I've finally scooped up a headset that should be arriving tomorrow and I'm curious to know your guys' take on Virtual Reality as it is in it's current state. Maybe share some experiences or reasons for or against it.

I've personally only used PSVR for one session at a friend's place and was confirmed in all my hopes at that point, despite the limitations of the hardware and the overall tech being lacking.

(Sorry for no giveaway, more Final Fantasy giveaways in the near future thanks to AWA and Dell.)

5 years ago

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Is VR a meme?

View Results
Yeah, reality is just fine as is.
Yeah, Augmented Reality is the future.
Nah, VR is the future.
Nah, it's just expensive.
4K IS A MEME!
Potatoes are reality.

VR is quite nice, I would definitely recommend a car game as your first experience as they are extremely immersive.
Shooters feel very weird at first but you get used to it.
And hell avoid the Spiderman VR experience at first as the movement will definitely cause you to feel motion sick as your body is stationary.

VR really improves a gaming experience but is quite limited and not always a better way to experience a game.

5 years ago
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Def not "better" as that's entirely subjective, but certainly (potentially) more immersive which I'm all for. I've been fascinated by it for ages now and finally being able to get some of the newer tech for myself has me in a highly elated state.

Great timing as I've had my buns beat by overworking this week.

5 years ago
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PS download Dirt Rally, you can play the full game in VR and as I mentioned car games are a very immersive experience in VR so definitely start with that :).

Oh and definitely get Beatsaber, that is fudging amazing XD.

5 years ago
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I've been meaning to see what games I have that support VR. Good to know I have another one I'm aware of, thanks!

5 years ago
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You can lookup your account and sort your games on this site: www.lorenzostanco.com/lab/steam/

You can view all the games that have the tag VR or there is a VR support section where you can pick what VR platform your use.

Edit: It looks like you have 34 games with the tag VR.

5 years ago*
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I found that as well and have been scouting free VR titles as well. Thanks for the heads up though!

5 years ago
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I'm not sure if you searched Steam directly, but their filters work pretty good. You can pick "free to play" from the games drop down on the top, select "VR only" OR "VR supported", and then sort by user reviews. Then you can look through the highest rated free VR games.

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Reviews_DESC&category1=998&vrsupport=402%2C401&genre=Free%20to%20Play

5 years ago
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That's exactly what I did and have been finding some I'm planning on looking into for sure. I'm still bummed no one's come out with a monster taming game in the style of a Pokemon title. :c

5 years ago
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I would imagine if VR doesn't die and VR setups become cheaper in the future, Nintendo will probably cash in on the hype and create a Pokemon game. They probably want to sell millions of copies though and VR is just too expensive and not well adopted yet.

5 years ago
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I've decided to partner with a coding partner of mine to build a demo for something of the sort, focused initially on interacting with the creatures and working up slowly to things like battling and multiplayer capabilities.

5 years ago
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If you are looking for nice, short and free experiences, these videos show a lot of interesting stuff. Also some garbage, but that's to be expected. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3SUiImjCg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi44OO7BkZI

5 years ago
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Heeeeey my Monster Taming tag is catching on haha.
A VR game with this style could be awesome though :).

5 years ago
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Pokemon, Monster Rancher, Digimon: I've been playing games of that nature for YEEEEEEEEEEEEARS now and have always refereed to them in that similar wording. ;T

I've been yelling into the void about getting a VR game in that style since the introduction of the Oculus DK1. It'd be eeeeeasy money.

5 years ago
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Oh damn when last did a new Monster Rancher game come out, I still remember playing it on the PS1 and GBA ... :(
We need a new one, on steam, and let's throw in VR while were at it haha

5 years ago
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I hate to say it but... I think the latest one was on mobile. :'c

5 years ago
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I would actually advice against a car game as your first experience. Do not let that be your first experience, or it may turn you off VR for good.

I tried out a Rift for a couple weeks and had no issues with Robo Recall, The Climb, SuperHot VR, or Lone Echo. But after 5 minutes in Project Cars I felt nauseous and had to go lay down for the rest of the day. Euro Truck Simulator was better, in that it didn't make me nauseous, but the feel of the goggles on my head became increasingly palpable and irritating such that I couldn't wait to complete my delivery so that I could take them off.

I liked VR for active games like Robo Recall, The Climb, and SuperHot as it can really transport you into the game such that you forget your surroundings (I may have punched my desk and window a few times, and trying something stupid in Lone Echo made me almost fall over in response), but for seated games I greatly prefer monitors.

5 years ago
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I finally got it and jumped into Payday 2 VR and it was a blast! I'm super hyped to try out more types of games and so far haven't had any issues acclimating to it mentally.

5 years ago
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I see all peripherals as a sort of gimmick. Playing VR is nice in doses, its a novel idea, great for parties. However its just a bit too meh for long term, it actually makes me feel a bit sick after prolonged playing. It's good to see at least some attempts at proper games on there not just glorified tech demos but I can't see it having anticipated titles being talked about by everyone.

It's a fun addition and I hope it sticks around, Beat Sabre is great, driving games are breathtaking, the climbing games do make you feel like you are climbing. As a gamer though, the next Witcher 3 isn't going to be a VR title.

5 years ago
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You're breathtaking!

5 years ago
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NO U!

5 years ago
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This title and it's systems have me in awe, perosnally: https://store.steampowered.com/app/823500/BONEWORKS/

5 years ago
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It's good to see Stress Level Zero getting some love here. :) I don't use VR but Brandon is a great guy.

