VR Controller Discussion

Pimax Hardware Pimax Discussion
21

It doesn’t see much use in games because most controllers don’t have it. So games, by and large, ignore finger tracking for anything more than cosmetic use. That’s not because finger tracking wouldn’t be useful.

Notably, VRChat does make full use of finger tracking. It is used to control your avatar through natural gestures, and it is a very effective control scheme. Along with full body tracking, VRChat is pretty much the only “game” that fully supports these technologies. But it’s also the most important one, because VRChat is not just “a game”. VRChat is a major social VR platform.

Finger tracking is also useful in multiplayer co-op VR games. What makes these games so fun is the level of interaction and presence you have with your friends in VR. It’s very much like a social VR platform in that respect (assuming it’s done well). Even when finger tracking is used only cosmetically, finger movements are a major part of non-verbal communication. Without the non-verbal cues VR is able to carry, you might as well just be using a Discord voice call the same as in flat co-op games.

So if you never use social VR or play multiplayer co-op games where you have some sort of avatar (ie. if you only play flight sims and/or driving sims), then yes, right now finger tracking won’t have much utility for you. I think a disproportionate percentage of the people who post on these forums are flight simmers, so that case may be overrepresented here. Flight simmers barely need the hand controllers, much less finger tracking.

Even used only cosmetically when you’re the only one that can see yourself though, finger tracking does increase VR immersion. Or maybe it might be more accurate to say that when you move your fingers in RL, but your hands in VR remain static claws, that’s immersion breaking. Not hugely, but its another notch.

(All this discussion about VR controllers is off topic for this thread about the DMAS. But I think there’s meaningful content in it, so perhaps a mod could separate these posts into a different thread, please?)

2 Likes
22

Completed thanks.

1 Like
23

Thank you, Heliosurge!

24

Until we perfect walking in VR controllers will win.

Also I’d ratherhave the sensation of actually holding and pressing something real.

Dexmo like gloves are on the right track but are a long way off from being detailed enough

25

I am capable of agreeing to disagree… but I’d still throw you under the bus in the blink of an eye, were I given the influence to change the state of the matter… ;9

We’ll never get perfection, of course: When I get home, I shove my hand into my pocket on the way over to the front door, and pull out my keyring, having already identified and selected the right key as part of rummaging for it, insert it into the lock, and unlock and open the door – all this without ever looking at any of these things. We’ll not get to that level unless we paralyse our bodies, and supplant sensory input with simulated substitutes; We may not always appreciate just how important physical/physics interaction, proprioception, and touch are for us being able to do much of anything. :7

3 Likes
26

For sure. This has come a long way when you consider what we can do with firearms in comparison to back in the old KB/M days of shooters. Until we get the full holodeck treatment we’ll just have to slip out to the paint ball facility for some serious tactile immersion.Ouch :smiley:

1 Like
27

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.