VR - WTF? :)

[ozleicester]

I know its been around a long time now, but is VR something i should have a look at?

Is it just for gaming, if so, which games, if not, are there other uses?

What's a good way to enter the market to figure out ?

Anyone with VR knowledge and/or experience who would like to share will be most appreciated.

Cheers

[Zear0]

7 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

I know its been around a long time now, but is VR something i should have a look at?

Is it just for gaming, if so, which games, if not, are there other uses?

What's a good way to enter the market to figure out ?

Anyone with VR knowledge and/or experience who would like to share will be most appreciated.

Cheers

I bought a few for work (Valve Index) as I have a team that do human factors work and it helps with spatial awareness of control rooms. Obviously I had to test it first domestically...

 

So it's OK. I know people who swear by them for flight/sim racing but I found them uncomfortable for long periods of gaming. Turns out I have an itchy face and it strikes at the most inconvenient times. Games made for VR like Beatsabre, Tetis Effect, some racing games and half-life:Alyx are good fun though.

 

Without a full review, I'll just say they are good and you're unlikely to have a bad time as when used right they're fantastic. From my own research for work perspectives, there is something of a VR race going on behind the scenes and I'd expect a lot of products to be released in the near term. This is good for price/quality development as I personally feel they need to lighter with higher resultions. Also it should also mean some big retailers will have demo units set up to try. Meta are going big at it currently so they'll plaster these everywhere. John Lewis had an Index station when that was launched. Also, if you wanted to test, the PS VR is actually pretty decent. It's painfully low res in the VR world but works really well. From a "do I like this?" perspective you could find one of those as they're quite common and likely to be in game shops. 

[RoboFox]

I have an Oculus Quest 2. It's great fun and worth the £250 or whatever it is now.

 

It's probably at its best when you've got friends / family around and can take turns, especially with some of the more "experience"-based apps. Ritchie's Plank Experience is such a laugh for people's first go on a VR headset but there are party games which are really fun, or just having a go on immersive shooter games like The Walking Dead or Superhot is really worth it. Definitely worth investing in a Google Chromecast dongle so you can cast the VR to a TV and everyone can watch.

 

One thing that often gets overlooked with VR is its fitness applications which can be great for getting you moving. I use FITXR which is a mix of boxercise and HIIT classes which you compete against other players in real-time. As someone who generally finds it hard to enjoy exercise, it's really helpful.

 

You do need a bit of space though, so it won't be for everyone. And I'd recommend getting a silicone cover for the foam surround as it can get unpleasant with lots of use. 

 

I haven't done it myself, and I wouldn't condone it... But I know they're also fairly easy to "crack" for cheaper apps, as some of them can get expensive.

 

Edited 18 July 2022 by RoboFox

[MonkeyTennis?]

Just posting this for balance: I work in an area where there is always lots of interest in VR and my personal opinion is that it will never take off because it's a pointless fad that gives you a headache. 

[Innovindil]

Worth every penny for the 4 games mentioned already alone. 

 

Walking dead saints and sinners

Half life

Beatsabre 

Superhot

 

Contractors, pavlov and boneworks all great too. 

 

9 minutes ago, MonkeyTennis? said:

Just posting this for balance: I work in an area where there is always lots of interest in VR and my personal opinion is that it will never take off because it's a pointless fad that gives you a headache. 

Wouldn't call having fun gaming without sitting on my fat arse pointless tbh. And only one game I've ever came across gave me a headache, luckily steam offer refunds on games with less than 2 hours playtime, so no problem in the end. 

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Half life on vr is absolutely mind blowing. Beyond that hard to recommend, for me. 

[Trumpet]

I use an oculus quest 2 for iRacing and I can’t race any other way now. I’ve used it for flight simulators too and it’s incredibly immersive. The problem I have with VR for flying is I need charts and various other tools available which are a bit of a faff to use in VR. 
 

Worth adding that if it’s set up correctly and you’re getting solid stable fps, then sickness and headaches shouldn’t be a thing. Mostly speaking from my own experiences here, in that since I’ve optimised my games for VR I’ve had no problems. Everyone’s different of course.