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For those with VR headsets of any kind: how often are you using it? Are we there yet with VR? If not, is it the hardware, the content, or both? For now, I'd de

by adpirz 8y ago

For those with VR headsets of any kind: how often are you using it? Are we there yet with VR? If not, is it the hardware, the content, or both? For now, I'd define "there" as at least 0.5 * time spent on console or PC gaming per week.

arthurcolle 8y ago
Tracking is a joke with the Rift v1 (consumer version). Decent for a few hours and then randomly everything gets all screwed up, requiring a tracking reset which sometimes doesn’t even fix the issue. It’s way too involved to set up, and even following the instructions it takes sometimes 20 minutes to finally get the tracking sensors synced with the controllers and your System. I found that really frustrating and made it prohibitive for anything other than killing time. Furthermore, for some reason it always makes me set it up from scratch even if I haven’t unplugged the three different USBs (2x tracking, and one for the headset) needed to get the whole thing operational since the last use. Echo VR is super super fun to play, as one concrete example, but I’d say the Rift is still not good enough other than as a toy to show off to people. The driver updates are also absurdly huge. I didn’t use it for a month and I had a 14gb driver download (pretty sure it wasn’t any game/app updates) We are far away from VR being even in the comparable to general purpose “everyday” computing IMO.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- wilg 8y ago
  Something is definitely wrong with your setup. You should not experience any noticeable tracking errors on current hardware. Some combination of a bug, strange setup, or bad environment is going on here. Maybe you have a large mirror or pane of glass around your setup? Lots of things can go wrong.
- andybak 8y ago
  > Tracking is a joke with the Rift v1 (consumer version). Decent for a few hours and then randomly everything gets all screwed up You are literally the only person I've heard this from.
pmtarantino 8y ago
I have the PSVR headset, that works with PlayStation 4. It really amazed me how good it looks and how real some experience feels (read some reviews about Resident Evil 7, for example, I didn't dare to try it). For example, I notice it that it is so good, that my dad (60 years old), who never played any console (because he is not a gaming person), played several games with the headset. It is also a different type of entertainment. At the same time, it makes you feel tired. Not only your eyes / mind, but your body. So I don't play that much, but that's the only reason - you need to be in a special mood to play, and you can't play for one hour, at least not without some rest. But I enjoy it a lot, and with my girlfriend we often joke it was the best purchase we ever made.
tedsanders 8y ago
I own a Vive. Haven't used it in six months. The technology is amazing. Some of the games are fun. I think content is holding it back more than hardware. Unfortunately with such a small install base, the market isn't there to really drive investment in great titles. I think one of the biggest benefits of VR is the social aspect - default on microphones and body language do a lot.
lodi 8y ago
In my opinion, it's already long been "there" for seated, cockpit games. If you mostly play racing/flying games then you're using VR basically all of the time. Otherwise there's still a dearth of "traditional" games in VR, although this is gradually starting to change.
wilg 8y ago
I own a Vive and a Rift, have toyed around with VR development, and build some VR stuff at work sometimes. I haven't used VR in my home (or to play a game anywhere) in over a year. It's just a huge pain in the ass to set up, and I don't have a great spot to play in my apartment. Once it's set up, the experience of being in VR is great. The controllers are good, and the hardware is great (other than the setup). There just aren't any games or other software I'm interested in playing. I'm looking forward to Oculus Quest for helping with ease of use.
- andybak 8y ago
  > It's just a huge pain in the ass to set up The trick is to leave it set up ;-) But is it really that hard? I use a Rift in a hot-desking office and setting it up takes all of 30 seconds each time I move. The room setup doesn't need to be redone. I don't bother with the guardian boundary for front-facing cameras. I just plug in the USB+HDMI and I'm done.
  - idlewan 8y ago
    Moving furniture around because you don't have a 3m x 3m space free all the time is tiring and a major pain point for me (I own a vive, I don't re-setup everytime though I do change the boundaries & optimal furniture placement sometimes)
    - andybak 8y ago
      You don't actually need 3m x 3m for many experiences/games. I work in much less space and only bother clearing space when I need it.
  - wilg 8y ago
    I think the important thing is that it's hard enough that I don't use it.
andybak 8y ago
> I'd define "there" as at least 0.5 * time spent on console or PC gaming per week. I spent a lot more time in VR than console and PC gaming because I'm a fan of VR rather than a fan of pancake gaming. I was a very occasional gamer prior to VR. But I'm in VR nearly every day.
