The tale of a DK2's ED first impression on someone.....

NoshDaMinsk

NoshDaMinsk
So, picture the scene - a good friend that I haven't had round my house for at least 3 years, visits last night.....we have been bumping into each other on the train into London, but he hasn't really popped round for a long time....

We used to play multiplay with Supercars on the Amiga with 2 joysticks, back in the day and both of us love our computer games. We also used to play Geoff Crammonds F1 Grand Prix as well (anyone remember that one?).

Thing is, he really hasn't been playing much, just a bit of COD on his XBox - and that's it.

So, he popped round to catch up and was met with me just finishing a session on Dirt Rally - 3 screens, the Fanatec gear - CSW2 base, V2 pedals, SQ1 gearshifter and E HandBrake.....and his mouth just opened and he couldn't really believe what he was seeing on the screens......nor what he could feel when he had a quick drive, as I have 4 Aura transducers and run Sim Commander 4..... :D

So, let me tell you the tale..........

He had heard of Elite (the original) but hadn't heard of the new game, he had not seen a HOTAS before and had not heard of a Rift......well, I said to myself, this will be interesting...

I shut the game down, and started to set up the HOTAS ("Why the do you need those things?" he exclaimed!)

The X55 is a nifty bit of kit and I have it mounted on two separate tall tables I built from MDF - perfect height for my racing chair and they are placed at each side of my seat......I plug them in to the usb hub and the back lights some one - green - "oooh!" he says - and of course my mind is thinking, you ain't seen nothing yet....

I set up the SLI, which kills the outer 2 screens and only the middle is showing - he visibly looked a little disappointed, as I then took the DK2 from it box I keep it in (to keep the dust off it it) and he asks "what is that??".....

I put it on his head and there is a bit of adjustment on the straps to make sure it is compofrtable - this takes no time as I have a AboutFaceVR on my DK2, so it sits snugly on his face in a few minutes.....I take the headset off his face.....

The DK2 is switched on - the middle screen flickers and then just shows the background picture.....again, he is looking a little confused with that "what is going on?" look on his face...

A few minutes later, then game is started and I check quick and there is my bootiful ASP is in the hanger, take the Riuft off my face and I go thru the buttons he really needs to know.....

I offer him the seat, make sure the throttle and joystick are in the right place and then offer him the DK2 to put on his head - before I did so, I asked him to keep his eyes firmly shut.

This he did, and when he is comfortably in his seat, hands resting on the controls, DK2 on his head, I asked him to open his eyes.........

The only problem with this, is that I wish I had recorded his reaction - because it was priceless....!!!! :D

He could not believe what he was seeing - plenty of swearing, plenty of looking round "its 3D! It's real!!"

I think explained how (using the joystick buttons) he got the ship out of the hangar and up into the space station....and again, the reaction was priceless!!!

I really wish I had recorded the moment - because it was fun to watch.

Suffice to say, he left my house....

.....5 hours later......

Nosh
 
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Asp Explorer

Asp Explorer
It's great isn't it!

I've seen people physically try and duck, cling to chairs to see behind the seat, and one drunk guy get so motion-sick he puked all over himself (not in MY DK2 thankfully!)

Personally I've found myself crawling on the floor trying to see the bottom deck of the Asp, and bashed my chin into the keyboard :D
 

Karnath

Karnath
Brilliant, It's always nice to read these stories of peoples first experience with the DK2

Mind you your a braver person than me, letting somebody with zero ED experience and a VR virgin take control of your prized possession, anybody I let have a go of mine goes straight into demo mode !!
 

NoshDaMinsk

NoshDaMinsk
Karnath said:
..........Mind you your a braver person than me, letting somebody with zero ED experience and a VR virgin take control of your prized possession, anybody I let have a go of mine goes straight into demo mode !!
Click to expand...

Heh - he never flew the Asp - that was just for the first dip....

We loaded up the tutorials and mucked about with those.....

The docking one he did about 15 times! In the tutorial, the space station is in low orbit, so you really get the scale and vastness of your surroundings - especially in a sidewinder!

Shooting the canisters in the asteroid belt got him mumbling about "just like flying the Falcon in Empire Strikes Back.......lets look for one to land on!"

Nosh
 

el_tel

el_tel
I tried out a Leap Motion (attached to a DK2) at Lavecon this year, and immediately thought 'wow, this would work so well with ED - imagine real-time mapping of position of your arms and hands'.

I wish FD would look into it, but unfortunately, Sandro Sammarco had a go later and said 'hmm, this is good, but I'm not sure how well it would work in ED', which is shame, because the disconnect between what my ingame hands and my real hands are doing is a bit immersion-breaking (particularly when I push buttons on the HOTAS or when the ingame hands 'flex').
 

Olmis Aremja

Olmis Aremja
Love it! thanks for sharing.

I too recently got to show someone the rift. An old friend who hadn't been down for a couple of years (though I'd seen him this year at a funeral) paid me a surprise visit (basically to show off his new open top sports car!). Anyway, after he'd taken me out for a spin in it, I led him through to the office where my pc is at and told him 'now I've had a go in your sports car, you can have a go in my space ship'. He laughed and didn't know what to expect.
Anyway I quickly set up ED, sat him down with his hands on the X52, then slid it over his head. To say he was blown away is an understatement, he was full of wow's, and swear words and when I removed it from him, his wide eyes looked like he'd really been down that rabbit hole, he was still in shock. Priceless.
 

jojon

J
el_tel said:
I tried out a Leap Motion (attached to a DK2) at Lavecon this year, and immediately thought 'wow, this would work so well with ED - imagine real-time mapping of position of your arms and hands'.

