Google Earth VR(vr.google.com)
vr.google.com
Google Earth VR
https://vr.google.com/earth
158 comments
What else is on the list of things you show people who are new to VR?
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) 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.
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) 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.
Something that may also have appeal to the HN crowd - Destinations (on steam) has many great places to visit, but the one that got me was mars.
It's photogrammetry from the curiosity rover's cameras, with a minimal amount of artistic blank filling, and a good explanation as to how it was done, etc.
Me, I sat there on a rocky outcrop listening to the thin wind whisper by, grimacing up at the central peak of the crater in which the scene is set, wondering if one day I'll see these photons first-hand. I may have shed a tear or two.
It's photogrammetry from the curiosity rover's cameras, with a minimal amount of artistic blank filling, and a good explanation as to how it was done, etc.
Me, I sat there on a rocky outcrop listening to the thin wind whisper by, grimacing up at the central peak of the crater in which the scene is set, wondering if one day I'll see these photons first-hand. I may have shed a tear or two.
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.
Good to know. Hasn’t been a problem for the people who tried it at my place yet, but I’ll keep it in mind.
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?
Has there been much others solving for this type of motion sickness in VR where it isn't just latency/performance related?
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.
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.
Marijuana is good for both nausea and the sense of wonder.
I've noticed the list of go-to demos hasn't changed much in the past half year. As a Vive owner I'm kind of feeling let down by the lack of compelling new content.
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This list is very similar to mine, but I would add Richie's Plank Experience as a great thing to show a first timer.
No one has yet mentioned Raw Data. Go into the settings, under advanced control settings, and switch the control style to "hold" (which it points out will be more difficult to play using... that isn't the point); I seriously started to feel like I had hands in the world: the user interaction of this game sets a new bar. (I will also mention Fruit Ninja, as many people have played the game on their phone, so getting to play it in VR is more immediately engaging.)
Fruit Ninja is a blast. Even my father (non-gamer) had a blast with it and picked it up right away.
I've demoed to dozens of people.
1. Job Simulator
2. Tilt Brush
3. Space Pirate Trainer
4. Accounting
5. https://aframe.io/a-painter/ (for WebVR)
1. Job Simulator
2. Tilt Brush
3. Space Pirate Trainer
4. Accounting
5. https://aframe.io/a-painter/ (for WebVR)
There is an alarming number of titles like "Job Simulator" and "Accounting" and "Cubicle" on this page, for a medium that's supposed to be an exciting new frontier.. (´・ω・`)
Accounting has nothing to do with the name. Its from the creators of Rick and Morty and is a short, bizarre, hilarious experience. Highly recommended. Job Simulator is exactly what it sounds like --but it's surprisingly fun to play for 5 minutes (not much beyond that though).
Not OP, but I typically show people the Blu, Tilt Brush, Space Pirate Trainer, Audio Shield, and if they are up for horror, the Brookfield Experiment. I think Accounting and Gnomes and Goblins are also great little short experiences.
My experience with the Vive:
I would recommend Vanishing Realms, specially when you already have a sword and a bow. It's so fun to fight with the skulls.
People seem to enjoy Tilt Brush, I find it nice but boring.
Brookhaven Experiment is a nice 1 time game to get people excited and scared.
Chair in the room is creepy, slow transitions but has a really well executed ambient.
People tend to like Job Simulator, it's lite and funny.
There are a couple of Vive demos that are also entertaining. In general people seem to like to grab things, throw, move around, feel large or small environments.
On the PSVR:
Battle Zone is my favorite at the moment
Drive Club is very good too but it makes me a little bit nauseous, and I'm not usually a person who gets nausea often.
I would recommend Vanishing Realms, specially when you already have a sword and a bow. It's so fun to fight with the skulls.
People seem to enjoy Tilt Brush, I find it nice but boring.
Brookhaven Experiment is a nice 1 time game to get people excited and scared.
Chair in the room is creepy, slow transitions but has a really well executed ambient.
People tend to like Job Simulator, it's lite and funny.
