Topic: The people who have used VR impressions thread

@Tasuki: Tell that to the guy who tried comparing current-gen VR with a device from 1996!

@dryrain:

"Once they have better screen for VR it will pretty much eliminate the need to go to the cinema"

I highly doubt this will be the case. I can't see a family of four sitting on a couch together tangled in wires all enjoying the latest Disney movie while they eat their popcorn blindly and when it is time to wash their hands they reach for their headsets gobbing butter all over the equipment.

I'd like to know your experience with non VR games, especially now that I read you can use the VR set with other consoles too. I always thought that Dishonored, Bioshock or third person games like Dead Space and Dark Souls could be even more impressive if all you can see and hear comes from the fictional world you are currently in; my dog licking his nuts or the old lady yelling at the postman right out of my window often break the spell...

@andreoni79:

Using it for other systems or games via cinema mode is meh. The resolution is too grainy. I watched an episode of Reign from Netflix last night and honestly, I'd rather have just watched it normal.

But the actual VR games.... oh my goodness. It's beyond amazing.

As others have said, cinema mode is nothing to write home about. It might, just might, have been better if they had gone with the virtual cinema like oculus, but in truth the quality just isnt there. It would have been nicer to show off than the three levels of virtual zoom. Games wise, there are some good games, and some that arent so good. I love the vr worlds stuff, london heist (way too short) the shooting range is way too addictive and five minutes in you feel like you are actually holding guns rather than a couple of gowing dildos, sorry, move controllers. One thing i didnt like and havent worked out if it can actually be done, i have a couple of pistol adaptor/accessories thay fit the move, but the vr guns end up pointing massively out as the moves are expecting to be at around the thirty degree angle in use and the pistols obviously make it a straight ahead scenario. Super stardust vr is awesome in both modes, in vehicle vr and the more normal game. I doubt i will ever play the old game again as the vr version whups it. If anything i actually prefer the vr version of stardust to battlezone, controlling where your weapons fire using the headset (for the oldies its like the film blue thunder) is better than battlezones control. One huge diappointment for me is the only vr driving game i fancied, driveclub. Its great until you actually start moving at which point the graphics in the distance are so sketchy that sometimes you genuinely cannot see where the road goes, a teal shame as its actually so much easier to play when you can look into and through an apex, especially when drifting.
Eve valkytie, the graphics there are awesome, i felt like an extra in battlestar galactica at the start, a shame there is no decent single player on that one, but thats its only downside so far.

The experience on some games is in many ways stunning, not perfect, but who really expected perfect at this stage.
There is a bit of screen door effect, sometimes more visible than others, but if the content is right you actually either tune it out or you just dont see it. In vr worlds on the game select screen you see it if you look up at the darker areas above you, but it kind of disappears when its brighter. I think in many ways its just a limitation that you adapt to.
The wires can be a pain, especially so when you are used to wireless headphones. The need to have any headphone connected to the vr headset remote by a 3.5mm jack plug just adds yet more wires to the mix. Another minor irritation is that you cant hit the share button to show (admittedly 2d) footage from a game, i had wanted to email/youtube some footage to a relative to show him the graphics were better than expected, but nope, cant be done (not without signing up to a third party to stream it elsewhere).

On the whole though, i am happy, it is better than i expected in so many ways. I dont know if i am allowed to post a link here, but i took my setup to a relatives last night and showed my sister the new resident evil kitchen demo, it was her first experience of vr, and all i can say is that to get the reaction it did, it must be good (and is).

One quirk here, when setting it all up at the relatives, my headset kept showing a message saying'headset not connected' (despite it showing this message on the headset) i only cleared the issue when i swapped the two hdmi cables. They had been correctly fitted but it took a swap to make the headset play ball. I have no idea what caused it but on getting home i tried the cables in both configurations and the same fault occurred in one but worked fine the other way. Odd one that and worth keeping in mind in case it happens to you.

Its amazing to me how good it actually is. After my sis watched the resi evil demo my niece also watched it and this time we watched on the tv as it was on the headset. 2d is not even slightly scary, but in vr its a whole different story.

I am hooked on it now, so much so I can see games i used to think were awesome in 2d actually looking flat now. Typical that battlefield is due oit any day now and i have been corrupted by 3d/vr.

The verdict

People know me as a guy who plays everything, own everything, and have been gaming since the late 80's/early 90's when I was old enough to hold a controller. So I speak from a position of experience.

