
Google Earth VR - dgrove
https://vr.google.com/earth
======
secure
I played this for about 2 hours recently, and it’s so much fun!

Flying around like that really gives you a perspective of your home town that
you don’t usually get. For instance, I have discovered that there’s actually
train tracks underneath a bridge over which I drive fairly frequently — from
inside the tram, I never saw them.

Notably, this is significantly better than the “liquid galaxy” installations
one can find at Google offices. It’s smoother, more immersive, the controls
are more appealing, and it looks better.

This app definitely goes into the list of things I show people who are new to
VR :).

~~~
matthjensen
What else is on the list of things you show people who are new to VR?

~~~
secure
Valve’s The Lab is fantastic and is usually one of the first things I show.

Next up is Job Simulator. Lots of fun and attention to detail in there.

Then Tilt Brush, because it’s surprisingly fun, even for non-artists.

Earth VR probably goes into the list at this position right here :).

The Cubicle
([https://steamcommunity.com/app/452490](https://steamcommunity.com/app/452490))
has a nice twist to it, but is far less polished than the ones I previously
listed.

If the person is into shooters and online gaming, definitely Hover Junkers.

~~~
berberous
I would caution against demoing Hover Junkers to first timers, especially
without an explicit and careful discussion of nausea first. It is the only
game anyone has listed thus far that has 'unnatural' movement, which for me at
least, causes extremely unpleasant nausea that lasts multiple hours after
removing the headset.

~~~
shostack
Which is a shame because that is one I really want to play once I get a
headset.

Has there been much others solving for this type of motion sickness in VR
where it isn't just latency/performance related?

~~~
saurik
While maybe these issues can be slightly mitigated, the underlying problem is
the same as getting seasick or getting sick while trying to read in the back
of a car; I imagine the state-of-the-art solution is "Dramamine" ;P.

~~~
shostack
Funny you mention that...my current approach for games that make me nauseous
that I can't fix with FOV settings has basically been ginger gum and lots of
fresh air breaks.

~~~
jnicholasp
Marijuana is good for both nausea and the sense of wonder.

------
strictnein
Honestly, I'm visiting Mecca tonight. And then Tehran. And then North Korea.

~~~
strictnein
Why the downvote? How visiting forbidden places isn't on the top of mind for
people using this is beyond me.

Area 51, White House grounds, Russian military bases, Syria. I know the
experience will vary, but think big.

~~~
derrickdirge
I thought Mecca was like, the opposite of a forbidden place.

~~~
aianus
It's forbidden to go within 15km of Mecca if you're not Muslim.

~~~
13of40
You need a certificate signed by an Imam, which you can likely get at your
local Islamic center. Challenges include convincing the Imam that you're not
just getting it to sneak into Mecca, and being able to answer follow-up
questions at the roadblock in Mecca, such as, "So you're Muslim, eh? Tell us
the Five Pillars."

------
alasano
I've been dreaming of this for a long time now... holy crap. This is as close
as we have to the Black & White (lionhead x EA) god feeling, except for
beating up your cow/monkey/etc of course. Can't wait to try it out.

~~~
robeastham
Me too! I've been wondering when this would turn up. I've been dreaming of
flying around coasts and up mountains for a long time. I honestly think this
will alter people's perceptions of time and place and space.

I wonder if Google will have a service based on this that allows developers to
add additional layers via an API and publish in their own app. That would be
great.

Sure would like to add some of the models from my VR Infinite Museum:

[http://imnh.org](http://imnh.org)

------
lifeisstillgood
I am going to go with - "at last !"

It is nearly 25 years since I read Snow Crash, and read the description of the
virtual earth - able to dive down form Space, and look round cities, seeing
data feeds in real time, including your own position...

We are soooo close. Just don't trust the guy with the glass knives

[#]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash)

~~~
CobrastanJorji
Does Google Earth have some sort of real-time weather capability? That would
really help us get the last mile.

------
mdrzn
Why only on HTC Vive? Does this require huge computing power, or is it because
of the controllers? I hope it'll become available on the Google Daydream
phones.

