Rest In Piece, VR Review Section

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haven't you heard, VR gaming is dying...actually was never fully alive to begin with...
That seems a bit premature, given that tetherless, self-contained headsets are just now on the horizon, and much higher resolution displays still to come. People make decisions on the basis of features, and the features are just beginning to arrive. When VR looks indistinguishable from real life, I think you'll see much more interest.
 
I pretty much only game in VR these days - just downloaded Kona and can't wait to give it a go. There are a ton of games out to review in VR, would love to see the [H] treament on them.
 
haven't you heard, VR gaming is dying...actually was never fully alive to begin with...

Yeah...no. It's still niche, sure, but there are new games coming out all the time. Budget Cuts finally got released, H3VR is updated weekly or bi-weekly with new content and is better than ever. Beat Saber is huge right now.
 
Yeah...no. It's still niche, sure, but there are new games coming out all the time. Budget Cuts finally got released, H3VR is updated weekly or bi-weekly with new content and is better than ever. Beat Saber is huge right now.

if those are the showcase VR games then it'll remain niche forever :D ...I literally never heard of any of those and unless you own a VR headset I doubt most people have
 
One year ago today the VR section had its last review :(
https://www.hardocp.com/reviews/vr/

Go visit with it today, let it know you cared.
Put on your VR headset out of respect if you wish.
Been plenty of more games to cover, just not any hardware pusing it. We will start again when 1180 hits the ground. The time and effort it takes to cover one game in VR is friggin huge. It would easily eat an entire workweek up. I do have the new Vive Pro headsets here to test with, so as soon as we have new NVIDIA hardware on the ground, we will start again. The fact is there not much of a story to tell here currently.
 
Did I miss an article about the Vive Pro headset?

Have you used it? Do you like it?

The resolution is the one thing I don't like about my Rift. Maybe also that it feels like the screens are installed ever so slightly cockeyed in the headset.
Nothing published yet. It kicks ass.
 
Kyle, you may have done this already and I missed it, but do you include normal non VR games in the reviews? Like how do normal games end up playing within the headset? Does it make them somewhat more immersive or does the lower resolution take away from the game at that point?

I guess my real question is how well or can a VR setup fully replace a normal setup?
VR is meant for games built for VR. You can use HMDs for viewing a flat screen in space in a "normal game." I guess that is what you are talking about.
 
You sure the IPD is set correctly?
I followed the instructions in the setup routine.

I don't see double. It's like everything that you'd think should be level is juuuuust slightly slanted to the right. I don't really notice in the games I play, except in menus where there's a big wall of text or something.

So my question was more designed around moving to VR, but still wanting to play normal games using the headset/control rather than having to have multiple displays.
It doesn't really work like that. There are ways of using the headset as a monitor, but you can't just use it for any non-VR game. The game has to have support for VR built in.

There are a few games that offer a VR and non-VR version, such as Elite Dangerous, which is a great game for a while, but does eventually get pretty repetitive.
 
How can you prove something that never was alive to begin with!?


What are you referring to, exactly? There's this forum, the countless VR subreddets on Reddit, new games being advertised at E3 along with those already released. The list goes on.

Now, what makes you think it's dead?
 
So my question was more designed around moving to VR, but still wanting to play normal games using the headset/control rather than having to have multiple displays.
HMDs are not for "normal games." HMDs are for games built for VR. You can open up your Windows desktop and view a flat screen in space but this has not been to my liking. YMMV.
 
It's like everything that you'd think should be level is juuuuust slightly slanted to the right. I don't really notice in the games I play, except in menus where there's a big wall of text or something.
Recalibrate your HMD. Was is sitting not level when you did it the first time possibly?
 
What are you referring to, exactly? There's this forum, the countless VR subreddets on Reddit, new games being advertised at E3 along with those already released. The list goes on.

Now, what makes you think it's dead?
It has always been very nice. Price of entry is still to high for majority. it really never took off. There still no killer app for VR.
 
It has always been very nice. Price of entry is still to high for majority. it really never took off. There still no killer app for VR.
Price is not really that high. The Vive pro is pricey, but the others are in a very good range.

No killer app? You mean an actual app or app/games? If it's games, then they all are killer. Being able to view 360 is just awesome. For me when I start a new game in VR, I get excited! A 2D game, I am like ok, I want to play this
but have no choice to do it on a flat screen. Playing Skyrim VR and looking at a 360 world is just awesome. Using a flashlight because it is pitch black in a cave playing Arizona Sunshine is pretty freaky.

Apps are getting there. If you are social there are apps for mingling with other people online. Teaching apps are pretty cool. The Rift's desktop app is very nice. I have made a few posts using it.
 
Price is not really that high. The Vive pro is pricey, but the others are in a very good range.

No killer app? You mean an actual app or app/games? If it's games, then they all are killer. Being able to view 360 is just awesome. For me when I start a new game in VR, I get excited! A 2D game, I am like ok, I want to play this
but have no choice to do it on a flat screen. Playing Skyrim VR and looking at a 360 world is just awesome. Using a flashlight because it is pitch black in a cave playing Arizona Sunshine is pretty freaky.

Apps are getting there. If you are social there are apps for mingling with other people online. Teaching apps are pretty cool. The Rift's desktop app is very nice. I have made a few posts using it.
It is not just the headset price. You need a decent PC also to get a enjoyable experience. Which typically the common man doesn't have. It is a niche market.
 
What calibration are you referring to? The thing where you set up the sensors?

I've done that several times, including one case where I took the entire system somewhere else for a family gathering, and it's always exactly the same.
What system are you using? Oculus I would guess? I do not have enough experience with Rift to tell you quite frankly.
 
Price is not really that high. The Vive pro is pricey, but the others are in a very good range.
It's not so much the headset as the system and in particular the GPU. An i5-4xxx and GTX970 are the bare minimums for the Vive for example, and ya know, that's the minimum. Recommended stuff, you're dropping a solid grand or more before you even have a headset. Also there are environment concerns.. If you're in a small room or a tight space, well, you're gonna restrict the experience.

No killer app? You mean an actual app or app/games? If it's games, then they all are killer. Being able to view 360 is just awesome. For me when I start a new game in VR, I get excited! A 2D game, I am like ok, I want to play this
Having joined the VR crowd this week, I do see some interesting apps. I got Star Trek: Bridge Crew (the whole point of getting the headset), but the Google Tilt Brush looks interesting and there was some other stuff. Heck, just the Win10 Mixed Reality demo houses are fun. Is any of it "killer?" Not sure yet. I haven't played Star Trek yet, still doing the tutorials, and YouTubes lead me to believe there aren't many actual missions and it's more about the group trying to work together. I don't see anything that's going to be a massive time sink for me yet though. I guess VR ports of existing titles are a thing to check out, but many people have already played these games.

I'm happy MS did the Mixed Reality headsets though. I got the HP one and the setup was a total no-brainer and took all of five minutes. Plug headset in, Win10 downloads/installs the MR stuff automatically, show it the boundaries, and go. No sensors or base station to deal with. So they got the learning curve way, way down, they just need the rest of the hardware to mature enough that a mid-range machine is a capable device for VR.
 
What calibration are you referring to? The thing where you set up the sensors?

I've done that several times, including one case where I took the entire system somewhere else for a family gathering, and it's always exactly the same.

Steadily add a few papers or something thin to the bottom of the right sensor to bring up slightly higher than the left one.

If that fixes it, I'm not sure how to go about a longer term solution or what it means about the calibration of your system.

Do other users of your HMD notice the slant/tilt?
 
Yeah, it's an Oculus Rift (regular consumer version).

JayzTwoCents once mentioned that he can't use his Rift because there's apparently an issue with some of the early ones where like, the accelerometer chip, or the optics or something is installed cockeyed, and thus the horizon will appear to be slightly slanted, even when the user's head is perfectly straight. This apparently makes him nauseous and he thus can't use his Rift for his thuper therial driver training thimulathions. I have no other data points to go on, but what he described sounded a lot like what mine does.

To be honest, it doesn't bother me, other than that I can see it when there's text being shown, and the text looks juuuuust a little slanty.
I am not sure how old mine is but was last year not long after they came out. Not sure I have seen anything cockeyed. Maybe a manufacturer defect?
 
I've always had the opinion that VR is very limited and way over-rated.

IMO, AR overlay is the next big thing.
 
  • I am not sure how old mine is but was last year not long after they came out. Not sure I have seen anything cockeyed. Maybe a manufacturer defect?
It may be a manufacturer defect in the sense that something is installed physically out of whack in the plastic housing. That said, I collect airborne LIDAR for a living, and we have professional grade analogs to many of the hardware components in the Rift, all of which have a software calibration routine that allows us to correct these sorts of problems in software.

The Rift apparently does as well, but Oculus understandably doesn't want users messing around with it.
https://forums.oculusvr.com/communi...ifts-view-tilted-slanted-heres-how-you-fix-it

Lucky for me, I really only ever play Elite Dangerous with my Rift, and that game doesn't display horizons all that often.
 
