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Atari Jaguar-Related VR Units Show Off Virtuality
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing out videogame auction site Bidiots has a pair of Virtuality SU2000 Atari Jaguar-related VR pods for sale. These 1995-era 'virtual reality' arcade machines originally cost "$33,000 - $35,000 per seat", and the machines come bundled with compatible software titles, including Dactyl Nightmare 2, a multiplayer networked shooter in which, if you're not careful, the "awesome [eponymous] beast will pick you up in its claws, and fly hundreds of feet above the playing arena before dropping you to certain death!" A set of specifications for the SU2000 reveals more information, including exciting action shots of the device, and elsewhere, Atari Explorer has pictures of the unreleased Jaguar VR system, an "ambitious plan for a home VR headset at under $300" which used similar technology to this device.
I was impressed when I played it way back then. Even though the graphics were crude, the immersion made you feel sort of like you were in another world. The steel cable attached to your back was clunky, and it fixated you so you couldn't turn 360. I do remember some corporate function that had some experimental software where it took you through a few worlds (a rat on a floor, hang gliding, etc.) I would love to see VR make a comeback. Looking at the type of graphics of today, if we had VR controls it would be so much fun.
Ah the heady days of the early 90's. VR was coming, and fast. Jaron Lanier (VPL) was in every issue of Mondo2000 (the precursor to Wired mag). The Dactyl-nightmare VR game (that was just one of the games) was just a taste of what was to come - they had one on the UC Berkeley campus and there was a long line all the time - soon after, I convinced the owner of the campus-side computer store I managed to lease one (me and my buds became the midnight VR crew). The $300 home VR gaming system was on its way. I had four different business plans based on this stuff. This was going to be the beggining of the transhuman revolution. I was going to learn how to juggle in VR - Jaron Lanier said so. Somehow, the whole thing just disappeared. VPL was sold to some French company, the gaming console never came, Mondo2000 gave way to Wired and the whole thing went poof. WHY??? I dunno. Maybe because VR makes people naseous? I remember being pretty sick after some 3am dactyl sessions, but I thought that it was just because the displays were laggy. Today's 3d shooters make me want to puke and always give me a headache, but I figured that is because I am looking at a 2d display. Maybe the military didn't want their tech going into the layman's hands? Conspiracy theorys anyone? Anybody out there know the rest of the story? Any links to current projects? With the advances in computing/graphics power, the stuff they were doing with 100k SGIs should be doable on 1k AMD boxen. Why isn't this stuff reality?
Then Ill be happy BattleTech was one of the best "VR" games to bad it cost so damn much.