5 years ago
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Node, Corridor Digital, Stress Level Zero, Rocket Jump, they all rock!

5 years ago
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VR is awesome. I am currently using a Oculus Quest, and the tether free experience is great. The device is clearly not as powerful as my PC and limited to Quest games, but there's a solution to that - streaming with VirtualDesktop works surprisingly well. Yeah, I love it. I also have a Pimax 5k+, but I still need the base stations and controllers for that. And right now they are simply too expensive. Not going to pay 500-600€ just for the peripherals.

That being said, VR is not a replacement for traditional gaming. It's an addition. A new way to experience games. It works best with games that are specifically designed for it. Many people expect all their standard games to work better in VR. And yes, in some cases that is actually the case (best example: racing games). But in general I feel that the adapted games (like Fallout 4 VR) are often a compromise, while the true VR games are the premium experience.

Beat Saber was already recommended. I agree, it's awesome. But definitely also try Superhot VR. This is one of the best VR experiences you can have. So much better than the normal version. Especially if you have some space, so you can walk a few steps. I can't really do that at home, but I have played it at work, where I have a lot of space. The immersion is incredible, even despite the minimalistic, abstract graphics.

Other recommendations would be Vox Machinae, Serious Sam 3 VR, Raw Data, The Invisible Hours.

5 years ago
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Forgot about SuperhotVR, thanks for the reminder! I'm also looking at what's freely available due to having a love for jank personally. I really need to pick up the titles that Justin Roiland has been in like the Rick and Morty game and Accounting+.

I really want to find a decent multiplayer MMORPG as well and may have to settle for OrbusVR and it's free to play portion with the 10 lvl cap for now.

5 years ago
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Right, I forgot about Accounting+. I played it some weeks ago. Really, really good.

5 years ago
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There's a legacy version of it that's free that I'm probably going to play. ;T

5 years ago
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I'm desperate to try out VR. So far I can't give an honest answer. But looking at it from the outside, it looks like a gimmick that has the potential to become a mainstay.

Listen to what John Carmack has said. That gaming's no longer the sole reason for VR. That people watch Netflix with it even. It gives you the option to widen everything in your life. You don't have to be in a cramped space, instead you can be with your friend in a private movie theater, watching your favourite shows. Or you can sit in a truck and just drive to Poland with 12 tonnes of peas in the back. You can pilot a spaceship or shoot zombies in the desert.
Honestly, the opportunities are there and all we really need now is a better price. It's not even the quality that needs to be desperately improved right now. If the Vive was available for only a like $300, VR would easily get a huge playerbase.

VR's got massive potential. Even now, those who aren't gamers are also interested in the technology. I'd be surprised if VR would just die off. But I wouldn't be surprised if VR was just a stepping block for something bigger, something more complex. Something that actually catches the world by storm and gives us a new "smartphone revolution" or "the age of the Internet".

5 years ago
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I have to say that it only took me one solid paycheck to pull the trigger on the HTC Vive, especially considering I can always get Knuckle controllers with it in the future when they release commercially. I fully agree that it's not just for gaming, it's as you've stated: a way to widen your surroundings more so than anything up to this point in gaming, at least with the level of immersion it provides.

I'm gonna troll VR Chat so haaaaaaaaard. ;T

5 years ago
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The Oculus Go is my main gaming platform. I admit that I'm not a hardcore gamer, and I probably have lower standards than others, but I've enjoyed quite a few games on the Go and found them quite immersive. I also own a Quest, but I gravitate towards gaming on the Go. For a low cost VR experience (I've seen it on sale for $150), I think that the Go is quite good.

Something that actually catches the world by storm and gives us a new "smartphone revolution"

I'd say that AR will end up doing that. Having a display overlayed over reality would be a huge step up from a phone.

5 years ago
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I feel like John Carmack is trying to sell tech there.

Watching movies in VR feels awful - everything looks really pixelated, and the goggles are uncomfortable to wear. It doesn't make me feel like I'm in a private movie theater with a 10' display, it makes me feel like I'm sitting at home wearing an uncomfortable headset with my eyes pressed up against a tiny screen.

As far as driving a truck to Poland, or piloting space ships, or shooting zombies in the desert - I can do all that now on my PC without VR, and it's better and more comfortable.

I absolutely love ETS2, but I didn't enjoy it in VR. ETS on PC looks lovely and is comfortable and relaxing. ETS in VR looks like a pixelated mess seen through a screen door, where I can barely read the dash or the street signs, and the whole time I'm acutely aware of the headset on my head and the goggles on my face. If you need to scratch your nose, be careful because you might bump the headset and distort your whole view. Want to take a drink while driving, have fun trying to fish for where it is and then trying to find the table to set it back down. I chose a short delivery to test out VR, and even so I couldn't wait for the delivery to be over so I could take off the headset.

VR absolutely has potential - I've seen it in The Climb and SuperHot VR - but right now it's just too much of a gimmick. It's too expensive, too finicky (I had to clear a 6'x9' space to meet the minimum requirements for room scale, and you better hope someone doesn't accidentally bump the sensors that take over your desk), with too little content. I loved The Climb and SuperHot, enjoyed Robo Recall, Lone Echo was okay, but none of them are system sellers, and most are short experiences that you'll quickly grow tired of and not want to revisit. Seated games felt strictly worse and less comfortable than using a monitor, and the visuals are a huge step back - it looks like going from 1920x1080 on High to 640x480 on Medium. I had a Rift for 2 weeks, and I don't miss it. If I still had it, it would probably be gathering dust (just like my Google Cardboard).