There are a couple of Vive demos that are also entertaining. In general people seem to like to grab things, throw, move around, feel large or small environments.
On the PSVR:
Battle Zone is my favorite at the moment
Drive Club is very good too but it makes me a little bit nauseous, and I'm not usually a person who gets nausea often.
For me, the thing I start people off in is Job Simulator. Everyone understands how everything should work, so it's very natural.
If they like action, then I typically have them try Space Pirate Trainer. Really fun, and you can play it pretty readily because everyone understands shooting robots.
If they like action, then I typically have them try Space Pirate Trainer. Really fun, and you can play it pretty readily because everyone understands shooting robots.
For the older crowd, I've started them off with more "experiential" games. theBlu and The Impossible Travel Agency have been great for this. Once they're ready for more interaction, I move to Waltz of the Wizard, Kismet, and The Lab's Secret Shop.
The globe in Realities is also nice just to interact with.
Plus you can experience an Alcatraz prison cell, while still on your own carpet.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/452710/
Unseen Diplomacy was one of my most fun experiences so far.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/429830
This 360 video of a ULA rocket launch is really good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03hAiKZDRAk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03hAiKZDRAk
Is it only available on HTC Vive? Can Google Cardboard users experience it?
Yeah, my first though as well, I don't understand this. Earth is a google Product, I think they could be a bit more clear on the page that it only works with completely unrelated Vive. I know 1 person with a Vive while many people have (tried) cardboard.
It's only on steam so I doubt it. It also relies very heavily on the vive controllers.
Honestly, I'm visiting Mecca tonight. And then Tehran. And then North Korea.
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.
Area 51, White House grounds, Russian military bases, Syria. I know the experience will vary, but think big.
You can go to Tehran & North Korea, just need to apply for a visa.
> "You can go to Tehran & North Korea"
Leaving, on the other hand...
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...
Leaving, on the other hand...
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings...
just don't have US/Israel passport or visa stamp from there, and Iran will be one of best experiences in your life. people are amazing, culture is just WOW, whole place feels ancient even to europeans (and it is...). it is properly exotic in some parts in a way that will soon be only a thing of the past for most 'exotic' places on the earth, that look more and more like a standard copy&paste westernized locations.
most people speak OK english, very welcoming and friendly. don't trust some crap propaganda.
most people speak OK english, very welcoming and friendly. don't trust some crap propaganda.
I very much doubt these places will allow virtual visitors if they forbid real ones. That is, I doubt Google will be allowed to drive through North Korea with their cars. :)
would satellite imagery be sufficient?
I would guess that it will still work but at a (noticeably?) lower quality
I'm mostly waiting for VR "tours" of completely fictional places, from popular fantasy/sci-fi settings, stories and art:
https://medium.com/@Razengan/virtual-reality-fantasy-tourism...
https://medium.com/@Razengan/virtual-reality-fantasy-tourism...
I thought Mecca was like, the opposite of a forbidden place.
It's forbidden to go within 15km of Mecca if you're not Muslim.
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."
Mecca, Saudi Arabia is slightly different, of course.
Having seen plenty of high quality aviation maps in my day, which are quite incredible in the grand scheme of things, I've got some disappointing news about Area 51...
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.
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
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
Oh man, you just put that near the top of my VR remake list along with:
- Sim Ant (or any Will Wright game for that matter)
- Oregon Trail
- Civ
- Baldur's Gate
- Battle Chess
- Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
- A VR version of Where's Waldo
- Sim Ant (or any Will Wright game for that matter)
- Oregon Trail
- Civ
- Baldur's Gate
- Battle Chess
- Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
- A VR version of Where's Waldo
Is that game ever going to get a remake?
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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
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
Does Google Earth have some sort of real-time weather capability? That would really help us get the last mile.
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.
They had to do a crazy amount of optimization just to the Earth engine to make it work in 90fps VR.
