[Virtual Reality] 2: Electric Butterloo

Jragghen

I think I have that same motherboard, actually - yeah, with the external antenna, I've had ZERO issues with my bluetooth connectivity with the controllers.

Thirith

GSM wrote: »

First reviews of that Quest exclusive Hitman game are in, and... wow, it's actually somehow worse than I expected, and my expectations were already at rock-bottom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWx6XUhIH0o

edit: watching more of this video, seems that the new developers got all the interactions and UI/UX right for a VR game, but couldn't manage the visuals, even after taking a heavily stylized approach. They'd have better spent the dev time if these people had been set to work on the PC codebase, honestly.

On Twitter, the guy says that the Quest Hitman suffers from way more than graphical issues. He mentioned that so many of the interactions that in a VR game ought to be done with your hands are simply button presses. I've not watched any videos, but he's definitely disappointed with the game because of the gameplay, not the graphics. (Edit: He says as much in the video.)

Krathoon

I am getting this PSVR charging stand because my other one kind of sucks and I lost the power adapter.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B5WNBZN

I need to mess around with it some and gather any exclusive games I may have missed. I do feel like playing the Astro Bot game.

Really, my Quest 3 kind of beats this old VR out.

Krathoon

This game is kind of awkward to play sitting down. I don't know what they were thinking.
https://www.oculus.com/star-wars-tales-from-the-galaxys-edge/

GSM

Krathoon wrote: »

This game is kind of awkward to play sitting down. I don't know what they were thinking.
https://www.oculus.com/star-wars-tales-from-the-galaxys-edge/

I kind of love the fact that they left the Quest 2 promo on that page, but the dynamic price listing, advertising speak, and delisting all conspired to produce this trainwreck:

Thirith

I don't think it's likely to happen, for many reasons, but I wish that they'd get the active support of the VR modding community to make Hitman the great VR game it could definitely be. I've not heard much about modders working on the game, but since it's not in a well-known, well-supported engine I'd think it's much more difficult for modders to do their thing. IOI could get some goodwill back after these two disastrous outings into VR if they worked with the people they disappointed most, and the VR modding scene has already shown that it can professionalize itself, with Flat2VR Studios.

Karoz

Humble VR bundle all for $15

Has Pistol Whip and Synth Riders in top Tier, Ragnarock in the $12 tier

templewulf

Has anyone tried VR lens inserts with frequent swapping?

The consensus seems to be around VR optician or lens lab, but I'm curious if the magnetic attachment framework from Reloptix would help with a multi user household

McFodder

I've got Reloptix lenses for my PSVR2, got prescription lenses for myself and plano (non prescription) lenses for when anyone else wants to have a go. Magnetic attachment makes it a piece of cake to swap, no regrets.

GSM

First new headset in a while:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abyeII2Aj0E
https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-focus-vision/overview/

Price is one thousand dollars, so there's that.

Jragghen

If that auto-focus thing works as advertised, that could be a big deal for places with multiple users

Satsumomo

Thread, I'm having an issue with certain games in VR where everything just feels a little too big.

For example, in Into the Radius, doors are huge. The ground is accurately at feet level, but when I get close to a door, I am barely above the middle of it. People tower over me.

I've had this issue in more than one game, but I've googled this and I can't find any info about it. Is it an error with the game itself? I'm playing with a Rift S.

Zetx

Apologies for being vague, but I think the issue you're describing relates to something with calibration of your headset? If you were using an Index I would say it was cuz where the base stations "think" you are and where you "actually" are were different in some sort of way (math? relativity?) that everything appears bigger/zoomed in.

Anyway, I guess I'm suggesting you recalibrate your headset?

Satsumomo

Yeah I've been thinking about nuking my Windows install anyways, but it's weird that most games are fine, it's just some that this happens.

templewulf

McFodder wrote: »

I've got Reloptix lenses for my PSVR2, got prescription lenses for myself and plano (non prescription) lenses for when anyone else wants to have a go. Magnetic attachment makes it a piece of cake to swap, no regrets.

