First Impressions Inside the Project Holodeck VR Game World

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First Impressions Inside the Project Holodeck VR Game World

Posted by samzenpus on Monday February 11, 2013 @11:02AM from the more-real-than-real dept.

Hesh writes "The space-pirates themed Project Holodeck game is a VR game that is initially targeted for the Oculus Rift and will marry VR with a world so interactive and immersive that it feels like you can reach out and touch it. Ben Lang over at RoadToVR recently got a chance to sit down with the team and try it out. He came out extremely impressed with how immersive the experience was: '...at one point I needed to set the Razer Hydra controllers down to adjust my helmet and I nearly tried to set them down on a virtual table next to me. There was no table in real life — had I not quickly realized what I was about to do, I would have dropped the controllers straight onto the floor below.'"

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/. effect by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:11 · Score: 0

Their server seems to be having trouble.
1. Re:/. effect by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:16 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Text only Google cache version.
Space anything by volmtech · 2013-02-11 11:17 · Score: 4, Funny

As long as there is no mention of space marines they should do fine.
1. Re:Space anything by icebike · 2013-02-11 11:23 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Oh, I don't know, seems to me naming anything after the Holodeck is just asking for trouble. Second to warp drive, Holodeck failures seemed to suggest they were the most troublesome piece of equipment ever invented.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
2. Re:Space anything by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-02-11 11:28 · Score: 1
  
  As long as there is no mention of space marines they should do fine.
  One does have to wonder if the folks at Games Workshop just hang out with their legal department for a bit whenever they need to release some new flavor material for the Ordo Hereticus...
3. Re:Space anything by hawguy · 2013-02-11 12:03 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Oh, I don't know, seems to me naming anything after the Holodeck is just asking for trouble. Second to warp drive, Holodeck failures seemed to suggest they were the most troublesome piece of equipment ever invented.
  That's not surprising, Holodecks seem to be hugely complex and must have huge power demands. Immersive 3D holographic projection, high fidelity, overlapping force fields throughout the chamber to give the illusion of walls, surfaces and the ability to 'walk' endlessly, instant matter replicators (so when the holographic bartender pours you a beer, you can drink it), etc. There's probably transporter and gravity generators involved as well. Just about every bit of advanced Star Trek technology that we are unable to duplicate today is used in the holodeck.
4. Re:Space anything by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 13:41 · Score: 0
  
  And their power supply is incompatible with the rest of Voyager, to boot!
5. Re:Space anything by dead_user · 2013-02-11 14:35 · Score: 2
  
  All a holodeck really has to do is simulate the input your senses would be sending your brain. All we need is a great interruptable wetware interface to the brain and the holodeck becomes simply software, a la the Matrix. Loads cheaper, easier to make transparent, and easier to manipulate.
6. Re:Space anything by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 18:40 · Score: 0
  
  This I agree with. The Holodeck was a cool concept. Still is in fact. But a direct neural interface seems to make the most sense, albeit biologically and perhaps psychologically risky too.
7. Re:Space anything by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 20:29 · Score: 0
  
  Brainstorm
8. Re:Space anything by drinkypoo · 2013-02-11 23:21 · Score: 1
  
  All a holodeck really has to do is simulate the input your senses would be sending your brain.
  The holodeck as imagined works for all species who don't see straight through holograms, without tampering with their brains. I think that's a better design, given the available technology.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
very nice! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:19 · Score: 0

i can't wait to get an occulus rift and hook it up to unity3d, from what i hear the API is already somewhat in place.
1. Re:very nice! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:29 · Score: -1
  
  Get off of my lawn, and never come back!
  * points shotgun barrel *
The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:25 · Score: -1

for porn!
1. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Kell+Bengal · 2013-02-11 11:35 · Score: 2
  
  www.sinfulrobot.com/oculus-rift.html
  
  You're welcome.
  
