The VR Thread - We all know what you really use it for.

[ZMOT]

I disagree. The casual market is crowded with headsets like Oculus Quest and PSVR. While cheap (or at least, cheaper) and easier to use, they are hamstrung by technical limitations. Valve is playing the long game, they don't want VR to be a throwaway fad, and key to that is making something that works reliably and precisely.

psvr is limited to playstation, quest is facebook. the next option is a reverb g2 for 650 bucks, followed by index for 1k+. the rest are some niche kickstarters most people have never heard of. those are not mainstream prices.
the only technical limitation is not supporting gimmicks like full finger tracking, which has pretty much zero use besides alyx or oculus' own implementation and hardly any use in games to begin with - what would you even do with your fucking pinky in a vr game?

outside of that "reliable and precise" can be done with a 200 bucks WMR headset, heck even the psvr works more than fine for casual use.
the point is mainstream users purchase by price, not options or quality (why else do you think they buy facebook crap?). which means you won't get the marketshare you need to push your own tech and standards - how many headsets out there use valve's lightroom tech even tho it's superior (in accuracy) and safer for privacy (sure, tape over your notebook camera but then map your whole room for vr...)?

and the worst part: if you look at the parts individually, the index alone isn't that expensive. the lightroom stations are somehow more expensive after a hardware revision whose goal it was to reduce prices. which brings me to the controllers, which alone cost as much as a quest, and don't work without base stations. basically what makes the index so expensive is shit most people simply don't need - but instead of making the sensible choice of offering a trimmed down variant (software IPD works fine for most people, basic bitch controllers with WMR layout that still support lightroom) to compete with facebook, they chase the "prosumer" market, because that already worked so well in past for HTC after the hype stopped 2018.

what's gonna happen (and pretty much has) is that VR progression is dictated by facebook because they have the highest marketshare. yay, vr isn't a fad but they lost all control and any lead they had because valve is valve. btw, where are the other 2 games they apparently were working on?

Feel free, I'll end up looking into all of them to make up my mind on the purchase.

moss looks great and is supremely comfy
raw data is pretty good, but you can feel the age a bit now.
robinson looks gorgeous even on psvr, haven't tried it yet on pc (input seem to be a bit picky).
solus project is a similar game, nothing extraordinary but has it's charm.
I expect you to die 2 demo was pretty good which made me put 1 on my wishlist.

if you grab skyrim vr and fallout 4 vr I wouldn't worry too much about games, since you'll probably spend a lot of time in those. then just watch humblebundle and fanatical, they now do vr bundles somewhat regularly.

protip: for movies grab this: https://www.whirligig.xyz/ - has an older free version, up2date you can get for a few bucks pretty much anywhere. all the other media players I tried (back then at least) were either janky, crap or both. which is incredible because all it needs to do is play fucking movies.

 

[Judge Dredd]

"reliable and precise" can be done with a 200 bucks WMR headset, heck even the psvr works more than fine for casual use.

Casual use being the key word here. The problem I see with many VR videos on YouTube is arms/hands glitching all over the place like they're in an earthquake. I assume this is a tracking problem as it reminds me of the Wii when people set up the sensor bar facing a window. I don't know for sure.

VR progression is dictated by facebook because they have the highest marketshare. yay, vr isn't a fad but they lost all control and any lead they had because valve is valve. btw, where are the other 2 games they apparently were working on?

That was going to happen anyway. When PSVR and Facebook have the cheap boomer market cornered, what's the point in yet another VR headset that's basically a phone and some web cams?

What I see happening now is something similar to the Wii. Most AAA companies have given up, and what's left is akin to Wii shovelware. I don't follow the FaceBook side of things so I don't know if they lean into that or not.

I agree with Gaben when he said that VR can't just rely on flatscreen ports and gimmick novelties. So while the Wii was hugely successful, it was ultimately the Xbox360 that set the standards going forward, though I guess in this analogy Valve is the PS3.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Sorry for the double post, but more games for @ProblematicUser420
To be clear, I don't have VR headset. I don't know if these games are any good or worth buying VR for, just games that interest me.

Flatscreen ports or games with VR modes.

• Project Cars 2
• House of the Dying Sun. It's short, but fun in flatscreen.
• Half-Life: Alyx Goldeneye mod. Recreating the classic N64 game Goldeneye, with some major artistic liberties.
• Half-Life 2 VR. A stand alone mod is in the works. Most of Half-Life 2 can be played in VR in Gmod with some jank.
• Doom 3 BFG. Mod.
• Dead Effect 2 VR.
• Grip. Spiritual sequel to Rollcage. I have the flatscreen version but haven't played it.
• MechWarrior 5. There is a VR mod in the works. Don't know if it'll be completed.

Indie games.

