Hopefully this was an insightful episode, a lot of things may make a lot more sense. Welcome to the life-death-rebirth cycle of Virtual Reality. Also join in my discord server! Massive VR Community Christmas Party today! Discord.gg/Thrill
You're 100% on point with the John Carmack stuff. He's one of the all time greats but he's not a god. Wasn't he completely against Oculus having tracking controllers? He's human.
*Contesting for question of the week* Even if this isn't question of the week I would appreciate if you answered it. Big fan btw If there was one or two pc or console game you would wanna see in VR what would they be? And you can't add games you can mod into vr (some of the Resident Evil games, Half Life 2, etc)
I'm mainly sad that John Carmack left because he is such an incredibly talented and smart engineer. I do wish you explained his position more, because he did not only make all those early games, *he literally pioneered new graphics technology that allows modern games to exist*. This includes raycasting (Wolfenstien 3D), adaptive tile refresh, binary space partitioning (Doom), surface caching (Quake), and many more. He also created the asynchronous spacewarp that Oculus headsets use, and Valve even licensed one of HIS engines for Half-Life. I literally consider him the god of modern games and praise him as such. He is a seriously invaluable person and Meta effectively forcing him out is a loss for everyone. Though given his grievances (which I share as an Oculus user, pre and post meta) show that even if he stayed, he wouldn't have been able to do much. Meta really dropped the ball here and people don't seem to understand how important this is. If Meta allowed John to truly work his magic, who knows what sort of amazing VR tech we would already have.
no longer shackled by facebook . i don't know about you but he will create more impressive things when no longer have the out of touch heads breathe down his neck .
@@CoolSs yep, but unfortunately not in the VR space for the time being, as it seem he'll continue working toward the AI path of machine learning and such.
Recasting was pioneered by him? I literally used raycasting in Unity for my very first game in 2017 to create some very intricate puzzles... never thought about who actually invented that system
Watch the five hour interview he gave some time ago. He talked about he's been cutting back on Meta work and started to work on his next thing. I don't remember exactly. I think he was aiming for general artificial intelligence
I miss the old oculus but I’m ready for what Valve continues to bring to the table. They’ve definitely taken the mantle and will do right by the community and what’s best for this industry. As for the now shell of a company that used to be Oculus thank you to Palmer Luckey, Brendan Iribe, Michael Antonov, Nate Mitchell and John carmack for your work. You were the backbone VR needed early on, what made oculus great and did tremendous work that will continue to echo through this industry for years to come.
@@bobdouglass8010 He's not talking about their games, as Valve isn't much in the market of games anymore (that we know of), but it's their products. the Index and its new controllers were game changing back in 2019 with finger tracking. the Deckard will take it to a whole new level.
@@bobdouglass8010 @ballcast1 got it. I’m mainly talking about hardware as there’s many VR game studios creating great experiences but very few competitors in the VR hardware space. Not to mention whatever headset valve puts out next, will most likely become priority #1 for devs to optimize their game on. however, I still have high hopes for their software as well. Alyx was released less than three years ago and it’s usually everyone’s favorite game to date or at least in their top 3. I think within these next couple of years, we’re going to see a very different valve than we have for the past decade. I think the steam deck, index and Alyx are just the beginning of some big stuff to come.
Definitely the wild west compared to traditional game development but that means opportunity, unlike the traditional game development space we are actually badly in need of more games and obviously that means more VR focused developers. I'm a computer science major and been in VR since 2019 and I'm also using VRChat as a way to test out unity and learn more about optimization and general interaction/logic and what is actually possible when it comes to integrating existing C# code to Udon [which seems will be getting a major improvement with the upcoming update to Udon].
The game company I work for has lived through the entire Gartner hype cycle. It's kind of crazy looking back at it. We were one of the first developers to even get a VR headset prototype from HTC since they were our partners. Once that initial VR hype train crashed and burned, we almost didn't make it and come out from the wreckage alive, but now we are clearly in that real growth phase have have greatly expanded today since that crash.
Same for the company I work for! But we're on the enterprise side. It's absolutely amazing and exciting to see so many more folks get excited about the real-world usecases of VR and XR in general.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he's moved onto his own startup company that will specialize in artificial intelligence. I think he's moved on.
@@csakzozo Not some AI project. He wants to focus on AGI, so real artificial intelligence. If he can make anything happen it will be just as exciting.
Next to the hype cycle that you described. I think that we are basically in a recession where a lot of people just don't have the money for luxury products like vr.
@@holorn1280 phones are necessary for most daily life. Consoles are a known source of entertainment so it's a saver purchase then a vr headset that you might not like.
@@The_oli4 Not to mention VR is hard to get into, and very finicky atm. So you got the expensive aspect, and you got the confusing aspect of what it even does, or why should they even bother when cheaper things 'do the job better'.
