HTC

The HTC Vive has -- like all virtual reality headsets -- had a long and drawn out birth. For months the headset has been touring around tech shows, video games expos and public arenas to demo its nascent capabilities, to people prepared to wait hours for the chance to stand in a 15-foot-squared booth and encounter a giant blue whale.

I myself have now done a version of this demo four separate times, including once for BBC Radio 5 Live while a producer attempted to hold a microphone close to my mouth while I waved around like an idiot. (Yes, dear reader, I accidentally punched him. And no, that clip did not make it to air.)


Every time I did the Vive demo I enjoyed it -- and the core experience of being able to move around convincingly in a 3D space was always entertaining. My memories of each demo are stronger than those for Sony, Oculus and Samsung's equivalents, perhaps for that exact reason. Tilt Brush, in particular, has always stood out -- this 3D painting application is the dream of 3D printing and graphics tablets completed and rolled into one experience, a transformative creative tool and always too short in my demos.

For all these wonderful, gradually improving glimpses at its tech were fun and enlightening demos, what HTC did not manage to do once in 2015 is convince many people, including me, that the headset was a genuine product.

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This is not down to the company's failure to meet its deadlines, necessarily, or due to an inherent problem with the headset, the software or the core experience. The issue was, rather, twofold -- both mundane issues, to some extent, but important too.

The first was how the Vive kit would actually be setup in the home. Expensive PC and tethered headset aside, how would HTC make its required pair of laser-based 'trackers', which have to be placed on the walls of your home in order to draw the virtual 'play room' and track you inside it, be installed? Would this be the job of a technician? Will I need to book an appointment, or can I stick them up myself with a bit of sticky tape?


The second issue was larger -- and more or less boils down to whether the Vive would be dangerous to use without someone else in the room. Sitting at a desk with a VR helmet on is one thing -- and that will be possible with Vive, if you want -- but standing in a living room with tables, TVs, lamps and the occasional human being wandering past while simultaneously trying to direct a battle or fix a menacing robot is potentially another.

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Fortunately, following a series of announcements made at CES in Las Vegas, it now appears that HTC appears to have solved both issues -- at least enough to make its announcement that pre-orders for the Vive will start on 29 February both much more welcome, and much more intriguing.

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To the first point, HTC has introduced refined versions of its tracking lasers and its controllers, which look much simpler to setup and more forgiving of different spaces. HTC says users will be able to set up smaller virtual rooms or play areas if they choose, and will not need 15 feet squared of space in order to use the kit. Tracking of your hands is improved, with new wireless controllers that have a tracking ring above the hand, a dual-stage trigger controller and haptic feedback. All of this should mean that setting up the lasers and getting a consistent experience is relatively simple -- though exactly how many plugs, battery chargers or other infrastructure you will need is still something of a mystery.

It is in terms of safety and reassurance for wearers that HTC has made the most progress. The 'Pre' -- the second developer headset shown at CES, which is not quite the consumer version but which is said to be close -- now has a camera on the front of the kit which allows you to double press a button and replace your view with a blue world, featuring outlines of nearby objects and humans. The effect lets you see where nearby walls and boundaries are, without having to lift up the headset or interrupt your gameplay. You can also use a 'Chaperone' mode to see the full view of your surroundings.

In practice, the effect is powerful and a big relief for those who have at turns enjoyed and feared the boundary-less immersion of previous HTC headsets. It is possible, for instance, to find and sit down in a chair without assistance, all while wearing the Vive. Augmented reality games and experiences are also possible in the future, HTC said.


There are other improvements in the new Vive Pre kit too. The headset is smaller and more refined in design. The display is brighter and has increased "clarity" if not resolution. There is a system by which foam pieces will enable you to personalise the fit of your device, and each element seems consistent with each other -- together, the kit really does look like a finished product.

Except it's not -- and we don't even have a price for the final version, when it is finally released sometime in April (we hope). If the Vive is even more expensive that the Oculus Rift, and it seems likely it will be, consumers might react badly given the rough treatment Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey has been forced to endure after his own announcement of a £499 Rift. Then there is the high-end PC you'll need to use it. The barriers to entry are still high.

Still, after a year of increasingly impressive and inspiring, but vaguely impressionistic, demos, the HTC Vive seems finally ready to get out of the way and let game makers, directors and artists take the stage. And after so long touring its roadshow of demos, tests and 'experiences', that can only be a good thing.