Here's a talk one of the devs gave at SIGGRAPH a few months ago about how they made it work: https://vimeo.com/177549565
Here's a talk one of the devs gave at SIGGRAPH a few months ago about how they made it work: https://vimeo.com/177549565
Weird because once you get it running via the hack it runs perfectly fine. I'm running it on a DK2 and the only issue is controller emulation.
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.
Most OpenVR/SteamVR titles more or less "just work" with Rift + Touch. Obviously the different controllers mean input mappings might be weird or lacking an equivalent and the in-game representation of the controller might be wrong, but the basics work as well as you could reasonably expect.
Same with Daydream - odd that they didn't keep earth for the release.
I've been using DK2 + Leap Motion to play some of the simpler Vive only titles. I'll try it and report back.
Please do! I'd like to avoid cluttering my desk with too many more gadgets.
It works on my DK2 when I used this workaround. 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.
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.
I agree! I don't understand these two separate arms of Google VR. Couldn't they do the processing power on the server side if you have a fiber connection?
VR needs 90fps with only a few milliseconds of latency between moving your head and seeing the movement in your headset. Both can't be achieved by streaming from a remote server…
Yet... And once you can leverage the power of the cloud for rendering that makes VR a much more portable proposition.
This isn't really a "yet" case -- it's just physics. Even if you assume that this is all light speed and that congestion, routing latency, etc aren't a factor -- it's still impossible. You need to send your input (sensory and otherwise) to a server, then get a response, 90 times a second. That's 11ms round trip for the entire transaction. Light can only travel 2050mi in that time, meaning a maximum distance of 1025mi each way. And that's the easy part of this -- not to speak of the massive latency that video compression would add (at least 50ms), the transfer time of the data (if you go with a conservative 12Mbps bitrate and a perfect 50Mbit connection, that's another ~3ms there), etc.
This would be possible if everyone had a VR render cluster nearby (<100mi) and no network congestion ever happened. Otherwise, not a chance.
This would be possible if everyone had a VR render cluster nearby (<100mi) and no network congestion ever happened. Otherwise, not a chance.
Video compression shouldn't introduce that kind of latency (I get <10ms with Steam in-home streaming), but other than that you're correct, of course.
90fps gives you 11ms per frame. I have a 20 ms ping to the closest internet servers to me.
The roomscale VR that let's you walk around in cities as a giant is really the killer feature of this tech demo.
I'm confused about this as well - this could be a great application for "casual" vr like daydream.
As a title, sure, but that's about it. As a product, it would be a fundamentally different thing. That's inevitable when one system offers full position tracking and 300 watts of power while the other tracks rotational motion only and runs on 3 watts.
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.
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.
>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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You should check out WebVR (https://mozvr.com) with frameworks such as https://aframe.io/, a VR web framework aiming to allowing to work across all platforms (mobile, desktop, Vive, Rift, etc.). The business model there is as you like, you can publish on your own without anyone taking cuts.
SteamVr / OpenVr is a common VR framework and Google even decided to use it, but they just block all headsets but the vive...
I hope one day they offer an API for it so it can be used as part of a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator.
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.
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.
I had the same thought. VR is the perfect place for such a thing. With the monster scale, the whole city can fit within the confines of a typical VR setup, and you get to destroy things without consequence. I want to take a stab at it, if and when I get the hardware necessary.
This is actually in development, it's called Maximum Override - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U
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
Also this looks fun - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nKd6y-8a8Y
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.
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.
It looks like 3D models.
You can see the models through google maps on the normal web interface. If you go to a city, zoom in so your screen is a few blocks across and select "3D" view from the lower right corner. It should load 3D models of the buildings. Then if you hold Control which clicking and dragging, you should be able to freely rotate your view around the map's center point and see the buildings from any angle.
EDIT: and I should mention, it works all over the place, not just cities, i.e.: https://www.google.ca/maps/@41.0775591,-71.9351097,67a,20y,2...
You can see the models through google maps on the normal web interface. If you go to a city, zoom in so your screen is a few blocks across and select "3D" view from the lower right corner. It should load 3D models of the buildings. Then if you hold Control which clicking and dragging, you should be able to freely rotate your view around the map's center point and see the buildings from any angle.
