Post by dschroll on Oct 15, 2016 16:56:52 GMT -5
Hey all,
I figure the PS VR warrants its own thread and a few of us have picked it up now, so this would be a good place to talk about what we love about it and maybe what we don't love.
So, I'm going to begin.
I've been very torn on the PS VR. On one hand, it's expensive and the launch lineup seems more like short experiences or tech demos. On the other hand, after demoing the Oculus Rift a couple years ago and the PS VR a few weeks ago, I was quickly reminded of how revolutionary VR is for gaming and how it truly offers an experience like no other. So, I decided to pull the trigger on the PS VR since it was the most affordable of the VR sets out there and I already had a PS4 to boot.
Setting up the thing is fairly straight forward. Yes, there is a breakout box and yes there are a number of cables running to and from the break out box, but honestly, I put the box in my cabinet on top of my PS4 and the cables are pretty much hidden behind my entertainment stand with the rats nest of other cables I have back there. So, the cables was a non issue for me. The headset has a big 6 foot cable running to it, but it's really not all that intrusive.
I didn't have any move controllers or a PS4 camera, so I picked up the launch bundle and set all those devices up as well. Fairly straight forward.
The launch bundle also comes with the PS VR Worlds game and I also purchased Batman Arkham VR.
Calibrating the PS VR also was fairly straight forward along with the move controllers.
Now, my time with the PS VR has been mixed. I will say, when it works, it is absolutely amazing and I truly feel I am in the game world. Nothing gives me that sensation more than Batman Arkham VR. I mean, this game, while short, is just absolutely fantastic. This game just truly shows how amazing VR can be IMO. You solve puzzles and piece together a murder mystery. Just the opening scene which has you putting on the bat suit, was a thing of awe. I loved it. But, as much as I can rave and rave about Batman, this is the game that is ultimately going to have me retuning my PS VR set. Why? Because as great as Batman is, it also (at least for me) shows that the current tracking method for PS VR is just not ideal. Let me clarify.
In Batman, the game places you in various settings. And while standing in those settings, for instance, Bruce Wayne's living room, I'm starting at a piano. Now, while there, I can bend down and look around at things and you really feel like you can reach out and touch something. But I'll just be standing there looking at everything and objects like the piano, are moving closer and then away from me while I'm just standing still. I'm not moving at all, but stationary objects are. It's a bit jarring to say the least and causes me a bit of nausea at times.
It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that I just can't justify plunking down $500+ for a VR set that I'm having intermittent fun with.
I thought at first maybe it was ambient light interfering with things, since the PS Camera is used to track the head set and move controllers. So, I waited til night and turned off all the lights. Same issue for me. I managed to play all the way through Batman and again, I was in awe of just how awesome this tech is. But I think I'm going to have to wait for Sony to come up with a more reliable tracking system than a standard camera.
So, I plan to enjoy the pS VR a bit more this week and return it to Best Buy. The tech is amazing and I can't believe what they've been able to achieve with a standard PS4, but Sony's decision to re-use old tech like the Move controllers and Camera, are the big hindrance on this thing. The tracking just throws off the experience enough for me that I can't enjoy it to the extent I would need to feel comfortable with a $500 purchase.
However, I have no doubt that if Sony makes a rev 2 of this tech and ups their tracking to something a bit more reliable, then I am all in.
I figure the PS VR warrants its own thread and a few of us have picked it up now, so this would be a good place to talk about what we love about it and maybe what we don't love.
So, I'm going to begin.
I've been very torn on the PS VR. On one hand, it's expensive and the launch lineup seems more like short experiences or tech demos. On the other hand, after demoing the Oculus Rift a couple years ago and the PS VR a few weeks ago, I was quickly reminded of how revolutionary VR is for gaming and how it truly offers an experience like no other. So, I decided to pull the trigger on the PS VR since it was the most affordable of the VR sets out there and I already had a PS4 to boot.
Setting up the thing is fairly straight forward. Yes, there is a breakout box and yes there are a number of cables running to and from the break out box, but honestly, I put the box in my cabinet on top of my PS4 and the cables are pretty much hidden behind my entertainment stand with the rats nest of other cables I have back there. So, the cables was a non issue for me. The headset has a big 6 foot cable running to it, but it's really not all that intrusive.
I didn't have any move controllers or a PS4 camera, so I picked up the launch bundle and set all those devices up as well. Fairly straight forward.
The launch bundle also comes with the PS VR Worlds game and I also purchased Batman Arkham VR.
Calibrating the PS VR also was fairly straight forward along with the move controllers.
Now, my time with the PS VR has been mixed. I will say, when it works, it is absolutely amazing and I truly feel I am in the game world. Nothing gives me that sensation more than Batman Arkham VR. I mean, this game, while short, is just absolutely fantastic. This game just truly shows how amazing VR can be IMO. You solve puzzles and piece together a murder mystery. Just the opening scene which has you putting on the bat suit, was a thing of awe. I loved it. But, as much as I can rave and rave about Batman, this is the game that is ultimately going to have me retuning my PS VR set. Why? Because as great as Batman is, it also (at least for me) shows that the current tracking method for PS VR is just not ideal. Let me clarify.
In Batman, the game places you in various settings. And while standing in those settings, for instance, Bruce Wayne's living room, I'm starting at a piano. Now, while there, I can bend down and look around at things and you really feel like you can reach out and touch something. But I'll just be standing there looking at everything and objects like the piano, are moving closer and then away from me while I'm just standing still. I'm not moving at all, but stationary objects are. It's a bit jarring to say the least and causes me a bit of nausea at times.
It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that I just can't justify plunking down $500+ for a VR set that I'm having intermittent fun with.
I thought at first maybe it was ambient light interfering with things, since the PS Camera is used to track the head set and move controllers. So, I waited til night and turned off all the lights. Same issue for me. I managed to play all the way through Batman and again, I was in awe of just how awesome this tech is. But I think I'm going to have to wait for Sony to come up with a more reliable tracking system than a standard camera.
So, I plan to enjoy the pS VR a bit more this week and return it to Best Buy. The tech is amazing and I can't believe what they've been able to achieve with a standard PS4, but Sony's decision to re-use old tech like the Move controllers and Camera, are the big hindrance on this thing. The tracking just throws off the experience enough for me that I can't enjoy it to the extent I would need to feel comfortable with a $500 purchase.
However, I have no doubt that if Sony makes a rev 2 of this tech and ups their tracking to something a bit more reliable, then I am all in.
