireless)
3. Headset has integrated CPU
4. AR-VR hybrid (VR headset with a camera)
5. Supports Windows Holographic framework under Win10

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/16/intel-shows-off-all-in-one-project-alloy-virtual-reality-headset/

Project Alloy relies entirely on hand-tracking as input through its integrated sensors. The demo appeared a bit finicky onstage. The headset appears to be relying strongly on the tech from the company’s RealSense technology. RealSense trackers utilize a 1080p camera in addition to infrared cameras and lasers so in the demo onstage Intel was able to capture when people walked into the frame of the user’s virtual world.

Kind of seems silly that they wouldn't use Leap Motion sensors for finger tracking (or just buy Leap as a company); Orion is incredible:

On a tangent, also makes me wonder why GearVR hasn't cloned the Wiimotes for gamepad motion tracking - mobile VR would be a lot more fun with that!

 

[Linux23]

got both the Rift and the Vive so testing both now. anybody recommend must have games?

also i'm trying to get revive to work, but it doesn't seem to recognize my rift games at all. possibly because my games are stored on another SSD.

I have to admit, i'm a little bit underwhelmed by the Vive so far, from setup to actual content.

 

[Kaido]

got both the Rift and the Vive so testing both now. anybody recommend must have games?

also i'm trying to get revive to work, but it doesn't seem to recognize my rift games at all. possibly because my games are stored on another SSD.

I have to admit, i'm a little bit underwhelmed by the Vive so far, from setup to actual content.

The Vive is kind of a pain to setup, but once you have the Lighthouses installed, get your room mapped out, and have Steam VR setup, it's a piece of cake to use. Some apps to try:

1. TiltBrush: ($30, but was included with my Vive for free) 3D drawing, super cool if you like to doodle.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/327140/

2. Raw Data: ($40) This is an early-access game, but it's one of the most impressive Vive experiences I've had to date. It's only a couple of levels right now but it's really, really cool. Involves shooting, swordfighting, teleportation, and killer robots. Can turn into a big of a workout if you get into it!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/436320/

3. Budget Cuts: (free demo) This is one of the neatest games I've played in VR. It's sort of like a cartoony James Bond. They have excellent use of teleportation & the VR controllers in this game.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/400940/

4. BattleDome: ($15) I thought this was pretty dumb at first, but if you grew up on multi-player games like Counter-Strike, you'll have a blast with this. Multi-player "kill the core" is way fun...it uses teleportation in a useful way (you have a paintball gun & can only teleport to your team's colors...btw if you're not familiar with teleportation, it's exactly what it sounds like - when you have a small room, you can't walk around a huge map otherwise, at least not without getting sim-sick from using a controller to move around while your body is stationary, which throws off your inner ear). Once you get the hang of it (ten minutes of practice & you'll be pretty fluent in it), it gets pretty addicting when you're playing online with other people.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/484870/

5. NVIDIA's Funhouse: (free) Amazing graphics. It's basically a bunch of carnival games. I like the skeet shooting a lot, it gets pretty fun when the pace picks up.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/468700/

6. The Lab: (free) A bunch of mini games from the makers of Portal. Longbow is way way way fun (castle defense using archery inside the Pocket Universe).

http://store.steampowered.com/app/450390/

7. HoloPoint: ($15) Basic but very fun & addicting game. I use this for cardio exercise, actually. It's a bow & arrow game that escalates as you progress levels. If you like basic shooters like Serious Sam, this is kind of the same concept.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/457960/

8. AudioShield: ($20) This is really similar to Guitar Hero, except your VR controllers morph into shields & you punch the notes as they come at you. You can load your own music. I use this for cardio exercise too (along with some 3-pound wrist weights). It's an extremely basic game, but if you like rhythm stuff, it's pretty fun. Even though it's repetitive, it stays enjoyable because you can change the music out whenever you want a new song.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/412740/

9. Final Approach: ($25) This is a game similar to Flight Control on iOS, where you have to land little toy airplanes on a landing strip. Only in 3D-VR! It gets crazy when there's lots of airplanes coming in. It's way fun, but it's also pretty expensive, so watch the trailer video & see if it's worth the money to you or not.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/

10. theBlu: ($10) This is a very short but very cool VR experience. It's up to you if you want to spend ten bucks on it or not. You're basically just sitting in the ocean watching stuff for a few minutes; there are 3 "scenes" available to watch. Luminous Abyss is really cool because of all of the goop floating around you, the luminescent fish, and so on. If you show off your Vive to a lot of people (I do), then it's worth getting because it's a great first experience in VR, but if you're looking for an interactive game, you might want to pass.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/451520/

