Google Earth VR

We don't just fly

Moderators: Board of Directors, Command

User avatar
Donkey
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Adjutant
Staff
Posts: 2829
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:21 am
Location: Luxembourg

Google Earth VR

Post by Donkey » Wed Jan 11, 2017 2:29 pm

Ok, so it's not gaming per se, but if you have a Vive check out Google Earth VR. It's free, it's awesome. Particularly in those areas where the buildings are modelled (which is more places than you would necessarily expect)
Image

Broadsword
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Broadsword » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:15 pm

Can confirm - Google Earth VR is amaaazing! It's also quite clearly witchcraft of some sort, give the amount of detail available. Possibly the most VR fun I've had so far, which seems a bit weird...
Image
I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

User avatar
Donkey
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Adjutant
Staff
Posts: 2829
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:21 am
Location: Luxembourg

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Donkey » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:17 pm

Ahem... SexLikeReal. Ahem.

I take it you've joined the VR revolution? Tried BoX yet? It's stunning.
Image

Thaine
Posts: 5114
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:09 pm
Location: Tromsø, Norway

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Thaine » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:26 pm

I had the pleasure to try VR at Donkez's place. Truly amazing.
Fractal Design Define R6 / Gigabyte Z390 AORUS MASTER / Intel i9-9900K / 32 GB RAM / NVIDIA GeForce GTX2080Ti / WD Black SN750 / Corsair Hydro H100i RGB Platinum / Corsair RM850x / WINDOWS 10 / LG 42LE5300 / TrackIR / HP Reverb G2 / Saitek AV8R-MK3 / Saitek ProFlight Throttle Quadrant / Saitek ProFlight Rudder Paddels / Saitek ProFlight Cessna Trim Wheel
Image

Broadsword
Posts: 3124
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:54 pm
Location: Cheshire, UK

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Broadsword » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:35 am

Donkez wrote:I take it you've joined the VR revolution?
Yup, I decided to get the Rift since it appears to be the current best choice for Elite:Dangerous. Have to say I'm not disappointed - the sense of scale I suddenly get is incredible and certainly makes up for the lowered res. Flying through asteroid belts is awe-inspiring. Only problem is that it makes navigating the starmap a pain in the arse, but there are apparently good ways around that which I'm experimenting with :D
Image
I must go up to the skies again, to the peace of silent flight, To the gull’s way, and the hawk’s way, and the free wings’ delight;
And all I ask is a friendly joke with a laughing fellow rover, And a large beer, and a deep sleep, when the long flight’s over.

User avatar
Donkey
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Adjutant
Staff
Posts: 2829
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:21 am
Location: Luxembourg

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Donkey » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:51 am

ED is indeed amaaaaazing in VR. Yes the star map is slightly awkward when moving from the 2D world, but you can map most of the functions to the hotas easily enough. The only real pain for me on the star map nowadays is when I need to type in a name.
Image

Thaine
Posts: 5114
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:09 pm
Location: Tromsø, Norway

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Thaine » Tue Sep 19, 2017 9:29 am

Broadsword wrote:the sense of scale I suddenly get is incredible and certainly makes up for the lowered res.
I had the same experience when flying BoX. In all other simulator it seems like the fighter cockpits are huge and with a lot of space. That was the first time that I really had a good feel of how cramped the 109 is. I was also curious to get an impression of what a gun-sight looks like. On the screen it's just flat, sure the reticule moves accordingly, but it was nice to experience the blurred double vision of the actual physical gun-sight with the reticule hovering somewhere behind.
Fractal Design Define R6 / Gigabyte Z390 AORUS MASTER / Intel i9-9900K / 32 GB RAM / NVIDIA GeForce GTX2080Ti / WD Black SN750 / Corsair Hydro H100i RGB Platinum / Corsair RM850x / WINDOWS 10 / LG 42LE5300 / TrackIR / HP Reverb G2 / Saitek AV8R-MK3 / Saitek ProFlight Throttle Quadrant / Saitek ProFlight Rudder Paddels / Saitek ProFlight Cessna Trim Wheel
Image

Jailor
Posts: 190
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:10 pm
Location: Co Durham

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Jailor » Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:34 am

Still thinking about the jump and getting Oculus. How are you guys finding reading the aircraft dials, Some say it is too hard to read others say no problems.
Image

User avatar
Donkey
Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Adjutant
Staff
Posts: 2829
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:21 am
Location: Luxembourg

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Donkey » Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:50 am

To be fair you need to "lean-in" to fully read them, but you also get quite adept at working out what the fuzzy numbers that the dials are pointing at actually are. With deals on the OR regularly coming up at £399 for the headset *and* controllers (Vive is more expensive, but could well have some holiday season deals coming up) i'd say that at that price it's pretty much too good to pass up. The experience between Vive and OR, now that the OR controllers are out, is said to be pretty much the same - with an added bonus that the OR is lighter (not that the Vive is heavy) so arguably more comfortable for extended play sessions. Plus you get built-in headphones with it. Those saying that they will wait for gen 2 are in for a long wait in my opinion, as the headsets and GPU releases are out of synch. My gtx 1080 (not TI) can pretty much handle my Vive no problem in ED and BoX - but still struggles with DCS. If we end up with 4k per eye in gen 2 (and that is a big if, no ones is talking about confirmed future specs yet) then you are looking at another 1-2 years for the GPUs to catch up again. And even then you will be paying for the flagship releases. So in my opinion the choice becomes 400 quid today (or maybe £900 if you need a new GPU) for current gen VR, or 1600 quid plus either way in 2-3 years time (I'm assuming 800 for the headset and 800 for a 1180ti or whatever will be needed to drive it.) Yes, we may get a gen 2 headset next year - but I strongly doubt a 1080 or even a 1080ti would be capable of rendering (say) 4k to each eye, so it would be a frustrating experience. It all depends on how quickly you want to step into the game!
Image

Bunny
Posts: 5431
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:56 pm

Re: Google Earth VR

Post by Bunny » Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:25 pm

must...wait...for...the...next...gen...

“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes I-16s.” - Douglas Adams


Image

Post Reply