Xbox One VR Headset

[Mr Allen]

Topic.

To me the "Virtual Reality" gimmick failed way back in the early 90's IMO, but I'd be interested in trying out the Xbox One version of Oculus Rift.

However after looking it up on Amazon and Game, it's £500 for the Headset plus 3 games, worth it but I don't have that kind of loot.

So anyway, has anyone experienced modern VR? I know the technology will have improved 20 odd years later but that means nothing if the games are still rubbish!

 

[FreeDiver]

The reason why VR failed to take off in the first place is not that it was a gimmick, but because it makes people sick. The average person can only wear that headset for about 5-10 minutes before vertigo and motion sickness starts to set in. Even with todays improvement in technology and graphics, they are still yet to address this issue.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Yeah, I have a oculus rift for my gaming PC. I bought the Touch controllers recently.

Virtual reality itself has a lot of potential if enough people see it. The main problem with it is the amount of content at the moment. It is still in the infant stages as I see it. I admit I didn't touch my oculus rift for a good part of 2016.

Since then though there has been a lot of new games and adaptations of current games. Super Hot VR for example offers a really Matrix experience with time moving as you do, dodging bullets, physically punching enemies and watching them shatter is really fun.

Another game on the oculus rift, Robo Recall is a fantastic experience too. Pulling limbs from robots and throwing bullets back at enemies never gets old.

Star Trek has my friends sucked into that. I haven't bought it because it's a multiplayer game and I struggle to play them these games. But a lot of people are saying it's really good and is nice to chat to PC and PlayStation owners a like.

I have other games and apps on it too such as a VR goalie game and helps train reflexes by firing pucks at you. A meditation app which is also useful and has helped me with my Tourette's to focus on something else.

There's numerous painting apps like Google's Tilt Brush. You can really let your imagination run wild with that. You get good exercise from that too!

I don't know what the experience was like 20 years ago. But what we have now is very much playable if developers are willing to think differently and adapt their ideas and games. Motion sickness is a big problem, games like Fallout 4 VR and Robo Recall get around this with a teleport system which can work just fine. Whilst games like Super Hot VR is a pure 360 degree standing experience. Is VR usable despite the constraint of motion sickness? Yeah, absolutely. But we might not be able to get the same type of movement we see in regular games for the moment.

The Oculus Rift is, I believe, the lightest of the big three. I don't really feel it on my head when it's in a right position. It can get hot if you're throwing your arms about using something like Tilt Brush but it's not a massive deal. It is summer too.

I think the VR headsets could do with another iteration or two to go. Wireless is a big one. And if they can implement the tech that tracks the users eye movement and only render stuff which they are looking at then that'll really help with the demanding hardware needed to run it. But, again, the big one is the motion sickness. Some people are able to train their brains to work with the jarring feeling of movement but I believe there is tech which may solve this problem.

Motion controllers are a must going forward with VR. I've found the Touch controllers to be a fantastic ergonomic design with all the number of buttons a controller has and also tracks movement of the thumb and index finger. Room scale is always going to be a tricky one and is never going to be a big thing moving forward because of the limitations of each individuals living space.

All in all I think VR has a future. I think most of the naysayers are the ones who are knocking something they have absolute no bloody idea what the experience is like.

I want to see Microsoft get behind VR as well. In whatever form that is. Some people have speculated that they'll make a deal with Oculus similar to that of Samsung's but nothing has been made. Don't even think of parting with any money when there is no evidence that Microsoft will ever do this deal.

 

[xudo]

Oculus is only available for PC, they just come with an Xbox One controller to use with the PC. Microsoft are looking to do something with VR games for PC through the Windows store, but not on console.

I've used PSVR, as my sister has more money than sense. It was pretty impressive to be honest, albeit rather disorientating. I was stood up playing a 'horror' shooting game where you travel on a reasonably slow moving rollercoaster. It does make you feel as if you are going up and down as I suppose the input to your eyes fools your inner ears or something. I did borrow her headset to try out the demo version of the new Resident Evil, but unfortunately my husband's PS4 is one of the launch consoles that the PS4 won't work with (there is a glitch with the communication between a small number of launch PS4's and PSVR. Not that bothered as we have never wanted to get one).