That means they don't have the money for anything that costs the same as VR. The only people buying consoles instead of VR headsets are 30-40yo millenials and Gen-Zers, because all the kids want now is VR. Once they try their friend's VR headset, it's game over. Ask me how I know. Hell, our neighbors' kids were coming over to play VR and eventually got their own VR headset for Xmas after 2 years, instead of a console. This is happening *everywhere* whether you know it or not. VR is what the kids want, and as history has shown, it's the kids that set the trends, not the out-of-touch adults.
People; 3d glasses and cloud gaming are the FUTURE!!! (both failed commercially) People; VR IS DEAD!! (VR sold very well that even Jesus said VR is the true future)
I actually view this as good thing . if he begin his own VR hardware that not focused on creating glorified online meeting room (the metaverse) that will be amazing . John Carmack is really smart guy and i felt sad that he been shackled by facebook . the guy literally made doom by going to libraries and learning coding by BOOKS (it's more complex than that . i recommend seeing interview about the guy) . VR being more for enthusiasts is good thing imo .
@@s3rv3r3rror8 yeah, with both feet planted on the PS5 while the rest of the industry makes standalone hardware or devices for PCs which are far more universal than a single console platform unless of course their VR tech is compatible with PCs without any workarounds, to be frank I haven't done any research
would be great if he teamed up with valve or went on board with khronos and cleaned up openxr. I hear samsung is looking to make a quest competitor and I find that interesting.
@@z4po325I don’t… think that really matters. Not unless you believe someone can only be complimented when in a relationship Unless you were asking a genuine question, in which case I apologize, too much twitter recently has fried my social circuits and I did NOT mean to sound like a white knight lmao. If so, have a nice day, sorry for bothering ya.
There are no words to describe how ridiculous it actually is... i mean, we have chips, sensors, liquid crystals, oleds and lenses that let us explore virtual worlds. Even if it took them 30 years from kickstarter to the quest 1 i'd still say the same thing.
I am an "old guy." In the early days, I used to marvel at what people like Bill Budge, Bert Kersey, Ken & Roberta Williams, and Todd Rundgren came up with. (Yes, that Todd Rundgren. He programmed graphics tablet software back when that was hardly even a thing, and also a cool psychedelic screen saver for 8-bit graphics.) I played the original Escape from Castle Wolfenstein by Muse, then the 3D Wolfenstein by Carmack, John Romero and company (id Software) blew me away. Then Doom, Quake, etc. I got into Doom and Heretic modding and level creation. I used to read Carmack's "finger" posts (remember those?) and TRY to sort of understand what he was talking about. Dude is a technical genius. Though I no longer enjoy really violent games -- I never picked up the modern Doom titles, for example, and would much rather play PC and VR games that put me into a more peaceful, hopeful, yet interesting world with other types of challenges other than just having to kill things -- nevertheless, I still worship Carmack for the brilliant guy that he was and is. He's a legend.
Finally got my first headset after years of following the industry. And even though games are pretty fun I am shocked the VR animation and 3D movies arnt hyped even more. Would love a deeper dive talking about that side of VR!
It's unfortunate that so many people have, especially in recent years, come to think in terms of good/bad, yes/no, red/blue, hyped/dead. Reality (including the virtual kind) is just more complicated than that. In my case, I absolutely LOVE VR, I just don't want anything to do with Facebook's VR (no matter what they call it.)
I think we have to face the possibility that VR may never be widely adopted in any form similar to what we're familiar with right now. No one was more excited than I was...and I sold my Quest 2 after a year. I think there is a huge cross section of the target audience for it, that just find out -- like I did -- that it's not just fun enough to overcome the downsides. Play area, headaches, nausea, the hassle of messing with the equipment (and the wireless on the quest wasn't working at the time unless you basically jailbroke the headset). I enjoyed a couple of games, but other than perhaps ALYX, maybe SAINTS AND SINNERS, there was nothing special about the games once VR novelty wore off, and to be fair I never tried the "METAVERSE." because it looked horrible. That's the real reason it never sustains any momentum. As far as Zukerberg...did anyone REALLY believe he was going to be able to come close to pulling this off? I sure as hell didn't. Until the tech is much much better, smaller, more lightweight, and generally less of a hassle...it's always going to be niche.
Another banger by ThrillSeeker. Hopefully we start to see the rise of more home-grown approaches to VR like we've seen countless time before in other industries Keep up the awesome work!
Won't happen. VR survived the hype cycle crashing becouse there was still HOPE. this time the cycle crashed with argueably the biggest person in the industry leaveing on beyond horrible terms with meta. Right after a wave of crypto scammmers where ruining VR for everyone. This is the scaryest time VR has ever had to deal with in the last few years. That's without even mentioning the VRChat EAC drama and now the VR desktop drama. This is NOT good for ANYTHING or ANYONE.
