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I have a couple VR headsets and, like someone on reddit recently observed, they sit mostly gathering dust - but, when I do put one on, I will use it for hours.

I have a couple VR headsets and, like someone on reddit recently observed, they sit mostly gathering dust - but, when I do put one on, I will use it for hours. Most times it's such a totally immersive experience that I'm usually shocked to discover that I'm actually at home when I take off the helmet. IMHO VR (and AR) has moved on from being at a high risk of dying as an overhyped fad (e.g. 3D TV) to having enough niche utility that its uses will grow as people get exposed to it. Using VR is a fun regular diversion at the moment, but not a highly useful tool - but I'm hopeful that will change. I would love to be able to easily use a VR helmet in conjunction with a keyboard/mouse/hands vs. holding controllers to do more intensive computer tasks like programming.

wlesieutre 7y ago
For what it's worth, gathering dust isn't universal. Pretty much every day mine gets fired up for half an hour of Pistol Whip or Beat Saber. Other games get longer sessions, like Shadow Point which I just started yesterday. Neat game so far, puzzles based on perspective, light/shadow, mirrors/reflections, that kind of thing. It reminds me of The Witness in a lot of ways. Also has some unusual spaces where rooms connect to each other or back to themselves in a ways that they shouldn't. Nothing new about that in games, but it's weirder to experience in VR than on a computer screen. My favorite trick so far has been where they'll make you lean in close to something, and then when you step back you find yourself in a totally different space. Nothing changes on screen, they just pull the whole environment out from under you while it's outside your field of view, leaving only the part you'd been looking at unchanged. Narration by Patrick Stewart is also great. A friend was telling me last week that a 3D space strategy game is what he was hoping to see in VR before he jumps on board. Then last night I stumbled on Eternal Starlight, which will be right up his alley: https://twitter.com/e_starlight_vr/status/1211646479884017664 https://twitter.com/e_starlight_vr/status/121164647988401766... It's still early days, but I think VR has a lot of room for different kinds of experiences for all sorts of demographics. Very excited to see what we can do with it in the next couple of years.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
pharke 7y ago
> I would love to be able to easily use a VR helmet in conjunction with a keyboard/mouse/hands vs. holding controllers to do more intensive computer tasks like programming. I'm looking forward to this with the Quest. I've tried out the hand tracking but there aren't many apps that support it yet. I haven't given bluetooth pairing a go yet but I'm itching to try out some kind of text editor with it when I have the time. I agree that they need to reduce the barrier to putting the headset on even more, I think that moment will come when the UI experience is as easy as opening a laptop which probably means reducing the weight further and having much better video pass through so you're not completely hoodwinked while using it (being able to easily drink a coffee while working in VR is a must). AR glasses would be ideal but seem like they're still pretty far off for reasons like battery life, screen resolution, opacity, and bulkiness. The interim solution will probably just be comfort and durability for VR to the point where you can put it on as easily as a hat and treat it with the same physicality as a tablet. Oculus' Half Dome 3 prototype[0] seems to be exactly this which is why I'm very excited to buy whatever iteration of it comes to market. [0] https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-more-comfortable-compact-vr-prototypes-for-work/?locale=en_US https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-m...