PSVR is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to console gaming. Maybe not the most impactful, but certainly the most amazing. Tonight I got around to trying the Luge in PSVR Worlds. Absolutely. Incredible. I leaned back my lazy boy recliner, re-centered so the body in screen felt like my own body lying there and I'm telling you, my brain actually thought I was luging. So much so, I got butterflies in my stomach turning corners sharply, jumping air time off hills, and it took me for quite the jolt when I crashed. The best experience I've had yet for immersion.

I also finally finished Scavengers Odyssey and wow. That's the stuff. Short, 6 chapter story based game in space will full movement and head aiming and jumping, walking around asteroid chunks like Mario Galaxy... wow.

Even that sportsball one from VR Worlds. Talk about fun! Man that game is fun.

This is all after trying DriveClub which is absolutely mindblowingly awesome, RIGS and Battlezone which have such fluid movement, Eve Valkyrie which is incredible, Arkham VR which is also incredible, And so many good indie titles, the Robot Rescue from VR Playroom... I'm so loving this VR!

And I tell you what, it's an addiction. I don't seem to want to play games on a 2D screen anymore. It just seems dull now. I got Return to Arkham today for X1, and popped in Arkham Asylum cause that one I never played, and 30 minutes later I was turning it off and reaching for the visor. I was 12 hours into Lost Odyssey too after it came to BC, and it's the best JRPG I've ever played, still just wanna play VR. Paper Mario Color Splash on Wii U, and Dragon Quest VII on 3DS, and Dragon Quest Builders on PS4.... none of them can draw me back to them now that VR is an option. I just don't want to play games anymore if I'm not inside the world. It's like going from a black and white slide projector to 4K television. It totally ruins the old experience. In a good way. It's just so awesome!

Motion sickness is overblown. Didn't even get "sick" just disoriented a bit and dizzy first 24-48 hours during high motion games. After that I totally adjusted and now crave the fast, crave the motion, crave the mind-warping turns and flips.

Resolution isn't as sharp as on the TV. Maybe half that? Idk. It looks super crisp if you lean in close to something. But the resolution just isn't there yet technology wise for a reasonable price. Next gen we should have close to 4K VR that at least does 1080p per eye, hopefully twice that. But even so, it's just incredible. Resolution is my only complaint. But you know what, I've been playing games for several decades and to this day enjoy games with retro graphics and even play on the 3DS this generation which is pretty low spec relatively speaking. And PSVR looks way better than that. For Gen 1 tech at a $400 price point (who are we kidding, $500 price point) it's absolutely mind blowing. And people use these terms loosely a lot nowadays but when I say mind blowing, I mean exactly that

I give PSVR 10/10. With the fattest Jaxon's Stamp of Approval in the droor.

Well I got to try out PlayStation VR at their 'Future of Play' tour in Bristol this morning. The bad news (and I'll get it out the way) is that I blacked out and fainted just after playing about 10 minutes (and it might not have even been that long) of Robinson: The Journey. Obviously it looks like I'm a very rare case of where it just didn't quite agree with me so I don't really want to put anyone else off as it seemed like everyone else at the event was absolutely fine. I think what made me really motion sick was the movement and that feeling of walking forward without physically moving. It really does trick your mind (and seemingly screwed up my brain for a few minutes..)

Anyway on to the more positive thoughts:

First impressions of the headset were that it was comfortable, light and you barely notice it's on once a game starts. Of course this may be different if you're playing for a longer period or a more taxing game but I really didn't think there was any issue with it comfort-wise.

The 3D effect is great and is definitely immersive. I really liked what little 3D gaming I've played before and this certainly took it to another level. The on-screen text was a little blurry but I got used to it pretty quickly and although the resolution of the game clearly wasn't as good as most modern tvs can display nowadays, I didn't find it distracting at all.

Obviously I only played a very small snippet but Robinson: The Journey was interesting. The controls were a little strange, playing with a dualshock 4 as moving back and forward was fluid but left and right wasn't. It's hard to explain but it would almost jump from side to side, whereas the front and back movement was as seamless as usually walking in a first-person view. The scale of the world was impressive with all sorts of insects and life buzzing right past my face and feeling like I was in the same world as actual dinosaurs was a highlight for sure.

Obviously overall my first VR experience didn't go too well but I'm still very intrigued by the potential and I couldn't help but smile the first time I saw the game world directly surround me.

@roe: Man that's a shame. I became sick from DriveClub VR, luckily that was in the comfort of my own home. Seems like the sickness is software related & will vary from person to person. I've been fine with all the other titles so far & greatly enjoying them.