@@Peglegkickboxer Your right and its amazingly good. I actualy have fun laughing at the cry babys. Just said it was a conterversy even if it had no effect in the long run it was super hostile for a good while. Im glad its calmed down and fizzled out now.
I've been trying to save up for a VR headset for like 5 years, but every time I come close either something happens that takes my money, or the best headset for price changes (still pissed that the Quest 2 went up £100 the day before I was going to buy one)
the universe is saying its not worth it. i sold mine ages and and looking back at it im happy i did. i was in a very unhealthy point in my life and it did not help. Now i want one but i would limit my self to a few beat saber/pistol whip rounds or something.
@@ThrillSeekerVR You're very welcome! ALSO: I have a QOTW for you -- How do you feel about location based VR like the now defunct VOID Star Wars experience? Does VR have more of a future through custom rides and experiences where immersion can be upped even more?
@@machineo12887 I think location based VR is cool.. but at least from the locations I have been to, they don’t offer anything significantly better than off the shelf solutions.. and in many situations offer worse experiences than off the shelf solutions (just buying a Quest 2 or having a PCVR setup) The only way I can see location based VR working really well is to bring truly next level, insane VR (or XR) experiences. Also would require a really good marketing push.
I don't think VR is ever going to die... Pandora's box has been open! And it's not going back in!! And I do see more and more push for AR stuff?!? And I also think that can help the world of VR keep growing... Love the channel stay awesome Merry Christmas all!
I’m so thankful that you explained the whole cycle thing! I figured this must be the case, but I’m glad someone put it out in the open! I still really want to build my own wacky worlds to explore in VR, AR, and Mixed reality! And honestly, since I don’t need any headsets to build the VR stuff, I think I know what one of my 2023 projects will be, especially while I save up for my own headset! 😁 ❤WE R VR!❤
I think they need to put AR on the back burner until VR is further along. There's a chance that early AR will be more like the cheap fitness watches. It's kinda cool but ultimately more of a gadget and most people will not walk around outside with any kind of dual-use HMD. I think big companies need to focus on in-home use cases and let AR be a separate device and ecosystem.
Great Video mate 👍🏻 THANK YOU - VR is super cool & a lot of fun. I’m 60 and got our first VR - QUEST 2, I am finding it so much fun and it’s helping me with my arthritis and I can see it’s going to help me with my health having fun at the same time. I also live in a remote location so the social aspect will be interesting to say the least. Cheers from Western Australia 🇦🇺🤝🏻
Big fan of Carmack, but I'm actually glad that he's going to be moving on. First, he's going to be free to build the next iteration of what ever has been lurking in that dark and twisted imagination of his. We've been denied this since he came onboard with Facebook / Meta. Second, he's been wrong on VR on some really critical aspects that I suspect have shaped Oculus / Meta development in negative ways. My biggest gripe has been his dismissal of room-scale experiences with VR. According to Carmack, we should all be sitting down to properly enjoy VR gaming and applications. I believe this lead directly to the deprioritization of full body mocap with quest, the lack of support for arms, legs, torso, etc in the Quest rigs, and the fact that now Meta is playing catchup in areas where it should be leading. And because of this, the areas of VR that should be the most compelling are missing -- like the full-body VRChat experience you keep referring to. Carmack's vision of VR was surely an important voice in that misdirection.
Honestly, this is the final nail in the coffin for the original Oculus... sure, Meta will still succeed with the Quest 2/Pro and future headsets, but at this point they're no longer what Oculus was, they've silently killed them off
Bro, I'm going to die on this hill. I live VR like crazy, I'm convinced that it will never die and that we just need to get ourselves together and finally get a steady walk going.
John Carmack, the Steve Wozniak of VR. I'm actually glad he's fulltime into AGI now. I think that field needs more highly intelligent but sober people like him among the bridge crew, and if he couldn't make a difference at Oculus of all places, then he's much better off there. Long live VR.
I had my first blown away experience with VR this week after playing dozens of VR games. I tried Luke Ross's Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod and it blew my mind. Its the best VR game I've ever played and it wasn't even meant to be a VR game. No tracking controllers - just a good ol' gamepad. The problem with VR is that they are all workout syms. Nobody is trying to work that hard to play a game. I think more triple-A developers need to think about story driven content that is playable seated. This is where VR should go IMO. If we additionally had higher-end and lighter headsets, everyone in the world would be in VR. First to the Key - First to the Egg.
I lately stopped using VR completely. Tere were periods when I was playing VR every day now I havent lauched it in months. The game that got me hooked was Beat Saber but nowadays I can't play anymore due to my health condition, also there's not much other interesting games so my Index is collecting dust and it makes me really sad. I hope there's something new and exciting coming so I can have that sparkle of excitement once again.
