Virtual Reality (I got a Playstation VR for Christmas!)

[lorddunlow]

So, I wanted to get other opinions on VR (any of the systems). I got the PSVR and I love it. It reminds me of how I felt the first time I played an NES when I was 5. I was blown away.

The tech isn't even that good yet. I really hope it catches on and improves. The PSVR is the lowest resolution of them all, but none of them are great. That's something that you really can't understand without trying it out. All the videos you see online show the HD output to the screen which is 1080p sent to a great screen (your TV). When you put on the device it has 1080p resolution divided amongst each eye and the 5.7in screen is July about 2 inches from your eye and distorted with a super sting lense to make it seem far away. That results in the video quality on parts with PS2 era graphics. You can also see the pixels (screen door effect). Even with these limitations, it is mind-blowing. My wife got me a slew of games (Batman Arkham VR, Robinson, Playstation VR Worlds, and Driveclub VR) and there are tons of demos and free content. I already own Battlefront, so I have access to the X-Wing VR mission.

I haven't had time to try it all out, but it's so damn cool. The level of immersion is intense. I played the Resident Evil 7 demo and had to turn it off half way through because I was too scared (in the middle of the day in the presence of my family). You feel like you're there. Batman was so far the most impressive. So immersive that when you bump into something in the real world it is jarring.

The thing that is the most immersive is the head tracking. We've all seen 3d simulation and such. And theatre 3d is better quality imagery. But just being able to look around virtual objects, look around corners, stand up, and peek over an obstacle makes you feel like the world you are in is really there.

I'm really hopeful for this technology. Definitely in its infancy, but I'm already a fan.

The biggest problem - SO MANY WIRES!!!

[Keith]

I got to spend time with a HTC Vive over the holidays. I went in with low expectations after an underwhelming demo with the Occulus Rift a couple of years ago, but the Vive really blew me away. Definitely video game graphics, but the level of immersion was what really won me over. I was told I'd feel like I had been plugged into the Matrix, and that was pretty darn accurate.

[Cyberstrike]

I have to wear glasses and hate having to wear something over my normal glasses. It's one of the reasons why I'm not a big fan of 3D movies. When it gets to holodeck level like on Star Trek: The Next Generation then MAYBE I'll give it a shot, otherwise pass.

[lorddunlow]

I have to wear glasses and hate having to wear something over my normal glasses. It's one of the reasons why I'm not a big fan of 3D movies. When it gets to holodeck level like on Star Trek: The Next Generation then MAYBE I'll give it a shot, otherwise pass.

Most of the reviews mentioned the PSVR was the best for glasses wearers. The headset doesn't touch my glasses anywhere. Only thing I see as an issue with glasses (I think, as I haven't tried it without) is that the headset leaks a little light in the bottom - very minimal pinpoints of light.

Overall very comfortable. It was the thing I was worrying the most about and hasn't been an issue at all.

I played all my games now. The Battlefront X-wing mission is by far the best. Really feels like you're in the cockpit. Disconcertingly so, actually. It was the only thing I played that gave me vertigo. I didn't get nauseated, but I could see how someone could. You really feel like you're spinning around when you do a roll or quick turn.

Overall, I love it.

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[lorddunlow]

Guess nobody is interested in this stuff...

[Keith]

Guess nobody is interested in this stuff...

This post needs more sex and violence to bring in the masses.

[jeremycoe]

Guess nobody is interested in this stuff...

I might be interested, but haven't had any opportunity to try it out. Not much to post about until then.

[Beware Cyclops]

The biggest problem - SO MANY WIRES!!!

Get yourself an adamantium skeleton and you can become:

[dornwolf]

Guess nobody is interested in this stuff...

All right I'll bite. Now that you've got it and can use it on a regular basis, is it a niche product. Is this something that will not only be supported for the current life span of systems but also for the future gens.

[lorddunlow]

Guess nobody is interested in this stuff...

All right I'll bite. Now that you've got it and can use it on a regular basis, is it a niche product. Is this something that will not only be supported for the current life span of systems but also for the future gens.

I really feel the same way about this as I did the NES in 1986 when I played it for the first time at my cousin's house (he got one for Christmas and I played The Legend of Zelda). It feels like the next step in video games.

I started out with Playstation VR World's which is impressive visually, but basically a tech demo. Not super interesting, but really freaking cool to experience. The Resident Evil demo was the most realistic (I think the dark lighting and general survival horror feel add to this - detail is lost in the dark in reality) and it was amazing once I realized you could literally bend down and look at things on the floor and such (There is a kitchen with maggots on a plate of food and you can get your face within inches of the maggots and they don't look real, but they look like a PS2 game existed in real life and you could touch it.)

If I had only one game to show someone to talk them into buying it, I'd show them the Batman Arkham VR. It uses the move controllers (one in each hand) to simulate Batman's hands. You feel like you are really interacting with actual objects. The only drawback is that you do not have any freedom of movement (you can move your head and hands, but you can't change your position - you're just placed in different points throughout the game). There is a part where you have to take vials of blood, place them in a centrifuge, spin them down, transfer them to a machine for analysis one by one, and then take them out again. I completely lost the feeling that it was a video game and it felt totally real to me.

I'm general, that's the most impressive thing: you often get so immersed that when you move some way that makes the system say "out of area" and stops tracking you or you end up touching an object in the real world it totally messes with your head. You feel like you were walking around and just touched an invisible object or the Matrix just glitches or something. Your brain is totally fooled despite the early stage of the technology.

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[lorddunlow]

I also should add that PSVR (and from what I can read about all the VR systems) is definitely a first generation of a new technology. It is not polished and perfect. It is not awesome graphics. But the experience is unlike any I've ever had. There is tons of room for improvement. 4K/8K video is for the most part completely unnecessary, but this is one application that will eventually benefit from it.

There are tons of videos available that are "virtual reality" 360 3d videos. For the most part they look like crap. They're neat, but grainy and ugly as hell. Also, because they are filmed by a stationary camera, you can only rotate around to see more of the image. It feel like you are in the world like in rendered games. You can't peek over and around things like you can in VR games.

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