Where is VR going?

[Stanley]

I think it comes down to price why Quest has done better, it’s a fraction of what you’d need to pay to get a PS5 and PSVR2, and based on that alone I can’t imagine why it would do any better this gen. 
 

Personally I’m not that bothered as it makes me ill, but I still think PC is the way to go for the enthusiast, so again it’s likely to remain pretty niche there. 

[Harsin]

4 hours ago, Don Wiskerando said:

I've played through Half Life Alyx on the Quest 2, wirelessly, via a laptop that didn't cost £400.  I didn't get any perceptible lag and I could do it in the garden so plenty of space to walk around.  Wires can get fucked.

 

Edit: fucking autocorrect

Same here. I played Alyx wirelessly in a large open space three rooms away from a PC that cost a lot less than a PS5 and it performed great. I was amazed how simple it was to get up and running.

[ScouserInExile]

5 hours ago, DarhkFox said:

Have you tried a headset recently?

Depends on your definition of "recently". It was maybe 29 years ago, though possibly as recently as 28 years. It was essentially two flickery CRT monitors strapped to my face and made me very, very sick.

 

To be honest, I get motion sickness playing anything first person, most things third person and even some driving games. I doubt VR would be any good for me at all.

[Broker]

40 or so games in, I’m still yet to play a VR game that is any good. I returned the PSVR, and whilst I really want to play Alyx I can’t see myself doing so because of the hundreds of pounds it would cost just to play one game. It seems weird that there’s basically one game that looks really interesting, with most of the other stuff being ports of games I’ve already played that, based on the ports I’ve already played of games I’ve already played, probably won’t add much. 
 

The experiences are much better. Exploring places, looking at things with real scale to them etc gives me the feelings of awe that make me see why people might like this. These things generally being less processor intensive helps too, because they don’t all look shit. There’s something about being right up close to a blocky model with shitty textures which makes it way worse than when it’s just on a screen, really drags me out of the immersion which is the whole point.

 

Ultimately I hope they keep pushing it forwards, because there’s clearly a lot of people having a lot of fun, but unless it suddenly has no wires, a smaller headset, costs s lot less and has much better graphics I can’t see it ever being something I’d spend money on again after the PSVR was so disappointing. Then again I do love spending money on hardware so maybe there’ll be a game that draws me back in. Less reliance on awful motion controls would also help.

 

7 hours ago, Jarik said:

I'd really like to see what Nintendo could do with proper VR.  I loved the brief taste I got of VR Zelda with the Labo VR support they put into Breath of the Wild, and back when I had an Oculus Go my first thoughts were: "This is what the Virtual Boy should have been." and "If only Nintendo made software for this."

 

Nintendo are unlikely to touch VR again until it's much more mainstream though, and the tech is going to have to get much more streamlined for that to happen.

Actually this would get me right in immediately. If Nintendo got on board you know it would be reasonably priced, work well and actually have worthwhile games. 

 

5 hours ago, DarhkFox said:

 

I know Quest 2 has sold 14.8 million units since launch in Q4 2000. If anything, all my mates kids have Quest 2's these days or use their parents.

These kind of things are super subjective, but my kids don’t know anyone who has a VR headset. Do you live somewhere relatively affluent? Not being judgemental or anything but that sounds well expensive! 

[SeanR]

state of this

 

actually worse than previous examples of "VR doesn't start until Microsoft say so"...

 

Spoiler

Nintendo already dipped a finger into VR

 

it was a resounding success

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Vemsie]

I don't know where it's going, but I'm pretty sure I'll get a PSVR2 as it looks like the best set yet with bonus points for not being attached to fucking Facebook. 
Just give me that Astro Bot sequel, Sony.

[DarhkFox]

56 minutes ago, Broker said:

These kind of things are super subjective, but my kids don’t know anyone who has a VR headset. Do you live somewhere relatively affluent? Not being judgemental or anything but that sounds well expensive! 

 

I wouldn't say so. Maybe it's just down to the fact a lot of my friends are gamers anyway and have kids that are into it too.