I wish FD would look into it, but unfortunately, Sandro Sammarco had a go later and said 'hmm, this is good, but I'm not sure how well it would work in ED', which is shame, because the disconnect between what my ingame hands and my real hands are doing is a bit immersion-breaking (particularly when I push buttons on the HOTAS or when the ingame hands 'flex').
Click to expand...

Not to mention what it could do for interaction with the galaxy map. Gah! Sandrooooooo!
 

Desert63

Desert63
NoshDaMinsk said:
So, picture the scene - a good friend that I haven't had round my house for at least 3 years, visits last night.....we have been bumping into each other on the train into London, but he hasn't really popped round for a long time....

So, let me tell you the tale..........

The only problem with this, is that I wish I had recorded his reaction - because it was priceless....!!!! :D

He could not believe what he was seeing - plenty of swearing, plenty of looking round "its 3D! It's real!!"

I think explained how (using the joystick buttons) he got the ship out of the hangar and up into the space station....and again, the reaction was priceless!!!

I really wish I had recorded the moment - because it was fun to watch.

Suffice to say, he left my house....

.....5 hours later......

Nosh
Click to expand...

I have heard many such stories, but yours in particular is quite good. You seem to have a "knack for the narrative".
 

Desert63

Desert63
ranix said:
It's OK man, the CV1 is coming fast. Hang on to those dollars
Click to expand...

Respectfully, my thoughts on this since I just purchased a DK2. I am reading all the same things as everyone else, but this is how I do the timeline math.

They say Q1 of next year for the CV1. Well in marketing terms that could be end of March, which right now is almost a full 8 months. If you look at the way vendors behave with hardware - there will likely be a backlog even during launch. (This is not an iphone that everyone knows will sell a trillion.) So maybe add a couple of months on top of 8 before it would even show up in our hands, for 10 months. Sure some on here will be so locked into the release dates and internal threads for pre-orders and they will get it right away, but the risk is a backlog.

Add that whole Vive variable and the next year in 'what is possible' with VR is not even something I want to try to crystal ball. I am thrilled its all happening but it could be up to ten months before we have CV1s sitting on our heads.
 

dementia

dementia
Desert63 said:
Respectfully, my thoughts on this since I just purchased a DK2. I am reading all the same things as everyone else, but this is how I do the timeline math.

They say Q1 of next year for the CV1. Well in marketing terms that could be end of March, which right now is almost a full 8 months. If you look at the way vendors behave with hardware - there will likely be a backlog even during launch. (This is not an iphone that everyone knows will sell a trillion.) So maybe add a couple of months on top of 8 before it would even show up in our hands, for 10 months. Sure some on here will be so locked into the release dates and internal threads for pre-orders and they will get it right away, but the risk is a backlog.

Add that whole Vive variable and the next year in 'what is possible' with VR is not even something I want to try to crystal ball. I am thrilled its all happening but it could be up to ten months before we have CV1s sitting on our heads.
Click to expand...

Indeed, 10 month minimum I'd say. Who knows though now that Oculus have Facebook money but I'm fully expecting the Q1 to be Q2+ so a year from now.
 

Dweezil_Moon

Dweezil_Moon
The look on the face of anybody I demoed Elite w/ DK2 to has always been priceless. It is honestly quite impossible to explain what E : D looks and feels like with a DK2 and HOTAS with mere words. I am not saying it is all positive. You have the dreaded screendoor effect (which I personally barely notice anymore), the hard to read text ("It's really cool but I can't read what's on the Display!" "I know .. developer kit and so on .. anyway.. why don't you lean forward. it will be easier to read" "yeah .. righ..... awwww!"), but the effect of "presence" is amazing.

As for whether you should buy a DK2 now or wait for next year or not : I bought my DK2 more or less the week the CV1 was announced. Multiple reasons for that. First of all, I agree with Desert63 : it might be a while until you can get a CV1 in your sweaty hands.
Also, just buying a CV1 won't be cutting it. You will also need a rig that can run. Chances are your computer right now can run a DK2 at an acceptable framerate (*very* subjective value btw.), but will it be able to run the higher resolution required by the CV1 at a similar framerate? I know that mine won't .. At least not without at least a new GPU (and when I bought the DK2 I was still running a 7 year old Q6600 with 800Mhz FSB. I already upgraded the Mobo, CPU and RAM by now). Meanwhile I can run all DK2 demos and games at a (for me) acceptable framerate and detail level right now and, to get back on topic, enjoy Elite : Dangerous as it should be experienced by everyone at least once . Believe me : sun scooping in a T6 in VR *never* gets old :)
 

Oheck

Oheck
Was his reaction like this?
[video=youtube;NGVxud9N2gQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVxud9N2gQ[/video]

I love seeing peoples reactions. You can't get better advertising for VR then reactions like this.

(this isn't my video btw)
 
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