All Things Virtual Reality

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

dascoyne said:

I have been using my Oculua rift for a few weeks now. I'll post my impressions when I get a few moments later. Definitely some staggering experiences to be had but has room for improvement. When perfected it will ultimately make 3D movies completely obsolete.

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Definitely would like to get your impressions on it.

After reading Ready Player One, I've started reading Neuromancer by William Gibson. I've noticed in both stories that the interconnected computers of what we refer to as the Internet sort of appears to have its own digital representation (which was sort of done in film with the adaptation of Johnny Mnemonic, with cyberspace being almost its own virtual environment). I know we're not anywhere near like that, but I will admit, I've wondered what the RPF would look like as a virtual environment itself. I can imagine virtual library of screen-accurate props and models being available as virtual models, which would allow for users to access and get a clearer view of them and in greater detail so that users can get a clear understanding on how they were constructed so that they could recreate it in real life. I doubt there'd be a chat area like we've had before, but the forums would probably remain the same.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

CB2001 said:

Definitely would like to get your impressions on it.

After reading Ready Player One, I've started reading Neuromancer by William Gibson. I've noticed in both stories that the interconnected computers of what we refer to as the Internet sort of appears to have its own digital representation (which was sort of done in film with the adaptation of Johnny Mnemonic, with cyberspace being almost its own virtual environment). I know we're not anywhere near like that, but I will admit, I've wondered what the RPF would look like as a virtual environment itself. I can imagine virtual library of screen-accurate props and models being available as virtual models, which would allow for users to access and get a clearer view of them and in greater detail so that users can get a clear understanding on how they were constructed so that they could recreate it in real life. I doubt there'd be a chat area like we've had before, but the forums would probably remain the same.

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Well, with the HTV Vive and when the Oculus Touch accessory is released you're basically purchasing a holodeck experience as you walk around the virtual space. Someone created a primitive version of Deckard's balcony in Blade Runner and it's stunning with the ambient sounds, rain and spinners flying by. I love leaning over the edge looking down at the city below and can just sit there taking it all in. It's a simple thing but I still spend a lot of time there. Here's a screen cap.




Someone else is working on a complete version of Deckard's apartment. I'm really looking forward to literally walking into this space. Here you can see his amazing progress.

http://www.br9732.com

And later this year Star Trek Bridge Crew for Oculus and Vive will be released.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

I've had my Rift for about a month. I'd been watching this since the original kickstarter, never got to use a DK1 or DK2, and had my expectations pretty high. I was still blown away the first time I put it on. My computer wasn't even quite up to spec at the time and it ran great on my gtx 780. I really think its the next big thing, once the entrance cost lowers to reasonable levels. With the new pascal cards being a huge help for a relatively decent cost already, as well as later models using foveated rendering and other enhancements, it shouldn't be too long for an average PC (for that year) to run the headset well.

Even using it to watch movies, youtube, whatever you want on a theater screen as big as you want, is pretty sweet

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Seabass said:

I've had my Rift for about a month. I'd been watching this since the original kickstarter, never got to use a DK1 or DK2, and had my expectations pretty high. I was still blown away the first time I put it on. My computer wasn't even quite up to spec at the time and it ran great on my gtx 780. I really think its the next big thing, once the entrance cost lowers to reasonable levels. With the new pascal cards being a huge help for a relatively decent cost already, as well as later models using foveated rendering and other enhancements, it shouldn't be too long for an average PC (for that year) to run the headset well.

Even using it to watch movies, youtube, whatever you want on a theater screen as big as you want, is pretty sweet

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Yes, I absolutely love watching movies in the theater! My PC is in a small alcove in the house but I'm watching movies in a huge full sized movie theater. (Have you ever looked in the cup holders? They're filthy. LOL - just like the real thing.)

I also discovered that you can change seats in the theater by pressing "Y" on the controller.

I'm surprised you're running on a GTX 780. That's what I used to have and I swapped it out for a GTX 1080 because I thought I needed the upgrade.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Here are some notes on the new generation of (rotational and translational) VR e.g. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
(Samsung VR, Cardboard and all those cellphone devices are only rotational).

You should know that while the VR tech can be amazing, not all media/software takes complete advantage of translational VR. Case in point: Recorded VR is still pretty primitive. Most videos are huge files so streaming isn't possible without significant compression. Even with the best resolution with large downloaded videos you're looking at an image that's spread out over 360 degrees which, in your field of view, looks like 360p or 480p. Also 360 degree video today is captured by an array of cameras and, in most cases, there are big artifacts where the lenses overlap. A person standing at the junction gets somewhat deformed. Some day, when there's a viable high def 360 degree single lens solution, that artifact shouldn't exist. Finally recorded video, because it's a single camera array, will have no translational component.