There's a bunch of other cool stuff too, like Adr1ft, Rec Room, Hover Junkers, etc. What kind of stuff are you normally interested in? There are nearly 500 VR apps in the Steam store currently. Serious Sam VR is coming out soon. There are a couple horror games like A Chair in the Room & The Brookhaven Experiment. The BigScreen beta is pretty neat to try (virtual monitor, basically remote desktop in VR). My only real complaint with VR right now is the lack of a full-on game that you can really play for awhile. There's nothing like Half-Life quiet yet, where you have 15 or 20 levels & a solid story. Mostly what you're getting into is a lot of really impressive tech demos & some fun cardio games. Like, Longbow in The Lab game from Portal is awesome, but it's just kind of a one-level game & that's it. I don't really even play it anymore because I've already experienced it several times...I want more. It's just a waiting game right now. A waiting game with short, expensive games!

 

[Sabrewings]

Space Pirate Trainer. It's like being in an arcade game.

 

[Mutilator]

Don't forget Rec Room.

And Serious Sam VR may be out within days...

 

[ImpulsE69]

got both the Rift and the Vive so testing both now. anybody recommend must have games?

also i'm trying to get revive to work, but it doesn't seem to recognize my rift games at all. possibly because my games are stored on another SSD.

I have to admit, i'm a little bit underwhelmed by the Vive so far, from setup to actual content.

If you aren't impressed by the Vive, you aren't going to be very impressed with the Rift either. You either like the content or you don't. There are no AAA or full experiences yet. Mostly tech demos.

But for best content so far:

The Lab (came with your Vive, free on Steam)
The Blu
Budget Cuts Demo

 

[Linux23]

Got revive working so that's cool now. So far I'm leaning towards the Rift. I'll update when I set up room scale over the weekend though.

The Vive headset is too top heavy, the smears bother me on the outer lens area, and the thick and heavy cables and cumbersome headphone cable really takes me out of the experience. I wish they'd simplify the vibe a bit more but that's probably next gen.

 

[Kaido]

Got revive working so that's cool now. So far I'm leaning towards the Rift. I'll update when I set up room scale over the weekend though.

The Vive headset is too top heavy, the smears bother me on the outer lens area, and the thick and heavy cables and cumbersome headphone cable really takes me out of the experience. I wish they'd simplify the vibe a bit more but that's probably next gen.

There are a few companies that have prototypes of wireless HMD's already, I think that will be the future. Between the wireless signal & display screen tho, I'd imagine they'll have to do hot-swap batteries.

 

[Kaido]

2 more Vive games tonight:

1. Trickster VR: ($10, early access game) Yet another archery waveshooter, but with some fun twists. For starters, you get rapid-fire bow & arrows. You also get your choice of short-range weapons, either a sword or throwing darts. You're on a floating island that other floating islands connect to; when they dock to your island, the orc horde comes out to play. Your job is to defend a portal thingy. It's a good advancement for VR waveshooters & is pretty fun for the money.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/512220/

The developer is active on Reddit & says an Adventure Mode is coming:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4xebli/trickster_now_live_on_steam/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4utsi5/shoot_some_orcs_in_vr_you_know_you_want_to/

2. Belly Bots: ($8) Very simple but super fun arcade shooter. Complexity goes up as the waves of enemies increases. I thought it was too simple at first, but then they introduce drones, sentries, walls to duck behind, etc.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/493100/

 

[Kaido]

Apparently this is pretty popular: (not a Steam game, just an accessory app)

https://www.voiceattack.com/

Voice Attack: ($10) Basically a modern version of Game Commander, complete with macros & VR support.

 

[Linux23]

Apparently this is pretty popular: (not a Steam game, just an accessory app)

https://www.voiceattack.com/

Voice Attack: ($10) Basically a modern version of Game Commander, complete with macros & VR support.

Yeah I bought that months ago when playing Elite Dangerous. Pretty useful app and would recommend.

2 more Vive games tonight:

1. Trickster VR: ($10, early access game) Yet another archery waveshooter, but with some fun twists. For starters, you get rapid-fire bow & arrows. You also get your choice of short-range weapons, either a sword or throwing darts. You're on a floating island that other floating islands connect to; when they dock to your island, the orc horde comes out to play. Your job is to defend a portal thingy. It's a good advancement for VR waveshooters & is pretty fun for the money.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/512220/

The developer is active on Reddit & says an Adventure Mode is coming:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4xebli/trickster_now_live_on_steam/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4utsi5/shoot_some_orcs_in_vr_you_know_you_want_to/

2. Belly Bots: ($8) Very simple but super fun arcade shooter. Complexity goes up as the waves of enemies increases. I thought it was too simple at first, but then they introduce drones, sentries, walls to duck behind, etc.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/493100/

I'm going to try some of these games out over the weekend. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm telling family to not bother me this weekend as I'll be doing some serious research