General VR and AR chinwag - The Bear and Badger

SpaceGazelle

I suppose if the resolution is just Vive Pro standards that would be ok if they were using other tech to lessen the SDE. Everyone is different but I think it's the SDE that bothers me the most.

Anyway, this is a list of things that they've hopefully tackled with the Vive Index.

God rays

I really hate these things. What's the point in having deep OLED blacks in Elite Dangerous if the cockpit is awash with God rays? They really break the immersion for me because it's really obvious you're viewing the world through a lens.

Tiny sweet spot

Moving your neck to look around is unnatural and a pain in the arse. Again, it's like viewing a world through a thing and breaks immersion

Comfort

I hope this thing is light. One thing the Rift S seems to be doing right is the halo headband like the PSVR. This doesn't have one so I'm hoping it's better/lighter than the Vive Audio Strap, which was ok(ish) but not a patch on halo design.

What it does appear to have are holes for ventilation. At least that's what I hope they are, and not for cooling fans for some extra CPU.

Upgradability

This does look like it's going to be a thing as there's a sort of N64 expansion hole on the front complete with USB port. Future wireless tracking module?

If this is expensive I'll buy it anyway if it's good enough. I just want to play high res ED for a few years and this might be the one.

SpaceGazelle

Why does the headset come with a power adapter? The knuckles come with USB charging cables as expected but a power plug for the headset?

voices

To power the portals?

isanbard

Powered breakout cable box a bit like the Vive.. but with it's own power requirements? Not enough juice from the 'tether' alone for all the magic Valve pixiedust?

Edit: With that gaping maw it doesn't half make me think of a Predator too.. Arnie said it best, "What the hell are you???"

voices

I wonder if it's something boring like they wanted to make it compatible with usb 2.0, but it doesn't deliver enough power, so they just bolted on a power pack. Or maybe the screens are incredibly bright.

SpaceGazelle

I suppose the PSVR comes with one for extra grunt in the extra box thing. Might explain why the min req are so low.

djchump

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/4/18296200/zelda-mario-vr-nintendo-labo-switch

SpaceGazelle

Good Lord.

SpaceGazelle

So Reddit has been busy. Seems Index refers to index of refraction, and the patent is here:

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bf/96/3e/a6a94ed8109fd1/US20180081092A1.pdf

Seemingly it can use micro displays to give huge FOV and very clear images (no god rays etc).

Some of these micro displays are insane, and 4K has been a thing for a while now.

https://www.roadtovr.com/kopin-unveils-lightning-2k-x-2k-120hz-oled-microdisplay-mobile-vr/

My hype levels are going to need medication.

SpaceGazelle

Also this, just for general future VR hype.

https://www.roadtovr.com/varjo-bionic-display-headset-is-a-breathtaking-preview-of-vr-future/

isanbard

All very exciting possibilities! Whoop Woop!!

Only beef in the ointment is the machine required to power such a display at the minute. You'd need a DS level ultra monster to get that kind of thing stable? Maybe Valve magic time?

Roll on the end o' the month!

SpaceGazelle

Yeah the min specs are weird. A 970? mmmm

SpaceGazelle

The HP Reverb looks great. That's 4K per eye and needs a 1080 min.

voices

SpaceGazelle wrote:

Yeah the min specs are weird. A 970? mmmm

I am wondering if they're doing something funky to drive the resolution. I'm guessing not eye-tracking, so who knows what those clever people at Valve have been doing other than Steam and hats recently. Maybe it shoots lasers directly into your brain.

djchump

Wireless and eye-tracking would be neat: https://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2019/04/psvr-2/

SpaceGazelle

All VR should be pretty amazing in 2 years time and Sony do it brilliantly.

mistercrayon

The Real VR quantum leap will be face cooling and sweatiness reduction imo.

Diluted Dante

Turn the radiators off.

SpaceGazelle

New Valve headset to address this somewhat, hopefully. Think it's a lot lighter.

mistercrayon

Diluted Dante wrote:

Turn the radiators off.

If anything radiators have low effect as the goggles provides an insulating effect.

SpaceGazelle

Boneworks and Knuckles looks great.

SpaceGazelle

Final Knucles update before launch seems to have sorted out some issues. Should be interesting to see how finger gesturing is used in games.

b0r1s

Surely someone’s got the concert pianist app ready.

poprock

Finger guns in Spider-Man VR.

isanbard

SpaceGazelle wrote:

Final Knucles update before launch seems to have sorted out some issues. Should be interesting to see how finger gesturing is used in games.

Ay.. looks very nice but that vid is badly synced so it makes it a bit hard to watch.

I've heard that some folks still find them a touch.. not quite uncomfortable but.. not as nice to hold as the Touches apparently. The bit you grip is just a longish simple sort of stick and not sculpted in much of any way. Not a huge thing by any stretch and maybe a result of needing a flat baseline for the tracking? but the function looks great. I really want to see what the Valve goblins have been beavering away on to show them off.

Not long now..

SpaceGazelle

I've revised my expectations down a bit now the hype train has lost it's new smell. I'm not expecting massive ppi, but I think the new optics might make it feel like the res bump is a lot higher, especially if it can mitigate the screen door effect.

I know it's boring but if they can make the headset really comfy/light that would make a huge difference for day to day gaming, especially if the Valve games are a deep AAA experience. Newell has been quoted as saying he's spending many hours a day in VR, and he's really quite fat, so hopefully there's also some fog/sweat solution built in, like ventilation holes.

The other thing is the games. Those three Valve games to be more exact. Surely they wouldn't do an Orange Box and have them all bundled in? One can dare to dream.

So, realistic case scenario:

Comfy and light and cool for many hours of those sweet Valve games.
Really good games that make use of awesome Knuckles controllers.
130 fov with modest Vive Pro resolution bump, but improved optics/screen tech that makes the res seem much higher, but also give a stronger feeling of presence due to improved sweet spot/ lack of god rays/ no distortion/ no SDE etc
Reasonable price, although the Knuckles controllers alone surely won't be cheap. Cost price maybe.
At least one truly amazing Valve game. This alone would be a hell of a thing - a sytem seller for VR.

This is like waiting for Christmas again when you're eight.

SpaceGazelle

isanbard wrote:

Ay.. looks very nice but that vid is badly synced so it makes it a bit hard to watch.

Here's a better, slower example.

There's a new Valve Index subreddit btw.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/

SpaceGazelle

There was a similar thing posted in the PC thread but I didn't realise it could cope with VR.

SpaceGazelle

One week to go.....

b0r1s

So I’m sure you’ll say it was really stupid but have just bought a Rift setup. I know the Valve thing is soon but rumoured price is $750 which will equate to £750 so that’s a no go for me right now.

At £350 the Rift feels like a bargain. Genuinely impressed.

Only niggles?

It’s tight with the specs on.
Elite Dangerous won’t load. Crashed on both Steam and Oculus versions.
The Steam integration forced through Oculus Home isn’t the best.

Howdy, Stranger!

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