Can virtual reality help get you through lockdown? | Hacker News Reader

Can virtual reality help get you through lockdown?

theguardian.com

31 pointsJesseJon32 comments

Given how well the finger and hand tracking for Oculus Quest is progressing, Facebook's investment in virtual reality may have been in hindsight a very smart investment.

The way I see the future of VR is not so much games, but virtual meetings and virtual sports. Still waiting for that headset that's comfortable to use while sweating. Beat Saber and its like are really a great way to exercise.

Oculus Quest 2 might very well be the breakthrough product people who are rooting for VR have been waiting for.

A side question - does Oculus Quest need accounts and internet to use?

I still can't get over Oculus Rift needing an account and an internet connection just to install drivers.

It uses an App Store, so you need to make an App Store, but you don’t always need an internet connection (multiplayer games need an Internet connection). They strongly push you to link your Facebook account, but it is optional.

My family has officially been put under quarantine since April 30th, which means we were not permitted to leave the house since then. A friend, who owns an Oculus Quest was so nice to bring it to our house so we have something to do. We tried it and while it was an amazing experience (Superhot is totally cool), the novelty wore off pretty quickly. After three days my kids were back at playing Minecraft and I am back to programming and playing Sudoku (thanks Simon!).

So from my experience, the answer is "maybe a little bit, but probably not for long".

Google Street View application on iOS used to have support for cardboard-like VR goggles, where one would make use of their mobile phone as a low cost glimpse into the VR world. What a better way to experience VR than by exploring some streets across the world.

Unfortunately, the iOS application has a bug for the past year where this functionality is not working any more, and there are no signs that updates will bring it back.

[0] https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/google-street-view/id904418768

I've been waiting for something like the Quest for a long time, and I think it's great.

Heads up for those who are considering hooking it up to SteamVR, though-- while I did get it working over my WiFi six months or so ago, it was a lot of hassle to even load up the environment so I stopped messing with it in hopes the experience would improve.

After reading lots of good things about such alleged improvements, last night I tried again. The whole convoluted process had changed enough that even after a couple hours of tinkering I couldn't get it to work. I also somehow temporarily hosed the HDMI audio out on my gaming PC, which was very stressful as this is how my S.O. and I watch all our shows together on a daily basis.

So if you don't have a lot of patience for possibly hours of fruitless/destructive screwing around (which probably won't work the same way in a few months), maybe try to wait until you can find an Oculus Link cable or 3rd party substitute. My two cents to save you what I went through.

What are you using for SteamVR over wifi? I've had pretty good luck with Virtual Desktop, but you have to buy the store version for a license and then sideload the alternate builds with Steam support since Facebook are being dicks about it.

The official story was "not up to their quality standards" but it works just as well as Link for me.

I did read recently that Link has gotten less picky about USB cables, it'll even run without being able to confirm USB3 speeds. Quality is probably impacted.

According to these tests[0] the new update allows to even run Link over the included USB 2.0 cable without any quality degradation (even Half Life Alyx was fine).

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3CfhT7qXxI

Neat! Unfortunately my included charger and cable were eaten by the charger gremlins. I have a shorter USB-A to USB-C cable (from CHOETECH) that works for seated experiences. If I want something farther, Virtual Desktop.

Haven't been doing much PCVR with it either way though, compared to how much time I've spent in Quest native games.

Well, I got it working late last summer-- yes I used Virtual Desktop and used Sidequest to load the PC side of it, and I got it working well enough to play some No Man's Sky. It was great, but it involved a lot of steps and taking the headset off & putting it back on for parts of it, and was just too much friction.

I tried to do the same thing Saturday when I should have been spending time with my family-- used all the latest software, followed newer updated guides... and could never get SteamVR to recognize my headset (although Virtual Desktop and Sidequest both did). Since I've already spent too much time on it and I can't afford Alyx yet anyway, I have decided to wait until later and try with come kind of Link cable. Preferably one that doesn't cost $80.

I dusted off my GearVR and only used it for a few hours on and off but it was extremely effective. The Quest was sold out so I’ll wait. Definitely for some people it will be extremely helpful.

What is so hard about staying home with your family, working, reading, playing games and watching Netflix? Jeez, people in living memory have endured so much more, so much more gracefully.

I'll guess you don't live in a bedsit, and that you didn't lose your job when lockdown started, that you have game systems, and plenty of space and entertainment at home ...

How does VR help you if you lost your job? As to the rest, yes, I suppose the lock down is easier for some than others, but I would suggest that for most its pretty fucking easy, and the amount of whining being done about it is a disgrace. People that lived through Syria's bombing or the Blitz would have a hard time comprehending what is it exactly that is so though about these few months.

I'm not in a bad situation but playing openworld games (non-VR) has, I think, helped my mental health. I normally walk 4 miles a day to work, now I work and sleep in the same room; I feel some days like I'm in prison except without the social spaces and exercise time.

If you do not mind me asking, where do you live that you cannot step outside yet?

I can now go out, and there's been some relaxation of lockdown (UK).

I was referring to "over the last few weeks". It's not always been easy for me to get out during the day because of time conflicts (schooling, vs WFH; as nights are getting lighter this is getting easier). Primarily it was when we were in one exercise period per day (≤1hr), as I have a younger child it would normally not be enough exercise for me. The sense of moving around landscape helped me to relax and forget I was confined.