EDIT: and I should mention, it works all over the place, not just cities, i.e.: https://www.google.ca/maps/@41.0775591,-71.9351097,67a,20y,2...
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...
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...
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!
From what I saw in demo, it looks like they are generating simple 3D models from the photos. Which is pretty damn cool!
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...
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...
It's 3D model, streaming download as you move around.
> 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?
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?
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)
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
Golden Gate Bridge
The Washington Monument
Disney World
Yosemite
Beijing
The Grand Canyon
Highly recommend Yosemite. When you go, don't miss the vernal/Nevada falls hike!
It looks very nausea inducing, even the video gave me a little bit of an issue. Did you experience any of that?
I just spent 20 minutes in it and the controls are well done. I had no nausea issues. I hope it is loading the models to local cache so that on repeat viewings I wont have the texture lag. Pretty impressive though.
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.
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?
Can you share any tips for using a VR headset without puking?
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.
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.
By default it has some comfort options enabled. Basically it blanks out a good portion of your peripheral vision which keeps you from getting sick. Honestly it's one of the best examples of non-nausea inducing locomotion yet.
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.
Imagine being able to travel back to your hometown or visit places you never got to on your bucket list.
Priceless.
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.
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.
Seeing the Sahara on a screen, and climbing a sand dune, are two very different experiences.
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.
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.
They are, and I've done both. But I think two things will limit the majority of people doing the latter: it's expensive, and some experiences are getting very crowded and even limited by ticket.
Things like The Wave, Half Dome, etc are already on permit/lottery systems. Other places are so crowded that it seriously impacts the experience (parts of the Louvre, the Vatican).
Visiting the Sahara from Morocco requires flights, mixture of land travel including hiring a car or driver, procuring camels and so on. Fine for anyone remotely adventurous, but daunting and expensive for others.
Things like The Wave, Half Dome, etc are already on permit/lottery systems. Other places are so crowded that it seriously impacts the experience (parts of the Louvre, the Vatican).
Visiting the Sahara from Morocco requires flights, mixture of land travel including hiring a car or driver, procuring camels and so on. Fine for anyone remotely adventurous, but daunting and expensive for others.
> Other places are so crowded that it seriously impacts the experience (parts of the Louvre, the Vatican).
I will never, ever go back to Palais Versailles. The gardens, maybe. Inside? Hell no. It was a really long wait to eventually be shoved through a cattle-chute of an experience for a couple hours, barely able to see anything, unable to take enough time to really look around due to the motion of the crowd, some other tourists constantly shoving me, and wishing more than anything that it was over. You'd have to pay me a fair amount of money to do it again.
A VR tour of it might be cool, though.
I will never, ever go back to Palais Versailles. The gardens, maybe. Inside? Hell no. It was a really long wait to eventually be shoved through a cattle-chute of an experience for a couple hours, barely able to see anything, unable to take enough time to really look around due to the motion of the crowd, some other tourists constantly shoving me, and wishing more than anything that it was over. You'd have to pay me a fair amount of money to do it again.
A VR tour of it might be cool, though.
Exactly. Had a similar experience in the Vatican. Coupled with restrictions on photography and the like. And it won't improve as more and more people are in a financial position to travel (Chinese middle class, as one example).
I think initially people will decry virtual tourism as inferior but eventually cost and convenience will make it very popular. And then we'll see a seriously blurred line between true tourism (Versailles, for example) and enhanced (Westworld, shot around Moab in Utah) or completely invented worlds (Avatar). And another blurred line between those sorts of traditional experiences and the same being gamified at varying levels.
I think initially people will decry virtual tourism as inferior but eventually cost and convenience will make it very popular. And then we'll see a seriously blurred line between true tourism (Versailles, for example) and enhanced (Westworld, shot around Moab in Utah) or completely invented worlds (Avatar). And another blurred line between those sorts of traditional experiences and the same being gamified at varying levels.
