3 ms·

I feel like a lot of the comments here blasting the technology are related to its ability to output at the hi-fidelity we are now used to on the web / mobile 3D

by sarreph 10y ago

I feel like a lot of the comments here blasting the technology are related to its ability to output at the hi-fidelity we are now used to on the web / mobile 3D experiences. This level of immersiveness/naturalness/fidelity will obviously come in due course. Michael Siebel is here talking about the opportunity (obviously) — which is IMMENSE. This is basically the iPhone/App-Store bandwagon all over again. If you can jump on it, do so.

moron4hire 10y ago
It's really surprising to me to see so many people on HN poo-poo on VR like they do, for this reason. Isn't this site supposed to be about startups, entrepreneurship, being forward thinking, etc? Where are the "thought leaders"? If you can't see the huge potential for VR, there is something wrong.
- falcolas 10y ago
  > If you can't see the huge potential for VR, there is something wrong. Or, we see so many game-breaking limitations (cost, FOV, resolution, VR sickness) and are tired of the "give it 5 years" rhetoric that assumes magic will happen to fix it. Or we're simply not convinced that what it offers is that much better than a regular old computer screen. How does VR change my daily activity of programming? Of watching movies? Of reading books?
  - moron4hire 10y ago
    I don't agree that there is anything game-breaking in the current state of the tech. Also, I don't see why they won't get better rather quickly. And VR sickness is not really a thing for the vast majority of people. It gets hyped up by the press a lot. I've put hundreds of people through intense VR experiences over thirty or forty minutes long. In that time, ONE person had issues. I've seen higher proportions of people get nauseous from regular, first-person shooter PC games.
- greggman 10y ago
  I'd take the opposite stance. Where's the critical thinking from the people who've drunk the VR kool-aid. I know not a single person that has 9x9 to 12x12 sq ft of space to dedicate to room scale VR. On top of that, having played many of the games I can t imagine playing them for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. They're tiring. I can play a game I'm really into for 8-12 hours in one day for 4-5 days straight but I can't imagine that in VR at all I think there is potential as a tool. 3d modeling inside VR could be a 10x or 100x time saver. But, mass market entertainment seems very very unlikely.
MorePowerToYou 10y ago
The current VR/AR situation is nowhere near the iTunes app store situation when it was taking off in 2008-2010. The most notable difference is visible adoption of the technology. By 2009, non-tech peers and relatives were spending more time consuming content on their iPhones and iPod Touches than I was as a developer. You'd see more smartphones everyday just walking around. I work in San Francisco in an office with multiple tech companies. VR/AR is about 99.9% invisible. It's occasionally mentioned by developers/gamers upon returning from GDC. Otherwise, it's completely off peoples' radars. I think the technology has potential, but claiming it's "the next iPhone" is inaccurate. It remains to be seen.
Ologn 10y ago
Yes. It is not cheap enough to be mass market yet, but is close enough that you can see a lower price being attainable. The vision implementation is good enough in some circumstances, but obviously much of that will improve. Multi-player games are not there yet, but Oculus has already shown next-gen demos with multiple players. The current batch of first generation devices obviously have shortcomings, and the price, lack of apps and shortcomings will make them early adopter devices. It's obvious that VR has come a long way in 20 years though, and the next few steps forward will make these into mass market devices. On Youtube is a demo of Medium, a sculpting app, used by artists. I used this myself on Oculus Rift. They said it can sculpt 3d objects you can't easily do on a PC or in real life. It's like Photoshop or Illustrator or some CAD app, with the left hand being the toolbar and the right hand drawing and sculpting. It may be primitive but is useful now. VR is here.
romaniv 10y ago
>This is basically the iPhone/App-Store bandwagon all over again. If you can jump on it, do so. The reason iTunes/AppStore took off and became profitable has more to do with their monetization models rather than the technology involved.
fooey 10y ago
I don't see VR as even remotely comparable to the smart phone revolution. A phone is a tool, it's an accessory. It's easy to use for a half a second, anytime you want. You can glance at your phone while you're working and not miss a beat. VR is an activity. The effort to use VR is a magnitude more than the effort to use a TV, Laptop or Desktop, and those are a magnitude more effort than using a phone. VR is more like a Wii or a Kinect than a phone, except it's significantly harder to use than either of those.