5 years ago
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I feel that you let your personal taste dictate what you think about the platform.

I'm with you about 2D in VR, but I know that a lot of people love the VR movie experience, and it's one of the main draws of the Oculus Go. I've also read several people comment that VR porn is quite an experience.

As far as driving a truck to Poland, or piloting space ships, or shooting zombies in the desert - I can do all that now on my PC without VR, and it's better and more comfortable.

Maybe for you it's better. For me a game with simple puzzles and simple graphics in VR can trump a PC game, because of the sense of being there. If I stand on a narrow ledge in VR, I can feel a fear of falling even though I know it's only VR. That doesn't happen with a game on a screen.

5 years ago
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I feel that you let your personal taste dictate what you think about the platform.

I mean, yes, absolutely. I think that goes for everyone and everything. There is no such thing as an objective review, we can only say whether or not we liked something and why, and if we're sufficiently descriptive than others will be able to tell if they'll feel the same way or not.

I'm with you about 2D in VR, but I know that a lot of people love the VR movie experience, and it's one of the main draws of the Oculus Go. I've also read several people comment that VR porn is quite an experience.

I've heard the same, but for me they came off as gimmicks. I heard the promised "it feels like you're sitting in front of a 12' movie screen" and it sounded great, but the reality was more like looking at a tiny screen through binoculars. Yes, it filled my field of vision, but it was all pixelated with the screen door effect, which made the movie look awful. It was the visual equivalent of stretching a 480p movie to fit a 1080p screen and then moving my head 4" away from the screen. The Rift looked much better than trying the same on Google Cardboard, but that's not saying much.

I briefly tried some VR porn, and that wasn't enjoyable either. The problem there, in addition to the screen door effect and pixelated visuals, was an extremely limited field of view with a surprisingly warped perspective. Everything felt really zoomed in, like playing a game with the FoV set to 50, and I felt like I had no peripheral vision despite the screen filling my field of view. It felt like I had blinders on, but the view was also warped and distorted with a fish bowl effect. My perspective felt distorted and my head motion needed to be exaggerated, like I'd have to look at the floor and then the ceiling just to cover the visual field that I have normally without moving my head. And then there's the comfort issue, which was the same issue I had for movies - maybe you can get comfortable with a headset strapped to your head with cabled coming out the back, but I couldn't. I wanted to take the headset off after a few minutes, and wouldn't be able to last a full 90-120 minute movie.

If I stand on a narrow ledge in VR, I can feel a fear of falling even though I know it's only VR. That doesn't happen with a game on a screen.

I totally get where you're coming from. I had some great experiences in VR - The Climb and SuperHot VR in particular - which simply cannot be replicated without it. But those worked great because they were active experiences, they required moving around. Not everyone can accomodate room scale - I had to move everything out of the way to clear enough room, and I feel for anyone trying VR in an apartment. And that's what they feel like, great experiences, but just experiences. I loved my time with The Climb and Superhot, but I can't see those games alone sustaining the Rift as a peripheral, and nothing else reached those heights. Having played through Superhot, I didn't really want to play through it again. Robo Recall was great initially, but then it quickly got repetitive and boring after the initial feeling of awe passed. VR, at this point, is not compelling enough for me to want to use it on a regular basis. I totally understand loving the feeling of being there - I bought a steering wheel a couple years ago, and I love that it makes me feel like I'm actually driving a car rather than just playing a car game. But where my steering wheel hasn't left my desk since I bought it, if I still had a Rift it would probably be gathering dust because after the novelty wears off it's just not compelling enough for me to want to revisit, and I prefer the comfort of not wearing a headset, not being cut off from the outside world, and having the visuals be crystal clear and sharp and all the text easily readable. My PC is already capable of immersing me in other worlds with existing games, without having to strap anything onto my head. :)

Also, if you're Asian and wear glasses, the Rift may just not fit without feeling like it's shoving the glasses into your face. And if that's the case, no amount of wonder and immersion makes up for the fact that it's so uncomfortable that it's basically unusable for any length of time.

I have hope for VR, and I'd love to revisit it in a few years and a couple generations down the line, where hopefully the visuals are much better, the headsets are much lighter and more comfortable, where room scale is easier to achieve. A wireless headset with much better visuals and built in sensors such that you can just put it on in your living room, pick up the controllers, and you're good to go sounds ideal. But I still can't see it as anything other than an occasional distraction - the thing you dust off every once in a while, or when guests come over to show them how cool VR is. I don't see it as something I'd use on a regular basis. The people who currently use VR regularly all seem to be sim-racers, but unfortunately sim-racing in VR makes me extremely nauseous. But maybe that's also something that a future version, with much better visuals and performance, might be able to address.

5 years ago
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The only problem with the personal taste thing is that you said "I feel like John Carmack is trying to sell tech there" and it felt like you're dismissing VR because of your personal taste. I.e., it wasn't just "not for me" but "that doesn't really work".

Not everyone can accomodate room scale

True, which is one reason I play on my Go and not on my Quest. The Go is a lot more immediate: just put it on, take the simple controller, and you're in VR. Sure, it lacks something in terms of interaction, but it still gives me a feeling that I can't get with a 2D game.

I also think that part of the reason people stop using the Rift is that hassle of having it tied to a PC. Quite a few people on the Quest Subreddit said they strongly preferred it to other headsets (PC or PSVR) even with the degraded visuals because it can be used anywhere. It doesn't have to be used in the particular room where your PC is and where you don't have enough space. As I said, I use the Go because it goes a step further in that I don't even need to set up a space for it. It just works.

