General VR Catch-All

Not sure what research has lead you to, but I only got one functioning eye and get cluster migraines from pulsing lights. I can VR for about 1 hour at a time before I have to take the set off, but it works great. I'm handling it about the same as staring at a computer monitor while gaming, but here's one tip:

When you transition through loading screens, close your eyes.

The screen goes black and juts around a bit, then loads into a temp area, then into the game (through steam). As soon as I push to load a game I wait to put the helmet on till after it loads or close my eyes through the transition. If I don't it is quite unpleasant and can trigger headaches.

When playing something like Skyrim, I have to close my eyes and walk into loading areas for dungeons without looking. Once things are loaded and you're kicking decent FPS life is good. I don't regret the purchase at all, but had to adapt a bit. Hope this helps you spot this issue early if it affects you.

Well my stuff is similar to migraines so I will keep that in mind.

Thanks!

Anyone have opinions on Creed: Rise to Glory as a generally fun experience and as a sort of workout?

polypusher wrote:

Anyone have opinions on Creed: Rise to Glory as a generally fun experience and as a sort of workout?

Reviews I've seen say it's good, but campaign and AI is a wee bit lackluster, but it shines in PvP.

My new Beat Saber project

The fast bits aren't the hardest part, that's just beating a rhythm, but there are so many awkward switch overs, right hitting left etc. It's a case of learning rather than reacting. So much fun to learn a song like this though

With Beat Saber, I've been really struggling to make the jump to Expert+. It's pretty massive jump in difficulty.

So I've decided to go back and try and beat all my scores on regular Expert, but with the "faster song" option checked, which makes it feel like a similarly frenetic pace as Expert+, but with box patterns I already know.

I'm hoping it'll learn me to parse the onslaught better.

kergguz wrote:

My new Beat Saber project

That looks balls-hard enough that I feel like you should be slaying my scores, man.

Even though I watched and digested that scoring video you linked, I've found the most enjoyment in simply trying to beat balls-hard maps! I'll play them over and over again and put it on slow if I have to. But then once I feel like I can get to the end quite easily I get a bit bored with the increasing my score part. I'll get back to the scoreboards someday

Well I set up the Vive and I had to use lighthouse stands due to socket, furniture and general room shape (thanks a lot ceiling fan I never use). I got 3 songs out of beat saber before my eyes started to feel off. I will try again tomorrow but as a test I put away the lighthouses to see how easy it is to set up again.

This is some pretty interesting tech since in room-scale I did not have any feeling like I was going to walk into a wall due to the digital walls I built in it.

No migraines yet so I am hopeful.

Did you muck about with the IPD dial? I get eye-strainy of that's off.

I think that helped but my eyes thanks.

What knob do I have to turn to get better at beat saber?

Wands is the Oculus deal of the day. Anyone have any comments on this game?

Stealthpizza wrote:

I got 3 songs out of beat saber before my eyes started to feel off.

Frequent breaks for about 1-2 hours at first are highly recommended. You will develop a resistance to it as you use it. It took me about 2 weeks before I was able to go for an hour without discomfort. It's getting your 'vr legs'. Eventually body and brain figure out how to deal with it.

You can mod Beat Saber to remove the light effects, but I'm pretty sure you'll overcome it soon enough.

I need to start saving up for some form of PCVR.

I haven't played as much VR lately, but did pick up Polybius last weekend. Now that's some trippy 90's interpretation of what VR should be, and it's kinda awesome. I really wish Tetris Effect would come to the Rift already though because I could definitely zone out to some VR Tetris.

I don't get headaches or motion sickness from virtual reality, but do find many interface design elements too far away and small as a low vision user, which is very frustrating at times.

Oculus rift is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'm very hyped. Going to buy and install beat saber tonight so it's ready.

charlemagne wrote:

Oculus rift is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I'm very hyped. Going to buy and install beat saber tonight so it's ready.

You are very wise.

I did grab Creed and have been playing it for short spurts (thats about all my out-of-shape ass can handle). Its fun, it feels like boxing to me, from my perspective as decidedly not a boxer. I get rewarded for keeping my hands up, blocking, dodging and picking my shots. I play on the hardest mode so that it's essentially a measure of fitness and Im working my way up to being able to beat the 2nd guy (the 2nd guy is already a monster!)

I'd recommend it if you're looking for something immersive, fun, and to get your pulse up.

polypusher wrote:

I did grab Creed and have been playing it for short spurts (thats about all my out-of-shape ass can handle). Its fun, it feels like boxing to me, from my perspective as decidedly not a boxer. I get rewarded for keeping my hands up, blocking, dodging and picking my shots. I play on the hardest mode so that it's essentially a measure of fitness and Im working my way up to being able to beat the 2nd guy (the 2nd guy is already a monster!)

I'd recommend it if you're looking for something immersive, fun, and to get your pulse up.

Gah, I meant to reply to your initial question. I don't have any experience with Creed but BoxVR is a great workout game. It gives a much better workout than something like beat saber.

I tried Blade and Sorcery but the movement style got to me. I could probably get used to it but I chose not to risk it.

I am loving Beat Saber so I will probably add BoxVR and Audioshield to my list to check out.

This makes my list:
Superhot VR
Moss
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
BoxVR
Audioshield

I am going to hold off most of these games until a sale but I plan on getting one more at full price. I am split between a game that lets me have custom audio levels or a new game type all together.

Fwiw Beat Saber and Moss are my favourite games on VR so far.

Stealthpizza wrote:

I am loving Beat Saber so I will probably add BoxVR and Audioshield to my list to check out.

