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VR overhyped?

Anonymous
Not applicable
I am a huge fan and have been following and spreading the word of vr and oculus obsessively since John Carmack showed off the duct tape prototype at quakecon.

I whole heartedly believe vr to be part of gaming's future.

I have had my rift 2 weeks now, being on holiday I have been able to invest a lot of time into gaming, testing and building things in unreal engine 4 for the rift.

I have been lucky to be immune to all forms of sim sickess, but I have also never experienced presence or even deep immersion on the dk2.
my previous experience with vr before the dk2 was with dactyl nightmare as a young boy.

so here's my problem... I know the current rift is a developer hardware platform and people will say not to judge it because of that, and while I agree I am not judging it against a consumer platform but rather the hype from all sources about it.
Also bear in mind dev kit or not its still the most sophisticated and affordable vr experience consumers have been able to get their hands on.

so why does it just feel like a low resolution 3d monitor strapped to my face?
I cant begin to recount the years of reading about "users feeling like they were transported to another place" with the dk1 let alone dk2... the youtube videos and reaction compilations...

why don't I get any of that? I have an open mind, a powerful computer and not unrealistic expectations from the hardware... but not once has it even fooled an iota of my brain... which is likely why I get no sim sickness.

the resolution is way too low for me perhaps? I don't even think 1440p will cut it.
the fov is much lower than people would have you believe... it's less "a window to another world" and more like looking at something through a toilet paper tube covered in fine mesh.

is it fun to use regardless? absolutely for the 3d and head tracking alone yes.
It does not induce presence for me however,the immersion is increased but the trade off in resolution and visibility aren't really worth it.

Tldr: do you think people in the media and industry hyped the rift? or are you blown away and its simply me who is not affected by it?
110 REPLIES 110

Ax23000
Honored Guest
As a writer, I think about this in terms of suspension of disbelief and how it differs from person to person. Consider the show Farscape. For those unfamiliar, Farscape was a sci-fi show produced by the Henson company. As you might expect, the show featured several aliens that were in fact puppets--including one of the main characters. When you talk to people they tend to fall in two camps, one camp loved the show with its rich writing and story. The other camp will tell you that they just couldn't get past the puppets. It all comes down to suspension of disbelief, if you can't stop thinking about the puppets as puppets you're going to have a hard time believing anything else.

Some people seem geared toward suspension of disbelief and others don't. I've been known to cry while reading books and watching movies, but other people I know never react with strong emotions during them because "it's not real".

VR, it seems to me, requires suspension of disbelief. Your brain, on some level, needs to do the work of over looking the low field of view, screen door effect, the heavy box strapped to your face, and of course just the simple fact that it knows you AREN'T on Mars, in a spaceship, staring at a dragon, on a roller coaster---whatever. In other words, you have to overlook the puppets. To be sure, the job of Oculus and the software developer is to make this as easy possible by reducing these factors through hardware or making them easier to ignore with great software. But I suspect if you fall into the group that resists suspension of disbelief, it will require much more for you to feel presence than for someone who suspends disbelief easily.

7andromeda7
Honored Guest
@archaicbereft

Just thought I'd share this with you...and everyone else listening of course!
When you mentioned at the beginning of your post about the sense of just "looking at a flat screen"-
I definately just experienced that. And it came in a demo that I was really looking forward to.
Seza Peso. This is a real shock for me as I've had great moments of presence in things like RedFrame, Discovering Space and Live for Speed
Literally nothing in the demo gave me that "can almost touch it" feeling. I remember watching reaction videos of the DK1 version and thinking woah, that has got to be the business!
Maybe its the lower FOV? perhaps its the lack of control within the environment? I really dont know..but that was a real shock for me.

I'm not concerned thou as there is stuff out there that really DOES work..
archaic- have you tried Discovering Space?

Wireline
Explorer
I think there is a stage of 3d acclimitisation that happens. At first, I was seeing the 3D and was amazed by it, but now I am finding its as though the brain "accepts" the 3D as just being real. Nothing changed in my setup, I'm using the dame demos - the emotional impact and wow factor is whats actually missing, as opposed to any actual 3D effect.

In movies, 3D effects are often exaggerated to have greater impact e.g. having stuff shoved in your face. Maybe more rift games need this exaggerated approach to counter "3D acceptance", if such a thing exists?

floydfreak
Honored Guest
@ Ax23000 - Excellent post!

I totally agree with you, & I don't mind admitting that I've been SO into a book, movie, game & not forgetting of course a good song too..
It's all about 'getting into it' and letting go a bit I think!!

AND a lot more factors too of course. However, I think that Ax23000's post is definitely pointing at the 'first step' so to speak.

Anonymous
Not applicable
"Ax23000" wrote:
snip

I LOOOOVE Farscape! Cannot wait for the movie project they have going on to be revealed 😄

I guess I subconsciously "see the puppets" in DK2 however 😞

"ryanyth" wrote:

So don't worry about not being immersed, instead feel proud that you are being invited
to be one of the early pioneers to experience a taste of a whole new wave of visual entertainment of the future.


I absolutely do, I love my DK2, I only meant Overhyped in comparison to the media, but now I see it's just me (the minority unable to achieve immersion or presence).... this has not stopped me from enjoying my DK2 for the plethora of other reasons it's still great.

