First experience with VR?

[V8Griff]

The game in that video doesn't seem familiar at all. It's defiantly way more detailed then the game I played. What I played was more of a grey, single level arena. No corridors or doors to move through. As I said, I'm pretty sure it was a Duke Nukem game. For the machine itself. That's consistent enough with what I remember to the point that it could be it. But I just don't really remember enough about the visor or controls to really say one way or another.

I do remember a system that used the Virtual Research VR5 that actually ran Duke Nukem so it must have been that system. I never saw that one only pictures of the unit but the reports I heard it wasn't particularly good.

I think one of the reasons the Rift is getting so much praise is because people have tried consumer VR before and it pretty much sucked.

It's not that the Rift is the be-all-end-all of HMDs, its just the first one that even comes remotely close to what you expect.

I agree, all the consumer systems that made it to 'mass market' were pretty awful and very few people have played the Virtuality systems recently as most of them have ceased to operate. I'm not saying that the Virtuality systems were the best either but they did have a pretty decent FOV 60h x 46.8 x 71.5 diag but they were limited by the screen technology and the graphics capability.

I just hope that the Rift doesn't get slated by people expecting more than it delivers which has always been the problem with VR.

My first experience with VR was Dactyl Nightmare, and boy did that kill my enthusiasm for VR. It made me appreciate Doom much more and realize how important good game design is.

Virtuality suffered from the problem that designing games is an art in itself and being able to program isn't sufficient alone, you also need to remember that those systems where designed in 1990 and there weren't any 3D games before 1992 and even then it was pseudo 3D so they really were pushing boundaries and haven't really been credited as much as they should have imo. DN was a weird game that attempted to utilise the 360 degree 'benefits' of VR and as many of you will find with their first experience can be pretty confusing and I predict that once people start appreciating the difference between looking at a monitor and being immersed then their thinking will change.

All exciting stuff though, I can't wait

[NegativeCamber]

London Trocadero arcade c. 1995.

Was truly terrible. It obviously hadn't been calibrated for ages so the default view was twisted.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP8wSw4bBuA[/youtube]

The massive Ridge Racer machine with a real Mazda Miata car however was awesome!

[V8Griff]

London Trocadero arcade c. 1995.

Was truly terrible.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP8wSw4bBuA[/youtube]

The massive Ridge Racer machine with a real Mazda Miata car however was awesome!

You're not exactly comparing like with like there are you?

Apart from the fact by the time that Namco racer was available Virtuality had replaced the 1000 series with the second gen 2000 series
which was 100x better, any wrap round projector screen environment will annihilate the Rift and any other HMD you care to mention even with todays technology.

[NegativeCamber]

London Trocadero arcade c. 1995.

Was truly terrible.

The massive Ridge Racer machine with a real Mazda Miata car however was awesome!

You're not exactly comparing like with like there are you?

Apart from the fact by the time that Namco racer was available Virtuality had replaced the 1000 series with the second gen 2000 series
which was 100x better, any wrap round projector screen environment will annihilate the Rift and any other HMD you care to mention even with todays technology.

I know, I'm being a bit unfair, but I think we can all agree it was pretty poor, the technology just wasn't in place back then, that racing setup is about as good as it gets though!

[DarkAkuma]

I agree, all the consumer systems that made it to 'mass market' were pretty awful and very few people have played the Virtuality systems recently as most of them have ceased to operate. I'm not saying that the Virtuality systems were the best either but they did have a pretty decent FOV 60h x 46.8 x 71.5 diag but they were limited by the screen technology and the graphics capability.

I just hope that the Rift doesn't get slated by people expecting more than it delivers which has always been the problem with VR.

That would suck. But Rift is a whole different thing. Judging by most peoples reactions, their expectations get exceeded. The only issues might be due to the screen door effect plus lack of 1080 res, which will get fixed, and the positional tracking, which is hoped to get fixed. Other then those things, I don't see what users could expect and fail to get. Other then content related things, which is out of Oculus's hands. =/

London Trocadero arcade c. 1995.

