General VR discussion thread

[ImpulsE69]

For anyone up in the air about a VR headset or maybe wanting to try the dark side, Amazon is running a pretty sweet deal on the Oculus Rift right now for $600 US

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...3a408f6d0INT&ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

• Oculus Rift VR Headset
• Oculus Touch VR Controllers
• 7 Games
  • Robo Recall
  • Lucky's Tale
  • Dragon Front
  • Quill
  • Medium
  • Dead & Buried
  • Toybox
• $100 Oculus Store Credit

 

[Aikouka]

For anyone up in the air about a VR headset or maybe wanting to try the dark side, Amazon is running a pretty sweet deal on the Oculus Rift right now for $600 US

Whenever there's a good sale outside of common sale times, it makes you wonder if there's some reason behind it. Is the Oculus not moving enough units?

 

[Pheran]

I'm tempted by this Oculus deal, but wondering how much compatibility there is between systems. Could I also play Vive games with it?

 

[WhiteNoise]

you can play many Vive games with it. If the title does not support Rift it will most likely still work but it may not work as well as the Vive in these cases. I have played many Vive titles on my Rift without issue. IMO the Oculus games are better, more complete works. I had a hard time deciding on either the Vive or the Rift and I'm very happy that i bought the Rift.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Whenever there's a good sale outside of common sale times, it makes you wonder if there's some reason behind it. Is the Oculus not moving enough units?

Well, I believe Vive is selling better overall, and HTC has come out and said they are doing fine and don't want to lower the price. Oculus is and has always been playing a different game when it comes to their business model. I do not think they are hurting by any means though. With Touch, Oculus is decent, but their usb support is buggy and requires too many usb ports for my taste.

I should also mention though that right now there's a big sale on software on Oculus store.

I have both systems, and both have pros and cons. I tend to lean towards the Vive, but as mentioned, many of the Rift games are more fleshed out, prettier experiences. I would recommend either one.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

I'm tempted by this Oculus deal, but wondering how much compatibility there is between systems. Could I also play Vive games with it?

There are more wires involved in setting up room scale - i.e. Lots of USB ports used - Here is a link.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vrheads.com/what-you-need-room-scale-oculus-rift?amp


That said my VR is setup as 4m x 4m (just over 13 ft by 13 ft) but the light houses are 20 ft apart. This gives me a big room to play in, one that this article says is not matched by the maximum oculus distance of 14 ft.

 

[Mutilator]

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/06/...gal-fight-to-keep-the-oculus-rift-on-shelves/

 

[WhiteNoise]

I'd still buy the Oculus today if I was looking for a VR experience.

 

[Mutilator]

https://blog.vive.com/us/2017/06/22...with-discounts-on-vive-hardware-and-software/

 

[gorobei]

https://blog.vive.com/us/2017/06/22...with-discounts-on-vive-hardware-and-software/

HTC is fine milking it for a while, they spent the money to be first of the steamvr partners so they need more than a few years to recoup the expenditure. i think the newegg deal last year where you got a free rx480 with a vive order was a bit more compelling if only because of the cyrptocoin craziness right now.

 

[Kaido]

 

[Kaido]

Anyone playing today?

Just tried out Rise of the Jumbotron in Rec Room, soooooo much fun! I am sweating like a pig haha. If anyone here is on later let me know! I play under Mister Iceland.

 

[Kaido]

I finally installed my Deluxe Audio Strap. Soooooo worth the $99. Thoughts:

1. The earbuds, despite looking like bargain-basement Sony headphones from the 90's, are actually excellent. And, despite having no padding, they pose no ergonomic issues - they don't hurt your ear & you don't even notice them when playing. It's really nice not having to fumble with headphones or earbuds, especially when swapping between players.

2. FAR more comfortable of a headset. It's like slipping on a comfortable helmet with padding. This is how it Should Be.

3. The spinning lock wheel is genius. I had seen some people use full-face shop mask bands for modding their Vive HMD's in times past, this takes it to the next level. Also makes it easy to swap between people, especially kids with small noggins...just twist it until it fits and voila!

4. The lock wheel & headband design have actually improved my vision in VR...previously the HMD tended to rest lower on my nose, but now I can lock it (comfortably) higher on my nose, which gives me better vision on the lenses so I can read things on like top menus without having to grab the front of the headset to adjust or fiddle with the velcro straps.

