[Mindless Drone]

I work in tech and late March had a chance to play around with the current state of virtual reality (VR) gear. I was kicking around posting a primer for awhile, and after this Roosh tweet I decided it was time to stop thinking and start posting. I present to you, Mindless Drone's VR Primer. I'm not an expert in this space, so I welcome critique and discussion from those who have played around with the tech more.

Overview

VR has kicked around in one form or another for a few decades. I remember playing in a VR "arcade" as long ago as the 90s, I suspect I'm not the only one on this forum with the experience. However the processing power - both hardware and software - hasn't been there. That's all changing. There are multiple converging trends that have primed the world for VR - the hardware, fueled by low cost, high power GPUs, software from a robust gaming industry, the rise of social media - it's now acceptable to be "wired" 24:7- and people are so burnt out from it they're always chasing the next high - VR is a natural fit. Finally, numerous major corporations (source: Fortune) - I would argue Facebook at the lead driver from an influence perspective - are pushing towards this. It's happening.

Hardware

The current hardware is getting surprisingly sophisticated but also has a broad number of price points. VR gear works with s headset that separates your vision into two spaces with a divider and then renders individual images into each eye - just like your interpret the world normally. Conversely, Augmented Reality (AR) works by beaming the images directly onto your retina. I'm sure that's fine with no long term side effects.

Cheap Gear

These systems are basically interfaces that a smart device goes into. Examples are the Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard. You insert your smartphone or other device into the interface and voila, instant VR. You remain motionless (i.e., you sit, you don't walk around) and guide yourself through an interface on the side. Despite the apparent crudeness, for the price point, particularly when paired by the latest Android devices (i.e. Samsung s7) - the results are really impressive. What struck me with this was how good the experience was at an entry level price - particularly if you already own the device. Considering how immersed people get in their smart phones - this shows VR is even closer than one might think. Another advantage of this setup is that it is wireless - a big advantage over the more expensive gear which still requires a wire.

Room setups

The HTC Vive is the best example (only?) of this type of rig right now. You set up laser cameras in a room, strap on the headset, grab controllers, and voila - you've got your own VR Room. Hand held controllers allow you to interact with your virtual world. This experience is pretty trippy as you are "tracked" in your experience and can move around. You do need to watch out for walls and tripping over the cord. Still, it gives the basic ability to wander in VR - pretty cool.

High End Gear

The Oculus Rift (Oculus is owned by Facebook) is the big dog here, although the Sony Playstation VR is no slouch either. Extreme graphical power (you do need either a gaming computer or a Playstation to power it) and the ability to track motion, make for a disturbingly immersive experience. You're still bound by a big headset tether, however, which is a downside. Currently, like the Vive, you use a handset controller. While they aren't quite haptic gloves, gamers and even civilians can learn them quickly.

[Mindless Drone]

Augmented Reality

AR works a little different. In this, the images are beamed directly onto your retina. This allows reality - and augmented reality - to coexist. The tech here isn't as far along as VR - but may ultimately hold more potential. I haven't yet had a chance to try the gear here but I am told it is pretty intense. Google glass was a primitive version of this, but you can imagine a world where for example a cop can look at you and overlaid would be your criminal record, or you look at people down the street and see a window with their Facebook pages or tinder profiles - or whatever. Two big players here are the Microsoft Hololens (read more about it here) and the startup Magic Leap (read more about it here).

Software

There's a few things going on here. first, multiple developers are pushing towards VR. For example Facebook has staged an intent towards a social experience - Mark Zuckerberg is being quoted as saying "VR is going to be the most social platform. Facebook, with Oculus, are committed to this for the long term. We’ve recently created new teams at Facebook to build the next generation of social apps and VR." The other big player is a company called unity. The Unity engine powers most everything in VR and AR (read more about Unity here). Other companies use their development engine to build out capability. Looking at other software trends, the big next step will be for the experience market to flesh out. I'm sure the big studios will get in on it, but you likely will see smaller developers in the space too. I imagine it will be similar to what happened in online games in the 1990s and the App Store in the 2000s- it'll be the wild west for awhile and then you'll have a nice mix of A-list and indie development.

