The VR thread

[Tain]

Yeah, that's true. It can be, but I don't think this line of headsets is doing that. Maybe in a future, more expensive implementation of the same Hololense-derived base tech. And even then I think it'd be tricky to get the same level of coverage as two external trackers/anchors.

[Frogacuda]

Yeah, it'd be hard for something on your head to track when something is at your side or behind your head like when throwing. I've played with Leap Motion, which is similarly limited by line of sight, and I found the hand presence to be really breathtaking when it worked, but line of sight is a big limitation (as was lack of physical controls). Could be pretty powerful if combined with another form of tracking, though (so finger tracking works only in line of sight, but hand tracking is outside in). I do think, ultimately, some combination of Kinect-style outside-in body tracking and Leap-style inside out finger/hand tracking will be the standard for VR. Interestingly, MS is not ruling out optional outside-in cameras to bolster tracking for these controllers.

In other news, I really like Battlezone. It seems to take its inspiration from the hidden mode in Battlezone 2000 on Atari Lynx, with a grid map that you have to traverse with different levels and objectives along the way. It's such a deep cut in the BZ canon but I always loved it and I'm impressed that they decided to go that direction with it. The feel is also great, it's a lot more crazy locomotion than we normally get in VR, but it's smooth and comfortable compared to games like EVE Valkyrie. Maybe not for those who are especially sensitive to VR, but I really love the intensity of it.

[kedawa]

Why would it be hard to track behind your head?
Every headset I've seen so far goes all the way around the noggin.

[Frogacuda]

Why would it be hard to track behind your head?
Every headset I've seen so far goes all the way around the noggin.

Just occlusion from your arm and hand, I'd think. Outside-in uses 2-3 sensors from very different angles to avoid that kind of thing, but I don't think you'd be able to have the same benefit with inside-out.

Home VR is not going to move to exclusively inside-out solutions. Eventually Outside-in body tracking is going to be really important so you can have your whole body in VR.

[kedawa]

Ah, I see what you mean.
Hopefully inside-out tracking will at least be good enough for most hand tracking.
I don't see myself ever messing with a bunch of external sensors.

[Frogacuda]

Ah, I see what you mean.
Hopefully inside-out tracking will at least be good enough for most hand tracking.
I don't see myself ever messing with a bunch of external sensors.

I don't think it's really that big a pain point. If the price and the product was good enough, you'd tack a sensor or two up, I'm sure.

Remember, there was a time when people had to rearrange their whole living room to add a TV. Now it's just a given.

[Son of Bryce]

Hey guys, I'm working on this VR music visualizer called Raybeem. Aiming to release it on Steam next month.

Let me know what you think! Been working on it fulltime since Jan and I'm dying to wrap it up... haha.

[Tain]

The highway looks neat. Are you planning on having the buildings scale with the music or anything like that?

[Frogacuda]

How about a cartoon city that bounces and moves like a 1920s cartoon?

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[Son of Bryce]

The highway looks neat. Are you planning on having the buildings scale with the music or anything like that?

Thanks for checking it out, ya'll! I just got some feedback about making the buildings bounce, from one of my friends. I might try that that, if there's no hit on performance and it doesn't make people motion sick. I think it could look cool but it's hard to imagine what it'll feel like when it's in motion. So I'll have to test it out.

@Frogacuda, mentioning that, I could probably just bite Motortoon GPs look. I always loved the look of that game seeing in in Gamefan, no idea why it was never released in US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUtlVMkIpsY


The plan for the city theme is that it'll tiling blocks, which will be swapped in and out randomly. Right now, it's just the same test block I setup. I prototyped the concept back in Feb, but moved over to finishing the remaining functionality since then. I'm hoping to shift over to bug fixes and visual polish now. And release it whenever it's stable enough.

I had made a simple prototype with the dots floating around and I found myself spending more time in it than I expected for such a simple concept. I felt there was something there. I was a big raver, and still party from time to time, so my inspiration is to bring the rave experience home. If you like the music, but don't like the sweaty people, sketchy venues and expensive drinks or whatever. It's not quite there, but that's sorta the roadmap. I think at this point, it's a relaxing and different way of experiencing your music. A way to Live in your Music.

I've seen other VR music visualizers but from the ones I've seen, they seem to miss the big picture. I'm trying to minimize UI as much as possible so it's just you and the world. I was initially against the idea of any interaction, I wanted the world to put on a show for the user, but one of the most common bits of feedback is that people want to play some role in the world. The hand trails are a start, but I hope to get in some other forms of interaction before launch. My intent is to have the hands have a different function for each theme. Planning to launch with 3 themes, but aiming for the sky!

I'm no genius at marketing but based on testing I've done over the past few months, I think this is something for someone out there. Hoping that I can connect the dots!

And while I'm at it, check out this comic that my homie (http://www.skincubeworld.com) drew for Raybeem.



This is my flyer for Raybeem, about the size of a CD booklet. I didn't want to do a typical flyer with bullet points, since I figure it'd go straight to the trash. I've been passing this out at VR conferences in Los Angeles over the past month, and plan to spam people with them at E3.