Was truly terrible.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP8wSw4bBuA[/youtube]

The massive Ridge Racer machine with a real Mazda Miata car however was awesome!

I was cracking up laughing when that guy took the visor off and his hair was soaking wet. Those things must not have let the skin breath very well. That must have been horrible for people to be sharing those visors.

But man, looking back, while those graphics were good for their time, they still sucked for a VR experience. I imagine that's why they went all out on the cars and cockpits and such. Selling a complete experience. Funky head sweat from HMD sloppy seconds and all!

[crespo80]

any wrap round projector screen environment will annihilate the Rift and any other HMD you care to mention even with todays technology.

I'm not so sure... maybe resolution-wise thats' true, because you can use triple FullHD projectors on a 180° curved screen that surrounds you with a stunning
5760x1080 resoluzion, but you're always aware you're in your room looking at a screen, unless it wraps also over your head and under your feet like a CAVE VR room

[V8Griff]

But man, looking back, while those graphics were good for their time, they still sucked for a VR experience. I imagine that's why they went all out on the cars and cockpits and such. Selling a complete experience. Funky head sweat from HMD sloppy seconds and all!

We're going to have to disagree on that point. Yes the graphics were blocky but as you said good for the era, that said as an experience it was good once you got over the initial disorientation which I guess very few people got to do at the Trocadero as it was so expensive to play people rarely had more than one go.

When we ran the systems at exhibitions or events we made sure we'd explained everything and helped players during games to make sure they got as much out of it as possible, at parties we often ended up with people playing dozens of times and just getting better and better.

We had medicated wipes to clean the HMD between uses but it didn't usually get that hot, it was rather hot in the basement in the Trocadero where the VR systems were

[V8Griff]

any wrap round projector screen environment will annihilate the Rift and any other HMD you care to mention even with todays technology.

I'm not so sure... maybe resolution-wise thats' true, because you can use triple FullHD projectors on a 180° curved screen that surrounds you with a stunning 5760x1080 resoluzion, but you're always aware you're in your room looking at a screen, unless it wraps also over your head and under your feet like a CAVE VR room

Silicon Graphics used to have a room in their headquarters at Theale in Reading called 'The Reality Centre' and they used to have a demo called Cobra (iirc) which unsurprisingly was a helicopter experience, if you sat in the sweet spot or 'command chair' as they called it, it was amazing but even standing in the room it was fantastic, it's the only thing I've ever seen that could make you feel airsick even though you were sat down or standing still.
On several occasions I had to look down to get my balance back and I've seen people nearly fall over.

Pretty sure the technology isn't is there to do that with an HMD yet.

[MaterialDefender]

I had quite a few experiences in CAVEs over the years, the first one around 2000 I think. But that was/is professional stuff like looking at soon to be cars etc, no free roaming inside fantastic worlds. So my first experience with really fascinating environments was my DIY-Rift a few months ago.

[Fredz]

Virtuality suffered from the problem that designing games is an art in itself and being able to program isn't sufficient alone

I completely agree, I think it may be one of the major cause of their failure (with the heavy ticket price). I only played Dactyl Nightmare but I found it not really fun to play, it felt more like an amateurish proof of concept than a game. The arcade games from Sega, Namco and Atari were very polished and a lot of fun to play.

you also need to remember that those systems where designed in 1990 and there weren't any 3D games before 1992 and even then it was pseudo 3D so they really were pushing boundaries and haven't really been credited as much as they should have imo.

Actually they were already several "real" 3D games before 1992, like Winning Run (1988) or Hard Drivin' (1989) with which I had great fun at the times. I guess the games from Virtuality greatly suffered from the comparison.

