Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Virtual Reality

T

Taustin Powers

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 5, 2005
269
587
I was at the IFA show in Berlin yesterday and had a chance to briefly try out some of the current VR solutions.

Oculus Rift (development kit 2):
First I sat down for a Minecraft rollercoaster ride. I have to say, the experience was really impressive and made me gasp with wonder more than once. It's really quite something to be completely immersed in the Minecraft world, look around and see everything. And the wilder parts of the ride (loops, corkscrew) actually made me hold on to the safety bar. :D Later, I tried a different set that put me into various skydiving and rockclimbing situations. Also pretty impressive, but way more laggy, probably due to the higher resolution graphics.

Samsung Gear VR:
This was actually a Samsung smartphone in a casing that looked similar to Oculus Rift. Also real nature settings, and surprisingly a lot smoother and less laggy than the OR dev kit.

Sony Project Morpheus:
Played the "Playroom VR" demo. Image very detailed, close to zero lag, very smooth movements. I was surprised! The "game" was of course more of a tech demo, consisting of hitting objects with my head and dodging objects flying at me.


Overall, I was very impressed with the tech, but I have yet to see an actual game that would justify the purchase. Particularly all the Morpheus games Sony has shown so far are little more than "look, you can move your head" tech demos. However, if they actually manage to make a complete Minecraft game for VR, that would be a killer app and an instant purchase for me. To be completely immersed in that world and explore everything would be amazing. Sadly, Microsoft owns Minecraft now, so I don't see it happening on Morpheus. I can see other cool uses for the tech though, like concerts, football games, museum visits, city tours, etc.
 
Last edited:
I'm not surprised that Samsung's hardware is pretty strong. That is their specialty. I think VR has tremendous potential. Frankly almost limitless potential in that it will probably be something that everyone wants to use frequently. But I don't know if the Oculus guys have anything special. If Samsung can just take their latest consumer phone and stick it in a case (and google literally did that), then will the software guys at Facebook really be able to add to what Oculus has and produce the industry leading hardware? Or get their hardware to the consumer level mass market appeal. Or is this another thing that Apple has to eventually do right before it becomes mainstream? The low power but very powerful A9 chip that is about to be announced seems like great hardware for VR. I haven't used any devices but I assume getting the headset down in size to be very light would go a big way toward improving the experience.
 
I believe ARK Survival Evolved is being developed for Morpheus. That could be a killer game to play in VR...
 
  • Like
Reactions: s0nicpr0s
Minecraft on Windows 10 will have Oculus Rift support. I hope that won't be the only VR version.

Still hoping for a Morpheus version, but I'm really not sure MS will allow that.
 
I can't wait for this tech to be properly released. The next few years are going to be very fun!

VR won't be for every game. It was 2 years ago when I first tried a Rift. TF2 worked well on it but I don't know if I'd use it for those kind of fast-based, FPS games. But there used to be a cinema film player and an earth-orbit demo that were just incredible.

I still wonder about the PS4 handling VR. These aren't powerful machines and with VR you need a very high framerate. So my guess is PS VR won't hit the ground properly until the PS5, or some updated VR-supporting PS4 that has 2 GPUs/a faster GPU or something.
 
I was actually surprised how well the PlayStation VR demo I tried was working. Tech wise, it's already impressive as it is. They just have NO CLUE what to do with the tech yet. It's shocking how this thing is launching in less than a year, and we have yet to see a proper game for it. I thought they would pull out the big guns at E3, but everything they have shown so far is crud.
 
mandoman said:
I believe ARK Survival Evolved is being developed for Morpheus. That could be a killer game to play in VR...
Click to expand...

ARK would be a whole new experience in VR. I've only watched gameplay of it, but I know that seeing some of those beasties coming at you in that sort of environment would scare the pants off a few.

Dagless said:
I still wonder about the PS4 handling VR. These aren't powerful machines and with VR you need a very high framerate. So my guess is PS VR won't hit the ground properly until the PS5, or some updated VR-supporting PS4 that has 2 GPUs/a faster GPU or something.
Click to expand...

And I'm still not sure how the Morpheus will work once it finally sees a release. I agree that the PS4 probably won't be able to just handle it on it's own. Unless it comes with some sort of base station that does a lot of the processing power for it. Not to mention, how do you even connect it to the system? You'll have to unplug your TV every time to plug in the Morpheus headset. And I'm guessing it would benefit (or maybe require) the camera to help with positioning. I echo that some sort of updated model would need to be released, or it won't actually be released until the next gen consoles comes out.
 
Tekken 7 supporting VR... I can already see the reports of demolished living room furniture! :D
 
Interesting behind-the-scenes article on PlayStation VR:

http://www.polygon.com/2016/3/9/11174194/the-making-of-playstation-vr

Their so-called shotgun approach to software explains why all games so far feel like nothing more than glorified tech demos. Create many different smaller "experiences" and see what sticks... Not a fan of that approach. I think VR would benefit from a definitive killer app rather than a bunch of fun "apps".
 
  • Like
Reactions: s0nicpr0s
I tried the Samsung one at the Samsung Center at Best Buy yesterday.

I guess I didn't realize how advanced VR is - I'm used to looking around by using some sort of joystick and not simply moving your head to look around.

