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Google has bailed on VR apps (for the most part, Owlchemy is still there), so I imagine not. It'd be cool if Google Earth VR was opensource like Tiltbrush. Lik

Google has bailed on VR apps (for the most part, Owlchemy is still there), so I imagine not. It'd be cool if Google Earth VR was opensource like Tiltbrush. Like Tiltbrush it was one of the foundational early VR apps that people demoed, it's fun to imagine a world where Google continued to put money into VR, but I'm actually not sure how that fits into their business outside of just another platform for Android.

gpspake 5y ago
It's a shame. Google Earth on VR is probably the most amazing and practical use for VR for normal people at the moment. I like to street-view in to other countries and stand in the middle of crowded places with people around me imagining that it's a thousand years from now and humanity is gone and it's the documentation of life on earth. I've had good times passing the headset around in a room full of people to share places we've been. It's also cool to look down, as a giant, at paths you've taken irl and get a sense of scale. I love google earth in VR
- vidar 5y ago
  What headset did you use?
  - StavrosK 5y ago
    I don't know about the GP, but I use a Quest 2.
    - saurik 5y ago
      Via Link? (I hadn't ever gotten around to verifying that would work. I partly ask, as the Google Earth VR experience was particularly epic in a way the Google Street View app--which was available on Quest--was not, even if the latter still causes a feeling of wonder in me... and the GP is talking about street view and people surrounding their position and the such.)
      - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
        I have yet to run into anything on Steam VR that won’t work on the Quest 2 with a link cable
        crazygringo 5y ago
        Of course the kicker is that you need Steam VR. Which is PC-only, no Macs.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - StavrosK 5y ago
        Wirelessly, actually, via ALVR.
    - Agentlien 5y ago
      Also not OP, but I use Vive Cosmos. I'm very happy with it and haven't experienced the tracking issues others complain about. At work I've previously tried some of the early oculus dev versions, the original Vive, and the PSVR. The Cosmos was the first which felt like a really great product and not just tech with potential if it were a bit better.
- ourcat 5y ago
  Google Earth VR is fantastic. Especially during the lockdowns. It felt like going out! ;) I'm wondering if the Timelapse will get added to it. (Used on a Quest 1 and 2 over Virtual Desktop to a PC)
- lwhi 5y ago
  I also love it in VR. Will this be rolled out as a VR update?
- ngokevin 5y ago
  It's an absolutely amazing experience especially for first timers (once they figure out the controls). But like most things with VR, you use it a few times and forget it about (besides giving demos here and there).
- derekdahmer 5y ago
  I've lost literal hours zooming along railway lines from the city the suburbs to the country then back to the city.
jayd16 5y ago
>Google has bailed on VR apps Yeah, whats up with that? Unless its all under wraps, Google is letting what lead they had whither away. Its silly to think they had working inside out tracking (Tango) in 2014.
- ehsankia 5y ago
  "Bailed" is a bit over the top. I would characterize it more as being at a stand still. Earth VR and Tilt Brush are still around, and as mentioned about, Tilt Brush is even open sourced. They just haven't had as much interest making new stuff. VR didn't pick up the way most hoped it would, and at this point there isn't really much to do until we get another wave of innovation that pushes the boundary forward. Also Tango was more AR than VR. I don't think they ever had any lead in VR. Cardboard was neat but just that.
  - Impossible 5y ago
    Tiltbrush is opensource, but not actively being maintained by Google and hasn't been for a long time. Some of the original team is involved in maintaining an opensource fork, however, but this is not a Google product. Daydream was sunset a while ago and cardboard support has stopped also. VR is an interesting category for Google because there are often no services to maintain in VR apps. So, like an indie developer with a failed game, they can leave their VR apps on the Steam store with zero maintainence as long as SteamVR works. There are zero employees working on Google's VR apps except for Owlchemy, which I suspect is still around because they cost very little or they're profitable. Google Poly, which is a service related to VR, is getting shutdown. As for VR not picking up, it didn't pick up on startup folks timeline but there has been steady growth in the market and it's close to sustainable for many developers. Facebook, Valve, Sony, Microsoft and Apple have been more persistent and came in with realistic expectations. I think this is a case where Google was premature entering the market and also premature exiting. If they re-enter they'll probably look like Microsoft trying to re-enter the mobile or tablet market in the 2010s after not succeeding in the 90s and 2000s. That's not to say that VR will "take over the world" like smartphones, but its on its way to evolving into a sustainable category with a variety of compelling use cases.

