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HTC Vive Launch Thread -- Computer, activate holodeck

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Anyone who is thinking about sending their Vive back for being faulty, in my case stuck blue pixel in the center, be prepared to put in a lot of work to make it happen! It's been unbelievable, getting it in the first place was bad, sending it back is like hell on earth! The amount of chats/emails and phone calls is the stuff of nightmares! It took a very pissed off message to Julia in the end to get anything happening, even after telling her that no one at HTC will sort this out! 4 days later I proved it to be the case. TNT (courier) rang me personally to arrange with basically no details, and a wrong address to pick it up from! Lol. Worst ever experience buying this Vive.
 

Durante

Member
For everyone now looking at getting a VR area ready, I'd argue in favor of making it as big as you possibly can. I thought I was pretty well set (with 3.4x2.7m) -- and the experience is absolutely awesome no doubt -- but this is truly a case where more is always better (at least for some games/experiences). So if you can make a reasonable effort in order to increase your available space then it's a good idea to do so.


One thing I wasn't really prepared for when I set up the VR room was that I'd want a carpet in the play area. But for many games - like Budget Cuts, Space Pirate Trainer and Fantastic Contraption - I frequently end up sitting or crawling (or, if I get too immersed in Space Pirate Trainer, lying) on the floor. So I upgraded my VR setup ... with carpet:
carpetbnk45.jpg

Still TODO:
  • Cable ducts for that mess
  • Fancy wall mounts (with charging) for the controllers and HMD
  • HMD cable management
 
Anyone who is thinking about sending their Vive back for being faulty, in my case stuck blue pixel in the center, be prepared to put in a lot of work to make it happen! It's been unbelievable, getting it in the first place was bad, sending it back is like hell on earth! The amount of chats/emails and phone calls is the stuff of nightmares! It took a very pissed of message to Julia in the end to get anything happening, even after telling her that no one at HTC will sort this out! 4 days later I proved it to be the case. TNT (courier) rang me personally to arrange with basically no details, and a wrong address to pick it up from! Lol. Worst ever experience buying this Vive.

Oh dear. Luckily for me - mine seems to have disappeared?!
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Cool. I'll go get some. Thank god for Steam's refund policy. I've got a pretty strong stomach for this kind of stuff, but can't imagine how people are playing this without wanting to throw up.

Didn't have a hint of motion sickness in any of the other 16 experiences I've tried.

Don't know why, but I have the urge to try the game now just to see how I'd react. Dumb, huh?

Man, that's a bummer. I guess I've got a strong stomach because the disorientation is a cool effect, nothing really sickening.

If you can handle it, Windlands is the most positively impactful thing I've played thus far, but if you can't it looks like the downsides can be really bad.

I think its worth giving a shot because the highs are so high.

The default ones.

To be fair, I only tried the other two options for one song each, so I don't have a good basis for comparison. The nice thing about the default is that it's not too tall so it's relatively easy to see what's coming next regardless of shield position.

Hot tip: pick the tall shields, and hold them sideways. SO MUCH coverage.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
For everyone now looking at getting a VR area ready, I'd argue in favor of making it as big as you possibly can. I thought I was pretty well set (with 3.4x2.7m) -- and the experience is absolutely awesome no doubt -- but this is truly a case where more is always better (at least for some games/experiences). So if you can make a reasonable effort in order to increase your available space then it's a good idea to do so.


any caveats with that? Would you compromise head height for more surface area? ;)
 

Durante

Member
Hot tip: pick the tall shields, and hold them sideways. SO MUCH coverage.
Hmm, interesting. I have to try that.

But I'm actually not sure if I need more surface area, it might just make it too easy to hit something with the wrong shield in quick left/right switching parts.


any caveats with that? Would you compromise head height for more surface area? ;)
Well, that depends on what you mean by compromising head height. Making it so you have to duck in part of your VR space is obviously out of the question. But it's extremely rare so far in any game that I find myself moving the controllers above my head (the only instance I recall is aiming a bow up). As per above in the whole "carpet" part, close-to-floor interactions are far more common.
 

