It honestly makes me wonder how I would have jumped into the VR scene without Nagzz21’s influence. It’s however thanks to Nagzz21 (Joey Bagels) that I even bothered obtaining a VR headset to jump into both VR & VRchat because I saw a magical and happy world similar to an anime’s ‘Isekai’ genre. It honestly makes one wonder. Would I have still been nerdy and passionate about VR without his influence? I may not be a full on streamer, nor a proper content creator, I however am still a gamer who LOVES what they love. I love my games, I love VRchat, and I love my avatars in VRchat; Scathach & Renge as my avatars. I may not be able to show it in an extreme manner as other folks, I however still LOVE VR & VRchat. I may not show with my hours played in VRC compared to others, I still LOVE VR.
I’ve been an Oculus Rift user since December 2017, loving it through-and-through. I have tons of VR memories that it’s highly nostalgic. Well, minus the whole artificial errors & cable quality Oculus seems to be pushing. Also, if you deny me my VR knowledge learning how VR changed from 2017 till now then we’ll have issues.
Like with any family, friends, and relationships, we (VR) had our ups and downs. We had the best time exploring things in VR while also having awesome cherish-able moments. Then we had our down moments where followers would leave me for constantly venting about technical troubles, not being “special” enough, and just the constant on going Oculus frustrations of ‘No HMDI Connection’. It’s been an interesting learning period with both happiness and rage-inducing moments.
This article is mainly about me talking about Oculus Rift itself while also being VRchat heavy. I’ve played VRchat the most using my Oculus Rift, though shall sprinkle other games of interests that I’ve played into this article. I need to share all angles, mainly the technical issues I’ve been having with Oculus. I’ll be doing things in the order of VRchat, Oculus Rift, then any noteworthy VR game after that.
Related Articles:
-VR Gaming:
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?cat=58
-VRchat Tag:
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?cat=57
-Furious Seas:
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=5223
-[VRchat] Thanking Nagzz21 & the VRchat Community (2019):
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=5151
-Steam VR:
https://store.steampowered.com/vr
VRChat:
VRchat is my main game so I have to start here before spreading off into other VR elements. This is where I started, and this is where I currently reside. As noted previously, it all started with Nagzz21 with his Nep Doll meme flooding the internet back in November 2017. I joined VRchat because of his adventures, his antics, and his amusements by seeing what VRchat was, downloading it once I saw it was desktop mode. I explored VRchat for two months in desktop mode researching & craving VR. I spent 2 solid months researching, justifying it by making sure I would play it. I wanted to experience a magical side of gaming, thus I have and boasted about it constantly. People share 1-5 images, I share 20+ images. Why? Because I LOVE what I share. When something is genuinely fun I SHARE it. I share and share. I spam images.
You may still see things in a desktop mode when I share images while I see things in a more 3D sphere manner. I’m there, I have fun. I’m immersed. Horror games are far scarier because I can see more than my desktop monitor can, and I’m actually “there”. I can’t hide as easily. I see things more realistically in VR, I hear things in a crisper manner. I see the particles in a puffier manner, I feel the atmosphere. Everything changes in VR making things immersive. The people you hang out appear far friendlier, though that’s still a hit-or-miss because you also have crude people unwilling to mature because its a public realm. Not always though. People can be quite mature, though there are cases where people are “weird”. Teen attitude constantly butting in various areas. Regardless, when you hang out with the right people you might as well be in a new Anime ‘Isekai‘ world doing your own thing. Things get highly magical when you hop into the right world, meet the right individuals, and have the right amount of fun. The music also helps out (example: Great Pug music), or some chill track. This is true for desktop mode, yet more is done in VR that people desire VR to gain the full effect of VRchat. People then push for full body tracking, and the latest & greatest VR gadgets to keep pushing their enjoyment to the furthest limit. The new fad in 2019 being Valve Index’s finger tracking implementation.
Something special happened in VRchat setting it apart from every other VR game out there. Both on April 24th 2018 & May
- Photo Camera Update 1 (April 24th, 2018)
https://docs.vrchat.com/docs/vrchat-201811 - Photo Camera Update #2 (May 10, 2018)
https://docs.vrchat.com/docs/vrchat-201812
Unlike other VR games, VRchat now stands apart from the rest solely because you can take pictures both in desktop mode AND VR without having to fight for the F12 key, framing the frame, and etc. Few games even allow you to take pictures, thus why VRchat feels as homely as it does. It’s why I favour VRchat over anything. If you own a VR headset you can go into your menu, to your camera, and pull out a VR camera to both take pictures, and also stream. You gain two cameras; One for pictures, one for streaming.
They have buttons for: 1) Detaching lens & positioning it in place, 2) Selfie and smoothness, 3) pins; Opposite side has 1) Filters, 2) Grab stick for 2 meter grasp, & 3) Timer. At the bottom, when you press ‘pins’ (blue button) you have pins to save your presets.
