This Oculus Quest 2 is kind of living up to the hype....

[MohandasKGanja]

This is a virtual-reality headset made by Facebook.

I ordered it a week or so ago and it was delivered yesterday. It's tied to your Facebook account. Sets up in about 30 minutes including updates to the software in the headset and hand controllers.

I previously had the PlayStation 4 VR headset. This is a dramatic improvement in resolution and overall functionality. And most amazing, it's a standalone device. So, unlike the traditional headsets made by PlayStation, HTC, and even Oculus itself, you can just grab this thing and take it on the road with you -- school, work, a hotel, wherever. This cannot be emphasized enough - historically, VR headsets need a really powerful computer and graphics card to be functional. This thing somehow is completely self contained.

You should have about a 3-foot-by-3-foot space. You set it up by drawing a boundary with your controllers on the ground - even that is done in a cool way.

The headset has multiple cameras that are completely aware of your head movements and the position of your hand controllers. So you can realistically feel like your are doing things like picking up objects, shooting pistols, or rifles, or whatever.

The most popular game seems to be Beat Saber, so I bought it and started playing it. It is a pretty kinetic game where day-glo boxes are flying at you and you are destroying them with the Star Wars-looking light sabers that are in your hands. All while some very heavy beat-laden music is playing in syncopation with what you are doing. You also have to duck and lean away because of other objects coming at you. It's a lot of fun, and somehow can be played with groups of people around the world.

I'm trying to find a really good zombie game because my dream is to be fighting of and blasting and slicing and dicing zombies that are literally inches from my face. Go figure.

[zebracakes]

I hardly ever post, but this is my favorite game ever. I've been playing it for a couple of years now and never get tired of it. They release expansion packs and updates pretty often, which keeps it fresh.

[Beeyotch]

Yeah the only reason I know about this thing is because a friend of ours makes porn specifically for these Oculus vr type devices. Which squicks me out but evidently he's been working non-stop for a while, demand is up since covid.

[czb]

i want friends like that. mine are in boring industries like finance.

[Beeyotch]

Lol Well I should clarify, he doesn't star in the porn, he produces, directs and films it. He likes to predict trends like this and then start businesses around them. Sometimes they make money, more often not. So we're just glad this is turning out to be a successful venture for him.

[MohandasKGanja]

VR Porn - Supposedly, there are VR porn clips on PornHub. The problem with trying to check it out with Oculus 2, though, is that this is a Facebook device, and it's tracking all your social activity. I believe I turned off automatic Oculus 2 notifications to my FaceBook friends so that my uncle and nieces and nephews and so on don't get a Facebook update from me saying, "Hey, MohandaskGanja just watched 'Insane Dwarf Nun Threesomes VR'!"

Zombie game - I bought a VR game last night that only cost about $15. It's a zombie shooting game. It's really like a VR version of "House of the Dead" in that there is really no goal other than to shoot and kill a bunch of disgusting cartoonish zombies before they kill you. But it's a great game for the money. You really do feel like these things are going to pounce on you, which is awesome. As you perform better and better, you are given additional weapons,. You start out with a six shooter revolver, and then go on to a sawed-off shotgun and even stuff like hatchets and baseball bats. Because the controllers are so responsive, you really feel like you are swinging a hatchet or shooting a gun.

VR Youtube - youtube has a bunch of VR clips that put you right in the middle of a bunch of exciting stuff. It's a lot of fun, and I think it is a cool way to prepare before you go on vacation some place because you get an even better feel of what the place is like. You can also do stuff like ride through a giant breaking wave, with a surfer next to you. Also, you are underwater with other scuba divers while sharks swim around you. One of the clips ends with you getting attacked by a shark.

I also want to say that I cannot say enough about the fact that you can just take this headset into any room with you, or even take it on the road. In a way, it's the equivalent of taking your Sony PlayStation, TV set, and controllers with you on vacation. Because as long as you have Internet access, this device that takes up almost no space in your luggage will let you play a zillion different fun games.

[czb]

Lol Well I should clarify, he doesn't star in the porn, he produces, directs and films it. He likes to predict trends like this and then start businesses around them. Sometimes they make money, more often not. So we're just glad this is turning out to be a successful venture for him.

no, i understood what you meant.

[louiswinthorpe111]

i do the Star Wars laser game on the Oculus. I get a work out, because it's a lot of hopping around. Just like when I used to play the Wii. Because if I'm playing tennis or something, I have to swing LIKE I'm playing tennis.

Hubby just stands there and flicks his wrists. He said, "Why are you jumping around, it's not necessary to hit and imaginary ball?"

Beyond SuperMario Bros, I don't do video games well.

[zebracakes]

This is a virtual-reality headset made by Facebook.

I just had to come back to this thread because I'm testing out the free trial of Supernatural. It's a work out game that's kind of like Beat Saber, but with real exercise coaches, musical hits from the last few decades, and a lot greater intensity than Beat Saber. I actually work up a sweat with this where I hardly ever do with Beat Saber. I am totally hooked. Unfortunately it's a bit pricey. $19 per month or $179 per year. I'm seriously considering doing the paid subscription though if I'm still enjoying it this much when I get to the end of free 30-day trial. Oh, it also links to my Apple watch to monitor my heart rate.

[louiswinthorpe111]

^^Interesting.

[MohandasKGanja]

Something I also wanted to add here that has been kind of a game changer with the Oculus Quest 2, is that with some applications/games, you can skip the hand controllers entirely and train the device to pick up your own hand and finger movements. You can make a pinching motion to pick up things and then release to drop them. The ramifications for that kind of functionality are difficult to overemphasize because of the things that it would let you simulate, or do remotely.

Zebracakes mentioned "Supernatural" which looks great, from the videos I've seen. I could probably find a YouTube VR video that would let me simulate what being in the game is like but have not done that yet. However, what I think is kind of interesting is that the only kind of exercise motions that seem to be discouraged or not available in Beat Saber and Supernatural are jumping motions. And that would be because of the stability of the headset, which is still relatively heavy. In the future, they will be able to miniaturize this down to goggle size and you would be able to do all kinds of crazy stuff while keeping the VR experience from being interrupted by some dramatic motion.

[zebracakes]

Right now they've got a free 30-day trial going. It's the full version of the game so a really good way to see if you like it, imo. I can't wait to see where VR goes in the future. I started on the Rift and it's amazing just the improvements between that and the Quest.