Virtual Reality

RandallFlagg

I just watched a TV news article on VR. Interesting.

Is VR going to be the latest exciting new technology that will transform the way we play games etc. or is it just another pointless load of bollocks that we don't need and will go the same was as 3D TV, curved screen TV (eventually) and the Sinclair C5?

I know which side I'm on.

watching people stumbling around wearing blacked out scuba goggles is quite funny though.

monquixote

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

stimpsonslostson

monquixote said:

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

I "walked" around a VR building at a technology expo a couple of months ago. It was amazing. 
I was actually disoriented when I came out as it was so immersive.
If they'd added zombies & given me a weapon it could have been brilliant fun/terrifying. 

RandallFlagg

monquixote said:

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

Not necessarily. I need to try one to have an opinion on the quality of the experience or compare it to other setups, I don't need to try one to have a valid opinion on whether I need or want it or not.

monquixote

You can have an opinion but it's one based in ignorance.

dindude

VR is a bit like Robots in the 80's - they we're gonna transform our life's and bring us tea and stuff but where are the fuckers? Just that one robot bloke from Honda who seems to do anything at all these days. The pace of the tech filtering down to the masses has been too slow. File VR under the same banner, get on with it! 

monquixote

dindude said:

VR is a bit like Robots in the 80's - they we're gonna transform our life's and bring us tea and stuff but where are the fuckers? Just that one robot bloke from Honda who seems to do anything at all these days. The pace of the tech filtering down to the masses has been too slow. File VR under the same banner, get on with it! 

It's the classic double hype curve thing. Nothing advanced for about 10 years from the late 90s but now it's cool again it's getting investment.

Roland

Sometimes the difficulty with new technology is imagining how it will be used. A frequent early view is direct replacement, but often it's complimentary. So rather than seeing humanoid robots which walk and talk we are actually using the technology for voice recognition and prosthetic limbs.

The rate of introduction is often driven by marketability. Once we have a VR headset and an application that have the right balance of performance and consumer pricing then it is likely to take off.

Emp_Fab

VR will be the biggest thing since the automobile.  It will become both an incredible tool and leisure activity bar none and also a plague as people become addicted to living in their chosen fantasy world instead of reality.  You see people gazing into little smartphones everywhere now.  You wait until VR arrives that is indistinguishable from reality, graphics-wise.  Millions of people will be sat at home with headsets on all day long, living in their virtual utopia but in reality, surrounded by dirty pot noodle containers and pizza boxes.  Much like 'gamers thumb' used to be a thing, 'VR headset rash' will dominate in the future.

This is going to be HUGE.  We are on the crest of a wave, the likes of which have never been seen before.  I'm waiting for a market leader in virtual vagina peripherals to emerge and I'm going to sink everything I've got into it (er.. in shares..  the company...).  This is where I will make my riches - and also where I will spend my retirement - surrounded by pot noodle tubs.

stickyfiddle

I haven't tried it but my thoughts are thus...

Im quite sure it's a valid experience which is a side-step away from traditional video games. I also have almost no interest in it, as my favourite  moments in games are either local multiplayer or a single player epic with my wife watching and giving moral support. 

Sporky

Like all fake 3D it gives me motion sickness.

monquixote said:

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

Let's hope you never express an opinion on being eaten by a shark!

It's entirely possible to have valid opinions on things you've not done.

beed84

Sporky said:

Like all fake 3D it gives me motion sickness.

monquixote said:

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

Let's hope you never express an opinion on being eaten by a shark!

It's entirely possible to have valid opinions on things you've not done.

Ah, but it's common knowledge that being eaten/attacked/threatened by a shark is a bad thing. After all, they're predators. Assuming VR is bad/bollocks/pointless might be an opinion, but before trying it first, it isn't a fair one.

