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Microsoft reveals Augmented Reality kit, presumably for Xbox One

Durante

Member
Its a far better tech for gaming than VR fyi
I really don't see why that should be the case.

Anyway, I'm with Krejlooc in that the distinction is merely temporary. The perfect AR device can do everything the perfect VR device can do.

However, I'm convinced that we are farther from achieving great AR than we are from achieving great VR.
 

Alx

Member
It's nothing to do with Xbox yet.

It's even confirmed it's a standalone device. Which is both a good and a bad thing, I suppose most applications will be designed for the embedded hardware, which can't be that powerful. And since it will probably make it expensive, it may not be considered a well distributed peripheral.
Well I'll be careful with my assumptions since I didn't expect Kinect to be that cheap either (yes, it's cheap, go look for how much other companies were selling depth cameras back then). But I can't see them sell that thing for cheap.

By the way, I'm a bit disappointed that the headset doesn't seem to be see-through (enough) when watched from the outside : you can't see the user's eyes, which is a problem in human interaction.
 
A) There is an Xbox One in the background

B) Fortaleza is being worked on by members of the Xbox Division

C)

pEUvSuQ.png

Where's that Image from?
 

Fox_Mulder

Rockefellers. Skull and Bones. Microsoft. Al Qaeda. A Cabal of Bankers. The melting point of steel. What do these things have in common? Wake up sheeple, the landfill wasn't even REAL!
However it's basically a google glass
 

dr_rus

Member
Can this and an Oculus style VR coexist?

Sure. But neither of those will be of much use anyway. AR is interesting only in mobile exploratory Google Glass-style (which is ways off from commercial offerings) and VR won't be widely used in its current VR helmet form.
 

ryan299

Member
In back to the future 2, the kids wear glasses like this. That movies takes place in 2015. It's all coming true.


I think it looks cool. I think I'd prefer AR to VR, so hopefully some good stuff comes out of this
 

Dehnus

Member
Really cool technology, just not for gaming.

Riiight, as the only gaming.. is what you and your friends say is gaming. Screw Board gamers, screw gaming that has been around for as long as humans were alive. Nope, only you know what is gaming, and it is only electronic.

That some people might enjoy this for board games, or filling the whole field of vision with one big hologram for something like Viva Pinata AR (Not that it exists, just an example). NAaaaaah that can't be fun ;).
 

Krejlooc

Banned
One thing is for sure - I will be there the moment they let me have one of these, either as a dev kit or a retail product.
 
Riiight, as the only gaming.. is what you and your friends say is gaming. Screw Board gamers, screw gaming that has been around for as long as humans were alive. Nope, only you know what is gaming, and it is only electronic.

That some people might enjoy this for board games, or filling the whole field of vision with one big hologram for something like Viva Pinata AR (Not that it exists, just an example). NAaaaaah that can't be fun ;).

Its obvious he was talking about video games. He also could have been talking about gambling but he obviously wasn't.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
This is wrong on so many levels that I'm not going to even start.

Actually it isn't.

The fundamental issue with VR and most failed IO tech is them not being 1:1

VR is designed for you to be immersed in worlds, but you have terrible ways of navigating through them so it ends up feeling claustrophobic and you become a virtual couch potato
 
Its a far better tech for gaming than VR fyi

That's what I been saying. I would rather have Mixed Reality than VR.

I don't really see how it's better, it's just different.

AR I can see being cool to have a board game projected onto my table, or walk around a little mars environment, but it seems limited to what is IN my room. My table is always going to be there, and the walls aren't going anywhere. Seems like a really cool addition to having your TV in front of you and having stuff around your immediate area. It seems like it's usage for traditional games would mostly be playing a regular game on your TV, but with stuff bleeding into the "real world" like leaves/snow falling or bullets hitting stuff around you.

VR blocks you off from your environment and it doesn't currently have good body detection immersion stuff (that I know of), but with a regular controller it seems like you can be more fully immersed in whatever virtual world you're playing in. For traditional gaming it replaces the TV and basically places your disembodied eyes into the world itself.

Definitely cool uses for both of them, but they seem to do pretty different stuff.
 

spekkeh

Banned
How so? In VR you can create any kind of world/environment you want so the possibilities for gaming is endless, in AR you restricted to real world.

I guess it depends on whether you see the holodeck as VR or AR. That said, I don't really think the holodeck is that great for gaming, I think there's something to be said for virtual reality to always remain mediated. Not real. I wouldn't want to be jumping over giant razers myself thank you very much. I do think AR may be a prerequisite for gamification to ever become meaningful, as it can draw people into a magic circle of sorts.
 

SerTapTap

Member
Why would you want a AR minecraft more than a VR one? I don't understand.

This so much. AR sounds great until you have to actually move. Then you're once again limited by your surroundings, which is a massive handicap in a lot of houses. I don't even know how AR minecraft would work. Some sort of "move the world around you" control?

Doesn't really gain anything from being able to see your surroundings, either. Way I see it VR makes the most sense for games (full control of view field, tighter control, not limited by environment), AR makes more sense for things like the Ikea Catalog thing that show you stuff as it really looks, maybe chat and other not-full-attention things.
 
Why would you want a AR minecraft more than a VR one? I don't understand.

A fully wire-free VR helmet that doesn't need a PC would also be pretty epic.

A sit-at-your-desk VR helmet where you use keyboard/joystick to move around is cool.

A "walk around the whole thing but still see where you're going, no wires, build the Minecraft item on your table" AR lens is also cool.

Different, but related, experiences.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
I guess it depends on whether you see the holodeck as VR or AR. That said, I don't really think the holodeck is that great for gaming, I think there's something to be said for virtual reality to always remain mediated. Not real. I wouldn't want to be jumping over giant razers myself thank you very much. I do think AR may be a prerequisite for gamification to ever become meaningful, as it can draw people into a magic circle of sorts.

