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In my office there are several sets from Oculus, ML, etc. Every time one shows up, it goes like this: everyone stands around and has a go at it, then it is neve

In my office there are several sets from Oculus, ML, etc. Every time one shows up, it goes like this: everyone stands around and has a go at it, then it is never touched again. That's basically the state of VR and AR as it exists today.

capableweb 6y ago
For some. For others, it bring them lots of joy. I'm a huge flight nerd and VR has made my experience flying simulators waaaay better. Beat Saber also got me to move a lot more, while listening to my favorite music and it's fun. But in general I think you're right, most VR stuff is gimmicky. But for us niche nerds, it's a cool addition to our stuff.
tosers4 6y ago
Beat Saber. That is the VR seller right now.
- whatch 6y ago
  Can confirm. I have fallen in love with VR when I tried this game on my friend's Oculus Quest. Now during lockdown Beat Saber and BoxVR (another great title, with issues though) on my own headset account for, I guess, 90-95% of my physical activity.
- thendrill 6y ago
  And super hot!
tashoecraft 6y ago
Because who sits around at work on a vr headset? Vr is inherently anti (local) social. Vr is fantastic for certain things right now, sim racing being the one I’m familiar with, that it completely blows away any alternative. The big issue I’ve found is the UX and software is atrocious. Things are not intuitive, there’s walled gardens (f you oculus). I’ve had so many moments of knowing what I want to do, but being totally unable to figure out how to do it. I’ll be excited once Apple enters space to figure out a bunch of this stuff and the rest of the field can just copy them.
- asciident 6y ago
  Isn't Apple just going to do a walled garden as well? I'm skipping this platform as well until there are open standards and we don't have to develop one version of each app for each platform.
  - wmeredith 6y ago
    Apple's walled gardens tend to be set up to serve 80% of the population so well they don't care.
    - jorvi 6y ago
      > 80% of the population How do you get to this number when Apple has only 25-35% market share..
      - d3ckard 6y ago
        Slightly tongue-in-cheek answer is that the rest can’t afford their devices.
        rowanG077 6y ago
        I doubt it. A lot of people could afford it but either think using Apple fuels an anticonsumer empire or think that it offers little advantage over the competition.
  - gumby 6y ago
    There's WebVRR.
- sornaensis 6y ago
  Comments like these make me feel like VR proponents are just people who don't know TrackIR exists. I'm not sure VR can really compete with a device that for ~200$ allows you proper view directed freelook in loads of games without having to seal your eyes off under a visor. With a modestly sized panel I didn't notice any less immersion using head tracking versus a (for me, highly annoying) head-encasing visor. It also leaves room for having sim-appropriate peripherals that you can actually use because they aren't obscured by the screen. Just my experience having tried both and being a big simulation enthusiast (flight sim, driving, arma milsim, all that stuff).
castlecrasher2 6y ago
>That's basically the state of VR and AR as it exists today Eh, that's the state of it at your work. The VR headset I have and others have is a temporary ticket to a visual entertainment experience. For me, the only experience I found absolutely amazing was Half Life: Alyx, though I'll play Hotdogs, Horseshoes, and Hand grenades a couple hours a week. I would never do it at the office, though.
Jdam 6y ago
Reminds me of 3D TV
Lewton 6y ago
I organized a vr party recently with my old beat up vive and people played keep talking and nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row That’s the state of VR today. Whenever I do VR as a social activity there’s never anyone leaving unsatisfied. And I’ve “sold” plenty of headsets that I hear reports about still getting regular use several years later And now with oculus quest it’s an even easier sell Every time there’s any vr related post on HN, the most upvoted comment is about VR being dead tech, all the while oculus and valve have their headsets on constant back-order Maybe consider that you’re not the target audience
- alangibson 6y ago
  > I organized a vr party I'll bet people were responding to the party, not the Vive. It's exactly the effect I reported: it's cool once when everyone is doing it. > I hear reports about still getting regular use several years later Yes, a percentage of the population is no doubt into it. My point is that it's honestly surprising at this point, given how good the tech truly is, how uncompelling the overall experience is. The vast majority of people just don't feel the need to come back. > VR being dead tech The tech is great and getting better all the time. But that's not enough for it to be transformative the way smartphones were. And yes, I know, there's no requirement for AR or VR to be the next smartphone. But we do at some point need another paradigm shift in hardware to enable another wave of software innovation. This I think is why there is such animosity between VR proponents and skeptics: one wants to play some sweet games and the other wants a massive world-changing wave to ride.