Qassim

Member
Don't underestimate how important head area is. I'm in a loft and it's a bit of a nightmare, I have the minimum (about 1.5x2.1m) and that's mostly fine - but I have a few scratches on my controllers now from where I've hit the roof with them. I have to constantly think about that, where I am in the room so I don't punch the ceiling and break the controllers. It's not in most games, as Durante says it's not that common to reach above you - but in the moment, in games like space pirate trainer, I have hit the ceilings quite often.

Going to test it out in a bigger room this weekend with no low ceilings, but I can't move it in there permanently.
 

Durante

Member
Don't underestimate how important head area is. I'm in a loft and it's a bit of a nightmare, I have the minimum (about 1.5x2.1m) and that's mostly fine - but I have a few scratches on my controllers now from where I've hit the roof with them. I have to constantly think about that, where I am in the room so I don't punch the ceiling and break the controllers. It's not in most games, as Durante says it's not that common to reach above you - but in the moment, in games like space pirate trainer, I have hit the ceilings quite often.
You're completely right actually.

I didn't recall doing so, but now that you mention it I'm certain I did move my guns above my head in Space Pirate Trainer a few times.
 
Ok so I have a bundle code (again) up for grabs! So anyone with a pre, or even a used Vive or have a Vive but no bundle code, the first person to reply gets it!

The caveat is that anyone who is waiting on their code must give theirs away in this thread also when it arrives! :)
 

Zalusithix

Member
Don't underestimate how important head area is. I'm in a loft and it's a bit of a nightmare, I have the minimum (about 1.5x2.1m) and that's mostly fine - but I have a few scratches on my controllers now from where I've hit the roof with them. I have to constantly think about that, where I am in the room so I don't punch the ceiling and break the controllers. It's not in most games, as Durante says it's not that common to reach above you - but in the moment, in games like space pirate trainer, I have hit the ceilings quite often.

Going to test it out in a bigger room this weekend with no low ceilings, but I can't move it in there permanently.

Yeah, so long as chaperone doesn't have ceilings in its virtual bounds, I can't imagine running in a play space with low ceilings. I consider the drop ceiling I have to be the lowest I'd accept, and even there I run the risk of hitting it with full straight-up overhead extension. I figure that's acceptable though as not many actions would require that level of overhead movement, and I can be relatively conscious of doing it. Much like mrklaw, I could expand the space considerably if I accepted the areas where the duct work reduces the ceiling height, but that's just too risky. The last thing I'd want is to get into the VR presence state, do something vaguely overhead, and ram the controller straight into the lower hanging area.

I could get a larger zone with higher ceilings, but that'd require moving the desk and computer to another floor. That's not going to happen. VR isn't important enough for me to relocate everything else to that extent. Not yet at least.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Don't underestimate how important head area is. I'm in a loft and it's a bit of a nightmare, I have the minimum (about 1.5x2.1m) and that's mostly fine - but I have a few scratches on my controllers now from where I've hit the roof with them. I have to constantly think about that, where I am in the room so I don't punch the ceiling and break the controllers. It's not in most games, as Durante says it's not that common to reach above you - but in the moment, in games like space pirate trainer, I have hit the ceilings quite often.

Going to test it out in a bigger room this weekend with no low ceilings, but I can't move it in there permanently.

what's your ceiling height in the loft? I have standard 2.4m ceilings but the low part is 2.05m.

What would be ideal would be stored presets. Let me have the larger area for slower paced games to give me space to walk around a bit more, and then bring it down to the smaller space with more headroom for games where I might be waving my arms around more. Or a program that can log my movements so I can track how high I move the controllers over a period of time.

Think I might set up for 2m x 2m for now to be safe,

Yeah, so long as chaperone doesn't have ceilings in its virtual bounds, I can't imagine running in a play space with low ceilings. I consider the drop ceiling I have to be the lowest I'd accept, and even there I run the risk of hitting it with full straight-up overhead extension. I figure that's acceptable though as not many actions would require that level of overhead movement,

how low is your drop ceiling?
 

Zalusithix

Member
how low is your drop ceiling?