~~~
artofcode
My bet would be the controllers, which would mean a Rift compatible release
would be imminent when the Touch controllers are officially released in a
month.

~~~
andybak
I've been using DK2 + Leap Motion to play some of the simpler Vive only
titles. I'll try it and report back.

~~~
gefh
Please do! I'd like to avoid cluttering my desk with too many more gadgets.

~~~
andybak
It works on my DK2 when I used this workaround.
[https://github.com/Shockfire/FakeVive](https://github.com/Shockfire/FakeVive)

It's pretty tough to use with the Leap Motion. However - you can run the tours
via the mouse on the desktop. (Also - in another comment I mentioned you can
edit the tours in a text editor so that might be enough to keep people happy.

------
johansch
Just tried it on my Vive for ten minutes.

So, of course, it's essentially Google Earth ported to VR.

There's some obvious Snowcrash vibes to this. :)

The left hand touch pad is used to switch between perspectives (top or "being
a 100 meter tall giant walking around on the land") while the right touch pad
is used to zoom in/zoom out.

In places where they have 3d maps (like e.g. SF) it's amazing. I was also
blown away by how fast the scenes loaded.. in Google Earth/Maps there is
always a lengthy download process. This was almost instant. (I wonder why it
was so slow before?)

Walking around in cities as a giant is pretty fascinating. I guess this is why
they went with the Vive as their first platform - roomscale VR really kicks as
in this particular usecase.

------
ferongr
>Google Earth VR is first available on Steam for the HTC Vive

The lack of a common VR framework, and no expectation from consumers that a
VR-enabled application will be cross-compatible between different systems is
the main reason I have not yet bought a headset, and advise people asking me
against buying. The VR landscape right now looks like it suffers from
consolitis, and I will never support such business models.

~~~
haydenlee
Anything that is built on SteamVR is cross-compatible with Oculus Touch, so
not sure what your problem is. The only reason they don't market it as such is
that Oculus Touch is not publicly available yet. As a current Touch owner I
can assure you that every SteamVR app works with Touch today.

Edit: However, ironically Google has put in a software check for HTC Vive and
blocks any other headsets. I imagine they'll do a proper Oculus "launch" when
Oculus Touch launches.

~~~
shostack
I wonder about that...I could see it as strategically valuable for Google to
have the Vive succeed and the Rift fail.

If the Rift took over somehow (doubtful at this point) FB having control over
its ecosystem would be bad news for Google because AR and VR are the future of
where digital eyeballs will be.

------
Blackthorn
I hope one day they offer an API for it so it can be used as part of a game
like Microsoft Flight Simulator.

------
strictnein
Now just make it so you can destroy the buildings as you walk around and you
have VR Rampage.

I'm honestly surprised no one has made a VR Rampage for the Vive. I tried to
play around with the idea a little bit, but game development is just something
I don't have any time for.

~~~
rvanniekerk
This is actually in development, it's called Maximum Override -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U)

~~~
strictnein
Interesting. May have to check it out since it's in Early Access.

Also this looks fun -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKd6y-8a8Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKd6y-8a8Y)

------
billconan
Is this based on 3D model or just 360 photo?

I looked at the online demo, it doesn't appear to be 3D model.

But if it is based on 360 photos, how does it perform the transition between
different viewing locations?

Streetmap, for example, can't do very smooth transition.

~~~
bd
Online demo is just 360 photos but real VR application seems to be fully 3D
(from the videos).

This would make sense as it's based on Google Earth which is 3D.

Even WebGL web version of Google Maps is already 3D since some time ago. See
e.g. Colosseum here:

[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Colosseum/@41.8950247,12.4...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Colosseum/@41.8950247,12.4841839,423a,20y,126.92h,62.84t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x132f61b6532013ad:0x28f1c82e908503c4!8m2!3d41.8902102!4d12.4922309)

~~~
BatFastard
Saying something is 3D is meaningless. 3D video is one thing, 3D models are
totally different.

From what I saw in demo, it looks like they are generating simple 3D models
from the photos. Which is pretty damn cool!

~~~
derrickdirge
Google Earth already has thousands of handmade 3D models, as well as auto
generated models.