 

Also, the Nintendo Switch does VR but the games that support it don't exactly make good use of it. I think maybe 3 games?

[multi]

Not sure I agree with the lack of quality games on the Quest thats being spoken of in here.

 

I bought one in March I think and there's still a load of games on my 'want to play' list. Admittedly there's not too many AAA games there but off the top of my head I've played and been blown away by-

 

Virtual Virtual Reality (there's a sequel out now too)

Walkabout Golf

Red Matter (sequel next month)

Shadow Point

Puzzling Places

The Room VR

A Fisherman's Tale

Rez VR

 

And those are just a few of the ones I've bought. Still to play-

 

RE 4

Beat Sabre

Superhot

Demeo

Onward

Moss (I & ll)

Eleven

I Expect You to Die (l & ll)

The Star Wars games

Saints and Sinners

Population: One

A Township Tale

Green Hell

Pistol Whip

The Climb

Please Don't Touch

Layers of Fear

etc, etc, etc, there are many

 

Then there's all the stuff like the golf, bowling, darts, fishing games stuff that I find myself relaxing with a lot more frequently than I'd anticipated and a load of free full VR movies and experiences that I've found to be excellent, such as the one that was on Storyville on the BBC the other week (On the Morning You Wake at the End of the World)..

 

And we know that there's a new updated version of the Quest due soon which I'm sure will bring some QOL and experience improvements that we don't know about yet.

 

I hadn't tried VR before I got this thing (apart from a quick, unimpressive go of a nephews PSVR on Christmas Day a few years ago) but I've gotta say, I was completely blown away by my first experiences with Quest 2, particularly with Virtual Virtual Reality, my first full experience of a VR game

 

Admittedly, I'd fucking LOVE to be able to play Wipeout, Skyrim, HL Alyx etc on my Quest, but I'm also more than happy with things I can play standalone on it right now.

 

I think it'll be a long long time before I've ran out of things to try (and enjoy) on this thing.

[multi]

24 minutes ago, Vemsie said:

I don't know where it's going, but I'm pretty sure I'll get a PSVR2 as it looks like the best set yet with bonus points for not being attached to fucking Facebook. 
Just give me that Astro Bot sequel, Sony.

 

You don't need a Facebook account now to use a Quest I think.

[Simbo]

I'm interested to see the next iteration of hardware and it's impact on gaming.  Particularly eye tracking and foveated rendering. More the performance angle than the social aspect (ie avatars actually mimic my real eye movement)

 

Once that is cracked it'll be interesting to see how that translates into a perceived uplift in GPU quality especially for standalone headsets.

 

Naturally the stand alone headsets will still be limited especially on storage but I could imagine more high fidelity games/experiences would be possible.  Hopefully even more vr ports of "older" classics will be possible

 

[Vemsie]

34 minutes ago, multi said:

 

You don't need a Facebook account now to use a Quest I think.

 

That's cool. I still rather not use Meta products when I don't have to, so I put all my eggs in the PSVR2 basket.

[Lovelyman]

Probably edging more away from games and towards passive content.  

[Simbo]

Only just found out that the quest 2 is now more expensive ... They've put the price up.  $299 to $399!

[Eighthours]

5 hours ago, Stanley said:

I think it comes down to price why Quest has done better, it’s a fraction of what you’d need to pay to get a PS5 and PSVR2, and based on that alone I can’t imagine why it would do any better this gen. 
 

Personally I’m not that bothered as it makes me ill, but I still think PC is the way to go for the enthusiast, so again it’s likely to remain pretty niche there. 

Hilariously, the Quest 2 is going up by $100 in August. Just announced! A disastrous strategic decision IMO.

 

Sounds like Meta’s plans have been torpedoed by Apple’s privacy switch costing the company billions of dollars in ad revenue, so they’re doing everything possible to cut costs and raise revenue.

