The quality of Skyrim VR is pretty fantastic. As someone who has played the "VR mod" version of Skyrim (VorpX) -- it's not even really close to close. Bethesda's version has none of the jank, runs much better, and the motion control implementation is a lot of fun. There's no other VR game out that really compares in terms of content with overall quality, excepting also $60 Fallout 4 and Elite if you have a HOTAS.
Actually this is definitely something to point out as well. As old as it is, Skyrim (like all Bethesda games) was never well known for being optimized, so the fact that it can run at 90 FPS in VR when pancake Skyrim sometimes struggled to do 60 FPS speaks to them having done a lot of work on graphics optimization.
Funny story. My wife is also a violinist (not professionally) and an art historian (professionally; Associate Professor of Art History, in fact). She has been at best bemused by the PSVR I got myself when Farpoint came out, and despite my vivid descriptions of things it can do that I thought she might like - as opposed to things like "and then you can shoot the giant spider in the face!", which would be for her a kind of anti-recommendation - she has never once been willing to don the headset and try anything out. Until I learned about the Joshua Bell experience here.
Joshua Bell is her very favorite living violinist, so when she heard that this thing existed she was willing to give it a shot just to see him play something she hadn't seen before. So I get her set up, make sure she can see well, etc. I'm watching on the TV and "driving" (all two buttons you can press - "go" and "stop") via the controller.
The experience is a seated, static VR recording with Mr. Bell standing front and center, pianist off to your left, studio control room behind you, but the Air Studio is actually in a beautiful old cathedral with a giant pipe organ on the back wall, huge arched galleries, etc. I fire it up and my wife watches the whole thing (it's just one Hungarian Dance, so only a few minutes long) and I notice on the TV that she's just ...looking straight ahead. The viewport moves just a tiny bit with her head, but it's like she thinks she's watching TV, looking at the "screen" in "front" of her.
Song ends, she says "Neat." and starts to get up. "Nonono", I say, "wait. Watch it again." I fire it up again. "Now, look ...around."
I see her turn to see the piano. "WHOA!", she says. She looks around more. She looks up.
"Ooooooooh, you can be in the church", she says. The whole rest of the recording she is looking around slowly, taking in all the details of the arches, the windows, the ancient parquet floor.
So uh, what's the best way to get stuff like VR architecture tours on a PSVR? That seems to be the killer app for her.
Funny story. My wife is also a violinist (not professionally) and an art historian (professionally; Associate Professor of Art History, in fact). She has been at best bemused by the PSVR I got myself when Farpoint came out, and despite my vivid descriptions of things it can do that I thought she might like - as opposed to things like "and then you can shoot the giant spider in the face!", which would be for her a kind of anti-recommendation - she has never once been willing to don the headset and try anything out. Until I learned about the Joshua Bell experience here.
Joshua Bell is her very favorite living violinist, so when she heard that this thing existed she was willing to give it a shot just to see him play something she hadn't seen before. So I get her set up, make sure she can see well, etc. I'm watching on the TV and "driving" (all two buttons you can press - "go" and "stop") via the controller.
The experience is a seated, static VR recording with Mr. Bell standing front and center, pianist off to your left, studio control room behind you, but the Air Studio is actually in a beautiful old cathedral with a giant pipe organ on the back wall, huge arched galleries, etc. I fire it up and my wife watches the whole thing (it's just one Hungarian Dance, so only a few minutes long) and I notice on the TV that she's just ...looking straight ahead. The viewport moves just a tiny bit with her head, but it's like she thinks she's watching TV, looking at the "screen" in "front" of her.
Song ends, she says "Neat." and starts to get up. "Nonono", I say, "wait. Watch it again." I fire it up again. "Now, look ...around."
I see her turn to see the piano. "WHOA!", she says. She looks around more. She looks up.
"Ooooooooh, you can be in the church", she says. The whole rest of the recording she is looking around slowly, taking in all the details of the arches, the windows, the ancient parquet floor.
So uh, what's the best way to get stuff like VR architecture tours on a PSVR? That seems to be the killer app for her.
