/tg/Station 13

by **Timbrewolf** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:41 am #212317

I've heard good things from people so I made the jump and ordered an HTC Vive.

What games are good for these things?

The NEW games I'm interested in the most right now are Tilt Brush, SoundStage, and Onward.
The games I already have with VR features I want to play are Elite Dangerous, Dirt Rally, and House of the Dying Sun.

The game I'm looking forward to playing the least is Subnautica holy fuck god jesus no

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:11 am #212322

>Old games with VR features

I personally don't bother. If I'm gonna go through the trouble of setting up the headset then I'm going to play a roomscale game.

Head tracking by itself feels gimmicky and lacklustre after you've done roomscale.

Subnautica doesn't work with Vive. I've heard it's possible with ReVive, but it's a crapshoot whether it will be broken update by update.

>VR games

Onward is what I have the most time in personally. Great fun.

Tilt Brush is amazing if you have any inclination to do art whatsoever, it's by far the most played game in my library.

Budget Cuts Demo (Free) is by far one of the best experiences out there right now. One of the games that really gave me "presence" when I was leaning up against a corner, peaking my head out to scout for robots.

The Lab is a good minigame collection (also free), shame Valve hasn't done more stuff.

Vanishing Realms is good, classic dungeon crawling, though I find melee combat in general a bit less immersive in VR (no weight to anything)

Raw Data is something a lot of people love, but it's poorly optimized and I don't really find the movement style engaging. It's also the priciest of the bunch, but it's worth checking out just to be a cyborg ninja.

theBlu is short and sweet, it's perfect for showing off VR to people who aren't gamers.

Space Pirate Trainer is another demo staple/fun little arcade thing.

In all honesty though the headset is much more impressive than the games for the most part.

Remember to fuck around in the steamvr config file and enable supersampling if your card can handle it, really improves the visuals as well.

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:14 am #212323

And of course you have to launch SS13 at least once in VR desktop, just to say you did.

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:16 am #212324

Finally, these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HN ... UTF8&psc=1

And these

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012F ... UTF8&psc=1

Are a perfect and relatively cheap way to mount the lighthouses if you don't want to drill them into the wall.

by **Timbrewolf** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:22 am #212325

I've been using headtracking tech in games for years, it'll be nice to be able to do that naturally 1:1 with 3D. It may not be as impressive if you're making the jump to roomscale tech all at the same time but for me I'm intested in that inbetween as much as I am the roomscale stuff.

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:24 am #212326

Different tastes I guess. My DK2 became a paperweight pretty quickly even without room tracking to compare to and I'd kinda lost interest in VR entirely until I demo'd the vive (though that was also due to lack of decent content, not to mention nausea).

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:26 am #212327

Being able to crouch or walk in real life and have it happen in the game is just crazy.

by **Timbrewolf** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:27 am #212328

Yeah I can see that. As a sim lover being able to look around inside a cockpit in 3D without having to calibrate a tracking device is a huge sell in and of itself. If I could wear a pair of gloves so that I can push buttons and flip levers in the gamespace while also using my HOTAS I'd be in heaven.

by **Shaps-cloud** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:28 am #212329

I heavily enjoy dicking around with Hot Dogs Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, it's just so comfy. Raw Data is also a very good game (probably the most thorough game I've played so far, though Onward is also good)

Kor wrote:Being able to crouch or walk in real life and have it happen in the game is just crazy.

Leaning is also amazing

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:30 am #212330

Definitely more impressive if you're supposed to be seated anyway yeah. Pilot "games" (demos) were my favourite on the DK2. Probably be more fun with a flightstick or even an xbox controller rather than a mouse/keyboard as well.

Maybe judging seated VR by a two year old devkit is a bit harsh, couldn't hurt to try again some day.

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:35 am #212331

Also I know it's a sin to link to reddit but

https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/

Is a pretty good place for VR news and discussion.

