The idea is two-fold, I think. First, cables get in the way (and wireless latency is too high). When you're constantly having to avoid tripping on them, you're distracted from the game. Of course, you're trading that for a not insignificant weight on your back. Secondly, theoretically there are experimental game/production ideas that could involve larger room spaces that would make cabling even more problematic or impossible. It could fill an interesting niche.
On a side note, it could be nice for LANs too, as infrequent as they've become.
Is it going to be the mainstream concept for VR? Of course not. Price drives that more than anything. But this concept is the best it gets with no cables for at least a year or two. I'd like to see just a laptop harness that works for this as a better alternative, but of course it'd only work for certain laptops.
It supports multiple players. If you have a large enough space, you can trick people into thinking they're going straight when they're really going in a circle. You can make infinitely roaming spaces.
It's a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. I just can't see it emerging from its current niche with the technology currently have at our disposal or will have in the near term. It probably should be revisited in a decade or two, but right now it's still priced out of reach for high consumer demand that will offer software developers enough incentive to write appealing programs to take advantage of the equipment.
I'm not as certain as you are. Having only briefly experienced VR (and crappy Gear VR at that) I can tell you this is a new experience for most people. Far different than 3D, VR actually provides a unique experience that cannot be had anywhere else. True, today's VR is nothing like what will be available in a decade, but I do think the tech is there if one has enough money. When the headsets become wireless (the ad/ax spec should help this tremendously) and house 5-8k screens it will be absolutely lifelike. Of course today that kind of setup would likely cost thousands, but as technology evolves prices will come down and market adoption can start. I do not see this being a gimmick like 3D.
That's barely more than 10% battery by weight, and would probably only last half an hour. It's not clear to me why they don't use mobile parts with a larger battery.
For $2000 it should really include an HTC headset. I mean $2000 for a midrange gaming PC!? There isn't much more than $1000 in hardware in there. $250 CPU $400 GPU $80 motherboard $70 SSD $70 RAM $50 chassis $30 cooling system $50 PSU $30 batteries x2
In a Virtual Reality war game, this could literally be your rucksack. Attach some sandbags to it for a more realistic weight experience. Now all the game needs to do is ship with a 27.6lb M240B controller complete with an extra barrel, 1,000 rounds of linked plastic 7.62×51mm, and you're all set to go on a patrol!
A great device for virtual reality! Personally, I bought a virtual reality helmet oculus rift for my PC. I had a graphics card gtx 1070. But the power of this video card was not enough for a quality display of the virtual world. So I bought a more expensive video card (gtx 1080ti). But using only a helmet of virtual reality for VR games does not allow you to get the maximum of positive emotions from the virtual reality. Therefore, I often visit the center of virtual reality in Melbourne - https://virivr.com.au/. In this club, there is a lot of additional equipment that allows you to completely immerse in a virtual world.
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14 Comments
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shabby - Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - link
At that price they should probably include 6-8 batteries so you can charge/swap/charge/swap continuously.nathanddrews - Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - link
All I can think of:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MQquAuiuf4k/S9nFvbW7qaI/...
HomeworldFound - Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - link
I bet they'll only sell about 15 of these.beginner99 - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
Can anyone explain me the point of this? Do the VR headsets only ship with short cables?PseudoKnight - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
The idea is two-fold, I think. First, cables get in the way (and wireless latency is too high). When you're constantly having to avoid tripping on them, you're distracted from the game. Of course, you're trading that for a not insignificant weight on your back. Secondly, theoretically there are experimental game/production ideas that could involve larger room spaces that would make cabling even more problematic or impossible. It could fill an interesting niche.On a side note, it could be nice for LANs too, as infrequent as they've become.
Is it going to be the mainstream concept for VR? Of course not. Price drives that more than anything. But this concept is the best it gets with no cables for at least a year or two. I'd like to see just a laptop harness that works for this as a better alternative, but of course it'd only work for certain laptops.
PseudoKnight - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
Example of experimental games using larger room spaces: https://www.zerolatencyvr.com/It supports multiple players. If you have a large enough space, you can trick people into thinking they're going straight when they're really going in a circle. You can make infinitely roaming spaces.
milkod2001 - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
Looks like VR will go to history as the most $$$ wasted tech companies tried to re-invented again and again.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
It's a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. I just can't see it emerging from its current niche with the technology currently have at our disposal or will have in the near term. It probably should be revisited in a decade or two, but right now it's still priced out of reach for high consumer demand that will offer software developers enough incentive to write appealing programs to take advantage of the equipment.fanofanand - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
I'm not as certain as you are. Having only briefly experienced VR (and crappy Gear VR at that) I can tell you this is a new experience for most people. Far different than 3D, VR actually provides a unique experience that cannot be had anywhere else. True, today's VR is nothing like what will be available in a decade, but I do think the tech is there if one has enough money. When the headsets become wireless (the ad/ax spec should help this tremendously) and house 5-8k screens it will be absolutely lifelike. Of course today that kind of setup would likely cost thousands, but as technology evolves prices will come down and market adoption can start. I do not see this being a gimmick like 3D.Guspaz - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
That's barely more than 10% battery by weight, and would probably only last half an hour. It's not clear to me why they don't use mobile parts with a larger battery.Samus - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
For $2000 it should really include an HTC headset. I mean $2000 for a midrange gaming PC!? There isn't much more than $1000 in hardware in there.$250 CPU
$400 GPU
$80 motherboard
$70 SSD
$70 RAM
$50 chassis
$30 cooling system
$50 PSU
$30 batteries x2
fanofanand - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link
This will be fantastic for all of the virtual Sherpa games coming out.caleblloyd - Monday, December 5, 2016 - link
In a Virtual Reality war game, this could literally be your rucksack. Attach some sandbags to it for a more realistic weight experience. Now all the game needs to do is ship with a 27.6lb M240B controller complete with an extra barrel, 1,000 rounds of linked plastic 7.62×51mm, and you're all set to go on a patrol!Drake123 - Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - link
A great device for virtual reality! Personally, I bought a virtual reality helmet oculus rift for my PC. I had a graphics card gtx 1070. But the power of this video card was not enough for a quality display of the virtual world. So I bought a more expensive video card (gtx 1080ti). But using only a helmet of virtual reality for VR games does not allow you to get the maximum of positive emotions from the virtual reality. Therefore, I often visit the center of virtual reality in Melbourne - https://virivr.com.au/. In this club, there is a lot of additional equipment that allows you to completely immerse in a virtual world.