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The key thing about Oculus Go that is entirely missing from their website is that it only allows 3dof in the movement tracking. It's just like cardboard/daydrea

The key thing about Oculus Go that is entirely missing from their website is that it only allows 3dof in the movement tracking. It's just like cardboard/daydream/gear. Unlike all the tethered VR headsets that do full 6dof. In my opinion this isn't VR at all. It's a glorified 360 degree viewer. Personally I think it's pretty deceptive of Oculus to market this like it's a full VR heatset when it's very much not. If you are interested in VR for the immersion or the experiences, avoid this. Get something with full positional 6dof tracking.

iknowstuff 8y ago
Pfffffft. Windows Mixed Reality headsets are so much better than this.
- giobox 8y ago
  The two really aren't comparable. Windows Mixed Reality requires an entire PC attached to it. The whole point of this is that for $199, you get everything you need to start using it, no cellphone or (expensive) PC tether. Whether there's a market for such a device I'm not so sure, but there's no doubt Windows Mixed Reality/Rift/Vive et al have relatively huge cost barriers to entry vs simpler VR devices like this.
  - psyc 8y ago
    There are already standalone Windows MR devices with 6dof. HoloLens has also had 6dof for years. Vive has a stand-alone 6dof as well, but it’s only in China so far.
    - melling 8y ago
      HoloLens hasn’t been officially released and the developer edition costs $3000.
    - westoncb 8y ago
      Could you link to a standalone Windows MR device with 6dof?
      - psyc 8y ago
        Sorry, I was wrong about that. I was thinking of Lenovo Solo, but that is Google Daydream-based. However MR does not inherently require a detached PC. HoloLens is a PC.
  - tokyodude 8y ago
    I'm going to re-iterate the OPs opinion that this isn't VR. If it is we need to a new name where Daydream / Oculus GO = glorified viewmaster and Rift / Vive (and windows mr?) = I touched the future. They are vastly different experiences. The feeling of presence in Vive and Rift that come from (a) having your head movement fully tracked (b) being able to walk around things (c) having your actual hands in the simulation, make it an entirely different experience IMO. I showed my non-tech family cardboard a couple of years ago. They were mildly impressed. I showed them Rift last Christmas and my non-tech mom wanted one immediately. I advised her not to get one yet but she was blown away. Sure it would be better not to have a PC attached but without full 6dof and hands it's basically just a viewmaster toy for 360 videos.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
westoncb 8y ago
Don't get me wrong, I think positional tracking is very significant, too—but that doesn't mean this "isn't VR". You can still move around fluidly in 3D space, it's just that what triggers that motion won't be the motion of your head—and that is an important fact, but being able to navigate 3D worlds mean it isn't just a 360 degree viewer. I've enjoyed 'rails'-based games and others where you navigate through gaze (or clicking if you have a controller I imagine) on the GearVR. And even if you're stationary (e.g. when sitting in the living room of Netflix app), exploring a real-time rendered 3D space by head rotations feels very different from viewing 360 video, which is a really poor experience IMO (for one thing, no depth perception). I've used devices with positional tracking, and it's on another level for sure; but since I don't have a PC that could support one of the nicer headsets atm, it would mean shelling out at least ~$1400 to do VR. So if this is more comfortable, has integrated audio, a higher-res screen, comes with a controller, and I don't have to set it up with my phone to use each time—it's definitely got me thinking about it... Edit: also, if anyone knows: the main thing I wonder about this is whether it overheats super quickly like the GearVR. That's the worst part of the cellphone experience IMO—most games will cause overheating within ~5min. Edit2: the Reddit faq[0] claims the heating issue is resolved, "overheating is no longer a problem (on Gear VR, this is the #1 issue - because phone components are packed into 5mm, your VR play session will always come to an end with the message 'your phone has overheated, gotta stop playing VR until it cools down')" [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/8g7ypb/the_answer_to_your_question_wtf_is_oculus_go/ https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/8g7ypb/the_answer_t...
Kyragem 8y ago
You can use walking-in-place for locomotion. Even with 6-DOF tracking space is limited anyway. The free game Gravity Pull for Google Cardboard/Daydream illustrates this input technique nicely.
erikpukinskis 8y ago
I’m kind of in agreement with you... I don’t think the “real” VR inflection point will be here until we have something in this price range (sub $400) all-in-one with 6dof and leap motion-style hand tracking. But I still bought two Oculus Go’s. Because I think I might be wrong about the 6dof and the finger tracking. I have a sneaking suspicion that with excellent rendering and good design we might see the Mario/FarmVille/Angry Birds/Pokemon Go of VR on a 3dof all-in-one device. We’ll know one way or another within 18 months. If you’re a developer, it seems worth the risk to assume the inflection point is today, 5/1/2018 though.
greypoupon 8y ago
I tried it at F8 today. The experience is EXACTLY like Daydream. Take that for what you will.