Ajedi32 8y ago
It really depends on what kind of games you like. From my perspective we've been "there" for almost two years now. I spend a lot of time in Echo Arena and Beat Saber, occasionally Rec Room and various single player experiences. From a mainstream perspective though, I'm still not sure. I think the Rift S gets us a lot closer with its emphasis on comfort and ease-of-use, and it's definitely a viable consumer product, but I think there may still be a ways to go before we start seeing _real_ mainstream adoption. The Quest on the other hand, I think has a real chance at being a smash hit. The fact that you don't need a PC to use it is going to be huge for more casual consumers, both for economic reasons (no need for an expensive PC) and ease of use. I expect it'll be a big first step towards pushing VR into the mainstream.
richardjdare 8y ago
I spend most of my gaming time at the moment playing IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad in VR. I've still got an old DK2 which I didn't use for ages until I discovered I could fly Spitfires in VR. Now I'm hooked again, and in the market for a new headset. I don't think we are there yet. I'd like to do more creative and productive stuff in VR which really wants higher res screens and fine hand control, either through gloves or some kind of hand tracker. I'd like to see more serious gaming content as well. Apart from sims, a lot of the games I've been seeing seem to be twee and gimmicky. Or maybe I'm just an old git and the market has left me behind.
mrdependable 8y ago
I have the PSVR headset. I used it for a few weeks and haven't picked it up since. It made my eyes hurt for one, and I was pretty disappointed in the graphics. The headset felt cumbersome to use. There are other setups with better graphics, maybe it's different on PC, but I found I'm actually happier just playing the old fashioned way.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
currymj 8y ago
Specifically the spaceship game "Elite: Dangerous" is absolutely incredible in VR. (They've designed the game to work with it since the original Oculus dev kit came out.) It was the main video game I played for a while, almost always with the Oculus Rift. I don't play it any more for various reasons. I am going to take a strong look at this headset because the most frustrating thing was never issues with resolution, FOV, or whatever people are complaining about. It was all this quality of life stuff that the Rift S looks like it fixes, like setting up head tracking, recentering the screen, not being able to see the keyboard, needing 3 USB ports, etc.
Raphmedia 8y ago
I have one since launch. I never use it. Most of the "games" are either poor ports of actual games or phone level arcade games. I enjoyed going in public VR spaces to interact with people but it quickly lost it's charm. I'm excited for Boneworks that is coming out eventually and that will make me dust off my headset. Hopefully it won't go back in the closet after a month again.
Pfhreak 8y ago
I think your benchmark is wrong. I spend ~15 hours a week gaming, and maybe 1 hour a week on VR (averaged). That feels like a fair amount of use in VR, but it's nowhere near 7-8 hours/week. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 8 hours a week in VR. But the experiences I've messed with are amazing when they land. Elite Dangerous, Beat Saber, Moss, even Google Earth. It's pretty rare for a game to make me stop and literally exclaim, "Holy shit!", but it happens pretty regularly in VR.
flcknzwrg 8y ago
I play irregularly mostly due to lack of time and many other interests. But when I do, it's almost always VR and I enjoy it immensely. I play mostly racing simulators like iRacing and Assetto Corsa. VR is so amazing with these games that I could never go back; should VR go down the drain, I'd rather stop playing than going back to screens. (The other gaming I do is where VR makes precious little sense to begin with - like the odd indie game on the go on a Nintendo Switch, or occasional binges whenever Rockstar releases something big)
kruczek 8y ago
I use VR a few times a week. Definitely far less than total time spent on gaming. However, I would still say we "are there" with VR, because I do not consider it to be simply a replacement for gaming. For me VR is mainly a replacement of other forms of physical activity. And just like I wouldn't spend hours every day exercising, same way I wouldn't spend hours in VR. I simply do not like the idea of going to a gym to pointlessly swing arms or legs; VR gives me a goal, a reason to swing those arms and legs. Of course, to some degree I also use VR for leisure, playing games which do not require a lot of physical movement (e.g. Euro Truck Simulator or Elite: Dangerous). In terms of time, I may actually be spending more time on this category of VR, than the first one - probably exactly because they do not require physical exertion. But still I'd consider the first group much more important. As for shortcomings, fortunately I'm quite resistant to motion sickness, so that's not a problem for me; also limited FOV never bothered me. I'd say the main problem for me is relatively low resolution - which is especially prominent in games where you need to look at objects far away (Euro Truck Simulator), or need to read text (Talos Principle).

