• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

PC VR - Hardware, Software, Recommendations & Discussion Thread

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Plenty games have mature deep and fun motion controls, saying they're all primitive waggling is just way off the mark and shows a lack of experience with PC VR more than anything. Or intent to troll. You don't have to like them but that doesn't make them objectively bad. Don't be that guy.

There already are well established templates for certain kinds of games that work well. Ie, Pavlov, Onward and Contractors all have similar controls just as all non VR FPS play quite similarly, even if the games end up different in terms of speed, realism and gameplay style.


It's not even just a strictly FPS template as they have the needed interactions and basic inputs (like which button does what) for any game type and it's always jarring when some dev chooses to do it a bit differently for whatever reason. I want to grab with the middle finger trigger on Touch, release it to let go of/throw the object I'm holding, release it in preset attachment spots if I'm to place it in my inventory/belt and so on. I want to move myself with the left analog stick and use artificial rotation with the right stick (I find it quite convenient even with 360 dof VR). Etc.

The same goes for melee combat or archery whether it's something fully physics driven and semi-realistic like Blade & Sorcery or something gamey like In Death and the simplistic melee systems in Vengeful Rites, the basics are very similar and work pretty great when done well. Basically the controls shown when you fire up an Oculus and get the tutorial, First Contact and Oculus Home are intuitive and can apply to just about any game in varying degrees. The bow in Oculus Home and the laser toy gun are as intuitive and natural as any game centered around those particular mechanics, which is a pretty big achievement. The rest of the non VR game design outside the actual methods of interaction apply just the same in VR which is what helps with having mature games even though the technology is new as we only got hand tracking like 3-4 years ago!

Which isn't to say the tracking tech is primitive either, Vive did it first and did it impeccably so right out of the gate, we had motion tracking tech evolve prior to the modern evolution of VR, it's not like they came up with the concept just for Vive.
 
Last edited:
I believe it is. It's basically a stereoscopic 3d screen stuck to your face with headtracking instead of using a mouse pointer to align your view.

You might believe so, but the technology is not an attempt at providing a screen to you, it's supposed to provide an experience of immersion. Otherwise, why have a VR set? It won't give you better visual fidelity, which would be far better accomplished with a conventional tv screen or computer screen.


Nobody is saying not to have headtracking.

Headtracking is motion controls. It shows how important motion controls are for immersion.



VorpX , although not perfect, shows you just how easy it is for a lot of games to be converted to VR. I dislike VorpX but I do try it on occasion to test. I dreamed of Skyrim and Wipeout in VR from the moment I put it on a 3d TV with Nvidia stereo drivers.

I have VorpX, it's not at all comparable. It's a nice experience, but it's nowhere near what I went to VR for and it's not one of my good experiences in VR. What you'd want is likely something far more closer to Lucky's Tale, being an observer inside the game that's controlling with a controller. That's not something that's easily converted. Closest thing I've seen to that is the NES emulator.


Because some of us don't gain any presence or immersion from standing in the middle of a room waving our arms around. Being able to look around a full scale 3d world is what impresses me, not how I should stretch out my arm to pick a virtual apple up from a virtual table.

Then watch a movie instead, they allow you to sit and look around a full scale 3d world. If you want a 3D Tv experience, then buy that.

But it isn't. Motion controllers are terribly hit and miss. Look at WMR vs Vive. How many times I've died in games trying to go through with a gun reload by moving my arms and it not registering or accidentally pulling a food item from a backpack rather than a sword. I know what actions I should be doing, the game/controllers don't have a clue and get it wrong.
Also I don't like being forced to play games with added on shit motion controller mechanics (looking at you Fallout 4 VR and PS4 Solus Project) when the game was designed around a controller is just stupid.

If you like that sort of thing then fine. I don't.

I've got a Rift and I've yet to experience any "hit and miss" with motion controllers. Only thing I can think of is a problem in terms of picking objects on the floor. That's basically it. Otherwise, almost all problems are in terms of converting very rigid conventional games into a VR motion control scheme. So it's not VR itself, it's a terrible implementation of motion controls by developers that tend to be a problem. That's not a problem with the medium, that's the same problem you'd experience if you tried to make a conventional controller have to do fine mechanic movement. For some that is fun as well, just see some of the simulators on Steam.
 
Last edited:

marcb

Neo Member
Plenty games have mature deep and fun motion controls, saying they're all primitive waggling is just way off the mark and shows a lack of experience with PC VR more than anything. Or intent tot troll. You don't have to like them but that doesn't make them objectively bad. Don't be that guy.

So if I don't agree with you then I don't have experience or I'm a troll. Yeah, thanks.
I've owned DK1, DK2, Vive, Rift, Lenovo Explorer, and currently own PSVR and Odyssey+, next is the first available 2k x 2k screen which is available without waiting lists.

As I stated earlier, I found myself not using the motion controllers and realised I was only playing games with the xbox pad. I don't like the controllers. I find them primitive at best and they just get in the way at worst.

You might believe so, but the technology is not an attempt at providing a screen to you, it's supposed to provide an experience of immersion. Otherwise, why have a VR set? It won't give you better visual fidelity, which would be far better accomplished with a conventional tv screen or computer screen.

Well it is a screen, and as you don't seem to comprehend other people have different priorities when it comes to what they find immersive. I've already told you what I like about VR, 3D scale of world.

I have VorpX, it's not at all comparable. It's a nice experience, but it's nowhere near what I went to VR for and it's not one of my good experiences in VR. What you'd want is likely something far more closer to Lucky's Tale, being an observer inside the game that's controlling with a controller. That's not something that's easily converted. Closest thing I've seen to that is the NES emulator.
There are lots of VR games being 3rd person in a world. I didn't say VorpX is good. It gives you a glimpse of what a game would be like in VR, I don't use it for play throughs.

Then watch a movie instead, they allow you to sit and look around a full scale 3d world. If you want a 3D Tv experience, then buy that.
three times in your reply you've tried to come across as an authority on what I should do and should like. You're coming across as a muppet.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Well no but you're trolling when you apply your preference as objective reality that is how things should be for everybody. It's also trolling when you call it waggling. You don't waggle to wield a firearm or pick up an object to interact with in VR just as you don't waggle to do those things in real life (which isn't saying the experience is identical or anything, it's still just a game with its own rules and physics). With that way of thinking then every single traditional input game is a button mashing game, since you do still mash buttons and you can ignore any additional thought and nuance required to effectively play just as you do. In the end, we all let devs do what they want, most VR game devs (and actual VR devs, I don't think any notable company is pushing out new VR without any additional motion tracking these days, whether in the mobile, stand alone, PC, console, or location VR field) clearly love the motion controls and work with them for what they offer and clearly disagree with your opinion (and you're free to not play). Even traditional input games like Moss or Astrobot incorporate a degree of motion tracking just because to them it's cool and adds to the feeling of presence and immersion. There are still games without them or that make them optional (as they also support devices like hotas and wheels if they're that kind of cockpit game and a gamepad can be worked in similarly, if the game design allows for it) but it's not realistic to demand it for every game. We get it, you don't like the way VR is/is going. How many more times do you have to post the same thing with nothing to add or any intent to debate beyond bruh it's muh opinion, why you care, don't be an opinion hating fascist? That's how VR is and the way it's going. Deal with it/move on.
 
Last edited:

marcb

Neo Member
wall of bollocks

get over yourself. I've explained clearly from the start that it's all IMO. I don't use controllers. I don't like controllers and the games which use controllers I'm not a fan of so don't play.

I've just loaded up a few games which use controllers. Guess what. The game got confused again when I tried to reload and swapped the gun over to the other hand. I know in real life how to pick stuff up and load it into a gun on the other hand. Waving a stick of buttons isn't anything like that.

Anyway, I'll bow out, you're here to argue the toss over opinions and call people names and I just can't be arsed with you.

funny with your little fascist comment though. I guess this place never changed after all. still full of the same old mongs
 
Last edited:
I was't too miffed since RE7 only had headtracking. If it had hand tracking controls for item and weapon manipulation I'd have been super sour for it never coming to PC for sure.

I do long for a good zombie VR game though. There are some that do this or that aspect right or are super fun and stuff but nothing that compares to a really good single player campaign like RE2 Remake's. That'd be so awesome with in-depth VR features.
Then I hope that RE8 supports PC VR from the ground up to address everything you mentioned.. Or at the very least, a spinoff that has the same budget and production values as RE7. Not a small tier game like Outlast or whatever it is called.
 
Last edited:

gifgaf

Member
Because some of us don't gain any presence or immersion from standing in the middle of a room waving our arms around. Being able to look around a full scale 3d world is what impresses me, not how I should stretch out my arm to pick a virtual apple up from a virtual table.

But what about those that do? from the highest number of player in VR atm on steam are using motion controls I would say most do get presence, are you saying that you are not telling us how we can play but you are moaning that games out there use motion control like the next comment.

Also I don't like being forced to play games with added on shit motion controller mechanics (looking at you Fallout 4 VR and PS4 Solus Project) when the game was designed around a controller is just stupid.


Games that are designed around controllers can be converted to motion controls if done well, looking at you Doom 3 BFG edition. VR and FPS games are a match made in heaven imo.

No one is forcing you to play games with motion controls just don't play them, there are VR games that use joypads, focus on those you can wish some games had controller support but to act like that motion controls do not matter because you don't like them isn't nice. I don't play games that do not appeal to me and then moan that I was forced to play them I just realise I don't like them and move on and trust me I have paid and played so many trash VR games. You seem upset because someone made a game for players that like motion controls? I don't understand your point here, this is like being upset that all VR games do not cater to your tastes.


You do you and let others play how they feel, getting upset that some games was made for motion control and not a joypad just because you don't like motion control seems spoilt, I think thats why some people have defended motion controls in VR against you as they have. We can have both, maybe devs do need to cater for your tastes as well as motion controls but I think that will come in time.

I will agree that the VR market is skewed towards motion controls for sure but that is because its in its infancy and people DO like motion controls, VR and motion controls fit together so well. Give it time there will be more joypad games.

It sucks that you are in the minority but its not the end of VR for you, there are VR games that do and will cater to your tastes.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
get over yourself. I've explained clearly from the start that it's all IMO. I don't use controllers. I don't like controllers and the games which use controllers I'm not a fan of so don't play.

I've just loaded up a few games which use controllers. Guess what. The game got confused again when I tried to reload and swapped the gun over to the other hand. I know in real life how to pick stuff up and load it into a gun on the other hand. Waving a stick of buttons isn't anything like that.

Anyway, I'll bow out, you're here to argue the toss over opinions and call people names and I just can't be arsed with you.

funny with your little fascist comment though. I guess this place never changed after all. still full of the same old mongs
That "wall of bollocks" didn't ask you to repeat yourself with nothing but insults to add to the conversation as you haven't added to it since several posts back though. Yeah, blame GAF for your inability to discuss rationally without shitting on others.

Guess what, this never happened in any VR game to me.
Sounds like he got confused and not the game indeed. Might as well say non VR video game controls suck because that one time I pressed this context sensitive button to do one thing and it did another as I was within another context's proximity and the dumb game couldn't read my mind! Lol.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
New Windlands 2 content! Free!
Fun tubers playing the game if you don't know what it's like. Don't watch too much and spoil all the bosses and stuff maybe though.


 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Interesting article on Index making Oculus games far more viable with Revive thanks to its similarities to the Touch layout.

