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It’s all just pure facebook hate. I remember some of same people who today trash vr and anything coming out of meta-RL were literally drooling at totally absur

It’s all just pure facebook hate. I remember some of same people who today trash vr and anything coming out of meta-RL were literally drooling at totally absurd incomplete and awful VR demos at GDC 7 or 8 years ago at a time when I really thought VR was totally unusable and unplayable. Now that the tech is actually nice enough that it is usable and sometimes even actually better for certain things folks are just jumping on the hate fb bandwagon. You’re absolutely right that most people here haven’t even tried some of this stuff. Personally I never gave VR a thought myself but my brother wanted a quest so I bought one, now I have my own and am looking forward to trying what’s next.

archontes 4y ago
For what it's worth, you're at least right about me; I truly hate fb, and their simple involvement in a product is sufficient reason not to purchase it unless it's been thoroughly broken by the modding community.
- Jarmsy 4y ago
  I'm right with you there. Hating and boycotting FB and all their products is the clear ethical choice. I sincerely hope the company goes out of business.
- saiya-jin 4y ago
  Same here, I don't get the whataboutism some folks here try to spin off, like we are some luddites shaming VR concept itself. No, its purely FB, clearly long-term amoral company, that gets all the (well deserved) hate. I stand behind the statement that humankind is worse-off long-term with FB existing and trying to get into all aspects of our existence to sell more ads. I wouldn't care about it at all if US had good regulators re privacy and other aspects of these sneaky corporations. But it clearly doesn't, cash flow is the king, hence one should be reasonably warry of such behavior, with company wielding so much power. The above more or less applies also to ie Google and Apple, but based on behavior FB is in its own category.
chaostheory 4y ago
Most people on HN aren’t trying VR because HN’s users are aging like Slashdot’s user base years back. A lot of HN comments on VR are simply variants of “get off my lawn”. You’d think people would actually try something for a decent amount of time before panning it with a novella length comment. If I were to guess, most HN users have only tried Google Cardboard and not modern VR On that note, I understand why people dislike meta even if they’re making really cool stuff, but people have to realize that Meta isn’t the only VR company. I have a feeling that only Apple can change the popular perception of VR
- seti0Cha 4y ago
  Is there public demographic data on HN users? My expectation, based on comments, would be that HN is skewing younger over time. Certainly it's gotten more popular over time, so a static, aging demographic seems unlikely to me.
  - chaostheory 4y ago
    Given the larger trends in the demographics of every developed country, I highly doubt it. Nearly every population is now skewed towards the older generations as becoming a larger and larger demographic due to longer lifespans and much lower birthrates. I do not feel that HN is safe from this trend
- blobbers 4y ago
  I have a quest 2. It’s pretty disappointing.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- raxxorraxor 4y ago
  I have tried it and it is a pretty cool experience. But I understand the rants, not a matter of age btw. Facebook is for old people for that matter and developing against any META hardware would have to take that into consideration. But the closed environments are just majorly repellant. I had an older headset (rift s) and suddenly needed to create a facebook account. Should have bought the more expensive Steam version. But I don't see how VR can really reach the masses. You need the extra funds and a decent system and 2D monitor is the more sensible investment. I will never buy an Occulus device again of course. There were management decisions anyone who really likes technology and wants to dabble with it will very likely and understandably hate with a burning passion. A passion sourced in the love for technology and the ability to share it. And they knew that people would dislike it, just hoped they would comply in switching to their Facebook platform. This is 100% on Facebook and to 0% on grumpy users. Not being grumpy is pretty naive in my opinion.
instagraham 4y ago
I don't think so. I've tried it. It's definitely the next big "thing" I wanna spend on. But this isn't it. And as a gamer I strongly feel Meta isn't the company that's gonna give me "it". I'd rather back another horse for $1500. And as a consumer base, none of us are obliged to be fangirls for Meta given their track record.
sascha_sl 4y ago
VR 7-8 years ago wasn't gated behind a store and large EULA, and the people in charge hadn't announced their intent to not just monopolize and monetize social VR spaces, but also workspaces. There was still reason to be excited and hopeful about the future of VR. I'll wait to get excited if the Index is updated. And until then I'll keep using my low res low FOV first gen Vive. Exclusively to hit boxes.
- filoleg 4y ago
  > VR 7-8 years ago wasn't gated behind a store You make it sound like it is all gated behind an app store now somehow. Which is not the case at all. On my quest 2 headset, I can play games from oculus store, I can also play any steamvr/pcvr games on quest 2 (connected to the desktop PC by a cable or in wireless mode), as well as any user-built application .apk files dowloaded to my headset directly (either from the headset's web browser or transferred from PC). All on the official firmware, no jailbreaking or any special steps needed to make this work. Not sure how this is even remotely representative of some app store gating.
  - sascha_sl 4y ago
    Haven't some people been banned from the store permanently, rendering SteamVR and sideloading useless too?
    - chad_stevens 4y ago
      I’ve read of people getting their Facebook accounts banned and losing their oculus store purchases. But now they use a meta account so that issue shouldn’t happen as often. Because the bans were happening because the attached Facebook account was inactive. But you could always make a new account and play your steam games
      - sascha_sl 4y ago
        I still prefer a product that works independent of needing to sign in (and share a bunch of data, some of it biometric), but I'm glad they fixed the google-like ban blast radius at least.
spywaregorilla 4y ago
More than a decade I was a young teen dreaming of immersive experiences offered by the wii. I can even say with some specificity that I thought RED STEEL 2 was going to be the most amazing game ever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Steel_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Steel_2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO91n5phQQY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO91n5phQQY It's a pretty good title! It's a better VR game than most actual VR games. The control scheme has some interesting motion sword and gunplay. Plus you can turn and dash without getting motion sick because its on a tv. Look at the fighting gameplay. See how much better it is than Half Life Alyx and Boneworks? But, the immersive quality of red steel 2 fades pretty quickly. As does Alyx and boneworks. Because... it sucks. VR asks you to believe you're in a world, like in ready player one. But you're not. None of the little things are there. It's just a camera on your face with better wii wands. Having understood this, it's pretty clear that the best possible resolution headset will not fundamentally change the VR experience. Maybe text will be easily readable. That would be nice. But the experience Meta wants you to believe you'll have won't be coming any time soon.