- justin66 6y ago
  > VR as a social activity How are you sanitizing the equipment these days? Just curious. > nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row I shudder to think of what happens when the party ends.
- luckydata 6y ago
  > I organized a vr party recently with my old beat up vive and people played keep talking and nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row I've been hanging out in real life with a lot of people and nobody ever exploded. That seems to be par for the course, not something to brag about.
ebg13 6y ago
> In my office Two of those words are extremely important to your experience, "my" and "office".
whywhywhywhy 6y ago
In my office they bought a Nintendo Switch. Everyone stood around and has a go at it, then it is never touched again. That's basically the state of Nintendo as it exists today. See? Means nothing and it's just as true as your statement, the thing is collecting dust.
- rodiger 6y ago
  I mean that is the state of Nintendo as a productivity tool, which is likely the point OP was trying to convey.
- messick 6y ago
  Wow, your totally true story and real story flies in the face of the fact that Switches are practically completely sold out worldwide.
  - whywhywhywhy 6y ago
    You're missing my point and Oculus Quest is sold out worldwide too you realize.
ChicagoBoy11 6y ago
That's really not giving credit at all to the current state of a lot of this tech, but especially VR. VR has absolutely gone mainstream with tons of people producing different headsets and making more and more investment into it. The new Half-Life game is now VR only, and in certain circles, like simulation experiences like racing or flight simulation, VR is constantly growing more and more market share.
mdonahoe 6y ago
Reminds me of a joke about AR apps “Every AR app is used three times: when you first download it, when you show it to your friend, And when you show it to your other friend. “
keenmaster 6y ago
That is a very misleading impression of VR, especially for developers who are assessing whether or not it's all hype. It's not just hype. VR will explode in popularity in the future as the headsets become lighter, cheaper, and better with high resolution, full peripheral vision FOV, built-in wireless, micro LED, foveated rendering (for better than 2D graphics, ya seriously), innovative tracking technology, and a much bigger developer community. It's telling that with all the limitations of first gen VR, I still sank tens of hours into Pavlov (a low res VR counterstrike) and had an absolute blast. I was also blown away by Half Life: Alyx. I would have abandoned VR if it weren't for the Vive deluxe audio kit and the wireless conversion kit, which shows that comfort alone can make all the difference. There is a game variant in Pavlov that would not have worked very well on 2D screens. Basically most people are soldiers/police and a couple people picked at random are traitors. You have to guess who the traitors are. Since everyone has some degree of head and hand tracking, and microphones are on my default, it's a very social experience. You learn to use social cues to identify and kill the terrorists before they kill you. It's a thoroughly immersive social experience, and for a few hours the cartoon world becomes your real world, because you're playing with real people that kind of sort of look like real people. Everything else is literally out of sight and out of mind. VR's ability to teleport you anywhere with anyone will prove to be highly appealing to a great many people in the future. It will not just be a niche.
- thefounder 6y ago
  >> VR will explode in popularity in the future as the headsets become lighter, cheaper, and better with high resolution, Maybe 3d displays(e.g Looking Glass Factory)will explode and kill VR before the devices get slim enough.
  - keenmaster 6y ago
    Quite the contrary. 3D displays have been around for a while and people consider them gimmicky. They are not nearly as immersive as VR. Looking Glass might be nice for conference calls and advertising displays, but I think VR will have more consumer adoption.
ykevinator 6y ago
I left VR in 2009 because of this phenomenon, I spent a decade in the field and it was a dead end

capableweb 6y ago

For some. For others, it bring them lots of joy. I'm a huge flight nerd and VR has made my experience flying simulators waaaay better. Beat Saber also got me to move a lot more, while listening to my favorite music and it's fun. But in general I think you're right, most VR stuff is gimmicky. But for us niche nerds, it's a cool addition to our stuff.