by sarreph 10y ago

moron4hire 10y ago

It's really surprising to me to see so many people on HN poo-poo on VR like they do, for this reason. Isn't this site supposed to be about startups, entrepreneurship, being forward thinking, etc? Where are the "thought leaders"? If you can't see the huge potential for VR, there is something wrong.

falcolas 10y ago
> If you can't see the huge potential for VR, there is something wrong. Or, we see so many game-breaking limitations (cost, FOV, resolution, VR sickness) and are tired of the "give it 5 years" rhetoric that assumes magic will happen to fix it. Or we're simply not convinced that what it offers is that much better than a regular old computer screen. How does VR change my daily activity of programming? Of watching movies? Of reading books?
- moron4hire 10y ago
  I don't agree that there is anything game-breaking in the current state of the tech. Also, I don't see why they won't get better rather quickly. And VR sickness is not really a thing for the vast majority of people. It gets hyped up by the press a lot. I've put hundreds of people through intense VR experiences over thirty or forty minutes long. In that time, ONE person had issues. I've seen higher proportions of people get nauseous from regular, first-person shooter PC games.
greggman 10y ago
I'd take the opposite stance. Where's the critical thinking from the people who've drunk the VR kool-aid. I know not a single person that has 9x9 to 12x12 sq ft of space to dedicate to room scale VR. On top of that, having played many of the games I can t imagine playing them for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. They're tiring. I can play a game I'm really into for 8-12 hours in one day for 4-5 days straight but I can't imagine that in VR at all I think there is potential as a tool. 3d modeling inside VR could be a 10x or 100x time saver. But, mass market entertainment seems very very unlikely.

MorePowerToYou 10y ago

The current VR/AR situation is nowhere near the iTunes app store situation when it was taking off in 2008-2010. The most notable difference is visible adoption of the technology. By 2009, non-tech peers and relatives were spending more time consuming content on their iPhones and iPod Touches than I was as a developer. You'd see more smartphones everyday just walking around. I work in San Francisco in an office with multiple tech companies. VR/AR is about 99.9% invisible. It's occasionally mentioned by developers/gamers upon returning from GDC. Otherwise, it's completely off peoples' radars. I think the technology has potential, but claiming it's "the next iPhone" is inaccurate. It remains to be seen.

Ologn 10y ago

Yes. It is not cheap enough to be mass market yet, but is close enough that you can see a lower price being attainable. The vision implementation is good enough in some circumstances, but obviously much of that will improve. Multi-player games are not there yet, but Oculus has already shown next-gen demos with multiple players. The current batch of first generation devices obviously have shortcomings, and the price, lack of apps and shortcomings will make them early adopter devices. It's obvious that VR has come a long way in 20 years though, and the next few steps forward will make these into mass market devices. On Youtube is a demo of Medium, a sculpting app, used by artists. I used this myself on Oculus Rift. They said it can sculpt 3d objects you can't easily do on a PC or in real life. It's like Photoshop or Illustrator or some CAD app, with the left hand being the toolbar and the right hand drawing and sculpting. It may be primitive but is useful now. VR is here.

romaniv 10y ago

>This is basically the iPhone/App-Store bandwagon all over again. If you can jump on it, do so. The reason iTunes/AppStore took off and became profitable has more to do with their monetization models rather than the technology involved.

fooey 10y ago

I don't see VR as even remotely comparable to the smart phone revolution. A phone is a tool, it's an accessory. It's easy to use for a half a second, anytime you want. You can glance at your phone while you're working and not miss a beat. VR is an activity. The effort to use VR is a magnitude more than the effort to use a TV, Laptop or Desktop, and those are a magnitude more effort than using a phone. VR is more like a Wii or a Kinect than a phone, except it's significantly harder to use than either of those.