I'm yet to find proof that it was ever alive.

Ooh, sick burn. Take that VR dopes.

All kidding aside, VR is one of those things I was sold on the second I put a Rift on my head. After having one for nearly a year, and playing several games and accumulating several hours of game play, I am still left wanting more. There's just something I can't put my finger on that I'm waiting for.
 
Bought a Vive with high excitement in 2016.... Sold it this year out of boredom.

It needed a Killer App. Something that simply couldn't be done outside VR. I did not see that or ANYTHING close in my VR time. Just re-imaginings of old computer concepts, but in VR!

There has been no true real re-invention of the interface... it needed a 'Nintendo' on board. Historically defining gaming interfaces at every generation. :cool:
 
Bought a Vive with high excitement in 2016.... Sold it this year out of boredom.

It needed a Killer App. Something that simply couldn't be done outside VR. I did not see that or ANYTHING close in my VR time. Just re-imaginings of old computer concepts, but in VR!

There has been no true real re-invention of the interface... it needed a 'Nintendo' on board. Historically defining gaming interfaces at every generation. :cool:
Screenshot me a list of the games you own. I would really like to take a look.
 
Bought a Vive with high excitement in 2016.... Sold it this year out of boredom.

It needed a Killer App. Something that simply couldn't be done outside VR. I did not see that or ANYTHING close in my VR time. Just re-imaginings of old computer concepts, but in VR!

There has been no true real re-invention of the interface... it needed a 'Nintendo' on board. Historically defining gaming interfaces at every generation. :cool:
I'm curious what you think a killer app would be. I felt like it added a lot to games that were previously about sitting in a chair, like driving and flight sims. Maybe not a kiler app in the sense that these games couldn't exist before, but it made them so much more convincing.
 
Bought a Vive with high excitement in 2016.... Sold it this year out of boredom.

It needed a Killer App. Something that simply couldn't be done outside VR. I did not see that or ANYTHING close in my VR time. Just re-imaginings of old computer concepts, but in VR!

There has been no true real re-invention of the interface... it needed a 'Nintendo' on board. Historically defining gaming interfaces at every generation. :cool:
Unless you only own a few of the low rated titles, there are a crap ton that look beautiful. If the title is 360 VR then that is something that can't be done outside VR. Unless you have panels that reach around you in a circle.
Like Kyle said, it would be interesting to see what titles you actually played. Skyrim VR looked amazing and I played for a little bit last night.
 
All y'all that think this thread is about games are full of it. The games are better than ever.

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Doesn't even include some of my favorites like SuperHot, Gorn, Arizona Sunshine and Sariento

Those of you with Vives, I highly recommend ReVive and an Oculus account. That FaceBook money is showing dividends in the quality of available titles.
 
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I've always had the opinion that VR is very limited and way over-rated.

IMO, AR overlay is the next big thing.

I am not sure how much you’ve played with VR, but I have an Oculus Rift and it is an amazing experience. The problem, IMO, is still the lack of games and particularly good multiplayer games. When I bought my OR last year, my brothers took the plunge as well and the only thing we really played together was Star Trek Bridge Crew. To be honest, it was kind of boring after awhile but it is a great tech demo and I’ll be honest - I fully intend on buying the Next Generation DLC for it when released.

We bought the Killing Floor VR game when released, but multiplayer was buggy as hell and we gave up on it. Maybe patches have improved it. If anyone has recommendations for great VR multiplayer games, I’m all ears. I think I will grab Arizona Sunshine while on sale.
 
Bought a Vive with high excitement in 2016.... Sold it this year out of boredom.

It needed a Killer App. Something that simply couldn't be done outside VR. I did not see that or ANYTHING close in my VR time. Just re-imaginings of old computer concepts, but in VR!

There has been no true real re-invention of the interface... it needed a 'Nintendo' on board. Historically defining gaming interfaces at every generation. :cool:

Like others have said, would be interesting to see what you've played. One of my VR favs, Superhot, that's SO much more interesting in VR than conventional. Part of the trick to VR gaming is getting the movement mechanics solid. The premise of Superhot translates extremely well in VR as you literally are moving to grab and shoot or throw and you have to time the movement. You lose all of that with the conventional version.
 
I have to admit, I didn't explore very far because I found the low resolution in the periphery just too bad for me. I'm not one to move my head to look around (because my eyes can move around in my eye sockets, amazingly enough), but in VR you necessarily have to directly look at things with your whole head to get full detail. So I'm constantly aware I'm in VR as a result.

