HTC Vive

chef-borjan said:
She got three hours sleep because she is trying to sort it out. And she is fairly regularly replying to at least the tweets she can.

I don't think your comment is fair at all.

She is just a human being and is trying to take some kind of personal responsibility for what is clearly a problem with wider systems in the company.

And really, all we are missing is a fancy toy. This isn't a life saving device that people NEEDED this week either. Its a few days late. Its not like they are going to take our money and run.
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I think you missed the point. She's not working behind the desk of an easyjet flight that just got cancelled. She's responding to text on a screen. I've had far worse jobs than that.

If she feels she could only have 3 hours sleep because her job depended on it, then that is wrong. Is that the case? Why you even know about her sleep patterns - is she telling people on Twitter?
 
I've just had a call from Mirium whom I presume works in an overseas call centre. After much requesting I was transferred to someone called David J Green (yeah right) also with an Indian accent. They both work in the tech dept. I asked why the tech dept. was ringing me when I have no Vive to have technical issues with. I was expecting a call from the ecomm dept. Alas they couldn't tell me when my Vive will arrive. Well beyond April that is. They seem to think it's acceptable to have my money potientally for two months without shipping the goods. I've dealt with some shocking service in my time, but this a joke. I dealt with Newcastle council once when they painted the wrong number on an exterior cupboard and their halfwit workdrones cleared out all my tools thinking it was a neighbours property who had cleared off. Over 2k's of tools gone to a landfill and they offered me 500 quid. Not to mention loss of earnings at the time. That was easy to get sorted compared to HTC.
 
Marky said:

Very cool video demoing the Vive :D

Also, when I went to the Vive order page on Steam it is saying "In Stock" :confused: Does that mean you can just order one now and get one this week?
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Hearing plenty of frustrations using it. If it was as good as it is in that video I would move form waiting for v.2 to buying now. Does it really reach these highs when everything is working right?
 
Rezident said:
Hearing plenty of frustrations using it. If it was as good as it is in that video I would move form waiting for v.2 to buying now. Does it really reach these highs when everything is working right?
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  1. If I ever get it
  2. And it works with Elite: Dangerous

Then I will be happy...
 
Rezident said:
Hearing plenty of frustrations using it. If it was as good as it is in that video I would move form waiting for v.2 to buying now. Does it really reach these highs when everything is working right?
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If all games were at the level of the Valve "The Lab" demos then yeah it's all rosey as those little snippets are very polished. The actual experience isn't that far off the valve demo vid but the quality of the visuals in the HMD isn't that sharp (the vids in most demos are captured from the PC output rather than your eyes perspective) as the optics definitely add artifacts such as the SDE which is ever present and God Rays which can be mitigated with bright scenes and reduced contrasts plus headset adjustment.

For example Fantastic contraption has basically cartoonish graphics but they are sharp, colourful and objects react exactly as you expect so the game play is very natural even if the puzzles aren't that complicated. It's true that if the game is engaging then you forget any negatives and just get stuck in to the experience.

My advice is to book a demo as that cuts out the hassle of setting up and calibrating a VR headset and gets your straight in to the experience because when it clicks it's definitely worth all the initial setup time.

The physics and interaction are all spot on but the visuals are not quite there yet to be able to do all the other stuff we do on PCs quite so well without reverting to using a monitor, keyboard and mouse.
 
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kration said:
How 'ever present' is the SDE?

I've read some reviews which say you don't notice it after a while. Do you get used to it?
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I can only see it when I first put it on, or after I really start looking for it. Once I get immersed, I don't notice it.
 
Don't confuse SDE with large pixels.

SDE doesn't really exist like it used to. The problem is being zoomed in close to the pixels. It's not the fault of VR, it's just where we are with screen tech.

Take a magnifying glass to a 4K TV and it's going to look bad.
 
Pretty impressive first few days with the Vive.

Still on a temporary setup with tripods/mounts while working out the best location for a permanent fixture, but the tracking is working very, very well.
Takes some getting used to at first, especially learning to try and keep your eyeline centered and steady in order to reduce some of the tech's display limitations, but once you adapt there is a wonderful potential at work which should hopefully be exploited over time with the right software.
Demoed it this evening for two family members who were absolutely blown away by the 'feel' of the experience, with titles such as The Lab, Space Pirates, Brookhaven, Apollo 11, Tilt Brush the Blu etc impressing them a lot.

Negatives - doesn't work with glasses. It's not a compromise, it's just not working. Too much glare, too uncomfortable in use, too much condensation buildup and when you're only adjustment lessens the immersion, it's just a pain.
I'm not blind, but do find it a struggle in some places without the specs, so contacts or prescription adapters may be the solution.
 