archontes 4y ago

For what it's worth, you're at least right about me; I truly hate fb, and their simple involvement in a product is sufficient reason not to purchase it unless it's been thoroughly broken by the modding community.

Jarmsy 4y ago
I'm right with you there. Hating and boycotting FB and all their products is the clear ethical choice. I sincerely hope the company goes out of business.
saiya-jin 4y ago
Same here, I don't get the whataboutism some folks here try to spin off, like we are some luddites shaming VR concept itself. No, its purely FB, clearly long-term amoral company, that gets all the (well deserved) hate. I stand behind the statement that humankind is worse-off long-term with FB existing and trying to get into all aspects of our existence to sell more ads. I wouldn't care about it at all if US had good regulators re privacy and other aspects of these sneaky corporations. But it clearly doesn't, cash flow is the king, hence one should be reasonably warry of such behavior, with company wielding so much power. The above more or less applies also to ie Google and Apple, but based on behavior FB is in its own category.

chaostheory 4y ago

Most people on HN aren’t trying VR because HN’s users are aging like Slashdot’s user base years back. A lot of HN comments on VR are simply variants of “get off my lawn”. You’d think people would actually try something for a decent amount of time before panning it with a novella length comment. If I were to guess, most HN users have only tried Google Cardboard and not modern VR On that note, I understand why people dislike meta even if they’re making really cool stuff, but people have to realize that Meta isn’t the only VR company. I have a feeling that only Apple can change the popular perception of VR