Ooh, that's just what I wanted to hear. If you're happy with it, then I'll go that route. Thanks for the advice! 🙏

templewulf

GSM wrote: »

First new headset in a while:
...

Price is one thousand dollars, so there's that.

Ooh, thanks for the heads up!

Eye, face, and hand-tracking are all big pluses, but fresnel lenses and an LCD screen for that price + DP kit is a bit rough

I'm going to try compromising with a middle-priced device (PSVR2) so that if Valve releases something in the next couple of years, I won't feel completely irresponsible if I upgrade

lazegamer

The hand tracking is the biggest feature for me. I just want more options besides Meta, their bullshit support for older sets and the ever present threat of the walled garden, but they're so much cheaper because of all that cash they're willing to use to subsidize the cost.

GSM

okay what the actual fuck


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7dQzZk_FKU


I am blown away by the schizophrenic decision making going on over at IOI. Hyping up the original PCVR release only to publish a woefully inadequate port with severe bugs, going dead silent for two whole years, announcing and releasing an even more woefully inadequate Meta Quest port by a third party, and then... this????

Look at that trailer. It is nothing but showing each specific thing the PC players complained about. VR interactions, physical reloads, functional scopes, the ability to use both hands. And then... no word on whether or not any of this will make it to the PC. Absolutely maddening.

Thirith

Yeah, I don't get it either. Hitman VR has amazing potential, but they've now shown twice that they'll half-ass the execution (ba-dum tishh!). If they get it right now, fantastic, but the Meta version didn't exactly give the impression that they're learning from their mistakes - and if they get it right but then don't use what they've learned for the messed-up earlier versions, they'll lose what goodwill they still have (or, more likely, they'll find out what it means to have negative goodwill).

The Wolfman

Isn't that Quest version made by a different developer than IOI? Quickly looking it up, I'm getting a credit of XR Games. And the whole reason it looks dumpy is because it pretty much has to run on a Quest, and I guess said developer is kind of shit.

I played all of 3 on PSVR, and it was fine. I know one of the big early issues with the PSVR2 was that there was no easy upgrade pipeline which is why there was no backwards compatibility. Developers would have to actually put work into upgrading. I always kind of hoped IOI would properly upgrade the VR mode. Seems like they are, they're the ones actually doing the work, and actually giving it proper fancy VR controls. I don't see what the issue is. Unless it's that there's no proper PC version, which... I thought there always was one.

Thirith

You're right, it was ported by a different team - but that doesn't change at least my impression that the handling of Hitman VR is pretty schizophrenic. The Quest version wasn't made in a vacuum, there was plenty of feedback (or rather criticism) of the PC version. And while the graphics of the Quest version are apparently pretty bad, there's plenty beside graphics that received criticism, and a lot of that was already criticised in the PC version.

The Wolfman

That criticism, while valid, also seems to be all at the feet of a shitty developer. I'd ask how they got ahold of Hitman in the first place, but then I remembered that IOI is now an independent publisher in full control of Hitman, no longer under the thumb of Eidos or S-E. I wonder if they pawned VR development off to this group, because they themselves should be busy with that James Bond game they're making. A lesson they appear to have learned since they've taken control of this themselves and are actually making it proper good.

templewulf

I put in some time with the PSVR2 on PC, and my initial impressions are mixed, leaning positive.

Pros:

• ~600USD is so expensive for a "good price", but it's reasonable compared to the 900+USD of PiMax Crystal Light or Vive Vision
• OLED screen is fantastic. The black levels and contrasts are especially amazing in Tetris Effect. The upgrade from Vive to PSVR2 is unfathomable!
• I worried that Sony controllers would be too small, but they actually fit super well in my large hands.
• The headstrap shape and adjustable "scope" are very handy. It's much easier to get a headset mounted onto your head securely, then adjust the distance of the lenses instead of having to smoosh the Vive into your face.

