This is the question a lot of SL’ers have been asking themselves over the past week. I jumped into Sansar as soon as they announced it was open to the public, mostly because I’m nosey and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
As a long time SL resident, I’ve grown used to certain things in my virtual world. I have many things I like to do in-world, including photography and dancing. I’ve invested quite a chunk of change over the years to update/maintain my avatar and have invested a large amount of time in photography as well.
There’s been quite a bit of negativity from some about Sansar – all of which I understand. However, if you enter Sansar with the expectation that it will be ‘like’ SL, you will of course be disappointed. SL has been around for 14 years and has seen many, many changes since its early years.
For me, Sansar is a pretty place to visit and take photos. I can’t manipulate the environment in Sansar as I can in SL, so what you see is what you get with Sansar photos.
That said, the environment in Sansar is gorgeous. The lighting and shadows are amazing and I’ve seen some truly fantastic builds from creators. After just a few visits, the camera controls are becoming more intuitive.
I don’t spend a huge amount of time each time I visit Sansar, because my graphics card is working a bit harder than I would like. Also, Sansar seems to use quite a bit more data than SL, something I unfortunately have to watch now that my lovely ISP has implemented a data cap. 
The main issue with Sansar as it is now is that there isn’t much to do – there’s lots to see, but if you are visiting via PC, as I am, you can’t really interact with anything. Sansar also seems a bit empty (though that often applies to SL as well). Most experiences I visit, I’m the only person there.
For now, if you’re looking to do the same things in Sansar that you do in SL, I’d wait. If you are someone who likes trying new things and experimenting, then I’d encourage you to log in (assuming your computer system is up to Sansar snuff). 😀
A Kat and A Mouse 
I visited the NASA Apollo Museum prior to acquiring an HMD. It was not bad. It had scale and made use of audio and video and was well integrated. Then I surprised myself by investing in an HMD tempted by the temporary sale.
OMG. The difference, for me, was life-changing. I just stood next to the Saturn V engines for minutes as I could not believe its massive scale. Then listening to the audio I realized really how amazing what scientists had accomplished.
THIS was an EXPERIENCE because I wrapped myself up in it and lingered. Maybe it has some bias cause I like space-y things. But for the 1st time I GOT, no I FELT what is meant by ‘experience’. I would never have ever thought about visiting any RL space stuff. I never really got past ‘its just something else on tv that you watch’, feeling.
My horizons have been broadened. Also the VR tutorials you get when you acquire the Oculus Rift…I don’t have words to describe. Totally totally totally, exceeded expectations of VR. Not only is the VR world very sur-real real, but I was blown away by the very convincing NPC AI…the level of humanity means that VR will have not only an environmental realism but a human one as well. Me thinks.
So if there will be more experiences like this that enable us to get more out of what the world has is and will offer then its a win for all who are fortunate to be able to partake. In the future this tech will only improve and get better and the creative minds will as well. While I cant take long doses of the sometimes dizzying escapading, I plan to temper my VR life in a few small doses a day. I am glad i took the plunge over to ‘the other side’.
I’m still trying to find somewhere local to try out a rig before I invest in one. I get vertigo easily, so I want to make sure it’s not a deal-breaker for me before I invest that much in a rig I can’t/won’t wear.
I lucky because I don’t have a data cap but I still limit online time in Sansar. I can tell my graphics card is working HARD. I actually have my lap top on my lap and the heat build up from my Nvidia 1070 makes it uncomfortable after only a few minutes.
I got seasick on a boat. And yes I also did get a bit nauseous at the end of maybe 20 to 30 minutes. I plan to try taking Dramamine to see if it helps offset my dizziness. One handset moves you and the other turns you, in Sansar. Turn very slowly is my recommendation. I suspect there will be ways offered to maneuver that have built in throttling for those of us maneuver-challenged in the not too distant future. My store offered a 2 week free trial/return policy so maybe you could take home and try risk-free.
And yes my 1070 also heats up so I plan to unplug the HMD when not in use as well as limit my playing time to a few minutes a day.
I suspect they will address the heavy resource usage in due time as others in the forum have also commented on the heat issue.
I think it will be like alcohol. Worth the buzz but consume in light moderation.
My 1070 heated up uncomfortably in just desk top mode. I haven’t been in experience since last week and probably won’t try Sansar again until September. Maybe I’ll see enough improvement to justify a HMD.
I have a question: Can you use an HMD in Sansar without using voice? Because of an injury I can barely talk so anyone can understand me. I sound sort of like Stephen Hawking did before he had the tracheotomy and had to use a computer voice. So, I never bothered with voice in SL.
Yes
If I understood correctly, yes, you can use the HMD without using voice. However, if you are using a VR rig, you cannot see the chat, nor can you respond, because you cannot type while using the rig. But you can certainly walk around and explore without using voice with the VR rig.
Thank you! Kat! Well than is a reason not to get a HMD. To clarify I can’t physically talk but I can type. So with a VR setup I could walk around but not communicate with anyone. Not very social is it! 😦
Yes good points.
I was unable to see chat while in VR mode.
Sort of like real life where there is no chat…only sign language.
Would be interesting now to see how other VR worlds address this issue?
Moving between the modes was cumbersome…at the moment. I suspect navigating between modes will improve in time.
There may come an option to make chat available in VR mode or they may feel it detracts from the VR experience as they declared with the concept of ‘running’. A toggle-able local chat feature…maybe a compromise. Perhaps there will be a virtual keyboard where you can chat between ‘friends’.
And its not too unreasonable to see a future implementation of ‘sign language’ integrated with the hand controllers for those who are hearing impaired.
I would agree that they will likely improve toggling between VR/PC modes, but I doubt they will make a chat mode for VR, as you said, because it would ‘detract’ from the immersion. The idea of sign language using the hand controllers is brilliant – and I’m certain they will come across more situations like this where they need to provide some sort of adaptation.
Some minor good news. The latest Sansar Survey asking for our 5 most requested features (to probably help prioritize on) included one about ‘making chat available in VR mode”. YAY!.
While it does not address a way to type, at least its a step in the right direction. Half of the problem addressed.
Maybe they will offer a pop-up QWERTY keyboard as well as some new type of abbreviated phoneme keyboard..maybe akin to what court stenographers use