I'm very interested in VR as well. My home pc is an I5 with geforce 980 so it should be ready for most of the games. I'm particularly interested in Star Citizen. I'm waiting for the next gen and for the format wars to work out over the next year before I spend the cash.

I did buy a Samsung VR thing to use with my wife's Gear S7 and I enjoy it. Mostly been checking out some of the experience/films stuff and playing a pretty slick game called Crash. I actually bought a bluetooth controller to play with crash some more because I got tired of clicking on the side pad to fire off the balls.

Next gen VR will have to be 4K with a bent screen for perifreal vision. Right now VR is through a pair of screen door binoculars. My PC runs VR fine with a 780 TI and i5. The technology is here for VR but ideal VR is a few years away. Running Oculus on mine. If you're on the fence, Oculus is for people with no place to dedicate a room for VR in their house. Vive is for those with that extra room though you get more gizmos on the Vive like cameras to see where your fingers are. The Vive is to PC as Oculus is to Mac for an analogy.
I barely use mine but better games are coming slowly. I need to get the Oculus Touch. For Oculus I don't see any way of losing track of time, VR isn't comfortable over time.

I've played far more in VR with Touch than I did prior, though I also didn't have much time to play much of any games during that time. I can't imagine losing all sense of time playing anything using Touch, because it's honestly tiring.

The accessories for Vive at CES like the wireless headset adapter and the premium audio band address both the cabling issue and the comfort issue with the Vive. Those two things combined almost make me wish I had gone with the Vive over the Rift. That being said, the current Touch controlllers are far better than the Vive controllers. The wireless Rift prototype looked interesting, but I think I'd be SOL as a current Rift owner since it looks to be a completely self contained system rather than just an upgrade.

I think roomscale is being oversold, because I think something like an omnidirectional treadmill type setup is more practical in the long run.

Max Power said:

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Not to be a wet blanket, but this question is because I'm really interested in others' thoughts. Is anyone worried about how improved VR technology could affect the public?

I ask because I have a friend of mine in the industry and based on some of their studies people can completely lose track of time while immersed in VR. I don't mean like they didn't realize they played for an hour, like losing track of hours of time while in the rabbit hole and have no idea how long they were actually playing.

I haven't been able to play any of the new VR systems so I don't have any first hand knowledge, but I could see that happening. I've watched several of the games available on the Oculus on YouTube, and the technology certainly looks good enough to make people feel like they're in the games rather than a spectator.

But my concern isn't gaming affecting people or other experiences that are short term, but the ability to perhaps use VR to truly escape your reality. Why leave the house to deal with an existence that you feel is lacking when you can plug in and experience whatever world you choose to? I think it's both exciting and kind of frightening at the same time.

Anyway, like I said, just curious.

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Yeah it concerns me too. But I am pretty extreme in general about being leary of technology. I can certainly see what you are describing actually happening for tons of people. Just like I believe social networking online displaces and replaces reality for so many.

I have the Oculus Rift and Touch with 3 sensors running on a PC with a Nvidia 1080 and an i7. Works beautifully!

Favorite games have been:

Arizona Sunshine - Story mode is fun, and the horde mode is fun with friends.

Space Pirate Trainer - high score of 58k, let me know if anyone tops this.

VR Accounting - more of an experience instead of a game, made by the creators of Rick and Morty. Free and worth the 20 minutes figuring it out.

I expect you to die - Campy Spy Puzzle Game. pretty fun to get through and the wife enjoyed it as well.

Keep Talking and No One Explodes - Bomb defusing puzzle game that requires a team of people helping you to disarm a bomb that they cant see and you cant see the instructions. Really fun.

I got the Oculus Touch yesterday. Wow, really cool!

I bought Super Hot which is pretty cool though I almost punched my fist through my bedroom window.

Then decided to pull the trigger on ONWARD via Steam. Wow, it's badass! Y'all gotta get Onward, its basically Counter Strike VR. Realistic guns, you have to actually load your weapon via drop the mag, pick up the mag from your vest, load it in and cock the gun. Not too fond on some of the controls like the thumb sticks, you have to walk with the right thumb stick which I always get thrown off because normal FPS games are left thumb stick to walk.

I'll have to invest in a third sensor when I move in to a new home over the summer.

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GTX 780 Ti
i5
8GB RAM

Pman17 said:

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I got the Oculus Touch yesterday. Wow, really cool!

I bought Super Hot which is pretty cool though I almost punched my fist through my bedroom window.

Then decided to pull the trigger on ONWARD via Steam. Wow, it's badass! Y'all gotta get Onward, its basically Counter Strike VR. Realistic guns, you have to actually load your weapon via drop the mag, pick up the mag from your vest, load it in and cock the gun. Not too fond on some of the controls like the thumb sticks, you have to walk with the right thumb stick which I always get thrown off because normal FPS games are left thumb stick to walk.