Not that this answers your specific question, but National Geographic Museum currently has a multimedia exhibit, which includes an Oculus Rift tour of their restoration project of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
They're not as good as the Joshua Bell video but you could try some 360 degree videos. They should work on the PS4 and there are hundreds/thousands on youtube of all sorts.
It looks like Jaunt has a PSVR app, you could try that. I used it to watch a 360 video of a rehearsal of Va, Pensiero at the Royal Opera House in London. I don't see much for architectural tours, but there is a travel section.
I have to say, Oculus has addressed a lot of the issues I had with their storefront at the beginning. In the past year or so, they've added a refund policy, ratings and reviews, installing and moving apps on multiple drives, a download view, wishlists with sale notifications, and a free apps section. It's in a much better place than it was at launch.
I'm buy everything I can off of Steam, though. Part of it is because a lot of the best sales are bundles, and you only get a discount for owned titles if you have them on the Oculus Store (naturally), while I bought everything on Steam before Oculus started approaching feature parity. And part of it is that the Oculus Store is still locked to the Rift, while SteamVR supports the Vive, Rift and WMR. I don't even know if Oculus is going to have a second PC headset.
I still don't understand why Oculus doesn't put patch notes on the update. They have a place for it, and most everyone else's apps include notes there, but the system updates and Facebook Spaces are the two that continually come up without patch notes. Instead they apparently want you to go to their forums to find patch notes; I don't like their forums. They don't show the date created or last updated for threads, and I feel they don't do enough to moderate against fanboyism and a clique attitude. And I guess they only use their blog for marketing. But really the patch notes link on the update seems like the obvious place.
Omni treadmills are a neat idea, but it's America spending a fortune developing a pen that writes in space while Russian astronauts use a pencil.
Just having a low friction surface with low friction shoes and a belt support is by far the better solution. Quieter, safer, and can be miniaturized for the consumer level, as they're doing with the Kat Walk mini:
The Kat Walk just looks like it would feel so awkward. Especially starting at the 1:50 minute mark where you take these baby steps and it must feel like you are dragging a ball and chain behind you.
Neither the Kat Walk nor the Infiniadeck look ideal, but it's exciting to see what people are coming up with.
Omni treadmills are a neat idea, but it's America spending a fortune developing a pen that writes in space while Russian astronauts use a pencil.
Just having a low friction surface with low friction shoes and a belt support is by far the better solution. Quieter, safer, and can be miniaturized for the consumer level, as they're doing with the Kat Walk mini:
I used one of the low friction dealies (omni, i think) at PAX, and it was nothing like walking - it felt more like scooting around on a rolling chair. You couldn't really stand upright, so you just kinda let the harness support you and shuffle around with your feet. I'm hopeful that the treadmill is more natural to stand still in, though it does seem like it would be awkward to have the ground moving under me as a I walk.
The Kat Walk just looks like it would feel so awkward. Especially starting at the 1:50 minute mark where you take these baby steps and it must feel like you are dragging a ball and chain behind you.
Neither the Kat Walk nor the Infiniadeck look ideal, but it's exciting to see what people are coming up with.
I imagine it feels similar to walking on ice, in which case you generally take smaller steps anyway. Yes they both seem less than ideal, but of the two, low friction seems way more practical. That bit of judder you get as the omni treadmill recenters you after you stop moving alone seems massively unsettling.
I used one of the low friction dealies (omni, i think) at PAX, and it was nothing like walking - it felt more like scooting around on a rolling chair. You couldn't really stand upright, so you just kinda let the harness support you and shuffle around with your feet. I'm hopeful that the treadmill is more natural to stand still in, though it does seem like it would be awkward to have the ground moving under me as a I walk.
Reviews from omni-directional treadmill folk emphasize that you sorta have to re-learn to walk a bit; it's not that different from walking, but your brain needs to let go of some of its preconceived notions and you sorta need to just trust your feet too.
The Infinideck in particular is great at moving exactly along the X/Y plane, but not to great if you're going at a diagonal.
