Tag Archives: Vive

Finally!

True

It seems like I’ve been waiting forever.

I received an email from HTC telling me my Vive order is being processed! Hooray! At last, I can escape this infernal earth (which isn’t a band name, but it should be) and spend my time working a boring corporate job.

Here’s what I received:

Hooray!

Hooray!

Sounds good

Sounds good

I’ve never ordered something that comes with an ‘Alternate Face Cushion.’ UPDATE: I learned after making this post that the email I received was sent to everyone who ordered one, and does not, according to a Vive post on Twitter, indicate anything about the shipping date.

I eagerly clicked on “look up your order online,” anticipating seeing the HTC elves furiously building my machine, however it took me to page in which I could do a ‘quick lookup’ using my email address and the last 5 digits of my credit card number, or my order number and a password.

Hmm. Ok.

Hmm. Ok.

The thing is, I didn’t recall receiving a confirmation email when I first ordered, no order number or anything, and I had no idea what password they’re referring to.

So I entered my email address and digits of my CC#, and it said ‘Incorrect order # or Password,’ which is weird because I entered neither of those things. I tried again. And again, and again. Nothing worked. It said I could reset my Order Password, but I would need my order number to do that, and I don’t believe I have a password anyway!

Dammit

Dammit

UPDATE: After some searching around, it turns out they *did* send me a confirmation email that didn’t come up when I searched my inbox. I had to go through my messages one by one, and it was an email that wouldn’t convert to HTML. So I had to scan through a bunch of HTML and CSS to discover my order number and password (which they sent in the email), and finally got to the status page. it didn’t tell me a whole lot.

You didn't think I'd show you where I live, did you?

You didn’t think I’d show you where I live, did you?

What *is* interesting is the statement that they will start shipping in April, and the estimated arrival will be based on the date the shipping notification is received. What it doesn’t say is that those who ordered early should receive them early, and I ordered it the second they became available to do so. Daniel O’Brien, HTC’s VP of VR, clarified on Twitter that April 5th is the day they will start arriving to consumers, not the day they’ll start shipping. I also read that some people received emails specifying orders will start shipping in May, not April, which would indicate they are being very particular about order order. You know what I mean.

In other words, on April 5th or thereabouts (it better be thereabouts, dammit), I’m going to take the next 97 days off. You heard me.

Whenever it arrives, I’ll put up a full unboxing and setup soon after.

Bam!

Soon

It’s finally happening! Vive Preorders will start on Feb. 29, and I’ll be there even though ordering one will force me to give up luxuries like food and shelter for a few months. It will be worth it, I’m sure, however one of the lingering issues many people are facing is whether their PC will be powerful enough to drive the hardware for a compelling experience.

That’s a valid question, with HTC themselves providing some recommendations for VR-ready PCs. I have a PC, though, one I almost bankrupted myself to build, so needless to say I was crossing my fingers it would be enough.

Thoughtfully, Valve released a test via Steam that determines if your PC is VR ready. I downloaded it, it ran a neat – if two-screened – version of the Aperture Labs demo from when I tried the Vive back in November, and gave me my results.

VR, here I come!

Damn right

Damn right

If you’re interested, here’s what the demo looked like while running (Screenshot taken from Steam store page, although it looked exactly the same on my machine).

Vive test

Vive test

Oh Steam, you never let me down (except when you do)

Steam, sort of

As you all know, I gave up consoles a few years ago, and use Steam exclusively. If you’re not familiar with steam, it’s Valve’s digital distribution platform, the one that set the standard for the market and made founder and former Microsoft engineer Gabe Newell a billionaire. And not just any billionaire – he’s #307 on the “Forbes 400” list of richest people in the country.

But I digress. I have a powerful PC connected to a beautiful 4K (UHD, actually, they’re not the same) TV, a thingy that lets me connect a 360 controller and I use Steam’s Big Picture Mode.

It’s pretty nice, generally, and they’ve made significant improvements to the interface that make it even more usable with a controller. There is much easier access to game specifics, and more options from the Store page that bring it closer to the desktop client, not to mention they have really improved the input methods (hello, QWERTY keyboard!). The individual game screens offer easier access to game information, and the library has a nice, tiles look to it. The following picture shows the current, controller-friendly library interface taken from my very own machine.

Steam's library interface

Steam’s library interface

A Life-Changing Experience

ViveHeader

That’s me up there, mouth agape, experiencing the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced: the HTC Vive VR headset.

I have been hearing about VR for some time now. And I don’t mean all those admirable yet misguided attempts in the 80s and 90s – remember VRML or the woefully under-appreciated Virtual Boy? No, those were far before technology was ready to handle the capabilities, potential and technical requirements of VR, and it clearly showed. But over the last few years, I have heard people who have exclaimed that current virtual reality experiences have to be seen to be believed, and that they are even better than real life.

Come on, now. Let’s all just relax.

At least that’s how I used to respond. However, after experiencing the HTC Vive at a demonstration offered at the University of California, Irvine, I can safely say it has finally arrived. And those people were right, my mouth-agape expression in the header image says it all: the experience was life-changing.