Bygone_Tones

Virtual reality is not really a new technology. It's been around since at least the 1980's to my knowledge. I used to see articles about it in computer game magazines when I was school age. With people wearing those stupid headsets and sensors all over their body. I think it is limited in it's appeal. Mainly for gamers and businesses, maybe the porn industry too.

Augmented reality is going to be the big one for the masses in my opinion. Basically removing the screen and instead using holograms and recognising hand gestures etc. It's the next step from hand held devices.

chillidoggy

Emp_Fab said:

VR will be the biggest thing since the automobile.  It will become both an incredible tool and leisure activity bar none and also a plague as people become addicted to living in their chosen fantasy world instead of reality.  You see people gazing into little smartphones everywhere now.  You wait until VR arrives that is indistinguishable from reality, graphics-wise.  Millions of people will be sat at home with headsets on all day long, living in their virtual utopia but in reality, surrounded by dirty pot noodle containers and pizza boxes.  Much like 'gamers thumb' used to be a thing, 'VR headset rash' will dominate in the future.

This is going to be HUGE.  We are on the crest of a wave, the likes of which have never been seen before.  I'm waiting for a market leader in virtual vagina peripherals to emerge and I'm going to sink everything I've got into it (er.. in shares..  the company...).  This is where I will make my riches - and also where I will spend my retirement - surrounded by pot noodle tubs.

Well, that's 3D consigned to the bin, then.

blobb

It's not just computer gaming, we are using it more in Engineering. Gone are the days of 2D technical drawing boards. We moved to 3D CAD under the BIM banner, adding a computer game engine allows us to 'walk through' designs with clients.

VR is the next big thing. we have an 'igloo' where we can put designs through their paces, ideal for seeing if we have put valves in the wrong place etc...

To be honest, you can do all this if you can read 2d drawings properly, alas, the graduate crop of engineers does not have this as a skill anymore.  So it's not a necessity but it is useful.

We are also developing a thing called 4D CAD, this is standard 3D (think DOOM on sewage works!) but with programme / construction information overlaid onto it. So it appears in your VR world as it would appear to come together, in real time, in site.

Drones are the other big thing that complements the VR 4D CAD world, by gathering info from the heavens.

Roland

Sporky said:

Like all fake 3D it gives me motion sickness

It depends how good your visual processing is. Typically the older you are the better your brain is at processing visual information. That's a result of experience, and dealing with fading eyesight. Younger people are more likely to adapt easily to VR, whereas their elders are more likely to react with the visual version of "that's not stereo, it's panned mono", and find it alienating, or sickening.

RandallFlagg

monquixote said:

You can have an opinion but it's one based in ignorance.

but it's ignorant twats like me the VR start ups have to win over to make it a consumer success. Good luck.

Emp_Fab

I beg to differ.  You won't be able to stop it taking off once people realise they can fuck Beyoncé from the comfort of their living room whilst eating a Pot Noodle.

monquixote

Sporky said:

Like all fake 3D it gives me motion sickness.

monquixote said:

You have to actually try a modern VR setup before you have a valid opinion.

Let's hope you never express an opinion on being eaten by a shark!

It's entirely possible to have valid opinions on things you've not done.

It's not really the same though is it. 

It's more like saying I've never eaten a pineapple but my opinion is that they are horrible. You are entitled to your opinion but it's not really valid.

monquixote

RandallFlagg said:

monquixote said:

You can have an opinion but it's one based in ignorance.

but it's ignorant twats like me the VR start ups have to win over to make it a consumer success. Good luck.

I'm not sure why you are wishing me luck, I'm not John Carmack.

I also have tried a high end VR rig and I'm not that bothered about owning one though they are hugely impressive. It really doesn't matter if a bunch of old farts care either way as I suspect very few people on here are target market with the exception of the Elite enthusiasts.

chillidoggy

Emp_Fab said:

I beg to differ.  You won't be able to stop it taking off once people realise they can fuck Beyoncé from the comfort of their living room whilst eating a Pot Noodle.

Well, that's alright for the chavs, what about us normal folks?