The vive community is pretty small and friendly right now, have not had a negative multiplayer experience yet.

by **Incomptinence** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:05 am #212358

Reddit is alright for niche hobbies.

by **ThanatosRa** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:05 pm #212433

What I keep hearing is that right now VR is mostly gimmick games. THough some of those gimmick games are Really good. I'm going to hold off, mainly because I can't afford this shit.

by **onleavedontatme** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:11 pm #212434

ThanatosRa wrote:What I keep hearing is that right now VR is mostly gimmick games. THough some of those gimmick games are Really good. I'm going to hold off, mainly because I can't afford this shit.

You should see if there are any Microsoft stores running demos near you, it's worth the time go try at least.

by **ThanatosRa** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:18 pm #212440

I suppose. There's likely plenty in Vegas, I just haven't had the time nor desire right now.

by **Lumbermancer** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:30 pm #212444

I don't have any VR myself, but I toyed quite a lot with both Vive and Occulus.

It's true that Vive has most gimmicks and short "experiences" (and generally most SHIT). I think it's largely because devs are still figuring out good ways to translate traditional gameplay and movement into room-scale. The default method right now is simply pointing and teleporting around, which is not very immersive and doesn't work well in multiplayer environment. On the other hand some gimmicks that Vive has are REALLY GOOD. And you can easily get your non-gaming parents to enjoy the Tilt Brush.

Occulus on the other hand has more "core" experiences (real games), and high quality products. But VR implementation in many of them seems to be kinda forced, especially in the games that really do not benefit from VR at all like 3rd person platformers and stuff.

I think both are till toys. And I wouldn't see myself sitting for hours in VR like I do at the desktop.

by **Timbrewolf** » Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:54 pm #212476

Honestly the killer-app for me was this:

I hate using DAW's for anything, I'm a hands-on hardware guy.
This is a psuedo DAW for the hands-on guy. In roomscale 3D vr.

Consider that a standard license for Ableton 9 is like $500 already. Just for the software. If you want one of their purpose built controllers like a PUSH or something you're looking at $749.99 bundled with the software.

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:51 am #212789

Do you have any particular favorite brands for speakers/sound cards? Figure I should make my games sound nicer if I'm pouring money into the VR thing anyway, and I may as well get decent audio for my TV as long as I'm learning how to actually listen to things.

Not looking for professional grade stuff, just something a little nicer than my three year old gaming headset.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:29 am #212792

I could sperg out really hard and go on a big rant about audio quality and tube amp driven analog filters vs. studio monitors and flat response but that's a whole fucking exercise.

I hear people really like those Astro's for professional gaymens. When it comes to listening to music I think Grado and Sennhauser make the best cans for simply enjoying it. On the more affordable end Yamaha always have really great bang for their buck IMO.

I bought one VR game so far, Hotdogs Horshoes etc. Sandbox stuff but still really amazing as just a demonstration of what VR is. I turned my Vive on for the first time today and was just totally awe-struck as I stared up at the ceiling of the test lab VR environment. It really feels like there is space around you. The visual stream is so complete and looks so good that it pulls your brain right into believing you're there.

While playing H3 I had a situation where I had moved so much I was towards the edge of my play-space and to get back to the middle I had to walk through a bench.
Something about that felt physically revolted. Like moving through objects, clipping through shit in VR, just feels really fucking wrong.

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:37 am #212795

I love when my brain gets tricked. I dropped a box lid on the floor in Job Simulator, forgot about it, and tried to kick it out of the way later when I was turning around.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:39 am #212796

Yeah I had a bunch of empty mags and mags I just created to throw around that I constantly wanted to kick around with my feet but couldn't.

I also kept smashing my hand into the floor bending down to pick random shit up that I dropped.

There's a really weird feeling of knowing your body is there, but being unable to see it and being unable to use it to interact with anything directly that is also really fucking weird.
When you take off the headset after using it for a bit the real world's colors are also kinda strange for a minute.

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:59 am #212808

Try theBlu now. The sense of scale is another big wow moment for VR, and a blue whale shows that off pretty well.