Ballparking it right now because I'm not home to do an actual measurement, and I haven't committed it to memory. Going by my standing reach, it's somewhere around the 90 inch mark. It's effectively out of my flat-footed clenched-fist reach, but add in the controller, and I risk hitting it at the apex of the arm's movement. Needless to say, overhead jumps are out of the question. ;)
 

Durante

Member
Budget cuts is amazing
It is. Even just in demo state it might be the most impressive "complete package" game designed for room-scale VR yet.

It also reinforces my conviction never to play a horror game in VR, considering how even its cartoony robots sent my pulse to 180.

The last thing I'd want is to get into the VR presence state, do something vaguely overhead, and ram the controller straight into the lower hanging area.
Yeah, I have to say that in some games -- the most immersive full-body action ones like SPT -- I am actually vaguely concerned that at some point I'll just get so immersed into the game that I jump back and with my head straight into a wall.

Maybe I need to put something like this on all the walls ;)
 
It is. Even just in demo state it might be the most impressive "complete package" game designed for room-scale VR yet.

It also reinforces my conviction never to play a horror game in VR, considering how even its cartoony robots sent my pulse to 180

You need to get some Brookhaven on! Talk about intense.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Ballparking it right now because I'm not home to do an actual measurement, and I haven't committed it to memory. Going by my standing reach, it's somewhere around the 90 inch mark. It's effectively out of my flat-footed clenched-fist reach, but add in the controller, and I risk hitting it at the apex of the arm's movement. Needless to say, overhead jumps are out of the question. ;)

lol, thats an average ceiling in the UK (well about 240cm so 94.5in)


Yeah, I have to say that in some games -- the most immersive full-body action ones like SPT -- I am actually vaguely concerned that at some point I'll just get so immersed into the game that I jump back and with my head straight into a wall.

Maybe I need to put something like this on all the walls ;)

I was wondering about something like that for my low beam, or gym padding for the walls if you had a dedicated room.

Someone on reddit suggested having a foldaway sofa which flipped up like on public transport when not being used. You could pad the underside and it'd be quite discreet.

I've just noticed that right where my lighthouse would be, there is a door to the circuit breakers/gas meter. So might need to have it set to the larger area anyway - can always set the chaperone to a smaller area.
 
Durante said:
space management
Does the space have to be squared? Mine is kind of a trapezoid, as the opposite side from where my pc is is shorter.

Long side is 4.3 meters, short side 3.5. The room is then 3.5 m wide.

Room is bigger than that, this is the space I have moving furniture around (basically getting rid of my big ass couch). Oh, fortunately the room is quite high, I have to jump quite a bit to touch the ceiling (and I'm quite tall).

Do lighthouses need to be on the edge of that space or can they be further towards the furniture?
 

Ionic

Member
Does the space have to be squared? Mine is kind of a trapezoid, as the opposite side from where my pc is is shorter.

Long side is 4.3 meters, short side 3.5. The room is then 3.5 m wide.

Room is bigger than that, this is the space I have moving furniture around (basically getting rid of my big ass couch). Oh, fortunately the room is quite high, I have to jump quite a bit to touch the ceiling (and I'm quite tall).

Do lighthouses need to be on the edge of that space or can they be further towards the furniture?

You draw the boundaries with a controller in any shape that you want. SteamVR will automatically make the biggest rectangle it can filling that space.
 
You draw the boundaries with a controller in any shape that you want. SteamVR will automatically make the biggest rectangle it can filling that space.

I'll get a space of 3.5x3.5, then. With a bit of safety space between the boundary and the wall, which is not that bad.

I'm not getting the Vive out of the box until I'm set for good xD
 

Zalusithix

Member
lol, thats an average ceiling in the UK (well about 240cm so 94.5in)
Well it is close to a full average ceiling height here in the US too. The drop ceiling doesn't hang down that much lower than the floor joist, so it's only marginally lower than a pure drywall ceiling. Still, a few inches can make all the difference. Had I a few more inches, I'd be able to do a full arc without hitting the ceiling. Take a few away and my usable arc appreciably decreases.