I will admit that this VR Camera isn’t the only selling point of VRchat, it’s making your own scenery/worlds, hanging with friends, interacting in various worlds, exploring in horror maps, creating unique avatars, using public avatars, and even doing the whole VR full-body to even dance within VR. VRChat is whatever you make of it.
“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilities” – Stan Lee/Uncle Ben
Even as the years pass I can still hold Nagzz21, Rad, Summarill, Oathmeal, Lanfear, & Zentreya in high regard. Not just them. If you genuinely love VRchat then I can still hold you up in high regard and respect. I may struggle to show my gratitude back thanks to my technical difficulties, I however do respect you awesome folks keeping VRchat awesome in various ways. Who knows if such respect is mutual or not.
I’m highly sensitive to plastic & fake persona so if I feel you’re being dishonest then I will shy away from you. If I feel you’re honest then I shall lean more towards you. I have high anxiety, I’ve been bullied heavily during my school years, thus I’m “cautious”. I’m not seeking pity points, just clarifying why I am the way I am. I’m cautious. If I feel you’re passionate about VRchat then we can hang out with no problems. If I sense some hesitation, dishonesty then there may be an off chance I may call that out. Granted, people have also shy’d away from me also because of my constant Oculus Rift VR troubles. Who wants to hang out with someone constantly venting about technical difficulties? It gets tiring. But again, I do want to hang out with people who genuinely enjoy VRchat. If you enjoy VRchat, let’s hang.
I’ve witnessed (and interacted) with someone complaining nobody wanted to hang out with them, thus I offered my hand out to hang out with them. Foxe denied me, then went on a whole dramatic moment about how he should have contained his venting, and etc. If you don’t want to hang out then tell me that. I noted this in my previous blog postings. I do respect you, I just can’t respect you fully, though feel that this feeling is mutual that there is “half” respect going around. If you want to hang out, let us hang out. Don’t just seek the “famous” people, hang out with everybody. Don’t complain nobody wants to hang out with you. It’s not just Foxe, it’s names I’ve also forgotten with time. Many people are guilty of it.
Seeing as how VRchat is still an ‘open platform’ you have many people hopping on doing weird things. You have crude jokes & behaviours. It’s the balance of VRchat with social and private worlds. You have to know where to travel, thus you get what you get. You have people doing lewd and crude things, like ERP (Erotic Roleplay) among other crazy stuff. You constantly hear of weird drama, fads, and toxic behaviour. Teens shall be teens, thus needing to constantly weave and wiggle your way through all that nonsense to keep at the beautiful side of VRchat.
Because of how much hype and popularity VRchat had gained you eventually saw implementation of security updates. One after the other. Private worlds, security options, anti-crasher movements…. No matter what you do you’ll always find people trying to ruin your fun, even those who somehow even managed to make their way into Nagzz21’s hangouts. Though, those are rumours so those shall be loosely noted. I won’t defend those rumours because thye’re just that, rumours. Then you would also find people stealing avatars, something which caused quite a hefty stir causing the community to divide within the 2017-2018 era. I had to take a bit of a hiatus because of those concerns, those of which costed me any respect from the VRChat community, sidelining me. Big names, little names…. Anybody who was apart of VRC simply view me as someone from the bottom. Just because I pointed out I disliked the Knuckles meme I’ve noticed quite a bit of silent pushback, something I made note of. Once I got back into VR I had to work my way up…. Even with these negatives I still love VRChat. People (map creators) are keeping it awesome, and I love it. The more accepting and honest they are with themselves then the more I love VRChat. Don’t use VRchat for clout and as a platform for popularity, use it for having fun.
Even though I say all that, these are the things I’ve experienced in one way or another. I’ve also experienced various moments where I could hang out with cool people. Nagzz21’s Patreon hangout, public worlds, 1 day hangouts with cool random people, and even meeting new friends in 2018 at a tree house and their friends list.
(October 20-21st, 2018 – Hunt, Kobi, Hawk, myself all hanging out at the tree house where we all met & befriended one another)
VRChat is what you make of it. If you’re kind then VRchat shall treat you kindly. I love VRchat for the memories it has given me. The nostalgia, the horror, the feels. Everything. If it wasn’t for Nagzz21 & me purchasing the Oculus Rift I wouldn’t have befriended these awesome people. I wouldn’t have been able to post these images, have my fun moments, among other fun nostalgic moments. There’s always a yin-yang to everything; A balance.
Again, I LOVE VRchat. The scenery is gorgeous, the worlds are awesome, the experiences are glorious. VRChat is what you make of it, and it is awesome. So many awesome worlds, so many awesome features. The Horror maps are an awesome thrill, when done right. When horror worlds work, they’re the best thing in the game. When they fail, that’s another thing.
The chill worlds are awesome. People keep their worlds short and sweet so you can make the most of them without having to suffer from constantly update failures. Nobody wants to work a month to then have to go back to fix things later after nearly murdering their sanity. The world people make are awesome, yet it however is a shame to see ‘Heavy Cruiser Suzuya’ having not been updated because of version mismatches. All those bugs and glitches. World makers have also left in a fit (deleting everything) to go elsewhere in rage. Like a family, you’ll have people both loving and hating things. It’s only fair, and it’s life.
I’ve seen my fair share of people venting at the VRChat developers to only throw a childish fit as they left. I get it, you worked hard. You don’t want to see it gone, though you have audiences to your world who love your worlds. I have friends who have seen worlds disappear wanting to go back to them. Though, one may possibly view it as passing of time needing to simply to adapt and survive with the times.
I’ve seen people both come and go from VRChat. Just like with the passing of time, of school, of work you see your fair share of interesting individuals with their own story in life. If you looked closely at my VRchat logs you’ll see how people fade in and out of my VRChat adventures. Similar to how a show keeps in seasons you’ll see new casts popping in and out. If people are honest with themselves I would have loved to hear their awesome stories in life, in VRChat, and others. If people had the courage to speak of their experiences I would love to listen to them.
On a final note: VRChat showed it could mesh well with the concept of Sword Art Online by being a VR game similar to SAO. Many worlds were crafted, shared, and visited sharing the love and enthusiasm because of the parallels between the two. If you’ve watched SAO then you’ll know of the ‘Seed’ concept for MMOs. It’s similar in VRchat in a more world making manner.
Oculus Rift & VRChat aren’t shy about showing how they were influenced by Sword Art Online. Oculus forums use user ranking terms of ‘Nerve Gear’ to show Sword Art Online love. As much as people claim to hate Sword Art Online in a fad manner you have to admit the thoughts and references are valid for the real world. They explored the ‘what if’s’ doing a fairly good job in the anime. The movie especially with AR. Knock on SAO all you want, it’s still influencing VRChat, among other VR developers out there.
Matsix had also uploaded a world named ‘Town of Beginnings’, something which holds a very nostalgic feeling to true VRChat players, or simply those who’ve been with VRChat since 2017. Then there’s the boss world, Sword Art Online (Redux), and even Gun Gale Online worlds. There’s no shortage of Sword Art Online worlds in VRChat. You have to honestly pay respect where it’s due. As much as you want to meme and scoff at SAO, it does have its genuine solid moments. VRC isn’t shy about respecting that.
The most hilarious part is how I’ve seen people being irrationally fearful of VR because of Sword Art Online’s take on Nerve Gear. A workplace friend is fearful because he assumes we shall all be trapped in VR. Somewhat fair, though not really. Once VR starts tapping into the human consciousness then THAT is where we have issues. Sleep paralysis and such. I would avoid that as much as I could. Others people were simply fearful, or just simply hateful (view crashers on VRchat & avatar theft).
VRChat is what you make of it. VRchat has been a big influence to me, thus why it gets such a big portion of this blog posting. With how long controller batteries tend to last I can stay in VRchat for an average of 3-5 hours a day/night. It all depends on who I hang out with. I can stay there for 2 hours, or I can be as long as 5 hours a night, or even more. I can genuinely do endurance runs in VRchat, just as long as I can hang out with the right people to do so.
Oculus Rift:
I have owned the Oculus Rift since late December of 2017 having a lot of fun in VR. It allowed me to experience things which I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise, allowed me to have various fun, and it even experience very nostalgic moments. The Oculus Rift comes with a headset (Rift), with two Touch Controllers (needing 2 AA batteries), two censors, and a Rift cable. You can play seated or standing up, whatever your preferences are.
When people see me on VR blog posts & forums they assume I know nothing while flaunting their profession, and such. People enjoy flaunting their various VR professions, I just want to see people show results over words. Flaunt all you want, you still have to push VR forward.
During the first few months I had genuine fun with VR. I had fun being taught how to use VR in VRChat, how to experiment with things, though the first day was quite wacky (pre-VRchat session). I tried to justify the VR purchase by trying to find out what sorts of games I would play. They were few and far back then, thus had to choose mainly VRChat as my hub game. For $500+ CAD I had to also pick way more games. I had to make it last.
I had to choose VRchat, VR Kanojou, Titanic VR, Koikatsu (VR), Honey Select, Google VR, Steel & Soul VR (STILL hasn’t released), Subnautica VR, OldMaidGirl, There’s WAY more games to go with now that it blasts my VR games justification list out of the water many times over.
