Page 13 of 17 FirstFirst ... 31112131415 ... LastLast
Results 121 to 130 of 162

Thread: Virtual reality is here......almost

  1. #121
    Junior Potato
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    9,600
    I guess mileages vary considerably. Last year Eurogamer gave it their top spot for game of the year, and comments were split 50/50 arguing that it was a good or bad idea - probably the most polarising GOTY result anyone’s ever had. As you might’ve guessed, I’m firmly in the love-it-and-want-to-have-it’s-babies camp. I’m sorry if it didn’t have the same effect on you as it did to me.

    For me, the amount of immersion I get playing it is bested only by racing simulators - both VR and flat screen. It feels like I’ve been sucked into an alternate universe and I’m there living out this wild fantasy as some sort of psychedelic Tetris legend. I guess like the movie Tron, but with more falling blocks.

  2. #122
    Administrator
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    8,833
    I'm sure you've mentioned this, but just in case you haven't - have you played Rez Infinite?

  3. #123
    Junior Potato
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    9,600
    OH YES I HAVE!

    It's brilliant. I paid, like, $100 to ship the PS4 physical version from Iam8bit.

  4. #124
    Director Freude am Fahren's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    DFW
    Posts
    5,106
    So, I got the HP Reverb recently. Holy crap Flying and racing are crazy fun with it.

    It's got great resolution, but seems kinda washed out, and no mechanical adjustments for eye distance. I also order the Valve Index to try it, and I'll return whichever I don't like as much. But it's taking a while, so I might get stuck with the Reverb, which came in 3 days, so it will be too late to return it if I don't get the Index in the next two weeks.

    We're not quite there yet, but we're close enough to enjoy it.

  5. #125
    Director Freude am Fahren's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    DFW
    Posts
    5,106
    Well, the index arrived. The hardware feels much better. Love the controllers, as you could probably use flight sim hardware without taking them off.

    However, the HMD won't work. I can't get SteamVR to recognize it.

    EDIT: Got it working, apparently only works in one of the two DP ports on my graphics card.
    Last edited by Freude am Fahren; December 15th, 2019 at 10:42 AM.

  6. #126
    Administrator
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    8,833
    How are the visuals on it? The improved resolution is the main thing I'm curious about.

  7. #127
    Director Freude am Fahren's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    DFW
    Posts
    5,106
    So I've been trying the Reverb and Index back to back. They visuals are really good on the Index, but resolutions difference is noticeable. In flight sims this is especially an issue, as you look for details like airports and the PAPI in the distance quite a bit. Racing not as much of an issue.

    At first I was having issues with the Index looking really bad off center, but I think I dialed the fit and adjustments to fix that. I had read the Reverb was bad off center, and Index was good, but not as good as Rift S. I find now I can look at mirrors, or Black Boxes in iRacing at the corner of my view and make out the information.

    I'm finding that a lot of trade-offs between the two are kind of making for a fairly even fight overall.

    I'll have more detail after I have more time with them back to back, but basically the Colors are much better on the Index. Reverb looks pretty washed out. FOV difference isn't very noticeable (iRacing actually says my FOV is lower on the Index, so maybe I need to fix something.).

    FPS surprisingly are higher in most cases with the much higher res Reverb. I've found tracking is pretty even, with both being really good, but controllers getting lost when reaching for buttons in flight sims. I haven't really optimized my lighthouse locations yet though for the Index. Which in its own right is a minus. The Reverb doesn't need all that. Didn't realize the lighthouses had a motor in them too. You can hear it wurring away if you don't have other audio going on.

    Index has more comfortable material and design, but that's canceled out by the weight. The nose area for me is a bit better on the Reverb. Reverb does a better job of blocking out light. With it on my head, I see no light at all. Index there is some bleed. The adjustment knob on the back of the Index meant I had to adjust my racing seat, since it was hitting the back when turning my head. But the cable is smaller, lighter and more flexible on the Index and is hardly noticable. The Reverb is a double cable, that is heavier and stiffer and has the connector right near the back of the unit, rather than at the PC end, so you really kind of have to manage it to make it not annoying.

    If the Reverb had the Index's color/brightness and controllers, it'd be no contest at half the price.

    That was all a bit of stream on consciousness there. I'll try to get something more coherent.
    Last edited by Freude am Fahren; December 18th, 2019 at 08:35 AM.

  8. #128
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    210
    ^ Interesting observations. Still sitting here with an original CV1. Keep thinking about upgrading, the Reverb sounds appealing for someone like me who only sim races on PC, but waiting for more powerful GPU's.

  9. #129
    Junior Potato
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    9,600
    Valve added a very important feature to Half-Life: Alyx this week: bottle physics.

    Specifically, a shader (yes, a shader!) that replicates to motion of fluids inside a vessel. Like beer and wine bottles.



    I've got real bottles of beer and wine in the fridge. At any time I could simply walk over there, grab one, and shake it about to see how the fluids inside react.

    But if I had a PC VR headset and a copy of HL:A you KNOW I would be spending my time in the living room doing this in-game instead of with the real thing.

  10. #130
    Junior Potato
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Posts
    9,600
    I haven't bought a PC VR headset yet and I keep threatening to buy one soon. I was going to get the Oculus Rift S, at $650 AUD. It got a price drop on Amazon last week to $625.

    But then this week Oculus unveiled the Quest 2, and it's got a higher-res screen that does 90Hz. The price?

    $479 AUD

    But it doesn't do PC VR on its own. For that you need an Oculus Link cable for $129, bringing the total price to $608. Better screen, more powerful internal processing... still seems like a complete bargain. What's going on this year? We've got keenly-priced new tech goodies seemingly coming out of every orifice.

    Anyhoo, I have one query that I haven't been able to nut out: does the link cable make it playable with every PC VR game? Like, does it turn it into a proper VR headset the way that I expect that it would? Or is it limited to Oculus store content only for some dumb reason?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •