Well there is one user here in this very thread that testified: Me, personally, I would love to play some space-sim or 6DOF game in VR! :D
There are people for whom playing a 6DOF game on a flatscreen is nauseating, but I would just love to do some rolls and fly upside down. =]

Have never played any VR game, but did try on some VR glasses and looked through a roller-coaster demo. Was actually more impressive than I had imagined.

As for games - yeah, it depends on the game... there are some (like the aforementioned Halflife: Alyx) who work very well in VR, because they were specifically built for VR. But by far and large VR-games are a niche. Smaller than hidden-object games and RTS combined I'd wager.

And again - regarding space - it depands on the game how much room you need. For driving, flying games, you simply need a chair. For FPS you need a large empty room that allows you to mimic covering, ducking, reloading weapons etc.

I said it at the start of the post just before yours, in my response to Randalator. I was probably drafting that reply at the same time you made your first post.

Anyway, it seems we agree on that point? You really want to bite my head off over a point where I agree with you?

On the point about eye strain: yes, I agree the formal medical advice is not yet well established. However, I think there is a big difference between the examples you give and VR, where the screens positioned a couple of centimeters away from your eyes.

My eyes start to feel a bit strained after using the 3D effect on my 3DS for an hour. I can only imagine that would be somewhat amplified by a VR headset. Plus, with that you have the weight of it as well, which is likely to cause strain on the neck muscles with extended use.

No, I will not, It was just funny, as it was two different conversations Since you agreed with the other person (which I did not even notice...) then replying to mine is actually quite moot. At least just inidcate that it was in another post with another perons made after the post I made... i am old, I am easily confused...
With this I as I do with all things, suspend my belife until there are evidence. It may be harmful, it may not be harmful. I am not going to say anythiing until we know. BUt I do note that his is common argument against each new for of media, that was later proven to be false. So until we have the medical evidence, I stay put.

(edit - personal experience means diddlysquat, but I have been using VR for a couple of years now, some days extensivly, and I have not had any problems with my eyes so far. (apart from my nearsightedness, but I had that before I had VR) )

It’s a failure.

Like it was a failure 10 years ago.

They will try again in 10 years, who knows, maybe it will take off this time?

Well, the OP is asking "how do you feel about VR" and I'm giving my personal impressions of it, based on what I have seen/heard. Your personal impression of it may differ.

I'm not sure I agree with your apparent position that it's fine to plough ahead with using a new technology, until there is solid evidence that it is harmful. Imo, a new, unproven technology warrants some level of caution. The onus should be on the tech developers to prove it is safe, not on consumers to prove it isn't. I would thus prefer to hold off on joining the VR bandwagon, until it has been shown to be safe, rather than take an unknown risk with my vision.

I also disagree about personal experience meaning 'diddlysquat'. As I said, I have a 3DS and have had some mild eye-strain and slight headaches from using that for an hour or two, which is intended to give a more mild 3D effect than a VR headset. I'm open to trying VR and it's possible the 3D technology has been improved since the 3DS came out. But, my prior experience gives me reason to be skeptical that there won't be any discomfort after using a device that is placing two screens about an inch away from my eyes.

This is GOG. You aren't allowed to have a personal opinion without someone telling you that you are wrong when it's completely besides the point and topic at hand.

You mean - "This is the internet"

No, I am just a sceptic. As Matt Dillahunty said - "I want to belive as many true things, and as few false things, as possible"

The time to belive someting is true or not is when you have evidence for it. Until then, you suspend your belifs and keep gatthering information

"The industry is growing at a fast pace, with the global VR market size projected to increase from less than 12 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 to more than 22 billion U.S. dollars by 2025."
https://www.statista.com/topics/2532/virtual-reality-vr/#topicOverview

"The global Virtual Reality (VR) in gaming market size was valued at USD 17.96 billion in 2023. The market is projected to grow from USD 22.63 billion in 2024 to USD 189.17 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 30.4% during the forecast period."
https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/virtual-reality-gaming-market-100271

"The global virtual reality in gaming market size was valued at USD 20.73 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7% from 2023 to 2030."
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/virtual-reality-in-gaming-market

"Virtual reality (VR) in the gaming market is expected to witness a CAGR of 32.75% over the forecast period. VR technology has gained widespread recognition and adoption over the past few years. Recent technological advancements in this field have revealed new enterprises. Numerous players are emerging in this market, hoping to navigate it toward mainstream adoption in the gaming market space. According to NewGenApps, by 2025, the worldwide user base of AR and VR games is expected to increase to 216 million users."
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/virtual-reality-in-gaming-market