• Space Pirate Trainer. A stand in place wave based shooter, but supposedly a good one.
• Iron Wolf VR. A submarine game.
• Compound
• Until You Fall
• Job Simulator 1 and 2.
• Conductor. A VR puzzle game where you have to get a train to the end of the track.
• Hard Bullet. Boneworks without the budget. It's in early access and last I checked it didn't have a campaign. Could be good if they can pull it off.
• Temple of Aluxes.
• A-Tech Cybernetic
• Evasion
• Gunheart
• Vindicta. These last four games are supposedly middle of the road FPS games, but I have incredibly poor taste in FPS games.
• Espire. A stealth game.

 

[Mr. Duck]

A friend has the Quest 2, and i've used it wirelessly with a 5ghz antenna, and i barely noticed any input lag, using the cable does suck tho (mainly because of distance), i can see the USB-C connector breaking quite easily on it, and ironically, since it's also a standalone device, it gets slightly hot while in use, which helps to avoid tarnishing on the lenses, the default strap does suck tho.

Still, you should avoid it because of Facebook/Meta, i hate that they are getting the more interesting exclusives lately.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

I hear SpaceEngine works with VR.

 

[qu_rahn]

Avoid oculus like the plague.

Literally the hardware is shittier than a mobile. You won't be able to play anything wireless.

The input lag on wireless link is quite awful (for VR at least).

Cables are fragine and expensive.

I don't notice any input lag when I play wirelessly on my quest 2. With 5ghz connection and close proximity/LOS to the router there is minimal latency. I haven't had any problems with Half Life or Skyrim or Blade and Sorcery anyway.

I can't imaging playing VR and being tethered to a desk like a cuck

 

[ZMOT]

Casual use being the key word here. The problem I see with many VR videos on YouTube is arms/hands glitching all over the place like they're in an earthquake. I assume this is a tracking problem as it reminds me of the Wii when people set up the sensor bar facing a window. I don't know for sure.

let me put it this way, you don't get many views on youtube posting something that works.
if people can jerry-rig a psvr to work on pc, the tech isn't a problem. it would be like me making videos how shit lighthouse tracking is when not covering reflective surfaces.

That was going to happen anyway. When PSVR and Facebook have the cheap boomer market cornered, what's the point in yet another VR headset that's basically a phone and some web cams?

What I see happening now is something similar to the Wii. Most AAA companies have given up, and what's left is akin to Wii shovelware. I don't follow the FaceBook side of things so I don't know if they lean into that or not.

I agree with Gaben when he said that VR can't just rely on flatscreen ports and gimmick novelties. So while the Wii was hugely successful, it was ultimately the Xbox360 that set the standards going forward, though I guess in this analogy Valve is the PS3.

except how did facebook corner the market? how long did valve spend on their gimmick controller and factory? why not spend some of that money and make a deal like microsoft with WMR and let someone else build the stripped down version?
it's nice that gayben understands it, but it's pointless if he doesn't follow through, which was always valve's problem. there has been one valve game since the vive launched 5 years ago. meanwhile facebook is throwing money around left and right to buy devs and pay for exclusives while working on new hardware. valve, like always, puts something out (which is nice enough), but then expects people to pick it up and make it work and turn into something profitable - except for proper games you need proper devs, and they need to eat. as much as it sucks I can understand why lot of them are willing to cut an exclusive deal with facebook, which in turn doesn't make people pick up an index, even less when they just spend 400+ bucks on a quest.
so what does he expect VR to look like in 5 or 10 years? because if that market becomes profitable at some point guess who's making the lion share of the money and controls what and how gets made (via standards and patents) - which didn't have to be this way.

 

[Michael Wade]

Got the PSVR recently. After years of drought, Horror games are fucking scary again.

 

[Pale Empress]

I got a dual joystick setup yesterday to play Elite Dangerous with a friend and finally pulled my Index out of the closet and put it to use.

What a comfy game. Going to make a playlist of old Art Bell episodes to really get the most out of the space trucking experience.

It's a shame that the game has (according to some longtime players who are jumping ship, no pun intended) been significantly hamstrung and neglected by the developer. An immersive space sim is exactly the kind of VR experience I never knew I needed.

Snagged Until You Fall and Beat Saber as well.

Previously I always considered VR to be a promising concept albeit way too early into development to justify the investment. The only reason I have a headset is because a coworker sold it to me ridiculously cheap, too cheap to pass up. My opinion still hasn't changed for the most part, but it sure is neat to watch high definition Star Trek episodes in a virtual imax theater.

It's too bad the VR community appears to consist almost entirely of autists, perverts, shut-ins, and literal children, because things like VRChat sound cool in theory.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I have a headset is because a coworker sold it to me ridiculously cheap, too cheap to pass up.