You know i appreciate the "Meta arc" through the Thrillseeker lens, you really did your best to greet everything with as much genuine optimism you could. Meta did seem the one poised to continue their reign as the biggest hand on the VR rudder but its just kind of crumbling apart. I think once things get better economically and tech continues to improve in the background, VR will really come to life again.
Insightful and digestible, even for someone like myself with an allergy to looking at things (including this medium we love) through the lens of commerce/business/profit necessities. I wish/hope that VR can ever be okay and alive even if it isn't ever massively mainstream.
Carmack always was the anchor to Zuck's crazy vision. Hopefully the recent collaboration announcements and refocusing at Connect '22 means Mark is able to be more realistic even without Carmack around. Lots of "architecture astronauts" to watch out for.
i think carmack has put meta in the right direction (even valve isn't going to be making a wired PCVR-only lighthouse-tracking headset next), if zuck chooses to derail that with his hard on for being the social media guy it will be all on him
John Carmack leaving Meta and sending out that memo definitely sheds a bit of a bad light on the company, but hopefully it all results in better work from them there. It always seemed like a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation there, so hopefully they can hunker down and really get a proper production pipeline there at Reality Labs. Great video, Thrill! Hoping for big things with VR, but appreciate you having a positive outlook regarding the declining interest in VR as of late. Definitely a good time to reflect and try to get into that plateau of productivity you mentioned.
My family is hyped that I got us the new Oculus (just sold my PSVR). After work discount and eBay sale, upgraded only cost me $170. So used savings to get headstrap and controller grips this channel recommended and prescription glasses inserts. This is going to be the best Xmas ever. 3D movie theater theater, Wanderer, YT 360 videos, Superhot and Beat Saber (saved buying these games for Oculus). Good times!
Personally, my biggest and only issues and deceptions with VR are the following: - I get motion sickness in most games where I'm moving in 1st person view in the virtual environment, making most FPS or action games uncomfortable for me. The worst are flight simulators, which is what I was expecting to have the most fun with, but they really make me dizzy to the point they are unplayable. - The device I'm using (Meta Quest 2) has preset IPD settings (inter-pupillary distance), and my IPD is somewhere half-way between two presets. I have a hard time to find the sweet spot and have to force it to stay off the presets (which have a physical notch that snaps when you're on it). I don't know why they didn't design it with a mechanical wheel like they have on binoculars to set the IPD very precisely. Otherwise, I'm very pleased with my VR experience so far.
@@yrnsnagz We're far away from that yet. The man hours for developing that big a scenario in VR are staggering. We will need better development frameworks before we make it.
I think your video make sense. Explaining all that, will keep VR enthusiasms and momentum during this down period. New VR user and lover will not be so shocked by this slow down, causing them to go on another passion. We need to keep people into this hobby this is so nice and has alot of potential and uses
Yeah man I literally purchased a meta oculus quest 2 headset 2 days ago :/ it’s supposed to come in today and I don’t know how to feel about this. Like I’m on the fence of returning it and I don’t even have it yet….
I will never stop making VR music videos! I have gotten so much joy out of creating and being in imaginary worlds that I will continue even if people stop watching VR altogether just for my own entertainment.
Piracy is a symptom of bad pricing. I've picked up a few VR titles recently when they went on sale, but I had a long drought of VR title purchases because of the pricing model some of these games have used. If I'm going to buy a 2-3 hour VR experience, I'm not going to spend AAA money on it. I have no issue refunding VR titles that don't deliver good gameplay or even replayability. My target for VR games in my Steam library are $20 and under. I've already spent $3000 on a pc, $1000 on VR peripherals, and now you want another $50 for a 1-2 hour "game" that has PS3(or PS2) graphics and more glitches than Cyberpunk 2077 at release? Nah I'm all set, I'll just keep using it to enjoy space/flight simulators and watch 3D movies.
Woooow. I accually played that game at 1:36 when i was a kid visiting an amusement park in stockholm. I have thought about it many times since but seeing again sent me right back to that moment! Thanks for that!