Here is an interesting quora on where Google Earth sources their models from:
[https://www.quora.com/How-are-the-3D-models-of-buildings-
gen...](https://www.quora.com/How-are-the-3D-models-of-buildings-generated-on-
Google-Earth)

------
iraphael
> Available first on HTC Vive

I can't find if it'll have support for DayDream View, which I just got for
free with my pixel. Does anyone have more info?

~~~
alexqgb
Per Mike Podwal, PM at Google, the team is entirely focused on the Vive (via
Kent Bye's Voices of VR podcast
[https://player.fm/series/76331/165981404](https://player.fm/series/76331/165981404))

------
VikingCoder
Was playing with it - it's great. I was flying around the towns I know, but
I'm reminded of the places that I need to go when I get a chance:

Golden Gate Bridge

The Washington Monument

Disney World

Yosemite

Beijing

The Grand Canyon

~~~
iandanforth
It looks very nausea inducing, even the video gave me a little bit of an
issue. Did you experience any of that?

~~~
haydenlee
I loved the app but I did feel a bit sick, even with their comfort mode turned
on (which I really appreciate that they added). Probably won't go as wild with
the flying next time but overall it was still a great experience. I should
mention that I'm very perceptible to simulator sickness, even after using VR
for over an hour every day for the past 2 years.

~~~
shostack
I don't have a headset yet and this is my biggest fear before investing in
one. I'm quite prone to motion sickness in games.

Can you share any tips for using a VR headset without puking?

~~~
efournie
It really depends on the controls used for moving. I am quite sensitive too,
even slow movements in VR give me nausea when I am not moving. But games that
use teleportation for moving like The Lab are absolutely not nausea-inducing
for me. Walking arnoud in room scale is also not a problem at all. A Vive with
room scale is probably the best option at the moment for someone sensible to
motion sickness.

The funny thing about Google Earth is that even though you can "fly" over the
map, it is coupled with a pulling motion with the hand controllers. My brain
seems to interpret this hand motion coupled with the displacement as me
pulling the landscape to me instead of me flying over the landscape. Because
of this, I had absolutely no motion sickness at all in Google Earth.

It is a motion scheme that I have seen in no other VR app and for me it is a
very interesting achievement of the software.

------
canada_dry
One of the best potential uses for this (and many similar VR apps) is for
senior citizens and immobile folks.

Imagine being able to travel back to your hometown or visit places you never
got to on your bucket list.

Priceless.

------
jliptzin
I really think something like this will displace some tourism/sightseeing (at
least at the margins). I have done a ton of traveling all over the world and
would much prefer a VR experience like this instead of cramming onto an
airplane like cattle for hours, getting accused of being a drug lord at every
border crossing, dealing with foreigners who seem to hate Americans, etc. Most
tourist cities are pretty much the same anyway; a few jam packed attractions,
the strip of overpriced fancy tourist trap restaurants, those gift shops you
can buy cheap crap with the city's name on it, luxury hotels, adventure
charter companies, etc.

Anyway, sorry for the rant but I liken this to going to a football game in the
stadium vs. watching at home and I'd much prefer the latter.

~~~
zardo
Seeing the Sahara on a screen, and climbing a sand dune, are two very
different experiences.

~~~
6stringmerc
Depends on one's imaginative capabilities, honestly. Yes, I'm quite serious.
What I've been able to do in dreams (controlled or otherwise) rivals any sand-
in-hand experience I could have while waking. I won't claim imagination is a
pure replacement for personal experience, but there's something special about
abstract thought.

~~~
zardo
I think you're comparing dreams to memories of experiences. Try comparing your
dreams to an experience while it's happening, and I think you'll find the
dream was not quite so vivid as the feel, taste, smell, and sight of the
world.

------
saurik
I wish Earth VR weren't written in so custom of an engine :(... it is severely
missing some basic annotation and presentation tools (such as a 3D pencil)
which would be comparatively easy to mix in if it used some off-the-shelf
engine (such as Unity, which happens to be used by Tilt Brush). It kind of
makes sense, though: it really just needs two cameras over the code they
already have for Google Earth. It _is_ written in OpenGL (as opposed to
Direct3D), so maybe it won't be quite so annoying to throw together something
minimal at the rendering layer?...

~~~
AustinDev
Thanks for answering the first question I had after digging through their
site. A rendering layer would be fantastic. There are so many cool things that
could be easily added to increase immersion or tell a story.