[Pingles]

Virtuality suffered from the problem that designing games is an art in itself and being able to program isn't sufficient alone

I completely agree, I think it may be one of the major cause of their failure (with the heavy ticket price). I only played Dactyl Nightmare but I found it not really fun to play, it felt more like an amateurish proof of concept than a game. The arcade games from Sega, Namco and Atari were very polished and a lot of fun to play.

It's one of the things that's so exciting about the Rift. In this forum alone we probably have more poeple working on VR projects than at any point in history.

We're going to be throwing a lot of...uh...poop...at the wall over the next several months. Even if only a small amount of it sticks I think we're in for a fun ride.

[kenman884]

I think my first experience was roughly 15 years ago, at the Museum of Science and Industry or something like that. It was a stereoscopic pair of goggles that strapped to your head. It was basically like the Rift, but it needed supports or arms coming off it to detect your head position.

The demo basically flew you through a city, and you could look around. I think it also included a choose-your-path element based on where you were looking, but I was 6 so I don't really remember.

The latency was high, the graphics were bad, the head tracking only had 2 DOF, and yet it was the coolest thing in the museum by far.

Can't wait for my Rift

[V8Griff]

Virtuality suffered from the problem that designing games is an art in itself and being able to program isn't sufficient alone

I completely agree, I think it may be one of the major cause of their failure (with the heavy ticket price). I only played Dactyl Nightmare but I found it not really fun to play, it felt more like an amateurish proof of concept than a game. The arcade games from Sega, Namco and Atari were very polished and a lot of fun to play..

I agree DN was indeed an odd game and was really a prototype game that actually got out there. It's unfair to compare VR with the Sega and Namco games as they were based on much more developed technology and pretty much simple cabinet games without the complexity of full 360 degree environments.

you also need to remember that those systems where designed in 1990 and there weren't any 3D games before 1992 and even then it was pseudo 3D so they really were pushing boundaries and haven't really been credited as much as they should have imo.

Actually they were already several "real" 3D games before 1992, like Winning Run (1988) or Hard Drivin' (1989) with which I had great fun at the times. I guess the games from Virtuality greatly suffered from the comparison.

I was meaning home 3D games rather than arcade.

I don't think they suffered from comparisons with regards to the games but just the pure economics of throughput/returns compared to cost, as a system costing half the price had twice the throughput. For example a driving game is easy to understand and it's easy to just sit in a seat and go, so sales where impacted by that and then the arcade market collapsed.....

The systems were incredibly expensive to make, I believe they had a build cost of something like£25k per duo system that sold for £30k-£35k iirc, and they had built over 200 for stock based on the projections of their North American sales team (British led) when the arcade market collapsed leaving them with £5m in unsold stock..... . That coupled with the failure of some partnerships they'd spent a lot of money on, Atari and IBM being two they ran out of cash.

A real shame imo.

[cybereality]

Dactyl Nightmare was state-of-the-art at the time. It was a fully 3D rendered networked multiplayer game in the early 90's. I mean, it still has some elements that are advanced even for today's games (for example, independent gun and head tracking). I know the game itself was pretty basic, and the graphics don't hold up, but give it some credit. There were not a lot of 3D games back then, and they were paving new territory.

[Krenzo]

I don't understand why you defend it so much. Did you actually have fun while playing it? What was enjoyable about the experience? It's a lesson in why VR failed to take off in the '90s.

There were not a lot of 3D games back then, and they were paving new territory.

The games that paved the way for the future were Doom and Quake.

[cybereality]

I don't understand why you defend it so much. Did you actually have fun while playing it? What was enjoyable about the experience? It's a lesson in why VR failed to take off in the '90s.

Yeah, I had fun. It was totally amazing. Probably the best VR demo I had tried up until the Rift. The FOV was around 70 degrees, again very good for the time and even today. It was networked multiplayer, which was totally cool. Not like today were every game is online. It had head-tracking, and a wand/gun like peripheral for hand-tracking. Of course, stereo 3D. I was totally blown away.

The games that paved the way for the future were Doom and Quake.