Because I haven’t used a VR headset before I kept putting it on for a split second then taking it off. Replicate this situation for the next few hours. VR was scary to me, yet I wanted to VR, yet the headset also nearly made me suffocate from fear itself. It felt like I was putting on a military helmet with all the night goggles, gadgets, and etc, while now it feels as light as a feather. It felt weird seeing the digital world phasing out the real world. I just couldn’t get used to it. I also felt some minor numbness in various places trying to get used to it. I was panicky, I had anxiety….. I wasn’t aware of what I was getting myself into. I even gained a nasty case of VR motion sickness causing my stomach to hurt for two days when I spent 6+ hours in VRchat streaming while standing up the next day over. I had to go to work on one of those days feeling absolutely miserable. These situations are however your ‘right of passage’ into the whole VR scene to allow for all the fun and excitement waiting for you. The VRchat, Beat Saber, and all those other VR games.
Too this day though, I still can’t get over my fear of heights. It’s simply made worse in VRChat because of how brutal those drops become. I panic so hard I sweat like mad, feel like I’m falling….. The feeling is highly uncomfortable. It’s worse than a horror map jump scare. Your body genuinely feels like its going to die, screaming the loudest it can to survive.
During that time (maybe even now) the Oculus Rift is the best entry level VR headset when it comes to being tied to a computer. You could also get a PSVR headset to then transition into an Oculus Rift headset, though Rift S is probably a better transition point now with how Oculus Rift was phased out. You would also have the HTC Vive & Windows Mix Reality to contend with. As nice as an ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ was as an entry level, it still contained numerous flaws forcing people to go the Oculus Rift side of things. A bit more reliable. If you want something quick and simple then you may also focus on the ‘Oculus Quest’, though your experience may vary. You can play VRchat, Arizona Sunshine, Beat Saber, and all those fun games. Again, it is what you make of it, and how it speaks to you.
The Oculus Rift managed to hold out fairly well, but with everything, you’ll face nasty growing pains. Oculus Rift was not immune to this, nor was it the best. It’s still growing with the market and vice-versa forcing it to constantly adapt. Oculus program is the biggest evil to the Oculus headsets because it keeps paralyzing and bricking your headset. The headset itself works, it’s the program constantly screwing things over, especially with how hand-holdy the program is. It’s like a very over-protective parent. Proof is below.
Funny thing about ‘SteamVR‘:
There was a time where Oculus wouldn’t even start up when you started up SteamVR. Back in 2017 you were allowed to use SteamVR purely for SteamVR things, though that may have angered the overly protective Oculus in assuming people would not use the Oculus program to buy from their Oculus Application side of things. Everything has to be Oculus, thus the handholding now. You know how precious resources are when VR is running? When you have VR itself running then add SteamVR, Oculus program, Streamlabs, Oculus Mirror,…… It all begins to add up on Streaming, let alone simple casual playthrough in an intensive game such as Zero Caliber VR.
Oculus Application feels bloated and too ‘hand holdy’ that it causes everything to whine and moan. I am however thankful for the battery warnings, though could also live without them. If my battery dies, it dies. Facebook probably has something to do with this, thus why everything is so bloated and idiotic.
When this happened I usually felt that it was about time a new Nvidia driver was about to release for update. I waited, and waited. Confused, and with VR growing pains, and left in the dark I had to constantly speculate and assume things. I had to assume that a new Nvidia driver was on its way, thus Oculus stopped functioning because it was waiting on a new driver.
Now? Now it’s just whiny and moany for the sake of it. People have noted that it may be because of my USB failing, but if that was the case why is my HDMI & USB still functioning. Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. Why am I able to put in hours into a single session to then find it stop working again after a computer reboot? It seems fine to me, though what do I know. We’re all still learning how VR works.
When my friend from the VRchat community jumped ship onto the Valve Index he found that all his errors went way. He had to deal with Valve Index specific ones, though the whole Oculus Rift errors simply went away. No nonsense ‘No HMDI Connection’ errors, just pure VR fun.
This nonsense would happen EVERY month locking me out from anything VRChat, thus stunting my experiences and my growth in VR. I was unable to test various games.
Every time I fix and install drivers it tends to fix the problem in an 80-90% success rate. The rate is however dropping because once you restart the computer it tends to forget about any driver installations. Oculus tech support would blame it all on you, not their program, ignoring everything. I sent them logs, I sent them everything, yet these issues still persist while they tell me to do all these weird things. I gradually stopped responding to them via e-mail because they can’t mend the issues. They are indeed helpful and timely, this keeps happening every month that it’s so infuriating where they don’t even help me out.
I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY DO THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT STUFF MYSELF. I have to keep doing my own research.