Having not heard of Audioshield until reading your post, I now must have it.

A Fisherman's Tale is a delightful and charming VR puzzle game, and has an abundance of "whoah" moments thanks to the novel "recursive space" mechanic.

Word of warning - it's short, you'll knock it out in an hour or two at most.

Still entirely struggling to make the jump to Expert+ on Beat Saber. Any suggestions?

I can nail Expert, scoring in the top 25% of the world on those maps. But Expert+ is insta-fail, even with the Slower Song option turned on. I even turned on No Fail mode, but still got lost in the maelstrom of boxes in novel configurations.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm 20 years too old for Expert+ and giving it up as lost cause.

Jonman wrote:

Still entirely struggling to make the jump to Expert+ on Beat Saber. Any suggestions?

I got nothin'. I have only tried Expert+ a few times so far, but the jump in difficulty from Expert is absurd. It seems like there should be another 3 difficulty options along the way.

If you figure it out, do tell. I'd like something tougher than expert but not this tough.

Dyni wrote:
Jonman wrote:

Still entirely struggling to make the jump to Expert+ on Beat Saber. Any suggestions?

I got nothin'. I have only tried Expert+ a few times so far, but the jump in difficulty from Expert is absurd. It seems like there should be another 3 difficulty options along the way.

If you figure it out, do tell. I'd like something tougher than expert but not this tough.

A quick Google suggests the only advice is "keep plugging away at it".

On the one hand, I agree that it feels like there's an intermediate diffculty missing, but on the other hand, I remember from my Rock Band and Guitar Hero days the insurmountable challenge of transitioning to the highest difficulty. Which I entirely overcame and pressed on to victory. So there's that, I suppose.

Yeah, perhaps. Like I said, I haven't really made an effort to improve yet, so I'm mostly just thinking aloud. It would sure as hell be a workout to be able to do anything on Expert+.

Dyni wrote:

Yeah, perhaps. Like I said, I haven't really made an effort to improve yet, so I'm mostly just thinking aloud. It would sure as hell be a workout to be able to do anything on Expert+.

I'm starting to think there's an element of brute-forcing it too. Just throwing yourself at the same nonsense over and over again, getting a note or two further each time.

Honestly, I think that's going to be key - there's new box configurations and combinations that you've not seen before and it's a matter of coding those into your brain.

Jonman wrote:
Dyni wrote:

Yeah, perhaps. Like I said, I haven't really made an effort to improve yet, so I'm mostly just thinking aloud. It would sure as hell be a workout to be able to do anything on Expert+.

I'm starting to think there's an element of brute-forcing it too. Just throwing yourself at the same nonsense over and over again, getting a note or two further each time.

Honestly, I think that's going to be key - there's new box configurations and combinations that you've not seen before and it's a matter of coding those into your brain.

I don't know on beat saber. However, from what it sounds similar to a lot of things on max difficulty I have done. However, the biggest thing on those which certainly takes some brute forcing is to get it to a point where you a reacting not thinking. Right now you see X and tell your body to do Y. That thinking is like built in lag. You can memorize to get around it but often to truly hit that skill gap you just need to start doing it enough so it becomes a reaction.

Basic life example, when was last time you thought about what your actually doing when you go to tie your shoe. Your hands just do it.
Video game example. In Starcraft 2 at high levels. I don't think about making probes, about every 20 seconds i naturally hit 4 (hotkey I use for my Nexi) then hit "e" a few times. Never in my mind comes up anywhere oh I need to keep making workers I just do it.

So for folks who are paying attention to rumors and leaks about upcoming development in the world of VR, what do you all think of the Rift S announcement?

I got super excited for a minute after seeing the basic product pitch, but after hearing the details I think I'm going to have to keep being patient for the true new gen headset I've been waiting for.

It sounds to me like the Rift S is barely a half generational step, with the shift to inside out tracking being the main attraction -- and even that being somewhat compromised when it comes to hand tracking compared to either the current Rift solution or the Vive system. But, its still more movement in the space than people were expecting to see this soon after the relatively subdued discussions of the future of VR technology at CES.

I am very curious if those who are more familiar with the current higher end VR solutions feel like the trade off presented by the Rift S seems worthwhile. Would you trade reliability and adaptability in hand tracking for the convenience of not having to set up and manage devices to assist in tracking? Or does it seem like the current Vive approach is ultimately still a better choice for anyone who has the time and space to properly set up lighthouses for room scale tracking?

I am surprised it wasn't wireless or didn't announce wireless availability at the same time.

I am a fan of VR. The experience is incredible. But I feel it is not going to be huge and industry dominating.
In fact, my experience leads me to question other future technologies like digital presences. I think the generations will adjust to it to be able to handle the advancements for longer, but I think it is too overwhelming and there are caps to our ability to process so the future looks dim. The reason why dreams work is that we are unconscious and as soon as it gets too real, we wake up. Also, we remember very little of our dreams and even the bits that we don't remember can have lasting impressions on our mood and outlook.

So VR is like being awake, dreaming and interacting with our dreams at the same time. It is no wonder people can't do it for sessions longer than 30-40 minutes. And it is no wonder the window on what won't make us disoriented or ill is so narrow.

AR will be limited in the same fashion. Pop up windows and heads up displays will be the norm because anything more will be overwhelming. Think of how distracting the tiny little phone screen is when driving but also simple things like walking down the street or watching your kid. AR will consume anywhere from 5x the phone screen to superimpose images nearly your entire field of view.