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Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by sillysaurus3 on Sunday May 29, 2016 @06:02PM (#11798435)
The Rift once made me cross-eyed for several hours. I had to sleep to get rid of the effect. I haven't heard about this since then, so I'm wondering if you've seen or heard of it.

It happened when I attempted to use the Rift with Portal, which at the time had very primitive Rift support. The game had a calibration mechanism which adjusts the field of view for each eye independently, as well as the "left-rightness" of objects as they recede into the distance.

I fiddled with the calibration for a little while, but everything looked pretty muddled. Suddenly it all came into focus, mostly, and I played the game for an hour or two. Which is to say, I stumbled around in this weirdly-calibrated world.

When I took off my Rift, I was astonished to find that I was cross-eyed, and couldn't uncross them. I tried closing my eyes, focusing in the distance and then back, etc, to no avail. After a few hours I gave up and went to sleep.

I woke up fine. It was one of the strangest experiences I've ever had, and I was wondering if anyone's experienced a similar effect.

EDIT: Interesting. Apparently the answer is "No, no one else has experienced this."

I should clarify some details. This was several years ago, back when Rift support was in its infancy. The only thing I remember is that there was some sort of program designed to inject Rift support into games. Back then, Mirror's Edge, Portal, etc didn't have Rift support, but using this program, you could hack it to work.

I think what happened is this: Point at the ceiling, then bring your finger close to your nose. Keep focusing on your finger. There's a distance where you have to cross your eyes in order to continue focusing on your finger. Bring it a little closer.

I'm pretty sure that's how I had the calibration set up. And I played like that for a couple hours, which caused my eyes to adapt to that situation. Hence, cross-eyed vision.

I've played many other games with no problems, so it was definitely a product of the bizarro calibration. It'd probably be a bad idea to try to replicate this, but there were no lasting effects.

Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by kd5bjo on Sunday May 29, 2016 @06:38PM (#11798549)
If you can afford it, get checked out by a neurologist or an opthalmologist; double vision brought on by eye fatigue can be the first sign of several different larger issues, most of which will benefit from being diagnosed early.
Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by kd5bjo on Sunday May 29, 2016 @07:39PM (#11798761)
Re: your edit

To be clear for anyone else that may read this, any sudden visual impairment warrants an immediate visit to the ER. Even though many problems will resolve themselves, there are plenty of others that can cause permanent vision loss if they aren't treated properly.

I'm not a doctor, but I've had similar symptoms unrelated to VR. After several tests (including an MRI), I was advised to wait and see if the problem recurs. Given how long you've been asymptomatic, just wait and see seems like a reasonable course[1]. On the other hand, my symptoms did come back after a while, and it sounds like that VR session put more strain on your eyes than I've ever subjected myself to.

[1] I am not a doctor; when in doubt, talk to anyone w/ a medical license

Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by dave_sullivan on Sunday May 29, 2016 @06:08PM (#11798460)
A) That's pretty scary, the extent of my problems with the rift have been motion sickness (it's worse in some games than others). Overall, because of all the cables + headphones + motion sickness + driver issues + finding my mouse and keyboard without knocking anything over, I never really got to play my occulus for more than 45 minutes before giving up. It's been in my closet for months. I bought both dev kits but am holding off for a while on retail versions.

B) I can't resist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaz2hxZLycY

Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by mentos on Sunday May 29, 2016 @06:23PM (#11798513)
I own the DK1/2 and slowly built up a resistance to VR over time. I have been thinking about The Jerk with regards to VR for the last 2 years, glad to see I'm not alone.
Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by goldenkey on Monday May 30, 2016 @09:30AM (#11801212)
That clip is hilariously relevant. I already have issues with my eyes due to screens so I will heed the advice in this thread and avoid VR until it is well nourished.
Re:How big an issue is the nausea problem for VR products? by washadjeffmad on Monday May 30, 2016 @12:19AM (#11799530)
Playing with HMDs and VR in the 90s, I came across a book that described the efect as a "virtual hangover" with effects that could last up to 72 hours, which was why AF pilots using them in training were grounded for that period.

It's not an uncomon effect for any close focusing to distort vision temporarily, especially if your eyes are tired. I visited an opthalmologist last year because of persistent ghosting at night, and it turned out to be from reading laying on my side in bed causing one eye to partially cross but not fully uncross until morning.