tosers4 6y ago

Beat Saber. That is the VR seller right now.

whatch 6y ago
Can confirm. I have fallen in love with VR when I tried this game on my friend's Oculus Quest. Now during lockdown Beat Saber and BoxVR (another great title, with issues though) on my own headset account for, I guess, 90-95% of my physical activity.
thendrill 6y ago
And super hot!

tashoecraft 6y ago

Because who sits around at work on a vr headset? Vr is inherently anti (local) social. Vr is fantastic for certain things right now, sim racing being the one I’m familiar with, that it completely blows away any alternative. The big issue I’ve found is the UX and software is atrocious. Things are not intuitive, there’s walled gardens (f you oculus). I’ve had so many moments of knowing what I want to do, but being totally unable to figure out how to do it. I’ll be excited once Apple enters space to figure out a bunch of this stuff and the rest of the field can just copy them.

asciident 6y ago
Isn't Apple just going to do a walled garden as well? I'm skipping this platform as well until there are open standards and we don't have to develop one version of each app for each platform.
- wmeredith 6y ago
  Apple's walled gardens tend to be set up to serve 80% of the population so well they don't care.
  - jorvi 6y ago
    > 80% of the population How do you get to this number when Apple has only 25-35% market share..
    - d3ckard 6y ago
      Slightly tongue-in-cheek answer is that the rest can’t afford their devices.
      - rowanG077 6y ago
        I doubt it. A lot of people could afford it but either think using Apple fuels an anticonsumer empire or think that it offers little advantage over the competition.
- gumby 6y ago
  There's WebVRR.
sornaensis 6y ago
Comments like these make me feel like VR proponents are just people who don't know TrackIR exists. I'm not sure VR can really compete with a device that for ~200$ allows you proper view directed freelook in loads of games without having to seal your eyes off under a visor. With a modestly sized panel I didn't notice any less immersion using head tracking versus a (for me, highly annoying) head-encasing visor. It also leaves room for having sim-appropriate peripherals that you can actually use because they aren't obscured by the screen. Just my experience having tried both and being a big simulation enthusiast (flight sim, driving, arma milsim, all that stuff).

castlecrasher2 6y ago

>That's basically the state of VR and AR as it exists today Eh, that's the state of it at your work. The VR headset I have and others have is a temporary ticket to a visual entertainment experience. For me, the only experience I found absolutely amazing was Half Life: Alyx, though I'll play Hotdogs, Horseshoes, and Hand grenades a couple hours a week. I would never do it at the office, though.

Jdam 6y ago

Reminds me of 3D TV

Lewton 6y ago

I organized a vr party recently with my old beat up vive and people played keep talking and nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row That’s the state of VR today. Whenever I do VR as a social activity there’s never anyone leaving unsatisfied. And I’ve “sold” plenty of headsets that I hear reports about still getting regular use several years later And now with oculus quest it’s an even easier sell Every time there’s any vr related post on HN, the most upvoted comment is about VR being dead tech, all the while oculus and valve have their headsets on constant back-order Maybe consider that you’re not the target audience