How is the reliability for you? I've read comments and seen YouTube videos complaining that the controllers or cable break after 4 months of casual use. I've also heard that Index light houses let out a high pitched whine.

autists, perverts, shut-ins, and literal children

I never got the "perverts" part. I get the general consensus is that porn is the main reason to get VR, but at the same time basically everyone I know with VR says porn is crap outside of the occasional Japanese dating sim, and those aren't really graphic. Of course, this could be just normies being unwilling to admit to watching porn and internet weirdos having oddly specific fetishes or high standards.

 

[Pale Empress]

How is the reliability for you? I've read comments and seen YouTube videos complaining that the controllers or cable break after 4 months of casual use. I've also heard that Index light houses let out a high pitched whine.

Today is literally my second day of using it regularly, although I have heard the same thing regarding the cable in particular. Supposedly Valve generally is pretty good regarding customer service, I've read more than one post claiming people received free replacement cables or peripherals.

Additionally people talk about stick drift with the controllers which I could certainly see happening.

No whining from the lighthouses either, thankfully.

I never got the "perverts" part. I get the general consensus is that porn is the main reason to get VR, but at the same time basically everyone I know with VR says porn is crap outside of the occasional Japanese dating sim, and those aren't really graphic. Of course, this could be just normies being unwilling to admit to watching porn and internet weirdos having oddly specific fetishes or high standards.

I guess I'm referring more to it being present in the social aspect, VRchat in particular, like people ERPing in public or creeping on others. So maybe my umbrage is toward VRchat specifically as opposed to the wider community as a whole, but I also haven't gotten into the more social/multiplayer side of things yet and am going off of anecdotes from others (as well as the fact that every person I know IRL who's into VR is a sex pervert in some way or another).

 

[ZMOT]

Today is literally my second day of using it regularly, although I have heard the same thing regarding the cable in particular. Supposedly Valve generally is pretty good regarding customer service, I've read more than one post claiming people received free replacement cables or peripherals.

you're still out weeks if not months, which unless you want to buy a second set of knuckles "just to be sure" still blows hard. ffs you can't even use the steam vr interface with a simple mouse or gaze controls afaik.

I guess I'm referring more to it being present in the social aspect, VRchat in particular, like people ERPing in public or creeping on others. So maybe my umbrage is toward VRchat specifically as opposed to the wider community as a whole, but I also haven't gotten into the more social/multiplayer side of things yet and am going off of anecdotes from others (as well as the fact that every person I know IRL who's into VR is a sex pervert in some way or another).

that's easy to explain when you look at the demographic willing to buy one, and then get into vrchat. it's the same niche/elitist overlap with no rules or oversight you see happening every time before things either get replaced and abandoned or cracked down on after or to get mainstream. it's basically early /b/ in vr with the rest being quiet (consumers) or doing other stuff (rec room seems to be far more subdued in that aspect, and other interactions in games were mostly focused on the game first, not ERP roleplay with an anime avatar).

It's a shame that the game has (according to some longtime players who are jumping ship, no pun intended) been significantly hamstrung and neglected by the developer. An immersive space sim is exactly the kind of VR experience I never knew I needed.

main issue is that space trucking is fucking boring since you're flying through empty space most of the time. not an issue when can watch something else while doing etc, but in VR where your only focus is on not vr interactive menus (even worse if you played bridge crew before) it's quite different, and even then there's not much else you could do before shit gets retarded like it does in ED by default - you can apparently fly a common af spaceship yet it takes more attention and control than a fucking ford T with a computer being able to calculate highly advanced stuff but can't equip or disable shit on it's own. heck even x rebirth with all it's early adopter euro jank was more fun for me since it never pretends to be more and doesn't go MUH SIM MUH REALISM.

combat sims like sw squadrons work much better since they mostly cut out the boring part - it's also not as bad as expected, but still not as good as it could be (whoever decided having to watch the briefing every fucking time you want to repeat the mission for cheevos needs to get the fuck out of game development). biggest issue is star wars fucking blows now and every time I play it reminds me how that shit could be a full and proper wing commander in VR (complete with talking to big ass kilrathi in fucking 3d).

personally prefer synth riders to beat saber, least of all for fully embracing mods and custom songs, not that corporate shit beat saber has even less interest in doing now that they belong to facebook.