Well this came out in 1991, a full 2 years before Doom (and long before Quake). Anyway, Doom wasn't even 3D rendered, it used ray-casting and 2D sprites. Quake didn't come out until 1996, 5 years later.

[MSat]

Do you have any recollection of the latency? I wonder what sort of sensors it used.

[cybereality]

@MSat: To be honest, I don't remember. Probably wasn't great by today's standards, but 20 years ago it was pretty good I'm sure.

[V8Griff]

I don't understand why you defend it so much. Did you actually have fun while playing it? What was enjoyable about the experience? It's a lesson in why VR failed to take off in the '90s.

Yeah, I had fun. It was totally amazing. Probably the best VR demo I had tried up until the Rift. The FOV was around 70 degrees, again very good for the time and even today. It was networked multiplayer, which was totally cool. Not like today were every game is online. It had head-tracking, and a wand/gun like peripheral for hand-tracking. Of course, stereo 3D. I was totally blown away.

I'm glad someone's happy to defend the Virtuality experience along with me and extoll it's technical virtues. As Cyber points out the technology in use was very advanced for the day and most would still be valid today.

The visual quality of DN was low but as pointed out it was all real-time rendered, networked and had full tracking even down to the point of you being able to duck and peer through and around the objects with the holes in them that were on the play area.... that was in 1991!!
My favourite game on the 1000 series was the Mech Warrior game Exorex.

Truly amazing for the period considering what else was available.

As I pointed out in my post above the quality of the games had nothing to do with the failure of VR or indeed Virtuality it was a combination of financial mistakes and bigger companies like IBM, Atari, Disney and others getting cold feet and pulling out of deals.

Virtuality's later games on the 2000 series such as Zone Hunter, Boxing and Ghost Train, while not being AAA titles they were perfect for VR and where very compelling, fun and more importantly they pulled you into the environment.

Do you have any recollection of the latency? I wonder what sort of sensors it used.

I think I need to post a separate thread on the history of Virtuality and why what they did is still relevant today as I've posted the information about tracking elsewhere, it's also been covered to a degree in the thread Open Hardware Magnetic Tracking on here where someone has stripped down an Ascension Flock of Birds. http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpbb/viewtopic.p ... ic+tracker

It's the same principles in use in the Hydra but that seems to be very inaccurate, short range and subject to massive drift.

So as mentioned the tracking was magnetic with a source and two receivers, one for head and one for the weapon/hand.

The tracking in the 1000 series was a Polhemus Fast Track (They still sell something similar) that was integrated into the custom computer The latency was low at 12 milliseconds with a resolution (accuracy) of .0003 and little or no drift.
The lag was perceptible in the 1000 & 2000 series but not to a degree where it caused motion sickness so perfectly acceptable for immersion VR.

That's why the claimed latency of the tracker being developed by Oculus at 2ms was the post that convinced me to buy a dev kit, if that is implemented well in my experience that means there will be little or NO perceptible latency.

The 2000 units used a board called an InsideTrak that was developed for Virtuality (Ascension also developed a product called SpacePad) and that was a low(ish) cost board (around $1500) with a similar latency and accuracy.

Magnetic tracking is still the way to go for accuracy and full 3D tracking at the moment and it's something I'm going to investigate when I get my Rifts.

Here's a picture of one of my InsideTraks, (posted elsewhere as well) does anyone have any experience with modern motherboards with ISA slots?

[topas]

I can remember my first VR expirience have been on a action sports fair sometime in the 90's.
It has been a system like on the first picture in this thread. Im not totally sure about but as i can remember the system used the vfx1 with a hockeypuck style controller. The game i have been playing was some kind of vr pacman.
It was a great experience that time allthough the graphics was pixelated and i had seen better 3d games at this time. After playing the round (one round free) the guy on the booth or more exactly - on the trucktrailer asked me: "did you really never played something like that before??" Completed the level freaking fast . I can remember the strange feeling after putting down the headset.

