04-15-2018 07:22 AM
Opinion piece onCNET:
04-15-2018 08:35 AM
04-15-2018 08:40 AM
04-15-2018 08:41 AM
But the biggest issue holding VR back is the games, or lack thereof. It's true, there are actually hundreds of virtual reality games available from Steam, Oculus and even Microsoft's Windows App Store. The vast majority are simple low-budget indie projects that range from pure dreck to forgettable filler, with just a handful of gems along the way (and a few interesting non-game experiments). That's because the big game companies -- the publishers behind hits from Grand Theft Auto to Call of Duty to Madden NFL -- have barely dipped a toe into the VR waters.
For EA's Star Wars Battlefront and Activision's Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, impressive VR levels were released as free downloadable content. When both those games got sequels for the 2017 holiday season, neither got a new VR level. That doesn't say much about how these big game-makers feel about the commercial appeal of virtual reality.
04-15-2018 09:26 AM
cybernettr said:
Opinion piece onCNET:
It's time to break up with VR
Commentary: More than two years into the current virtual reality era, it feels like we've hit a brick wall.
From the article:
“Virtual reality may yet become a massive mainstream hit, but it's not going to happen with this generation of tech”The author makes two false assumptions in this article:
1: That the current generation of VR has to be a “massive mainstream hit” right from the beginning; and
2: If it isn’t a massive mainstream hit from the beginning, then it’s a failure. (Well, those aren’t the only false assumptions he makes, but those are the main ones.)
Reality: The personal computer (originally called the “home computer” or the “microcomputer”) was for several years the exclusive domain of geeks and tinkerers. Early cellphones were so expensive with such crappy service that they faced stiff competition with pagers and were originally used only by businessmen.
As is is increasingly common with articles in the mainstream media, which are afraid of dissenting opinion, the original story doesn’t allow reader comments.
https://www.cnet.com/news/its-time-to-break-up-with-vr/
04-15-2018 09:33 AM
04-15-2018 10:03 AM
04-16-2018 12:37 AM
JakemanOculus said:
He's not wrong. But this reads distinctly like some one who had incorrect expectations for VR.
I knew from day negative 120 that I would only use my Rift for stationary experiences and 3D movies.
04-16-2018 04:36 AM
Well, there's always a tendency to write articles that are stories. In most cases that means praising things that are new because the story teller is spreading the word, or criticizing things that aren't knew if they haven't taken over the world just yet... or criticizing them if they have taken over the world cos that's an even bigger story. Anyway, I'll take every story as I see it. In this case, the story teller isn't completely wrong.
He says the biggest problem is that the 'big game companies have barely dipped a toe into the VR waters' and I think that's a fair comment. We've had some great games which have been more than enough for me (and most of you I think) to consider myself lucky to have good VR kit to play them on.
But, I'm disappointed with Codemasters not including VR in anything since DiRT Rally. I'd like to have seen a proper full game from Crytek as they've proven themselves with The Climb but I doubt the next Crysis will have VR despite their development of Cryengine V.... and Bethesda are just teasing us with adaptations of existing games sold at full price.
I'm an enthusiast, as are most people here and I think I've always had fairly realistic expectations of how quickly VR would take hold and how quickly games devs would get involved.... so for me, everything is pretty much on-track. But I think many people need reassurance that the big devs are on-board before shelling out several hundred quid on a headset & PC upgrade. I think that will come but it's not happened yet and I don't think reassurance comes from adapting old games to VR regardless of how good the results are. They need to see a good selection of new games having VR options. For those people, VR may seem like it's not happened yet. The problem is that we need those people to adopt because that leads to the big devs deciding there's enough profit to be made from creating new content.
Cheaper PC VR is the other side of the equation. People need less reassurance if they don't have to spend so much money on the kit... or the PC.
That's why, for CV2, I'm a firm believer in not wanting the huge FOV and resolution increases we're seeing touted for some next-gen headsets. Reasonable increases yes, but not the FOV leaps of the Pimax... or 4K that some are touting, not unless fovated rendering keeps the PC load down to the levels that current top-range PCs are capable of.
04-16-2018 04:51 AM
DaftnDirect said:That's why, for CV2, I'm a firm believer in not wanting the huge FOV and resolution increases we're seeing touted for some next-gen headsets. Reasonable increases yes, but not the FOV leaps of the Pimax... or 4K that some are touting, not unless fovated rendering keeps the PC load down to the levels that current top-range PCs are capable of.