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The "Travel the World from Home" Thread - VR vacations and visiting art museums

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

Just a few suggestion for experiencing the world at home - do add your own suggestions! Note, I've tried to avoid apps just using 360 degrees shots and movies. Also I've tried to include only apps which impressed me - or apps with very high ratings (either in the Oculus Store or on Steam). 

1. Blueplanet VR:

 

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Info: Blueplanet VR is a curated collection of over 40 volumetric experiences of powerful scenic and cultural heritage locations worldwide, ranging from Borobudur Temple in Indonesia to Bears Ears National Monument in the southwestern US. With a high level of photogrammetry execution and art direction, BPVR offers the viewer a strong sense of presence and open exploration within these remarkable locations, some even offering hang gliding flight experiences over spectacular terrains. Interactive features are used to deepen understanding and insight of these fascinating and unique locations.
A free demo is available with 3 sample scenes to explore.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264180/Blueplanet_VR/

2. Vacation Simulator:


Info: Welcome to the Vacation Simulator, a rough approximation of VACATION inspired by real human NOT JOBBING, brought to you by the same robots behind the Job Simulator. Reallocate your bandwidth and get ready to splash, s’more, snowball, and selfie your way to optimal relaxation!
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1818689078164305/

3. Nefertari: Journey to Eternity:

 

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Info: In Egypt's legendary Valley of the Queens lies Queen Nefertari's tomb, one of the modern world's most detailed windows into ancient Egyptians' journey towards the afterlife. Now, state-of-the-art technology has made it possible to digitally scan Nerfertari's tomb with millimeter accuracy. For the first time ever, step inside the fabled tomb and immerse yourself in the story of its art, history, construction, and mythology through interactive elements.

PLEASE NOTE: The Nefertari's Tomb experience was built using the latest techniques in photogrammetry and laser scanning, as such, the level of detail is extremely high. If the experience begins to lag, please adjust the "Quality Slider" at the beginning of the program to a lower setting.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1491802884282318/?ranking_trace=1943584525923090_14918028842...

4. IL DIVINO: Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling in VR:

 

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Info: Il Divino: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR is a Virtual Reality experience powered by Unreal Engine where you can walk through and learn about the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. This experience was created exclusively for the SIGGRAPH 2019 Immersive Pavilion, by the team behind the previous SIGGRAPH 2017 VR piece: Il Gigante: Michelangelo’s David in VR. Debuting at SIGGRAPH on Valve’s INDEX headset, Il Divino delivers an experience of the highest fidelity –you can see individual cracks and brush strokes in the plaster! Step onto Michelangelo’s own scaffold and learn about how he painted the ceiling, or enter a Vatican conservator’s mobile aerial platform to see the ceiling up close, and learn about the controversial cleaning. In all, there are over 100 clickable elements about Michelangelo’s monumental work.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1165850/IL_DIVINO_Michelangelos_Sistine_Ceiling_in_VR/

5. Visit the International Space Station (ISS) and go for a spacewalk:


Info: We’re excited to share that Mission: ISS is available now on the Oculus Store! Created in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, this true-to-life simulation lets you explore space and experience the sensation of microgravity in VR.

Based on NASA models as well as direct input and feedback from multiple astronauts and the NASA VR Lab in Houston, Mission: ISS recreates the International Space Station in painstaking detail. While many of us dream of becoming astronauts, only about 500 people have ever been to space. Thanks to Mission: ISS and Oculus Touch, you can use your own hands as you dock incoming cargo capsules, conduct spacewalks, and perform mission-critical tasks. Now anyone, anywhere, can experience the breathtaking view of Earth from orbit.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1178419975552187/

6. TheBlu Underwater Experience:

 

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Info: theBlu: is a deeply immersive VR series that allows audiences to experience the wonder and majesty of the ocean through different habitats and come face to face with some of the most awe inspiring species on the planet. The series, which is directed by Jake Rowell (Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Superman Returns), has been designed as beautiful moments in passing or a collection of memories that powerfully tap into the vast potential of VR. The debut episode, featuring an incredible close encounter with an 80 foot whale, is already recognized as one the most iconic room scale VR experiences to date (a Sundance Film Festival 2016 selection). Additional episodes in this bundle take place on a teeming coral reef and in the very deepest region of the ocean. Gain access to new modes of discovery in each episode. Slow time and capture pictures in Inspector Mode, and return to a meditative version of each location in Ambient Mode.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/984294025016007/

7. Pompeii:
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/2716628805044056/?ranking_trace=1943584525923090_27166288050...
Info: 
Pompeii is an experience allowing you to visit the most famous ruins of Pompeii, Italy. Feeling like you are really there, you can walk along one of Pompeii's main streets, visit the interior of an extraordinarily well preserved Roman house, experience the hustle and bustle of Pompeii's bars and shops, visit two beautiful Roman gardens, and finally get to experience what is was like bathing in a 2000 year old Roman bathhouse. This experience allows you to enter and explore Pompeii with an unrivaled freedom of movement. You can walk right up beautifully painted walls and mosaics which are cordoned off in real life. The experience contains a large source of highly entertaining narrative content, allowing one to really understand what living here as a Roman must have been like. In our view this is the closest thing you will ever get to feeling like you are in Pompeii without actually having to fly to Italy and be there yourself.