Now I have days where the driver repair thing won’t work, and where even Nvidia is screwing with me by not repairing drivers. To even get on Oculus Rift anymore I would have to repair the drivers to then do a custom installation to simply install drivers. I would have to keep doing this after every computer restart wasting about 10-20 minutes before I wanted to play. It’s like waiting for your car to warm up during the winter time, it’s annoying. It’s now causing me paint Nvidia as the culprit because of faulty drivers, or something. I’m in constant doubt while being left in the dark. Its something to do with Oculus while Nvidia is probably giving me false positives in reaction to how Oculus treats the drivers. That’s my speculation and assumption, though I could be wrong.
The whole ‘No HDMI Connection’ thing.
- Oculus Forum – No HDMI Connection
- Oculus Forum – No HDMI Connection 2
- Oculus Forum – No HDMI Connection 3
- Oculus Forum – No HDMI all of a sudden
- Oculus Forum – Reoccuring Bricking of headset
- Reddit: Advancements into No HDMI Connection
- Reddit: Solutions to No HDMI Connection
Well, Oculus, you honestly need to solve this issue. You’re selling VR headsets into a market, you need to iron out these bugs and glitches. People can use this as an excuse as to not obtain VR headsets and you’ll be to blame for that. The searches just keep going that you can also find tweets about it on Twitter.
These errors have honestly been my constant experience with VR ever since I’ve obtained it. For $500 CAD I had to deal with this from roughly 2018 onward. Constantly! Every month, without fail, it would fail. When you don’t use your headset after 3-5 days it would fail on you, thus having to wait even longer for a new drivers to update (or to simply repair it). When I stumbled across these issues I even dubbed & nicknamed the headset a ‘yandere’ headset.
Yandere (????) is a Japanese term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone (or at least innocent) before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence and/or brutality.
Yeah, the Oculus Rift is willing to give me a good time, just as long as I focus purely on it. I’m not allowed to play anything else, though the rules have now changed. This is how it behaved in 2018. Now, in 2019, it simply turned lazy by not wanting to do anything at all. I want to VR? Too bad, so sad. I’m a moron. Alright, cool……
In an ‘Grand Theft Auto 3’ quoting manner:
“I want compensation for this insult!”
Yes, yes I do. I want some form of compensation for all the frustrations I had to go through. Fix my Oculus program to detect the drivers 24/7 without any ‘Yandere’ nonsense. Just give me a smooth VR experience while also maybe going back to allowing SteamVR to being the only thing open for Oculus devices.
Oh! And it also does not end there! Guess what else Oculus managed to do to me. It has to deal with their poor quality cable, something even Sony beats them on, even in the Playstation 3 era. You know, braided cables? For $500 CAD and they can’t even give you braided cables to make it last. You pay $500 Canadian for a VR Rift headset and they can’t even braid the damn cables to make them last. They’re fully aware people move around a hell of a lot. Holy >Redacted< hell! All those moments I’ve been locked out of from VRChat, all those people who unfollowed me on Twitter viewing me as a ‘lesser being’ within the VR community, and etc. I’m highly frustrated I was sidelined by people, even frustrated the VR gear doesn’t work as intended. Just….
I just want to have fun in VR? I just want to hang out with the fun people I’ve befriended? That’s all I ask and desire. I just want to have VR fun, not deal with Oculus & Facebook’s weird corporate greed.
The tangling cables is actually a genuine problem that people fund Oculus by constantly purchasing one new cable after another, or just swap to a new headset from a different maker. The current 2019-2020 option would be to jump onto the Valve Index. Screw Oculus and their lazy non-braided cable policy.
Here are your common Cable tangling threads:
- Tired of Rift Cable Tangling
- Reddit: Preventing Cable Tangling
- Reddit: Can I get a cable that doesn’t twist & tangle so easily?
- Reddit: Does anybody know how to fix this bullshit?
- Reddit: Oculus Cable twisting
- Reddit: Cable Kinking
- Oculus Forum – Oculus Rift Cables no longer available.
With all these links The Oculus Rift leaves a legacy of uselessness, though corporate greed. Facebook who owns Oculus in various ways purposely cut corners to make it sellable to the market. Could have released add-ons and upgrades in various areas to make the Rift a lengthier legacy device by giving Oculus Rift a proper braided cable. People had to also purchase tubes to contain the wire within to prevent it from tangling…… $500 for a headset and you can’t even god damn braid it forcing people to tube it…… Common!
Braided Cables:
I’ve tried telling Oculus via Oculus support & Twitter to invest in braided cables. Why? Because the Playstation 3’s controller charging cable NEVER tangled on me. Use that! Use nylon braided (or whatever material) to braid your cable so it would prevent tangling. No matter what abuse it gained it refused to take any of it. Here are two examples to show replacement braided cables as examples.
Oculus, watch and learn.
Honestly, what is wrong with Oculus. All you’re doing is making me want to side with Valve Index, or even HTC Vive. Yes, you’re now $500 CAD richer, and more so from other folks, you’re however losing out on “good will”, such which would allow you to keep the VR market afloat.
