Does anyone have any idea when PSVR will be readily available in stores again? Anyone stumbled across one in the wild since Christmas?
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is an obvious one. The second person reads a bomb manual and instructs the person in VR to defuse the bomb they can see. Apart from that there are a bunch of hide and seek games like Mass Exodus.
Sony announced and is rolling out a pair of new $500 bundles. One with PS VR Worlds, camera, and Move controllers that is the launch bundle in all but name, and a second replacing VR Worlds with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. Assuming this will lead to more VR units available in stores. Gamestop.com currently has both in stock.
Having to disconnect the PSVR and shift HDMI cords around to use the PS4 to play a modern HDR game is a huge design flaw. It bugs me so much I’m thinking of dumping my PSVR.
I like VR, and want to support the tech, but $80 for simplistic games like Eve and Battlezone is pretty silly. I do find horror games absolutely terrifying in VR though - really freaky - wouldn’t be surprised if someone had a heart attack playing Resident Evil 7. I wish it was confirmed that Elite was definitely going to support PSVR when it comes out later this year, as that alone might warrant retaining it - not sure if there’s anything else coming out that I care about. I should finally boot up the Batman game.
I still haven’t been able to play Rush of Blood. I can’t even imagine RE7 in VR!
I don’t have a PS4 pro. Can you explain why you need to move cables for HDMI?
I finally I decided to order a Vive, now that I have a better GPU and (I think) a room large enough to work with it. Google Earth VR is what I’m most excited about, but what else should I make sure to check out?
Yeah, what’s up with that? No HDR passthrough with the PSVR or something?
The Processor Unit of the PSVR does not pass through HDR. It’s a major derp on Sony’s part to leave that out.
I have an Oculus and am unsure what’s exclusive to one or the other, but … probably Tilt Brush and Job Sim get recommended frequently for Vive (after any bundled demo stuff), though I haven’t played either.
The best VR game in my experience is Superhot. Though short, it works as a great concept/game that is totally elevated by the addition of the touch controls. And it’s finished, not early access. :)
Obduction is on my wait list, since they’re adding touch support (even though it may not add too much to the experience). Raw Data seems popular, but it’s early access. Budget Cuts I think may be great, but it’s not out yet. Resident Evil 7 VR looks awesome but Sony have 1 years VR exclusivity so we won’t see it in VR until 2018. :P
Many games you’ll find cool for 15 minutes thanks to the VR aspect, then kind of tire of because they’re not really that great as games, or are glorified tech demos. Still, there’s a lot worth checking out: I Expect You To Die, Arizona Sunshine, Onward, Space Pirate Trainer, QuiVr, Fantastic Contraption, Serious Sam VR. Heaps more that I’m sure others can mention.
Check out some VR movies. Oculus Story Studio makes some great VR shorts, maybe Vive has something similar? For …ahem… other content, Simple VR Video Player is the best. Virtual Desktop is a handy tool as well.
The main event though is the proper games that are transformed by sticking on a VR headset: Elite Dangerous, Dirt Rally, Project Cars, Assetto Corsa, DCS World, Minecraft. Then there’s something like Subnautica which is going to be amazing if it ever releases with decent performance…
Is there any sign of a next gen for the Oculus and Vive yet?
There was rumour of a ‘revised’ Vive due this year, probably lighter and more comfortable, maybe with the new controllers they’re working on. Oculus have specifically said they won’t do a revised Rift. Probably because it’s light, comfortable, and has top notch controllers already… ;)
Beyond that, there’s no word that I’m aware of beyond the general expectation that the next iteration is being worked on.
Google Earth VR is fantastic. Destinations is also great - it lacks the scope of GEVR but it has more intimate detailed environments. I don’t know if this is an uncommon opinion, but for me walking around photogrammetry produced 3D environments is definitely the most satisfying experience in VR. Similar experiences I enjoyed a lot are VR Museum of Fine Art, Altspace VR (even just sitting around in a VR chatroom, just sort of taking in the ambience is really quite relaxing), and the TNG Bridge scene (I can’t remember the exact name, but you get the idea).
Another thing I find myself going back to is GPU Cubes VR. One of the trippiest and wow-inducing gadgets I’ve tried. It’s the kind of thing you’d see as a little WebGL tech demo you’d play with for a minute or two on a normal screen, but in VR, it’s really something else.
Thanks for the recommendations! My Vive won’t arrive until Friday, but I’ve been downloading a number of programs through Steam for it. Google Earth VR is what I’m most excited about, and I’ve purchased both Job Simulator and Tilt Brush. Honestly, I think I’m even more excited for the virtual tourism aspect of VR than I am for gaming.
If you’ve ever liked flight sims, @anonymgeist, you should check out AeroFly FS 2. The experience flying in VR is amazing, and you can do some really cool virtual tourism of the SW US, NY, and Switzerland from the air.
Correct. You have to unplug the PSVR’s HDMI from your PS4, then unplug the PSVR’s HDMI from your TV/Receiver, then plug the PS4’s HDMI directly into the TV or receiver to resume playing…then do the reverse of all that if you want to play a VR game.
It’s a real design screw-up on the design, particularly since PSVR was being developed contemporaneously with these other tech developments.
Just putting this here:
Facebook is closing around 200 of its 500 Oculus virtual reality demo stations at Best Buy locations across the US, Business Insider has learned.
The scaling back of Facebook’s first big retail push for VR comes after workers from multiple Best Buy pop-ups told BI that it was common for them to go days without giving a single demonstration. An internal memo seen by BI and sent to affected employees by a third-party contractor said the closings were because of “store performance.”
Some more thoughts on PSVR after a number of months. When it works, it’s great. Comfortable headset. Decent tracking, Good video quality.
However, unless you’re at juuuuuust the right distance from the camera, you might end up suffering from the image slowly drifting to the left (or right). If you’re a little too far, the image might warp in and out ever so slightly. It’s very distracting. A good distance appears to be around 5 feet. Closer appears to be better than further away.
But…
If you’re closer, that pretty much rules out effective use of the move controller as the camera won’t be able to track them fully. Games like Job Simulator and Batman VR require you to be pretty far from the camera (5-6 feet).
Adjusting room lighting doesn’t have an effect from my experience. I have a tripod I rigged to hold the camera. That helps the most, but honestly, it’s a pain in the ass to set up just to play some games.
Games:
Rush of Blood - just excellent. Creepy. Lots of scares. Lots of things to shoot at. Occasional tracking problems with the move controllers.
Tethered - This is a nice Settlers Lite style game. About 14 levels. Approx 20-40 minutes per level. It gets a bit repetitive and needed a few more balance passes, but I’d love to see the devs revisit this in a sequel. I noticed quite a bit of warping at 6 feet. Moving the camera closer fixes it.
Headmaster - Simple idea, very well executed. Head the soccer balls into the net for points. Then things start to get sinister.
Batman VR - Holy hell this is good. Very little warping and the move controllers work very well. It has a simple, yet comprehensive calibration routine to get you standing in the right place and the camera lined up correctly. Just standing around in the Batcave messing the all the gadgets is worth the price.
Want to try RE VII but the demo creeped me out and I’m a chicken.
TLDR: Don’t regret my purchase, but Sony really skimped on the tech in some key areas. I think there’s a place for VR style games, but we’re not there yet.