"VR in Gaming Market size was valued at USD 4.59 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of over 30% between 2024 and 2032, propelled by continuous advancements in technology and hardware, enhancing immersion and realism for gamers. Innovations such as higher-resolution displays, wider field-of-view headsets, and improved tracking systems contribute to more lifelike experiences. Cutting-edge VR hardware, like motion controllers and haptic feedback devices, enables precise interaction within virtual environments, elevating gameplay to new levels of engagement."
https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/virtual-reality-in-gaming-market

"Furthermore, investors and entrepreneurs have displayed significant interest in the virtual reality (VR) sector. Considerable investments in immersive technology within tech-based companies signal an emerging trend in the entertainment and computing industries. For instance, according to NASSCOM, content creation tools garnered 43.5% of the total funding for virtual reality (VR) in the specified period. This highlights the growing importance of ensuring superior content development to sustain interest, meet demand, and supply immersive experiences through virtual reality (VR)."
https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/virtual-reality-vr-in-gaming-market

That was just a 2 min google, and the first results. VR have been growing year in year now, the growth is not slowing down but rather incresing as the tech and computing power is becoming cheaper and smaler. The turning point was in 2016. when it reached critical mass for sustainability.

It is perfectly fine to not like VR, but if you think it has failed now -then it is you who are living in a virtual reality. Because here in the real life, it has not failed yet. rather going from strenght to strenght.

Well, ok. But, if there is a lack of evidence regarding the safety of something: do we want to be the guinea pig? Maybe I'm not as ok with that as you seem to be.

A lack of data on the safety of something does not mean that thing is safe. A recent example comes to mind of that Titan sub that imploded. I wouldn't have got into that thing if you paid me a million dollars, and 'lack of evidence' wouldn't exactly have been very reassuring.

I'm really excited about VR because I think it's going to be the next big thing for full immersion. But I'm not sure how it'll work with lenses and sensors. Honestly, I imagine it'll end up being something connected directly to our brains. So, yeah, it's probably still a ways off before we get there.

It makes me feel nauseous when I play for longer than 30-45 mins. Would love to find out a good proper way to stop it.

The eye strain with your 3DS doesn't come from the 3D itself but from the technology it uses to create the effect. The lenticular screen only works within a very small viewing angle and doesn't adapt to the distance between your eyes. That means that the 3D effect is always off for most users. And you have to focus on a small screen close to your eyes for it to work. That's what causes the strain.

But VR headsets work differently. They don't use lenticular screens, they adapt to the distance between your eyes and while the screens are technically much closer, you don't actually focus on them. You are focussing on a point way BEHIND the screens as if your were looking through a window. There can still be some strain due to cheap lenses/screens or bad calibration but it's much less pronounced.

But I am not a guinea pig, though. Modern VR has been around for over 10 years now, and the guinea pigs (the early adopters) are still alive and doing well. I didn't get my first VR set right away; I got mine about 4-5 years ago, and there were no alarming reports before then, I checked.

During this time (and before it hit the mass market), there has been a lot of research on VR and its impact on the human body, covering everything from neurological to physical effects, including eye strain, nothing adverse has been reported yet. However, historically, we have seen similar claims made about each new medium, and each time they were proven to be false.

The only real issue physically with VR is not eye strain, but VR sickness, which is indeed a real thing. Some people do get physically sick when using VR. My wife was one of them; she could not use VR for any length of time without feeling sick. She also had problems playing first-person games, getting nauseous then as well (so she played games like Skyrim and Fallout 3 in third person, and then it was fine). However, VR sickness is one of those areas that has been extensively studied, and we now know more about the mechanisms that induce it, and techniques have been introduced to reduce it. Not to mention that some of the causes were technological (frame rate, smoothness, field of view, etc.), so as technology improves, we have also seen a reduction in VR sickness. But it is still an area that we have more to learn, and at the moment there are some people who just cannot use VR because of it.


This is also why, if you (like me) wear glasses, then you use glasses inside the headset. The path of light works in the same way as it does outside the headset.

To me, that boggles the mind a bit. You have this device that is just a few centimeters from your nose, but the simulated paths of light within it can 'extend' for kilometers.

When I got my first headset, I didn’t use my glasses because I thought you had to adjust the lenses to fit your vision correctly, and the image was a bit blurry. At first, I thought I had done something wrong, or that the game I was trying was a bit blurry (disappointing!), but then I read that the lens adjustment was there to accommodate the space for glasses. So, I used mine, and the image was clear, just like in 'real life.' I was astonished at the time :)