5 years ago
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The only problem with the personal taste thing is that you said "I feel like John Carmack is trying to sell tech there" and it felt like you're dismissing VR because of your personal taste. I.e., it wasn't just "not for me" but "that doesn't really work".

Oh, no. What I meant by "I feel like John Carmack is trying to sell tech there" is that his statement came off as pure marketing hype. Or at least the paraphrasing of his statement, as I'm not sure what the original statement was.

Stuff like, "It gives you the option to widen everything in your life," strikes me as pure marketing nonsense.

"You don't have to be in a cramped space, instead you can be with your friend in a private movie theater, watching your favourite shows," paints a great picture, but the reality is that you're still sitting at home with a headset strapped to your head, while your friend is sitting somewhere else with a headset strapped to their head, and it's not at all like sitting together in a private theater. I like having snacks and beverages and being really comfortable while I watch TV, and the VR headset interferes with all of that. Nevermind that watching TV is really the least social of social activities.

Maybe some people enjoy watching shows and movies in VR, but it struck me as a strictly worse experience than watching on a monitor or TV. But then lots of people seem to enjoy watching shows and movies on their phones - I'm clearly pickier about my media consumption than those people.

"you can sit in a truck and just drive to Poland with 12 tonnes of peas in the back. You can pilot a spaceship or shoot zombies in the desert." I can do all of that now, without VR. I have been doing that for years, in some cases decades! VR may make it more immersive (at the cost of visual fidelity and comfort), but these are not new experiences enabled by VR, these are experiences that have always existed. The new experiences are stuff like Robo Recall, The Climb (with motion controllers), and SuperHot VR, but those weren't the examples given. The examples given were all seated, non-active experiences, which to me is where VR is weakest.

So I wasn't trying to dismiss VR as a whole - I think it's not quite there yet, and neither is the library of content, but I'm hopeful for what may be in the future. I was dismissing the particular statements made as a load of marketing hype.

I haven't tried the Go or Quest, but they seem steps in the right direction (except perhaps the frame rate, as I fear 72 Hz may cause more nausea and motion sickness than the 90 Hz of the Rift and Vive). But I also don't feel compelled to try them at this point. I was glad I got to try the Rift, and it was a cool experience, but it wasn't something I felt was essential. Given the choice between buying an Oculus Go / Quest and, say, a Nintendo Switch, I'd go for the Switch. Mind you, I think the Switch is too expensive to personally justify buying one, but I still feel that the Switch, with it's library of exclusives and portable option, is a more compelling option than a VR headset, and one I'd be much more likely to use for far more often.

Unless the Go / Quest will truly give me "the option to widen everything in your life", in which case I'd like to have it start by widen my desk, my office, and a bedroom window. ;)

5 years ago
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Social stuff is awesome in VR. You get the real feeling of sharing the same space with your friends (or just random strangers). Nothing ever comes close to this on a monitor. Voice chat+ motion controls in VR is the way we'll communicate with distant friends in the future. Also, it enables you to see limitless worlds, sometimes even build them if you wish.
VRC is the most popular for that, but if you have a beefy PC, try Sansar. It's go much better graphics, and less troll-ish people (mostly).

5 years ago
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Hadn't heard of Sansar and will certainly check it out.

And for the record, I've been known to live under a bridge here and there. ;T

5 years ago
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No worries, VR a whole different world, with whole new language and acronyms. You'll get used to it ;)
Just as a precaution, make sure to set your IPD in the headset as fast as possible, otherwise you'll be motion sick more than needed.
If you have more questions, feel free to ping me.

5 years ago
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"Fast" or "far?"

"The distance between the pupils of both eyes. Interpupillary Distance (or IPD) is used to calculate the difference in viewing angle needed to create a stereoscopic 3D image. A headset's IPD refers to the distance between both of its lenses. ... Some VR headsets allow you to adjust the IPD of their lenses."

5 years ago
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Fast. You should measure your IPD, can do it even at home (there's even videos how to). the closer you set headset IPD to your own, the better you will feel.
In general, first thing for your comfort in VR is IPD. Next is how headset actually sits on your face. Third is computer performance (if you get lots of low framerates in vr, like under 60, you'll get REALLY sick), and finally it's up to games to provide VR comfort options. Like, actually walking is awful in most games, therefore at beginning i'd suggest you to try and teleport whenever you can instead of walking. Also, snap turning helps, if it's available.

5 years ago
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For your poll, I think that AR is the future, but that's a little further off. VR is on the way up. I think it's on the cusp of becoming good enough for mass consumption, but whether that future arrives in a year or two or 5 years I can't tell.

The main issues are computing power and comfort. Something like a wireless PSVR with inside-out tracking and a PS5 behind it would likely solve most of the issues for home VR gaming.

5 years ago
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I've been slowly upgrading my PC rig to get it to a decent level for VR and according to VR Mark's Orange Room test, I'm rated 58% above all other scores so I'm solid but I do agree that it's more about getting it into the hands of folks with less than folks like me that have worked up to it for what feels like a decade now.

5 years ago
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5 years ago*
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A miserable pile of secrets?

5 years ago
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Strictly speaking a meme is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture" (Wikipedia) but in the internet culture specifically when someone says meme it usually means an image with a short caption that people relate to and share. You can find a database of memes at Know your Meme including their history and an explanation (if available). In this specific case I think the usage of the word meme is meant as a synonym for farce or charade as in whether or not VR got hyped, was popular for a limited amount of time and then fell into irrelevance.

5 years ago
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But, Castlevania. D:

5 years ago
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there's no bloody way i'm putting something the size of a motorcycle helmet on my head when i want to chill out and play a game. it's ridiculous.

5 years ago
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I mean, you don't have to do that to do that, I agree. Was there an argument for that that I missed? I mean, some folks use them for porn and they seem pretty chilled and relaxed... one could almost say "chillaxed."

Also, VR headsets are nowhere near as large as a full helmet, but okay.

5 years ago
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not even that. as long as you don't get the smell it's pointless.

5 years ago
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5 years ago
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stahp

View attached image.
5 years ago
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I'm just the messenger. ;T

5 years ago
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what about the nosulus rift?
(edit : fixed link) : http://nosulusrift.ubisoft.com/?lang=en-GB#!/introduction

5 years ago*
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Is it... is it supposed to do something? I loaded the page and it's just a dark figure...

5 years ago
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i guess i didnt copy the whole link derp, sorry bout that
http://nosulusrift.ubisoft.com/?lang=en-GB#!/introduction

5 years ago
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No no, it worked just fine the first time, it just doesn't do anything. There's a silhouette against a black background and that's it.
https://imgur.com/a/UHTnUaj

I googled what it was and that's hilarious, but that link does literally nothing for me.

5 years ago
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I'll get a Valve Index as soon as the full set will go below 500€... not very soon I guess.

5 years ago
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I grabbed an HTC Vive and will most likely grab the Knuckle controllers when they become commercially available. :D

5 years ago
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when they become commercially available

???

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1059550/Valve_Index_Controllers/

5 years ago
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"Reserve now to be notified of availability."

It's almost as if they aren't available yet. :^)

5 years ago
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If prolonged use of cell phones cause brain tumors, imagine what a VR headset would do to you.

5 years ago
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It'll turn me super cool kawaii desu?

5 years ago
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"Has brain cancer increased since cell phones?
In one study that followed more than 420,000 cellphone users over a 20-year period, researchers found no evidence of a link between cellphones and brain tumors.Dec 12, 2018"

"Medical experts not associated with the research say that, yes, there are dangers to human health from the repeated and routine use of cell phones and other mobile devices. However, they say, the new research isn't clear enough to conclude that cell phones cause brain tumors and other types of cancers.Nov 11, 2018"

"For now, no one knows if cellphones are capable of causing cancer. Although long-term studies are ongoing, to date there's no convincing evidence that cellphone use increases the risk of cancer. If you're concerned about the possible link between cellphones and cancer, consider limiting your use of cellphones — or use a speaker or hands-free device that places the cellphone antenna, which is typically in the cellphone itself, away from your head."

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Even back when that was considered accurate, it was due to the positioning of cellphones in relation to the brain (and the wireless signals being treated like a targetted microwave to the nearby sections of the head).

The majority of VR headsets are wired, and although I'm no expert, I feel certain that radio waves aren't transmitted like precision beams towards their destination recievers, but as broad fields.

5 years ago
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I'm not a fan of VR because

  • I don't want to wear anything (on my head ^^) to play
  • the games I tried where not that good (or they would not be worse in a normal mode)
  • I don't think you can play long sessions with this

I think I'll stay "oldschool" for a long time

5 years ago
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I've got my first session under my belt and have had a blast with Payday 2 VR, it was just really hectic and I need to run my cable on the ceiling I think as managing it was scary.

5 years ago
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You've got a headset, so try it for yourself and see what you think. Personally, trying a Rift for 2 weeks, I thought it was a mixed bag.

I tried it primarily for sim-racing, and found that was a mistake. Sim-racing in VR makes me nauseous within a few minutes - and not just slightly nauseous, but having to lay down for the rest of the day nauseous. And I don't care that people say you get used to it, I have no desire to subject myself to that over and over again in the hopes that I'll build up my tolerance - that's like saying if you keep banging your head against a wall, eventually you'll build up a tolerance and it'll become a pleasant experience. It was also a huge step back in visual fidelity, but that was secondary to the nausea.

I tried ETS2, which was better, but was also really uncomfortable. It was very immersive, but again a huge step back visually. I could say that it was going from High settings down to Low / Medium while also taking a performance hit, but the more relevant thing is that it took a beautiful game, made it much less attractive, put it behind a screen door, and made text so blurry that I could barely read the truck dash, let alone the street signs. Also, I became hyper-aware of the headset on my face and head, and it became less and less comfortable with each passing moment. My nose suddenly became super itchy, but each time I'd scratch it I'd bump the headset and the world would suddenly become blurry and crooked. I didn't like the feeling of being cut off from the outside world, and I couldn't wait to finish the delivery so that I could take the headset off.

Where I found success is in the made for VR games.

The Climb was amazing. I played while standing with motion controllers, and I was shocked at how much my muscles in my arms and back tensed in response to actions - it was a legit workout. But that may have been because I've actually done some rock climbing, and thus was reflexively tensing muscles as I would be on actual rocks. This is the game I'd be most likely to revisit.

SuperHot VR was amazing, and really made me feel like the star of an action movie. You do need a fair amount of space to make it work - I cleared off a 6'x9' area, and still punched my desk and window a few times. It's also pretty short, and while it was an amazing experience, I don't know that I'd necessarily want to revisit it.

Robo Recall was pretty fun. It peaks early, and then gets repetitive. I never finished it, and didn't feel compelled to, but it was fun enough.