"7andromeda7" wrote:
snip


Yes I have tried Discovering space... I was unimpressed 😞

however I have tried Senza Peso on DK2 and I have had the opposite reaction to you, I LOVED IT... I think it's one of my favorite DK2 experiences so far, if not the best one I have tried personally.
I literally had my mouth open on some parts and I really can see the potential for the hardware especially once we get higher resolutions fov etc....

I guess we are all different, my brain seems a lot harder to please but it's not something I can control... I really try to be fooled.

RorschachPhoeni
Trustee
Hello,

I have tested the DK2 on gamescom and was shocked in a very bad way.

Because there are dozens videos and reports on the internet where people flipping out and saying how awesome and real the experience is. Like being transported to another world. Great immersion, etc.

I was afraid that my expectations are too high. I was also afraid of motion sickness.

When I tested the DK2 (Demo: Superhot) I couldn't think clear, but my subconscious mind thought: "This can't be! This isn't what I'd expected. The resolution is horrible. It's like wearing a screen in front of my head. I'm not in the game. There is no immersion. And I feel no presence at all. Where is the future I believed in? No motion sickness. That is good... is it? No feelings at all. I am shocked. Just play the stupid game. There's nothing left to see here."
After 5 minutes or so I have to put the rift down. Next one!

It was such a let down. It took 5 minutes to destroy what I believed in. Where was the technology of the future? All I wanted was a proof. A glance of the future.

After that experience I was broken, because the Rift was the only thing I was interested in at that time. The Rift was the reason for me to visit gamescom.

But I did not want to give up so easily. I wanted to test the Virtualizer... and the DK1.
Immersion, presence... I had to experience something. But I wouldn't wait there for 8 hours. After an hour I thought to myself: I need to test DK2 again. I have to test another demo. Maybe the demo was the problem.

So I tested DK2 again (Luckey's Tale - wanted to test EVE VR, but I couldn't): The resolution seemed better this time. Maybe because of the bright colors. Nice Mario 64 type of a game. And there it is... at least a little bit of 3D feeling. Better than nothing.

Overall I think my expectations were way to high.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity to test the DK2 private. Not at home, but somewhere else. I tested for 3 hours. No motion sickness. But Cyberspace made me dizzy immediately. I stoped it right away.

I felt a glance of presence (weird feeling) in "Sightline: The chair" and "Lava Inc." "Lava Inc." was also uncomfortable. I felt a little dizzy (only a problem in rollercoaster games).

In spite of my not that good experiences, it can only get better. And I think VR will be a huge thing. I am happy to see it happen.


Greetings: Rorschach-Phoenix
Excuse my bad english. I speak to you through the google translator. 😛

Itsinthemind
Expert Protege
Yes, you have listed good points why VR is not yet ready, but Cresent Bay already addresses many of these issues. One that I still find somewhat most spoiling is the framed vision and I think this will only be solved once the image is projected straight into the retina or some other very clever optical tricks.

My main concern is that after the initial WOW the market will cool off so quickly that it just becomes another gadget like 3d TV and people will lose interest and not allowing us to recoup our investments (souped-up PCs, Software, goggles, time etc).

There are plenty of other things which need to be solved beforehand, judder is another big spoiler. It's got to be as close to perfect as possible when hitting the shelves and ideally have a certain addictive quality to succeed, like our mobiles which offer something that people are now relying on and which cannot easily be achieved using alternatives. That something has to be something that will put it in most people's hands. I am not sure it will be games, but I can imagine it could be training, education and virtual communication etc. I am not yet convinced by the gaming aspect, but that will probably change once we are getting more used to this new medium and big AAA developers with the million dollar budgets will join in.
http://www.lightandmagic.co.uk Fantasy becomes Reality

mrcrisp
Protege
"Itsinthemind" wrote:
Yes, you have listed good points why VR is not yet ready, but Cresent Bay already addresses many of these issues. One that I still find somewhat most spoiling is the framed vision and I think this will only be solved once the image is projected straight into the retina or some other very clever optical tricks.


Uh, the Rift image is `projected into the retina`, that is what the lenses are for and how the eye see's the Rifts image.

Unless someone were to use marketing spiel such as `virtual retina display` cough cough- mentioing no names. :mrgreen: all light is `projected into the retina` when you see.
PC Specs: i7-5820k, 16gb DDR4 2400mhz, MSI gaming mainboard, MSI GTX 980 4gb, Samsung Pro SSD, 2x1tb WD Black HDD, 700w Certified PSU, 3xAcer 27" monitor, 47" TV, Xbox360 Controller, CH Pro HOTAS, Fanatec Wheel+Pedals, Windows 7 64bit.

RorschachPhoeni
Trustee
"Itsinthemind" wrote:
Yes, you have listed good points why VR is not yet ready, but Cresent Bay already addresses many of these issues.


I watched the livestream. Amazing anouncement! But I have to keep my expectations low this time.

"Itsinthemind" wrote:
I am not yet convinced by the gaming aspect, but that will probably change once we are getting more used to this new medium and big AAA developers with the million dollar budgets will join in.


I agree. I tested 12 demos or something, but there was no "real" game. It felt like nice experiments but nothing tangible.

Funny thing: I tested the DK2 on gamescom. On the same day I tested Alien: Isolation (without OR) and felt way more immersed. Because the game builds great immersion. Graphics, Sound, Design... only the controller bothers me (PC player - keyboard and mouse is everything to me).
Excuse my bad english. I speak to you through the google translator. 😛

obzen
Expert Protege
I would say so. I love VR, but I really don't see it as being for everybody.
DK1 FREAK...