I never got the "perverts" part. I get the general consensus is that porn is the main reason to get VR, but at the same time basically everyone I know with VR says porn is crap outside of the occasional Japanese dating sim, and those aren't really graphic. Of course, this could be just normies being unwilling to admit to watching porn and internet weirdos having oddly specific fetishes or high standards.

porn is always the main reason, be it print, movies, VCRs or the internet. I think only radio wasn't, but that was mostly due to the structural requirements and sexy time via ham radio isn't that appealing to most.

next time ask why they think it's crap, which means they either must have watched some and find it lacking (most of it is studio produced, which comes with it's own drawbacks and for the longest time was - and still is mostly - basic bitch POV "in 3d") or they just hate the whole setup when you can just whip out your phone and quickly squeeze one out. anything else is either japanese (so icky by default and harder to find) or requires modding and more than surface knowledge how the whole thing works to get most of it. while not exactly hard it's not skyrim levels "just click to install big tiddy futa companion" yet but worth it alone to get a facefull of honoka's honkers in glorious 3d.

might also be the case it doesn't probably work on the oculus (finding a simple fucking vr media player for steamvr alone is a journey in itself, where the options are free but barely working crap with less features that flash player, and good luck getting people to pay a few bucks to get a proper one like whirligig) and/or they're hesitant to watch smut on zuckerberg's home camera device with their facebook profile attached to it. normies especially are hilariously retarded about stuff like that, like taping off their notebook cam/mic and don't want something like an eyetoy in their living room, but then go and buy a smart tv or outright shit like alexa.

 

[Judge Dredd]

while not exactly hard it's not skyrim levels "just click to install big tiddy futa companion" yet

Do big tiddy futa companion mods work in Skyrim VR? Asking for a friend myself. I can't imagine it's that different on an engine level.

Though to be honest, I never really bothered with Skyrim/Fallout 4 adult mods outside of the occasional outfit since most adult mods have a bunch of dependencies, many of which are dead links or hidden behind a paywall. Plus they're not very appealing in general.

But being able to play the New Vegas remake or Sim Settlements 2 in VR sounds great.

 

[Super Saiyan Hitler]

Damn, this thread is dead. Since this thread was last active Zucc has given in to the Faceberg haters and an account is no longer required for the Quest. Of course, in true merchant fashion, this was followed by an announcement that the price of the Quest 2 would increase by 100 dollars. To soften the blow, new Quest 2 owners could for a short time period get Beat Saber, a ~30 dollar game, FOR FREE.

Anyway, I hope that this thread becomes more active.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Damn, this thread is dead.

I think it's because there hasn't been much to say. I didn't know about the Facebook requirement being removed from Quest. I thought it now required a Meta account, which is still facebook. I don't own a quest so I have no idea. And Metaverse looks as shit as everyone predicted.

At the moment, most VR people seem to be waiting for Deckard to release, which won't happen until some time next year.

 

[Super Saiyan Hitler]

I think it's because there hasn't been much to say. I didn't know about the Facebook requirement being removed from Quest. I thought it now required a Meta account, which is still facebook. I don't own a quest so I have no idea. And Metaverse looks as shit as everyone predicted.

At the moment, most VR people seem to be waiting for Deckard to release, which won't happen until some time next year.

A Meta account is not quite the same as Facebook. You can connect Facebook and Instagram to your Meta account, but it isn't required and you can de-connect them later.

I don't trust Meta, but it's not too much of an issue for me, since I give as little information as possible and only use the headset to use Virtual Desktop, which lets me wirelessly connect to my PC.

 

[Toolbox]

A Meta account is not quite the same as Facebook. You can connect Facebook and Instagram to your Meta account, but it isn't required and you can de-connect them later.

I don't trust Meta, but it's not too much of an issue for me, since I give as little information as possible and only use the headset to use Virtual Desktop, which lets me wirelessly connect to my PC.

A meta account is still signing into Facebook's data collection scheme, while they usually do this anyway through various ads in the regular web you're now choosing to give them extra.

 

[Michael Wade]

Whenever I finish Doom 3 ill write a review. I love the VR but it can be pretty dam draining in comparison to simply playing games on the couch.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Welcome back Kiwis. During the downtime there was content.

First is the release of BoneLabs, the sequel to BoneWorks. There was a trailer where they showed off character switching on the fly, and various avatars you can switch to. Of course the female ninja with jiggle physics got all the click bait, as did the anime waifu avatar. So far modding only allows new avatars but more will be opened up through updates.

The other big news is the Pico Neo 4. It's kind of like a quest 2 but smaller, lighter, slightly higher resolution, cheaper, better designed, and with wifi 6e built in for streaming wirelessly from a PC. All for 439 euros/us dollars. There are a couple of YouTubers that tried it first hand, and the rest seem to be parroting their videos.

I'm seriously considering getting one as my first headset. I mentioned this in a YouTube comment and got a bunch of angry replies from Facebook fanboys of all things. I also find it strange the same VR community that was more than happy to sign up with facebook now find privacy such a big concern.

 

[Cod of War]

Little spat going on the BoneLabs discussion on Steam

This is why we can't have nice things, retards like this bending over backwards to defend product.