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Anonymous
May 22, 2014
Question

How do you play a demo without getting ill ?

I say it with some humor .. but I am seriously getting ill .. "ill" as in "oh my I am going to empty all my stomach".

So thinking that "time & practice makes perfect" I tried quite a few more demos .. more than once .. they are all nice/lovely in their way .. however .. quite a few of those especially those "as simple as" "go around and look around" make me real sick after 1 minute or so.

The moment I keep controls in hand and start moving around a room just looking around and moving around .. I get this weird feeling like "being over and invisible cart pulled by some invisible thing" .. and 'the more immersive the environment is, the worse this feeling seems to get".

I am asking myself really "how ANY FPS of any sort is ever going to work ?" unless probably some "special care tecniques" are employed.

But seriously it's been quite a while I've been trying demos and .. I could maybe say there isn't one so far that did not at some point or another triggered in me the feeling of "I love this but I HAVE to disconnect or it's going to be real BAD" :cry:

Any suggestions/things you may have or ways you find to cope/deal with this and/or "get more used" ?

I just had 'a session' with 4 different demos .. I feel really sick now .. oh dear me .. it's really intense.

Am I the only one with such kind of problem(s) and/or is not ?

What been your experiences in terms of "nice but makes me ill" so far ?

    20 replies

    Anonymous
    May 22, 2014
    Well, it has been stated over and over that the lower persistence and anti-blur technology among others will serve to suppress VR sickness. If I recall correctly, there is a disconnect between what you're experiencing and what your physically expecting, which is amplified by the fact that there is delay in your head motion movements, all of which can cause you to feel sick or similar sensations to motion sickness. The DK2 is reportedly improving this unfortunate sensation for a lot of people. I imagine this is one of many reasons why LP has expressed over and over again that this is a development kit, for developers, so if you're looking for a polished experience you have a ways to go yet, so keep on developing and keep runtime to a minimum would be my advice, that's what I do.
    MikeF
    Inspiring
    May 22, 2014
    things that have helped me get better in terms of nausea:
    -short play times. dont go for hours on end
    -try to rotate your body using only your head orientation. When you turn your body with thumb sticks or mouse it can be very disorienting
    -if the above is not possible, turn your body while also turning your head, or briefly close your eyes as you make sharp turns
    -make sure your IPD is calibrated properly and you're using the best lenses for your eyes
    -stay hydrated and dont go in with an empty stomach
    -if it starts to feel bad, take a break as it will only get worse as you go on
    -in games where you're walking, walk very slowly. Non VR first person games have you moving at ludicrous speeds which you dont really notice until trying with a headset
    Anonymous
    May 22, 2014
    I think in a way "I am lucky" in the sense that "if I don't feel ill then it means I am doing good".

    Yes all you say makes sense and in essence I think it's all about "give info to your brain it can accept what's going on", nausea normally comes when brain and body don't agree like "you see you are moving but you are not really moving you are perfectly still in your chair".

    It's very challenging .. but I think also very rewarding once you find a solution.

    Oh yes I certainly won't stop searching for solutions and developing ;)
    cybereality
    Inspiring
    May 22, 2014
    DK2 is an improvement in terms of comfort, but it is still very much dependent on content. Lots of locomotion, quick camera movement or cuts, head-bobbing, horizon changes, etc. are all sources of sickness. The most comfortable games seem to be ones with little movement. Using only the head-tracking seems to help, as a controller/keyboard can lead to unexpected changes in acceleration. Of course, things that will get you sick in real life are not good either (i.e. roller-coasters).

    In addition, some people seem to have a stronger "stomach" for VR. I have also heard reports of people getting their "VR legs" after some time working with it. Personally I have been sick only on a few occasions (really bad actually the first time I tried Team Fortress 2). After testing more demos this has seemed to pass, and now I rarely ever get sick (expect on Technolust, not sure why).

    It's recommended people play for short 15-20 minute sessions, and then take breaks until they fell comfortable again.
    AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | MSI X370 Titanium | G.Skill 16GB DDR4 3200 | EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 | Corsair Hydro H110i Gigabyte RX Vega 64 x2 | Samsung 960 Evo M.2 500GB | Seagate FireCuda SSHD 2TB | Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV
    rupy
    Up and Coming
    May 22, 2014
    You buy a graphics card and hope for the best.
    "It's like Homeworld in first person." Disable Aero and vSync for a completely simulator sickness free experience with 2xHz FPS. Keep the config utility open for tracking to work.
    cybereality
    Inspiring
    May 22, 2014
    You can also check out the Sea-Band:
    http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Band-Adult-Wristband-Color-1-Pair/dp/B001F731N0

    People say it's placebo, but I used them on a 3 hour TF2 session and I think they helped.
    AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | MSI X370 Titanium | G.Skill 16GB DDR4 3200 | EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 | Corsair Hydro H110i Gigabyte RX Vega 64 x2 | Samsung 960 Evo M.2 500GB | Seagate FireCuda SSHD 2TB | Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV
    Anonymous
    May 23, 2014
    Has anybody tried taking dramamine before playing?
    did it help?
    saviornt
    Up and Coming
    May 23, 2014
    Yes, it will help, however, it is expensive. "VR sickness" is exactly the same thing as motion sickness medically speaking.
    Current WIPs using Unreal Engine 4: Agrona - Tales of an Era : Medieval Fantasy MORPG
    Anonymous
    May 23, 2014
    "cybereality" wrote:
    You can also check out the Sea-Band:
    http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Band-Adult-Wristband-Color-1-Pair/dp/B001F731N0

    People say it's placebo, but I used them on a 3 hour TF2 session and I think they helped.


    .. like a friend of mine would say .. " Esoterism ! " :shock:

    Sounds a bit like those celebrities Power Bracelets or how they were calling.

    I think I'll maybe try ginger candies or such instead :)
    Anonymous
    May 23, 2014
    .. actually to be fair as here "we are playing with the eyes and brain" .. whatever you can supply your brain to put it "in a better state" be this like wearing a band .. it probably works .. not maybe on a physical level but at a mental level.

    If you can convince your brain - in some way or another - that what you see/perceive in OR is "correct" nausea will go away.
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