  --
  Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
  altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
2. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:39 · Score: 0
  
  for porn!
  Women who don't manipulate men might stop being so damned rare once men can get all the sex they want from a realistic holodeck.
3. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by grimJester · 2013-02-11 11:45 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you
4. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by hawguy · 2013-02-11 12:12 · Score: 1
  
  for porn!
  Women who don't manipulate men might stop being so damned rare once men can get all the sex they want from a realistic holodeck.
  If all you want from a woman is sex, you'd be better off paying a professional - then you get what you want without all of the "manipulation" you seem to be experiencing. If you feel you're being manipulated, you're with the wrong woman. There's nothing wrong with compromise or give-and-take in a relationship, but why put up with manipulation?
5. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 12:43 · Score: 0
  
  This comment made sense until I noticed the "don't."
6. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 12:59 · Score: 0, Interesting
  
  for porn!
  Women who don't manipulate men might stop being so damned rare once men can get all the sex they want from a realistic holodeck.
  If all you want from a woman is sex, you'd be better off paying a professional - then you get what you want without all of the "manipulation" you seem to be experiencing. If you feel you're being manipulated, you're with the wrong woman. There's nothing wrong with compromise or give-and-take in a relationship, but why put up with manipulation?
  Yes that's mighty chivalrous and PC of you but don't kid yourself. Women terminate more than 80% of all marriages and serious relationships that end. Women hold most of the power in most of the relationships because most relationships sadly do have a power-struggle component instead of a partnership model.
  
  A realistic holographic sex partner would change that for many men because many women weaponize sex, parceling it out like a reward. A realistic AI to go with that would even more drastically alter the outcome of such a power struggle. Women would have to offer something that cannot be replicated, like real caring and real love.
  
  There is such a woman in my life thankyouverymuch and she is not a manipulator at all. Not one bit. But I had a series of two-faced bitches prior and I find my experience there is not uncommon. That's all. Sorry if telling the truth bothers you or something and makes you feel the need to state obvious shit that isn't what I was talking about, like the need for give-and-take. That is a common strategy - something makes you uncomfortable so you find a way to trivialize it, implying that I was talking about something so easily avoided. Amazing the mental gymnastics people will do to avoid admitting when something gets under their skin.
7. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 13:38 · Score: 1
  
  It is said that if you have a series of relationships that all have similar problems, either you are the problem or you are seeking out partners with whom you are similarly incompatible. Given your dickish response I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here.
8. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by hawguy · 2013-02-11 13:42 · Score: 1
  
  for porn!
  Women who don't manipulate men might stop being so damned rare once men can get all the sex they want from a realistic holodeck.
  If all you want from a woman is sex, you'd be better off paying a professional - then you get what you want without all of the "manipulation" you seem to be experiencing. If you feel you're being manipulated, you're with the wrong woman. There's nothing wrong with compromise or give-and-take in a relationship, but why put up with manipulation?
  
  Yes that's mighty chivalrous and PC of you but don't kid yourself. Women terminate more than 80% of all marriages and serious relationships that end. Women hold most of the power in most of the relationships because most relationships sadly do have a power-struggle component instead of a partnership model.
  I believe it's closer to 66%, but if your theory is true, I don't understand why woman who wield so much power over men are so happy to leave the marriage, yet men who are apparently the men who are suffering this emotional abuse from women are so willing to remain in the marriage.
  
  A realistic holographic sex partner would change that for many men because many women weaponize sex, parceling it out like a reward. A realistic AI to go with that would even more drastically alter the outcome of such a power struggle. Women would have to offer something that cannot be replicated, like real caring and real love.
  So even in your ideal world with realistic holographic sex, women will still have something to withhold from men? Won't these manipulative woman still wield their power over men by withholding real love and real caring from them?
  
  There is such a woman in my life thankyouverymuch and she is not a manipulator at all. Not one bit. But I had a series of two-faced bitches prior and I find my experience there is not uncommon. That's all. Sorry if telling the truth bothers you or something and makes you feel the need to state obvious shit that isn't what I was talking about, like the need for give-and-take. That is a common strategy - something makes you uncomfortable so you find a way to trivialize it, implying that I was talking about something so easily avoided. Amazing the mental gymnastics people will do to avoid admitting when something gets under their skin.
  You make the claim that women use sex as a weapon against men to manipulate them and all it would take would be an artificial replacement for the sex, then women would lose their power and everyone (well, at least the men) would be happier, yet you claim that *I* am the one trivializing the issue?
9. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Jmc23 · 2013-02-11 16:10 · Score: 1
  
  Women who don't manipulate men aren't rare, they just do that with pansies who let themselves be manipulated.
  
  --
  Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
10. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Jmc23 · 2013-02-11 16:12 · Score: 1
  
  Women enjoy having bitches for a while but they still prefer and need real men. Just don't be a bitch.
  