iknowstuff 8y ago

Pfffffft. Windows Mixed Reality headsets are so much better than this.

giobox 8y ago
The two really aren't comparable. Windows Mixed Reality requires an entire PC attached to it. The whole point of this is that for $199, you get everything you need to start using it, no cellphone or (expensive) PC tether. Whether there's a market for such a device I'm not so sure, but there's no doubt Windows Mixed Reality/Rift/Vive et al have relatively huge cost barriers to entry vs simpler VR devices like this.
- psyc 8y ago
  There are already standalone Windows MR devices with 6dof. HoloLens has also had 6dof for years. Vive has a stand-alone 6dof as well, but it’s only in China so far.
  - melling 8y ago
    HoloLens hasn’t been officially released and the developer edition costs $3000.
  - westoncb 8y ago
    Could you link to a standalone Windows MR device with 6dof?
    - psyc 8y ago
      Sorry, I was wrong about that. I was thinking of Lenovo Solo, but that is Google Daydream-based. However MR does not inherently require a detached PC. HoloLens is a PC.
- tokyodude 8y ago
  I'm going to re-iterate the OPs opinion that this isn't VR. If it is we need to a new name where Daydream / Oculus GO = glorified viewmaster and Rift / Vive (and windows mr?) = I touched the future. They are vastly different experiences. The feeling of presence in Vive and Rift that come from (a) having your head movement fully tracked (b) being able to walk around things (c) having your actual hands in the simulation, make it an entirely different experience IMO. I showed my non-tech family cardboard a couple of years ago. They were mildly impressed. I showed them Rift last Christmas and my non-tech mom wanted one immediately. I advised her not to get one yet but she was blown away. Sure it would be better not to have a PC attached but without full 6dof and hands it's basically just a viewmaster toy for 360 videos.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

westoncb 8y ago

Don't get me wrong, I think positional tracking is very significant, too—but that doesn't mean this "isn't VR". You can still move around fluidly in 3D space, it's just that what triggers that motion won't be the motion of your head—and that is an important fact, but being able to navigate 3D worlds mean it isn't just a 360 degree viewer. I've enjoyed 'rails'-based games and others where you navigate through gaze (or clicking if you have a controller I imagine) on the GearVR. And even if you're stationary (e.g. when sitting in the living room of Netflix app), exploring a real-time rendered 3D space by head rotations feels very different from viewing 360 video, which is a really poor experience IMO (for one thing, no depth perception). I've used devices with positional tracking, and it's on another level for sure; but since I don't have a PC that could support one of the nicer headsets atm, it would mean shelling out at least ~$1400 to do VR. So if this is more comfortable, has integrated audio, a higher-res screen, comes with a controller, and I don't have to set it up with my phone to use each time—it's definitely got me thinking about it... Edit: also, if anyone knows: the main thing I wonder about this is whether it overheats super quickly like the GearVR. That's the worst part of the cellphone experience IMO—most games will cause overheating within ~5min. Edit2: the Reddit faq[0] claims the heating issue is resolved, "overheating is no longer a problem (on Gear VR, this is the #1 issue - because phone components are packed into 5mm, your VR play session will always come to an end with the message 'your phone has overheated, gotta stop playing VR until it cools down')" [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/8g7ypb/the_answer_to_your_question_wtf_is_oculus_go/ https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/8g7ypb/the_answer_t...

Kyragem 8y ago

You can use walking-in-place for locomotion. Even with 6-DOF tracking space is limited anyway. The free game Gravity Pull for Google Cardboard/Daydream illustrates this input technique nicely.

erikpukinskis 8y ago

I’m kind of in agreement with you... I don’t think the “real” VR inflection point will be here until we have something in this price range (sub $400) all-in-one with 6dof and leap motion-style hand tracking. But I still bought two Oculus Go’s. Because I think I might be wrong about the 6dof and the finger tracking. I have a sneaking suspicion that with excellent rendering and good design we might see the Mario/FarmVille/Angry Birds/Pokemon Go of VR on a 3dof all-in-one device. We’ll know one way or another within 18 months. If you’re a developer, it seems worth the risk to assume the inflection point is today, 5/1/2018 though.

greypoupon 8y ago

I tried it at F8 today. The experience is EXACTLY like Daydream. Take that for what you will.