seti0Cha 4y ago
Is there public demographic data on HN users? My expectation, based on comments, would be that HN is skewing younger over time. Certainly it's gotten more popular over time, so a static, aging demographic seems unlikely to me.
- chaostheory 4y ago
  Given the larger trends in the demographics of every developed country, I highly doubt it. Nearly every population is now skewed towards the older generations as becoming a larger and larger demographic due to longer lifespans and much lower birthrates. I do not feel that HN is safe from this trend
blobbers 4y ago
I have a quest 2. It’s pretty disappointing.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
raxxorraxor 4y ago
I have tried it and it is a pretty cool experience. But I understand the rants, not a matter of age btw. Facebook is for old people for that matter and developing against any META hardware would have to take that into consideration. But the closed environments are just majorly repellant. I had an older headset (rift s) and suddenly needed to create a facebook account. Should have bought the more expensive Steam version. But I don't see how VR can really reach the masses. You need the extra funds and a decent system and 2D monitor is the more sensible investment. I will never buy an Occulus device again of course. There were management decisions anyone who really likes technology and wants to dabble with it will very likely and understandably hate with a burning passion. A passion sourced in the love for technology and the ability to share it. And they knew that people would dislike it, just hoped they would comply in switching to their Facebook platform. This is 100% on Facebook and to 0% on grumpy users. Not being grumpy is pretty naive in my opinion.

instagraham 4y ago

I don't think so. I've tried it. It's definitely the next big "thing" I wanna spend on. But this isn't it. And as a gamer I strongly feel Meta isn't the company that's gonna give me "it". I'd rather back another horse for $1500. And as a consumer base, none of us are obliged to be fangirls for Meta given their track record.

sascha_sl 4y ago

VR 7-8 years ago wasn't gated behind a store and large EULA, and the people in charge hadn't announced their intent to not just monopolize and monetize social VR spaces, but also workspaces. There was still reason to be excited and hopeful about the future of VR. I'll wait to get excited if the Index is updated. And until then I'll keep using my low res low FOV first gen Vive. Exclusively to hit boxes.

filoleg 4y ago
> VR 7-8 years ago wasn't gated behind a store You make it sound like it is all gated behind an app store now somehow. Which is not the case at all. On my quest 2 headset, I can play games from oculus store, I can also play any steamvr/pcvr games on quest 2 (connected to the desktop PC by a cable or in wireless mode), as well as any user-built application .apk files dowloaded to my headset directly (either from the headset's web browser or transferred from PC). All on the official firmware, no jailbreaking or any special steps needed to make this work. Not sure how this is even remotely representative of some app store gating.
- sascha_sl 4y ago
  Haven't some people been banned from the store permanently, rendering SteamVR and sideloading useless too?
  - chad_stevens 4y ago
    I’ve read of people getting their Facebook accounts banned and losing their oculus store purchases. But now they use a meta account so that issue shouldn’t happen as often. Because the bans were happening because the attached Facebook account was inactive. But you could always make a new account and play your steam games
    - sascha_sl 4y ago
      I still prefer a product that works independent of needing to sign in (and share a bunch of data, some of it biometric), but I'm glad they fixed the google-like ban blast radius at least.

spywaregorilla 4y ago

More than a decade I was a young teen dreaming of immersive experiences offered by the wii. I can even say with some specificity that I thought RED STEEL 2 was going to be the most amazing game ever: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Steel_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Steel_2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO91n5phQQY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO91n5phQQY It's a pretty good title! It's a better VR game than most actual VR games. The control scheme has some interesting motion sword and gunplay. Plus you can turn and dash without getting motion sick because its on a tv. Look at the fighting gameplay. See how much better it is than Half Life Alyx and Boneworks? But, the immersive quality of red steel 2 fades pretty quickly. As does Alyx and boneworks. Because... it sucks. VR asks you to believe you're in a world, like in ready player one. But you're not. None of the little things are there. It's just a camera on your face with better wii wands. Having understood this, it's pretty clear that the best possible resolution headset will not fundamentally change the VR experience. Maybe text will be easily readable. That would be nice. But the experience Meta wants you to believe you'll have won't be coming any time soon.