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Ben24x7 tries out the Playstation VR, twice


Ben24x7

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So recently, a relative of mine spotted that my local GAME(TM) store was allowing people to try out the Playstation VR Headset for 10 or 30 minutes. Despite the CEX Vive tryout "fiasco" I underwent a month or two ago, I felt that now was the time to get my first taste of roomscale VR. So to pass the hour 'till my train left for home, I dished out fifteen quid and within three minutes I slipped on the sleek white goggles...

 

...but I know some people don't have the time to read all of this, so let me give you the summerised version:

Quote

"Whoa... WHOA. Oh wow... What beautiful models... ...Where is the damn floor!? GAH. ARGH, THIS TRACKING."

 

 

With that out of my system, let me tell you the full story of my experience:

-- DAY ONE --


 

Spoiler

 

My experience began in the Playstation VR Hub. In-front of me floated the nine options for different games and experiences. I'll be honest, I was disappointed to see that Job Simulator wasn't an option, despite the fact I saw someone play it on the PS4 in a review beforehand, but I decided to choose something fresh, something I never saw or heard of before. The first thing I tried out was a separate collection of VR demos designed by Sony themselves. The collection included an experience under the sea, a Tron-esc world and an adrenaline-pumping heist through London, but I picked the Under the sea experience (I forgot the name of it) hoping for a relaxing, breath-taking experience...

 

...and a relaxing breath-taking experience I got!

You know those documentaries or films that put the camera-man in a metal cage to protect them from sharks and other dangers of the deep seas? Well, I found myself placed in one of those, and I've gotta say; it is a weird sensation to look up and see the bottom of a boat high up. After a few seconds, the Shark-proof cage descended into the deep and before long schools of fish and even a couple of Manta Rays swam all around me. I genuinely wanted to get up close to them and inspect them but the booth size and headset tracking made such an act impossible, more on that later.

Also, when I looked down my brain did a barrel roll and I'm surprised I didn't barf as a result. Not only was I unable to see my legs (not that I wasn't expecting that), but the "floor" had huge gaps in them, which made me temporarily scared that I'd fall out.

Two minutes passed and the rollcage dropped through a small cave, where I was greeted with an interesting breed of coral which hid itself when I shone my flashlight at 'em. So, of course, I distracted myself and tried to see how many of these coral tentacle-things I could scare away.

 

Then the cage's light suddenly cut off, and I bet you can imagine how shocked I was by the sudden atmosphere change.

Descending further into the deep dark void of the ocean, I prepared myself for a Shark or something to swim out and smash the cage, a tactic that seems common in internet videos when it gets dark or silent before something jumps at you or shouts at "ear-rape" volume. I brace myself...

 

 

...a multi-coloured jellyfish flows past...

 

... and a whole mass of rainbow jellyfish follow suit.

I start breathing again. And after staring in awe at the beautiful sea-life I had witnessed, the demo ended. With twenty minutes left, I had the chance to try another demo. Instead of going through the other Sony VR experiments I tried out a game, something that I can actually play and to test the combination of what is practically a blindfold and a controller I haven't used before. I can't remember the name of it, but I'm going to refer to it as "VR Tower Construction simulator", because that is basically what it was.

 

I begin the demo in a large chamber, with huge lights suspended hundreds of feet above me shining down on the menu below. After hitting "play", I am immediately introduced to a little spherical robot who reminds me a lot of Wheatley from Portal 2 with the personality of "The Announcer" from the same game. He teaches me to look around the environment and introduces the typical PS4 controller. This part of my experience with the PSVR is where the demo set-up really makes the demos horrible to play through.

 

Basically, at GAME(TM)'s booth the PS4 controllers are connected by a short wire to make sure people don't run out of the store with a free controller, its a neat security measure, I get it, but it's so short that I had to bring the thing to my chest which is a lot harder than it sounds, believe me.

This affected not just the immersion, but the full game. The idea of the game is that you stack stuff to make a high tower to get more points, but because of the limited range of both the controller and the size of the "booth" I was forced to chuck blocks at the pedestal in-front of me and pray that the physics engine let the blocks stay in place.

In-fact, I never made it past the first level. I got a Silver medal at one point, but no matter how high I made my tower, I couldn't get gold. And after twenty minutes of pure frustration, I ran out of time and that effectively ended my experience with the PSVR.

 

 

Well, lets talk about the huge problem with the demos: the set-up ("booth") at GAME(TM) itself.

Imagine playing on an XBox Kinect, except the play area you are given is the size of a fridge. As a result the camera was so close to my face that it's FOV was too small for me to lean a few degrees left or right, and this was the major flaw with the Ocean experience; to harmlessly look at the oxygen/electricity dials on the shark-cage only for the screen to cut to black with the warning "outside of play area" popping up.

The small view of the camera was also the huge fault in the Tower game, in-fact the camera was originally set-up to just track the Headset so when I started the demo, a member of staff who was keeping an eye on me had to manipulate the camera to be slightly lower, and even then the tracking for the controller was still bad.

