PC VR

VR for racing is just so compelling, I wish I had real passion for racing rather than just a casual interest, because VR changes the game so dramatically:


The sense of scale is a pretty big deal while you're driving.

If you thought that was insane, then:


Old skool:


Watching live races with this perspective would be a real pleasure.
 
If it was possible to have much higher pixels density where eye focuses and have less outside focus that would help a lot with the required resolution. Brute forcing pixels "equally" is not a great path forward.

This company is trying to achieve that but I have no idea if their solution is good or bullshit to get hype.

http://www.varjo.com/

Road to VR just published an article on Varjo's patents and tech.

They use a normal screen as a backdrop with a high density micro display at an angle to it. A moving refraction optic blends the two screens based on eye gaze. It's a clever idea, if they can resolve blending artifacts, latency and form factor. Oh, and software support!

https://www.roadtovr.com/graphic-illustrates-key-technology-behind-varjos-high-res-bionic-display/
 
VR for racing is just so compelling, I wish I had real passion for racing rather than just a casual interest, because VR changes the game so dramatically:


The sense of scale is a pretty big deal while you're driving.

If you thought that was insane, then:


Old skool:


Watching live races with this perspective would be a real pleasure.

I got Dirt Rally on PSVR sale last week. Still have to try it though, Skyrim does not let me go yet.
 
I wonder if this is why I don't find VR as compelling as some people.

I have an extreme and completely unreasonable fear of heights. It is uncontrollable and so bad that I can't even get close (2-3 feet) to the railing on the roof of a tall building without feeling like I'm going to fall off the building.

So, I've watched all these videos of people freaking out with VR on high places, like the plank thing. I figured I'd give that a try since I'm borrowing a friends Oculus Rift.

Fired up a VR experience at the top of a virtual skyscraper. And while the illusion was convincing, it engendered absolutely no fear. I was able to see over the edge no problem. I think it's because I KNOW it isn't real, so no matter how convincing the illusion, it doesn't trigger any primal emotions (like fear) or reactions.

So, things like objects flying at my face in VR while interesting don't make me feel like I need to dodge out of the way or even blink when the object is about to hit my face.

So, now I look with even more curiosity at people that have such extreme reactions to seeing things in VR.

I wonder if maybe a wider FOV would help with things like this for me, but I somehow doubt it as in my mind, I'll still know it isn't real.

I think it would require a multitude of things to get my brain to suspend disbelieve. I'd need physical stimuli to match what I see. For example, if a wind is blowing in game and vegetation is moving in response, I'd need to be able to feel a physical analogue to it which is physically correct to what I see (or close enough). I'd need physical stimuli of walking and more importantly being able to perceive differences in height in reality that matches what I see in VR. IE - perhaps that skyscraper demo thingy would trigger a reaction if when I stuck my foot over the edge and down, my real foot didn't then encounter the floor. I tried the plank thing, but that didn't help much.

In other words, I don't think I'll ever get as excited for VR as many people on these forums do. And I haven't talked with them yet, but I wonder if friends of mine who also aren't as interested in VR (having tried it extensively) as other of my friends feel the same way about it. For example, Resident Evil 7 is very well done in VR. Yet while some of my friends appear to get genuinely scared by playing it, other of my friends don't react to it any differently than when they play it on a regular display other than to appreciate the feeling of presence. The fear factor just isn't there for them as they know it isn't real.

It's something that I find absolutely fascinating when looking at how people react so very differently to things WRT VR.

Regards,
SB
 
I wonder if this is why I don't find VR as compelling as some people.

I have an extreme and completely unreasonable fear of heights. It is uncontrollable and so bad that I can't even get close (2-3 feet) to the railing on the roof of a tall building without feeling like I'm going to fall off the building.

So, I've watched all these videos of people freaking out with VR on high places, like the plank thing. I figured I'd give that a try since I'm borrowing a friends Oculus Rift.

Fired up a VR experience at the top of a virtual skyscraper. And while the illusion was convincing, it engendered absolutely no fear. I was able to see over the edge no problem. I think it's because I KNOW it isn't real, so no matter how convincing the illusion, it doesn't trigger any primal emotions (like fear) or reactions.

So, things like objects flying at my face in VR while interesting don't make me feel like I need to dodge out of the way or even blink when the object is about to hit my face.