Despite all those problems, the best videos do manage to capture the sense of "presence" - a quality that means you feel like you're actually there. I watched a video where you're sitting surrounded by a bunch of people (ok, they were beauty pageant contestants. sue me, I'm a guy) and it's really unsettling because when someone looks at you they're looking right into your eyes. That effect suddenly heightens the sense of reality and suddenly you feel engaged and get engrossed in every detail of the experience. If someone leans into you it's like they're right in your face.
(and, yes, it's a game changer when it comes to porn).

Even 360 still images are really amazing. In fact the stills are typically going to be higher resolution than the video and the artifacts are little to non-existent. Shots of soccer stadiums, cityscapes and landscapes are just amazing. I can watch stills all day.

The other new experience is with big objects - e.g. giant robots, mountains, etc. I saw this German documentary about volcanoes where it begins with you above a massive volcano and you're just stunned speechless. In another shot where there is a huge eruption that fills the sky, it's terrifyingly real.

The experiences that make the most of the tech are completely CG because they take advantage of translational tracking. The Apollo 11 simulation of the first trip to the moon is impressive. It doesn't have the compression artifact of the filmed videos and the scenes in orbit are grand. The Earth looks huge while you're orbiting. There are also amazing sequences that place you in the cockpit of the spacecraft. They reproduced every switch and marking on the control panels so you can lean in and look at every little switch and knob. Really cool!

One problem with controlling in gaming is that, on a flat screen, your brain knows it isn't real. But, with the Oculus Rift, I was playing Project Cars which is a stunningly immersive racing sim. But my brain is thrown off because my eyes tell me I'm there but I don't feel the acceleration I should feel. Eventually I get nauseated. I hear some folks are more prone to this than others. I'm hoping to train myself out of this but some major first person experiences make me sick after about 15-20 min of intense play.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

The cupholders actually messed me up. I accidently tried putting my drink in them while watching Game of Thrones before realizing I was an idiot haha.
I had the gtx 780 for the first couple weeks, until I was finally able to find a 1070 in stock somewhere. I held off on trying anything really serious until then, but it ran lower level things perfectly fine.

Another thing thats really fun is the Destinations app on steam, using photogrammetry to fully rebuild a scene in 3d using photographs. Being able to walk around on Mars was pretty intense

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

The one thing that's going to hold this back for a good while is the cost of the machinery and the need for basically an empty room to play in. Most everyone I see using a setup online has at least half a room to spare so they don't break their necks.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Well cost of video cards will drop dramatically in the next 1-2 years - that's inevitable.

The other leap will be to go wireless. You can make a wireless rig for HTC Vive but Oculus Rift will need a way to wirelessly transmit USB 3. I went with the Oculus because the designed is much more polished in terms of build quality and ergonomics. The Vive, with its clump of wires and complicated setup seems almost like a developers kit. A lot of folks jump into Vive, it seems, because they want to have controllers and room scale interaction right now. I would rather wait and get a much more refined product like the Oculus Touch controllers and modular sensors. In the end I think the Oculus will be the better product.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

I have not tried VR yet. Didn't want to get let down so I thought I would wait until most of the bugs have been worked out
Seeing as how I love the idea of it though I will probably be getting VR for the PS4.

YES PLEASE:

CB2001 said:

To be fair, when it comes to the porn industry and the adoption of technology, if it wasn't for their choices, we would have had BetaMax and HD/DVDs instead of VHS and Blu-Ray. Basically, them adopting the tech helped decide which formats and technology would be widely used in society. Hell, they even adopted Polaroids before Polaroids became widely accepted in social norms. And, BTW, porn already has accept it.

But for me, VR and gaming definitely is within my wheelhouse. There's some that I know of that are being developed solely with VR in mind. Hover Junkers is a good example. Honestly, with as simple as Five Nights at Freddy's is, I wouldn't be surprise if the creator of that game didn't develop a VR version of the game. And I know a few users who have actually used the Rift with Grand Theft Auto V, so there may be some games already that may allow for its use.

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So porn is to blame for consumers having to deal with inferior tech :facepalm well that sucks, pun intended.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

From what I've said in the Ready Player One thread, I've been bumming around on Second Life because of how similar the OASIS program is to the virtual world of SL. I've seen some footage of users using VR helmets with SL. But in my looking around at videos, I found this. This seems like we're one step closer to what Ernest Cline was writing about when it came to OASIS.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

The Terminator said:

I have not tried VR yet. Didn't want to get let down so I thought I would wait until most of the bugs have been worked out
Seeing as how I love the idea of it though I will probably be getting VR for the PS4.

