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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

    Inspiring
    May 23, 2014
    I would agree that they probably have little medical/scientific backing, but if it works who cares?

    It's all just in your mind anyway.
    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
    Up and Coming
    May 24, 2014
    I got my VR legs eventually, even though I was one of the first backers and got sick after 30 seconds in Microstar Museum ;p My good buddy that tested Oculus many times also conditioned himself so yes, if you are stubborn and really want to overcome sickness - then you can do it :lol: The problem is if you are prone to sickness and you get ill after few minutes, your brain will really try, however it can, to discourage you from playing. You might feel sick just at the idea of putting the headset on. Heck even looking at a flat screen might be difficult after leaving VR if you are really prone. Don't let your brain win lol!! Keep on pushing forward.

    I had spent a fair amount of time mixing hardcore games like Coasters and Epic Dragon with Proton Pulse - trying to give my brain mixed signals but I'm not sure if that's important. Just keep on spending time in VR and you'll be good.
    Up and Coming
    May 24, 2014
    "MikeF" wrote:
    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


    Very good tips! I'm not sure if I would agree with full stomach though lol :D I remember playing "Water Hazard" in HL2 was the only time that I didn't only just feel sick, but went sick if you know what I mean ;) Fortunately I had an empty stomach ;p
    Participant
    May 24, 2014
    I think DK2 will probably be your best bet. There are a lot of best practices for both developing and experiencing content, but I think ultimately it's the blur and lack of positional tracking that gets most people. It just doesn't feel great when you move and the whole world moves with you, and for some people that's enough to push their stomach over the edge.
    Up and Coming
    May 24, 2014
    I agree the DK2 will likely help a lot with this. I've also felt a bit queasy playing certain demos, but not while using the Omni. Turning and moving with your body instead of a gamepad or keyboard makes a huge difference.
    Up and Coming
    May 27, 2014
    I've been playing video games since I was 4, and when I got the rift I thought "hey, i've been playing games for 15 years, I won't get sick from this!"
    Man, was I wrong. I can barely last 30 seconds before sweating up the screen and borderline throwing up.
    I did read though that some theorize that the body believe's that it gets poisoned, so it causes these reactions. I also hear that having the perfect IDP adjustment can really help fix the motion sickness problem. Finally I also heard from that magazine that covered the Oculus story recently that (I think it was) Brendan Irbe tried a demo from ValvE and did not get queasy in the slightest.
    Facebook bought Instagram. How exactly did they ruin them?
    May 29, 2014
    Earlier in the discussion I had recommended dramamine
    for VR sickness. I was told that it was expensive, which it is.
    at Walmart it cost five dollars for eight pills in the name brand.
    if you get the equate brand it cost the same price but for 100 pills.
    Up and Coming
    May 30, 2014
    "Basementscientist" wrote:
    Earlier in the discussion I had recommended dramamine
    for VR sickness. I was told that it was expensive, which it is.
    at Walmart it cost five dollars for eight pills in the name brand.
    if you get the equate brand it cost the same price but for 100 pills.


    I looked at the bottle with 100 pills, however, they will cause drowsiness.
    Current WIPs using Unreal Engine 4: Agrona - Tales of an Era : Medieval Fantasy MORPG
    Up and Coming
    June 27, 2014
    I don't have the Oculus yet (DK2 coming soonish I hope) but I do use my Galaxy S3 with a homemade HMD. I'm not prone to getting terribly ill, but I do sometimes get a bit queasy and I find that standing up and using my body to turn when possible helps a lot.
    Ordered: June 4th Status: Strapped to my ugly mug ON, Canada
    Up and Coming
    June 27, 2014
    "saviornt" wrote:

    I looked at the bottle with 100 pills, however, they will cause drowsiness.


    Operating heavy machinery with a Rift on is not advised.