Speaking of other titles, finally got to Batman Arkham VR...INCREDIBLE! I'm taking it slow, but I'm loving every second of it. Love unlocking the trophies by just doing random stuff.
I can't wrap my head around how much VR is making me love gaming again. The mundane tasks that are tedious in regular gaming are now interesting. It really feels like you're there. At one point I was looking at a mirror & in real life I was adjusting my headphones when I noticed batman adjusting his invisible headphones! Man I spend about 10 mins doing dumb stuff to Bats.

Easily worth the purchase

I bought my VR on launch day.

The first few games I tried were DriveClub, Tomb Raider, VR Worlds and the demo disc.

Tomb Raider blew my mind, I never expected the scale of things to be that good. It felt like I was in a life sized room. The fireplace etc felt perfect. The controls are intuitive, allowing free roam and teleport for those who get nauseous. What I never expected was to be able to walk around (in the real world) I have a rug in my living room which is roughly the play area of what the camera picks up. (Very useful as I know not to walk outside of the rug)

VR Worlds is quite an experience, I love The London Heist with the 2 move controllers and the shooting range is great fun. Luge had me feeling sick after a few runs, the bouncing off the walls really makes your head spin. Ocean Descent is fantastic, the Shark Attack mode is a good giggle, to be able to look around and move within the small caged area is great. Full 360 degree immersion.

DriveClub... I couldn't finish 1 race after the first time I tried it. This game made me feel so ill. I think it's because it is quite a low resolution and the blurry graphics play havoc on my eyes. I'll be getting the Pro on launch and hope there is a patch for this game. I've slowly been getting used to it though, with short races and sessions. I can manage about 30 minutes of play on this now without getting the dizzy/sick feels.

I also tried the Kitchen demo... I'm not prepared to talk about that. I don't know you lot well enough yet.

Kitchen demo, on your own at night, its truly disquieting. Drive club books me a one way ticket on the vomit express every time i try to play it though. Gutted as thats really the one i wanted most. Those of you not affected by it are lucky.

Come on @rjejr, time to tell us all how you were wrong about VR.

@Diablo944: I was like that at first. Make sure you have gone in to Settings > Devices and set up your eye measurement correctly.

It took me a while to get used to DriveClub doing only 1/2 - 1 race at a time, try using the free drive mode to drive slowly around a track.

Before I couldn't manage a full race, now I can just about stomach 20-30 minutes of play.

@get2sammyb: Wait, where are we, I feel virtually kidnapped.

"is like comparing a vintage rotary dial telephone to the iPhone 7." Nice one.

@JaxonH Nice write up.

Hi, my name is Bob and I was 1 of the die-hard naysayers of VR, until I tried it for about 5 seconds and realized what I had gotten myself into. Like literally into. I think Sony pushing this as a gaming accessory headset is actually doing the "experience" a disservice, b/c it's not about playing games, it's about entering new environments, "virtual worlds" as sci-fi novels have been calling them for 40 or 50 years, whenever. VR is finally here, but after years of 3D movies and TV and first person games like Wolfenstein 3D, the game that started it all, no it wasn't Doom that came a year later, people have a certain expectation of 3D games, but VR isn't about 3D or the games, it is about transporting you into another place.

I don't know how the tech does it, but the googles trick your eyes and your brain into thinking your body is "in" the place. It's really weird. I suppose the sound helps too but I'm not much of an audiophile, and the arena music was to loud it was drowning out the sound in my headphones anyway. But I was there, inside a Rigs arena picking out my mech armor and preparing for battle. But I had literally no idea what I was doing in game, just pushing buttons at random, which totally took me out of the experience and I never really got back into it. My "brain" became too focused on the "gameplay" aspect and just went into gaming mode, it didn't care about the scenery at that point, just me wanting to rage quit as my team got crushed 8-1.

But I'm smart enough to know that awful 6 minutes of anger doesn't discount the initial 2 minutes I felt of being transported to an alien world, I was Ratchet going to that big arena battle area in 1 of the early games, Up your Arsenal maybe, the 1 w/ the whip. That feeling was enough for me to realize VR isn't about 3D or gaming, it's about what the letters have always stood for but we could never get there "virtual reality".

Now I'm still not getting one, b/c I'd rather spend my money on a 65" 4k tv b/c I watch a lot of sports and movies, and I don't play any first person games. And as great as it is to be in another world, I'm not sure how great it would be for 2D platformers or even Paper Mario, which I'm currently playing, sitting back on my couch relaxing. As my 11 year old son said who tried out "Farpoint", it's almost too real, the up close spiders were too scary. And my 14 year old son who tried out the Heist seemed a little discombobulated trying to shoot things from a fast moving vehicle while trying to figure out why the driver was on the passenger side and he was on the drivers side - took him a minute for "England" to kick in. So while I'm a huge fan of VR for the experience, I'm not ready to shell out $500 - headset, camera and tax - for something we would use only occasionally.