I'd say they could be even better to play with Index (assuming things work correctly) if they properly map the grab trigger to actually grabbing the controller handle intuitively. Similar to how some third party Touch grips add Index-like straps so you can let go of the whole controller to throw/drop stuff rather than just the trigger. Boneworks devs have commented on the compatibility of Touch and Index layouts in old videos like this (wow how early they got Knuckles/Index and yes, this video is also at the top of the page for another reason):


And newer posts:


Hopefully in the future Oculus store will become platform agnostic like Viveport and have some kind of default remapping available for games.

Also hopefully this makes Index-first games on Steam able to as easily remap to the Touch as well, as long as you don't need to play Rock-Paper-Scissors as in the Index demonstration Aperture Hand Lab.
 
Last edited:
I played Vader Immortal today and was blown away. Yea its short, but it gave me a glimpse into what a AAA Star Wars VR rpg could be like in a couple years when VR really picks up (with vr capable consoles going mainstream)
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I played Vader Immortal today and was blown away. Yea its short, but it gave me a glimpse into what a AAA Star Wars VR rpg could be like in a couple years when VR really picks up (with vr capable consoles going mainstream)
Glad you had a nice experience. Personally I was very disappointed with it, it felt very limited and unpolished (having to go on the giant marker to trigger progress, the slow hand animations instead of instant response, the lack of anything much to do as it's basically corridor, corridor, climb, climb, deflect super-slow-moving laser shots, do some melee, it's getting hype, oh no it's over) kind of like a Lone Echo cinematic knock off from a less skilled developer who couldn't get things to be as immersing and natural and intuitive, with some combat sequences on top. I don't think people would have cared for an exactly identical experience that didn't have the official Star Wars skin on it. Thankfully my refund went through. But yeah, a full length gameplay focused experience that looked like that but was a ton better would be absurdly amazing. From Quest-to-PC games I think Journey of the Gods is a better deal, a meatier experience, if not without its own flaws and limitations. Still, we've been dreaming about an awesome Star Wars Jedi game since the days of the Wii and nobody's yet to make it. At least modern VR games show it's actually possible, hopefully we'll live to see it.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
This is out, it looks neat, if not exactly gamey and replayable.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Node got to play Battlewake.



It looks a lot like Furious Seas which I had some fun with though it's still in early early access.

I hoped Battlewake would go for a longform, VR immersion based take on Sid Meier's Pirates!, but it seems it's going for quick arcade play too. It looks fun.

The devs of Battlewake (and other VR games like Creed, Raw Data and quite a few more) will apparently be teaching VR game design courses.

And some tech news.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
A very meaty Blade & Sorcery update alongside the full Index support.

HiddenApprehensiveHawaiianmonkseal-size_restricted.gif
OilyAdventurousBovine-size_restricted.gif
EntireWellwornChrysalis-size_restricted.gif
UnconsciousCooperativeDromaeosaur-size_restricted.gif
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
And a Space Junkies update with more free content! New modes of play, 3 vs 3 support, bots and more!
 
Last edited:

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
I don't think that's what he's saying.

VR was originally penned in as a visual device, the logical next step from 3D TV, a monitor placed on your head to give you more immersion. But now the focus has shifted from the visuals to the controllers, as demonstrated with all the new release headsets not really being much of a step up with their screens and optics but more towards how many tracking cameras or fingers you can use.

I can't think of many games which wouldn't benefit from having a VR headset mode added to them, but I'm guess VR modes aren't added to these larger games due to the complexities of catering for all the different controller schemes and having to re-write how their games work with arm/finger movements.

If VR had stuck to the headset only for a generation or two before introducing motion controllers then maybe it would have been the norm for many AAA games to have VR modes built in to them from the start, rather than having a market saturated with 10 minute quick fix wave your hands around stuff like we have now.
No. VR has always been envisioned as a new medium that puts you and your body into a virtual environment. That was always the goal. Of course there is still plenty of room for games that use a gamepad.
 
My fellow VR brothers. I'm currently at an impasse when it comes to my Summer Sale purchases.

