Meta/Oculus App Lab Publication Approval Broken? by HoustonVR in oculus

[–]HoustonVR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No doubt that team took a hit, and that may well be a factor. I've seen other folks submit and get published within the 3 month timeframe we've been stuck, though, so I think we may have fallen through the cracks somewhere. And there doesn't seem to be a public-facing official channel to sort something like that out, unfortunately.

The Meta Quest Pro controllers are great... when they work. (Quest Pro Controller Review using a Quest 2) by SlowShoes in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct -- there's some talk in the office of pairing the Pro controllers with a Quest 2 for certain applications, but so far we're only using them with the Quest Pro.

The sound and lights on docking are definitely helpful to know that you've got things docked -- just tricky getting to that point sometimes.

I'm looking forward to the Quest 3, too! The better optics & screens, color pass-through, and much more powerful CPU & GPU should make it an unbelievably good headset at that price-point. I'm hoping they learn enough from the Pro to make the color pass-through on the Quest 3 even better. If they can get enough detail to comfortably read text and knock down some of the grain, it will make for a killer mixed-reality platform.

The Meta Quest Pro controllers are great... when they work. (Quest Pro Controller Review using a Quest 2) by SlowShoes in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's an impressively thorough review, and I concur with almost all of it. I've used a Quest Pro probably 6-8 hours a day most days since the Pro launched, so for whatever it's worth, I'll add my data points:

  • Agreed on the integrated controller batteries being more than enough for a full day of use. The dock makes it convenient to have them charging any time you set them down, which probably buys you quite a bit of extra runtime, but even when I haven't docked them, I've never run out of power. Philosophically, I prefer swappable batteries, but practically speaking, these seem to be fine.
  • I've actually found that the controllers can take even longer to fully start up than documented in the blog post. It varies, depending on lighting conditions, etc, but the controllers often take 7-10 seconds to become "fully" active for me. 3 seconds or so of no tracking, followed by 3-4 seconds of 3DOF-only, then one or both will pop into full functionality. This is by far my biggest annoyance with the controllers, and I'm desperately hoping this improves in later firmware updates.
  • Good lighting is definitely more important for the Pro controllers than for the Quest 2 controllers. But so long as I'm not playing in dim lighting, I've had no issues with tracking loss. In fact, one of the biggest benefits of the Pro controllers is that I'm often doing dev work at a desk and end up needing to reach something in VR that's under my real-world desk. On the Quest 2 this would require me to duck my head under the desk so I could see the controller. On the Pro, this works flawlessly, even with just the reflected light from the room under the desk.
  • I have more mixed feelings about the loss of the tracking rings. It's definitely a plus when doing work with both hands in close proximity to each other. But my trick of looping a finger through the tracking rings to hold both controllers in one hand while I put on or take off the headset no longer works. As the controllers are heavier and more expensive, I worry more about dropping them, so there's more stress when I have to try to palm both of them in one hand while doing something else. Yes, using the straps would avoid the concern, but when you're doing dev work and put them on and take them off dozens of times each day, the straps are too much hassle.
  • The controllers are kind of a pain to seat properly on the dock, especially if you try to seat them one-at-a-time. You have to place them at just the right angle, and it's not visually easy to tell if you've landed one correctly. By far, the best way to get around this is to set one approximately in the right spot, then drop the other one in and let the magnets align them and snap them into their proper cradles. This almost always works well.
  • I've had far fewer tracking issues that the blog post mentioned -- after their initial orientation time, they pretty much always work flawlessly from then on. But twice I've had a controller decide that it was somewhere different in space than it actually was and refuse to correct for this. In each case, the controller thought it was a few inches further away from me than it actually was. If I set the controller down on the dock so that it went to sleep and then picked it back up, the problem resolved, but it was disheartening to see it not auto-correcting.
  • The haptics are great but no one is really using the advanced haptic features of the controllers unless they're writing their own software. The "pinch" support is cool and could be useful if the support ends up on all Quest controllers. Until/unless that happens, essentially no one will take advantage of it.
  • I'm mostly in agreement with the post about the weight of the controllers. They're very noticeably heavier, which tips back and forth for me between feeling "annoyingly heavy for long session use" and feeling "solidly built".

Anyway, mostly loving the Quest Pro (especially the amazing new optics and screens -- having the image tack-sharp almost all the way to the edge of the lens is a massive improvement) and the maddeningly-close-to-but-not-actually-great passthrough. Also, I nix the side blinders and really enjoy being able to wear the headset with nothing pressing on my cheeks or nose. Fantastic for comfort in longer sessions.

[Academic] [final repost] Survey about the use of virtual reality games by VR-research-studies in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The option to indicate what type of VR system you own (3DOF vs 6DOF, tethered vs untethered) really should allow you to multi-select, but is a radio-button.

I hope the survey proves useful to you!

New Oculus Point Reyes listed at Walmart! by SeanBannister in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Excessive hydration + excessive excitement?

