New HTC Vive Controllers In The Wild

They look pretty awesome. Sounds like they work well too.

Rift owner myself, with order in for the touch controllers. I'm excited to see what content comes available over the next year once both camps have room scale and these great new controllers!
 
You know whenever you see those game console timelines that bring to light all the random shit consoles that you never heard of? There's always a defining moment when looking at some noname brand where you say "ah, well I can see why that didnt sell, just look at it". That's the impression I get when I look at these things. They just have that really weird ultra niche design that doesnt really telegraph how they will be used that well. When consumers look to a product they need to already understand what it is and how it works just from the box art. Not for simplicity, just because "if it looks good it plays good". These do not look good. They look random and cobbled together from design room scraps by engineers desperately trying to think outside the box and basically fell off the cliff in doing so.
 
nysmo said:
You know whenever you see those game console timelines that bring to light all the random shit consoles that you never heard of? There's always a defining moment when looking at some noname brand where you say "ah, well I can see why that didnt sell, just look at it". That's the impression I get when I look at these things. They just have that really weird ultra niche design that doesnt really telegraph how they will be used that well. When consumers look to a product they need to already understand what it is and how it works just from the box art. Not for simplicity, just because "if it looks good it plays good". These do not look good. They look random and cobbled together from design room scraps by engineers desperately trying to think outside the box and basically fell off the cliff in doing so.
Click to expand...

These are prototypes that are months, if not a year, away from any actual retail product (if it even gets to that point)...

That said though, I like the idea and the freedom it will give player's hands within the VR environment but they really have to shoot for something with a little more usability. We already have to strap on the headset now we need to strap in our hands? It's a little much....you literally can't just drop what you're doing if something comes up with all this junk strapped onto ya.

Up next: VR belts and shoes for total immersion, bros! Who cares about room scale when you can have life-scale!
 
Last edited:
nysmo said:
You know whenever you see those game console timelines that bring to light all the random shit consoles that you never heard of? There's always a defining moment when looking at some noname brand where you say "ah, well I can see why that didnt sell, just look at it". That's the impression I get when I look at these things. They just have that really weird ultra niche design that doesnt really telegraph how they will be used that well. When consumers look to a product they need to already understand what it is and how it works just from the box art. Not for simplicity, just because "if it looks good it plays good". These do not look good. They look random and cobbled together from design room scraps by engineers desperately trying to think outside the box and basically fell off the cliff in doing so.
Click to expand...

They are 3d printed prototypes that valve says are changing/progressing every week. Of course they don't look good.

Everyone who has used a vive will recognize almost instantly that these will allow more natural interactions in games. They are a great response to Touch, and depending on execution could end up being the better controller.
 
nysmo said:
They look random and cobbled together from design room scraps by engineers desperately trying to think outside the box and basically fell off the cliff in doing so.
Click to expand...
They look like they were made by engineers...because they were made by engineers.

I still don't get why they haven't made gloves and then bind actions to the fingers, hand, wrist orientations. We are attempting to imitate life, so make the control schemes imitate how we'd actually interact with objects.
 
USMCGrunt said:
They look like they were made by engineers...because they were made by engineers.

I still don't get why they haven't made gloves and then bind actions to the fingers, hand, wrist orientations. We are attempting to imitate life, so make the control schemes imitate how we'd actually interact with objects.
Click to expand...

Given the current tracking system of both the Rift and Vive...those would be some damn bulky gloves.

But that is what we need to move toward, I agree.
 
So its the orignal controller, re-designed with
USMCGrunt said:
They look like they were made by engineers...because they were made by engineers.

I still don't get why they haven't made gloves and then bind actions to the fingers, hand, wrist orientations. We are attempting to imitate life, so make the control schemes imitate how we'd actually interact with objects.
Click to expand...

Because all that motion has to be tracked (How? Let's assume....lots of fancy sensors), and then the sensors have to be read and powered (weight and heat and longevity depending on how much processing is going on), and then, when you have done all that, and you now have articulated fingers in VR...what does that buy you....

Saw the picture with someone duct-taping their controller to their wrist...that seems to be what this actually is. Does it change the functionality of the device, this new design I mean...I don't think so, it just allows you to relax your paw, right?
 
HeadRusch said:
Does it change the functionality of the device, this new design I mean...I don't think so, it just allows you to relax your paw, right?
Click to expand...
Slightly, the side buttons are no longer buttons, they are touch sensors, so when you close your hand it knows your hand is closed. It's applicable in many current games like H3VR, Raw Data, etc. So say you want to pick up something usually you have to unnaturally press and hold the side button on the vive controller, but with this prototype, it would work more like the real world, you close your hand and as soon as the sensor pad on the side feels your fingers and the "button" is down so your hand in the game is closed. They are also working on getting it to know how many fingers are touching the controller surface so you can get more "virtual buttons" on it if a developer wants that kind of control. At least that is what the H3VR developer stated in his devlog when he tried it out.
 
MavericK said:
Given the current tracking system of both the Rift and Vive...those would be some damn bulky gloves.

But that is what we need to move toward, I agree.
Click to expand...
All it would need to do is track the location and orientation of the hand, just like it does with the current Vive controllers. That tech already exists. The individual finger movements wouldn't have to be tracked. You make each finger equivalent to an analog trigger by putting something like a flex sensor into the fabric of each finger. The software then determines based on the position in space what your hand is doing, and whether the finger sensors are hitting buttons, flipping the bird, or aiming your iron sights of your M1911 to put a .45 caliber round between the eyes of a Zombie. The current Vive controllers are already powerful enough to do that last bit.
 
HeadRusch said:
So its the orignal controller, re-designed with


Because all that motion has to be tracked (How? Let's assume....lots of fancy sensors), and then the sensors have to be read and powered (weight and heat and longevity depending on how much processing is going on), and then, when you have done all that, and you now have articulated fingers in VR...what does that buy you....

Saw the picture with someone duct-taping their controller to their wrist...that seems to be what this actually is. Does it change the functionality of the device, this new design I mean...I don't think so, it just allows you to relax your paw, right?
Click to expand...

I'd imagine something like an elastic conductor with a voltage meter on the back of the hand, wrist, or just behind the wrist on the arm. As you curl each finger, you change the length of the elastic conductor, changing it's voltage readout giving the system knowledge of each finger position. Strategically placed IR emitters on the gloves and wrist can track orientation in space. Gloves can be made in the three or four common sizes and their elasticity can compensate for the vast majority of people. On initial setup, you calibrate the system by extending all your fingers and then curling them all into a fist, that would give full range of motion calibration for each sensor and you'd be set.

I actually think it'd be really cool to see a steampunk kinda thing that involved small pistons or actuators that can lock your fingers to simulate surface interactions...though that would definitely be a much bulkier setup.
 
CaptNumbNutz said:
All it would need to do is track the location and orientation of the hand, just like it does with the current Vive controllers. That tech already exists. The individual finger movements wouldn't have to be tracked. You make each finger equivalent to an analog trigger by putting something like a flex sensor into the fabric of each finger. The software then determines based on the position in space what your hand is doing, and whether the finger sensors are hitting buttons, flipping the bird, or aiming your iron sights of your M1911 to put a .45 caliber round between the eyes of a Zombie. The current Vive controllers are already powerful enough to do that last bit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, perhaps. I think I would prefer to have a physical trigger and some sort of other buttons. The new Vive prototype looks pretty ideal to me, assuming they got individual finger triggering to work.

But in some games the glove would probably be great. Games where you mostly just pick up and manipulate objects, like The Gallery.
 
USMCGrunt said:
They look like they were made by engineers...because they were made by engineers.

I still don't get why they haven't made gloves and then bind actions to the fingers, hand, wrist orientations. We are attempting to imitate life, so make the control schemes imitate how we'd actually interact with objects.
Click to expand...

Here you go devil-dog - 'Dexmo' The VR Exoskeleton Glove with Force Feedback Launches Kickstarter Campaign - Road to VR
dexmo-classic.jpg
 
Taldren said:
Looks like something out of Stargate:
c939b1abdf2bebd4b463178eb128539b.jpg
Click to expand...

Well, not really. The VR Exoskeleton looks cool, and that gold thing looks like something Liberace would use for a cavity search on Elton John.
 
Actually that dexmo kickstarter was cancelled in Nov 2014. Their website is still up though here. It was in another post a while back with the white spider looking glove.
 
LurkerLito said:
I wonder if it could even be done. I am sure Nintendo has some kind of generalized patent that would make it tricky at best to implement it in "glove" form.
Click to expand...
Gloves and VR was developed by Nasa back in the 80's, I doubt Nintendo has any effective patent to prevent others using glove type controllers since prior art was public.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top