But if I were a first person gamer and CoD or Ttianfall or Destiny were on there, or if I liked driving games, I would be all over this like yesterday. And I would never go back to gaming w/o it. Like I can't play tennis or golf games w/o motion, I just won't.

So if you can, try this out. It's not about putting 3D lenses in front of your face and playing a game, it's about putting on a space helmet or deep diving helmet or army helmet or race car helmet and walking out of the door into outer space, or inner space, where ever you want to go, the promise of virtual worlds is coming.

I would like to point out all of those helmets are there for a reason. I think this works best for sitting down stuff. I do think walking would be weird. Or interacting. Rigs would probably be great if I could have figured out the game controls, but I feel "walking" in a giant mech is probably ok, b/c as I explained to my wife, as boys we always dream of being in giant mech suits, but not walking w/ our legs, but just thinking and having it walk, like tank treads or a car. So being in a Rig my mind accepted forward movement by leaning on a stick. I think walking or touching stuff would be a little different, but I didn't get to try out those aspects so I can't say.

@rjejr: Great post!

Yep, had already done that, and spent ages (unsuccessfully) trying to do the calibration of the headset too, try as i might i couldnt get the damn thing to process the right side for more than half a second at a time so i never managed to complete that bit. But the eye thing, definitely done.
I havent given up on dc, but its definitely at the back of the queue for gaming at the moment

For the PSVR 3D Game Experiences its a 10/10.
Calibration was a mess first place.
Now i am used to it.

I dislike that Sony embedded a really bad quality technical 360 degree Playback into the mediaplayer which is more offering shock moments cuze of the faulty Giant looks than giving enjoying moments. I wonder because Sony is so much caring that the Games run in descent framerates while they sametime release incorrect scaled 360 Playback in "2D" and the 360 Apps giving me massive bad moments with it.

This should have been embedded the moment it is technically acurate programmed.

Playing 2D Games in cinematic Mode is something i do not use so much so far.

PSVR is new , i know just one month now,
but i hope Sony cares more about a technical accurate 360 / 2D & 3D + 3D SBS embedding.

I also had no way idea VR is such immersive.
3D Depth in Gaming is absolutely stunning.

Guys - so I went to a big arcade in my area that has such classics like Xmen, Turtles in time, Punch out (apparently a ridiculously hard version) and consoles. I was able to hold a switch which was cool. But they also had PSVR!!! I was so stoked because I've been trying really hard to try it out somewhere.

As the rep helped me set it up, I had a few negative first impressions. I think there was a scratch on the lens in the left eye. The PS4 menu made me doubt if it was going to be good. I asked for psvr worlds, and the disc wouldn't work. Then I asked to try until dawn rush of blood and we worked to get set up.

While I did have an issue that I personally didn't know how to fix (one of my move controllers was not calibrated correctly), the actual experience was awesome. I expected the "screen" to be 180 but was surprised it was more 360. The sense of scale was super cool. Even better - the game tricked me into being immersed into the world - even though I was in a noisy arcade! (There weren't any headphones). I can't believe it, but the opening stage convinced me I was on a roller coaster. My body felt an increase in speed when the coaster was going downhill.

I had all my family try it who are mostly non-gamers (until dawn for the guy, job simulator demo for the non-gaming ladies) and they loved the experience. I think I will definitely get it when I can afford it.

I do hope the screen is a little clearer without that scratch. Also, I do have a PS4 pro and they did not. Hoping that helps a little.

@ztpayne7 The controller calibration and scratch are defo issues with the setup and possibly environment. With new kit and a well setup room, you can get it calibrated pretty well. There has been some early issues with the Move controller tracking but I think the last patch improved on it no end.

Also, the headphones make a huuuuuge difference, it really helps with immersion, like massively.

Glad you liked it - it does have to be tried! PS4 Pro helps, but there are a few glitches (screen blacks out at least once per gaming session) because of a mismatch in hardware/software. Rush of blood was one of my favourite VR experiences. If you liked that and get one, I would also try Batman Arkham VR.

@Rudy_Manchego yeah. It was kind of humorous - my left hand synced properly but my right move controller was acting like my arm was way up and to the right which broke it a little bit for me but I still really enjoyed it. I'm sure there's a way to fix it in game but with no knowledge of the system I didn't know how.

@ztpayne7 Yeah - the first time I used my move controllers I hadn't set them up right and when you are in game you have no way of knowing what you are doing!