As others said, it gets better the more you play. Early on I got motion sickness from playing Aircar and it took 2 days to recover. Also some people find that eating ginger helps settle your stomach.
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First time I used VR and it made me throw up
- Thread starter DFG
- Start date
Unlike many here, start doing the math that VR is not for you like myself
Try and try again and then feel bad it's not for me
Try and try again and then feel bad it's not for me
I was okay with Astro Bot but RE7 made me puke after about 10 minutes. I have been squeamish about jumping back into VR ever since. I've never got motion sickness from a game.
A lot of people like to hand wave some of the faults of current versions of VR in favour of backing an up and coming technology. And I understand that, its exciting and new and a lot of fans on ERA want to see the technology succeed and hit the mainstream.
Most of the feedback you'll get on a video games forum where people back this technology will be to carry on and 'power through'.
But if the technology is making you consistently react in this way thats you body telling you something, powering through here is unhealthy. Speak to a physician and ask them what you should do as ultimately this isn't a technology or a gaming matter its a health matter. Likely they'll tell you to stop.
It's not worth risking your health just to play video games in VR especially when you have alternative non-vomit inducing ways of doing that. The technology will improve and its one area of gaming where increased power will likely go into better framerates and motion tracking that will ease this feeling. You can wait for these upgrades and be able to play in VR when the technology allows.
Most of the feedback you'll get on a video games forum where people back this technology will be to carry on and 'power through'.
But if the technology is making you consistently react in this way thats you body telling you something, powering through here is unhealthy. Speak to a physician and ask them what you should do as ultimately this isn't a technology or a gaming matter its a health matter. Likely they'll tell you to stop.
It's not worth risking your health just to play video games in VR especially when you have alternative non-vomit inducing ways of doing that. The technology will improve and its one area of gaming where increased power will likely go into better framerates and motion tracking that will ease this feeling. You can wait for these upgrades and be able to play in VR when the technology allows.
This topic motivated me to connect the PSVR back up and try out that Iron Man demo. Was pretty cool. Beat it and started up Psychonauts Rhombus of Ruin. Been sitting on that game for years now. I just wanted to finish it in time for Psy 2.
Felt nauseous after 15 minutes. Now I remember why I haven't beaten it yet. Can't play it for very long. The scaling is too extreme. I'm constantly cocking my head up, down, left and right. Found a playthrough that's only an hour long. Just gonna pick up from where I stopped playing and watch the rest 🤷‍♂.
Felt nauseous after 15 minutes. Now I remember why I haven't beaten it yet. Can't play it for very long. The scaling is too extreme. I'm constantly cocking my head up, down, left and right. Found a playthrough that's only an hour long. Just gonna pick up from where I stopped playing and watch the rest 🤷‍♂.
OP
OP
I do remember the nausea I first had when using VR. Admittedly, free movement Resident Evil VII may have been the deep end of extreme VR to be diving into.
At the same time, keeping at it can definitely help. I've gone 6+ hour uninterrupted sittings in VR even just recently, with no side effects. However, VR affects everyone differently, so you just have to experiment yourself to see how far and how long you can go.
At the same time, keeping at it can definitely help. I've gone 6+ hour uninterrupted sittings in VR even just recently, with no side effects. However, VR affects everyone differently, so you just have to experiment yourself to see how far and how long you can go.
I've never felt motion sickness with games, but I still took it slow with VR to start with. Went for games that don't have much movement from the character in them. Spent almost a year working my way through games like Batman, Job Simulator, I Expect You To Die, Statik, Esper, even Superhot VR. I was mostly fine. I'd take regular breaks but never felt like I was going to throw up. So I thought I'd try Skyrim. 30 seconds of it and I wanted to puke.
I've been very fortunate with VR. Didn't really experience a lot of issues outside of the Oculus Quest just being really uncomfortable my eyes feeling really strained from just 20 minute sessions. That's gotten a lot better though.
The only thing that makes me feel weird is smooth turning.
The only thing that makes me feel weird is smooth turning.
OP
OP
Honestly this is interesting. What was about Skyrim that made you feel like that?
Came to post this... those ginger candies are good too. Have them close by until u get your VR legs lol.
You probably played too long for a first session. You have to learn your body and get the feel for the incoming sickness. Then, whenever you feel something is building up, you can take the helmet off and rest a bit, so the problem goes away before it really starts. In my case it is a weird feeling in the stomach - almost as if I swallowed an ice cube.
The good news is that: (1) you played a game that can be more sickness-inducing than many others. I played many hours in vr, but still find the first moments when camera follows you in Astro Bot to be difficult. (2) Your body gets used to it so do not get discouraged.
The good news is that: (1) you played a game that can be more sickness-inducing than many others. I played many hours in vr, but still find the first moments when camera follows you in Astro Bot to be difficult. (2) Your body gets used to it so do not get discouraged.
At a VR hackathon I tried a prototype and after 10 mins, the game bugged out and launched me at mach speed 100 meters upwards... rest of the day I had to lie down on a bench dry heaving lol.
Otherwise I was able to acquire a bit of a tolerance even with my limited play sessions.
