Virtual reality

[KI4MVP]

I've done some more testing and also found a prebuilt system that looks reasonable to have sitting in a living room. At least as reasonable as any other gaming system and not those awful looking gaming towers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07227CF92/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bumped it up to 16 gigs of ram. They also sell systems without ram, drives or OS. I would have gone that route had it not been on sale.

I tested Vive vs Samsung Odyssey (windows mixed reality) vs Oculus Rift

Controller postion tracking:
Vive - two base stations, spot on tracking at all times

Rift - two base stations, tracking is spot on unless you turn away from the sensors (which go side by side) which is easy to do when playing many VR games. When you turn away it doesn't just lose tracking of the controllers, it loses tracking of the headset, so the virtual world wobbles. That not only interferes with game play, it makes me start to get motion sick.

Odyssey - no base stations, the headset tracks the hand controllers. The worst at losing controller tracking, because it'll lose it if the controller is moved out of view for too long. Just moving the controller fixes that.

Portability:
Odyssey wins here. I have it connected to a laptop and have defined boundaries in a couple of rooms in the house. Just start it up, put the headset on and look around and it figures out what room you're in and puts the boundaries in the right place.

With the others, you have to move the base stations, and go through pretty much the whole setup again, then go through it all again when you get back.

Boundary/Chaperone system - i.e. letting you know you're near your predefined boundaries.
Rift seems to work the best here.
Vive is a close 2nd
Odyssey is the worst, at least with larger play areas.

Display resolution:
Odyssey has better resolution, but it's not as noticeable as I expected. The other two are teh same, and when you're playing the games, you don't really notice it all.

I want two systems so my wife or one of my kids can play multi-player games with me. One system in a fixed spot, the other which could be moved from room to room or that could be used when traveling. I had hoped for two of the same system, but instead I'm going to take the Rift back and keep the other two.

I also had hoped to use two of the computers I linked above. Small, fast enough, isn't awful looking, fairly easy to travel with. Instead I think I have to keep a laptop for the movable system for the idiotic reason that you have to use the screen to do parts of an initial setup. I know some steps you have to have the headset off for, but why not put it on, get the instructions, take it off and do what it said, then pull a trigger button to get to the next step.

It's especially idiotic when you have to click mouse buttons between steps instead of being able to use a button on the controller. "Stand up, face your headset towards the center of your display, then click on the center button on the screen". How did that ever get past user testing?

Also, as far as using these to get up and start moving, I've lost 5 lbs since I started playing VR games. I look for games that are both fun and that keep me moving.

 

[KI4MVP]

I have to revise this a bit, after a night of more testing specifically with the Odyssey, I'm not sure the improved portability of no base stations is worth the tracking issues. For some games it's completely irrelevant, but for others it's a constant distraction. The few minutes it takes to set up the base stations and boundaries when I move it to another room is worth it for the consistent tracking. The other down side to the Odyssey (and other Windows Mixed Reality systems) is the cord is too short.

 

[Kyrie4MVP0202]

Sony hit it out of the park with the PSVR. It’s got the worst tracking of the big three but still works pretty well.

I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the next iteration.

 

[KI4MVP]

Sony hit it out of the park with the PSVR. It’s got the worst tracking of the big three but still works pretty well.

I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the next iteration.

I haven't tried it, but the PSVR tracking should be on par with the Rift without the 3rd base station.

Where Sony killed it is cost of entry for a controller tracking system, including the PS4, for $650-$700 depending on if you can find an PSVR/Camera bundle on sale or not. The Vive + headphone head strap costs that much before you buy the computer.

It should work great for room scale games, but not as well for games where you turn around a lot. There are plenty of games where you don't turn around, but two of my favorites - Rec Room and Racket: NX involve turning around a lot. So much so that I'll be really glad when you can do away with the wire to the computer.

btw: My oldest son is probably going to get the PSVR system in a few months.

 

[Kyrie4MVP0202]

I haven't tried it, but the PSVR tracking should be on par with the Rift without the 3rd base station.