- whywhywhywhy 7y ago
  >I haven't given bluetooth pairing a go yet but I'm itching to try out some kind of text editor with it when I have the time. Seen a few people posting that Glitch's coding tools work in Firefox on the Quest with at bluetooth Keyboard. https://twitter.com/fernandojsg/status/1139570325312684032 https://twitter.com/fernandojsg/status/1139570325312684032
dickjocke 7y ago
I wonder if there is any application for VR as an IDE tool. From what I understand, today it is very hard to see text clearly and type, but I spend a lot of time sitting on my couch or laying on my back trying to code pretend I'm not creeping up on 30 and that I can sustain that kind of computer use. I think if I could wear a headset and sit on my couch or even lay on my back and code it would be heavenly.
- Rebelgecko 7y ago
  I've played around a bit with Virtual Desktop[1] on my Oculus Quest, and text is surprisingly legible, even over WiFi. I've seen some people on Reddit who claim they write code all day with a similar setup (often with 180° or more of monitors). It's not something I would want to do (esp. typing while using VR), but it's possible. [1]: https://www.vrdesktop.net/ https://www.vrdesktop.net/
  - e12e 7y ago
    Have you tried the oculus dk2? As I recall text wasn't crisp enough to be usable - wondering if that's much better on the quest? You're using the quest as a vr headset for your computer? Running W10?
    - Rebelgecko 7y ago
      Yeah, I'm using it to display the monitors hooked up to a PC running Windows 10. I've tried the Oculus CV1 and various dev kits. I don't remember if I ever tried DK2, but I saw a few demos on the "1080 HD" dev kit which came between DK1 and DK2. For me, reading text on the Quest is MUCH easier. If I were using an IDE I'd probably bump the font size up to 14pt to make things a bit more comfortable but it's not awful with the default settings. For reference, when I view the new godawful Steam UI [1]on the Quest, the only text I have a hard time reading is the list of games on the left. In games that work with VR but aren't really designed it in mind (e.g. Euro and American truck simulator) it's can be harder to read some of the text, especially at oblique angles. I need to lean forward a bit to be able to read things like my fuel gauge. [1]: https://assets.vg247.com/current//2019/09/steam_library_overhaul_screen_3.jpg https://assets.vg247.com/current//2019/09/steam_library_over...
jdietrich 7y ago
>I have a couple VR headsets and, like someone on reddit recently observed, they sit mostly gathering dust - but, when I do put one on, I will use it for hours. That was one of the key factors that influenced the design of Oculus Quest. Carmack spoke often of minimising the "time-to-first-fun" in both hardware and software. A VR headset that you can just put on and start using is meaningfully different to a VR headset that requires even the most moderate amount of setup. > I would love to be able to easily use a VR helmet in conjunction with a keyboard/mouse/hands Oculus Quest already supports the Bluetooth pairing of keyboards and mice, which can then be used to wirelessly interact with a remote PC via Virtual Desktop. We don't yet have a mechanism for tracking the position of keyboards and mice, but it's pretty much trivial if there's a market for it - we just need keyboards and mice with embedded IR markers. Controllerless hand tracking is in beta on Quest and developers have access to the APIs; official support should be rolling out in the next couple of months. The resolution is still much lower than we'd like, but 1440 x 1600 per eye provides a marginally tolerable experience for desktop computing. The HP Reverb already provides 2160 x 2160 per eye, so we're very close to having headsets that can truly replace a conventional monitor.