by adpirz 8y ago

arthurcolle 8y ago

Tracking is a joke with the Rift v1 (consumer version). Decent for a few hours and then randomly everything gets all screwed up, requiring a tracking reset which sometimes doesn’t even fix the issue. It’s way too involved to set up, and even following the instructions it takes sometimes 20 minutes to finally get the tracking sensors synced with the controllers and your System. I found that really frustrating and made it prohibitive for anything other than killing time. Furthermore, for some reason it always makes me set it up from scratch even if I haven’t unplugged the three different USBs (2x tracking, and one for the headset) needed to get the whole thing operational since the last use. Echo VR is super super fun to play, as one concrete example, but I’d say the Rift is still not good enough other than as a toy to show off to people. The driver updates are also absurdly huge. I didn’t use it for a month and I had a 14gb driver download (pretty sure it wasn’t any game/app updates) We are far away from VR being even in the comparable to general purpose “everyday” computing IMO.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
wilg 8y ago
Something is definitely wrong with your setup. You should not experience any noticeable tracking errors on current hardware. Some combination of a bug, strange setup, or bad environment is going on here. Maybe you have a large mirror or pane of glass around your setup? Lots of things can go wrong.
andybak 8y ago
> Tracking is a joke with the Rift v1 (consumer version). Decent for a few hours and then randomly everything gets all screwed up You are literally the only person I've heard this from.

pmtarantino 8y ago

I have the PSVR headset, that works with PlayStation 4. It really amazed me how good it looks and how real some experience feels (read some reviews about Resident Evil 7, for example, I didn't dare to try it). For example, I notice it that it is so good, that my dad (60 years old), who never played any console (because he is not a gaming person), played several games with the headset. It is also a different type of entertainment. At the same time, it makes you feel tired. Not only your eyes / mind, but your body. So I don't play that much, but that's the only reason - you need to be in a special mood to play, and you can't play for one hour, at least not without some rest. But I enjoy it a lot, and with my girlfriend we often joke it was the best purchase we ever made.

tedsanders 8y ago

I own a Vive. Haven't used it in six months. The technology is amazing. Some of the games are fun. I think content is holding it back more than hardware. Unfortunately with such a small install base, the market isn't there to really drive investment in great titles. I think one of the biggest benefits of VR is the social aspect - default on microphones and body language do a lot.

lodi 8y ago

In my opinion, it's already long been "there" for seated, cockpit games. If you mostly play racing/flying games then you're using VR basically all of the time. Otherwise there's still a dearth of "traditional" games in VR, although this is gradually starting to change.

wilg 8y ago

I own a Vive and a Rift, have toyed around with VR development, and build some VR stuff at work sometimes. I haven't used VR in my home (or to play a game anywhere) in over a year. It's just a huge pain in the ass to set up, and I don't have a great spot to play in my apartment. Once it's set up, the experience of being in VR is great. The controllers are good, and the hardware is great (other than the setup). There just aren't any games or other software I'm interested in playing. I'm looking forward to Oculus Quest for helping with ease of use.

andybak 8y ago
> It's just a huge pain in the ass to set up The trick is to leave it set up ;-) But is it really that hard? I use a Rift in a hot-desking office and setting it up takes all of 30 seconds each time I move. The room setup doesn't need to be redone. I don't bother with the guardian boundary for front-facing cameras. I just plug in the USB+HDMI and I'm done.
- idlewan 8y ago
  Moving furniture around because you don't have a 3m x 3m space free all the time is tiring and a major pain point for me (I own a vive, I don't re-setup everytime though I do change the boundaries & optimal furniture placement sometimes)
  - andybak 8y ago
    You don't actually need 3m x 3m for many experiences/games. I work in much less space and only bother clearing space when I need it.
- wilg 8y ago
  I think the important thing is that it's hard enough that I don't use it.

andybak 8y ago

> I'd define "there" as at least 0.5 * time spent on console or PC gaming per week. I spent a lot more time in VR than console and PC gaming because I'm a fan of VR rather than a fan of pancake gaming. I was a very occasional gamer prior to VR. But I'm in VR nearly every day.