It was pretty cool - but it was the Cirque du Soliel demo which I thought their stuff was always "creepy"... :eek:

Only thing is you gotta use their phone....
 
gkarris said:
I tried the Samsung one at the Samsung Center at Best Buy yesterday.

I guess I didn't realize how advanced VR is - I'm used to looking around by using some sort of joystick and not simply moving your head to look around..
Click to expand...
I tried a Samsung VR demo thing a few weeks ago. I'm surprised by how advanced phone VR is too, obviously it won't be too good for games (have you seen the recommended specs for Rift and Vive?!), but for videos it could be excellent.

There's a film coming out that looks like it should work great in VR called Hardcore Henry

I'm surprised we haven't heard anything about VR films yet. They could be true 120hz without any stutter, maybe let the viewer look around slightly. It'd be an intense experience!
 
Playstation VR will be 400 bucks ($ or €), plus the price of the camera if you don't already have one. Out in October.

I am interested in it, but only if it has good games. It will probably take a year or two before they start releasing actual games instead of tech demos though.

My absolute dream and day-1-purchase would be Minecraft support, but I doubt Microsoft will allow this to happen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRU
Taustin Powers said:
Playstation VR will be 400 bucks ($ or €), plus the price of the camera if you don't already have one. Out in October.

I am interested in it, but only if it has good games. It will probably take a year or two before they start releasing actual games instead of tech demos though.

My absolute dream and day-1-purchase would be Minecraft support, but I doubt Microsoft will allow this to happen.
Click to expand...

I've just pre-ordered at Gamestop and paid my €50 deposit. €349 to pay when collecting it. Not too bad price wise and by then I'll have a rake of stuff to trade with my bonus level 3 credit which should pay off the majority of the balance, leaving me to just have to pay for the few launch games. :)

Had no real interest in VR but €399 compared to the VIVE and OCCULUS costs (+ v. expensive gaming pc & super GPU card needed) the Playstation VR seems to be the most 'commericial' and accessible to me now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taustin Powers
I can see myself buying this before the end of the year, IF the software offering is right. I tried a demo last year, so I know the tech is very good. The games will make or break this for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRU
Taustin Powers said:
I can see myself buying this before the end of the year, IF the software offering is right. I tried a demo last year, so I know the tech is very good. The games will make or break this for me.
Click to expand...

I just watched the battlezone hands-on and it looked great (albeit limited) so gives me hope for future.


 
It'll be £340 in the UK. It needs the PS4 camera to work, too. I've seen a bunch of people on Twitter flocking to eBay to pick one up for cheap :)

Star Wars Battlefront has a VR version coming out too, but I bet this will just be some single player demo for now.

Driveclub VR is a surprise though. Considering how not-great the original one runs (1080p30). How are they going to handle that at 60-120fps?
 
Dagless said:
It'll be £340 in the UK. It needs the PS4 camera to work, too. I've seen a bunch of people on Twitter flocking to eBay to pick one up for cheap :)

Star Wars Battlefront has a VR version coming out too, but I bet this will just be some single player demo for now.

Driveclub VR is a surprise though. Considering how not-great the original one runs (1080p30). How are they going to handle that at 60-120fps?
Click to expand...
Yeah I still have the camera from the killzone launch day special premium bundle ... it is never used so hopefully now this will give it something to do.

Games will have to be very optimised and we can't be expecting graphical fidelity of newer games, expect simplified geometry or a stylised look in order to maintain framerates.

That being said at €400 £340 it's a considerably less of a gamble than HTC Vive or the occulus rift and a decent pc and expensive GPU (which gpu on its own could cost the same as the Sony PS4 & VR headset combined)... for that point of entry I expect to make some compromise.
 
MRU said:
Yeah I still have the camera from the killzone launch day special premium bundle ... it is never used so hopefully now this will give it something to do.

Games will have to be very optimised and we can't be expecting graphical fidelity of newer games, expect simplified geometry or a stylised look in order to maintain framerates.

That being said at €400 £340 it's a considerably less of a gamble than HTC Vive or the occulus rift and a decent pc and expensive GPU (which gpu on its own could cost the same as the Sony PS4 & VR headset combined)... for that point of entry I expect to make some compromise.
Click to expand...

If they have eyetracking (I think the OR and Vive do) then you could have detail on the spot where the eye is looking, but keep peripheral vision lower res/blurred. That would probably do it.
But I don't mind Tron-like stuff, like what we've seen with Battlezone. It's going to be a few years before PC's are able to pump out 120hz 'photo realistic' VR after all! But I think Sony will have this. It's not super cheap but it's the most affordable VR solution (PS4+cam+headset, or high end PC+more expensive headset). It might be the one out of the competition to bring real VR to the masses and that's pretty exciting.

Might be time to bring back Wipeout for VR too! I'd happily take a port of the PS3 version just with VR stuff added in!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRU
What the hell! I just preordered the PS VR! :eek:

I really didn't think I would do that.

Oh well, I can always send it back or sell it on Ebay if it turns out I don't want it in October.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 0098386
I just learned that Trackmania (which I incidently bought last week and love) will support the PS VR.

Now I am excited!
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRU
Taustin Powers said:
I just learned that Trackmania (which I incidently bought last week and love) will support the PS VR.

Now I am excited!
Click to expand...
Really !!! Cool. I ordered the retail copy from amazon which should be here this coming week.

Hopefully it's just a patch we have to download and they won't charge us again for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taustin Powers
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back