I'll have to invest in a third sensor when I move in to a new home over the summer.

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GTX 780 Ti
i5
8GB RAM

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I got a third sensor as a Christmas present and it does indeed help.

Been looking at Onward and think I'll pick it up based on your recommendation.

Is it way too early to start thinking 2nd gen? I'd hate to jump in at the end of this cycle.

Probably still too early to start talking 2nd gen. HTC has been showing tons of add ons for the current Vive like the premium audio band and wireless adapter. Oculus showed of their stand alone unit, but it's completely self-contained and still pretty early.

I'm thinking E3, Xbox will announce some Oculus VR add-on to the Scorpio with roomscale VR. I'm hoping they'll make the desktop Oculus compatible. But betting there will be new hardware made for Xbox Scorpio. Oculus because Xbox is partnered with them. Xbox E3 is gonna be really exciting this year.

Pman17 said:

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I'm thinking E3, Xbox will announce some Oculus VR add-on to the Scorpio with roomscale VR. I'm hoping they'll make the desktop Oculus compatible. But betting there will be new hardware made for Xbox Scorpio. Oculus because Xbox is partnered with them. Xbox E3 is gonna be really exciting this year.

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I didn't know they were going for room scale VR with the Oculus on Xbox, maybe a new use for the kinect?

The added TOUCH controllers for oculus are AWESOME!!! So fun and adds an entirely new dimension to things!

Oculus just dropped the price of the Rift and Touch controllers by $100 each, so $598 for both. Pretty big move.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/1/14779460/oculus-rift-touch-vr-bundle-price-drop-200

tamusc said:

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Oculus just dropped the price of the Rift and Touch controllers by $100 each, so $598 for both. Pretty big move.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/1/14779460/oculus-rift-touch-vr-bundle-price-drop-200

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What? I just bought the Touch! And only get $50 out of the $100 they slashed. That's BS!

Gonna return mine and buy it again! Bought on the 16th and I got a 30 day return policy. Sweet, I can get an extra sensor.

Just got an email for $50 credit from Oculus since I activated the touch within the last 30 days.

Then I'll return it and re-purchase. Sweet!

Read the article, they say the sensor was dropped by $10 and it's safe to say there won't be a next generation rift out anytime soon like in 2 years. Good to get in on it now or just wait for Xbox to show something at E3.

Brought my Touch to Best Buy. They didn't have to have me bring it in just the receipt. They checked the price drop and refunded me $108. If y'all don't have an Elite Membership, I recommend getting one, it's the free rewards program. Grants you 30 day returns, I was past the 15 day return. Phew! Ordered a third sensor!

Robo Recall is out and free in the Oculus Touch store!

Pman17 said:

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Brought my Touch to Best Buy. They didn't have to have me bring it in just the receipt. They checked the price drop and refunded me $108. If y'all don't have an Elite Membership, I recommend getting one, it's the free rewards program. Grants you 30 day returns, I was past the 15 day return. Phew! Ordered a third sensor!

Robo Recall is out and free in the Oculus Touch store!

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Nice!

I got Robo Recall downloaded, but have everything torn down as I'm in the middle of a move. Looking forward to trying it once I'm set up in the new house next weekend as I have an entire room for gaming/VR there.

Rockband VR is pretty cool. I already had Rockband 4 for the Xbox so I was able to use my guitar controller. Used my free $50 credit on the game for buying the Touch Controller right before the price drop. The game plays different from traditional Rockband. Instead of nailing specific notes you just play suggested chord patterns and you can spice it up with different strumming speeds. Seems too easy but I haven't gotten very far. We'll see as I go further in the game. There's also a classic mode if you wanna go back to nailing specific notes but there's no video crowd or band in that mode. Haven't seen any customization either.

Ok - now that VR has been a out for a while and you've had time to play, what are the updated thoughts?

Is it worth it? Is there enough content? Do you guys still use it or is this another flash in the pan idea?

wee_ag said:

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Ok - now that VR has been a out for a while and you've had time to play, what are the updated thoughts?

Is it worth it? Is there enough content? Do you guys still use it or is this another flash in the pan idea?

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It's clearly more than a flash in the pan, but it's still very early. Its enthusiast oriented and basically only at pro and prosumer stages. If you have the money, or the desire or want to jump in ahead of the game I'd say it's finished enough to get. If you've got a hobby or don't have any of the above I'd skip for a few more years. Part of the accessability will come up and you'll see a real jump when the graphics cards can handle run of the mill on your general $600-$1000 laptop. Just a guess but that will probably be 2-3 years at least.

wee_ag said:

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Ok - now that VR has been a out for a while and you've had time to play, what are the updated thoughts?

Is it worth it? Is there enough content? Do you guys still use it or is this another flash in the pan idea?

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You'lll need to upgrade your computer first

aezmvp said:

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wee_ag said:

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Ok - now that VR has been a out for a while and you've had time to play, what are the updated thoughts?