What's next

What blew me away was the level of maturity of the tech. For those who have not yet experienced it: your brain is a whore. It is a whore like the the women of the Western world. Once VR is at a certain threshold (and it's already there) - your brain is immediately tricked into perceiving it as reality. It is disturbing how immersive the tech is, and that's with clunky headsets and early software. Your brain WANTS to believe. It will sap the weak willed. If you've read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, we're headed towards that level of dystopia.

All that said, it's not quite prime time yet. It is still clearly in early adopter mode, and I don't think the social norms are there yet. That said, it's coming and coming fast. I think the social norms will get there if Facebook, Google and Apple push it - and they will. Unlike Google glass it's a private experience, so you won't get the "glass hole" push back. The hardware needs to go tetherless and lighter, and there needs to be more robust applications and experiences. Expect all of this to mature rapidly in the next 2-5 years.

Conclusion

VR is amazing - and terrifying. If you think things are bad now with regards to social retardation - just wait until people are fully plugged in 24/7 to an experience their brain makes them believe. Given how people have surrendered to their smartphones, this takes it to a whole new level. When you consider the marketing implications - people buying pixels with real money - it is going to be a corporate bonanza. It's going to help people who have checked out of society check out even further, and who knows how it will fuck up dating even more.

On the other hand, while recently on a flight with a screaming baby I found myself wishing I had a Samsung Gear so I could escape being in a middle seat while surrounded by the baby's wails.

[MiscBrah]

Your username is quite fitting for this particular topic

[Atlanta Man]

Thank you for this overview, it was informative and interesting.

[MikeS]

I haven't had the opportunity to try VR yet but it's very likely I'll buy Playstation VR towards the end of this year (or early next year, if they run out of stock and can't keep up with demand after the first batch - I'm not planning on putting in a pre-order).

I'm primarily interested in VR for "proper" games - racing, other cockpit based games, some shooters - rather than the all the interesting but probably ultimately very shallow tech demos and mini games I've been reading about in particularly HTC Vive articles.
I'm a little concerned that some of the racing games currently supporting VR on PC (first and foremost Project Cars, which is also on consoles, though no idea if it can be built to support Playstation VR later) are also among the the games rated "very intense" - or in other words potentially vomit inducing. I would think that cockpit based games would be a fantastic fit for VR, but apparently the disconnect between sight and body can be problematic here when you're strapped into a fixed position within the game. Hopefully VR camera settings and simulated g-force movement etc. are things the developer will get better at dialing in in VR.

[Penta Sahi]

I had a chance to try a Samsung VR headset at the mall the other day. I was impressed. Since I have an S7, I'll be looking to get a headset of my own soon since they're fairly cheap.

For now I just ordered a Google cardboard thing. It should tide me over until I plunk down and get an actual headset.

I've tried watching playthroughs of Dreadhalls on YouTube, and I can't even finish watching one of them with commentary. I can't even imagine what playing the actual game with a VR headset is like.

[spokepoker]

Last time I tried VR was at a Fred Meyers when they had the virtual boy setup to try.
I think about ten minutes in I threw up a bunch of red vines I had been eating.

[Mage]

This is one technology that I will avoid using for as long as possible.

Everybody I have seen using it looks like a facehugged victim of a technoalien attack. It reminds me to enjoy the real world as much as I can before the borg comes.

[Sidney Crosby]

I've never tried a VR headset, but one time I hot knifed bubble hash and held phone in front of my face in a pitch black room cause I couldn't get off the floor and it was good. I wonder if the 3D feeling will be similar.

[TheFinalEpic]

Count me out. Seems like a way to dumb down the masses further than ever before.

[Captainstabbin]

I'm a huge fan of archaeology and I'd LOVE to have a VR system that could give me the experience of entering Tut's tomb for the first time or watching a Mayan ritual or seeing Rome at it's height or even witnessing major events from the Bible. Current systems aren't quite there yet but they're getting close.

I think VR can give you an experience you can't get just by traveling to ancient sites - and there's almost no chance of being beheaded by crazy people.

[The Beast1]

What if the real world we live in is an elaborate quantum VR set and we've all forgotten as a people that it's not real?