With all the nonsense I had to go through I believe it’s time to further upgrade my VR experience by simply venturing into the realm of Valve Index. All the Oculus errors I’ve experienced feel artificial and forced to the point it most likely is a way to force consumers to consume the new Rift S, and even the Oculus Quest. If anything, it’s also making Oculus look tardy in a negative light.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a blast together. The headset is awesome, it’s however Oculus treating VR very weirdly. Reminds me of how Konami JP screwed with Busou Shinki & all their other properties to focus mainly on gambling. Kotobukiya had to partner up with Busou Shinki through Konami again in a weird way. All Oculus has to do is give the Oculus Rift a proper braided VR cable & a functioning Oculus application and you’re set. Instead, the Rift is being discontinued (thrown out) for another gadget (Rift S & Quest) where we’ll see new generations of issues. Upgrades are fine, though weird planning is being done.
I’m just simply highly frustrated wanting things to work. When you pay over $500-600 Canadian you expect it to work. I’m not rich, I can’t keep buying new ones. It needs to last as long as it can……. The more expensive something is the longer it should honestly last.
Looking into ‘Valve Index’ (Canada):
I’m honestly looking into upgrading into the Valve Index realm with all the artificial errors I’ve been having with Oculus application and the cable. I’ve been hearing “mostly” good things about the Valve Index, though it obviously experiences VR growing pains itself within its own realm of issues. I’ve overheard various headsets had to be sent in for repairs, though mostly comes out as a working and functioning headset.
Note: For the games below I wish they had a proper screen capture in VR the way VRchat & V-Racer Hoverbikes does it. More game developers need to warm up to the screenshot side to allow for more moments to be shared. Can’t hype a game up if there are no images to share.
Arizona Sunshine:
Even though this game is seen as an ‘over-hyped’ and ‘overplayed’ game, it has a reason to be. The multiplayer is what makes it fun, and it’s a reason I would keep going back into having fun with this game. It’s honestly fun grabbing ammo to headshot zombies as they crawl towards you, or even run. Every single kill is satisfying. Just pose, shoot, and dead. Feels good 🙂
I can run it smoothly in singleplayer, though multiplayer is where I gain issues. It’s satisfying when it works, though frustrating when it crashes midway into a multiplayer session unable to sync back in. Drop-in and play should be a genuine thing. I lagged so much I have to wait for a proper VR-ready computer when it comes to multiplayer. I had to also hide away in elevators, or ‘safe’ zones. There was also heavy cases of desync.
Major flaw: It doesn’t have a ‘screenshot’ feature the way VRchat does. It honestly needs one! I want to hype this game up! 🙂
Furious Seas:
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=5223
A Canadian indie company located in Toronto is handling this game. Furious Seas is a game about controlling a pirate ship while progressing through the story shooting other ships. You have to aim your targeting arc on both sides to aim at ships on either side making sure you don’t miss. Your crew reloads (cool down) the ammunition to time your shots, plot & plan while trying to survive as long as you can. Your goal is obviously to sink other ships while they come right at you. The more it updated the beefier it got, the more I lagged. Playing mutliplayer was quite a struggle, though optimization may also have a thing in this.
There’s story mode, arcade, and multiplayer. All good fun. I can’t wait to see this game with far more features, more things to do, and more reasons to have fun. It’s great as it is, and I love it, yet needs more. 🙂
Flaws: No screenshot VR function. This game is honestly good, thus why I’m wanting to boast & share about it.
Beat Saber:
Since it came out on Steam I had fun playing it on and on-and-off manner. I’ve tracked it before it released, when it released, and still do follow loving it. I highly love this game, even though I don’t show it. Every time I played it I had fun, though it takes quite a lot out of you. Because of how much I work I usually can’t play VR, though when I can I had a blast with Beat Saber. I’m not the best, though I’m not the worst either. Just in the middle. I used to be able to play Beat Saber smoothly until more and more elements were added into the game. I can do certain songs, just not others. I even struggled on Angel Voices, something I’m simply proud of having completed for how complex it is for me. If it wasn’t for the constant stuttering I would have also out-scored my friend Hunt on the leader board (shown below).
For a simple game like this it’s still somehow laggy and choppy. Not even for me, others also. People do find it occasionally laggy, thus costing you precious points. To play this game you apparently need to be “at your best” to even have fun. The fun part of this game is using it to exercise, something people do. You work out so much you can actually can genuinely fit by.
Flaw: No screenshot mode to share things properly. Common! Also, would be nice for multiplayer if we had a feature where one player could hold onto blue and another for red. Worked well in VRchat 🙂
Scanner Sombre:
Having seen JackSepticEye play it I had to give it a whirl myself. I may not have completed it, I however made it up to the part with a scary entity in a lake. I was unable to proceed further because of how spooky it was, thus the anxiety. I had my fair share of fun playing the game enjoying the unique way you see the scenery.
