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[jabberwocker]

313km are a lot farther in Europe than in those stretches of nothingness you call "the country" in the US
But yeah, I probably shouldn't worry too much.

Mine was half way across the US 2 hours ago, plane just landed and already at sorting for delivery tonight, so I guess anything is possible.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

My dad used to play video games back in the atari 2600 days, and he would play Sega Master System games with me, but as games got more than 2 buttons he sort of fell off and found them too difficult to try. Put a modern Xbox controller in his hand and he is completely lost - analog sticks in general make no sense to him. It was in this context that, about a year ago, I invited him over to my house and let him try Elite Dangerous with my HOTAS rig. He put on the headset and played a bit, and when he took off the headset he thought he had been playing for like 10 minutes when he'd really played for 45.

Well, today I invited him over to try the HTC Vive. The controls were immediately understandable to him, even the concept of teleporting. He played many games, including hover junkers and his favorite, Budget Cuts. He was absolutely enthralled by what he played. When it was all said and done, he thought he had played for maybe 30 or so minutes, when he actually wound up playing 4 and a half hours non-stop. This is the longest video game session my dad has ever done, period. He was shocked he played for that long.

VR is fucking magic. This saturday, I'm bringing a bunch of family over for a BBQ and letting them try this. I can't wait to see my mom and niece and nephews try this.

The vr time dilation thing is fascinating to me, not sure if I really felt it that much from either devkit or Gear, curious to see what it's like coming out of it when I get mine.

313km are a lot farther in Europe than in those stretches of nothingness you call "the country" in the US
But yeah, I probably shouldn't worry too much.

I wouldn't drive that far either, just curious how pickup options normally work for fedex.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

My dad used to play video games back in the atari 2600 days, and he would play Sega Master System games with me, but as games got more than 2 buttons he sort of fell off and found them too difficult to try. Put a modern Xbox controller in his hand and he is completely lost - analog sticks in general make no sense to him. It was in this context that, about a year ago, I invited him over to my house and let him try Elite Dangerous with my HOTAS rig. He put on the headset and played a bit, and when he took off the headset he thought he had been playing for like 10 minutes when he'd really played for 45.

Well, today I invited him over to try the HTC Vive. The controls were immediately understandable to him, even the concept of teleporting. He played many games, including hover junkers and his favorite, Budget Cuts. He was absolutely enthralled by what he played. When it was all said and done, he thought he had played for maybe 30 or so minutes, when he actually wound up playing 4 and a half hours non-stop. This is the longest video game session my dad has ever done, period. He was shocked he played for that long.

VR is fucking magic. This saturday, I'm bringing a bunch of family over for a BBQ and letting them try this. I can't wait to see my mom and niece and nephews try this.

Man, I really wish my dad was still around to be able to experience VR. He also played on the 2600 and the NES, and actually did do some Call of Duty on the Xbox. I think he'd be blown away by this. I remember when I brought my Dreamcast home on launch day and was playing NFL2K, he glanced from a distance and asked, "Who is playing today?" How far we've come since that is ridiculous. I can't wait to get mine and have people over to experience it.

 

[KingSnake]

Taken from Reddit, I think this info might be useful for anybody who wants to try a non standard setup of the lighthouses. You can see a visualization of the range of the lighthouses in SteamVR -> Settings -> Developer -> Room Overview.

 

[Wildstar75]

Some software impressions so far (look back a few pages to see my hardware impressions)

- The Lab: Great way to show off VR. And it's really a lot of fun. I loved the archery tower defense game. It's basically Nintendoland Zelda in VR with real hand tracking. Amazing stuff. I enjoyed the cliff side with the dog so much I just took a seat and sat there and enjoyed the scenery for 10 minutes

- theBlu: Easily worth the ten bucks. Ran fine on my oc 780ti. The deep ocean was my favorite part. Just breathtaking scenery!

-Windlands Mini Golf: Roomscale just makes Minigolf so much better. Being able to walk around and bend down to judge my shot is great. The only thing I didn't like is playing by myself. Online multiplayer with chat would really make this game for me.

-Tilt Bush: Magical really. So surreal. and suprisingly accurate. If only I had artistic talent! Didn't stop me from spending time playing though.

So that's it so far tonight I'll play a lot more. Despite being rough around the edges, the device created magical moments. I'm thrilled to have a holodeck 1.0 in my home.