[Textface]

Playing stuff like Eleven Table Tennis and Thrill of the Fight on the Quest 2 works because of the freedom you get wirelessly. Presumably if you tried to play any "fitness" style games on PSVR2 it would look great but there'd be a tangible fear of death.

[carlospie]

Vr is dead

[MarkN]

9 hours ago, Garwoofoo said:

I still think VR is a bit of a gimmick, though. I mean it's enormous fun but the problems with dizziness, weight, heat and isolation from your environment are very real. For a quick arcade experience, a 30-minute workout in something like Pistol Whip or Beat Saber it's fantastic, but I'd never want to play an RPG on it or anything that requires serious time commitment.

Admittedly when I first started using PSVR I felt the need to pop out from time to time to check reality still existed, but once I got used to it I spent hundreds of hours in No Man's Sky on it, hours at a time. The only reason I stopped is because my PS4 started overheating, so I'm playing that on Gamepass now.

 

The cable to me has never been an issue. I haven't yet played anything where you have to move or turn around that much, and just stand with one foot either side of it, so it runs neatly up my back.

[schmojo]

VR gives me an immediate and tangible joy that makes full-fat console experiences feel convoluted and bloated.

 

The experiences are, without a doubt, more simplistic. But they drag so much immersion and tactility out of the environments that no amount of ray tracing on a flat screen could compete. The freedom of wireless VR for spinning, ducking, and laying on the floor shooting is a huge benefit too.

 

Th experiences are in their infancy on standalone VR, but they offer something unavailable elsewhere. Now, as I continually demand, we just need Namco to make an immersive Point Blank.

 

 

[scottcr]

I really really wish we could get Skyrim on the Quest. I know I’ve played it a million times but it was a ballache to play on PSVR and too low res. The sense of scale was amazing but I’d love the freedom to just chill back on the couch and play it.

 

Superhot on the quest is ace too.

 

the Vader walking sim games are great too…

 

my son is a typical teenager… kids today aren’t as fussed with graphical fidelity as we were… he’s got access to pretty much any console (other than the PS5) on a 100” 4K screen - and he plays on the oculus more than anything just now. Meets up with his friends and plays online…   
 

here he is right now this very minute 

 

[DeciderVT]

35 minutes ago, carlospie said:

Vr is dead

 

House!

[Fletch]

56 minutes ago, schmojo said:

VR gives me an immediate and tangible joy that makes full-fat console experiences feel convoluted and bloated.

 

The experiences are, without a doubt, more simplistic. But they drag so much immersion and tactility out of the environments that no amount of ray tracing on a flat screen could compete. The freedom of wireless VR for spinning, ducking, and laying on the floor shooting is a huge benefit too.

 

Th experiences are in their infancy on standalone VR, but they offer something unavailable elsewhere. Now, as I continually demand, we just need Namco to make an immersive Point Blank.

 

 

 

I started with PSVR and Astrobot which is obviously incredible, however one of the experiences on The Quest really made me do a Keanu Wooooahh, it was just a simple Web browser game of a Space Invaders rip off type thing but it was the sense of scale that got me as they got closer and closer and these invaders were absolutely massive up close. You just don't get that with flat screen gaming. 

 

I would love MS to get in bed with Meta and make some of their games VR. 

[Broker]

3 hours ago, SeanR said:

state of this

 

actually worse than previous examples of "VR doesn't start until Microsoft say so"...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Nintendo already dipped a finger into VR

 

it was a resounding success

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Or I just trust Nintendo to make worthwhile games and hardware more than most companies? Solid 30 year old example though.

 

I find a lot of things offputting about VR, but the weirdly aggressive response a small portion of the fans of it have to any criticism of their £300 toy is easily top of the list. 

 

3 hours ago, DarhkFox said:

 

I wouldn't say so. Maybe it's just down to the fact a lot of my friends are gamers anyway and have kids that are into it too.

 

Also, the Nintendo Switch does VR but the games that support it don't exactly make good use of it. I think maybe 3 games?

I’m thinking more a full piece of Nintendo hardware than a cardboard strap that sticks my switch to my face. 

