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[kurt91]

For Christmas, I got a cheap VR headset. Not something like an Oculus, but one of those ones that you slot your cell phone into the front and you get a simple VR effect from doing so.

 

The issue is, I looked through the app list, and a vast majority of the VR apps and experiences look absolutely boring! After a bit of poking around online, I found something good, though. I found some apps designed to stream games from your PC to your cell phone, specifically for VR headsets like mine. If the game isn't designed natively for VR, you can use the PC program to split the game into something that you can see in the headset. It won't be 3D like a native VR game, but you should be able to get stuff like the head-tracking to work. Further looking around resulted in finding a free VR driver to get non-3D games to work in VR properly like a normal VR app.

 

Now, my expectations for now aren't amazingly high. I have a pretty decent gaming PC, but nothing top-of-the-line amazing. My phone's a smaller model, and I don't think that I'll get the full set-up like head-tracking with it. However, I do plan on seeing what I can adjust over time to get this working better, such as making sure that I get an appropriate phone for head-tracking when I upgrade eventually, or following a guide to use a motion-tracking mouse to get head-tracking working.

 

My computer is currently set up on the television in the living room, where everybody is crowded at the moment with their Christmas stuff, so I have a bit of time before I actually get to try my stuff out. As a result, while I wait, I figured I'd ask you guys if you had any ideas on what to do with it. I already plan on trying Bioshock with my setup, and I also want to try running Dolphin with Mario Kart or Metroid Prime, having heard that they work pretty well in VR.

 

So, any ideas on what I should try out with my headset?

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

I got a Gear VR a while back with my S7 Edge, and while you probably can't use the Oculus store that the Gear uses there are a few apps on the android marketplace, assuming you don't have an iPhone.

 

But like you seem to have discovered yourself, you can actually get it working with your PC, though I wouldn't expect things like older games to work well, and especially not emulators - they're just not set up for it, besides the games wasn't made for it so I highly doubt it's going to look right, if it even works. There is a few drivers you can get to make it work with some games, like Bioshock which I believe I have seen on some of those supported lists, but again the game isn't made for VR. and if it works you will be aiming your gun with your eyes, heh. Though if you have heard it works, by all means give it a shot. Do let me know how it works though, I'd love to know.

 

However. there are still things you could try, like actual VR supported games. Elite: Dangerous comes to mind. There are a few programs that gets the pc to recognize the Gear VR as a HTC Vive, meaning I can use it with Steam VR games. If you connect it through a USB cable to the PC, then you should get a fairly responsive experience. It all depends on your computer, of course (you can also connect it through wi-fi, but that is not what I would call playable with all the lag that comes with it).

 

In general though, VR is still very much a niche, and mobile VR just does not offer the same kind of experiences at this moment, compared to the Rift and the HTC Vive especially, with its room scale tracking and motion controls. When it comes to games, at least those made for VR, the library is fairly small. There's a few games on the Oculus store that supports the Gear VR, but unless you have the Gear I don't know if you can make use of them. They're all mobile-type games though, so it's not the main attraction. To me, mobile VR is first and foremost a media centre. I haven't watched a movie outside of my virtual cinema since I got the thing, and I have a new affinity for 3D movies as well now that I can watch them at home in said virtual theatre.x

 

Gotta say I love it despite the lack of games though. I'm gonna be picking up a HTC Vive veeery soon, possibly even today. It's on sale and within my budget after christmas, but it's only on sale today and they may reveal a new version at CES which is in January. Aghh, decisions!!!

Edited by Robin, 26 December 2016 - 09:33 AM.