Omni treadmills are a neat idea, but it's America spending a fortune developing a pen that writes in space while Russian astronauts use a pencil.
Just having a low friction surface with low friction shoes and a belt support is by far the better solution. Quieter, safer, and can be miniaturized for the consumer level, as they're doing with the Kat Walk mini:
I know it's not the point of your post, but that anecdote is one of my things. You don't take pencils in space, because combustible graphite is not something you want flaking off in a delicate environment.
Omni treadmills are a neat idea, but it's America spending a fortune developing a pen that writes in space while Russian astronauts use a pencil.
Just having a low friction surface with low friction shoes and a belt support is by far the better solution. Quieter, safer, and can be miniaturized for the consumer level, as they're doing with the Kat Walk mini:
I know it's not the point of your post, but that anecdote is one of my things. You don't take pencils in space, because combustible graphite is not something you want flaking off in a delicate environment.
It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
Warframe/Steam: NFyt
Steam just put on a Spring VR sale. Lots of titles on sale. I'm eyeballing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and Raw Data and Space Pirate Trainer.
How are these games? Also what else should I be looking at, keeping in mind I have no money haha
Space Pirate Trainer is a little basic, but it's also a fuckin' jam. It was the first game that convinced me of the technology, and it is always, always fun.
Steam just put on a Spring VR sale. Lots of titles on sale. I'm eyeballing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and Raw Data and Space Pirate Trainer.
How are these games? Also what else should I be looking at, keeping in mind I have no money haha
Space Pirate Trainer is a little basic, but it's also a fuckin' jam. It was the first game that convinced me of the technology, and it is always, always fun.
It's a great workout too, if you have the space! You'll be doing crazy dodging in no time, and it's one of the most fun ways to work up a sweat.
Steam just put on a Spring VR sale. Lots of titles on sale. I'm eyeballing Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and Raw Data and Space Pirate Trainer.
How are these games? Also what else should I be looking at, keeping in mind I have no money haha
Raw Data is pretty solid if you like arena fighting. The levels start off pretty small, but generally stay moderately contained (outside of one sprawling level that involves a train). The four playable characters are pretty unique, but there's a (fairly shallow) progression system and various doodads to collect to improve replay value.
Keep Talking is phenomenal, in or out of VR. You do need friends, it helps if they're local (or at least local to each other), but they don't need VR.
Of the other games on sale, SUPERHOT VR is pretty much universally recommended. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Gorn except that the promotional videos about smashing up your real life space should be taken seriously.
+3
Drake ChambersLay out my formal shorts.Registered Userregular
Of the other games on sale, SUPERHOT VR is pretty much universally recommended. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Gorn except that the promotional videos about smashing up your real life space should be taken seriously.
I've been waffling on Gorn forever because I have a general aversion to Early Access titles, no matter how awesome they look. Gorn is really tempting though.
What are peoples thoughts re: amount of content and early-access-ness?
Looking at that Steam VR sale made me realize that a) there's kind of a ridiculous amount of shooting galleries, b) VR games are really pricey, and c) they don't seem to be getting that big of a discount on sale.
Of the other games on sale, SUPERHOT VR is pretty much universally recommended. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Gorn except that the promotional videos about smashing up your real life space should be taken seriously.
I've been waffling on Gorn forever because I have a general aversion to Early Access titles, no matter how awesome they look. Gorn is really tempting though.
What are peoples thoughts re: amount of content and early-access-ness?
It's $15 and I've played it for 7 hours. There are six or seven bosses right now; you fight in an arena until you unlock a new boss, then fight the boss, then repeat. The weapons are varied and awesome; you have to complete certain challenges (in the arena) to permanently unlock them. Otherwise, you have to scavenge them from the enemies. Once they're unlocked, you get access to a special mode where you have to complete objectives (and survive) with the weapons, which are pretty fun. There are also a half dozen gauntlet types, including crossbows and grappling hooks.
What they have is solid, but you'll burn through it in ... probably five or six hours. Then you'll fire it back up for an hour or two every time new content is added, which is fairly regularly.