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My pending payment has gone from my Barclaycard, and on the blog it says that this means they are processing it, hopefully they are correct.
 
mcdermotx said:
Negatives - doesn't work with glasses. It's not a compromise, it's just not working. Too much glare, too uncomfortable in use, too much condensation buildup and when you're only adjustment lessens the immersion, it's just a pain.
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I initially thought the same, and spent 2 days not wearing glasses or putting my contact lenses in. Then yesterday I tried them again but spent more time adjusting the headstraps. I can now wear my glasses comfortably and I'm not aware of the lenses or frames at all, so I encourage you to try again.

Also make sure you put the front of the Vive on first over your glasses, then pull it down over the back of your head. I found that makes a big difference to glasses comfort too.
 
kration said:
How 'ever present' is the SDE?

I've read some reviews which say you don't notice it after a while. Do you get used to it?
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The SDE isn't an issue for me, more the blur of the image if you move your eyes from centre or move too much and the headset moves out of place etc... The blurry image is what is getting to me at the moment. Starts making me try and blink and adjust my eyes thinking it's my eyes playing up... That makes my eyes water and so on! I'm sure I will get the perfect fit and setup, just not found it yet.
 
Nismo said:
I initially thought the same, and spent 2 days not wearing glasses or putting my contact lenses in. Then yesterday I tried them again but spent more time adjusting the headstraps. I can now wear my glasses comfortably and I'm not aware of the lenses or frames at all, so I encourage you to try again.

Also make sure you put the front of the Vive on first over your glasses, then pull it down over the back of your head. I found that makes a big difference to glasses comfort too.
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I'll agree with this fully. I got contacts specifically for VR, as I didn't want the hassle of glasses and potentially damaging the VR lenses. So for the first 2 days I only used contacts, but last night after I'd taken my contacts out I decided to try with my glasses. I moved the lens distance adjuster all the way out, put the Vive on like Nismo said, then brought the lenses closer again, and it was just as comfortable and useable as it was with my contacts.
 
spikerules said:
The SDE isn't an issue for me, more the blur of the image if you move your eyes from centre or move too much and the headset moves out of place etc... The blurry image is what is getting to me at the moment. Starts making me try and blink and adjust my eyes thinking it's my eyes playing up... That makes my eyes water and so on! I'm sure I will get the perfect fit and setup, just not found it yet.
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Yeah it's not such an issue as you do ignore the SDE effect (which is as result of the sub-pixels being so close to your eyes) when immersed. It's just a fine pattern that persists but it's worse on certain material. Films in the Virtual Desktop Theater Mode for example, which maybe Vive would argue wasn't an intended use but works well enough. Best way to view 3D HSBS enabled films too as the send to headset option (in V.D.) doesn't work that well.

Everyone will be more or less sensitive to it but you should at least be aware that there are optical artifacts so you can maybe try before spending the money.

If you can try to remember to look at things rather than glance with your eyes that helps to keep the sweet spot on what you're looking at. I've seen reviewrs comments that the Occulus is slightly worse in this respect too.
 
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Nismo said:
I initially thought the same, and spent 2 days not wearing glasses or putting my contact lenses in. Then yesterday I tried them again but spent more time adjusting the headstraps. I can now wear my glasses comfortably and I'm not aware of the lenses or frames at all, so I encourage you to try again.

Also make sure you put the front of the Vive on first over your glasses, then pull it down over the back of your head. I found that makes a big difference to glasses comfort too.
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Well, everyone's glasses are different etc, but I've sunk a fair bit of time I'm getting the HMD on with them but just cannot find a sweet spot. Actually surprised me as they're not an oversized frame - quite the opposite actually. Plus even one of the people I let loose at it for an hour had to remove his glasses as well as he just couldn't enjoy the experience fully with them on. Still loved the VR effect but some titles were an issue.
My biggest issue is the increase in the reflective spotlights, for lack of a better term, and these never seem to go away even when you find an acceptable level of comfort. Plus it's hard to ignore them even when you've trained your sight to center.

Not a deal breaker by any means (no glasses is like free AA :), but some games do suffer), but I'll be interested to see if the Rift carries the same problem area (assuming it shows up next week!).
 
Got a list of games to get once my Vive arrives, feel like my wallet is not going to be very happy for the next couple weeks. Audio shield is one of them, although not sure how it will pan out with my taste in music (which is varied but mostly metal)
 
If ordering the Vive just now is there any idea when it could be expected to be shipped? The site says May but is that current estimates or based on the first people ordering?
 
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