[RABID]

a few years ago i bought a set of 4 of these. they aren't quite VR but they definitely make you feel like you are there

[NikoKun]

My first, and only experience, was so long ago I barely remember it. It was also so crappy, it wasn't even worth remembering.

I think it was a school field trip to a technology museum or something.. They had this HUGE VR thing setup there, it was a headset viewer thing you held to your face, and moved around. But it was attached to a giant collection of metal pole-arms, which I assume detected where it was in 3D space.

When I got to the front of the line, to try it, I was only given like 30 seconds, and I tried moving and immediately ran face first into some wall or something, I couldn't really tell.. I was then stuck for the rest of my time, and couldn't figure out how to fix it. The graphics quality was super bad, almost old vector graphics or something..

It was terrible, but I still dreamed of GOOD VR, throughout my childhood.

[PasticheDonkey]

i think mine was virtuality's flying aces. http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=flying ... l&id=12604

i consider simulators somewhat vr experiences. since they combine visuals with movement. and in the case of being in a vehicle show you all you could see from the vehicle (but not in 3D mostly). so theme part simulators like the bttf ride and star tours had an influence on my ideas of vr. there was a simulator at the place flying aces was at one time but i can't remember what was on it. i think some fly over terrain and an inner space type experience. edit: maybe the inner space thing was at universal studios.

[cerulianbaloo]

a few years ago i bought a set of 4 of these. they aren't quite VR but they definitely make you feel like you are there

Those were awesome! In Seattle we used to have a Wizards of the Coast, an arcade/battlemech sim/tabletop gaming fusion hangout. I remember going to birthday parties back in the late 90s and playing in those. So much fun, and certainly immersive. The rumble you felt as your mech plodded along made it that much more intense. Good times!

[Ericshelpdesk]

My first, and only experience, was so long ago I barely remember it. It was also so crappy, it wasn't even worth remembering.

I think it was a school field trip to a technology museum or something.. They had this HUGE VR thing setup there, it was a headset viewer thing you held to your face, and moved around. But it was attached to a giant collection of metal pole-arms, which I assume detected where it was in 3D space.

When I got to the front of the line, to try it, I was only given like 30 seconds, and I tried moving and immediately ran face first into some wall or something, I couldn't really tell.. I was then stuck for the rest of my time, and couldn't figure out how to fix it. The graphics quality was super bad, almost old vector graphics or something..

It was terrible, but I still dreamed of GOOD VR, throughout my childhood.

You probably went to the same place I did, the Museum of Science and Technology in Chicago has a VR exhibit much like the one you describe. After waiting an hour in line to try it out for my 60 seconds, it was kinda cool. Most people just kinda looked into the huge monstrosity as it did stuff, I was looking around trying to see things. For example of you turned your head all the way to the left at the beginning, the guy that created the simulation had inserted himself into the room.

Outside of that, I've played the beachhead video game a few times that pulls you into a huge head mounted display to shoot at airplanes and soldiers as they try to come on to your island.

For Christmas 2 years ago I bought myself an Nvidia 3D vision setup with a projector for my little office. It throws a 78" screen on the far wall that I sit 5 feet from and can pull the game world out the wall and into my lap. This rig has by far and on a regular basis defeated ANY other immersive experience or 3D movie I've seen anywhere else. I'm looking forward to the rift blowing this huge projector screen out of the water.

[cybereality]

@V8Griff: Thanks man! Exorex was the other game I played, but I could never remember the name of it. It wasn't as cool to me as Dactyl Nightmare, but still fun.

Found some footage on YouTube:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0SmB0i9Ato[/youtube]

[V8Griff]

a few years ago i bought a set of 4 of these. they aren't quite VR but they definitely make you feel like you are there

Always wanted to go in those, Battle Tech?. Are they still operating?
I remember the original concept was a bit HG Wells and you met in a typical Victorian library with wood panelled walls and red leather seats and then you went through a time machine to the Mech world.