 

[Krejlooc]

Budget cuts is so funny to watch people play in a group. The funny IRL expressions of panic people have when their carefully planned assassination attempts go awry and they have to dive for cover. My dad killed a robot at one point, and looked up and there was another robot across the room watching him and he basically did that dance from seinfeld:

My sides hurt from laughing. I think Budget Cuts, when it's longer than just a demo, might be VR's first bonafide hit.

 

[jabberwocker]

why is it called budget cuts?

 

[Krejlooc]

Man, I really wish my dad was still around to be able to experience VR. He also played on the 2600 and the NES, and actually did do some Call of Duty on the Xbox. I think he'd be blown away by this. I remember when I brought my Dreamcast home on launch day and was playing NFL2K, he glanced from a distance and asked, "Who is playing today?" How far we've come since that is ridiculous. I can't wait to get mine and have people over to experience it.

haha, my dad has a similar story. We went to the mall so I could buy a VMU for my dreamcast shortly after launch, and he was standing at the counter while I was being rung up. Same exact game, NFL2k, same exact question, "Who's playing today?"

The Vive launch reminds me so fucking much of the dreamcast launch dude. This is the most mind blowing leap forward for tech since 9/9/99.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

why is it called budget cuts?

Robuts...office setting, knives and scissors for weapons...?

 

[newsguy]

why is it called budget cuts?

Cause dey took er jerbs

 

[Tain]

Just freed up at least 7ftx7ft in my living room even though my order's like a month away lol

 

[| Praxis |]

Viveks is taunting me on Steam by restarting Ethan Carter. I'm so jealous.

 

[Krejlooc]

why is it called budget cuts?

I guess because the demo is about trying to get hired at a company or something and everyone is replaced by robots because of budget cuts. Really I'm not sure. The scenario is nonsensical, the enemies aren't super special. It's the actual gameplay that is amazing. It is hands down far and away one of the most realistic feeling games I've ever played.

Last night, a friend of mine came over and was playing the part where you have to walk through the attic. In the game the attic is like 3' tall so you have to crouch and crawl IRL to fit in it. So my friend is literally crawling on my floor in my room, when he comes to another opening leading down into another room. He crawls to the opening and holds his head above the hole... then slams his face into my carpet really hard. It made everyone in the room laugh so hard. Turns out he wanted to peak his head through the hole to make sure no robots were in the room, and forgot that he wasn't actually in the ceiling and that the hole didn't exist lol.

 

[| Praxis |]

313km are a lot farther in Europe than in those stretches of nothingness you call "the country" in the US
But yeah, I probably shouldn't worry too much.

I'm in the UK, it will be OK

 

[Krejlooc]

I finally did a co-op round in Hover Junkers, it was incredibly fun. What was funny is we couldn't get our mics working, so we had to resort to non-verbal communication using our hands... and it totally worked! It was really freaking weird how we could communicate so easily, by pointing or shrugging or things of that sort.

It was also weird how we both kept subconsciously walking around each other, even though we could have logically just walked through each other without fault.

Also fun in the lobby, the same guy and I played a game of catch for like 5 minutes throwing milk jugs back and forth. And I like the way players in that game wave when the round is over, like a VR version of "GG."

These VR experiences are fucking wild. I can't believe this era is upon us.

 

[b0bbyJ03]

Not them obviously but to chime in - as someone mostly tired of seated VR I think HL2 is still a very cool thing to experience on an hmd. The npc gaze focus in particular gives you such an eerie feeling, also the City Scanners coming right up to you to snap a pic tripped me the hell out first time I played it in vr. The scene in the apartments as the Combine roll up outside was incredibly immersive as well. Obviously room scale will give you more but when you have excellent atmosphere and the kind of facial animation Valve has goin on it really elevates the immersion for the medium, even when dealing with standard gamepad. Really hope we get something from the HL universe for Vive sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the response. Sounds like it's still worth experiencing. Can't wait.

As long as the action you are performing isn't a complete abstraction of what's in-game, seated experiences could be just as good

Haven't played a seated game since I went to 90. Will be playing ethan carter today and possibly go back to Mind and try them both standing and seated.

Going from 60 to 90 made a HUGE difference in room scale though. The motion controls were smoother, movement within the game felt just like in real life. Even the IQ felt improved. I was completely awestruck by robot repair when I played it the second time at 90. The attention to detail is out of this world!