Nicely said and researched. I’ve been following tech since 1982 and have seen so many waves. Poor journalism is a major factor in trend over excitement and downturns. When tech needs a while to mature the same media who hyped it starts complaining and instead of a natural development period, everyone listens to their doom and gloom and it takes a while (if and when) people start to see the potential and investors come back after being scared away. When a tech is successful the media goes into the “well this success can’t possibly continue and they start running articles like is this the xxx killer? Which naturally scares potential buyers away and becomes a self fulfilled prophesy. Sometimes companies abandon decent tech that if matured may not save the business but will add to its overall use and value if left unchallenged and stamped with “XXX is Dead” as you noted. Big business is like middle school, many executives don’t understand the business’s they run and enlist the help of consultants with recent MBAs and no real work experience. Meanwhile they are so obsessed with what their competitors are doing that even if the competitors are totally misguided, they want to follow their perceived lead. Was 3D a decent idea? I think so, but the active lens tech was cumbersome and while LGs Polaroid tech was better and less expensive , business wanted 3D to make everyone throw out their current displays and instead of stating this is an added feature, they called it a failure and moved away from the tech. (The last statement makes little difference if you like or loath 3D. It is an example about over hype and a quick abandonment of a potentially good idea). VR has a place, AR has a place too, it needs more development and advancement as well as a killer app that even naysayers can’t ignore the value of. I have an original Oculus, Vive, PlayStation VR and reach for my Quest 2 the most often as it has less limitations. No beefy PC, no fixed base stations, no group of annoying wires. And If there isn’t enough space in one room, it is easy to take elsewhere. PSVR2 is coming and the price is decent, but do I truly wish to be tethered again? Lastly my pet peeve, wtf is the deal with disembodied hands? If we are trying to be escaping into a world, having gloves floating in space breaks the illusion at once. Just avoid flesh tones and put sleeves and gloves and get away from that foolish implementation. Just my 73 cents, other opinions are also respected even if I don’t agree.
Bro I love the vibes your videos give me, they are so well-designed, you talk facts, and your intro is so chill, I love it even though I don't have a VR headset atm, your videos are very interesting so I would say the sub was worth it
A decade ago when I got interested in VR with the Oculus dev kit 1, I both never would've expected and fully expected millions of sales in headsets. I expected the VR industry to boom and go big but at the same time it still takes me aback every now and then. I don't think newer people realize how extensive but vital VR is to the human experience, there will always be complications, the same applied to the device you're using right now...
I work at Reality Labs and I personally am very sad to see John go. I grew up on Doom and got interested in computer science after starting to play around with Doom modding tools in the early 90s. Joining Oculus/RL/Meta and working under Carmack (even indirectly) has really been the fulfilment of a childhood dream for me. His departure feels like a huge loss right now, but I'm sure John will go on to do great things in Artificial General Intelligence and continue innovating as he always has. Hopefully he stays involved in VR in some capacity as well. He's certainly a huge fan of the medium; I doubt he will shift his focus away from it completely. As for myself personally, I've never been more excited to work on VR!
Despite how negative the first part of the video was, but for some reason I feel really great after watching this video. I'm hopeful for the future of VR. Your really made my day better with this video. Thanks 💜
I would like to know how odd those gloves are, because I'm really interested in getting them from the short minutes you mentioned it here, I'm looking forward for your review video to decide if I shuold buy them or DIY a pair of LucidGloves whenever I can afford everything. Great video and thank you for providing us with the VR news Thrill
To me the main issue with VR right now is games. People love the idea of VR but when there are not a decent amount of great games that come out this slump is understandable.
I would say that this was the *third* hype cycle; the first one happened in the 1990s, with the first major surge of VR hardware. I lived through that and had my first VR experiences during that time, and my first VR experience was playing Descent (for DOS!) on primitive, non-head-tracking-capable hardware. There were so many movies and TV shows made about VR at the time, and about how it was going to be the future of gaming but also how we'd have to be careful about getting "stuck"/addicted in VR, and so on. Also, before "metaverse" and VRChat and so on, we had VRML, which never quite caught on but it had a lot of potential all the same. I feel like the first VR bubble burst around the same time as the first dotcom bubble burst. I agree with your feelings on where the industry needs to go and the optimism of how it can keep on going as an experimental thing.
i work in architecture and one of the things we found with vr is that it gives clients a really understanding of scale. but there are 2 main issues that vr can't (at the moment) solve. that is 1. only one person with the headset gets to experience it. sharing the experience would mean passing the headset around or having each person have one. 2. You only operate in one set of reality at a time. clients don't quite like being in 2 planes of reality at the same time. It's either you're in vr or in reality. what I mean by this is we found people don't like being talk to or guided by if the other person is not in the vr world. Or if you need to look at the vr space but also remove it to look at some drawings. I know these are pretty much solvable but it just made vr a bit of a gimmick for us.
Why not just make your simulations server based? It would solve both problems. Is there any reason you can't just have each headset connect to a server where multiple people can view an architectural model?
Am I the only person still ridiculously in love with VR? I am, I guess a "super" user and so the whole artist formerly known as as facebook or "meta" side of the industry is completely not on my radar. We have wireless Index (nofio), 11 point tracking in VRChat (that's more than just legs Mr Zucks), the haptic gloves, 4090's, Varjo Aero, Eye tracking is accessible and soooo much more. Avatars and worlds are so easy to make with so many poggers tools to help make it easier. There's a huge community and if you spend a bit of time you can find some amazing people pretty easily. Next time I see you in VRC Thrill I am expecting a Haptic High Five!!! (yes I ordered the gloves and got ronn to aswell XD) If you're a VR Nerd now is a fun time!