8. Everest VR:


Info: EVEREST VR is a powerful first introduction to VR, designed not as a conventional game but as an accessible experience that focuses on the strengths of VR to transport you to impossible locations. 
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1043021355789504/

9. The Grand Canyon VR Experience:

Info: Pack your bags and take a beautiful and serene interactive kayak ride into the heart of the Grand Canyon, experiencing nature in all its splendor.

Most realistic nature environment in VR available today.  Explore the beauty and splendor of the Grand Canyon via a motorized kayak with speed settings.  Vivid, living world populated with procedural generation of animal life driven by artificial intelligence.  Choose between a tour under the hot sweltering sun or one under a cool starry sky.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1208507739163035/

10. Nature Treks:

Info: Explore tropical beaches, underwater oceans and even take to the stars. Discover over 60 different animals. Command the weather, take control of the night or shape your own world.
Immerse yourself into the Nature Treks VR experience and escape into a world of relaxation.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1241059555937266/ 

11.The Dawn of Art VR (Rift & Vive only):

Info: Let Daisy Ridley guide you in your discovery of the Chauvet Cave, a Unesco World Heritage Site, considered one the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the XXth century. The Dawn of Art is not just a tour, but a storytelling experience, sparking emotions, and totally immersing you in the past, mirroring the way the First Men were immersed in their painted caves.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1236560/The_Dawn_of_Art/

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

79 REPLIES 79

RedRizla
Honored Visionary
Maybe, Google Earth 🙂

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

Actually never tried this one - with or without street view enabled... 



Maybe it could count as a "VR Vacation" app, although I did not at first consider it to fit that category - but of course you can go and visit places! 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RedRizla
Honored Visionary
Google Earth VR is great and is the only thing I've tried out of all of these listed so far 😄
I'll have to try out the rest in this thread, I'm miles behind when it comes to VR experiences.

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

snowdog said:



Did you not even post the most obvious, Moogle Smurf (with L337view enabled).



The what now?!!? ?


It's Friday, seems I'm not the lonly wone enjoying a glasssch or to of red whine, and I can stilllll hit the keybooadss  o:)

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

Zenbane
MVP
MVP

4th of July weekend here in America. Normal vacay plans are cancelled. Bring on the VR Staycation!


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RuneSR2
Grand Champion
I think I'll start with the Sistine Ceiling, because in the trailer I just noticed a hidden symbol from the secret Brotherhood :blush: 

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- also I've been there, but no way we were allowed to get this close to the paintings - I'd be arrested being just half as close to the paintings as it seems you can get in VR:

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If the devs did this right, maybe I'm in for some more Ultramersion - the textures do look 4K-ish... 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
The Sistine Ceiling in VR is truly awesome - a 10/10 app in my book. Some textures could be better, but I think you actually get a better experience in VR than when seeing the real thing, because you get so much closer to the art in VR. The guide and the narrative are great too. This app is free, but note that it does not start in VR, before you select VR through the app's desktop menu/interface. Just activate the desktop view in SteamVR, and use the mouse to activate VR in the in-app menu. The app worked fine forcing Index res 200%, although I did get some dips below 90 fps - but it was not a problem, and res 200% (or at least 150%) is needed to get the best image quality with the Index. 

Mona Lisa: Beyond The Glass was nice too, I'd probably rate it 8/10, because the app felt like made for oled. Using Index, grays and contrast weren't optimal. The app could use higher res too - even forcing res 200% was not enough to get truly awesome image quality, but res 200% was taxing considering performance, so going beyond res 200% wasn't an attractive solution with my GTX 1080. You do get a very close look at the Mona Lisa painting, and a lot of info about the painting and Mona Lisa as a person. Really great stuff! 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
Nefertari kinda knocked my socks off this evening, it's beyond awesome. Even better than Blueplanet VR. I wasn't aware that the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens is considered the Sistine Chapel of Egypt. The textures are really high-res, even better than the Sistine Ceiling VR. It looks perfect using lcd, no need for oled. The app may be one of the greatest examples of using VR as a learning platform - the app completely transformed my man cave into a real tomb in the Valley of the Queens. I couldn't ask for more - a 10/10 within its genre in my book.

Having visited the Valley of the Kings in the real world, Nefertari VR didn't feel like a lesser experience in any way. And you can expose the paintings to much more light than you'd ever be allowed to in the real world 😉

I forced res 200% using Index, and maybe you'll need a 2080 Ti for solid 90 fps doing that, but it worked just fine - this isn't a fast action game where some reprojections may spoil it all. Like in Blueplanet VR you teleport, but it works great. You can highlight a painting and a guide will explain what you're watching. 

My VR vacation is becoming totally awesome, next stop Versailles, lol

Btw, some shots  o:)

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Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

Anonymous
Not applicable
Yup, I loved that. One of my favourites ?

Check out the Anne Frank House experience too. It's awesome.

RedRizla
Honored Visionary

RuneSR2 said:

Nefertari kinda knocked my socks off this evening, it's beyond awesome.
Would this be on Steam? I want to view these on the HP Reverb to get the best possible image.