Otherwise I was able to acquire a bit of a tolerance even with my limited play sessions.
Playing The Inpatient and Transference I had these feelings of nausea and strange stomach feeling for two days. Same with Doom VRF... I guess for those people that just can't adapt so easily to VR like me, games where you have to move your character in the game while being static in the real world make your body go crazy. However, this didn't happen when playing Beat Saber or Audica for example. It depends on the game.
I think it was just the first game I tried with full movement. Everything else has you standing/sitting in an environment, and at most teleporting to set locations, while in Skyrim, right from the start you're running, climbing, jumping, and it's all quite chaotic. They do have an option for teleporting, but I've not really gone back to it. I really should try again.
Bought a PSVR a few years ago and got sick back then and just returned it. Decided to give it another shot when Blood and Truth bundle came out and the only game that's made me sick is Wipeout but even that's not as bad as it was before. Not sure what happened because it's not like I was building up my tolerance over time. I just stopped getting sick.
Don't make your first VR session 2 hours long. Play for 15 or 20 minutes and take a break.
Astrobot is relatively safe but there are even better games or experiences to start with. At launch it always annoyed me when people straight up started with games like Driveclub and damned the technology.
Astrobot is relatively safe but there are even better games or experiences to start with. At launch it always annoyed me when people straight up started with games like Driveclub and damned the technology.
The proper analogy here would be that as your first experience with alcohol, you chose to drink a whole bottle of scotch.
To all the people who say you get used to it, for some people (like myself) it just won't happen. I've been playing VR games for over a year and can barely handle anything where my character moves without teleportation. I have tried so many times but it never gets better.
Any time you can't feel the sensation of movement that your VR camera has convinced your eyes of, your brain has to deal with that somehow.
Games like Superhot, Job Simulator, etc avoid this conflict by never moving the camera artificially. They may teleport you to different scripted areas artificially, but they're visually instantaneous, so you never expect physical inertia. Same is true of games where pointer-based teleport is a locomotion option, and same comfort benefits can be had with snap turning: the motion is nixed so you shouldn't feel a physical disconnect.
Begin your sessions with comfortable games like Beat Saber, Superhot, etc, and end with a short session of Astro Bot. Quit at the earliest indication of nausea creeping in. And make this a daily/bi-daily routine. I'm convinced quite a few people who never get their VR legs after years of VR, just weren't exposing themselves frequently enough. You'll never get calluses if you only play guitar once a month.
Also: ginger candy. Some say that in itself makes them nauseous, but it worked for me from day one. I ate them before and during my VR sessions for about a month.
Additionally, there are at least 3 kinds of artificial movements that people get comfortable with at varying degrees:
1. Smooth locomotion (walking, running, driving)
2. Smooth turning
3. Rolls, tilts, flips (plane sims, roller coasters, etc)
#2 and #3 are a little more uncomfortable for some than #1. I've only trained for #1 but I can tolerate #3 pretty well. I never use #2 because I have the 360 tracked Vive and Quest and prefer real turning.
Other things can cause nausea or headaches, like a sensitivity to panel refresh rates, or an incorrect IPD setting. If an all natural standing game like Superhot gives you the same discomfort as Astro Bot, then it could be one of those factors.
Games like Superhot, Job Simulator, etc avoid this conflict by never moving the camera artificially. They may teleport you to different scripted areas artificially, but they're visually instantaneous, so you never expect physical inertia. Same is true of games where pointer-based teleport is a locomotion option, and same comfort benefits can be had with snap turning: the motion is nixed so you shouldn't feel a physical disconnect.
Begin your sessions with comfortable games like Beat Saber, Superhot, etc, and end with a short session of Astro Bot. Quit at the earliest indication of nausea creeping in. And make this a daily/bi-daily routine. I'm convinced quite a few people who never get their VR legs after years of VR, just weren't exposing themselves frequently enough. You'll never get calluses if you only play guitar once a month.
Also: ginger candy. Some say that in itself makes them nauseous, but it worked for me from day one. I ate them before and during my VR sessions for about a month.
Additionally, there are at least 3 kinds of artificial movements that people get comfortable with at varying degrees:
1. Smooth locomotion (walking, running, driving)
2. Smooth turning
3. Rolls, tilts, flips (plane sims, roller coasters, etc)
#2 and #3 are a little more uncomfortable for some than #1. I've only trained for #1 but I can tolerate #3 pretty well. I never use #2 because I have the 360 tracked Vive and Quest and prefer real turning.
Other things can cause nausea or headaches, like a sensitivity to panel refresh rates, or an incorrect IPD setting. If an all natural standing game like Superhot gives you the same discomfort as Astro Bot, then it could be one of those factors.
I almost returned my PSVR after the first day or 2 of using it because I got so woozy playing it. I can play it for hours on end now and feel nothing.
It has to do with the conflicting information being received by your eyeballs and your inner ear. Because VR has a very convincing 3D effect and fills most of your field of vision, the perception of motion your eyes pick up while cresting a big hill in a racing game for example, tells your brain that your body is moving and about to experience that stomach drop you get when you go over that hill in a real car. Your inner ear, which functions as a kind of gyro and coordinates balance, tells your brain "nah bro we're stationary." Your brain then starts trying to sort out what's going on, and after a little while it decides that the best course of action is to just reboot the system and make you hurl.