Lone Echo was... okay. Great acting and setting paired with boring gameplay and awful sidequests. The lack of visual fidelity became an issue a few times, as I was supposed to spot something to advance a quest except I couldn't see the item I was supposed to spot because everything looked blurry and pixelated. Most of the game is spent floating and navigating through zero-G, which is interesting at first, but quickly becomes boring, and the tasks placed on top of that just serve as speed bumps without making it more interesting. The sidequests are of the "track down X items that we have hidden across a huge area" variety, which are a complete waste of time as the poor visuals making spotting the items very difficult and you're basically looking for needles in haystacks for no payoff whatsoever.

I liked the room scale games the best, since they really transported me to another place. I did not enjoy the screen door effect and blurry visuals, and didn't enjoy seated games as while seated and not moving I would become hyper-aware of the weight of the headset and it quickly became uncomfortable. I also didn't like being cut off from the outside world while seated, and taking the headset off and putting it back on while in a game felt unpleasant as your whole world shifts and becomes blurry. For seated games, I strongly prefer a monitor.

5 years ago
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I mean, I just got it today and have only just now got done with a session of Payday 2 VR and loved it. I agree that the blurring is a bit of an issue but I'm not too worried about it, I've dealt with worse. I've got a decent sized play area but I need to clean up the edges and get a mat to track myself in reality so I'm not moving too far toward something physical to bonk.

5 years ago
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Awesome! I highly recommend checking out The Climb and SuperHot VR if you can - those the the standout games from when I tried it.

5 years ago
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SuperHot VR is certainly on the list. I've been following that game since it was just a demo concept made in Unity. :D

https://superhotgame.com/play-prototype/

5 years ago*
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I used to think VR was a gimmick (and I guess I still do in a way), but it's certainly one helluva cool gimmick. I fell in love with VR the first time I put my headset on. The first thing I tried out was Valve's own tech demo, The Lab (which I highly recommend to get the feel for things), and then I jumped right into killing zombies in Arizona Sunshine. I gotta tell you, VR added a whole new level of excitement to playing something as simple as a zombie shooter (ducking and dodging and going all John Wick on some mofos). One of my favorite things to do now after a long day at work is chill out and play some Catch & Release (a fishing game). A couple others I'd recommend to get started are Batman Arkham VR (one of the best tech demos with some actual gameplay), ZomDay (frantic wave shooter done right), QuivR (one of the best archery games), and VR Dungeon Knight (still the benchmark VR dungeon crawler).

Like Timobkg said, though, VR definitely has a few drawbacks. Be sure you have plenty of room to move about some. I had to clear out one end of my office space to play some games. Even in "standing" games, I still fight myself trying to keep from moving around. You also won't be playing 8 hour sessions in a VR headset. It gets a quite warm, and can get a little uncomfortable after a couple hours. You're also not going to be looking at AC Odyssey level graphics in a VR headset any time soon, but the immersion factor easily overcomes that drawback. The weight of the headset doesn't bother me, but the cable did during long sessions (especially in games where you turn a lot), so I bought a kit to suspend the cable overhead with retractable cables (I think it was about $18 on Amazon). If you're tethered, I highly recommend looking into that.

At any rate, enjoy your new headset and let us know what you think after you've given it a go. :)

5 years ago
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Graphics aren't important to me, I play anything and everything personally. I added some of your suggestions to the wishlist and had known about a couple of them prior, thanks for the reminder! I'm thinking of running the cable from the ceiling as well as I've got some rigging for that already.

5 years ago
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I have friends who love it. Never used it, myself. It's too expensive and it's too clunky, and frankly I don't see either of those changing any time soon. I don't even like wearing headphones, and can't imagine doing the rest. I live in New York City, and our apartments are mighty small for finding a 6x9 area to play in - that's probably where the bed is, or the table. Cool, yes. Practical? Not so much.

Though much better baked and promising, VR reminds me of when those 3D TVs came out. I had friends who were all, "Oh yeah, everyone will have one in a couple of years." Mmm-hmm.

5 years ago
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I feel like everyone could have VR in a matter of time but again, it's for specific things as opposed to absorbing all others. I've had a blast with it today personally, my first session being with Payday 2 VR. Shooting feels great and the movement wasn't too bad, though I agree that cable management is going to be a concern of mine. The minimum require play area is "2 m x 1.5 m (6 ft 6 in x 5 ft)" so it's totally doable though I understand where you're coming from when living in a smaller domicile.

5 years ago
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Its just a gimmick, and I don't see it working for most of the genres anyway. That being said tho, I believe some games in the future can make use of it, or even some movies. But as of now, the technology is way too expensive and not yet very powerful to compete with current graphics

5 years ago
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My graphics were way under spec a bit ago but I've since been gifted a better motherboard/CPU combo and it made VR amazing. Min spec. FPS was 60 and I'm getting 150+.

5 years ago
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No doubt about that but just imagine the immense amount of work programming for VR requires vs standard pc and console games. Not worth the investment imo.

5 years ago
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It's just about the same with the added struggle of rendering twice.

5 years ago
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Yeah but now compare the markets, how many people do actually care about VR to make it profitable compared to other games and platforms?

5 years ago
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That's a huge part of my initial question, does the lack of a market for VR make it a passing fad or are the factors in place that are holding back going to subside to male way for a better hold in the industry. It's entirely understandable ti assume that folks aren't interested in it as a platform due to sales performance but it would appear the general consensus is that the price point is the issue over interest. Folks want VR but not at $533.98.

It may be niche now for the reasons stated but that doesn't mean development for or on it should be hindered because it'll never grow if folks stop. As you said, it's not going to be profitable for the most part but if developers stop making software for it, it will die, period.