That combined with the fact I couldn't get the lenses close enough (lowest is 61mm, I need 55mm) was what ultimately made me sell it off.


What I mean by 'killer app' is something just completely and utterly new. Like you'd scarcely define it as a 'game', but most importantly something that even casual gamers would be desperate to play and would even settle for a shitty cheap VR version over nothing at all. Like, forget that you're a human and trying to emulate human reality. Eagle Flight is kinda on this level of thinking, though ironically I didn't actually get round to playing that one since it was Occulus exclusive and I couldn't get the crappy Occulus hack shit working.

Here's what I played though, in order of what I actually enjoyed most:

Valve's The Lab
Accounting
Serious Sam Last Hope
Arizona Sunshine
Raw Data
Superhot
Serious Sam: First Encounter VR
Fast Action Hero
Zombie Training Simulator
Job Simulator

Yeah, not much I know, and now ya'll gunna shoot me down for 'not giving it a proper go'...

I think my mistake was just getting it too early on (Summer 2016). Back then there wasn't a proper lobby area and games were crashing left, right and centre as a matter of course, + performance issues even with a Titan X. A younger version of me would have been more willing to put the time in, but these days, and having spent 2 grand for the kit, I just wanted to work from day 1.
 
I think my mistake was just getting it too early on (Summer 2016). Back then there wasn't a proper lobby area and games were crashing left, right and centre as a matter of course, + performance issues even with a Titan X. A younger version of me would have been more willing to put the time in, but these days, and having spent 2 grand for the kit, I just wanted to work from day 1.

Like most tech subject these days, we all have out passions and I can understand someone not liking VR even if they have seriously tried it like you. There are a lot of variables. You got into about six months before I did, I didn't start until Christmas 2016 with the original Vive. But that experience technically was pretty smooth, indeed I was kind of worried that things would get wonky. But it was very straight forward and everything pretty much just worked. But like anything this complex there's always something. Just this week I was getting some insane system wide stuttering from my Vive Pro. I was running the Steam VR Beta, backed down to production and all was good.

VR does need to run solidly, occasional stuttering in a conventional game can be slightly annoying but in VR it can cause nausea. Plus with the added expense any issue becomes just that more annoying anyway. I do think that overall the Rift and Vive/Pro are technically sound. One shouldn't experience constant crashes or other catastrophic problems with a good setup.
 
I have to admit, I didn't explore very far because I found the low resolution in the periphery just too bad for me. I'm not one to move my head to look around (because my eyes can move around in my eye sockets, amazingly enough), but in VR you necessarily have to directly look at things with your whole head to get full detail. So I'm constantly aware I'm in VR as a result.

That combined with the fact I couldn't get the lenses close enough (lowest is 61mm, I need 55mm) was what ultimately made me sell it off.


What I mean by 'killer app' is something just completely and utterly new. Like you'd scarcely define it as a 'game', but most importantly something that even casual gamers would be desperate to play and would even settle for a shitty cheap VR version over nothing at all. Like, forget that you're a human and trying to emulate human reality. Eagle Flight is kinda on this level of thinking, though ironically I didn't actually get round to playing that one since it was Occulus exclusive and I couldn't get the crappy Occulus hack shit working.

Here's what I played though, in order of what I actually enjoyed most:

Valve's The Lab
Accounting
Serious Sam Last Hope
Arizona Sunshine
Raw Data
Superhot
Serious Sam: First Encounter VR
Fast Action Hero
Zombie Training Simulator
Job Simulator

Yeah, not much I know, and now ya'll gunna shoot me down for 'not giving it a proper go'...

I think my mistake was just getting it too early on (Summer 2016). Back then there wasn't a proper lobby area and games were crashing left, right and centre as a matter of course, + performance issues even with a Titan X. A younger version of me would have been more willing to put the time in, but these days, and having spent 2 grand for the kit, I just wanted to work from day 1.
Eagle flight is kind of disappointing. The controls made my neck hurt, and there's frankly not enough "game" there to make it worth coming back to after an hour or so.

Lone Echo is another game that gets close to what you're describing. It's more like the movie that you interact with than a video game that has sections of "game" interleaved with sections of "cutscene," a la Mass Effect. Obduction might be another, but I've not played it.

Something I'm sort of surprised no one has done is make a game where the player is a ghost. This would adapt so well to what's currently possible with VR in terms of interaction. The player can't speak to characters in the game, and his hands pass right through them, but he can move objects around in the game world. If I didn't already have at least one full time job, I'd consider making something like this myself...
 
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