Now, the ideal room in the house for VR has a cathedral ceiling that's a solid half foot higher than a traditional ceiling at its lowest point, exceeds the "maximum" lighthouse recommendations in square footage, and has automated blinds to cut sunlight / reflections. For a myriad of other reasons, however, that room is not an option lol.
 

taoofjord

Member
Really? :( What didn't you like in Hover Junkers? I think the game is da bomb, and hope we can do Gaf rooms once more people have their Vive.

Well for one it just doesn't run well on my PC, even on low, and my specs are higher than the minimum. I also get motion sick when moving the vehicle. Not sure how much of that is due to framerate and how much is due to the nature of the movement.

Beyond that, I cant speak to the actual game since I might have enjoyed it a lot more if i wasn't feeling awful playing it.
 
The default ones.
if I replied to you in any way other than this comment about comments, I would be banned
About the bumps/lumps are you talking about the turn after the second hill where you reenter the cave and move toward the loops?
i believe so yes

I must say I am a fan of the backhand shields and I really don't know why.
because you are a good person

same. I like backhand shields, but then holding the controllers so they're aligned like normal shields
you're getting there
 

taoofjord

Member
La Peri was very interesting. Probably not worth the asking price, it certainly didn't look visually stunning like I expected however there's a couple moments where the dancer gets uncomfortably close to you which really freaked me out so it gets a thumbs up for me. I tend to dig anything that gives me a strong sense of presence.

The Cubicle is also a neat little thing that's worth checking out.

Apollo 11 was trash. Pretty amateur and I really, really dislike the inconsistencies in how it realizes your body. The automated sweeping camera movements where your head is the camera are disorienting, motion sickness inducing and flat out look bad. The graphics are super underwhelming too. Sorry to be so negative but I was really looking forward to this one due to how much I love Space stuff and the new medium of VR documentaries.
 
Hover Junkers went back for a refund within 30 minutes, it's completely fucked, so glitchy, and when the Junkers collide they do a weird floaty bounce connect thing, awful.
 

IMACOMPUTA

Member
La Peri was very interesting. Probably not worth the asking price, it certainly didn't look visually stunning like I expected however there's a couple moments where the dancer gets uncomfortably close to you which really freaked me out so it gets a thumbs up for me. I tend to dig anything that gives me a strong sense of presence.

The Cubicle is also a neat little thing that's worth checking out.

Apollo 11 was trash. Pretty amateur and I really, really dislike the inconsistencies in how it realizes your body. The automated sweeping camera movements where your head is the camera are disorienting, motion sickness inducing and flat out look bad. The graphics are super underwhelming too. Sorry to be so negative but I was really looking forward to this one due to how much I love Space stuff and the new medium of VR documentaries.
Totally agree. I refunded this as well. It plain sucked. Not impressive at all. Honestly the best part was the very beginning when I felt like I was sitting in somebodies living room. It was creepy.

Hover Junkers went back for a refund within 30 minutes, it's completely fucked, so glitchy, and when the Junkers collide they do a weird floaty bounce connect thing, awful.
I really like hoverjunkers. I think there's something that explains them not being able to crash. Like the ships have something built in preventing them from crashing.


I've had some awesome shootouts.
But I've also run into tons of cheaters and there doesn't seem to be anything you can do except leave. And there's at max like 5 servers total at any given time. It's a bummer.

Also teamkillers galore :/
 

Onemic

Member
Apollo 11 was trash. Pretty amateur and I really, really dislike the inconsistencies in how it realizes your body. The automated sweeping camera movements where your head is the camera are disorienting, motion sickness inducing and flat out look bad. The graphics are super underwhelming too. Sorry to be so negative but I was really looking forward to this one due to how much I love Space stuff and the new medium of VR documentaries.

That sucks, I really wanted to experience some legit space based VR. Guess Elite will suffice. Hopefully someone comes out with a very immersive space based documentary.

How are other VR documentaries though?
 

taoofjord

Member
Had a bad run today I guess. Loved most everything I played yesterday.

I played Lucky's Tale and it really is just a really average platformer. It looks nice enough but the art direction is much too close to the generic smartphone style for my tastes. I feel bad for the Oculus folks if these are the types of experiences they're having with a Gamepad. Without Roomscale and motion controls, the headset really feels like a gimmick instead of an impactful, immersive experience. And the Vive screen, as we all know, is no looker. It's certainly not high res enough to replace your TV or computer monitor for now VR related stuff. So yeah, I came away feeling pretty bad for the early Rift adopters. I hope Touch comes out for them soon. (Also played Gunjack, underwhelming too).