Cons:

• If you pull the scope out so that it doesn't clank your glasses into the HMD lenses, the sweet spot becomes noticeably smaller. I think the Reloptix lenses are going to be mandatory for me.
• Coming from the HTC Vive, the tracking is pretty middling. I replaced the Vive with an inside-out HMD specifically because we didn't want deal with base stations, but the downgrade is noticeable.
• Performance is also not where I expected it to be. I get some occasional stuttering on a 3080. It might be PC configuration rather than the headset, but it's something I never had to consider before.
• I find myself missing the Valve knuckles, especially with throwing motions in Super Hot. But comparing them to the most advanced, experimental controllers is barely a con.
• The audio is just an audio jack with a pack-in set of earbuds with a custom frame to hold it in place. They're fine, they work, but they're quite lackluster. You can use your own, of course, but that's yet another accessory you have to buy to bring it up to par.

Edit: Added a bullet point for audio

Karoz

Tried the new games acquired in the Humble Bundle Rhythm VR pack and wanted to give a verdict on the new acquisitions

Audio Trip: Probably the most "basic" of them but it's a fusion of Beat Saber and Synth Riders and does a good job moving your body. Definitely will be doing more of this one. It does want a larger work area and I can see why as I ended up punching some shelves one time.

Power Beats VR: While the appearance seems even more basic, this one measure how strong you're punching objects and various other exercise metrics though I think you need to make an account to get everything going. Really good stuff, gets you moving and challenging in its own way.

Spin Rhtyhm XD can be played in both VR and regular and it shows. Stick to the regular, its not all that enthralling in VR and the controls are finicky. At the end each match it would go into moving the whole playing field so my second attempt the play area was way ahead of me. May try again in 2D.

Drums Rock: the one I was looking forward to since it gives more rock variety than Ragnarock. Well first you should either reposition the drums for standing or have a chair without arm rests cause they'll get in the way like a regular drum. I had a hard time seeing and thus hitting the drums to take down the demons (did I mention you're a drummed dragged to hell and fighting off demons in a story mode? Big Brutal Legend vibes). However, the frustration grows because the game wants to empower you to do neat stick tricks like throwing the stick into the drum or flipping it at an opportune time to again get style and thus higher scores. But the problem was I'd usually end up dropping a stick, especially on the easy difficulty where one is idle for awhile so when I'd go to finally hit a beat, my hand would be empty. Really frustrating! I really want to like this game, will probably give it another shot but man I feel like I'm fighting the game while still learning. Maybe I just need to further modify controls or something but I still couldn't get why I was dropping a stick so frequently.

GSM

I have a copy of Batman Arkham VR on Steam. I could have bought it on the Meta (then Oculus) storefront at the time I got it, but then I wouldn't have it today.

You see, Meta has delisted Batman Arkham VR from their storefront, which happens on plenty of storefronts, but they also de-authorized it from everybody's Meta accounts.

They're offering store credit to anybody who raises a ruckus on their support system, for what that's worth (apparently 20 bucks, regardless of what you paid for it).

Feels validating, having chosen to never buy anything on that storefront in all the years I've had my headset. Never trusted them further than I could throw them, and I'm pretty bad at throwing stuff.

Dirty

Well, with your bad knee, GSM, you shouldn't throw anybody.

Dhalphir

if you don't want a Facebook account there is basically no good headset right now, right? at least, not one to be buying brand new and keeping for a while.

JayKaos

The vive vision or PSVR2 w/ adapter seem to be the best bets right now for PC VR stuff, could wait to see if Valve releases a new one but those rumors have been circling forever so who knows if that's real or not.

GSM

Dirty wrote: »

Well, with your bad knee, GSM, you shouldn't throw anybody.

Is this where I say "but I don't have a bad knee" and then you shatter my kneecap with a shovel?

Dirty

GSM wrote: »

Dirty wrote: »

Well, with your bad knee, GSM, you shouldn't throw anybody.

Is this where I say "but I don't have a bad knee" and then you shatter my kneecap with a shovel?

https://youtu.be/mHa1zTLrXO8?si=lqjl1-uXiF0v5fh8

templewulf

Dhalphir wrote: »

if you don't want a Facebook account there is basically no good headset right now, right? at least, not one to be buying brand new and keeping for a while.

You *technically* don't need a FB acct anymore, but there's nothing stopping them from changing their minds

I opted for the PSVR2 as a medium budget kit, but if you have unlimited money, PiMax, Varjo, and Vive's new thing are all options.

Satsumomo

Was in Japan the past two weeks, and I found some used PSVR2's as low as $300. One of them was just missing the light filter, and the other was missing some cables. I didn't end up buying them, but it sure was tempting.

I also got to test the Quest 3 at a store and wow, it's an insane jump in quality compared to the Rift S I've been using lately.

Krathoon

The strap on the Quest 3 is a piece of crap. It makes the weight of the headset press down on your face. It will make your face hurt and stress you out.
I got a better one on Amazon that actually counterbalances the headset and puts no pressure on your face.

Krathoon

I got the new Batman game. I was going to try to get a discount, but they made it a pain in the ass to get one now. You have to follow the person giving it and they have to follow you.

Thirith

I played about half an hour of Arkham Shadow yesterday, and it's impressive how well they manage to translate the Arkham formula onto a standalone VR headset. The graphics may not be Arkham Knight quality, but they've impressive, and the game has these little immersion-increasing details (e.g. how your hands interact with the world) that are still missing from too many VR games, and it implements them well.

I'm also hearing very good things about the upcoming Metro game. Here's hoping 2024 will give VR the boost it needs; I'm a big fan of what modders have been doing, but IMO the medium still needs some high-profile successes to survive.

McFodder

Metro is getting good reviews, even from a bunch of places that don't generally cover VR games which is nice to see! Push Square have given it a 9 out of 10.

Thirith

Has anyone here got one of the BOBOVR straps for the Quest 3 and a B100 battery pack? I got one, but it's been largely unused for a couple of months due to summer and the room where I can use VR relatively freely being filled with boxes for a while. It now seems that the B100 no longer reacts when I try to charge it, which is a bother. Has anyone had similar experiences?

Dratatoo

Athenor wrote: »

Today I decided to do an upgrade sweep on my PS5, and then finally try to hook up my PSVR2 on my PC. Lots of P's there.

I didn't have an HDMI 1.4 cable that I was aware of, so I needed to pick that up.

I then didn't get any noticable feedback from Windows 11 that the device was plugged in and detected.

It took me a little bit to figure out how to pair the controllers, but eventually I got it.

And when I went to plug in my headset... Nothing. Nada. That is, until I realized I was plugging in the completely wrong cable.

So good news, I can see SteamVR, and the head tracking works really well. There's some pretty convincing shadows and depth of field and it is as smooth as my PS5.

Bad news, the controllers are super jittery and not doing well in detection. In fact, I think the cameras on the PSVR2 are having a difficult time tracking my room. Not entirely sure what's up there. I don't think it is a bluetooth issue, but I'm not really sure.

I hate that my eyes are so wide apart, and just barely at the edge of the sweet spot.

I think the PSVR2 needs to be operated in a well lit room - but it’s strange that it works with your PS5 and not on PC.

Stupid

Not just "well lit" but a "well lit, high contrast patterned" room. I have jittery headset tracking in my very bright lounge room, because the walls and carpet are very nearly the same colour and for some viewing angles the 'outside' cameras can't see anything well enough to track motion.

Dirty

Man, I never thought my decision years ago to go with gray flooring and yellow walls would pay off when I got my PSVR2 last year. They all said I was crazy, but who's crazy now?!