With VR it's best to always ease in - play for 10-15 minutes at a time at first, take a break, and then play for a little more. After a few days of conditioning, the feeling starts to go away and eventually you can play comfortably for long periods of time. In the meantime, games that utilize teleportation and snap turning for movement are the best way to get started. Once you've gotten acclimated, you can make the move to smoother locomotion methods - it's usually the movement of the whole world around you that tricks your brain into expecting input from your inner ear that it can't account for.
Also, if you DO feel sick while playing, stop IMMEDIATELY and take the headset off. Fighting it seems to only make it worse for most people. But don't let it deter you - it really does go away with conditioning! In the meantime - blowing a fan towards you while playing helps a lot of people, as goes ginger candy for some reason. I've not needed these things myself, but it's good to know!
almost 30 people tried psvr in my home, and no one threw up. More than 50% felt dizzy in games with movement. Zero sicknesses in stationary games.
Honetsly PSVR is not even a good reprsentation of what VR is anymore. It's like 2 generation behind
Holy shit, 2 hours is a Professional-level session OP! Not for beginners. I can go 3-4 hours in PSVR at once, but I've spent a LOT of time in the headset. 30 minutes at max to get adjusted, I also recommend setting up a quiet fan on yourself at first as that can help with motion sickness for some folks
Astro Bot is a good starter, but I'd recommend going even lighter at first with something like Rez, Job Simulator, or Tetris Effect. Just getting used to the headset will help acclimate you
Astro Bot is a good starter, but I'd recommend going even lighter at first with something like Rez, Job Simulator, or Tetris Effect. Just getting used to the headset will help acclimate you
yeah, the first 2 week i was feeling so weird after each time i woke up from sleeping. Like i was living another world for a period of 1 hours each time.... But gladly it disappear.
You will adapt the more you do it. That being said, there will simply be some experiences that get to you and you identify those types and avoid them. I can play plenty of them, but something like a racing game often gets to me. Also, don't push it. If you start to feel off, take a break, don't wait until it gets worse. There is even one game I can't play that is not VR, Outer Wilds, the FOV makes me sick every time.
As others have said: don't start by playing 2 hours straight, that's a bit extreme :p
And even then, don't start by playing a game that makes the "camera" (you) move without your direct input. This is the worst case scenario and what causes most of the sickness that people will feel while playing VR.
You should try a game where you teleport to move around (or where you don't move at all like beat saber) and see how it goes.
And even then, don't start by playing a game that makes the "camera" (you) move without your direct input. This is the worst case scenario and what causes most of the sickness that people will feel while playing VR.
You should try a game where you teleport to move around (or where you don't move at all like beat saber) and see how it goes.
If you feel queasy *at all* during the vr session, even just a little bit, immediately stop and take a break. You generally can't "push through it", and the more you play the worse you will feel, for longer afterward. My guess is the OP may have felt little twinges during gameplay but ignored them, and they just added up.
OP hasn't played games without artificial movement by the sounds of it. Hardly anyone gets sick from those.
They also played for 2 hours on their first session when they should have gone at it one bit at a time.
OP
OP
Oh I think I was far more distracted to follow Astro Bot to actually notice any difference in my body lol well next time I'll look out for any signal my body feels
On PS4 I would make sure the camera is under 6 ft from you, the PSVR has bad tracking and the further you are from the camera the more 'world wobble' you can experience (world sort of swims around you). If you're up close it usually works better with less to no wobble. Astrobot does have some (minimal) floating of the camera so it can make you sick if you're not used to vr.
I only feel sick and dizzy when it's a game that has free-mode in which walking is just you floating without simulator you actually walking. It messes with your head and it feels like your aetheral self is being extracted from your physical body.
Games like astrobot are fine.
Games like astrobot are fine.
Longest stretch I've done was 10 hours of Skyrim one day :D real world seemed really weird afterwards...
See a few people here say PSVR makes them more ill than other headsets. I honestly think it's the fact it presses on your temples really hard on some people. I feel the pressure as soon as I put the headset on. Others find PSVR to be the comfiest of the headsets. Seems to be a variation in head shapes (not size cos my head is small). So it's more I feel ill from the pressure and less anything to do with VR motion sicknesses. I get it playing standing still games, and I can feel motion sickness in more active games as a whole separate thing. Maybe this is what OP reports as well as the usual VR legs thin
Seems to be a weird under the radar issue since most people don't report this. I just hope PSVR2 takes it into account and is designed differently (and it should be lighter for starters which will help as well). I bought silicone cable ties and wrapped them round the side part and it definitely helps a little bit.
Check this Reddit post out.
Seems to be a weird under the radar issue since most people don't report this. I just hope PSVR2 takes it into account and is designed differently (and it should be lighter for starters which will help as well). I bought silicone cable ties and wrapped them round the side part and it definitely helps a little bit.
Check this Reddit post out.