Cool, I've only tried the room scale stuff myself but never the seated stuff so I'm really curious about it. Post some impressions after you try it. I'd love to read how it plays.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

Not them obviously but to chime in - as someone mostly tired of seated VR I think HL2 is still a very cool thing to experience on an hmd. The npc gaze focus in particular gives you such an eerie feeling, also the City Scanners coming right up to you to snap a pic tripped me the hell out first time I played it in vr. The scene in the apartments as the Combine roll up outside was incredibly immersive as well. Obviously room scale will give you more but when you have excellent atmosphere and the kind of facial animation Valve has goin on it really elevates the immersion for the medium, even when dealing with standard gamepad. Really hope we get something from the HL universe for Vive sooner rather than later.

I got SOO sick playing HL2 with the DK1.
I had to go to bed.

The feeling of being pulled around without moving (by using the controller) seemed to be what caused me to feel ill.
Obviously the DK1 could have likely been a factor as well.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

My dad used to play video games back in the atari 2600 days, and he would play Sega Master System games with me, but as games got more than 2 buttons he sort of fell off and found them too difficult to try. Put a modern Xbox controller in his hand and he is completely lost - analog sticks in general make no sense to him. It was in this context that, about a year ago, I invited him over to my house and let him try Elite Dangerous with my HOTAS rig. He put on the headset and played a bit, and when he took off the headset he thought he had been playing for like 10 minutes when he'd really played for 45.

Well, today I invited him over to try the HTC Vive. The controls were immediately understandable to him, even the concept of teleporting. He played many games, including hover junkers and his favorite, Budget Cuts. He was absolutely enthralled by what he played. When it was all said and done, he thought he had played for maybe 30 or so minutes, when he actually wound up playing 4 and a half hours non-stop. This is the longest video game session my dad has ever done, period. He was shocked he played for that long.

VR is fucking magic. This saturday, I'm bringing a bunch of family over for a BBQ and letting them try this. I can't wait to see my mom and niece and nephews try this.

That's awesome. I wish I had a dad.

I too cannot wait to show people the Vive. Almost more excited about blowing my Mom's mind with it than trying it myself.

 

[Krejlooc]

What was weird about watching my dad conceptually understand teleporting is that he began to equate the process to "left foot" and "right foot" like he was taking steps. Like, for example, in budget cuts (the game which taught him teleportation) he stayed in the first room a bti and played around until he could comfortably walk by teleporting. He was having trouble understanding that you pull the trigger to fire the ball, then squeeze the shoulder button to take the step. So when he'd pull the ball, he'd say "left foot" IRL, and when he'd squeeze the shoulder button he'd say "right foot" IRL. He did this as he walked around the room for a few minutes and then, after that, it seemed like it conceptually made sense for him. Even though he knew it wasn't actually "left foot right foot" stuff. Like he understood that the ball was traveling and he could peak around corners with it using his hand to look through the portal. But somehow saying "left foot right foot" made him able to walk.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

I got SOO sick playing HL2 with the DK1.
I had to go to bed.

The feeling of being pulled around without moving (by using the controller) seemed to be what caused me to feel ill.
Obviously the DK1 could have likely been a factor as well.

The worst sickness I ever got was from Titans of Space of all things. Even with the cockpit that lateral movement when its whisking you along across a planet to the next destination just destroyed me. Forward movement never really bothered me on most things though.

 

[Krejlooc]

That's awesome. I wish I had a dad.

I too cannot wait to show people the Vive. Almost more excited about blowing my Mom's mind with it than trying it myself.

Thus far it's been a hit with everyone I've seen use it (which admittedly is a small sample size). Girlfriends, wives, gamers, non-gamers, kids, adults... doesn't matter who has tried the vive, they all walk out of the demos giddy.

I'm honestly starting to think that, once these things get demostations in stores, they might explode in popularity faster than most expected.

By contrast, some of the same people I've shown the vive to had tried my DK2 in the past and weren't impressed. One girl who tried my DK2 just a month ago for the first time ever in VR tried the vive yesterday. When she tried my DK2, after the demo was over (I showed her sightline the chair) she asked "Is that all? I expected something better."

Showed her the vive yesterday, she lost her fucking mind over it. It's an enormous leap over the previous VR experiences I've had.

 

[Noogy]

Thus far it's been a hit with everyone I've seen use it (which admittedly is a small sample size). Girlfriends, wives, gamers, non-gamers, kids, adults... doesn't matter who has tried the vive, they all walk out of the demos giddy.

I'm honestly starting to think that, once these things get demostations in stores, they might explode in popularity faster than most expected.

I'm glad you are enjoying showing it off. My DK2 was always a huge hit with family, even if the demos were super rudimentary.

A big reason I ended up ordering a Vive was to share those experiences with my dad as well. I've got a nice 10x15ft space ready for it... now for the long wait for May.