alangibson 6y ago
> I organized a vr party I'll bet people were responding to the party, not the Vive. It's exactly the effect I reported: it's cool once when everyone is doing it. > I hear reports about still getting regular use several years later Yes, a percentage of the population is no doubt into it. My point is that it's honestly surprising at this point, given how good the tech truly is, how uncompelling the overall experience is. The vast majority of people just don't feel the need to come back. > VR being dead tech The tech is great and getting better all the time. But that's not enough for it to be transformative the way smartphones were. And yes, I know, there's no requirement for AR or VR to be the next smartphone. But we do at some point need another paradigm shift in hardware to enable another wave of software innovation. This I think is why there is such animosity between VR proponents and skeptics: one wants to play some sweet games and the other wants a massive world-changing wave to ride.
justin66 6y ago
> VR as a social activity How are you sanitizing the equipment these days? Just curious. > nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row I shudder to think of what happens when the party ends.
luckydata 6y ago
> I organized a vr party recently with my old beat up vive and people played keep talking and nobody explodes for 6 hours in a row I've been hanging out in real life with a lot of people and nobody ever exploded. That seems to be par for the course, not something to brag about.

ebg13 6y ago

> In my office Two of those words are extremely important to your experience, "my" and "office".

whywhywhywhy 6y ago

In my office they bought a Nintendo Switch. Everyone stood around and has a go at it, then it is never touched again. That's basically the state of Nintendo as it exists today. See? Means nothing and it's just as true as your statement, the thing is collecting dust.

rodiger 6y ago
I mean that is the state of Nintendo as a productivity tool, which is likely the point OP was trying to convey.
messick 6y ago
Wow, your totally true story and real story flies in the face of the fact that Switches are practically completely sold out worldwide.
- whywhywhywhy 6y ago
  You're missing my point and Oculus Quest is sold out worldwide too you realize.

ChicagoBoy11 6y ago

That's really not giving credit at all to the current state of a lot of this tech, but especially VR. VR has absolutely gone mainstream with tons of people producing different headsets and making more and more investment into it. The new Half-Life game is now VR only, and in certain circles, like simulation experiences like racing or flight simulation, VR is constantly growing more and more market share.

mdonahoe 6y ago

Reminds me of a joke about AR apps “Every AR app is used three times: when you first download it, when you show it to your friend, And when you show it to your other friend. “

keenmaster 6y ago

That is a very misleading impression of VR, especially for developers who are assessing whether or not it's all hype. It's not just hype. VR will explode in popularity in the future as the headsets become lighter, cheaper, and better with high resolution, full peripheral vision FOV, built-in wireless, micro LED, foveated rendering (for better than 2D graphics, ya seriously), innovative tracking technology, and a much bigger developer community. It's telling that with all the limitations of first gen VR, I still sank tens of hours into Pavlov (a low res VR counterstrike) and had an absolute blast. I was also blown away by Half Life: Alyx. I would have abandoned VR if it weren't for the Vive deluxe audio kit and the wireless conversion kit, which shows that comfort alone can make all the difference. There is a game variant in Pavlov that would not have worked very well on 2D screens. Basically most people are soldiers/police and a couple people picked at random are traitors. You have to guess who the traitors are. Since everyone has some degree of head and hand tracking, and microphones are on my default, it's a very social experience. You learn to use social cues to identify and kill the terrorists before they kill you. It's a thoroughly immersive social experience, and for a few hours the cartoon world becomes your real world, because you're playing with real people that kind of sort of look like real people. Everything else is literally out of sight and out of mind. VR's ability to teleport you anywhere with anyone will prove to be highly appealing to a great many people in the future. It will not just be a niche.

thefounder 6y ago
>> VR will explode in popularity in the future as the headsets become lighter, cheaper, and better with high resolution, Maybe 3d displays(e.g Looking Glass Factory)will explode and kill VR before the devices get slim enough.
- keenmaster 6y ago
  Quite the contrary. 3D displays have been around for a while and people consider them gimmicky. They are not nearly as immersive as VR. Looking Glass might be nice for conference calls and advertising displays, but I think VR will have more consumer adoption.

ykevinator 6y ago

I left VR in 2009 because of this phenomenon, I spent a decade in the field and it was a dead end