Is it worth it? Is there enough content? Do you guys still use it or is this another flash in the pan idea?

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It's clearly more than a flash in the pan, but it's still very early. Its enthusiast oriented and basically only at pro and prosumer stages. If you have the money, or the desire or want to jump in ahead of the game I'd say it's finished enough to get. If you've got a hobby or don't have any of the above I'd skip for a few more years. Part of the accessability will come up and you'll see a real jump when the graphics cards can handle run of the mill on your general $600-$1000 laptop. Just a guess but that will probably be 2-3 years at least.

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This is a pretty good summary of my thoughts as well. The barrier for entry on the graphics card side has dropped down to the $200 mark from about $400 just a year and a half ago, so that has helped. Oculus slashing their price a few hundred dollars also helps.

The other big thing to keep an eye on is what MS announces at E3 in regards to VR and Scorpio.

Personally, I enjoy my Rift and Touch controllers, but I think broader consumer adoption won't happen until we see truly untethered, high performance experiences. That's going to be possible soon with some Vive add ons and Oculus has already demoed their wireless unit as well (though it's an entirely new system).

Is there a way to purchase a bundle with a non-vr movie and a vr movie? I watched The Martian 3D in the gear vr this weekend but I want the ability to buy a movie and watch it outside vr too.

My guess
Buy the 3D Bluray that comes with the 2D Bluray and Digital Copy
Then rip the 3D Bluray to your computer and convert to a reasonable compressed format and play it on a VR 3D video player app.

This looks fun! Cross play too!

Steam VR coming to Mac

Pman17 said:

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Steam VR coming to Mac

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Are there actually going to be Macs that can run VR without inducing nausea due to ****ty frame rates?

edit - Looks like there is now with a huge update to the Mac Pro with Xeon CPUs and Vega gpus.

Edit - even the new iMacs should be able to if configured correctly

So HTC is struggling... rumor has it they may sell off the Vive

http://www.pcgamer.com/htc-could-be-getting-out-of-the-vr-business

And, discuss.

Wow. A lot of people were initially excited about the partnership with HTC because of the hardware expertise they would add. I wonder if Valve is looking at acquiring the full rights or if they still don't want to deal with all the additional headaches that come with production.

As long as someone with a solid history of consumer electronics hooks up with Valve to continue the legacy of the Vive I don't think it'll matter that much in the end. Personally I find the google rumor listed there interested - I'm surprised that google wants to potentially acquire another failing mobile phone company but of course their resources could spell big things for Vive if they teamed up with Valve.

I think the biggest thing to watch out for will be how this affects the development of a next generation HMD, moreso than any immediate changes to the Vive platform. I bought in with the rift initially but am definitely of an open mind when it comes to which next gen HMD I will upgrade to. But that's a while off - we should be getting the gearVR equivalents (that don't need a phone) sometime soon and probably have another year or two until we see the Rift/Vive replacements.

Wanted to resurrect this thread to see if anyone has any added insight/input on the two major players.

I played with a HTC Vive this last weekend and really enjoyed it, and think I might take the leap and get one for the home.

Pros/Cons of the Vive vs Oculus? I know Vive is coming out with a new setup in the coming months, but any idea if it will be at a price point worth waiting for (and if more fun apps/games are coming)?

free_mhayden said:

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Wanted to resurrect this thread to see if anyone has any added insight/input on the two major players.

I played with a HTC Vive this last weekend and really enjoyed it, and think I might take the leap and get one for the home.

Pros/Cons of the Vive vs Oculus? I know Vive is coming out with a new setup in the coming months, but any idea if it will be at a price point worth waiting for (and if more fun apps/games are coming)?

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I have an Oculus. Solid UI and comfortable. Missing better room scale VR like what the Vive has. No Fallout 4 VR. Rarely use mine, though I haven't had time to. More games have come out that I'll have to try. Controllers are nice. I had to get a third sensor for better tracking as my view was getting jittery. I've been having issues with NVIDIA drivers, sometimes they work with Oculus sometimes they don't and you have to either update or downgrade just to get the Oculus to work.

Wish I had the Vive for more games and the cameras to see in front of me. Vive Pro looks awesome with the ability to go wireless. Though I would need a new graphics card.

I'm thinking the Pro will be $800 then that wireless add on $350.

VR still in it's infancy. I want peripheral vision, 4K in each eye, and a 360 treadmill.

We have a vive at work. It's really great and I like the case of setup and use. My only issue is that the headset needs to be more adjustable and I often get light bleed through from the sides.

I'm considering jumping into VR, but I'll need to build a new PC, and I'm worried about being able to find a graphics card at a reasonable price with all the bitcoin miners out there snatching them up.

Also, this game looks dope.

Woudn't bother with the Vive right now when gen 2 is coming out in Q3.