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The Oculus Go was a 3DOF headset. That's basically a glorified 360 movie viewer. 6DOF is the absolute bare minimum and I feel we should have reserved the term

The Oculus Go was a 3DOF headset. That's basically a glorified 360 movie viewer. 6DOF is the absolute bare minimum and I feel we should have reserved the term "VR" specifically for 6DOF devices. The immersion just isn't there without positional tracking. And positional tracking with the controllers is another huge factor. So - I would argue you've never really tried "real VR".

shadowgovt 5y ago
People don't realize it, but without positional tracking, even seated experiences feel very "off." Consider where the joint is that moves your head. When you rotate your head, you're not rotating through an axis in the center of your head; you're pivoting a spline describing your neck. That's a very complicated motion and it can't be faked by just turning the view without moving the view also (and if you try to simulate it without full 6DOF tracking, you'll have to model the user's neck length and curvature profile, and that'll get very messy, with disorientation consequences when you get it wrong).
- andybak 5y ago
  Actually 3dof headsets did try and compensate for this by modelling the human neck. But that still ignores a lot of the range of movement that one makes even when seated and relatively still.
- ehnto 5y ago
  With that said, head tracking just on it's own adds a new dimension to the experience of a first person game. Sitting in the cockpit of a spaceship and moving around with the mouse feels like a game, but being able to tilt your head around, move it side to side and experience the parallax of all the different elements moving around eachother is astonishing. Even if you're one of the types that can't quite get into VR or wearing the headset, I'd recommend trying out some TrackIR, or for free you can try Opentrack + AI track and just use your standard webcam.
krapp 5y ago
I have a VR headset. What I don't have in my apartment is a lot of empty space, nor do i want to move furniture around to create a play area whenever i want to do something in "real VR." Everyone dismisses 3DOF VR but that is realistically the only form of VR that is widely consumer friendly. If I can't stand or sit more or less in a single place, I'm simply not going to use an app despite having a headset that supports it.
- andybak 5y ago
  You're conflating "3dof" with seated. I'm similarly space constrained a lot of the time but 6dof is still my bare minimum requirement. Head movements of 1 or 2 cm matter for immersion. It's not about running round a large play space. Seated VR needs to be 6dof as well
  - krapp 5y ago
    Isn't the extra complexity needed for 6dof what makes headsets so expensive? Is it even worth it for 1 or 2cm?
    - andybak 5y ago
      > Is it even worth it for 1 or 2cm? Yes. It's worth it. It's such a significant difference that I just have zero interest in 3dof headsets for anything other than 360 video (and I've got very little interest in 360 video) With 3dof, the minute you lean or move your head by a small amount, the whole illusion is shattered and you are reminded that you're just watching a stereoscopic skydome that's glued to your head. It's also why lag and low refresh rates are an immersion killer for 6dof. Plus - even seated experiences allow a lot of mobility. You can lean towards things to examine them closer. You can duck to either side. "Seated" doesn't mean "immobile apart from your head"

shadowgovt 5y ago

People don't realize it, but without positional tracking, even seated experiences feel very "off." Consider where the joint is that moves your head. When you rotate your head, you're not rotating through an axis in the center of your head; you're pivoting a spline describing your neck. That's a very complicated motion and it can't be faked by just turning the view without moving the view also (and if you try to simulate it without full 6DOF tracking, you'll have to model the user's neck length and curvature profile, and that'll get very messy, with disorientation consequences when you get it wrong).

andybak 5y ago
Actually 3dof headsets did try and compensate for this by modelling the human neck. But that still ignores a lot of the range of movement that one makes even when seated and relatively still.
ehnto 5y ago
With that said, head tracking just on it's own adds a new dimension to the experience of a first person game. Sitting in the cockpit of a spaceship and moving around with the mouse feels like a game, but being able to tilt your head around, move it side to side and experience the parallax of all the different elements moving around eachother is astonishing. Even if you're one of the types that can't quite get into VR or wearing the headset, I'd recommend trying out some TrackIR, or for free you can try Opentrack + AI track and just use your standard webcam.

krapp 5y ago

I have a VR headset. What I don't have in my apartment is a lot of empty space, nor do i want to move furniture around to create a play area whenever i want to do something in "real VR." Everyone dismisses 3DOF VR but that is realistically the only form of VR that is widely consumer friendly. If I can't stand or sit more or less in a single place, I'm simply not going to use an app despite having a headset that supports it.

andybak 5y ago
You're conflating "3dof" with seated. I'm similarly space constrained a lot of the time but 6dof is still my bare minimum requirement. Head movements of 1 or 2 cm matter for immersion. It's not about running round a large play space. Seated VR needs to be 6dof as well
- krapp 5y ago
  Isn't the extra complexity needed for 6dof what makes headsets so expensive? Is it even worth it for 1 or 2cm?
  - andybak 5y ago
    > Is it even worth it for 1 or 2cm? Yes. It's worth it. It's such a significant difference that I just have zero interest in 3dof headsets for anything other than 360 video (and I've got very little interest in 360 video) With 3dof, the minute you lean or move your head by a small amount, the whole illusion is shattered and you are reminded that you're just watching a stereoscopic skydome that's glued to your head. It's also why lag and low refresh rates are an immersion killer for 6dof. Plus - even seated experiences allow a lot of mobility. You can lean towards things to examine them closer. You can duck to either side. "Seated" doesn't mean "immobile apart from your head"