A[quote name=“MrSaxon” url=“/community/t/155777/oculus-playstation-vr-and-htc-vive#post_4121448”]“Which one has the best porn games?” is what we’re all really thinking.
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ASo, I’ve had a chance to try out the PSVR (only for about 2 minutes), the Vive (15ish minutes), and the Gear VR (many hours). Some random thoughts:
1.)The Rift is a no-go from the outset for me. I prefer to avoid closed ecosystems from a PC device and I can’t believe they shipped an incomplete product. I don’t even know if the controls are going to work. Plus, its requirements (even basic shit like two USB 3.0 ports?) are outrageous. Fuck all that. Also, I hate facebook.
2.)The Vive has significantly better visuals in SOME respects as compared to PSVR (worlds better than Gear VR). It’s also really uncomfortable to wear. Both the Vive and Gear VR feel like frakking scuba masks stuck to your face. The room scale is AWESOME. It’s also problematic ergonomically and installation wise. This tech needed to be in the helmet or have a significantly smaller footprint. I didn’t have a big problem with the god rays, but I can see why people are disappointed.
I could build a Vive capable computer for 750-850. It will not even be close to top of the line. That is galling. It will be even more obsolete by next year when the new series of NVidia chips come out. I’m just not interested in shelling out 1600-1800 (for the PC and system) for a substandard PC VR experience. The bigger problem, however, is that I see absolutely no “game-changer” releases for 2016 or 2017. Zero. That’s way too much for what, at present, looks like it may be a niche/novelty arena until 2018, by which time we may be in generation two of headsets.
3.)Gear VR: Really enjoyed it. Came for free with phone. I like the short experiences and some of the news/sports items the best. Hell, the trailer for some horror movie (Insomnia 3? Something like that) is the best demo of the Gear VR I’ve seen yet. Most of the games make me sick. I had to turn off Dreadhalls. Oddly enough, Valkyrie I was fine with. Still, you can see the potential almost immediately.
4.)As opposed to PC, PSVR is actually getting great exclusive content. X-Wing VR is a dream come true. My kids and I will be playing Robinson non-stop, assuming we don’t get ill. Dinosaurs in VR! Yes! The trailer for Resident Evil 7 VR is awesome. The headset design is light years better than Oculus and Vive. Seriously. The first time you put on the PSVR you will wonder why the fuck the ski mask style of Vive/Rift weren’t discarded during the production process. Just some basic things, like a slim window for you to look down and see the room without having to take the headset off, are great. It just feels like a professional product, while the Vive is quite clunky in many respects. The camera tracking was not a problem for me, but I can see how it could be. Your room set-up is probably going to favor one or the other.
Within 60 seconds, I knew the visuals were going to be adequate. The screen has resolution issues (I would say it’s PS3 quality), but in some ways just looks better. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I would say “smoother,” but that’s unscientific. It clearly is not up to the visual par of the Vive, but looks fine. I imagine the PS4 pro version will also represent an upgrade.
CONCLUSION
Went with PSVR. Price and room set-up considerations were high on the list, but also I’m getting irritated with PC gaming shit. I look at the launch of both the Vive and Rift (incomplete product and/or absolutely no effort to have anything compelling at launch) and it seems like amateur hour. I have also grown extremely disappointed by the fractured, buggy presentation of many PC gaming experiences. For 400 bucks I get a gaming rig that’s the equivalent of an AMD 480 (PS4 pro). That is a good deal, imho. Plus, the VR set is only 500 bucks for a game, two controllers, camera, and the headset. I can stomach 500 bucks for a niche/novelty product for 3-4 years. BARELY. The cost of the Vive/Rift, plus a new computer? Too much.
We’ll see how it goes.
AFinally hooked up PS4 pro with psvr today. Loving it. The engineering of the headset is fantastic.
If anyone has questions, post them and I’ll answer. Over the last two days I now have pretty extensive experience with the PSVR and I’ve spent a few more hours with my buddy’s Vive.
Any side-effects after playing for over an hour or two (slight headache etc)?
Do your eyes adjust pretty quickly to the light from the VR screen or do they get sore when you take them off?
The only game I’ve had any nausea with so far is Drive (I’m kind of dreading Robinson: Jurassic Park on Alien Planet), which was somewhat unexpected. No problems with Eve, Jackal, most of the PSVR demo disk, most of PSVR worlds, aand a bit of Arkham Asylum. I am actually avoiding games like Tether and Eagle Flight because my experience with Gear VR (specifically, Dreadhalls and the one horror mansion game) was so negative that I’ve now got a bit of a complex about VR nausea. If Robinson makes me sick, I’m basically going to have to abandon entire genres.
One thing that I believe really helps, even though people say it’s a negative, is the ability to look down and see a little window outside PSVR. It doesn’t distract from the VR experience, but it seems to kind of “ground” me in a way that prevents nausea.
Also, after playing around with the Vive some more, I can’t emphasize enough just what an ergonomic improvement the PSVR is. Night and day.
I have found myself playing London Heist repeatedly. Just picking up the lighter and smoking a cigar in an English pub with your virtual hands is incredibly surreal. And Area X in Rez Infinite is beautiful beyond words.
Okay, the Battlefront Star Wars VR mission is basically a dream come true.
AI will say, though, an hour or so is about my comfort limit with VR. It is not a relaxing way to play games.
Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for from VR. I wish EA would give that mission out to us non-VR people too, though.
Is the nausea that people talk about from PSVR and VR in general something that lasts a few minutes after you take the headset off, or does it last significantly longer? Like, where you have a headache all day?
A[quote name=“Overlord” url=“/community/t/155777/oculus-playstation-vr-and-htc-vive#post_4186215”]I will say, though, an hour or so is about my comfort limit with VR. It is not a relaxing way to play games.[/quote]
That’s gotta be a major concern and a barrier to this iteration of the tech in taking off.
I must be the exception. I haven’t had the VR queasiness yet. And I can play for a good long while. My only problem is I haven’t played a game yet that has held me captivated for that long. Granted, I still want to get Eve and Drive Club, but Rush of Blood I just kiind of suck at, and Batman was like an hour. That’s another thing I am getting kind of bummed about. A lot of these things are VR experiences, and not too many full games yet. I loved the Star Wars experience, but after the second play through I just set it aside and went back to Destiny.
I wonder if it would have the same impact.
I experienced a ton of nausea with the Samsung Gear VR. With PSVR, other than Drive and a few bits here and there in Rez Area X (which is amazing), there hasn’t been any. The real problem is that VR is exhausting … at least for me. It’s just a different way to play games and I find I’m amped up and hyper-alert while playing.
It is a concern … but I look at it is a different type of gaming experience, not a replacement for a traditional set-up. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I can’t imaging Skyrim-ming for extended stretches multiple times a week (for example). VR is awesome, but it isn’t relaxing. The content has to be designed for VR. Too much going on and I think it would just become white noise.
Eve is fucking great.
I’m hoping my wife gets it for me for Christmas!
When RE7 comes out, have her grab you at key moments.
The PS4 gets Elite: Dangerous next year, so you have that to look forward to as well.
I am, indeed.
I imagine we’ll probably see Star Citizen released about that time.
Batman VR is, without a doubt, one of the greatest gaming experience of my life. I want to give it more than the hour or so I’ve played, but at the moment I am simply fucking astounded. It’s an actual mystery! Fucking amazing setting and ambiance. Just … blown away. I fear there is only 2-3 hours of gameplay in total, but it’s great.