
Tricks That Make Virtual Reality Feel Real - Aoyagi
http://nautil.us/issue/32/space/these-tricks-make-virtual-reality-feel-real
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strictnein
I'm not surprised that realism is not essential to the VR experience. In fact,
I've been wondering if a more Tron like scene [0] would be better. It would be
simpler and easier to scale up to at higher resolutions, while still
maintaining high frame rates.

[0] [https://fronteffects.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/tron-
disney...](https://fronteffects.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/tron-
disneyscreencaps-com-7858.jpg)

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pmoriarty
I've become convinced that there's one attribute of VR headsets that's more
important than realism, more important than presence, more important than
input.

Once the novelty has worn off, the main thing that will keep average users
coming back is comfort. And none of the bulky, unwieldy headsets that exist
today have it.

I'm not sure if we have to wait until VR headsets become as unobtrusive as
ordinary glasses or contacts before users get the level of comfort they'll
need to use VR for extended periods of time. But we're nowhere near that level
with today's technology.

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samizdatum
Have you tried the consumer version of the Oculus Rift? It's significantly
more comfortable than previous iterations, enough for hours of continuous use.

Oculus has placed a huge emphasis on comfort, because "presence"\- the
visceral feeling of _being_ in a virtual space- is so fickle to achieve. While
it's not exactly a binary, there-or-not-there kind of thing, presence is a
gestalt that's really easy to get kicked out of, and Oculus found that
discomfort was one of those things that would reliably inhibit a sense of
presence.

They went to incredible lengths to improve the comfort of the device, going as
far as designing new manufacturing processes to wrap the Rift in some bespoke
fabrics, and designing the straps to eliminate the "ski goggle wobble", and
distribute weight evenly across the head.

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pc86
It is possible to wear the consumer version with glasses, or would you need
contacts if you have vision problems?

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soylentcola
As I've gotten older I don't tolerate contacts as well so most of my usage
(dev unit v2 in my case) has been with glasses. My prescription is fairly
strong so I already get a bit of distortion in peripheral vision. It's
something I tune out in reality but in VR, it took a few minutes of getting
used to. It wasn't bad but it's a lot like when you first put on a headset and
you sort of learn to gaze straight ahead rather than looking at stuff at the
edges of your vision while still looking forward.

~~~
analyst74
I'm curious, can you use Oculus Rift without glasses? I tried google cardboard
without glasses, and can see clearly even though I'm near-sighted, because the
image is only inches from my eyes.