  --
  Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
11. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 18:47 · Score: 0
  
  So even in your ideal world with realistic holographic sex, women will still have something to withhold from men? Won't these manipulative woman still wield their power over men by withholding real love and real caring from them?
  I think he'll be surprised when he discovers that men withholding sex from women doesn't quite work the same way.
12. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Linkreincarnate · 2013-02-11 21:50 · Score: 0
  
  Only if you are bad at sex...
13. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 21:58 · Score: 1
  
  "withholding" and "real love" don't go together well.
14. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by drinkypoo · 2013-02-11 23:24 · Score: 1
  
  I don't understand why woman who wield so much power over men are so happy to leave the marriage, yet men who are apparently the men who are suffering this emotional abuse from women are so willing to remain in the marriage.
  Because they're afraid of being single. That was easy. Let's see if the next one is so easy.
  
  So even in your ideal world with realistic holographic sex, women will still have something to withhold from men? Won't these manipulative woman still wield their power over men by withholding real love and real caring from them?
  People get away with abuse due to opportunity. I find it easier to find real love without real sex, though I too am in a loving relationship.
  
  You make the claim that women use sex as a weapon against men to manipulate them and all it would take would be an artificial replacement for the sex, then women would lose their power and everyone (well, at least the men) would be happier, yet you claim that *I* am the one trivializing the issue?
  There are many issues, and this is only one of them. We can talk about what it will take for men to stop beating women next, but that will be an even lumpier conversation.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
15. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by drinkypoo · 2013-02-11 23:26 · Score: 1
  
  Women who don't manipulate men aren't rare, they just do that with pansies who let themselves be manipulated.
  So you're saying that all women are manipulators? That sounds more than a little sexist to me.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
16. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Jmc23 · 2013-02-12 02:22 · Score: 1
  
  Ever met a human?
  People have a tendency to manipulate others they don't respect.
  
  --
  Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
17. Re:The Holodeck is really, really great by Jmc23 · 2013-02-12 03:07 · Score: 1
  
  I should clarify my previous comment further.
  Humans test boundaries. It isn't malicious, at least in the beginning. If you don't maintain your boundaries people lose respect for you. Doesn't matter the sex. How we test boundaries generally does divide by gender.
  
  --
  Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Brainstorm.... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:34 · Score: 0

Brainstorm, the movie. How far did they come from the lab to the demo.
Check it!
lol by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 11:41 · Score: 0

that is absolutely pathetic.
Interesting. by Areyoukiddingme · 2013-02-11 13:52 · Score: 1

The article is slashdotted, but there's only 19 comments, and only one of them is a hater. Fascinating. Could it be that VR might actually make it this time? Really and truly? How does it go? “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Looks like Gandhi was right.
1. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 14:47 · Score: 0
  
  It will be great if you enjoy strapping a computer to your back and wearing a big ass, heavy helmet with wires everywhere and two joysticks instead of gloves.
  Oh and the graphics looked like something from the late 80s DOS PC era.
2. Re:Interesting. by Desler · 2013-02-11 16:53 · Score: 1
  
  Not with the ridiculous setup in the picture it won't .
3. Re:Interesting. by VortexCortex · 2013-02-12 01:14 · Score: 1
  
  It will be great if you enjoy strapping a computer to your back and wearing a big ass, heavy helmet with wires everywhere and two joysticks instead of gloves.
  Oh and the graphics looked like something from the late 80s DOS PC era.
  Yeah, fortunately for me, that's not what my VR Rig looks like.
  Mine looks like sun glasses with ear-buds and they can hook up to my smart phone when on the go. Wearing them looks like watching a big 3D (70 inch or so) TV. The 90's came, and so did VR games like Exorex, Dactyl Nightmare, Descent, Quake, etc. The funny thing is that the old Descent game works great on my 3D TV (though I think that 3D TVs are a dead end -- If you need glasses for 3D then you can just put screens in them and take 'em with you). VR never died the first time around, it just wasn't widely adopted. Specialists and Hobbyists still use VR just like back in the 90's: In my last job before I became independent I did sound surveying for industrial noise abatement and I used to use my portable alternate reality glasses, and a custom smartphone app in factories to visualize the 3D sound samplings in real time safely, i.e., while the machines were turned off I could still "see" where the noise had been coming from (that the monitors had previously recorded and our software had turned into 3D volumetric data).
  Occulus Rift? Meh, whatever. That'll stay niche if you ask me. Light-weight transparent OLED 3D 'sun glasses', w/ optional flip up light-shields for toggling between AR and VR are the future form factor of head mounted displays... A similar form factor already exists, and I play existing games like Quake 4 and Descent 2 with them all the time (I'm even experimenting with adding a VT101 terminal emulation to my game engine's 3D GUI so I can code in VR -- Imagine it, everywhere you look is screenspace -- API docs? Just turn your head, no need for a wall of screens). I still use VR headgear, but I stopped strapping my head into a bucket with screens a decade ago and I'm not going back. Those who like VR don't have to wait for this Project Holodeck. Also, Games? That's all they can think of to use VR with?
  vortexcortex@hivemind:~/vr-vim/build/$ make hacker-movies-jealous
4. Re:Interesting. by AwesomeMcgee · 2013-02-12 05:23 · Score: 1
  