[Ski pro]

(05-03-2016 12:55 AM)Captainstabbin Wrote:  

I'm a huge fan of archaeology and I'd LOVE to have a VR system that could give me the experience of entering Tut's tomb for the first time or watching a Mayan ritual or seeing Rome at it's height or even witnessing major events from the Bible. Current systems aren't quite there yet but they're getting close.

I think VR can give you an experience you can't get just by traveling to ancient sites - and there's almost no chance of being beheaded by crazy people.

For sure that would be a good use for it but I assume the majority of use for VR will be further lock away the nerds in basements never to be seen again.

I can see a future where I'm wandering around asking myself where everyone is.

Ps. Great thread OP. Thanks for the summary.

[Valentine]

Virtual Reality will be the home for betas checking out.

Augmented Reality on the other hand (Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLens) will be the replacement for smartphones.

VR headsets = you can't see through it

AR headsets = you can see through it, it simply projects images infront of your eyes. For example, you can get a HUD, see objects on a table that aren't really there etc

Augmented Reality also will massively increase our lays:

If not through the apps and integrations then certainly through the method in last 30 seconds of the video haha.

[MikeS]

I'm noticing some attitudes along similar to those of "grown men shouldn't play video games" or "gamers are nerds who can't get laid". And sure, there are obviously lots of bottom rung SMV men among those who play video games but like all things done in moderation it can also simply be a perfectly good way to relax at the end of a day and doesn't preclude living a life that also includes women, sports, traveling, reading and many other more or less productive activities.

From my perspective VR seems to have the potential to allow previously unrivaled immersion in fictional worlds, and while some people will no doubt abuse that (just like some people abuse a wealth of other things) and retreat even further from society than they may already have, I would - ever since I was a kid three decades ago - find my life immensely more dull if it had to be grounded in day to day reality 24/7 with no time given to temporary flights into fantastical, fictional worlds, whether through books, movies, video games or now with VR a more visually immersive version of some of those.

[Mindless Drone]

I agree there will be huge upsides to VR. My concern is more with the societal impacts. It's no different from smart phones or any other technology. With moderation - huge benefits. With excess - huge negatives. Unfortunately most people are weak willed and there are corporate incentives to turn people into content zombies - and VR will take it to a whole new level that won't be topped until we are plugged into the matrix.

[262]

^ Like any technology or improvement, I see these developments as the market becoming more efficient.

Folks who give in to tech addiction will get even more ruthlessly used, while the few who can resist it will reap the rewards.

You can replace "tech" in that last sentence with other changes - "cheap food," "online validation," "porn," etc.

[Burt Gummer]

How many layers of delusion will people willingly accept to ignore the truth that all that matters in life is health, relationships, and success.

[debeguiled]

If you are at least in your late twenties, you will soon find yourselves saying all the same annoying things about VR that your parents said to you about your smart phone.

VR is for people who didn't learn anything from "The Matrix."

Can't wait to check it out.

[Penta Sahi]

My cheapo Google cardboard thing came in the mail yesterday, so I had a chance to look at the VR apps available for it. Not bad, though it's mostly limited to just 360 degree photo tours, 3d movies, or simplish games.

I do really like it though. I will be definitely getting a proper VR headset in the future, the Samsung VR because it's relatively cheap (and I already have the phone anyways), and at some point the Oculus when my laptop finally dies and I have to buy a new PC.

I'm going on a multi-day hike this weekend, and I'm going to use the Google cardboard camera to take some 3DVR pictures of the forests and mountains, so I can finally give a glimpse to my elderly parents what the mountains are like since there's no way they'll ever get a chance to experience it for themselves in the flesh.

[heavy]

My brother was saying he played this...he says it messes with you. I plan on trying it at some point.

[RoastBeefCurtains4Me]

There was a simulation convention in Orlando, FL last week, where a computer vision tracking system (Optitrack) was used together with an Oculus Rift headset. Optitrack is most commonly used for motion capture, where the put markers on a person and have them move around to provide movement for animated characters.

However, here they tracked the basketball as it moved in real life, then injected a virtual basketball in the VR headset scene.

