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As part of Gaming Week, we wanted to resurface our definitive guide to the state of VR in 2019, which was published earlier this year in June 2019.
Is 2019 the right year to buy into VR?
My simple, biased answer is "yes," and that's largely because the Oculus Quest has finally nailed the top-to-bottom "welcome to VR" experience. From first-time setup to basic-use tutorials to app purchases to general gameplay, this system has enough that I can hand a new bundle to a tech-fluent person and not feel like I need to hang out and coach them through the rough bits.
I've greatly enjoyed my HTC Vive VR headset and wouldn't recommend the Oculus Quest due to it's limitations + Facebook phone home. What has your experience been?
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Ars Technica's Guidemaster: 2019’s Best VR is a Battle Between Oculus Quest, Everyone Else
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If you think the system is working, ask someone who's waiting for a prompt.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday August 20 2019, @11:05PM (3 children)
The Valve Index seems like a step in the right direction. Dual screens, wider FOV, higher Hz. These will improve over time, and there will be bigger advancements that lower the headset mass and reduce eye strain. And we could see petaflops performance in standalone headsets if 3DSoC takes off.
The problem right now is content. VR mode needs to be more than an afterthought in games, and there needs to be a lot of 360-degree or 180-degree video content. Smartphones would be a good way to capture 180-degree video, but there aren't any available that I know of. They need to have at least two cameras spaced like eyes [google.com].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 21 2019, @02:04AM (1 child)
Her hair was golden;
Her lips, ruby-red;
Her eyes, spaced like a proper VR headset.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 21 2019, @04:12AM
"VR Waifu" by Anonymous Coward
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 21 2019, @01:26PM
I'm not saying we don't need pr0n, I like that, or even really disagreeing with most of your statement, but I have a trackIR and use it for Arma, Elite:Dangerous, DCS world, it all works fine and a logical advancement from TrackIR would be a headset, which I'll probably end up getting someday. There seems to be plenty of content?
There seems to be almost no content/games for casual or strategic gamers. Crusader Kings II / Europa U4, Civ, DF, FTL...
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Tuesday August 20 2019, @11:07PM (4 children)
..but I said "no, no no". [Apologies to Amy Winehouse]
Anything that requires a Facebook account is dead-on-arrival to me, regardless of technical merits.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @11:41PM (3 children)
Quoting a dead woman to support your Luddite attitude just makes you seem old and out of touch.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @11:44PM (1 child)
Yeah, what a dumb fuck. Just get on Facebook/Instagram already.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 20 2019, @11:59PM
Nobody wants to see old man Burns posting stereoscopic images of the Crimean War.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 21 2019, @01:28PM
Yeah seriously, like what would Ned Ludd think about that?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Ludd [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Wednesday August 21 2019, @03:35AM (1 child)
Has anyone tried the Pimax headsets?
I've got the original Vive so I've already got the lighthouses and controllers so just getting an upgraded bare headset looks attractive.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday August 21 2019, @04:17AM
Pimax Announces Improvements to “5K” Plus and “8K” Headsets, Updates on Accessories [roadtovr.com]
The Pimax 8K VR headset isn’t actually 8K, but it’s still pretty cool [digitaltrends.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday August 21 2019, @01:34PM (1 child)
Interesting thought about product bundling mistakes:
All the games I want to play in VR are not compatible with the controllers all VR goggles seem to ship with.
I have a thrustmaster HOTAS that I use for DCS world (A10C duh) and Elite:Dangerous and a couple other joystick-y games.
I don't think you can play modded minecraft in general without a full keyboard because of all the extra keybindings to control cool mods.
Possibly strange handhelds would be better for FPS, but for a quarter century or more its been self evident that "dude with keyboard/mouse will always pown dude with a videogame controller" so I'm not feeling it.
I think my PS4:VR got boring really quickly because of the stick controllers. Battlezone in VR mode with a real controller was more fun than all the "stick controller" games put together...
I just don't think its a useful long term sell to trade up in visuals AND trade way down in control.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday August 27 2019, @03:04PM
I see the touch controllers and the like as a great mechanism for some interactions. Which can work great in VR. It's just, not likely to overtake keyboard/mouse as king of computer interfaces. Yes, it's much quicker to aim with a keyboard/mouse combo. VR isn't just about efficiency, though. It's about the experience and immersion. VR can't be beat in the aspect.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"