I bought a quest 2 and put up with fb because of carmack, and I think he had a huge impact on the vr tech, hopefully he moves on to better things, seems like he’s really into ai now. Hopefully meta can make a breakthrough with quest 3, and they bring in talent to use the tech that’s been built and make a killer app/ui experience that brings about the next gen on vr
One thing I’ll add to the piracy conversation is that I personally do that to demo VR games. What I’ll do is play a game for maybe 10-30 minutes and determine if I like it, then buy it if I do. I do that because I spend a ton of money on VR games, and have been burnt too many times. There’s such a huge range of quality, and I’m protecting myself from wasting money. Most people I tell that to ask me why I don’t just buy the game then refund it if I don’t like it. The reason for that is the constraints around the refund policies. I feel rushed to set up graphics, preferences, etc while the game is open. Also sometimes I pirate one and I don’t try it for a few weeks. I don’t want to feel pressured to try out a game at that very moment. I want my free trial to be just sitting there waiting on me whenever. Finally, I actually feel like I’m gonna like hurt the devs feelings or something if they are a small game and they see a refund go through. Idk why I consider factors like that but I know myself and I know I may not refund a game I should. Only VR game I’ve ever refunded was Kayak, but that was after the dev responded kinda rudely to a question of mine on Discord. I really do buy every single one that I like and limit my time in the pirated versions. I probably own every VR game you can think of, and like to think I’m helping push the industry forward by buying so many. Im considering buying Viveport so I can try some of the leftovers without the extra effort of piracy.
I'd be willing to bet that bringing back Demos for all games, would solve a HUGE portion of piracy, as a lot of people I know, that pirate games, do so to experience the game before buying, and if they enjoy it they save up and buy it to help fund whatever crazy updates or future IPs that specific developer/studio has in store. Demos should be required at this point, especially with how awful some companies are at only ever putting fake gameplay footage/CGI videos as the examples and screenshots of gameplay.
NANI? Ok, I must admit, yeah kinda. I mean I am 51, I visited the early VR Cafes in the early 1990s, if anyone remembers that. Or was it even late 80s? Something super pixelish. lol. And I hope to be on a holodeck ever since. I got the Oculus Rift, got into Skyrim and felt like I was in wonderland and all my live's dreams had come to be real. Virtual Reality. BEING in a world. I was SO breathtaken. Now I have my Ocu... err Meta Quest 2 laying there gathering dust. Yes I did my games like Beat Saber and other stuff. But I noticed the urge to get the Quest 2 on my head just... vanished. Alas. Most reason for me is: there are just no games the likes I enjoy, like big ass RPGs like Skyrim or Horizon Zero Dawn or Baldurs Gate or anything on that lane. Some "sporty" VR apps, and tons and tons of trash. Or some cute small games like "Cooking Sim" which I am just not interested, because I hate RL cooking enough already. As long as the big gaming industry companies largely do not create VR versions of their games, VR will never kick up, no matter how the tech improves. I just don't know why the big companies didn't do it. I just NEVER got why Zuck is so hyped about the Megaverse? I mean, it is primitive graphics and WHY would anyone hang out there with friends? I can phone or make videoconferences, or (GASP) meet in person. I just don't see why Meta put so much into what I see as an elaborate chat channel? Given how MOST people working in a office are, why on Earth would they spent hours of their working day behind those heavy, sweaty machines on their face? That is just NO realistic target audience IMVHO AT ALL. I do not know why the big companies never went to make VR versions of their games, but that didn't happen and so... I would, if there was just some content worth playing. With my age, I am likely not gonna see the real thing. But oh well. I saw C64 pixel games turn into... modern high rez but totally soulless games, lol. I am a true cheerful person, innit?
Would've started giving some credentials, this is The John Carmack, this guy wrote assembly and C renderers for the first FPSes we ever had. You might have heard of Wolfenstein 3d, Doom and Quake. We should heed his word, he has been pushing tech since the beginning of tech, his Rage game was one of the first using the now common "streaming" techniques that allow super-game engines like Unreal to draw abusrds amount of data/textures by sending a constant flow of data to the graphics card as opposed as "baking" geometries into it and instancing.
I finally went in for a Pico 4 for Christmas, so actually the hype for me just begins! I really hope software development in VR goes way further than it is now! Thanks for your content as that also enticed me to go into VR!
I think that simulation software has a big future in VR as you can literally learn how to do something without fear of getting hurt or dying. I would like to see a slew of sim games come out on everything from painting, making pots, to running a crane or plane. I typically use VR for XPlane to fly helicopters - but I'd be super interested in games that teach. I love your channel keep up the goodness!!!