Ajedi32 8y ago

It really depends on what kind of games you like. From my perspective we've been "there" for almost two years now. I spend a lot of time in Echo Arena and Beat Saber, occasionally Rec Room and various single player experiences. From a mainstream perspective though, I'm still not sure. I think the Rift S gets us a lot closer with its emphasis on comfort and ease-of-use, and it's definitely a viable consumer product, but I think there may still be a ways to go before we start seeing _real_ mainstream adoption. The Quest on the other hand, I think has a real chance at being a smash hit. The fact that you don't need a PC to use it is going to be huge for more casual consumers, both for economic reasons (no need for an expensive PC) and ease of use. I expect it'll be a big first step towards pushing VR into the mainstream.

richardjdare 8y ago

I spend most of my gaming time at the moment playing IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad in VR. I've still got an old DK2 which I didn't use for ages until I discovered I could fly Spitfires in VR. Now I'm hooked again, and in the market for a new headset. I don't think we are there yet. I'd like to do more creative and productive stuff in VR which really wants higher res screens and fine hand control, either through gloves or some kind of hand tracker. I'd like to see more serious gaming content as well. Apart from sims, a lot of the games I've been seeing seem to be twee and gimmicky. Or maybe I'm just an old git and the market has left me behind.

mrdependable 8y ago

I have the PSVR headset. I used it for a few weeks and haven't picked it up since. It made my eyes hurt for one, and I was pretty disappointed in the graphics. The headset felt cumbersome to use. There are other setups with better graphics, maybe it's different on PC, but I found I'm actually happier just playing the old fashioned way.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

currymj 8y ago

Specifically the spaceship game "Elite: Dangerous" is absolutely incredible in VR. (They've designed the game to work with it since the original Oculus dev kit came out.) It was the main video game I played for a while, almost always with the Oculus Rift. I don't play it any more for various reasons. I am going to take a strong look at this headset because the most frustrating thing was never issues with resolution, FOV, or whatever people are complaining about. It was all this quality of life stuff that the Rift S looks like it fixes, like setting up head tracking, recentering the screen, not being able to see the keyboard, needing 3 USB ports, etc.

Raphmedia 8y ago

I have one since launch. I never use it. Most of the "games" are either poor ports of actual games or phone level arcade games. I enjoyed going in public VR spaces to interact with people but it quickly lost it's charm. I'm excited for Boneworks that is coming out eventually and that will make me dust off my headset. Hopefully it won't go back in the closet after a month again.

Pfhreak 8y ago

I think your benchmark is wrong. I spend ~15 hours a week gaming, and maybe 1 hour a week on VR (averaged). That feels like a fair amount of use in VR, but it's nowhere near 7-8 hours/week. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 8 hours a week in VR. But the experiences I've messed with are amazing when they land. Elite Dangerous, Beat Saber, Moss, even Google Earth. It's pretty rare for a game to make me stop and literally exclaim, "Holy shit!", but it happens pretty regularly in VR.

flcknzwrg 8y ago

I play irregularly mostly due to lack of time and many other interests. But when I do, it's almost always VR and I enjoy it immensely. I play mostly racing simulators like iRacing and Assetto Corsa. VR is so amazing with these games that I could never go back; should VR go down the drain, I'd rather stop playing than going back to screens. (The other gaming I do is where VR makes precious little sense to begin with - like the odd indie game on the go on a Nintendo Switch, or occasional binges whenever Rockstar releases something big)

kruczek 8y ago

I use VR a few times a week. Definitely far less than total time spent on gaming. However, I would still say we "are there" with VR, because I do not consider it to be simply a replacement for gaming. For me VR is mainly a replacement of other forms of physical activity. And just like I wouldn't spend hours every day exercising, same way I wouldn't spend hours in VR. I simply do not like the idea of going to a gym to pointlessly swing arms or legs; VR gives me a goal, a reason to swing those arms and legs. Of course, to some degree I also use VR for leisure, playing games which do not require a lot of physical movement (e.g. Euro Truck Simulator or Elite: Dangerous). In terms of time, I may actually be spending more time on this category of VR, than the first one - probably exactly because they do not require physical exertion. But still I'd consider the first group much more important. As for shortcomings, fortunately I'm quite resistant to motion sickness, so that's not a problem for me; also limited FOV never bothered me. I'd say the main problem for me is relatively low resolution - which is especially prominent in games where you need to look at objects far away (Euro Truck Simulator), or need to read text (Talos Principle).