ashecitism
Member
So far these are from MWC, the embargo just got lifted. Update: GDC impressions are coming now too.
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/04/htc-vive-hands-on/
http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/4/8146523/htc-vive-valve-vr-headset-hands-on-preview
edit:
MWC:
http://gizmodo.com/htc-vive-virtual-reality-so-damn-real-that-i-cant-even-1689396093
http://www.cnet.com/news/watch-out-oculus-htc-vives-vr-experience-is-astonishing/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9048/testing-the-htc-re-vive-with-steam-vr-better-than-oculus
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31734418
http://phandroid.com/2015/03/04/htc-vive-review/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/htc-vive-virtualy-reality-hands-on,4102.html
GDC:
http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/4/8148265/htc-vive-vr-valve-hands-on-impressions
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...amVR_highlyimpressive_even_as_a_prototype.php
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/04/gdc-2015-how-valves-portal-vr-demo-sold-me-on-vive
Verge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n38gC5xgvBg
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/03/05/vive-gdc-review/
Tested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leg2gS6ShZw
Tested post-GDC podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOAEYFssZlE&t=1024
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...er&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialoomph
http://www.pcgamer.com/steamvr-hands-on-valve-overtakes-oculus/
http://www.maximumpc.com/valve’s_vr_experience_closest_thing_holodeck_we_have_2015
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-demonstrates-the-future-of-vr-better-than-an/1100-6425725/
http://kotaku.com/valves-vr-is-seri...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...campaign=Feed:+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)
the first in a series: http://www.roadtovr.com/valve-steamvr-htc-vive-hands-on-gdc-2015-stage-constant-presence/
http://www.tested.com/tech/504272-and-now-bit-virtual-reality-context/
http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/504521-htc-vive-vs-oculus-crescent-bay-my-10-vr-takeaways/
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/04/htc-vive-hands-on/
In the room where I had the demo, the two base stations were located where the ceiling meets the wall, about 90 degrees from each other. Attached to the Vive was a slew of cords; one was to a computer located at the far end of the room, while another led to a pair of controllers that look a lot like the Wii's nunchuks, except in place of joysticks, there are touchpads. The left and right sides of the grips are clickable and there's also a trigger button located where your index finger would naturally rest. A small shield of sensors that look similar to the ones on the Vive's faceplate are located in front of each controller. An HTC spokesperson tells me that the final version of the controllers should be wireless instead of wired, but for now, I had to strap on a belt full of cords as well as the Vive to prevent the headset from weighing me down.
I then went from the deep blue sea to a cartoon-like kitchen, where I controlled a pair of animated hands. In a demo titled "Job Simulator" by Owlchemy Labs, my task was to add a list of ingredients to the pot on the stove before time was over. Of course, instead of doing that, I explored the kitchen. I picked up the rolling pin and the mushrooms and opened the refrigerator door. The controls were responsive for the most part -- I only really used the trigger button -- though there were a couple of times when the accuracy seemed a little off and I picked up the wrong thing by mistake.
The scene changed again and then I was a giant looking over a miniaturized tabletop battle. Called "Quar" by Steel Wool, the demo showed tiny soldiers fighting a rather epic battle, with tiny men riding on tiny horses and brandishing their tiny swords. I was able to crouch down, move around and look at the detail of the miniature figures from all angles.
Obviously, however, HTC still has some challenges. For one, all those cords make it really difficult to walk around the room without the fear of tripping and falling over. Even if the controllers will be cordless eventually, HTC says the headset itself would still probably be tethered to a PC due to latency issues with wireless connectivity. Plus, not everyone will have the room or space to hook up two laser base stations so that the Vive will work. We also have yet to know what the minimum PC requirements are for the Vive to work as smoothly as it did. If we're to guess, we'd surmise it's quite demanding.
Yet, I walked away from the demo a complete believer, not just in VR, but also in HTC and Valve, and I can't wait to see what's next. HTC has said that the developer edition of the Vive will be available later this spring, while a commercial retail version will be in stores by the end of the year. I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford this yet, but if I can? Sign me up.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/4/8146523/htc-vive-valve-vr-headset-hands-on-preview
Valve has also put together what I'd describe as a mildly interactive Portal short movie. It's called Aperture. I was tasked with repairing a malfunctioning drone, and my inevitable failure drew the always-sarcastic disapproval of GLaDOS. As much as I love Portal, I found that to be the weakest part of the Vive VR demo; I was just following highly specific orders and wasn't given any freedom to experiment and interact with things that weren't designed to be manipulated by my virtual hands.
"I started painting in 2D, then I turned my square into a cube and the whole world changed"
The Job Simulator by Owlchemy is the converse of Valve's Aperture: its graphics are much more crude and basic, but it allowed me to interact with everything inside a 3D kitchen. I microwaved a tomato, served up a beef steak, and cracked many eggs. This was actually the perfect demo for VR: the rudimentary and clumsy actions I was performing reminded me of those of a young child that's first getting to know the world around it. That's the stage at which virtual reality experiences are today. Their makers and their users are still figuring out what works, what doesn't, and how all the pieces fit together.
My killer app for any VR headset with 3D motion tracking is the aforementioned Tilt Brush. It's basically like living in my very own music video. Everything gets darkened around me, I'm handed a color palette in my left hand and a paintbrush in my right, and then I can go crazy doing vibrant, beautiful light drawings in the space around me. Everyone apparently starts off by painting in 2D, and so did I, but I quickly realized that the square I'd made could be turned into a cube. It quite literally added an extra dimension of fun and exploration and is exactly the sort of unique experience that only virtual (or perhaps augmented) reality gear can deliver.
As early as this first try with the Vive VR may be, I'm excited by it. Hand and head tracking is done without any noticeable inaccuracies or latency, and if developers continue creating rich VR experiences like the ones I made my way through this week, there'll be plenty of reason to want one for your home.
edit:
MWC:
http://gizmodo.com/htc-vive-virtual-reality-so-damn-real-that-i-cant-even-1689396093
http://www.cnet.com/news/watch-out-oculus-htc-vives-vr-experience-is-astonishing/
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9048/testing-the-htc-re-vive-with-steam-vr-better-than-oculus
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31734418
http://phandroid.com/2015/03/04/htc-vive-review/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/htc-vive-virtualy-reality-hands-on,4102.html
GDC:
http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/4/8148265/htc-vive-vr-valve-hands-on-impressions
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...amVR_highlyimpressive_even_as_a_prototype.php
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/04/gdc-2015-how-valves-portal-vr-demo-sold-me-on-vive
Verge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n38gC5xgvBg
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/03/05/vive-gdc-review/
Tested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leg2gS6ShZw
Tested post-GDC podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOAEYFssZlE&t=1024
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...er&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialoomph
http://www.pcgamer.com/steamvr-hands-on-valve-overtakes-oculus/
http://www.maximumpc.com/valve’s_vr_experience_closest_thing_holodeck_we_have_2015
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-demonstrates-the-future-of-vr-better-than-an/1100-6425725/
http://kotaku.com/valves-vr-is-seri...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...campaign=Feed:+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)
the first in a series: http://www.roadtovr.com/valve-steamvr-htc-vive-hands-on-gdc-2015-stage-constant-presence/
http://www.tested.com/tech/504272-and-now-bit-virtual-reality-context/
http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/504521-htc-vive-vs-oculus-crescent-bay-my-10-vr-takeaways/