Virtual Reality: Because who doesn't like escaping from their family?

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I just know they're coming to kill me.
What headsets do any of you VR junkies own and what do you do with them?

I'm a huge aficionado of the whole thing, having worked on a few VR games and owning three headsets: the PSVR 1 and 2, and the Valve Index. I've played nearly all the popular games, with my favorites probably being Resident Evil 7, Skyrim and Star Wars: Squadrons.

I really do feel virtual reality is the purest form of escapism, and it's only going to get better in time. I don't foresee it ever replacing flat screen cinema, but it certainly can offer unique experiences that a 2D movie can't.

Its industry cousin, augmented reality (AR), like I predicted, seems to be going the way of engineering and medicinal, with architects using the AR goggles to better visualize what it is they're designing, and medical students to get a close up of a human heart. Though no doubt a lot of fun can be had with AR too, such as the summer of 2016's Pokémon Go phenomenon.
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Everything I do, I do to make my second stepdad proud.



Ghouls, vampires, werewolves... let's party.
I love the idea of VR but I don't know how it all works and it seems so expensive. What I need is a how to guide that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about VR, how to get started, what equipment you need, whether you need to buy a subscription and how much it all costs. I have a budget gaming laptop I bought at Walmart for about $950 (plus tax) but I'm not sure it's strong enough for VR.



My first brief experiences with VR, while fun, were clearly not at the level where I'd want to play it anywhere close to regularly. It sure seems like it's gotten significantly better and cheaper in the last couple of years, so I'm tempted to try it again at some point soon.



I just know they're coming to kill me.
What I need is a how to guide that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about VR, how to get started, what equipment you need, whether you need to buy a subscription and how much it all costs. I have a budget gaming laptop I bought at Walmart for about $950 (plus tax) but I'm not sure it's strong enough for VR.
I can answer any of those questions for you, but first answer this one of mine: what graphics card is in your laptop?

My first brief experiences with VR, while fun, were clearly not at the level where I'd want to play it anywhere close to regularly. It sure seems like it's gotten significantly better and cheaper in the last couple of years, so I'm tempted to try it again at some point soon.
When did you last put on a headset?



When did you last put on a headset?
I think it was a couple of years ago, at a Halloween party. I played Beat Saber or something. Or maybe just after at a video game convention. Definitely not in the last year, year-plus or two, though, and I've seen a lot more talk about it since, most of it thankfully centering around the exact kinds of things I was thinking it would have to improve to be worthwhile. So maybe it's already at that level.

I'm pretty finnicky about wearables and motion sickness and stuff so my threshold is pretty high, though.



Ghouls, vampires, werewolves... let's party.
I can answer any of those questions for you, but first answer this one of mine: what graphics card is in your laptop?
Hello and thank you! It's a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. The computer is a Gateway GGNC71719.



I just know they're coming to kill me.
I think it was a couple of years ago, at a Halloween party. I played Beat Saber or something. Or maybe just after at a video game convention. Definitely not in the last year, year-plus or two, though, and I've seen a lot more talk about it since, most of it thankfully centering around the exact kinds of things I was thinking it would have to improve to be worthwhile. So maybe it's already at that level.

I'm pretty finnicky about wearables and motion sickness and stuff so my threshold is pretty high, though.
It's definitely gotten better, with the "screen door" effect getting more and more minimal with each headset iteration. Maybe give it another shot. This kayak game that I picked up for the PSVR2 is definitely a great VR showcase game, as it's chill and a good graphical showcase for this current gen. Something like that would be, I feel, a good way to ease someone like yourself into VR.

Hello and thank you! It's a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. The computer is a Gateway GGNC71719.
Hmm... you could, in theory, but it may result in a janky experience per this article.



I really want to jump into this soon, but its going to be for a visual experience and not a gaming one. Traveling to other countries, watching concerts, etc are more what I'm after.



You ready? You look ready.
I have a feeling VR will never take off. It’ll always be a niche product. There’s too many negatives to overcome for it to be an enjoyable experience for the normies.

From the jump, people have already been programmed to view VR as weird/odd. We got books, and movies, and articles all saying the same thing: it’s a cold world with limited connection, or it corrupts the soul. That’s some heavy marketing to contend with.

Me? I tried it once and meh. Almost puked on my shoes.

AR is definitely the future and that ain’t looking much better. Targeted ads are gonna be a nightmare once someone figures out how to subsidize the tech with advertising.



I just know they're coming to kill me.
I have a feeling VR will never take off. It’ll always be a niche product.
It'll only take off once it has its killer app, which I don't think has surfaced yet. You'll get a lot of biased answers from the VR community regarding whether or not a game has dropped that would fit that title, but again, that's coming directly from the aficionados, not the mainstream. What that is, who knows. But as much flak as they get, I gotta hand it to Meta for being, in my opinion, the go-to headset a lot of people think of and see, mainly because of its retail exposure in places like Walmart and Target. That's great for VR. Yes, Sony and Valve are not too far behind, but Sony is only selling their PSVR2 via PlayStation Direct, and the Index via Steam. No doubt also that this tech is expensive... I've sunk damn near $2,500 on VR since 2017 with all my headsets and peripherals, and that's not even counting the games or the consoles/PCs needed to run them. That will turn away most people right there.

But if you get a killer app out there, you'll turn the tide.



I don't own any yet. Most people in general are late adopters. And VR is something that has to be done well to be convincing.

VR needs to have high resolution and overall quality on its displays and cameras, while also having comfort and build quality to be worn for longer periods of time. For VR to get wide adoption, there's needs to be a good $200-300 device and a great $1000 one.

I expect VR to be common in 5+ years from now, especially with Apple making one; it's going to get developers, and consumers will feel like it'll be a well-supported product and not just a short term fad.