Where Sony killed it is cost of entry for a controller tracking system, including the PS4, for $650-$700 depending on if you can find an PSVR/Camera bundle on sale or not. The Vive + headphone head strap costs that much before you buy the computer.

It should work great for room scale games, but not as well for games where you turn around a lot. There are plenty of games where you don't turn around, but two of my favorites - Rec Room and Racket: NX involve turning around a lot. So much so that I'll be really glad when you can do away with the wire to the computer.

btw: My oldest son is probably going to get the PSVR system in a few months.

They are on sale for $200 for the next two weeks.

Anybody that’s on the fence should jump in at that price point.

 

[KI4MVP]

They are on sale for $200 for the next two weeks.

Anybody that’s on the fence should jump in at that price point.

on sale where?

Edit: I see the sale starts sunday, is while supplies last, and the cheapest one seems to be out of stock everywhere except Target, which seems to be very limited. Only one store in the country has one left (in Hawaii), maybe they have more in their warehouse.

 

[KI4MVP]

Star Trek: Bridge Crew on sale for $19.99 today. It's normally $49.99. I've been waiting for it to go on sale again to get it.

 

[KI4MVP]

I realized last night that the very first "video game" I ever played on a computer was Star Trek. You played it like this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6f9_9kzuzk


which evolved to this

And this is Star Trek: Bridge Crew

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=romB8e5nMp8

 

[gourimoko]

My very first video game was ET on the 2600...

Looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

 

[KI4MVP]

Playing Star Trek: Bridge Crew. I decided I should work my way through the initial missions and figure out what I'm doing before I play with real people.

First attempt was a fail. I did the tutorial for captain, then jumped into the training mission. I didn't really understand what I was doing, and somehow proceeded to break the warp drive.

I then did the tutorial for the other positions, made it through the first couple of missions. Now on the 3rd or 4th mission I keep getting my ship blown up. I think I have to demote myself from captain, at least for a few missions.

 

[brownindian]

I was going to post my very first porn pic was this and now technology gives us this but this aint EAYOR, so use your imagination.

 

[brownindian]

My very first video game was ET on the 2600...

Looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

All those buried Atari games are going to pool their collective resources to form SKYNET !!!!

 

[KI4MVP]

I've had my VR system for about a month now and have lost 7.6 lbs playing it. My favorite game for exercise is Knockout League boxing because it's fun, it works both of your arms equally, and you can burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time (and feel it afterwards). The trailer is PSVR, but also works on Vive, Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oglvBfBZ4CM


It's rated to burn 8 to 10 calories/minute, but I get much more than that (game tracks calories).

Other ones I like that are good exercise are

Racket:NX - only works one arm, rated to burn equivalent calories as an elliptical

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUIynQRFRd0


Space Pirate Trainer - also rated equivalent to an elliptical, seems like a bit less than that to me.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfa9Jqm34b0


Rec Room - rated equivalent to walking, but I can spend an hour or two just playing paintball, which is more fun because you're playing with real people.

Game calorie ratings are here for some of the VR games

http://vrhealth.institute/vr-ratings/

 

[inliner311]

Sony hit it out of the park with the PSVR. It’s got the worst tracking of the big three but still works pretty well.

I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the next iteration.

I had a PS VR for about a month after it went on sale on Black Friday. I liked it but could never get over the screen door effect. I couldn't justify keeping it because I would use it less and less as time went on. I ended up selling it on Craigslist for $40 less than I got it for.

I think once they can clean up the screen door effect with increasing pixel density, I will jump back in.

 

[Kyrie4MVP0202]

I had a PS VR for about a month after it went on sale on Black Friday. I liked it but could never get over the screen door effect. I couldn't justify keeping it because I would use it less and less as time went on. I ended up selling it on Craigslist for $40 less than I got it for.

I think once they can clean up the screen door effect with increasing pixel density, I will jump back in.

Screen door is present but I’ve heard that it’s less pronounced than Vive and Oculus.

You’re right, there is still a long way to go in the graphics and resolution department for all headsets that are on the market right now.