Valve hates him, he wasn't interested in making high-end enthusiast VR and basically foresaw mobile/wireless VR destroying it. He's obviously won that argument with quest 2
I've had an Index for a while now. The issue is with the format. The actual control and visual format is extremely Un optimal. Its a relatively cheap way to immerse a certain percentage of your body and appendages in a virtual digital space. But its extremely uncomfortable, unnatural, and just poorly implemented and utilized. An experience like the one everyone wants with VR really needs to not have you strap something to your head. It needs to be something that surrounds you. A bubble of sorts. Perhaps an inflatable sphere with projectors all around it, and an omnidirectional tread pad. for you to walk on. I thought I'd get used to VR eventually and get over stuff like motion effects and the headset fatigue, but im in my mid 20s and after hours and hours in many different types of VR games I still only last an hour or two at most before having to take an extended break, often dizzy and fatigued from refocusing and positioning myself in the space with a hot screen strapped to my eyeballs. Pretty much every game I try hasn't really figured out a good way move your character. besides the fact that the indexed thumbsticks are worse than the nintendo wiis, All of the movement implementations feel unnatural and disorienting. If I had to implement something, It would be a toggle for movement thats directed by your own physical movement in your space. Like a hold button to step forward and it steps or begins moving you continuously forwards, same for the other cardinal directions. Theres also the issue of precision. Consumer haptic gloves do sound like a step up, but even with body tracking nodes the sense of self is often wildly disjointed, Especially for things that have you in small spaces like at a desk or in a kitchen. It almost feels like we're still stuck with the same technological disadvantages of the 90s implementation of VR. Until some form of holographic technology, perhaps even augmented reality like google glass is advanced. To me as an owner. It will always be a gimmick that will never live up to its promised immersion.
Question for question of the week: In the grand scheme of things, how much do you think persistence and large scale instances are a necessity for a/the metaverse ?
The reason I backed off of VR is due to the lack of multiplayer games that really peak my interest. I can only play Pavlov so much before thinking "What's next?". (Although VR chat is cool, it's not really a game) For me at least, there haven't been many titles that I would consider amazing other than Alyx. The multiplayer space is severely lacking and it's driving me away from the medium.
I'm new into VR. About a month ago I got a HP Reverb G2. With the caveat that anything in technology could be better, I couldn't be more pleased with it. It is awesome for iRacing. I also play Skyrim VR, which as combined package at least "meets expectations". Especially since it seems Skyrim was not originally made for VR. My point is that seen from the Meta/Oculus point of view the VR might be in a slump. But, I suspect that headsets like the HP Reverb G2 are past the slump and well into productivity. I think that the G2 itself is good enough that I hope they start to concentrate on the peripherals. For example, I'd like to see WMR foot controllers so I can "walk" while sitting. I don't have room to play standing. That would also free up the hand controllers for other functions. When has anything that has 90% market share been the best and/or most innovative? I wouldn't expect them to pull the industry out of the slump. But, people will keep posting about them because that is what 90% of the clickers own. No offense intended.
I'm surprised you didn't talk about or mention the new HaritoraX Wireless Trackers that were announced just 5 - 6 days ago! I'm sure you'll be reviewing that announcement in a soon to come video but still a bit surprised! loved the video as always though! Although the VR market is at a low right now there's a lot to continue to be excited for in the future!! QOTW(maybe): How far do you think VR will be able to go? Do you think VR is going to reach a limit to how much it can progress and advance? Or do you think VR will just be able continue to Improve and get even more advanced and better?
Carmack single handedly help 3d gaming leap 10 years with quake. Every 3d game engine has dna from quake. I hope he starts his own vr company and puts meta to shame.
Thank you for keeping us informed on what's happening with vr, also, what game are you playing at the end of the video...much love from halifax nova scotia🇨🇦
You know what would help stop "VR is Dead?" No more headset exclusives, no more big companies buying up devs and killing their projects, and headsets that actually step up to the plate! Face tracking, eye tracking, and higher resolution. Without breaking the bank. *Looking at you Valve*
As someone who buys everything I play and use, legitimately: I still support piracy fully. Piracy, while problematic, never killed a sustainable product. Please note, I said and mean "Sustainable" product, and it's price point is just as much a point in that sustainability as is it's features. While I don't use any adobe software, consciously at least, I still fully believe it's hostile market prices and redundant DRM ecosystem destroys hobby creationist efforts, or even up and coming creators. Therefore, since Adobe clearly doesn't care about people not paying a triple digit subscription, I support piracy efforts for the better of the end users. Plus, everyone benefits from piracy, even the companies that are at a short term loss from it's efforts. Everyone gets a chance to experience the results of someone having their hands on something they otherwise couldn't in the creative market, for example. The company retains an inflated amount of advertisement to the product's usability, even if that's at a net loss for immediate purchases. Well and truly, DRM is a mistake, and the companies that pull it off the best end up leading to the creation of more usable tools through reverse engineering and near-peer features with much more available products: IE, photoshop against something like paint.net. So, I don't condone virtual desktop's behavior, at all, and I'd have demanded a refund full stop if I ever bought the software anyways upon adding always on DRM. (I don't know if it's a subscription model, I don't use it, I'll admit.) It's much better for it's own usability to just accept the qualms of piracy, and better incentivize the features of the product justifying the purchase, instead of forcing people to suffer WITH the purchase, just so a few more are forced to buy it to participate at all. But in the world today, business isn't for the end user, in every market, and it's a callous practice of moronic penny chasing to fight off the need to innovate.