gpspake 5y ago

It's a shame. Google Earth on VR is probably the most amazing and practical use for VR for normal people at the moment. I like to street-view in to other countries and stand in the middle of crowded places with people around me imagining that it's a thousand years from now and humanity is gone and it's the documentation of life on earth. I've had good times passing the headset around in a room full of people to share places we've been. It's also cool to look down, as a giant, at paths you've taken irl and get a sense of scale. I love google earth in VR

vidar 5y ago
What headset did you use?
- StavrosK 5y ago
  I don't know about the GP, but I use a Quest 2.
  - saurik 5y ago
    Via Link? (I hadn't ever gotten around to verifying that would work. I partly ask, as the Google Earth VR experience was particularly epic in a way the Google Street View app--which was available on Quest--was not, even if the latter still causes a feeling of wonder in me... and the GP is talking about street view and people surrounding their position and the such.)
    - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
      I have yet to run into anything on Steam VR that won’t work on the Quest 2 with a link cable
      - crazygringo 5y ago
        Of course the kicker is that you need Steam VR. Which is PC-only, no Macs.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - StavrosK 5y ago
      Wirelessly, actually, via ALVR.
  - Agentlien 5y ago
    Also not OP, but I use Vive Cosmos. I'm very happy with it and haven't experienced the tracking issues others complain about. At work I've previously tried some of the early oculus dev versions, the original Vive, and the PSVR. The Cosmos was the first which felt like a really great product and not just tech with potential if it were a bit better.
ourcat 5y ago
Google Earth VR is fantastic. Especially during the lockdowns. It felt like going out! ;) I'm wondering if the Timelapse will get added to it. (Used on a Quest 1 and 2 over Virtual Desktop to a PC)
lwhi 5y ago
I also love it in VR. Will this be rolled out as a VR update?
ngokevin 5y ago
It's an absolutely amazing experience especially for first timers (once they figure out the controls). But like most things with VR, you use it a few times and forget it about (besides giving demos here and there).
derekdahmer 5y ago
I've lost literal hours zooming along railway lines from the city the suburbs to the country then back to the city.

jayd16 5y ago

>Google has bailed on VR apps Yeah, whats up with that? Unless its all under wraps, Google is letting what lead they had whither away. Its silly to think they had working inside out tracking (Tango) in 2014.

ehsankia 5y ago
"Bailed" is a bit over the top. I would characterize it more as being at a stand still. Earth VR and Tilt Brush are still around, and as mentioned about, Tilt Brush is even open sourced. They just haven't had as much interest making new stuff. VR didn't pick up the way most hoped it would, and at this point there isn't really much to do until we get another wave of innovation that pushes the boundary forward. Also Tango was more AR than VR. I don't think they ever had any lead in VR. Cardboard was neat but just that.
- Impossible 5y ago
  Tiltbrush is opensource, but not actively being maintained by Google and hasn't been for a long time. Some of the original team is involved in maintaining an opensource fork, however, but this is not a Google product. Daydream was sunset a while ago and cardboard support has stopped also. VR is an interesting category for Google because there are often no services to maintain in VR apps. So, like an indie developer with a failed game, they can leave their VR apps on the Steam store with zero maintainence as long as SteamVR works. There are zero employees working on Google's VR apps except for Owlchemy, which I suspect is still around because they cost very little or they're profitable. Google Poly, which is a service related to VR, is getting shutdown. As for VR not picking up, it didn't pick up on startup folks timeline but there has been steady growth in the market and it's close to sustainable for many developers. Facebook, Valve, Sony, Microsoft and Apple have been more persistent and came in with realistic expectations. I think this is a case where Google was premature entering the market and also premature exiting. If they re-enter they'll probably look like Microsoft trying to re-enter the mobile or tablet market in the 2010s after not succeeding in the 90s and 2000s. That's not to say that VR will "take over the world" like smartphones, but its on its way to evolving into a sustainable category with a variety of compelling use cases.