 

[Questella]

The reason why VR failed to take off in the first place is not that it was a gimmick, but because it makes people sick. The average person can only wear that headset for about 5-10 minutes before vertigo and motion sickness starts to set in. Even with todays improvement in technology and graphics, they are still yet to address this issue.

I can't even play many 3D games because of this issue, I would be afraid of having an entire headset on. My PC says it's Oculus ready but unfortunately I am not.

 

[Xenocity]

Microsoft has stated that it has no plans to make Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X compatible with VR.

 

[Mr Allen]

Microsoft has stated that it has no plans to make Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X compatible with VR.

That's possibly a good thing, especially when it seems the games might be literally headache inducingly crap.

 

[xudo]

The Oculus Rift is, I believe, the lightest of the big three. I don't really feel it on my head when it's in a right position.

I've never tried the Rift, but I can say that the PSVR is pretty heavy. There's no way you would not notice that you had it on and albeit not awful, it's also not fantastic if you wear glasses. I can use it with my glasses on, but it's not the most comfortable of things.

All in all I think VR has a future. I think most of the naysayers are the ones who are knocking something they have absolute no bloody idea what the experience is like.

This is exactly the problem that VR has and will face. Some people refuse to try it because they tried VR way back when, and assume nothing has changed and others just see it as a gimmick. More people should at least try it and see what it's like before they make their minds up.

That's possibly a good thing, especially when it seems the games might be literally headache inducingly crap.

I think a lot of whether you would have any issues with VR come down to you. As in, I had some feelings of disorientation while using the PSVR, but my sister doesn't. I think also if I had been sat down while playing it, the problems may have been negated. It's the same as some people find things like the 3DS makes them feel unwell, while others (myself included) don't.

I think the problem that Microsoft have in terms of VR is that when everyone started announcing stuff, Sony had PSVR, Oculus had the Rift and Microsoft had HoloLens. Everyone was a bit confused to begin with, as to whether HoloLens was VR or not...then Microsoft announced it was AR, not VR. I love my Xbox, but I can't help but feel that they kind of made the wrong decision going with AR. It's possibly that they thought that VR would not take off, because of the issues it had had in the past and possibly the high costs. I can't help but feel it's a little bit like Microsoft's ill-fated decision to go with HD DVD rather than BluRay on the 360.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

it's also not fantastic if you wear glasses.

Now you see I don't hear too many complaints about glasses with the rift. I think most find they work fine with them. Same with the Vive I think.

I was stood up playing a 'horror' shooting game where you travel on a reasonably slow moving rollercoaster

That game was supposed to be a seated experience. I don't know of PlayStation puts guidance on games but Oculus and Steam lie out guidance of a seated, standing or room-scale experiences.

 

[xudo]

Now you see I don't hear too many complaints about glasses with the rift. I think most find they work fine with them. Same with the Vive I think.

That's interesting, because it honestly seems with the PSVR they didn't really think of people who wear glasses. Like I said, it's not unbearable, but it's definitely not comfortable. I don't think I could wear one for any real length of time.

That game was supposed to be a seated experience. I don't know of PlayStation puts guidance on games but Oculus and Steam lie out guidance of a seated, standing or room-scale experiences.

Haha, I assumed it was meant to be seated but my sister has her TV too high compared to her sofa to be able to play things sat down. I say that, but in reality her boyfriend is ridiculously tall and he has everything set up so it's perfect for him. The problem there is that while it's perfect for him at 6'6"...it's useless for my sister at 5'3" and me at 5'2". He put the mirror up in their hall, and I can see the top of my head

 

[Mr Allen]

That's interesting, because it honestly seems with the PSVR they didn't really think of people who wear glasses. Like I said, it's not unbearable, but it's definitely not comfortable. I don't think I could wear one for any real length of time.





Haha, I assumed it was meant to be seated but my sister has her TV too high compared to her sofa to be able to play things sat down. I say that, but in reality her boyfriend is ridiculously tall and he has everything set up so it's perfect for him. The problem there is that while it's perfect for him at 6'6"...it's useless for my sister at 5'3" and me at 5'2". He put the mirror up in their hall, and I can see the top of my head

PS VR is crap anyway, the only game I would even consider trying on it is the Batman one, and having recently watched footage of it on YouTube, even that looks crap.