Of the other games on sale, SUPERHOT VR is pretty much universally recommended. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Gorn except that the promotional videos about smashing up your real life space should be taken seriously.
I've been waffling on Gorn forever because I have a general aversion to Early Access titles, no matter how awesome they look. Gorn is really tempting though.
What are peoples thoughts re: amount of content and early-access-ness?
It's $15 and I've played it for 7 hours. There are six or seven bosses right now; you fight in an arena until you unlock a new boss, then fight the boss, then repeat. The weapons are varied and awesome; you have to complete certain challenges (in the arena) to permanently unlock them. Otherwise, you have to scavenge them from the enemies. Once they're unlocked, you get access to a special mode where you have to complete objectives (and survive) with the weapons, which are pretty fun. There are also a half dozen gauntlet types, including crossbows and grappling hooks.
What they have is solid, but you'll burn through it in ... probably five or six hours. Then you'll fire it back up for an hour or two every time new content is added, which is fairly regularly.
Of the other games on sale, SUPERHOT VR is pretty much universally recommended. I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Gorn except that the promotional videos about smashing up your real life space should be taken seriously.
I've been waffling on Gorn forever because I have a general aversion to Early Access titles, no matter how awesome they look. Gorn is really tempting though.
What are peoples thoughts re: amount of content and early-access-ness?
It's $15 and I've played it for 7 hours. There are six or seven bosses right now; you fight in an arena until you unlock a new boss, then fight the boss, then repeat. The weapons are varied and awesome; you have to complete certain challenges (in the arena) to permanently unlock them. Otherwise, you have to scavenge them from the enemies. Once they're unlocked, you get access to a special mode where you have to complete objectives (and survive) with the weapons, which are pretty fun. There are also a half dozen gauntlet types, including crossbows and grappling hooks.
What they have is solid, but you'll burn through it in ... probably five or six hours. Then you'll fire it back up for an hour or two every time new content is added, which is fairly regularly.
Resolve... weakening...
You can flip off the crowd. They'll throw rocks at you if you do.
Posts
Actually this is definitely something to point out as well. As old as it is, Skyrim (like all Bethesda games) was never well known for being optimized, so the fact that it can run at 90 FPS in VR when pancake Skyrim sometimes struggled to do 60 FPS speaks to them having done a lot of work on graphics optimization.
Joshua Bell is her very favorite living violinist, so when she heard that this thing existed she was willing to give it a shot just to see him play something she hadn't seen before. So I get her set up, make sure she can see well, etc. I'm watching on the TV and "driving" (all two buttons you can press - "go" and "stop") via the controller.
The experience is a seated, static VR recording with Mr. Bell standing front and center, pianist off to your left, studio control room behind you, but the Air Studio is actually in a beautiful old cathedral with a giant pipe organ on the back wall, huge arched galleries, etc. I fire it up and my wife watches the whole thing (it's just one Hungarian Dance, so only a few minutes long) and I notice on the TV that she's just ...looking straight ahead. The viewport moves just a tiny bit with her head, but it's like she thinks she's watching TV, looking at the "screen" in "front" of her.
Song ends, she says "Neat." and starts to get up. "Nonono", I say, "wait. Watch it again." I fire it up again. "Now, look ...around."
I see her turn to see the piano. "WHOA!", she says. She looks around more. She looks up.
"Ooooooooh, you can be in the church", she says. The whole rest of the recording she is looking around slowly, taking in all the details of the arches, the windows, the ancient parquet floor.
So uh, what's the best way to get stuff like VR architecture tours on a PSVR? That seems to be the killer app for her.
Your Ad Here! Reasonable Rates!
Not that this answers your specific question, but National Geographic Museum currently has a multimedia exhibit, which includes an Oculus Rift tour of their restoration project of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I'm buy everything I can off of Steam, though. Part of it is because a lot of the best sales are bundles, and you only get a discount for owned titles if you have them on the Oculus Store (naturally), while I bought everything on Steam before Oculus started approaching feature parity. And part of it is that the Oculus Store is still locked to the Rift, while SteamVR supports the Vive, Rift and WMR. I don't even know if Oculus is going to have a second PC headset.