Was that how it was presented or did they bypass all that. I seem to remember it was called something like the Gentleman's Time Travelling club?

Or am I just completely off base on that and mixing it up with something else?

[defactoman]

So you bought 4 of those, so when is the next LAN party at your house

[RABID]

Always wanted to go in those, Battle Tech?. Are they still operating?
I remember the original concept was a bit HG Wells and you met in a typical Victorian library with wood panelled walls and red leather seats and then you went through a time machine to the Mech world.

Was that how it was presented or did they bypass all that. I seem to remember it was called something like the Gentleman's Time Travelling club?

Or am I just completely off base on that and mixing it up with something else?

it was the virtual geographic league

[nateight]

Battletech: Firestorm!

Have we met? If you've ever been to the Origins boardgaming convention in Columbus, OH we might actually be friends - I fell in love with the pods when they rolled through the con ~5 years ago and I've basically been a full-time volunteer with them ever since. At this point I barely even log any play time in them, it's all just teaching, training, evangelism, running events, and it's pretty much my favorite week of the year. People who don't think they qualify as "real" VR misunderstand that VR isn't about a thing on your face, it's about immersion, and the level of technology involved is absolutely astounding for something close to 25 years old (!). My God, the video rig alone! I think the pods have a great many lessons to teach us now that consumer-grade "real" VR has a decent chance of happening; I'm currently trying to convince everyone who will listen that Firestorm-style pedals are going to be a must-have peripheral to compliment a Rift. I owe Nick an exploratory email about his sources, actually...

If Firestorm doesn't count as VR, though? (It does, but...) (WARNING: Emo story alert!) Something like five years ago, the very first time I ever had three consecutive zeros in my bank account, I bought a Sony Glasstron PLM-A55 (the "good" model, with the shutter for quasi-AR use). I didn't know quite what to expect, but I knew what I wanted, what was possible - and that was NOT it. No head tracking, clunky optics, no good way to interface with a computer, tiny little monitors floating out in space, and with a screen door that could hold back an excited labrador retriever. I played Metroid Prime for half an hour, then forever closed everything up in its little drawstring bag and set it down next to the nonexistent computer science degree I flunked out of, perhaps the two primary disappointments of my disappointing life, intertwined, gathering my dust. I tried to forget a lifetime of dreaming about what VR could mean for the world - flat video games helped, but by the time the MMO that is still my favorite game of all time folded its North American servers the dreams had already turned dark, and all I could do was drink myself to sleep, try to stay numb, keep myself occupied with some pointless project. I still don't know if there is to be a happy ending to my story, but since I learned about the Rift and what it might make possible I've learned my way around Python, started in on some Unity and UDK tutorials, gotten sidetracked by the fascinating technical challenges still present in the VR input space, overcome my long-held misgivings about putting my face out on the Internet, and I've had more fun in these past few months than I'd had in years. My long-term goal is to poach all the useful yet largely unfamiliar tropes out of that now-dead MMO and build a spiritual successor in VR, then live out my days inside that world of my own design. Even if Oculus crashes somehow and we have to wait until I'm a truly old man for another shot at VR, I'll be sad but I don't think I'll be angry - this whole thing has shown me what one passionate expert can make happen today, what I can accomplish even as a novice if I believe in myself a little harder. Excitement doesn't begin to cover it, impartiality isn't something I can even remember, all I know is the dream is alive again, and this time I am going to play an active part in making it a reality.

I'm sorry, there must be something in my eye.

[Powergloves count as VR, but Virtual Boys don't? ]

Oh man, I want to tell you guys something SO BAD right now, but I'm still not sure it even works yet. It's going to be entering a crucial round of testing tomorrow, though, so just give me like -TRANSMISSION ENDS-

[Krenzo]

I always wanted to try one of those Battletech pods. Did they have heat feedback? Someone once told me that they played it and said you could feel the pod getting hotter as your mech's temperature rose. Is that true?