 

[xudo]

PS VR is crap anyway, the only game I would even consider trying on it is the Batman one, and having recently watched footage of it on YouTube, even that looks crap.

Have you tried it? I wouldn't have said it was crap.

 

[Questella]

I have the Nintendo 3DS and I can not have the 3D on on that at all either... :/

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I have the Nintendo 3DS and I can not have the 3D on on that at all either... :/

There's quite a lot of difference between shooting guns in VR and using the 3D function on a portable gaming device though.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

PS VR is crap anyway, the only game I would even consider trying on it is the Batman one, and having recently watched footage of it on YouTube, even that looks crap.

Being the cheapest of the big three and still roughly maintaining the key specs of the other two, I wouldn't call it crap. The design is.. well, you're either going to like it or think it looks too much like a toy. I quite like the design when compared to the dull design of my oculus rift. I believe what the PlayStation owners are missing though is the apps you can use with the headset, I don't believe there are many small apps you can use with it such as experimental ones and the like.

My opinion is biased of course but I think the oculus rift is the best out of the three. It's price is in the middle, it has nice ergonomic controllers with the full amount of buttons you get on standard controllers, you get built in high quality headphones - with a linen covering, not foam so they'll last a long time - all the while still being the lightest of the three.

 

[Questella]

There's quite a lot of difference between shooting guns in VR and using the 3D function on a portable gaming device though.

IDK I'd be afraid to try, let alone spend a fortune on something that would probably make me sick. I'm afraid to really buy much new games anymore because they cost so much and I won't know if I can really play it until I try and then if I just find out I can't I'm ******. I bought several games back when only to find I was completely unable to play them.

I was surprised how much of a headache and sick that little 3d function caused me. Like it's so small!
Ugh at least I can disable that.

 

[xudo]

I'm afraid to really buy much new games anymore because they cost so much and I won't know if I can really play it until I try

Not because of 3D or whatever making me feel ill, but I agree with this. I'm annoyed that demos aren't really a thing any more. I'm pretty fussy when it comes to games that I'll enjoy and I'm hesitant to buy a game (especially a new IP) without having had a go of it first. Luckily, @VenomousAlbino is pretty good at knowing whether I'll enjoy a game or not, because he's a massive nerd and follows practically everything to do with video games

 

[Southern Discomfort]

IDK I'd be afraid to try, let alone spend a fortune on something that would probably make me sick. I'm afraid to really buy much new games anymore because they cost so much and I won't know if I can really play it until I try and then if I just find out I can't I'm ******. I bought several games back when only to find I was completely unable to play them.

I was surprised how much of a headache and sick that little 3d function caused me. Like it's so small!
Ugh at least I can disable that.

Ah, that's what you meant. I think I must have misread your first post.

Yeah, well, if you can't get on with 3D without getting nauseated then VR isn't going to be for you since the headsets rely on 3D to work and give depth to the images you see.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I'm pretty fussy when it comes to games that I'll enjoy and I'm hesitant to buy a game (especially a new IP) without having had a go of it first.

I'm afraid to really buy much new games anymore because they cost so much and I won't know if I can really play it until I try and then if I just find out I can't I'm ******.

This is pretty much the argument that the Ubisofts of the world make. And that's the reason why there are more than 15 Assassin's Creed games out there now.

I do agree that demos need to become a thing again although they pretty much are just the vertical slices from game development - you know, the bit they worked the most on to show to the public which in the case of Aliens: Colonial Marines just happened to be the only parts that vaguely worked.

Nowadays if I want to buy a game from a franchise I know nothing about watch videos on YouTube and still rely on the games press and reviews before I part out any hard cash.

Not trying to sound smug here but as a PC gamer I do have an advantage over the console users. The Steam sales are ridiculous, right now Shadow of Mordor is just £3. Most new games go on sale for £40 as opposed to £50. And the refund policy is better now where you can return a game if you've spent less that 2 hours playing it and owned it for less that a fortnight - that's on Steam, that is.

I think that games reviewers are more important now than ever, pre-orders should be discouraged by everyone since less and less publishers are willing to give out review copies before they release their games, and as you both have said, games cost more now for most people.