That's very true. It's a matter of personal preference, and to me the VR experience seems to be surpassing the point at which a physical journey may not be worth the hassle or the cost.
The cost is a problem. But the hassle... Well, it's not a journey to slip on a pair of goggles. The satisfaction of arriving at your destination stands in contrast to the journey.
The joy of summiting a mountain is diminished if you ride a tram to the top instead of climbing it.
The joy of summiting a mountain is diminished if you ride a tram to the top instead of climbing it.
While it's a fair prediction in the long term, I find apps like these make me want to visit the physical locations even more. Just like seeing photos or videos of a foreign city may spark your intrigue, so does Google Earth VR, at least for me.
qume(1)
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?...
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.
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 :(.
Of course. Only available on the HTC Vive.
I regret my oculus rift purchase.
I regret my oculus rift purchase.
There's already a hack for it https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/5dcgts/how_to_remov... , and it's likely to be enabled for the Rift when Touch is released.
awesome, thank you
It's built on SteamVR so it supports Oculus natively (edit: however Google has added a software check to Google Earth VR to block any other headset, which I imagine they'll remove once Oculus Touch launches). Since you don't need hand controllers for the guided tours it should still be a pretty good experience. And Oculus Touch in 3 weeks will allow for the full experience. As an early Touch owner I think a lot of Vive owners will be regretting their purchase.
I haven't tried the Vive but I recently tried the Touch the Microsoft store at Stanford mall. Annoyingly enough they had a Vive in a glass display but didn't have both available to demo simultaneously.
The experience in that wizard duel game was pretty immersive, and it was cool to kind of be able to wiggle your fingers. How would you compare the oculus experience to the Vive given that it still isn't room scale VR?
The experience in that wizard duel game was pretty immersive, and it was cool to kind of be able to wiggle your fingers. How would you compare the oculus experience to the Vive given that it still isn't room scale VR?
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.
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.
Thanks, this is slightly reassuring. I'm honest when I say, I've really worried that I made the wrong decision when I purchased the oculus. Hopefully once my Touch controllers arrive, I'll feel less so.
Any other recommendations you have for games on the Rift? I've been playing Obduction and, it's pretty cool... Definitely spent the most time on that game compared to any other.
Any other recommendations you have for games on the Rift? I've been playing Obduction and, it's pretty cool... Definitely spent the most time on that game compared to any other.
Vive takes some fiddling. Make sure the lighthouses are secure and try a usb2 port. Those fixed it for me. And camera 60->30fps or off, maybe Bluetooth auto shut off also off.
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The Rift has better apps in general than the Vive, so you're fine. This will come to Rift and others in time.
I thought Google Earth was abandoned, but seems they're still improving it.
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.
For those without controller (i.e. Using 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.
Editing the lat/lngs should enable you to visit wherever you choose.
Seems like one of those things I'll play with for about 30 minutes, think it's cool, and then never touch it again.
Really? I think this would be perfect for learning directions, particularly if you're out traveling. Seeing a quick fly-through from the hotel entrance to some place you'd wanna go to would make it easy to get a sense of where it is, I think.
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.
I use Street View a lot and I think it's one of the most amazing Google services.
Honestly what are you using it for, if you don't mind me asking?
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.
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.
To be honest that's true for about 90% of VR demos/experiences that have been released...
Try rec room if you need a workout motivator. Vive is like a gym that's fun :-)
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They need to get this working on the PSVR !
Add Pokemon VR Go and Google should assimilate half of the humanity into the Matrix.
Awesome.
I'd love to use a VR headset to explore the visualizations at http://cosmicweb.barabasilab.com, and fly around through the superstructure of the universe!
I'd love to use a VR headset to explore the visualizations at http://cosmicweb.barabasilab.com, and fly around through the superstructure of the universe!
I never knew I had a desire to act out a Godzilla fantasy until now.
I've just been trying this out. It's absolutely amazing. Awesome in the truest sense of the word.
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Good tool to use before visiting a place for holidays!
Please bring this to PS4 VR !
splooge
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 :).