The Steam Forum also encouraged people to play VR over desktop mode because of how scenic and atmospheric it is in VR. Even though it’s insanely rough around the edges it’s still a very fun game to experience in VR.
Flaw: No OVRDrop support, no Screenshot function. It’s a mess, though a nice diamond in the rough. You must play this in VR.
Blade & Sorcery:
For a game inspired by Skyrim it sure came a long way. You realistically swing your weapons around, even using the Force from Star Wars to both obtain items and shove it back at the enemy. It’s fairly realistic, though not perfect. My session with Blade & Sorcery was enjoyable, thus I praise it so much to be in this article. It is deep with Skyrim influences that you can feel it heavily within the gameplay’s enemy types, the way it plays, and similar.
It’s Skyrim Arcade, though a realistic arcade, if that makes sense. You can customize your character, choose whatever weapon to play as, and even drink potions in a VR realistic manner of tipping it over your face. This game gains my praise.
Flaws: No Screenshot function to boast about.
SuperHot VR:
SuperHot VR shows you what game developers can do when they’re not fearful and in the middle of excuse making. Super Hot VR shows you what VR games can do when they put their mind into things by making you genuinely gesture to defeat enemies. You’ll be finding yourself punching your wall, monitors, and etc pulling off various moves to beat a grouping of challenges to progress to the next. The more you move the more time progresses; When you stop then time stops.
The thrill and fun of this game is by gesturing so wildly to the point you may hit something. You have to move almost every part of your body while trying to grab onto weapons to shoot things. It’s a nice 10/10 game in a way showing what VR is capable of.
Flaw: No Screenshot function; No Sequel. Needs a sequel with same, or more elements!
V-Racer Hoverbike:
Out of curiousity I decided to give this game a whirl after some Steam forum troll noted this game’s presence. Checked it out, bought it, and had my fair share of fun with it until my computer whined about various things. It handled it fairly well, though costed me precious moments to beat people on the leaderboards. It’s a genuinely fun game, though one you have to be cautious about because you can genuinely get motion sickness fairly easy making you hop off VR, or even force you into VRchat. The game is awesome, it’s nicely polished and implemented that it’s genuinely fun. The developer listens, thus I praise them for all the fun stuff in the game.
Game happily supports VR camera screenshot functions. Yay!~ This game gets my praise. 8/10 🙂
Flaw: Easy to get motion sickness.
Rec Room:
I’ve tried Rec Room a few times because of how much I’ve seen people play it from various places. I’ve seen various VRchat people playing it seeing it as a more kid-friendly take on VRchat, yet able to do similar things. You can world build, customize your character, earn points, take pictures, visit places. It works similar to VRchat, yet different at the same time. Everything is more arcadey. I tried to play it as much as possible, and you can do quite a lot there. Lot of improvising, drawing, throwing things. There’s something if you know where to look for it. Even fighting zombies. I love the high-fiving, the slaps. It has its fun charming moments. It does fairly well with VR gestures.
Kids are kids. They shall say kids things while provoking each other, being crude, yet its still a fun experience regardless in certain areas. Taking pictures is unique with how it goes on a site to then be allowed to speak in and outside of the game at the same time. It’s quite detailed and fluid.
Flaws: A tiny bit too clunky in areas while also being a bit more sensitive on motion sickness. Movement is a bit touchy. Rec Room allows you to take pictures, it’s just a bit difficult.
TableTop Simulator:
It’s honestly amazing how engaging Tabletop Simulator is when you find the right games. I made the mistake of streaming it making things load in slowly, though we still had our fun in both desktop and VR mode. Had our fun with various games. It works well to the point you can draw, pick things, and etc. The whole fun is being able to interact, and that you can do. You can see where people are hanging out with.
Flaw: A tiny bit too ‘bland’ on VR side and no screenshot VR function.
UNO!~ #Maiyamoth
Spice & Wolf VR:
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Being an anime fan, and a Spice & Wolf VR I had to crowd fund the game. I gained a nice package of the game, a book, poster, and the game itself. Awesome stuff. Having played the game I had genuine moments of amusement just seeing Holo being her silly goofy self. Too prideful while being a silly. I loved the little wave at the end, the interactive mode, though wish there was a bit more to the game. It’s a nice little gem.
What makes me happy about the developer was how he noted to make the VR market grow is to focus on making VR games to populate it. If you don’t contribute then you won’t see the VR market. Smart guy! He gains my praise. If you don’t add water into a cup then people won’t drink from it. Too many scared developers.
Flaw: Too short & No screenshot function. Wish we could have moved around and teased her more with proper locomotion.