5 years ago
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VR's current issues are preventing it from having any wildfire growth, but it's still definitely on the up. Facebook, love 'em or hate 'em, are playing a big role in VR growth with more affordable & easy to use headsets. I think it'll continue to have its somewhat slow but steady increase, especially as more cool games come out, like Boneworks & whatever Oculus exclusive titles Facebook is pumping out.

5 years ago
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Slowly but surely. I'm super excited for Boneworks, I have been long before I had a headset.

5 years ago
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As of now I believe VR to be nothing more than a bubble. Maybe in 10 15 years when the technology will be powerfull enough we might see it rise, but right now, i dont think so.

5 years ago
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We've got wireless, all-in-one units for $200 that can be used with a PC with little effort... I mean we're getting there for sure.

5 years ago
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If you think VR is a meme, some weebs who love SAO and longed for Online Gamer GF might get offended

5 years ago
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Excuse me, but .hack did it better.

5 years ago
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201x
.hack

weebs nowadays doesn't know .hack series
Heck, I only know Corrector Yui

5 years ago
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I just scored the 4 games on PS2 that let you carry your save through them all and I'm so pleased.

5 years ago
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I feel like its inbetween the idea of the kinect gimmick and "normal" gaming. It's hard to explain.

Beat Saber is fantastic and addictive, it brings me back to just losing multiple days and weeks in guitar hero and honestly that game is worth VR on it's own.
I've played a few very short games which were almost like tech demos like the batman VR and that showed some great potential with the solving case aspect
Games like Rick and Morty were a blast to play in an afternoon and despite being a bunch of mini games it was so much fun to mess around in a room for a few hours.
Shooters like Arizona Sunshine, Serious Sam make you feel badass and is definitely worth experiencing
Despite not being into racing games... I can see that being incredible when pairing it with a wheel set up etc

Overall, it's got a long way to go but it's a hell of a lot of fun if you have the money to spare and get get yourself a headset!

5 years ago
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After my first session of Payday 2 VR today, I totally agree!

5 years ago
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I shouldn't be surprised that the main concern on a giveaway site is about whether it's affordable, but somehow I am XD
VR is cool, but I don't know if it's worth it for the price (of headset + a rig that can handle it well enough), at least not yet.
And it's probably just me, but I don't really care enough about immersion to want it desperately. I'm too into 2D, fixed camera things...

5 years ago
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This.

Also: When I use my PC in my ever shortening amount of spare time, I don't want to be immersed that much. I have 3 monitors set up to do a lot of things simultaneously, because that is just convenient for me. I would remove my headset all the time to do other stuff.

5 years ago
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I've also got the triple monitor setup and quite frankly it enhances even the VR experience. You can (at least from my one session I've noticed) nudge the headset up to get whatever you need done then slip it back down and it's fairly seamless in transition.

5 years ago
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Yeah, 100%. Halfway through a game I wanna be able to get some work done or something, I multitask like a madman :P

5 years ago
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I like to try everything out and trust that I'm also far too invested in traditional gaming to leave it behind.

5 years ago
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It's definitely neat to try new things! I gave the Vive a go at a friend's place, and it's awesome, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it :S

5 years ago
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I pulled the trigger on it due to receiving my first "big boy" paycheck in nearly 7 years.

5 years ago
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Still waiting for those headsets to be more affordable. Neither VR nor 4K are memes or gimmicks if you've got the system to sustain them in optimal conditions. Been gaming in 4K res since 2016 and I'm at my 2nd 4K monitor since then, yet you can't hope to hit constant 60fps in brand new games unless you spend an obscene amount of money on a beefy GPU. But at least I can enjoy older titles and new indie games in 4K without much effort. VR can still wait, got the games (thanks to bundles) but the headset is nowhere near on the horizon...

5 years ago
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I just remember dying laughing when my housemate's GPU was maxed trying to run Final Fantasy 15 at 4K and him getting about 5 FPS.

5 years ago
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That would be similar to watching a slideshow. Been gaming on a GTX 1070 also since 2016, and I don't think I've ever had a shiny AAA game which would "perform" below 15fps@4K resolution, but that would be painful enough to experience. Most of them seem to hover at around 25-30fps which is still a lousy value and I just prefer downscaling to 2K instead.

5 years ago
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Oh yeah, it was entirely unplayable. I was just giving him a hard time about 4K and we both knew his GPU was an issue. We've both since gotten slight upgrades here and there and I'm really well off now with a 1660 TI and an i7.

5 years ago
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When VR headsets improve in the future to be less clunky and they come up with a better movement system, then I'll say it's beyond a gimmick. It's cool but not there yet.

Meme is definitely not the word to use in this context though.

5 years ago
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The usage of "meme" is an ongoing argument between my housemate and I about his 4K obsession. ;T

5 years ago
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I'm still 50/50 on VR. I bought a used HTC Vive, and so far I have completed Arizona Sunshine, but wasn't too impressed.
I mean it's great when you manage to suspend your mind fully within the gamespace and get immersed, but at least as far as Arizona Sunshine was concerned the control scheme often created a hurdle. Plus the gameplay was pretty boring, and for some reason being in VR makes me tense my posture and legs far more than if I were just standing around normally, which caused aches to mount up.

It also doesn't help that even when I played in a larger space, I was paranoid about hitting something with the controllers so my motions had a degree of hesitation, and I would keep trying to side-eye where I was in relation to the real world (even when I laid down a blanket on the floor so I had a tactile sense of my 'centred area'.