 

[Piggus]

I'm honestly starting to think that, once these things get demostations in stores, they might explode in popularity faster than most expected.

I really hope so. I'm so sick of hearing people who have never tried it say stuff like "hurr durr it's a gimmick just like 3D TVs."

 

[Krejlooc]

I really hope so. I'm so sick of hearing people who have never tried it say stuff like "hurr durr it's a gimmick just like 3D TVs."

I can't compare the vive to anything else. Best thing I can compare it to is to say it's like what it'd be like if the kinect demos actually worked like they did on stage. It's just so... new. Like a brand new type of experience I've never had before.

Keep in mind I've been dicking around with handtracking since the DK1. All this shit is just on another level.

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

Thus far it's been a hit with everyone I've seen use it (which admittedly is a small sample size). Girlfriends, wives, gamers, non-gamers, kids, adults... doesn't matter who has tried the vive, they all walk out of the demos giddy.

I'm honestly starting to think that, once these things get demostations in stores, they might explode in popularity faster than most expected.

By contrast, some of the same people I've shown the vive to had tried my DK2 in the past and weren't impressed. One girl who tried my DK2 just a month ago for the first time ever in VR tried the vive yesterday. When she tried my DK2, after the demo was over (I showed her sightline the chair) she asked "Is that all? I expected something better."

Showed her the vive yesterday, she lost her fucking mind over it. It's an enormous leap over the previous VR experiences I've had.

Are there any known risks for people under the age of 13 using these VR HMDs?

 

[Krejlooc]

Are there any known risks for people under the age of 13 using these VR HMDs?

ask 10 different optometrists and you'll get 10 different answers, ranging from "their eyes will shrivel in their eye sockets" to "It'll give them superhuman vision."

In my experience, kids are a-ok with VR headsets.

 

[jabberwocker]

Its not really a fair question to ask. There isnt alot of proof one way or the other for vr yet.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

Why does the Steam controller not work at all with the Vive? Seems like a weird oversight. Or is it just me?

 

[jabberwocker]

We all may end up like the opi-grab.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

How long is the power cord for each basestation? Trying to map out where to position them due to limited outlets.

 

[Pie and Beans]

The Vive launch reminds me so fucking much of the dreamcast launch dude. This is the most mind blowing leap forward for tech since 9/9/99.

Just needs VR's PSO. Thats what really sent the Dreamcast into "this is the fucking future" territory. "Oh yknow, just playing this online game with 3 people from across the globe and breaking down language barriers with custom emoticons." In the year 2000.

First person to deliver a persistent online world in VR to a great standard gets the crown.

 

[Piggus]

I can't compare the vive to anything else. Best thing I can compare it to is to say it's like what it'd be like if the kinect demos actually worked like they did on stage. It's just so... new. Like a brand new type of experience I've never had before.

Keep in mind I've been dicking around with handtracking since the DK1. All this shit is just on another level.

My only experience is with the DK1, and even though it was really no more than a proof of concept/barf inducer, the potential was very clear. I don't know anyone who used it who thought it wasn't the beginning of a major shift in how we play games.

 

[Arulan]

I tried turning off reprojection in Audioshield, and as expected, that's the only reason my 670 can manage playable. The Lab on the other hand is largely unplayable in the lobby and more demanding demos, but Zortex and archer seem to do well.

 

[Cartman86]

AltSpace VR is some Second Life level of quality, but man is it kind of amazing.

 

[bloodydrake]

Guys, GUYS!!!

Ethan Carter supports the Vive now!!!!

glad to see them and TimeMachine VR adding Vive support so quickly.

 

[belmonkey]

I haven't looked into headset stuff lately, but the Vive can do reprojection of some sort? What does that mean for performance and whatnot?

 

[Compsiox]

Unseen Diplomacy worked really well with my 3.2m x 2.5m space. That's probably the bare minimum. I had to open a real window to hit a button. That added to the experience if you ask me!

 

[| Praxis |]

Those that have it, is there enough room for me to wear my Fidelio X2's or AKG's?

If so I could always buy a much shorter cable.

 

[Cartman86]

Anyone have any luck getting the lighthouses to connect via bluetooth so they auto shutdown. I believe i'm connected, but I don't think they shut off. Unless it takes more than a minute after exiting Steam VR.

 

[viveks86]

The Blu is fantastic! The whale is actually the shortest and least impressive of them all (relatively speaking). The other two were absolutely spellbinding. Is it worth $10? I don't know. It will last 15 minutes or so. But it's the kind of demo you would want EVERYBODY to experience. Just watching everyone's expressions would be worth the asking price. I found myself speaking out loud while there was actually no one else at home. There is some interactivity in the other 2 demoes, so it definitely eases people in as well.