Do you also think this way if a dissident in an authoritarian state is placed under house arrest? If not, what exactly is the difference?

The difference is that I am happy to stay home. I believe it is the right thing to do for the tribe and an incredible bargain, an incredible cheap price for (minor) virtue and a sense of community, of togetherness.

That was not the point that was made. The OP claimed that not being able to leave you house for a prolonged period of time is not a problem at all.

Keeping people locked up in their houses is bad. Even if it is the best decision is a certain situation, it is still bad.

The difference is similar to being put on a diet and being starved.

"House arrest" of dissidents usually entails much, much more. Threats, no entertainment, no internet, no social media etc pp.

Lock down (which, in most of the world, it isn't, it's just "don't go down town and party", you can still go for a walk) is very much different.

For all the mindfulness hype of the past years, I've expected people to take it better. It sucks, yes, of course, plenty of things suck. It will be over at some point (another thing that's very different form being put under house arrest as a dissident), and your life isn't in immediate danger. Acknowledge that it suck and move on. And turn off the news. Don't watch it. You'll hear when the lock down is over, and you don't need to know about the minutiae of potential horror, fear and the apocalypse.

>> "House arrest" of dissidents usually entails much, much more. Threats, no entertainment, no internet, no social media etc pp.

Do you have any sources for this? I have the feeling you made this up.

House arrest in authoritarian countries is not to save money, it's to isolate the person you're putting under house arrest without throwing them in a dungeon. Cutting off their ability to organize and communicate is the norm in those cases, so even Wikipedia mentions it: While house arrest can be applied to criminal cases when prison does not seem an appropriate measure, the term is often applied to the use of house confinement as a measure of repression by authoritarian governments against political dissidents. In these cases, the person under house arrest often does not have access to any means of communication with people outside of the home; if electronic communication is allowed, conversations may be monitored.

They will often also forbid friends and associates from visiting the home of the person placed under house arrest.

I was the OP. And I did not say it was no problem at all, I said its not that big of a deal and that others have endured far worse with more dignity. Of course it would be better if we did not have a lock down.

A lot of young people (including me) live alone, making the isolation much more serious. People also aren't built for extended isolation from other humans, it's some kind of base instinct to be social. I got lucky because I escaped back to my family home before the lockdowns, but not everyone could've done that.

Sure, I agree that for a few the lock down is genuinely tough. Surely for a few others its an improvement over their previous circumstances. For the majority however, specially those that can actually afford VR, its nothing but an inconvenience, maybe a slight bump in anxiety brought about by a glimpse of chaos. Its that lack of perspective I have a problem with. There are people that actually are in danger, that have to go to work, because they are "essential", though apparently not essential enough to get paid, and the least the rest of us can do is stop bitching about being locked in a safe, comfortable place.

"A few"?

As a society, we're living in a crisis of loneliness.[0] Lack of social contact is mentally and physically devastating for the human psyche, and this is evident in the current suicide rate[1][2]. One could argue that this trade-off is worth it[3], because more people will die from the virus than suicide, but this is predicated on our Coronavirus modelling being accurate. This is still in dispute[4][5], and arguable either way.

For many, being locked in is not "safe & comfortable"[6][7][8][9]. The so called people who are "bitching" are at great risk of suicide. From a certain PoV, essential workers are just in a different form of danger. At the end of the day, we're making a conscious trade-off of some lives for other lives here - everybody has the right to be upset.

So no, I think you should "stop bitching" about the plight of others (there are complainers on both sides). Just because you have it good, the majority of people _do not_. Have a little empathy.

[0]https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/07/loneli... (this applies more broadly than the UK)

[1]https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1286065/lockdown-end-co...

[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7177120/

[3]https://theconversation.com/the-calculus-of-death-shows-the-...

[4]https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/05/16/neil-fergu...

[5]https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/05/08/so-the-rea...

[6]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52433520

[7]https://www.ft.com/content/e5061be6-2978-4c0b-aa68-f372a2526...

[8]https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/26/britains-loc...

[9]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/01/covid-19-death...

What a privileged and narrow view. For people living alone much of the hard part of lockdown is not having human touch or connection. I don’t know if I’ll see my significant other in 2 months or 12-18. But sure, I’ll just watch some Netflix I guess.

I would argue that it is your perspective that is narrow. Very few people are in danger of not seeing their loved ones for up 1.5 years. Even two more months stretches credibility.

I’m going to go against my instinct that you are trolling and take you seriously. I suggest you read up on the various travel bans that are in place in much of the world.

Thank you for you kindness, I will show similar restraint in not assuming that you are vastly exaggerating the worst possible outcome so you can play the victim. I looked, briefly, at travel bans. I see nothing that extends beyond 30 days from now. You mention 2 months to 1.5 years. Honestly do you really think that is a possibility? I genuinely cannot see it, but I could easily be wrong.

France came out of two months of strict lockdown two weeks ago and borders remain closed. It's highly unlikely they will open before the end of next month. I personally have a friend who hasn't seen his significant other in England for three months and in all likelihood will be unable to for at least a month more.

We are not talking about an hypothetical scenario. This is their actual life currently for millions of people.

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