I used to think VR was a gimmick, I used to think it was just like playing a game with a screen strapped to your head, basically as if you put your head right up to your monitor. But it's nothing like that, VR is important, it's a completely different way to play games and it's really good. VR might "die" again, which I think is fine because i don't think the quality and tech is at where it needs to be. There were a couple of times since the 2015 revival of VR where I wanted to get VR, but each time I would be interested in it I'd look at the games and decide "nah", the time I did buy VR I actually thought the same thing, but because I had just finished a job where I made an insane amount of money I just bought it because cost was no longer a factor. For VR to really take off there needs to be games, way more games than we have. What games do we have? A few decent FPS games and a whole bunch of concepts. If people are gonna buy an expensive piece of hardware they need to be able to use it on a lot of things. My VR set has been collecting dust because I've played everything that interests me. The headset needs to be smaller and more comfortable. The tech needs to be very good quality to ensure as little motion sickness as possible.
I have been waiting for years to upgrade my racing Sim rig because I am waiting for a platform with a decent following like Gran Turismo to be compatible with VR with online play. Or iracing online lobby play but in VR. Once there is a platform with a following that offers online community racing,VR will have a PS1/crash bandicoot moment. Not to mention Sim racing should be the first monetized form of arcade play where people can buy into races and receive purses for top 5 finishers and what not. But I promise you when an online racing simulator adopts online VR capability and in game monetization... World's gonna explode
Check into iRacing with the Reverb G2 I'm very pleased with it! It's very hard for me to differentiate the pixels at all. I have to "cross my eyes' to see any screen door effect. When playing it simply isn't there. RTX 2070 Super and i7-9700k processor.
I agree with everything you said at the beginning. The loss of Carmac is heart breaking. If Facebook hadn't done this stupid premature meta pivot and let him just work on the hardware, we'd probably be in a better place. But, we have more companies making games and hardware than ever. We have a lot of innovation. And, based on my gun raiders games, there's an entire generation of ten year olds that for them, this is their super Nintendo. They're gaming genesis. And those kids aren't going to turn back to pancake screens, the same way most of us with our first graphics card didn't turn back to living without one of those. VR will be fine. We just need to ride this down slope.
Great vid man, this is the best explanation of what VR has been like for, well since it started,, haha. The only constant being, a growing active community! The future will still only get better for VR! Also like virtually odd coming back, it's good to explore all that VR has to offer, especially now that the focus has been mostly on standalone headsets and their capability, pros and cons.
I highly recommend checking out John Carmacks interview with Lex Fridman. He talks a bit more about the Meta thing, and by his phrasing from the interview, his departure is not a particularly big deal. He had already stepped way back and reduced his role.
I'd like to say that VR isn't dead, I feel like people are just lurking on technology, waiting for it to improve drastically enough to change the way their life works, like Elon Musk's new brain implant, if people shifted it towards VR instead of just helping people with sight issues, I think that VR would "boom" again because the lurkers (like me) would just use it and "come back" to VR again. Although the technological advances are dwindling slightly, people just need to keep the goal in their mind, that VR could change EVERYTHING eventually.
I'm glad he's moving on to AGI instead of VR. AGI will have far more impact than VR ever can. VR will eventually come around--it's a issue of other industries advancing so that VR can meet people's expectations.
There aren't enough quality VR games, this is perhaps the biggest supporting factor of the "VR is dying" argument. There are many short and sweet experiences or tech demos showing off cool features with lots of potential but overall there is only a handful of VR games truly worth playing longer than a few hours. Half Life Alyx is almost 3 years old and there hasn't been another VR game since then to match the level of quality and polish. Of course there's flatscreen ports like Modded Skyrim VR, Resident Evil 4 VR and No Man's Sky that offer a more polished experience but none of these games were designed with VR in mind explicitly. It's a shame that with all the hype and interest surrounding VR there aren't more high quality games to sink your time into.