YES PLEASE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TudlAN2GZN4


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




So porn is to blame for consumers having to deal with inferior tech :facepalm well that sucks, pun intended.

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Very nice! If the price of and hardware requirements for the Occulus come down to a reasonable amount I'd love to get one just for the Enterprise walkthrough, I had a version of it that ran using Quicktime ages ago and I loved it, this would be like a modern successor to it. But what I really want an Occulus for is the Enterprise bridge simulator game, that looks like an awesome use of VR; now if they'd combine the tour with the game into one program that would be the ultimate VR app for any Trek fan.

Speaking of the VR tour, just how many lounges does a Galaxy class have and why would you have one overlooking the shuttle bay? Also, are those stairs actually accurate? I don't recall there being stairs or ramps anywhere on the Enterprise, or for that matter, any starship we've been shown.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Riceball said:

Very nice! If the price of and hardware requirements for the Occulus come down to a reasonable amount I'd love to get one just for the Enterprise walkthrough, I had a version of it that ran using Quicktime ages ago and I loved it, this would be like a modern successor to it. But what I really want an Occulus for is the Enterprise bridge simulator game, that looks like an awesome use of VR; now if they'd combine the tour with the game into one program that would be the ultimate VR app for any Trek fan.

Speaking of the VR tour, just how many lounges does a Galaxy class have and why would you have one overlooking the shuttle bay? Also, are those stairs actually accurate? I don't recall there being stairs or ramps anywhere on the Enterprise, or for that matter, any starship we've been shown.

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As awesome as it looks, it isn't as accurate. For example, the golden models of the past ships named Enterprise is in the hallway to the bridge, while in the show, they're on the wall inside of the conference room. But, this is most likely a fan project without any input from official ST resources. So, they may be winging it on the design a bit.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Riceball said:

Very nice! If the price of and hardware requirements for the Occulus come down to a reasonable amount I'd love to get one just for the Enterprise walkthrough, I had a version of it that ran using Quicktime ages ago and I loved it, this would be like a modern successor to it. But what I really want an Occulus for is the Enterprise bridge simulator game, that looks like an awesome use of VR; now if they'd combine the tour with the game into one program that would be the ultimate VR app for any Trek fan.

Speaking of the VR tour, just how many lounges does a Galaxy class have and why would you have one overlooking the shuttle bay? Also, are those stairs actually accurate? I don't recall there being stairs or ramps anywhere on the Enterprise, or for that matter, any starship we've been shown.

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I believe some were designed but never built. Also there has been stairs in some of the blueprints.

I give to you STAR TREK: Bridge Crew


There graphics will of course be way better in the future and there will probably be fan projects that does this even before that time.

CB2001 said:

As awesome as it looks, it isn't as accurate. For example, the golden models of the past ships named Enterprise is in the hallway to the bridge, while in the show, they're on the wall inside of the conference room. But, this is most likely a fan project without any input from official ST resources. So, they may be winging it on the design a bit.

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It is a fan project indeed. Still work in progress.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Some contenders in the mix.

StarVR:


FOVE:


Not exactly a VR glasses, but a personal display headset with tech that seems like if it were paired with any VR helmets, it just might make a better VR helmet:

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

StarVR's 210 degree FOV is really good compared to the competition. And the glyph technology is very cool.

Norm has turned into Geordi :lol

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Saw this. Not sure if this is a good sign or bad.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

God Gus look so old in these vids and he's only a bit older than me. Ashley is hot as ever though lol. Like i've said a lot of folks can't afford the setup for VR or don't have space. There honestly is not one area in my house that I could set up for VR, well the basement but i'm not taking my stuff down there in the damp. Even the folks at RT have trouble with finding space at their houses. I'd be worried about the one made by the second life folks, you'd end up with a bunch of oversexed furries humping you in VR like in second life lol

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

Wes R said:

God Gus look so old in these vids and he's only a bit older than me. Ashley is hot as ever though lol. Like i've said a lot of folks can't afford the setup for VR or don't have space. There honestly is not one area in my house that I could set up for VR, well the basement but i'm not taking my stuff down there in the damp. Even the folks at RT have trouble with finding space at their houses. I'd be worried about the one made by the second life folks, you'd end up with a bunch of oversexed furries humping you in VR like in second life lol

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The moving around part was already a bad thing with the Kinect.

Re: The current state of Virtual Reality: another period of gimmickry or a true start

True. Achievement hunter is doing a let's play in a kinnect game that would have been a game changer when the thing had been released.