[Freddy]

We think this might interest some of us here as it goes that step further than the virtual worlds like Entropia and SecondLife that have been popular over the years.

Bots have been popping up in virtual worlds for a long time now, Zabaware's UltraHal immediately springs to mind. Giving a body to an AI in a shared world with humans I personally still find an interesting experience - and with VR rolling out to the world I can only think this will become a thing.

SecondLife had toyed with VR and then faltered saying they didn't think it would work. But I bet a week of coffee that something will happen sooner or later.

The Unity game engine has support for the Oculus rift and I've played with it briefly and am encouraged to work with it some more. And then you have VR in the Unreal Engine so the big players are getting behind it.

It should be an interesting few years as they tweak and add new generations to the many devices available. It would be nice when the price comes down too, but that's always the way with new technology. But there are less expensive routes into VR like I AM Cardboard and their DSCVR - a fun gadget I picked up early on to see if it was something I would be interested in. And if you really want bargain basement there is always Google Cardboard.

So there's plenty of ways to have some fun and options from PC devices to Smart Phone extensions, far more than I can sum up here.

So that's what this board is for, I hope someone finds it useful, fun or interesting in some way

[Art]

Freddy,

How are you getting on with your Oculus goggles? Hopefully you haven't tried driving a car or riding a bike with them on!

Are those other googles like the cardboard ones that use a cell phone, similar to the old Viewmasters and that paper disc that had photos on them? It basically lets one view a stationary object in 3D.

Just curious as my grandkids were hinting about getting some.

[Freddy]

I haven't played with it much over Christmas as I've been catching up with my friends who play Lord of the Rings Online - I hadn't played for a long time and usually play a stretch over Christmas.

It's still great fun though, the Rift - I like the 360 photos from around the world, which, as cameras improve are getting better. I've only got a couple of games, but the most addictive one for me is Pinball at the moment. It takes a while to get your VR legs for some things - think roller-coaster rides ! And no, I am happy to report that I have not ventured into the real world with them on 

The DSCVR goggles I linked to are for use with phones yes. They had best check if their phone is supported before buying, but they are inexpensive compared to the Rift. I had mine working with a Samsung S5 which in phone terms is quite old now - although it suits me fine.

With the aid of an elastic strap you attach the phone to the front of the goggles. And then obviously the images you see  are relayed by the phone through the two eye pieces - giving you the 3D effect. They call that Side-By-Side (SBS) video or images.

There are many videos to be found on YouTube and other places. And yes there are some apps that let you view 3D objects and look around them - they had some interesting museum pieces bundled with it - which were surprisingly clear to view.

It's a nice introduction to VR. They have a useful page on Facebook if your grand-children are members, they are quite friendly and often post about new things to do with the goggles.

[Art]

Very good Freddy! Thanks for the information!