Still, I do think I'd really enjoy Chronos!
 

Zalusithix

Member
But I've also run into tons of cheaters and there doesn't seem to be anything you can do except leave. And there's at max like 5 servers total at any given time. It's a bummer.

Also teamkillers galore :/
Quite sad if they're actually cheaters and not just glitched. The VR user base is silly small right now, and to have "tons" of cheaters in that small collection of people would reduce my already eroded faith in humanity.
 

Sky Chief

Member
Had a bad run today I guess. Loved most everything I played yesterday.

I played Lucky's Tale and it really is just a really average platformer. It looks nice enough but the art direction is much too close to the generic smartphone style for my tastes. I feel bad for the Oculus folks if these are the types of experiences they're having with a Gamepad. Without Roomscale and motion controls, the headset really feels like a gimmick instead of an impactful, immersive experience. And the Vive screen, as we all know, is no looker. It's certainly not high res enough to replace your TV or computer monitor for now VR related stuff. So yeah, I came away feeling pretty bad for the early Rift adopters. I hope Touch comes out for them soon. (Also played Gunjack, underwhelming too).

Still, I do think I'd really enjoy Chronos!

Haha, I just came to day the same thing. Tried Lucky's Tale last night and the first two minutes are really awesome because the game looks so good but then it really doesn't offer much after that and after using the Vive not being able to use my hands or even see the controller was a big step back. It was the first time I've had an experience in the Vive that felt gimmicky in a bad way. Even worse, it gave me motion sickness. Not sure if that was because of Revive or the moving camera but I felt like shit.
 

taoofjord

Member
Haha, I just came to day the same thing. Tried Lucky's Tale last night and the first two minutes are really awesome because the game looks so good but then it really doesn't offer much after that and after using the Vive not being able to use my hands or even see the controller was a big step back. It was the first time I've had an experience in the Vive that felt gimmicky in a bad way. Even worse, it gave me motion sickness. Not sure if that was because of Revive or the moving camera but I felt like shit.

Yeah, forgot to mention that the moving camera made me slightly motion sick too. :(

It's interesting that we both came away feeling like its a gimmick. Maybe in a few years when the higher dpi HMDs release these kinds of gamepad experiences will be more enjoyable (assuming they don't cause motion sickness)
 

Wollan

Member
I have big troubles with the Vive again. I'm almost starting to think this is a software issue at this point. I have been going over the hardware constantly yesterday and today. I have a support ticket with Steam w/my system diagnostics so hoping for some (timely) insight. Video here.
 
I have big troubles with the Vive again. I'm almost starting to think this is a software issue at this point. I have been going over the hardware constantly yesterday and today. I have a support ticket with Steam w/my system diagnostics so hoping for some (timely) insight. Video here.

Every time I want to use my Vive I have to start SteamVR twice because of this. Headset will turn on, but the second I move it it turns off. Quit SteamVR, boot it up again and no problem.
 
I have big troubles with the Vive again. I'm almost starting to think this is a software issue at this point. I have been going over the hardware constantly yesterday and today. I have a support ticket with Steam w/my system diagnostics so hoping for some (timely) insight. Video here.

Every time I want to use my Vive I have to start SteamVR twice because of this. Headset will turn on, but the second I move it it turns off. Quit SteamVR, boot it up again and no problem.

Very unusual and absolutely unacceptable. I've never had this happen.
 

Dineren

Banned
Haha, I just came to day the same thing. Tried Lucky's Tale last night and the first two minutes are really awesome because the game looks so good but then it really doesn't offer much after that and after using the Vive not being able to use my hands or even see the controller was a big step back. It was the first time I've had an experience in the Vive that felt gimmicky in a bad way. Even worse, it gave me motion sickness. Not sure if that was because of Revive or the moving camera but I felt like shit.

I was actually pretty impressed with Lucky's Tale, the platforming is nothing special, but I thought the graphics looked great and the camera worked very well with the headset. Definitely put 3rd person games on the map for me.

I guess it helps that I don't seem to be that susceptible to VR motion sickness.
 

Wollan

Member
Every time I want to use my Vive I have to start SteamVR twice because of this. Headset will turn on, but the second I move it it turns off. Quit SteamVR, boot it up again and no problem.
Done that many times and but it's usually just a repeat cycle of what you saw in the video. I think I might have a combined hardware (cablings or connectors) and software issue at hand here. I will ask for a replacement at the end of this week if no solution.

The Vive is proving to be both the single most amazing and the absolute worst product launch I've joined in on.

Yeah that super sucks. I wonder why mine is fixable and yours is all the way busted?
I've tried to isolate the issue by gradually doing all the hardware tricks one by one (and repeating each of them). Then similarly with software. Then combination of the two. Just seems random at this point.
 
Done that many times and but it's usually just a repeat cycle of what you saw in the video. I think I might have a combined hardware (cablings or connectors) and software issue at hand here. I will ask for a replacement at the end of this week if no solution.

Yeah that super sucks. I wonder why mine is fixable and yours is all the way busted?
 
For everyone now looking at getting a VR area ready, I'd argue in favor of making it as big as you possibly can. I thought I was pretty well set (with 3.4x2.7m) -- and the experience is absolutely awesome no doubt -- but this is truly a case where more is always better (at least for some games/experiences). So if you can make a reasonable effort in order to increase your available space then it's a good idea to do so.

I never used most of my living room anyway I guess.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
For those of you demoing to family & friends, is there a way to store ipd per person and recall it, or do you not bother? Thinking particularly for my kids as they might need more adjusting than adults, although they're not super young
 
Had a bad run today I guess. Loved most everything I played yesterday.

I played Lucky's Tale and it really is just a really average platformer. It looks nice enough but the art direction is much too close to the generic smartphone style for my tastes. I feel bad for the Oculus folks if these are the types of experiences they're having with a Gamepad. Without Roomscale and motion controls, the headset really feels like a gimmick instead of an impactful, immersive experience. And the Vive screen, as we all know, is no looker. It's certainly not high res enough to replace your TV or computer monitor for now VR related stuff. So yeah, I came away feeling pretty bad for the early Rift adopters. I hope Touch comes out for them soon. (Also played Gunjack, underwhelming too).

Still, I do think I'd really enjoy Chronos!

It feels like the opposite, actually. As much as I like the room scale stuff, it all feels very slight at the moment and while I wouldn't call it a gimmick because clearly it has the potential to be so much more than that, the current experiences are closer to "gimmicky" than what I'm getting from playing Elite on my Rift.

The Rift is the one I'm leaving plugged in and using daily. The Vive is the one I want to invite people over to experience. It's weird!
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Haha, I just came to day the same thing. Tried Lucky's Tale last night and the first two minutes are really awesome because the game looks so good but then it really doesn't offer much after that and after using the Vive not being able to use my hands or even see the controller was a big step back. It was the first time I've had an experience in the Vive that felt gimmicky in a bad way. Even worse, it gave me motion sickness. Not sure if that was because of Revive or the moving camera but I felt like shit.

Yeah, this was pretty much my experience too. I think I even posted here about it after I played it first time. It looks really cute and it's a good idea, but the platforming doesn't get above average even in the later stages and the camera is unsettling. But I could see VR benefiting a really good 3d platformer due to the way better perception of space. Unfortunately Lucky's Tale doesn't really put that to good work. But it's very cute.
 

Dineren

Banned
For those of you demoing to family & friends, is there a way to store ipd per person and recall it, or do you not bother? Thinking particularly for my kids as they might need more adjusting than adults, although they're not super young

I haven't bothered so far and I haven't had any complaints. It may not be ideal, but seems like too much of a hassle to bother with unless someone is having issues.
 
For those of you demoing to family & friends, is there a way to store ipd per person and recall it, or do you not bother? Thinking particularly for my kids as they might need more adjusting than adults, although they're not super young

I haven't bothered explaining it to people because I've found for myself it's impossible to even tell what it the right setting to have it at.
 
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