Honourable Mentions:
It’s honestly surprising how many VR games are out there, especially ones I can’t take images from properly. They honestly need their screenshot VR capture function. Also, this isn’t like 2017 where there were only a handful of games, there’s far more now! Yay!~
- DeiSim
- Zero Caliber VR
- Welcome Above
- Wave
- VirtualCast
- Ultrawings
- Tales of Glory
- Subnautica VR (even if its clunky)
- Rolling Line
- Pavlov VR
- OldMaidGirl
- cyubeVR
- Audica
- Koikatu VR
- Honey Select VR
- Viva Project (Shinobu VR)
- M.A.D.N.U.G VR (Gundam VR fan game)
Many cool games to note. I also have yet to try ‘Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof’, and even ‘LADS’ (Little Awesome Dudes VR) whenever I can play VR again. Whenever my Oculus application can stop tantruming I’ll be able to play these games more often. I mostly hang out in VRchat, I however do play whatever I can manage, such as those in my list. If its VR, I have mostly likely heard of it, though things do tend to get past my radar.
I was told VR was going to die because of how ‘gimmicky’ it was. People told me it would die like how 3D TVs would die. Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about, nor do you own a VR headset. I keep seeing negative folks kept reading dooms day articles trying to share how fragile it was, something it wasn’t. Go play VR and you’ll see what it actually is. It’s still alive, it’s still getting games, and it has its own section on Steam. I keep seeing more devices & more VR games coming out making it more and more awesome as each year passes. Come talk to me when you know what you’re talking about. Don’t get all arrogant on me, just talk to me human on human levels. No need to point up or down, talk to my face :).
Fearful Developers:
(Subnautica: Zero Dawn developer; Other developers are needlessly fearful.)
It’s honestly disappointed when you see developers giving into their fears. It’s similar to seeing people being afraid to fly even though it’s safe to fly. If you’re unaware of how to do VR then use that Steam Developer chatroom I heard so much about. Ask around, use Twitter, use your connections to help supply that demand of doing VR for your games. There have been people asking for VR so you’ll have to try your best into realizing that demand.
I admit, it’s not easy doing the coding and programming, though at least “trying” would satisfy people. It satisfied people for Subnautica in that weird manner. If people are happy, they’re happy. Same with Scanner Sombre, even if it was wonky and a bit tacked on. Can’t say much about No Man’s Sky though, that needs testing on my end.
Just do what the Spice and Wolf VR developer had noted by simply adding something over nothing. To grow the VR market you have to add water into the cup allowing people to drink from it. If you don’t add content then people can’t consume. At least “try” to see if its possible because even something is better than nothing.
To Conclude:
Honestly, even with all the Oculus Rift issues I’ve been having I can clearly say that VR is here to stay, VR is the future, and that once you go VR it’s honestly hard to go back. You simply want more and more to do in VR, and then something shall even take over VR. I love my experience, I love the experiences I’ve seen in VR, and how it changes everything. Oculus Rift allowed me to see things which could not have otherwise experienced, thus needing to give respect where its due. The way it feels how you’re in “there” is what makes it special. Seeing things far more clearly, more closely. The way you interact with things in a more human level is something I find appealing because you can pose however you desire while also grasping on to things. Its being able to interact in a grasping manner which also adds to things. Sights, sounds, touch…, Those are the elements missing in desktop mode.
I feel VR is in good health, that it’s fine, and it’s constantly being added onto with more and more games. There’s always something to do just as long as you know where to look and know who to hang out with. There’s always something for everybody. Developers also need to stop being a bunch of chicken shits when it comes to VR games.
On the other hand I also have Oculus preventing me in using my Rift because of the weird ‘No HDMI connection’, even though it’s proven time and again that it clearly works. Then there’s the lazy attempt at the cable without giving people the option to upgrade to a braided cable. I’ve been considering the Oculus Rift S, though I’ve also been considering the Valve Index, IF it was available in Canada.
I’m honestly happy with VR wanting to stay in the VR realm. If you’re showing interest in VR then try out some demo showcases where available. Do your research before purchasing it as to not whine on forums it’s not what you thought it was. It’s $500+ Canadian, do your research. Try with Quest or PSVR, though if Rift S is up your road, try that. Do what you can. I’m proud to be a part of VR to the point I want people to see the fun experiences I’ve experienced. Even 2017 & 2018 contained precious moments, something people missed out on for being fearful. I wish people weren’t so afraid of everything because they’re constantly missing out on everything, things I had to note through images and sometimes videos.
It’s like that whole nostalgic feeling of being in a 1990’s video game arcade. Those were fun times. They’re still around, just a bit rarer. As for VR though, unlike VR & 3D TVs, it’s here to stay. It’s simply going to evolve.
Hope you enjoyed what you’ve read, the images you’ve seen. Hope to see you guys in VR whenever things work properly 🙂