The biggest issues with VR is both the price (of the combined VR and supporting PC hardware plus games), but also space. If you don't have a suitable playspace or a room you can adapt, then you're quite restricted. The Vive tracked the controllers really well due to the external sensors but depending on how I oriented them, there were sometimes small deadzones where my body would block one sensor and the other would struggle to ping a specific angle or area. That said, being a second-hand unit, it didn't come with the sync-cable, and I have one now I should probably try that again.

I mean, it's fun! But the setup, particularly with the Vive's external sensors when you don't want to drill walls, and if you're like me and need to run two loooong cables to extend into a room on a different floor, when you feel like playing something for a change, I glance once at the Vive, but then instead settle for firing up my second-hand PS2 and going for some Katamari. :P

5 years ago
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Imagine Katamari VR from the Prince's PoV... oh man...

5 years ago
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I don't think I'm ready for that level of exercise.
...nor for what my room may look like afterwards.

5 years ago
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It might look like a star. ;T

5 years ago
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As I said elsewhere, that's why a lot of people prefer the Quest. It's a lot weaker than a PC, but it can be used anywhere, without any special setup.

5 years ago
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I feel like a lot of folks don't realize that there are wireless/all-in-one options for VR. :c

5 years ago
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I was also pretty underwhelmed by Arizona Sunshine. It has a lot positive reviews, but I feel like that was just because it was one of/the first full fledged zombie shooters for VR. We definitely need something that has more going for it, along the lines of Left 4 Dead or Dying Light or something. Though built from the ground up for VR of course.

I was also really surprised that the game had almost no gore/dismemberment of the zombies, they even bled green blood! Then I realized that I bought my copy on Viveport, & that HTC are Chinese, & that this probably means that the Viveport version is heavily censored for China (Even though I bought it in the US). Definitely didn't help with my less than stellar impression of the game, lol.

5 years ago
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I have a Vive, and my pc is beefy enough to run it well. It's an excellent way to experience video game content, but I get severe headaches if I use it for more than 15 or so minutes at a time. It's also ludicrously expensive for the quality of experience it currently provides. VR is the future, but we have a few years before it becomes the present.

PS: Blade and Sorcery and Beat Saber are fantastic games that I genuinely believe everyone should play.

5 years ago
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Perhaps Dramamine before playing? Either way, it's a bummer to hear that it negatively effects you. :c

5 years ago
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yeah, it definitely gives me some thought about the amount of cash I had to part with to get my hands on it.

5 years ago
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I pulled the trigger on it thanks to my first "big boy" paycheck in nearly 7 years. Plus I'm about to get a near 100th paycheck to supplement my VR library with so I'm satisfied currently.

5 years ago
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VR is amazing I admit, but I'm psyched for the Hololens 2. AR is far more appealing to me in terms of practical applications and not just gaming. Its great, especially for that collaborative workflow, and for giving that added tactile impression while interacting within a digital environment (like a touch screen but without the physical medium). In a another generation or two, after the technology sees further development iterations and improvements, I would love for this technology become available to consumers at a far more affordable price compared to its current commercial target.

5 years ago
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I feel as though AR will be more universal while VR will be able to find it's market in home entertainment.

5 years ago
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Why not a mixture of both worlds in home entertainment? It would definitely make gaming of certain genres more immersive I would imagine... especially without (hopefully) the bulky headsets, controllers, and tracking sensors.

5 years ago
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That's kind of what I meant but with the addition of AR being more flexible. Most folks don't know of or have an all in one VR system, even mobile VR, for outside use or otherwise whereas AR can and does cover indoor, outdoor, and beyond.

5 years ago
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No mans sky on VR looks great :)

5 years ago
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Agreed, especially considering other space expliration titles with VR support either being in development hell or flat out not as great.

5 years ago
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The flying is quite a trip, but also quite beautiful & very fun. I hope they keep tweaking things, ironing out bugs & optimizing performance. The more laid-back pace of No Man's Sky was always perfect for longer VR sessions, so Hello Game's dedication has earned all of my respect back for them & more.

5 years ago
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Vive user here, I was cautious & critical at first, but I loved it the moment I put on the headset after setting everything up. 400+ hours later, still loving it & feeling like it's been the best entertainment purchase for me for years. I even nagged a friend about trying mine out enough for him to do it, within the first hour of using it he felt he had to go & get one for himself.

I do still recognize the current issues & limitations that VR has & I don't fault anyone who can't/won't make the leap into VR. Needing a PC around $500 (Preferably much more), headsets being around $400 (Usually more), lack of space in many homes, even biological differences like face/head shape & tolerance to motion sickness, they all make for serious barriers to entry. Some things can be dealt with, money can be saved up & truth be told room scale VR still works pretty well in smaller spaces (My play space barely meeting the required amount by SteamVR), but even then a natural propensity for motion sickness can ruin it completely for some.

I won't lie & say it's THE future, but it's definitely A future, as the potential for future games alongside the amazing VR games we already have has proven this to me. There's nothing like PVP shooters like Pavlov where you really aim the gun, not just your wrist. Games like Beat Saber have made me way more healthier than I ever would have been had I not gotten VR. Social games like Rec Room & VRChat have given me much more interactive & immersive social fun, basically tricking my brain into thinking that other people were right next to me. At the very least I recommend that anybody take any chance they might get to try VR (Friends, VR arcade, etc.), you just might find the thing you've been looking for to not only make video games feel fresh again, but to also help get you more active physically & even socially.

5 years ago
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THIS REPLY RIGHT HERE. <3

5 years ago
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