  You're missing the real magic here. They hooked this thing up to 4 kinect sensors so imagine waving your hand in front of your face and the 3d-glasses showing it because the kinect sensors know what movements your whole body are making.
  
  Otherwise I find what you're talking about here pretty interesting but still, the kinect attachment is really a game changer, imagine paying 20 bucks to go for a half-hour into a huge warehouse where the kinect sensors watch you and let you actually walk physically around any virtual land scapes. Hook it into google street-view data and it could become quite realistic.
5. Re:Interesting. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-12 06:14 · Score: 0
  
  So you have the HMD, but what about all of the wires in the way? What are you using to control the 3D environment? Do you still have to sit down and use a keyboard/mouse or gamepad? How's the FOV? Lower than 100 degrees?
  If it's not completely wireless, lightweight, wide enough FOV to cover your entire vision and using gloves or a 3D sensor to detect natural body movement, then it's a fail for VR.
For a Fake Pirate? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 13:56 · Score: 0

But will it work for somebody with only one eye?
1. Re:For a Fake Pirate? by wonkey_monkey · 2013-02-11 20:02 · Score: 2
  
  It'll give them just as much stereo vision as they have in real life, so, kinda.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
This is disgusting. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 14:16 · Score: 0

This needs to be banned before the pedophiles get a hold of it.
1. Re:This is disgusting. by Chibi+Merrow · 2013-02-11 15:03 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, won't someone think of the virtual children.
  
  --
  Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
  Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
2. Re:This is disgusting. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 15:17 · Score: 0
  
  That doesn't apply exactly nd is probably a fallacy. I'm not advocating banning sexually oriented VR like the GP is, because I am not a fascist, but there are real problems brought up by the issue. Utimately, unsavory business men will eventually produce one about children and that specifically should probably be banned though. A child molestor could use it to practice his assults, or it could be the tipping point that turns a healthy person into a monster. The same can be said about rape themed material. It would also blur the lines of those kinds of people, who already have a ... fragile ... attachment to reality and desensitize them enough so that even if they were fuck ups before but where holding back because of the law, that they would carry out their attacks. Virtual sex haas it's places, but it needs to be highly regulated like current sex is.
3. Re:This is disgusting. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-11 15:44 · Score: 0
  
  Or it could be an outlet for a pedophile's compulsions, making his refraining from harming real children easier...
4. Re:This is disgusting. by Chibi+Merrow · 2013-02-11 16:28 · Score: 1
  
  Everything you just listed as "bad" about this supposed VR is just as true about daydreams.
  Maybe we should heavily regulate them, as well.
  P.S. I find it funny you claim not to be a fascist, when in fact the policies you are advocating are surprisingly close to Italian fascism pre-WW2.
  
  --
  Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
  Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
5. Re:This is disgusting. by Linkreincarnate · 2013-02-11 21:48 · Score: 0
  
  We should ban steak too. Babies cant digest it so it's bad in general right?
easier by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-12 05:19 · Score: 0

won't chemical castration work more effectively?
1. Re:easier by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-12 09:47 · Score: 0
  
  If efficiency is all you care about, then just go with killing the person. No need to even waste time with a trial, and kill anyone suspected of having such a problem, as long as the false negative rate is kept low and the false positive rate isn't high enough to impact population growth (or possibly that high for other benefits...).