wlesieutre 7y ago

For what it's worth, gathering dust isn't universal. Pretty much every day mine gets fired up for half an hour of Pistol Whip or Beat Saber. Other games get longer sessions, like Shadow Point which I just started yesterday. Neat game so far, puzzles based on perspective, light/shadow, mirrors/reflections, that kind of thing. It reminds me of The Witness in a lot of ways. Also has some unusual spaces where rooms connect to each other or back to themselves in a ways that they shouldn't. Nothing new about that in games, but it's weirder to experience in VR than on a computer screen. My favorite trick so far has been where they'll make you lean in close to something, and then when you step back you find yourself in a totally different space. Nothing changes on screen, they just pull the whole environment out from under you while it's outside your field of view, leaving only the part you'd been looking at unchanged. Narration by Patrick Stewart is also great. A friend was telling me last week that a 3D space strategy game is what he was hoping to see in VR before he jumps on board. Then last night I stumbled on Eternal Starlight, which will be right up his alley: https://twitter.com/e_starlight_vr/status/1211646479884017664 https://twitter.com/e_starlight_vr/status/121164647988401766... It's still early days, but I think VR has a lot of room for different kinds of experiences for all sorts of demographics. Very excited to see what we can do with it in the next couple of years.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

pharke 7y ago

> I would love to be able to easily use a VR helmet in conjunction with a keyboard/mouse/hands vs. holding controllers to do more intensive computer tasks like programming. I'm looking forward to this with the Quest. I've tried out the hand tracking but there aren't many apps that support it yet. I haven't given bluetooth pairing a go yet but I'm itching to try out some kind of text editor with it when I have the time. I agree that they need to reduce the barrier to putting the headset on even more, I think that moment will come when the UI experience is as easy as opening a laptop which probably means reducing the weight further and having much better video pass through so you're not completely hoodwinked while using it (being able to easily drink a coffee while working in VR is a must). AR glasses would be ideal but seem like they're still pretty far off for reasons like battery life, screen resolution, opacity, and bulkiness. The interim solution will probably just be comfort and durability for VR to the point where you can put it on as easily as a hat and treat it with the same physicality as a tablet. Oculus' Half Dome 3 prototype[0] seems to be exactly this which is why I'm very excited to buy whatever iteration of it comes to market. [0] https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-more-comfortable-compact-vr-prototypes-for-work/?locale=en_US https://www.oculus.com/blog/half-dome-updates-frl-explores-m...

whywhywhywhy 7y ago
>I haven't given bluetooth pairing a go yet but I'm itching to try out some kind of text editor with it when I have the time. Seen a few people posting that Glitch's coding tools work in Firefox on the Quest with at bluetooth Keyboard. https://twitter.com/fernandojsg/status/1139570325312684032 https://twitter.com/fernandojsg/status/1139570325312684032

dickjocke 7y ago

I wonder if there is any application for VR as an IDE tool. From what I understand, today it is very hard to see text clearly and type, but I spend a lot of time sitting on my couch or laying on my back trying to code pretend I'm not creeping up on 30 and that I can sustain that kind of computer use. I think if I could wear a headset and sit on my couch or even lay on my back and code it would be heavenly.

Rebelgecko 7y ago
I've played around a bit with Virtual Desktop[1] on my Oculus Quest, and text is surprisingly legible, even over WiFi. I've seen some people on Reddit who claim they write code all day with a similar setup (often with 180° or more of monitors). It's not something I would want to do (esp. typing while using VR), but it's possible. [1]: https://www.vrdesktop.net/ https://www.vrdesktop.net/
- e12e 7y ago
  Have you tried the oculus dk2? As I recall text wasn't crisp enough to be usable - wondering if that's much better on the quest? You're using the quest as a vr headset for your computer? Running W10?
  - Rebelgecko 7y ago
    Yeah, I'm using it to display the monitors hooked up to a PC running Windows 10. I've tried the Oculus CV1 and various dev kits. I don't remember if I ever tried DK2, but I saw a few demos on the "1080 HD" dev kit which came between DK1 and DK2. For me, reading text on the Quest is MUCH easier. If I were using an IDE I'd probably bump the font size up to 14pt to make things a bit more comfortable but it's not awful with the default settings. For reference, when I view the new godawful Steam UI [1]on the Quest, the only text I have a hard time reading is the list of games on the left. In games that work with VR but aren't really designed it in mind (e.g. Euro and American truck simulator) it's can be harder to read some of the text, especially at oblique angles. I need to lean forward a bit to be able to read things like my fuel gauge. [1]: https://assets.vg247.com/current//2019/09/steam_library_overhaul_screen_3.jpg https://assets.vg247.com/current//2019/09/steam_library_over...

jdietrich 7y ago

>I have a couple VR headsets and, like someone on reddit recently observed, they sit mostly gathering dust - but, when I do put one on, I will use it for hours. That was one of the key factors that influenced the design of Oculus Quest. Carmack spoke often of minimising the "time-to-first-fun" in both hardware and software. A VR headset that you can just put on and start using is meaningfully different to a VR headset that requires even the most moderate amount of setup. > I would love to be able to easily use a VR helmet in conjunction with a keyboard/mouse/hands Oculus Quest already supports the Bluetooth pairing of keyboards and mice, which can then be used to wirelessly interact with a remote PC via Virtual Desktop. We don't yet have a mechanism for tracking the position of keyboards and mice, but it's pretty much trivial if there's a market for it - we just need keyboards and mice with embedded IR markers. Controllerless hand tracking is in beta on Quest and developers have access to the APIs; official support should be rolling out in the next couple of months. The resolution is still much lower than we'd like, but 1440 x 1600 per eye provides a marginally tolerable experience for desktop computing. The HP Reverb already provides 2160 x 2160 per eye, so we're very close to having headsets that can truly replace a conventional monitor.