Spoiler

The lighting in the deep ocean demo needs to be there in a horror game. Incredible ambience. I went on all fours to look under a giant bone and yelped when I saw a large white crab at the bottom staring back at me. So good!

Like robot repair, they absolutely nailed the sense of scale.

Cool, I've only tried the room scale stuff myself but never the seated stuff so I'm really curious about it. Post some impressions after you try it. I'd love to read how it plays.

glad to see them and TimeMachine VR adding Vive support so quickly.

Just tried both and no luck. Ethan Carter isn't really working (even though they claim it is). I get a weird blue screen on one side and super jaggy unresponsive menu on the other. No idea why. And Mind still seems to be locked at 60 no matter what i try. Again, no idea. Hope to either get my Rift soon or they add Vive support in pCARS

 

[Dreams-Visions]

any tips to improve focus

sense of scale in Elite is kinda nuts.

 

[lmimmfn]

I finally did a co-op round in Hover Junkers, it was incredibly fun. What was funny is we couldn't get our mics working, so we had to resort to non-verbal communication using our hands... and it totally worked! It was really freaking weird how we could communicate so easily, by pointing or shrugging or things of that sort.

It was also weird how we both kept subconsciously walking around each other, even though we could have logically just walked through each other without fault.

Also fun in the lobby, the same guy and I played a game of catch for like 5 minutes throwing milk jugs back and forth. And I like the way players in that game wave when the round is over, like a VR version of "GG."

These VR experiences are fucking wild. I can't believe this era is upon us.

We're you playing online or locally? presumably online and if so has that been your best social VR experiment to date? i thought VR chat with DK1 and DK2 was freaky weird but in a fantastic social experiment way. Everyone huddling around in a circle when it didnt really matter where you stood etc.

 

[viveks86]

Rose and I... Is that supposed to be a $5 trailer in VR? WTF? Now that's definitely not worth the money.

any tips to improve focus

sense of scale in Elite is kinda nuts.

Get the IPD right. When you start seeing an "8" instead of an "0", bring it back to 0. I found maximum clarity when the top part of the cushion rest on my eye brow and the bottom part rest right below the cheekbone.

 

[Bunta]

Just measured and I have about 12x11 feet of space to work with.

 

[Owlowiscious]

I guess because the demo is about trying to get hired at a company or something and everyone is replaced by robots because of budget cuts. Really I'm not sure. The scenario is nonsensical, the enemies aren't super special. It's the actual gameplay that is amazing. It is hands down far and away one of the most realistic feeling games I've ever played.

Last night, a friend of mine came over and was playing the part where you have to walk through the attic. In the game the attic is like 3' tall so you have to crouch and crawl IRL to fit in it. So my friend is literally crawling on my floor in my room, when he comes to another opening leading down into another room. He crawls to the opening and holds his head above the hole... then slams his face into my carpet really hard. It made everyone in the room laugh so hard. Turns out he wanted to peak his head through the hole to make sure no robots were in the room, and forgot that he wasn't actually in the ceiling and that the hole didn't exist lol.

hes not alone

 

[Bunta]

 

[taoofjord]

If I use an HDMI to connect my tower to the breakout box and then an HDMI to the HMD, how do I also push the feed to the television? Is there a second HDMI output on the breakout box for it?

 

[Mal'ice]

If I use an HDMI to connect my tower to the breakout box and then an HDMI to the HMD, how do I also push the feed to the television? Is there a second HDMI output on the breakout box for it?

You would connect the tv to your computer, then mirror your PC monitor to the TV

 

[PolishQ]

If I use an HDMI to connect my tower to the breakout box and then an HDMI to the HMD, how do I also push the feed to the television? Is there a second HDMI output on the breakout box for it?

There's a minidisplayport on the breakout box that you can use for an alternative input. I used a DVI to minidisplayport cable for the Vive and used my graphic card's HDMI output to go to the TV.

Scratch that, I used a DVI to HDMI cable for the Vive, but you COULD use a displayport to minidisplayport cable as well.

 

[shiftplusone]

Measured my bedroom and if I had desks and only my shelves, I've got about 12x9

Measured my office and because of my drums and hedgehog, I've got about 8.5x7 feet with my desk I'm there right now

Am I good? Should I just abandon any sense of justice and live in my garage which is like 30x25?