So, now I look with even more curiosity at people that have such extreme reactions to seeing things in VR.

I wonder if maybe a wider FOV would help with things like this for me, but I somehow doubt it as in my mind, I'll still know it isn't real.

I think it would require a multitude of things to get my brain to suspend disbelieve. I'd need physical stimuli to match what I see. For example, if a wind is blowing in game and vegetation is moving in response, I'd need to be able to feel a physical analogue to it which is physically correct to what I see (or close enough). I'd need physical stimuli of walking and more importantly being able to perceive differences in height in reality that matches what I see in VR. IE - perhaps that skyscraper demo thingy would trigger a reaction if when I stuck my foot over the edge and down, my real foot didn't then encounter the floor. I tried the plank thing, but that didn't help much.

In other words, I don't think I'll ever get as excited for VR as many people on these forums do. And I haven't talked with them yet, but I wonder if friends of mine who also aren't as interested in VR (having tried it extensively) as other of my friends feel the same way about it. For example, Resident Evil 7 is very well done in VR. Yet while some of my friends appear to get genuinely scared by playing it, other of my friends don't react to it any differently than when they play it on a regular display other than to appreciate the feeling of presence. The fear factor just isn't there for them as they know it isn't real.

It's something that I find absolutely fascinating when looking at how people react so very differently to things WRT VR.

Regards,
SB

I wonder if it has to do with what is your "built-in" preferred sense. For people like me its visual, I need to see things to learn or memorise, for example. If you tell me something (without me actually looking at you) two days later I might have completely forgotten about it - it would drive my step mother mad when I was a kid, as she would think I was doing it on purpose. On the other hand there are people that learn by physically doing something because their preferred sense is touch / physical contact. From your description it looks like you fit on the latter case.

Since VR is very much a visualisation thing, I love it.
 
I wonder if this is why I don't find VR as compelling as some people.

I tried Smartphone VR setups. Are the dedicated headsets really an improvement in immersiveness over Smartphone VR? I can't believe resolution itself will be the sole factor in determining how immersive you feel.

One problem I see with VR is your eye is required to stay unmoving with no change in focus because the display is doing all the work. There's no reason to focus in an out with your eyeballs either because the content does that for you. It adds to the visual distraction, because its heavily disconnected from what your eye is naturally trying to do. And when you move your eyes to anywhere away from the center, it causes more blurriness because the center is the only spot in the lens where it has focus.

Another is that, not only it feels like you are looking at the world through ski goggles, you are doing that by not wearing the goggles, but just a few cm away.
 
I tried Smartphone VR setups. Are the dedicated headsets really an improvement in immersiveness over Smartphone VR? I can't believe resolution itself will be the sole factor in determining how immersive you feel.

One problem I see with VR is your eye is required to stay unmoving with no change in focus because the display is doing all the work. There's no reason to focus in an out with your eyeballs either because the content does that for you. It adds to the visual distraction, because its heavily disconnected from what your eye is naturally trying to do. And when you move your eyes to anywhere away from the center, it causes more blurriness because the center is the only spot in the lens where it has focus.

Another is that, not only it feels like you are looking at the world through ski goggles, you are doing that by not wearing the goggles, but just a few cm away.

Depending on the headset and the optics used, the blurriness when not looking at the center isn't that bad (almost unnoticeable on some, but quite noticeable on others). However, the optics do introduce other visual anomalies that can be distracting.

Wider FOV can alleviate the "goggle" or "periscope" effect to a great degree. It's why I like the Pimax 8k so much. However, the compromise that introduces is that the headset becomes larger which can make you look goofier to people looking at you and introduces a little extra weight. I don't care how I look when I'm wearing the headset (anyone wearing a VR headset already looks goofy as hell) and the added weight when I tried the Pimax 8k wasn't bad.

As a gaming platform it doesn't really interest me very much. I'm more interested in it as a media consumption device and a development tool.

I'm far more interested in AR when it comes to gaming. However, it's going to take quite a while for AR to get to that point (FOV being the main issue right now).

Regards,
SB
 
I tried Smartphone VR setups. Are the dedicated headsets really an improvement in immersiveness over Smartphone VR? I can't believe resolution itself will be the sole factor in determining how immersive you feel.

Other than the optical bits SB mentions, the positional tracking makes a huge difference to me with dedicate HMDs, even when sitting.
 
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