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VR gaming? Still a thing?
Dragonborn01
Member Posts: 26
I'm wondering if peopel are still interested in this gaming avenue? I saw a post for something called The Void, looked cool to me but looked like WAY too much work for moving around. Idk, what do you guys actually think?
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The problem is that it has yet to "become a thing" because none of the VR sets have actually been released yet. But, yeah, you can expect it to be a thing before too long.
Public game engines(such as Unity, etc.) are incorporating VR compatibility, and I'm sure there's a ton of developers doing the same for their projects.
Currently, we are in a state of limbo, as far as VR goes. It's currently the next gold rush. All the VR sets are in a race to release sometime within this next year.
Good summary.
Well kind of. It's not like people haven't tried it in any form yet. Many enthusiast have tried it. I've tried the DK1 for example and the problems I have with it are already solved. That said I played minecraft in it and it sold me on the concept. I never got the sense of scale in minecraft like I did with the VR headset, it was almost a different game.
All I keep thinking of when I think about the immersive difference that VR brings is that Bruce Willis movie Surrogates. I can completely envision how addictive VR and simulated worlds will become as the technology advances into the future.
It's like anything else, really. Some people will undoubtedly dive in way too deep, just because it's new. The Gear VR includes a cautionary warning to take a break once every half hour, I think. It's something to be used in moderation.
Surrogates was an OK film. Here are some others from a little further back to enhance the mood:
Nirvana (1997)
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
Avalon (2001)
I really recommend seeing Avalon, out of the three. It has a really unique tone, and was done by the guy who directed the original Ghost In The Shell film. There are many, many other films that involve VR and video games as plot points, of course. I just happened to really enjoy the above three which are a little less mainstream, and deserve some promotion.
I also suggest checking out this guy's channel (Cymatic Bruce):
https://www.youtube.com/user/HapPProductions
He's been following the Oculus trend pretty much from the beginning, and is a self-described "VR evangelist". He has hours and hours footage.
Final tip, did you know you can get the stereoscopic effect on a YouTube VR video capture by looking at the image cross-eyed? It's kind of like doing one of those "magic eye" things from the 90s. I was able to do it first when watching this video in full screen.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
If they can stick to their current release schedule, HTC and Valve's "Vive" VR Headset will actually be the first to release later this year.
http://www.wareable.com/vr/htc-vive-vr-headset-release-date-price-specs-7929
"A developer edition is set to launch this spring, with the consumer version becoming available "later in 2015", which we guess means the same November release window as the other Steam kit."
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
Should be an interesting situation then, who has the best VR headset at the most affordable price, not to mention system requirements, must admit i am actually looking forward to that particular bunfight
Likewise! All that competition should be good for the consumers.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
Multiple platforms with near simultaneous release is the best thing that could happen in the long run.
The competition and innovation it will spur amongst the competing brands will drive performance and features upwards while price is driven down. Eventually the market will settle on one standard interface shared by two or three companies with the best products.
In the short term, it will be messy. Do you buy Betamax or VCR? Do you buy a laserdisc system and hope DVD does not replace it next year?
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
I also have Cymatic Bruce subscribed. He's a bit excitable, but his videos are pretty good. I would definitely agree with the "VR evangelist" statement, as he is really positive on it.
Speaking of Oculus Rift:
Last I saw(a couple days ago), their supposed release date is sometime early in 2016. Granted, that has been changed like 5 times already, but I can't imagine they'll be willing to delay any longer than that, considering all the alternative VR systems people are trying to rush out the door.
2016 will likely be the year when VR-centric games should be popping up, since, in theory, that'll be around the time we have them flooding the market.
I self identify as a monkey.
I really hope I can play a fully realized MMO in VR before my number is called.
I played one of the first multi-player space sims with a simple graphical interface at Prime Computer (Natick) in the early 80's on a local mini-frame.
Before long I had my own home pc's starting with a TRS-80, Franklin OMS, Panasonic Home, Commodore, Atari, Apple 2E etc. In all I think I have experienced nearly the full cycle of gaming eventually landing as a die hard MMO fan.
I have really enjoyed just how far technology has come. On my trash 80 I had to wait 30 minutes to load each side of a cassette just to play 2d Wizardry. Now within seconds I have NPC's talking back to me and whole cities phasing to my quest objectives.
VR would really be the icing on the cake for my nearly 35 year adventure in computer gaming. I just hope they hurry the hell up already
Del Cabon
A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
VR gaming still lack of controller . The current VR treadmill don't work at all , at less for me.
I prefer sit to play instead of stand.
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LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Well, plenty of motion control technology already exists, it's just a matter of marrying the two into the gaming world. With products like Kinect and other motion control tech already being widely available, I think the big issue is the cost of putting it all together.
Of course, I don't know how far along Kinect actually is, precision-wise, but I think most studio-style motion control is just currently too expensive to bother with.
Frankly, motion control isn't really a missing link or anything, so merging the tech shouldn't be that difficult, once VR is successfully marketted.
Valve has already married the two with the vive apparently but the problem is you need a spare room (or large area) to take advantage of it. Oculus has said they'll be revealing more about the rift in the coming weeks so we might soon see their solution to it but they have said they want it to be a full experience out of the box so I tend to think they have their own inputs and controls.
The main cost will be the gaming rig you need to run the freakin things though especially as they've increased in resolution. It will be more demanding on your PC than 4k gaming. I think this is Sony's saving grace as it will run straight from the PS4 but I expect that will mean they will have to sacrifice the quality of their head set.
If I remember correctly, at the recent expo/conference or whatever you call them, Nvidia used VR to plug their latest video card(That 12GB Titan card). So, at least the video card companies are working on this from their end. I haven't paid much attention to it, but I wonder how hot that sucker gets. New video cards tend to fry eggs.
But that's hardly going to be cost effective any time soon.
I would have to agree about the PS4 though, I can't imagine that a static console is going to be able to keep up well with the quality and resolution that VR will demand, especially as it progresses further. But, it should still work well enough, since most people aren't likely expecting a console to put up high-end desktop quality.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.