[RABID]

I'm currently trying to convince everyone who will listen that Firestorm-style pedals are going to be a must-have peripheral to compliment a Rift. I owe Nick an exploratory email about his sources, actually...

you know nick? then you're good people in my book
http://na.suzohapp.com/driving/50819400.htm
thats the one in the pods. add a usb keyboard encoder and you can map it to any keystroke you like
http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/prod ... usb36.html

[WiredEarp]

all I know is the dream is alive again, and this time I am going to play an active part in making it a reality.

I've been waiting a long time myself for the enabling technologies to get better, so am very excited. I think within a couple of years, EVERYONE will be talking about VR.

Oh man, I want to tell you guys something SO BAD right now, but I'm still not sure it even works yet. It's going to be entering a crucial round of testing tomorrow, though, so just give me like -TRANSMISSION ENDS-

Haha sounds exciting, looking forwards to hearing more

[RABID]

I always wanted to try one of those Battletech pods. Did they have heat feedback? Someone once told me that they played it and said you could feel the pod getting hotter as your mech's temperature rose. Is that true?

lol, no, no heat and they don't move but players SWEAR they do both after getting out

[radicaledward101]

Origins boardgaming convention in Columbus

I'm going to be there this year! (I live in Columbus) We should plan an MTBS gathering during the con!

[nateight]

http://na.suzohapp.com/driving/50819400.htm

Thanks a bunch for the link, but yeouch! $67 bucks for one pedal!? I knew they were going to be pricey but I can sell you an entire repurposed Guitar Hero, Arduino-stuffed USB HID pedal rig for something like $50 and turn a respectable profit. Looks like the "rugged" version isn't going to happen for less than $200, though.

I'm going to be [at Origins] this year! We should plan an MTBS gathering during the con!

Might just be the two of us, and I'm likely to be spending the vast majority of my time with the pods again. In other words, yeah, let's.

[V8Griff]

Was that how it was presented or did they bypass all that. I seem to remember it was called something like the Gentleman's Time Travelling club?

Or am I just completely off base on that and mixing it up with something else?

it was the virtual geographic league

That's it thanks.

[bobv5]

Battletech: Firestorm!

People who don't think they qualify as "real" VR misunderstand that VR isn't about a thing on your face, it's about immersion, and the level of technology involved is absolutely astounding for something close to 25 years old (!).

Awesome? I'm sure it is. Would love to try it.

VR? I'm not so sure. I would say it is AR really. A physical cockpit with computer generated images superimposed.

Probably better than VR, but not VR.

My first VR experiance was seeing a VR machine in an arcade, and the adults in charge of making my life as dull as possible saying "no, your life will be more dull if you don't play that" Maybe didn't happen exacty like that, but that is what I thought at the time.

My second experiance of VR would be the various things I have hacked together. All kinda crappy, but a few seconds where my brain thought it was dealing with physical stuff, not computer simulations.

[V8Griff]

Battletech: Firestorm!

People who don't think they qualify as "real" VR misunderstand that VR isn't about a thing on your face, it's about immersion, and the level of technology involved is absolutely astounding for something close to 25 years old (!).

Yes I agree it's 'reality that doesn't exist' and if something can believably transport you to another world then it's VR.

If anything it's more real as you're not wearing anything (which is slightly unnatural) to take you there.

[Mark2036]

Dactyl Nightmare was state-of-the-art at the time. It was a fully 3D rendered networked multiplayer game in the early 90's. I mean, it still has some elements that are advanced even for today's games (for example, independent gun and head tracking). I know the game itself was pretty basic, and the graphics don't hold up, but give it some credit. There were not a lot of 3D games back then, and they were paving new territory.

Not just independent head and hand tracking, but body tracking too. Remember the waistband you wore attached to a cable I think that measured how you turned your body.

Dactyl Nightmare was awesome and ahead of its time. I hope someone ports it to rift and implements hand and body tracking somehow one day so I ca. Re-live the nostalgia