That, or shrink yourself down in an appropriate tilt brush painting (I'm biased, but I think this is a good one to do while syncing it to Doom 2016 music https://file.house/39wI.tilt). That or make your own of course.

by **oranges** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:03 am #212817

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 1:41 pm #212836

Kor wrote:Try theBlu now. The sense of scale is another big wow moment for VR, and a blue whale-

NOPE.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:48 pm #212865

Oh goddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 5:11 pm #212867

I generally find seeing the players face obnoxious in gameplay videos, but you really need a simultaneous camera on yourself to even begin to capture the effect of a VR game.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:33 pm #212907

There's an indescribable quality to it I don't think any smart cut or PIP will replicate.

I had assumed it would be a cool thing but I wasn't prepared for how believable it is. Things are the size they should be. You aren't staring out a small car windshield on a screen at a small race track with small people on it. You're sitting in a full-sized driver's seat whizzing through a world where everything is the size it should be. And that's huge in and of itself. It's like playing on the largest screen possible. It's everywhere you look.

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 8:43 pm #212909

There's an indescribable quality to it I don't think any smart cut or PIP will replicate.

I had assumed it would be a cool thing but I wasn't prepared for how believable it is.

I'm sure it's driving their marketing people nuts. It certainly bothers me that I can't find the right words to describe it to friends and family. It's really just something you have to experience.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:18 pm #212934

Yeah, they have a challenge laid out for themselves because a lot of tech has come before this claiming it would do what this actually achieves, but failed miserably or was only a pipe dream.

I gotta say that there aren't a whole lot of really crazy gaming experiences that capitalize on this just yet. There's a LOT of just sandbox type shit and "stand in a circle shooting at stuff" type shit.
The industry surrounding it is still capitalizing on the "hey it's actually virtual reality and it works!" experience and that's fine but I'm waiting for the first real AAA-built-purposely-for-VR type experience.

But like, I just stood in a virtual shooting range for two hours straight just firing a pistol downrange and practicing snapping mags in from a shoulder rig.
I stopped only because my computer eventually said FUCK THIS trying to render the MASSIVE pile of empty magazines and casings everywhere. Like, I was standing in spent munitions up to my shins.
...and I could totally go right back into doing that for the rest of the night. And be happy. So here I am at the bottom of the barrel for what this experience can provide and I feel like I could do this forever.

by **onleavedontatme** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:37 pm #212938

So House of the Dying Sun is actually pretty cool. Unlike the DK2, the resolution is high enough that I can actually see shit and craning you neck for a glimpse of the enemy fighter while doing a tight turn is fun times. Surprisingly no nausea from doing that either.

but failed miserably or was only a pipe dream.

Yeah, or they've tried Gear VR/google cardboard and think that is all there is to VR. Don't get me wrong, those things are entertaining, but it's hard to explain your excitement if that's their current impression of it.

by **J_Madison** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:48 pm #212941

islomic gommunists in this country had a postal strike and delayed my 24H delivery to 72H delivery.

got most of it setup, just need to config some stuff.

by **Timbrewolf** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:56 pm #212944

Noice Jmad.

I haven't experienced any motion sickness yet but I'm left-eye dominant and it's a bit of a hassle because I don't normally shoot that way, but the way vision works out in vive I kinda have to.

I actually end up shooting better left-handed in this thing because of it, when I'm only using one hand.

With two hands I'm still better with my dominant hand. Kinda funny though.

by **paprika** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:58 pm #212945

Waiting for 500 or less before trying this, but I'll definitely dish 500

by **J_Madison** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:03 am #212951

I'm still feeling the crash of taking a caffiene pill from Tuesday, and my eyes were twitching/pulsing when I was testing it out. Sleep deprivation I can withstand, Caffiene-crash sleep deprivation is too strong for me.

I've ordered a bluetooth remote as a push to talk system, I don't like having an open mic.

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:35 am #212956

My biggest problem in using it is that my headphones are always falling off from me craning my neck around to look all over the place.

The earbuds it comes with aren't bad but they don't fit well and just fall out all the time.

My Logitech headset has much better sound and a microphone setup but the extra weight tends to teeter around and fall off especially during games like House of the Dying Sun where you are looking up and all around a lot.