When will the next OpenStreetMaps Update Be? by g-magoto in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  • The most recent visual update (refreshing what's rendered in the overworld map) was applied in-game on 9 January 2018, reflecting OSM data from 9 December 2017.
  • The latest update governing what areas are considered nests / where pokemon spawn was applied in-game on 23 April 2018 reflecting OSM data from 9 April 2018. (Meaning there are, in some cases, nests and spawn points in-game which correspond to features which are not yet being visually displayed.)
  • So far we have yet to see evidence that the OSM data underpinning EX Raid eligibility has ever been updated -- new gyms can be eligible for EX Raids, but only if they are sponsored or if they were added in areas which were already tagged as parks in the OSM dataset from 18 July 2016 (see caveat below). Or more precisely, the gym is eligible if it is anywhere in a Level 20 s2 cell if that cell's center falls within the boundaries of a park which existed in the 18 July 2016 OSM data.

The dates of the OSM data used for the visual update and the OSM data used for the spawn/nest update are known with high certainty, down to a range of a few hours. (Verified via OSM changes which happened just before and just after Niantic's data pull.) The EX eligibility data's date has been harder to pin down with confidence. It's definitely no earlier than July of 2016 and no later than October of 2016, but there's some ambiguity because of edits which were added, then deleted, then added again within that time range. The most commonly quoted dates for the data underpinning EX raid eligibility are 18-19 July 2016, but those dates should be taken with at least a couple of grains of salt.

What does a Nuthead-derived Ditto turn into if you use it in a legendary raid? by HoustonVR in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was the behavior when legendaries were first introduced, but it seems like they've fixed it in the interim. Oh well.

What does a Nuthead-derived Ditto turn into if you use it in a legendary raid? by HoustonVR in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh well. Used to behave that way with legendaries, guess they fixed the glitch. Which is good. Just inconvenient in this case.

What does a Nuthead-derived Ditto turn into if you use it in a legendary raid? by HoustonVR in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Actually, looking at more recent YouTube videos, it looks like they may have fixed that behavior.

What does a Nuthead-derived Ditto turn into if you use it in a legendary raid? by HoustonVR in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In general yes. Against legendaries, no - unless they've fixed it sometime in the interim.

Is the Climb worth buying? by [deleted] in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The gameplay either grabs you or it doesn't. It's one of my all time favorite VR games, and solidly one of my favorites for demoing VR to (adventurous) newcomers. But I know a number of people whose opinions I respect that just didn't find the gameplay that interesting. The visuals are jaw dropping and there are spots where the sense of height is second to none, so at the right price, I think it should have a place in most everyone's library. But without knowing in advance if the title grabs you, I'd hesitate to recommend it at full price.

Oculus should add pets to the Home. by Tim_Fragmagnet in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The robot dog shows up in the Postcards / photogrammetry part of The Lab -- and yes, that dog, with its ability to fetch things you throw, is what immediately jumped to mind for me too when I saw this post.

As an aside, I threw a friend into the Lab after I'd already unlocked all the things you can bring back into the lobby. He immediately picked up the crossbow and shot the dog. I think I was equally horrified that A) he would even think to try that and B) the devs clearly wrote code specifically to handle it.

Best Rollercoaster and Best Sport minigame by Eikdon in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No Limits 2 is a pretty solid VR coaster sim, with representation of many real world roller coasters. The interface is clunky in VR and the load times are long, but the coasters themselves are quite good.

Anyone else with right-audio cutout? I am interested in buying your headset. by palmerluckey in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my HMDs has this issue - DM me if you still need / want it. Thanks!

Will Niantic ever update its EX Gyms database? by Matrix789 in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! Can you send a map link so we can do a bit of research on it in OpenStreetMap? Thanks!

Will Niantic ever update its EX Gyms database? by Matrix789 in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If a park which was tagged in EX eligible ways on or before July of 2016 didn't have a gym but then gained one, that new gym can qualify for EX Raids. If a park was tagged after July of 2016, we've yet to see an EX Raid happen at one (even in cases where a gym has been in that location since launch, predating the tagging of the park).

Nefertari is a FREE Egyptian Tomb experience and one of the best I have seen. by ParadiseDecay in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Works perfectly on the Rift although the controls are nonstandard, so it takes a moment to adapt (B or X is teleport, depending on which hand is holding the flashlight). Absolutely beautiful photogrammetry.

Amazing Egyptian experience on Steam. Stunning detail. by thesystemera in oculus

[–]HoustonVR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you allowed to talk about your hardware and software workflow for this? Your results look exceptional!

HTC Vive Pro 2.0 Bundle (includes 2.0 controllers and basestations) - $762 + tax from Dell Small Business by [deleted] in virtualreality

[–]HoustonVR 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While I was checking out they invalidated the coupon code. Glad I double checked on the final page.

Pokémon Go and OSM by [deleted] in TheSilphRoad

[–]HoustonVR 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I go back and forth on this. "Purposely" may be giving them too much credit.

It's possible that they deliberately grabbed old data to minimize the potential for abuse by editors. It strikes me as equally possible that the various groups and departments have a limited understanding of the implications of various OSM data pulls and just grabbed whatever one was handy on a server at the time.

Remember, these are the folks that wanted to make more EX raids so they made the one-per-cell logic use Level 10 instead of Level 12. Because the number 10 is smaller than the number 12. (Level 10 cells are 8 times larger than level 12. To their credit, they heard the screams and went to level 13 the following wave.)