Example of the ways AR can gamify everyday life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFiE82Npbn4

Specifically referring to the part where the AR contact lenses transform cooking breakfast into a game with points and objectives that actually makes the person a better cook without realizing it.
 

Alx

Member
Why would you want a AR minecraft more than a VR one? I don't understand.

Why would you play with physical toys when you can play a videogame ?
There are different ways to enjoy things, and "real world" is a great environment to play a game like Minecraft. It's even more blurring the line between Minecraft as a videogame and regular Lego.

Of course I'm not sure parents will let their kids play Minecraft with a $**** device on their head...
 

STEaMkb

Member
That's a really bad analogy. You don't [need] to step 20 years into the future to recognise that AR's gaming potential is constrained by the very thing it depends upon: Reality. Something many people like to escape!

This is nonsense. AR is abstracted virtual reality. You don't need to adhere to reality to build an AR application.

If you are going to accuse people of talking nonsense, have the decency to read what they wrote first. I said it would be constrained by reality. A clue is in the name. Augmented Reality will have many practical uses, including some interesting angles for gaming (e.g Playroom), but it will never offer the same level of immersion in 20 years that VR can today.
 

SerTapTap

Member
A fully wire-free VR helmet that doesn't need a PC would also be pretty epic.

A sit-at-your-desk VR helmet where you use keyboard/joystick to move around is cool.

A "walk around the whole thing but still see where you're going, no wires, build the Minecraft item on your table" AR lens is also cool.

Different, but related, experiences.

Minecraft worlds are miles long. There's no "walk around the whole thing" in AR for that experience. It would be a very different minecraft to say the least. More like a lego set than a world.

And the wireless, no PC needed thing seems great until you realize that massively increases price and or, probably both, massively reduces performance.
 

Ferrio

Banned
Why would you play with physical toys when you can play a videogame ?
There are different ways to enjoy things, and "real world" is a great environment to play a game like Minecraft. It's even more blurring the line between Minecraft as a videogame and regular Lego.

Of course I'm not sure parents will let their kids play Minecraft with a $**** device on their head...

So virtual toys with all the limitations of physical toys? Yay!

I mean I think AR has some good applications, but gaming never seemed like one of them besides the odd niche title here and there.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
If you are going to accuse people of talking nonsense, have the decency to read what they wrote first. I said it would be constrained by reality. A clue is in the name. Augmented Reality will have many practical uses, including some interesting angles for gaming (e.g Playroom), but it will never offer the same level of immersion in 20 years that VR can today.

But it's not constrained by reality at all. It augments it, but you can just as easily have the same device completely replace your reality.
 

SerTapTap

Member
Battery life being the most important... heh

Didn't even remember that. Wireless seems great, then you try to use it. Tons of wires in my house now, I've accepted it. Cool thing about VR is you can't see wires, who gives a crap.

But it's not constrained by reality at all. It augments it, but you can just as easily have the same device completely replace your reality.

But, not being a dedicated VR device, it's probably also going to be massively gimped for that. No way this thing has specs comparable to Oculus, plus will it really be able to actually replace? I assume the objects it projects are at least partially see-through. That's going to easily be immersion breaking.
 

Alx

Member
So virtual toys with all the limitations of physical toys? Yay!

I mean I think AR has some good applications, but gaming never seemed like one of them besides the odd niche title here and there.

And also the benefits. Nothing wrong with physical toys, and I do hope they're not going anywhere. Especially for kids.
But I agree, there are many other applications than game for AR, and games probably won't be the most exciting. But people are rather good at finding entertaining ways to use technology.
 
In theory MS Hologram helmet could be used to go full VR, it could just encompass your entire field of view, and have built in hand gestures.

Regardless I'm excited for a AR & VR future.
 

Bricky

Member
Minecraft worlds are miles long. There's no "walk around the whole thing" in AR for that experience. It would be a very different minecraft to say the least. More like a lego set than a world.

From the event thread:

IQepGy2.jpg


So yeah, it seems like it would just be top-down creative mode. More like LEGO than Minecraft, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
 

SerTapTap

Member
There is also, of course, wireless VR.

"Wireless sucks" is more a complaint about this device and wireless. Doesn't really matter if it's AR or VR, wireless has major implications for performance and battery life (such as, having a battery life).

From the event thread:

So yeah, it seems like it would just be top-down creative mode. More like LEGO than Minecraft, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

To each their own, but that's not what I like about minecraft. I like looking up at my huge structures, running from zombies, peeking through dark caves. That there's legos. Legos are cool, but they're not Minecraft.
 
Actually it isn't.

The fundamental issue with VR and most failed IO tech is them not being 1:1

VR is designed for you to be immersed in worlds, but you have terrible ways of navigating through them so it ends up feeling claustrophobic and you become a virtual couch potato

Your logic is incredibly backwards. In VR you can immerse yourself and explore a fucking world. In AR you can play with hologram gimmicks in your living room. Virtual couch potato? Thats how video games have always been played you sit down and play. AR is supposed to be better when you're restricted to monkeying around in your room with holograms? The tech is amazing and will have tons of real life uses but right now as far as gaming goes VR is better. In 10 years maybe that'll change but as of right now AR is incredibly limited in the gaming space compared to VR.
 
I find AR for gaming to be decidedly uninteresting. I don't want or need my games to look like they're on my coffee table. As a way to have a screen when you have no TV, that could be interesting, but that isn't about the game. I've little interest in VR either, but that total immersion seems far more interesting than "Insert X into the real world." Plenty of other applications for VR, but gaming isn't one I see taking off for anything but kids who are fascinated by video game characters being off the tv. (But who knows, uninteresting though that may be, it could be a money maker.)
 
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