 

1 hour ago, schmojo said:

VR gives me an immediate and tangible joy that makes full-fat console experiences feel convoluted and bloated.

 

The experiences are, without a doubt, more simplistic. But they drag so much immersion and tactility out of the environments that no amount of ray tracing on a flat screen could compete. The freedom of wireless VR for spinning, ducking, and laying on the floor shooting is a huge benefit too.

 

Th experiences are in their infancy on standalone VR, but they offer something unavailable elsewhere. Now, as I continually demand, we just need Namco to make an immersive Point Blank.

 

 

Yeah that would probably sell me a new headset

[the_debaser]

VR is great when done right. The PSVR experience is utter shit compared to the quest, which has probably put so many people off given the hype around PSVR. Fidelity, comfort, sound, handsets and simplicity are all way better on Quest. 
 

Walkabout Golf remains the ultimate VR experience. It doesn’t need any tutorial, you can play one handed if you want, standing up or sitting down, and you can get a game done in 10 minutes. Basically the Wii Sports equivalent for the Quest to demonstrate the value in the proposition. 

[DeciderVT]

9 minutes ago, the_debaser said:

VR is great when done right. The PSVR experience is utter shit compared to the quest, which has probably put so many people off given the hype around PSVR. Fidelity, comfort, sound, handsets and simplicity are all way better on Quest.

 

Are you talking about Quest 2 with the deluxe strap here? I had to mod my Quest 1 with the Vive deluxe strap before it got anywhere close to the comfort of the PSVR halo.

[the_debaser]

Yeah I think so, I have the one with the spinning disc at the back of the head band whatever that is. 

[SeanR]

55 minutes ago, Broker said:

I find a lot of things offputting about VR, but the weirdly aggressive response a small portion of the fans of it have to any criticism of their £300 toy is easily top of the list. 

[Ry]

I loved my Quest 1 and used it daily from launch. 

 

Sold it and upgraded to Quest 2 and played for about 5 hours if you are lucky. I just can't be fucked strapping it to my head. If I want to play a game I would rather lay on the couch and be a lazy bastard for a couple hours. 

 

Really need to start playing it again as I loved my VR experiences

[MarkN]

1 hour ago, Broker said:

I find a lot of things offputting about VR, but the weirdly aggressive response a small portion of the fans of it have to any criticism of their £300 toy is easily top of the list. 

The places I hang out, most folk are genuinely delighted with it (or get a bit dizzy, and are disappointed they can't take part).

 

Dismissing it as a £300 toy whilst championing Nintendo seems very weird though. What the fuck are they making that isn't an expensive plaything?

[Qazimod]

To be fair, this subforum would barely exist if people didn't get defensive over expensive toys.  

[CheekyMonkey]

Wireless or tethered, for me it's just the lack of truly outstanding games that's the frustration. When you look at what CAN be done... The first time I bought my PSVR home, plugged it in and fired up Batman I was totally and utterly blown away - they really should have followed it up with a full blown game with more features it would have been brilliant. Similarly with Astrobot, Rez and Resident Evil 7, just jaw-droppingly good. I've played through Resi 7 in non-vr and it's nowhere near the same level. But really, that was it - other things were good, but not up par with those. Games like Superhot are great but I love to see some detailed environments in VR you really can get sucked into the atmosphere. Also, they didn't do enough with the AIM controller! I played through Farpoint and the immersion was fantastic, but it played very much like a shooting gallery VR game. 

 

I was so impressed with those games listed above, I invested in a modestly budgeted Half Life: Alyx set up (using Quest via Virtual Desktop), and yes it was still a costly exercise, but at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, the sheer joy that game gave me made it totally worth it.

 

I just wish there were more games of that calibre on Quest/PSVR. Quite frankly the thought of playing through Resi 8 and a sequel to Astrobot on PSVR2 has me pretty damn excited. One more tiny criticism is the resolution it's always a bit blurry (on PSVR and Quest 2) - I'm looking forward to seeing things with a little more crispness.