So far I have:

Stepped on my cat (she then bit the shit out of my foot)
Smacked my ceiling fixture
Punched the wall, floor, and a desk a few times (I have learned not to punch the floor anymore)

JMad definitely do the eye measurement thing. Check how many MM apart your eyes are and then adjust the knob on the lower right side of the headset's eye piece. Also you may need to pull the rubber gaskets off the side and extend the front array a bit if you are having trouble focusing. They click out a step then you can dial them forwards or backwards to push the actual display housing further away from your face.

by **onleavedontatme** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:39 am #212958

If you've managed all that in a game where you're standing around a chill gun range, I'm a bit worried for you when you try a game with real combat.

by **J_Madison** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:49 am #212960

Which headsets/sound setup do you have and use for the vive?

I'm doing fine with my Corsair 2100 wireless setup. I have my old Logitech G35 which might not hold as tight (held together by 3D printed parts, heavily damaged) but could work.

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:55 am #212962

I use a Logitech G930.

Great sound, had it for years now. Still holding together. I bought a spare battery for it since the one in it is kinda fucked after all these years. Would recommend. If you do get one: unplug it whenever it is fully charged and just let it kill the battery in it, then plug it back in etc. etc. It has a problem with the battery where if it overcharges it starts to make this weird static noice and then it trips a circuit that just kills the whole battery at once.

Not awful but it just always seems to happen at the worst moments (when I've been marathon gaming and forgot to unplug the damn headset to let it run off battery for a bit).

by **onleavedontatme** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 12:59 am #212963

Plantronic Gamecon 780. Super comfy and never had a problem with them slipping off. Popped the little lid off the top and plugged it into the HMD's usb slot (make sure to thread the wire through the loops that the 3 in 1 cable uses so you don't get tangled in it).

The shitty aux extension cable that came with the vive died within days, but having that front panel open doesn't seem to negatively impact use at all.

by **J_Madison** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:13 am #212970

Oh man the 780. I still have that somewhere. That headset is built like a tank and held strong.

Friend of mines G930 hada similar fate to the G35. The G35 and G930 have pretty similar parts and weight/grip issues afaik.

by **onleavedontatme** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:20 am #212971

That headset is built like a tank and held strong.

I had a concrete floor in my last place and I must have dropped it 3-5 times.

One of the ear cups flew off once and I just shoved it back on without any tools/glue, shit is still working three years later.

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:28 am #212972

For whatever reason Newegg gave me a free pair of Turtle Beach Z11's when I bought my Vive. They haven't arrived yet (shipped separately from the same distribution center for whatever reason, don't really care) but I can't imagine they're very good.

Might get some use out of them simply so that if they shake off my head and smash on the floor I'm not out anything of value. Don't think they do 7.1 at the price of free.

Game-wise is there anything with decent co-op yet? The only things I can think of are Raw Data and Onward.

by **onleavedontatme** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:37 am #212975

You pretty much just listed them. Other multiplayer games (hover junkers, battle dome) more or less died when Onward came out (not that I ever played them anyway).

Some people swear by QuiVR but I don't really like bow games, so I have not tried it yet.

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:23 am #212994

Raw Data is legit fucking spooky when you turn around and there's a giant fucking robot in your face ready to punch you or stab you.

Holy shit. Was not expecting to be so fucking startled by that.

by **onleavedontatme** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:46 am #212997

Just wait till level two. I could not handle that shit outside of co-op.

by **PKPenguin321** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:02 am #213001

onward is fucking legendary to watch at the very least
https://clips.twitch.tv/lirik/ImportantGoatDansGame

by **PKPenguin321** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:05 am #213002

oh and also https://clips.twitch.tv/lirik/VastEmuBionicBunion and subsequently https://clips.twitch.tv/lirik/StupidMallardMikeHogu

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 2:53 pm #213046

Invisible ninja robot is the surprise nightmare fodder of 2016.

Fuck

by **J_Madison** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:21 pm #213129

here's my issue with vr aside from the death grips it has on my head;

incredibly fast metabolism + VR buring calories = hungry when playing video games.

by **Timbrewolf** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 10:36 pm #213130

I was just about to comment to the effect that this is way more of a workout than i was prepared for

Playing Raw Data as sword girl and I'm sweating like fucking crazy