Of course, this wouldn't be the case if I set it up in my living room or something, so trust me if you do buy it, you'll have more freedom to move around than I did, and hence a much better experience.

 

Now, I've heard that some people have had trouble with the tracking for the headset itself. From my time with it, the tracking was fine. Although in the PlayStation VR review I saw before the demo, the reviewer stated that the headset would slightly shake if you waved your hand in-front of it, and when I tried it I couldn't help but giggle to see the screen wobble as if I was trying to use the Force on myself.

Actually, on the subject of the headset itself, I had trouble wearing it properly. I put it on but no matter how much I tweaked it during game play, I had to live with a small slit at the bottom of my view where reality shone through. Also the headset seems very picky as to what angle you wear it at. No matter how many times I tweaked it this way and that, the virtual world was unfortunately diffracted by it's lenses.

 

 

Let me take this moment to say that if you are going to use my "experience" as a reason to buy/pass the Playstation VR, DON'T.

I'm just a consumer who has played it for half an hour. If you want a good opinion, listen to someone who actually bought the darn thing, and has used it for maybe hours on end. And if you do buy it, then enjoy it (I guess).

 

 

 

 

 

EXTENSION:

-- DAY 2 --

Spoiler

 

So I still had a fiver floating around in my pocket since last Friday's experience, and since I had nothing better to do than sit in an empty cold train station for an hour and a bit, I tried out the headset again but for ten minutes this time...

...and I'd like to correct a few things I only figured out this time around:

 

Remember when I said I had trouble wearing the headset? Turns out the headset is too big for my head, and hence the screen is held a few centimetres away from where they really ought to be (over my eyes). At first I thought this was a poor design choice on Sony's part, but no, they thought VR would only appeal to adults. Then again, I guess they assume a kid couldn't dish out two hundred pounds for a headset, much less six hundred-ish for a combination of a PS4 Pro AND the headset.

 

About the PS4, I found out why they are wanting to get people to buy PS4s after their experience. For those who don't know, Sony released a new version of the PS4, referred to as the "PS4 Pro". The difference? Its faster, has better graphics(?) and, as a result, it can handle rendering two viewpoints simultaneously to make Virtual Reality on the console possible. Admittedly, I thought GAME(TM) just wanted to sell PS4s since they still had extra copies of the original console.

One thing I noticed when I was at GAME(TM) is that it seems like the staff might've figured out the problem of the "high camera" issue that happened last week, and they've lowered it down a bit. As a result, the camera is able to detect the controller and the headset a lot easier, but admittedly it still wasn't perfect. If you stood too straight, the PS4 acts like the Headset is in another universe.

 

 

Now, what game was I playing this time? Why, "VR Tower Construction Simulator" whatever the hell it's called. And, well, its actually addicting, in-fact its one of the two reasons I wanted to use the PSVR again. After yet more frustration, I actually found that it was possible to stack stuff.

By putting strain on the cable rooting the controller in place, I could just about reach out and gently place the blocks neat and tidily. As a result I got a silver medal, but after a quick bit of applause, the game turned round, kicked me in the balls, and told me to go for gold, which I could've done (especially since I found the secret to stacking plastic, wood and stone objects in VR) but I ran out of time, effectively ending the session.

 

Maybe someday I'll try again, and I swear I'll get gold...   ...maybe, hopefully, otherwise I'll be kicking myself for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

Still, I hope someday I get the chance to try out the HTC Vive...

...actually, about the HTC Vive, I've found my chance to demo it! Turns out that on the official Vive website, you can find the closest shop to you that allows you to book a demonstration of the headset (apparently, most of the stores are 'Currys - PC World's). If you want to see the nearest store to you with one, check it out here: http://locator.htcvive.com/

The closest to me is all the way in... Glasgow. That is a four or five hour drive from where I live, no matter if I take a car or the train.

 

If a relative of mine decides to go to IKEA (the nearest store for that is also in Glasgow), I'm absolutely, guaranteeing you, I'll be wearing that Vive before the day is done.

 

 

 

--Ben24x7--

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39 minutes ago, Ayliffe said:

 

...you paid money? For a demo?

 

Thats not the worst of it: According to GAME(TM) I can get a refund... if I buy a PlayStation VR bundle.

 

Don't bother searching for logic in that statement, you'll only hurt your brain.

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New day, new experience, new addition to this blog.

 

I've fixed up a few things I mucked up in the original blog, and a new update on my progress on the VR Tower construction sim-whatever-the-hell-it-is-called and my search for the HTC Vive.

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Today has been an awesome day for me...

...no, I didn't try out the HTC Vive, but if I ever do then it'll probably be ten times better than what I've achieved;

 

I've finally beaten Tumble VR!

 

...

Okay, that doesn't sound amazing, but considering how stacking blocks at GAME(TM)'s booth was like being hand-cuffed to a railing, it is a pretty awesome feat in my opinion...

 

Also I found out that there was a second level...

...need I explain how quickly that drained away any feeling of success?

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