Overall 10/10 they killed it. I am considering shelling out the $39 for the thinner cables now, since the TPcast wireless video system sounds iffy & the better Intel version has no ETA. There's also a really nice ceiling-mount kit for the wiring system for $25 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/MDW-Retractable-Management-Headset-Adhesive/dp/B01M6EB8DM/

I need to get a pegboard to store everything too...

 

[Kaido]

ThermoReal lets you feel heat, cold and even pain in VR and AR:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/02/thermoreal-heat-cold-pinch-vr-ar-htc-vive-x/

bHaptics' TactSuit is VR haptic feedback done right: 87 feedback points for under $549

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/02/bhaptics-tactsuit-vr-haptic-feedback-htc-vive-x-demo-day/

 

[Aikouka]

Overall 10/10 they killed it.

If only Amazon didn't lose mine.

Although, I pretty much ignored all VR games in this year's Summer Sale, so it's probably not that big of a deal. I think the only one that I even considered was Superhot, but I heard that it's really short in VR, so I passed.

 

[Kaido]

If only Amazon didn't lose mine.

Oh no! Are they sending you a new one??

 

[Aikouka]

Oh no! Are they sending you a new one??

Nope. Just refunded me.

 

[Kaido]

Nope. Just refunded me.

Dang! You should really get one, best upgrade I've done in a long time to my VR system. The comfort makes it easier to approach too...you know sometimes when you're like meh, I'll just flop & watch Netflix instead of hooking up VR? It helps. I think wireless will help even more in the future...

 

[Aikouka]

Dang! You should really get one, best upgrade I've done in a long time to my VR system. The comfort makes it easier to approach too...you know sometimes when you're like meh, I'll just flop & watch Netflix instead of hooking up VR? It helps. I think wireless will help even more in the future...

Yeah, the lack of comfort in VR has long since been an issue for me. I still need to get around to trying out the glasses solutions that I purchased months ago (VRLens and VR Protect), but I just haven't had the motivation to deal with VR.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, the lack of comfort in VR has long since been an issue for me. I still need to get around to trying out the glasses solutions that I purchased months ago (VRLens and VR Protect), but I just haven't had the motivation to deal with VR.

Dude it's funny, I've been in the same boat lately. I've discovered that VR does require motivation to use. Flopping onto a couch to watch TV or into a chair to surf the web is one thing, but putting on the headset, firing up Steam VR, getting the controllers ready, the headset adjusted, etc...even though VR is awesome, some days it just presents too much mental friction to use. Honestly it's even felt a tiny bit like that mental hurdle you encounter when you walk through the garage, realize you really need to clean out the garage, and walk back in the house and do something else to kind of avoid it lol.

I do think VR will take off...eventually. They need to get rid of SDE & go Retina. They need to go wireless. They need to make setup less of a hassle...figure out an easier way to do Lighthouses or else dump them completely & switch to really accurate accelerometers & something like Leap Motion sensors for your fingers. Maybe a unified wireless charging station for all of the accessories. I would love to play with family & friends, but no one wants to (1) buy an expensive gaming computer, (2) buy an expensive VR setup with a pricey yet limited library of games/experiences, and (3) have to go through setting up the room with Lighthouse installation, have a cord draped across the floor, etc.

Like, I think VR exercise has the potential to be huge, but they need to iron out the details first. The price for sure...too expensive right now for anything but interested enthusiasts. I don't regret getting my Vive at all, but I've had a hard time talking anyone IRL into actually getting one.

 

[Pheran]

There's a rumor going around that Microsoft Store is going to have Rift+Touch bundle on sale tomorrow for $400. I may jump in if it's true.

 

[Kaido]

 

[Craig234]

Rift+Touch $400 at multiple sources.

Buy it? Wait for Vive or 2.0?

 

[RockinZ28]

Decided to buy it at this price point. Been wanting to try it for a long time, but wanted a higher resolution. $400 is reasonable enough to get my feet wet though.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Decided to buy it at this price point. Been wanting to try it for a long time, but wanted a higher resolution. $400 is reasonable enough to get my feet wet though.

the resolution isn't the problem it's aliasing - it takes a very strong video card, but if you can do super-sample anti-aliasing you can effectively increase the experienced resolution of your VR experience to something I would call "worth playing".