~~~
saurik
FWIW, I have some initial reason to believe the "tour" mode it has involves
the use of KML, so it might be possible to "easily" (still require some crazy
hacking, but not so much) tell your own "story", but yeah: what I am really
looking for is something where, from inside of VR, I can easily point at stuff
and draw things and either take a recording or synchronize my state with
another user. Earth VR was just such a great initial example of a place where
I wanted to inject these kinds of features, so it is all the more annoying
that it is one of the few apps that is built in a way to make that really hard
:(.

------
rubicon33
Of course. Only available on the HTC Vive.

I regret my oculus rift purchase.

~~~
thearn4
FWIW, I use both and vastly prefer most things on the rift (especially flight
and driving sims).

The room-scale experiences on the Vive are fantastic and definitely the
direction this tech will go, but the majority of the SteamVR experience are...
unpolished? That's the best way i can describe it. SteamVR itself is also
extremely buggy, but I've also had USB 3.0 issues on the Rift, so there are
some issues on both platforms.

But flight sims feel extremely natural (DCS World and Elite:Dangerous in
particular), especially with Rift's ASW.

~~~
oopsies49
Steam vr recently added asynchronous reprojection.

~~~
russelldc
SteamVR's implementation is equivalent to ATW, but not Oculus' new ASW.

~~~
TwoBit
And Vive reprojection doesn't work on AMD hardware, unlike Rift.

------
ungzd
I thought Google Earth was abandoned, but seems they're still improving it.

~~~
xanderstrike
It's more or less folded into Google Maps since most of the Earth features can
be done in a web browser with webGL now.

------
andybak
For those without controller (i.e. Using
[https://github.com/Shockfire/FakeVive](https://github.com/Shockfire/FakeVive)
to get it working on a Rift) - the tours are defined in text files inside
\steamapps\common\EarthVR\assets\content\tours\ with the extension .textpb

Editing the lat/lngs should enable you to visit wherever you choose.

------
naavis
Just tried this with HTC Vive. One of the best VR experiences I've had.

~~~
haydenlee
It really is incredible. The UI design is amazing too.

------
toephu2
Seems like one of those things I'll play with for about 30 minutes, think it's
cool, and then never touch it again.

~~~
GFischer
Depends on your use case. If it's better than Street View, I'll definitely use
it a lot (once I get my hands on a compatible headset, that is).

I use Street View a lot and I think it's one of the most amazing Google
services.

~~~
r00fus
Honestly what are you using it for, if you don't mind me asking?

~~~
GFischer
Whenever I travel anywhere, I like checking it on Street View (even within my
city).

Also, I'm looking for a house to buy (more a wish than an actual search) and
we always look at the neighborhood.

Also to see where my family lives, and we kind of virtually travel (no money
for actual travel for now).

I used to work for an insurance company and the house insurers actually used
it to give the houses we were insuring a quick check (if windows have bars,
for instance) to avoid actually inspecting it if possible (and seeing which
merited a more thorough inspection).

I now work for a travel agency and they use it to see hotel's neighbourhoods.

------
mobiuscog
They need to get this working on the PSVR !

------
tonyplee
Add Pokemon VR Go and Google should assimilate half of the humanity into the
Matrix.

------
benjismith
Awesome.

I'd love to use a VR headset to explore the visualizations at
[http://cosmicweb.barabasilab.com](http://cosmicweb.barabasilab.com), and fly
around through the superstructure of the universe!

------
carlisle_
I never knew I had a desire to act out a Godzilla fantasy until now.

------
iambic
Cannot wait to try this. Pixel is here, but headset is still coming.

~~~
mattl
This only works on the HTC Vive, not the Daydream.

~~~
iambic
Realized this after reading more. Bummer.

------
thenomad
I've just been trying this out. It's absolutely amazing. Awesome in the truest
sense of the word.

------
mtw
Good tool to use before visiting a place for holidays!

------
guiomie
Please bring this to PS4 VR !

------
toomanycooks666
splooge