I still don't understand why Oculus doesn't put patch notes on the update. They have a place for it, and most everyone else's apps include notes there, but the system updates and Facebook Spaces are the two that continually come up without patch notes. Instead they apparently want you to go to their forums to find patch notes; I don't like their forums. They don't show the date created or last updated for threads, and I feel they don't do enough to moderate against fanboyism and a clique attitude. And I guess they only use their blog for marketing. But really the patch notes link on the update seems like the obvious place.
Watch my music videos
Just having a low friction surface with low friction shoes and a belt support is by far the better solution. Quieter, safer, and can be miniaturized for the consumer level, as they're doing with the Kat Walk mini:
Neither the Kat Walk nor the Infiniadeck look ideal, but it's exciting to see what people are coming up with.
Watch my music videos
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
Their website seems to position them primarily as supplying commercial arcades and the like.
I used one of the low friction dealies (omni, i think) at PAX, and it was nothing like walking - it felt more like scooting around on a rolling chair. You couldn't really stand upright, so you just kinda let the harness support you and shuffle around with your feet. I'm hopeful that the treadmill is more natural to stand still in, though it does seem like it would be awkward to have the ground moving under me as a I walk.
I imagine it feels similar to walking on ice, in which case you generally take smaller steps anyway. Yes they both seem less than ideal, but of the two, low friction seems way more practical. That bit of judder you get as the omni treadmill recenters you after you stop moving alone seems massively unsettling.
The Infinideck in particular is great at moving exactly along the X/Y plane, but not to great if you're going at a diagonal.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
https://www.roadtovr.com/kat-walk-mini-pre-orders-start-tomorrow-1500-full-price-set-3000/
More on the Infinideck
I know it's not the point of your post, but that anecdote is one of my things. You don't take pencils in space, because combustible graphite is not something you want flaking off in a delicate environment.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/
On topic: I like the idea, but I'm not sure how practical it is. Is this supposed to be just for an arcade environment?
Likely for arcades and those who have a ton of space and money.
Also, finally, a release date (may 1)
About time.
Warframe/Steam: NFyt
https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimvr/comments/8cchgo/introducing_dragonborn_speaks_naturally_speech/?st=jg60evq1&sh=71c8c332
Basically, full voice support for speaking quest dialog lines.
It's early access on steam, psvr release is coming later apparently. They have said it's coming though (and it is the largest install base).
I'll be getting it May 1st,even if the music isn't quite too my taste.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
There goes a "unique selling point" from that game I still want to make...
Also, I want to try this :
https://uploadvr.com/alien-descent-four-player-location-based-vr-experience/
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
How could they not make it May 4? What a wasted fucking opportunity.
Still, can’t wait for this.
Oculus: TheBigDookie | XBL: Dook | NNID: BigDookie
How are these games? Also what else should I be looking at, keeping in mind I have no money haha
Space Pirate Trainer is a little basic, but it's also a fuckin' jam. It was the first game that convinced me of the technology, and it is always, always fun.
It's a great workout too, if you have the space! You'll be doing crazy dodging in no time, and it's one of the most fun ways to work up a sweat.
Keep Talking is phenomenal, in or out of VR. You do need friends, it helps if they're local (or at least local to each other), but they don't need VR.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
I've been waffling on Gorn forever because I have a general aversion to Early Access titles, no matter how awesome they look. Gorn is really tempting though.
What are peoples thoughts re: amount of content and early-access-ness?
What they have is solid, but you'll burn through it in ... probably five or six hours. Then you'll fire it back up for an hour or two every time new content is added, which is fairly regularly.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Resolve... weakening...
The rocks can then be used as a weapon.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Thanks for the heads up, by the way. I think I'll grab Audioshield finally.
Does anyone have any opinions on the RPG-ish titles? Like Vanishing Realms or In Death?