Vuzix VR920: Gaming In 3D?

K_M82

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I quote these from the article "if you could travel back in time to 1983 and put a contemporary game like Crysis in front of an Atari 2600 junkie, I don't know if they could handle it."; "the goal will be achieved with something like the holodeck on Star Trek". Ehm do you realized that star trek the next generation first air in 1987? The first episode featuring holodeck aired in 1988. I think people in the 80's can handle crysis just fine
 

yadge

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I think it's pretty awesome. I can't wait until they take care of some of the problems it has. Once it's been out for a few years, it should have better sound, better video quality, and better sensors and everything. I just think it's a really cool idea. I would even consider having no monitor and just using one of these, if the price was decent enough.

I think it would be really weird having no mouse during gaming though... it would probably just take a while to get used to.
 

d_kuhn

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It looks like the size is getting respectably small... but they've still got a long way to go before they offer a compelling user experience... something that will make them more than a tiny niche toy.

- Resolution of AT LEAST 720p... and that's the BARE MINIMUM. For folks who don't have a big screen at home I'll clue you in... a 62" 640x480 screen at 9 feet will look like total crap.

- Sub 1 degree, 2 dof head tracking with more advanced tech than simple motion sensor. Got to have an off-device reference - drifting is bad mmmkaay?
 

d_kuhn

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(accidently hit submit)...

- For some uses, a flat screen in the distance is a good option (especially if the glasses can add the image without blocking your normal vision)... but for things like gaming I would think you'd want a wraparound screen that covers around 120 degrees... not a flat screen.
 
Accelerometers are not dependent on gravity. They can certainly measure rotation in the plane perpendicular to the gravitational field. I just checked this with a coworker who used to work on rocket guidance.

Hey. RobWright's avatar wears an eyepatch. If'n he's only got one eye, how can he evaluate that stereo stuff?
 

sdedalus83

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Has anyone had the opportunity to try both this and the eMagin z800? It seems like that one corrects a lot of the flaws that the reviewer mentioned. Unfortunately it's also considerably more expensive.
 

robwright

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Actually, Don Woligroski wrote the article. I just posted the forum thread.

"Call me Snake..."
 

cleeve

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Ehm do you realize that's a TV show and we still don't have holodecks yet? :p

Seriously though, I was editorializing. Take it for what it's worth...
 

cleeve

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in theory, but I don't think the ones commercially available in this price bracket could measure pure left-right acceleration accurate enough to do it without a great deal of drift - which is why they chose a magnetic sensor. (which might be better, but still isn't ideal)
 

zTargetz

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why did you test with guild wars instead of World of Warcraft?

seems to me that anything with a 10million+ strong player base should get a test run instead of the title you used, I bet just the mention of WOW would net you 1000 more views per day.
 

d_kuhn

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right... it's not the up/down that's a problem - it's the left/right. You need an external reference to correct drift error periodically. The Wii does it with a doodad you put under your TV.
 

virtualban

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Well, at least this is a big step in the right direction. This kind of technology should have become mainstream already, or at least high end available and used as the 8800 is nowadays (much more attention towards it, and much more money being made and to be made, resulting in much more research and development).
There is no need for this piece to be a single piece. And I don't mean the head phones or similar. I mean, a sensor to get the coordinates and direction of the head, that can be placed in a static fine-tuned location, and no need to give up on the mouse just yet. Just as software corrects and displays different images for each eye, and ear to shoulder rotation, it can (easily IMO) make corrections and allow the head of the player to look a bit closer or away.

p.s. The "no need to give up on the mouse just yet" is in my opinion a way to do other stuff with it. A simple example: You don't need to shoot at whatever you look at. Plus the mouse is still a very sensitive piece of input device that will enhance the gaming experience, head mounted display with virtual reality or not... unless naturally you provide gloves with positioning sensors and their representation in the virtual world.

And then we'd have glove gestures, combined with voice commands, and WoW will have spell casting experience worth of "magic simulator" (like flight simulators)

I believe all of this tech is available nowadays, and it just needs to be "put to good use", something that can be done with minimal effort. I still can't believe big corporations haven't seen the profit opportunities ahead in this road.
 

krozy

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Since this has very small screens and only uses USB it must have small energy requirements.

Could this be a viable alternative on your laptop if you need to save on power usage?
 

gatzke

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Sorry, but the snapshots of your gameplay just didn't cut it. You're reviewing a motion based device not a still shot program. Maybe you could update the article with some actual moving footage?
 

Morton

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if you could travel back in time to 1983 and put a contemporary game like Crysis in front of an Atari 2600 junkie, I don't know if they could handle it.

3D glasses would be fun another 10-20 years from now when a first-person PC game will look like this. :ouch: