Eleven: Table Tennis VR is Awesome

It's like having abasement with a table tennis table in it

I have few illusions about my sporting ability. I was always picked last, and unwillingly, for team games. And I tended to try to make up with enthusiasm what I lacked in technique. And as a result I spent a lot of my sporting time searching for the ball that I just hit. 

Except for table tennis. 

I allowed myself to think I was quite good at table tennis. I even bought a table to play on. It's in the garage. It turns out that having a table to play on is one thing, but having a room big enough to play in is something else. And it's surprising how even a little bit of wind can ruin an outdoor game. Not to mention rain.

Eleven: Table Tennis VR is a table tennis game for the HTC Vive. And it is very, very good. It only costs seven pounds or so, and at that price it is exceptional value. It takes a tiny bit of getting used to, but not much. The most important thing for me was the realisation that I had to hold the "bat" control side on, which felt rather strange. But with that tiny proviso it gives you a very authentic game of table tennis.

When I play table tennis properly I can usually tell if the shot I've just played is any good before it goes over the net. If I hook the shot, or apply so much spin that the ball is going to hit my side of the table first, I get a sinking filling and then have to watch the shot play out in front of me. I get the same feeling playing this game. 

It's really very simple. If you have an HTC Vive you should buy this. Practice a while.. And then call me up for a game. With a bit of luck I might even beat you.

HTC Vive Fun and Games

I thought I'd spare you any pictures of me in shorts with headset stuck on my face....

The reason for my new hairy new PC is that I ended up getting an HTC Vive VR system. We finally got it working today. The delay has been technical, but it has also been spacial, in that it has taken me this long to clear an area large enough to use the system. And there is now a huge pile of stuff in the corner that I need to find somewhere to put... 

Anyhoo, the system worked wonderfully. The Vive comes with a couple of "lighthouses" that spray infra-red positioning signals all over the room. The headset and the controllers detect these signals and use them to place themselves very accurately in 3D space. What with it being our house and all, I was able to actually screw the lighthouses to the walls and furniture, and they work really well. There's going to be a bit of fine tuning required, and I have managed to try to put my hand through a window sill once so far, but the experience is proper and it is real. 

Next step is to play a few games, get a feel for the system and then pull down some of the software development kits for the platform and have a go at making stuff. And the developments with Windows Holographic are very interesting too.