The player was able to wear the VR headset, which blocked the view of the real world, and then throw and catch the real basketball, by seeing it in the virtual world. This demonstrates a real advance in VR capability, because latency and lack of real time responsiveness was always one of its worst shortcomings. A little bit of latency is enough to cause severe motion sickness. The fact that they are achieving this real time performance is a significant breakthrough.

Here's a video. There are letting convention visitors test the system, so there's no skill required to use it with the basketball.

[MikeS]

I bought both Playstation VR and Gear VR two months ago, having been quite enthusiastic about the idea of VR (hadn't previously tried it). Both have mostly been gathering dust the last five or six weeks and while the Gear VR was acceptably priced to go with my Galaxy S7 Edge phone I'm regretting buying the PSVR (I'm keeping it for now, but only because it might turn out to be a little tricky to sell here in Bulgaria, where the PSVR isn't even officially released yet and with no VR content on the PS online store - I've had to find roundabout ways to purchase from the US store).

I won't deny still being thoroughly impressed with the sense of immersion, scale and 3D depth of VR - and have had a few genuinely awesome experiences (like the short ocean dive from PSVR Worlds) - but unfortunately it (the two systems I've tried at least) currently comes with a number of problems of varying severity.

- Big, sometimes massive downgrades (eg. DriveClub VR on PS compared to the highly detailed 2D version) in visual quality compared to the same or similar games or other content running in regular 2D.
- Visual issues that are new to VR, like screendoor effect, visible RGB subpixels in some dark areas, blur towards the edges of the image.
- Other technical issues like occasional tracking problems or the image drifting to one side (these issues vary a lot, and probably depends on both software, surroundings and possibly in some cases hardware issues).
- 95% of the content is at worst something that would be laughed at if it was in 2D and at best something that's just too short and too high priced (I'm not the only one finding myself in the odd situation where I shelled out a decent amount of money on the hardware but I find myself unwilling to pay comparatively modest prices for content - simply because a lot of it is quite severely overpriced for what little you get).
- I quickly came to the realization that at least for me, and contrary to what I had expected before trying VR, I don't actually want for instance full length traditional games (a few exist, like the previously mentioned racing game DriveClub VR, and also a few online shooters etc.) as I really don't want to wear a headset for more than at most 20 minutes at a time. And then there's the visual downgrades to deal with, as well as for some people, me included, motion sickness in some VR content.
The best VR content for me so far has been non-interactive (except for obviously being able to look around and move a little) animated content.
- Watching Netflix or a locally stored movie on a virtual cinema screen, that really does look as large as being in an actual cinema, is cool for around five minutes. Then you get enough of the SD-like video quality and the very minor but still present and constant discomfort of the headset and watch it on your HDTV instead.
- VR porn is neat, particularly when the studios get the size proportions realistic (many seem to make people look a little too large, though not as badly as I've seen in some non-VR 360 degree videos). I don't watch nearly as much porn as I used to though, which is probably overall not such a bad thing at all. Also, again with the headset annoyances, porn or otherwise it's always a bit of a ceremony when you have to get everything started, even on the simple non-cabled Gear VR. I just can't be bothered 19 times out of 20.

I have no idea whether VR has a realistic near future or if this generation will fizzle out. There's a dire need for good content, which may turn out to be a problem since at least in the area of games I've read that some developers feel that making a VR game is not just not profitable but actually barely or not able to cover the costs. Without good content the install base might never reach a required level.
Mobile VR - Gear VR, Google DayDream etc. - might be the most likely type of VR to stick around for now. But like with regular mobile apps it's my impression so far that also 99% of the VR content is throwaway garbage.

Anyone in Bulgaria want to buy a lightly used PSVR?

[fortysix]

When I was a kid people were telling me that its bad to sit close to the TV because it could f*** with your vision.

Years later, after millions of hours sitting infront of a computer screen at work, and staring at a phone screen at home, my vision is garbage, and getting worse every year. I plan to eventually get LASIK.

Any thoughts on how using VR could potentially mess with your vision?

[MiscBrah]

(12-08-2016 06:52 PM)fortysix Wrote:  

Any thoughts on how using VR could potentially mess with your vision?

I've been curious about this as well. Having a screen that close to your eyes for long periods of time can't be good in my opinion.