I've got these games in my Wishlist and don't know how to prioritize:

OrbusVR: Reborn (MMORPG in VR, but I'm unsure on how it's in terms of longevity and whether the gameplay loop is good enough for it to be something you'll play over time)
Moss
Sairento VR
The Wizards - Enhanced Edition
Job Simulator
Gorn
QuiVr
Contractors
Furious Seas
Budget Cuts (It's really hard to judge whether this one is worth buying.)
VR Dungeon Knight
Fruit Ninja VR
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
The Forest (VR support. Does it have a single player mode as well, if you don't feel like playing online and how's the VR implementation?)
Raw Data
Space Pirate Trainer
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
The Forest has single player, yes. Or I didn't notice I was online when I last played, lol.

I'd prioritize Moss, The Wizards, Budget Cuts, Contractors, Raw Data, depending on what you're looking for.

Furious Seas could get pretty good eventually, it's quite limited for now as cool as the concept is. Space Pirate Trainer isn't for me, I prefer wave shooters (if any) like Raw Data where you can move around the playing field. Psychonauts when it gets cheap, it's a cool but super limited in gameplay adventure. Almost like a "grow" game in that you have to just interact with things in a certain order to get the desired result in the given area (though I don't think you can get it wrong and fail as in grow, just not progress to the next step until you do the previous). Fruit Ninja isn't my kind of thing. VR Dungeon Knight I feel pales in comparison to the likes of Karnage Chronicles. I'm not sure about QuiVr, my favorite archery based game is Apex Construct. And I don't think Gorn would be for me compared to Blade & Sorcery. Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator I didn't much like but you could. Sairento you either love or hate, I think. Just my opinion.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Too little to discuss, seems to be what it says on the tin so watch videos and stuff I guess to decide :)

This is out too. It's had some positive press coverage putting it on par with the likes of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.

Also these not-game things:
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Also this little tidbit:


Here are the nominees.

Personally I'd have given the award to Espire 1 for going full in on that stealth shooter concept without limiting you to the (frankly quite creative but still) kayak. It seems it wasn't even nominated, that's just weird. Maybe they didn't notice it was (?) there, being from a small dev and pub too.
 
Last edited:

gifgaf

Member
And a Space Junkies update with more free content! New modes of play, 3 vs 3 support, bots and more!
Just bought this, hope it's good. I hear servers are kinda dead.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
It's still hard for VR-only multiplayer games I guess. And it's cross-platform with PSVR iirc so yeah, maybe even that doesn't raise the population that much. It's a fun game, at least I didn't have trouble finding games last time I played it (or other VR mp stuff like Contractors & Onward)! It was 2 vs 2 only of course so I guess that makes it easier to play without too many people online! It shouldn't have that much difference for 3 vs 3 I imagine. If your first instinct is to aim some of the guns like a pistol with them stretched away from your body or even as hip-fire thanks to their tracers making you think it's easy enough to aim, fight it for those that have the little crosshair visors as the closer you bring that to your face the larger area the visor and therefor the visible crosshair cover making it even easier to hit people :)
 
Last edited:

gifgaf

Member
Alexios Alexios Got any experience with Orbus?
I bought Orbus. I play MMO's and was heavily into WoW since vanilla, played FF11 heavily and FF14, with a smattering of other MMO's.

I really want to like Orbus and I still haven't given up on it but Orbus needs a certain type of player that is willing to put in the effort to understand it and learn how it works. There are plenty of players around the hubs and I did see groups forming for dungeons so the player base is there. If you want to solo I think you will find it hard going, but if you are sociable and ask for help I think you will get more out of it. I have seen a few people happy to teach newbies the ropes. The game does not hold your hand and for some things you will have to do some thinking to understand what to do or where to go.

Graphics are a downside but I can live with that if the game is good, from what I hear its a game that you have to put in effort to make it work.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, I have Orbus on my "play when bored and chilled" Pile until I get into it and make some friends in game.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Good shit found on other forum.
https://metacouncil.com/threads/the-metaverse-vr-thread-hardware-software-etc-all-platforms.956/post-62894 said:
The day has come, Index is officially out (for the US at least hehe) and Valve had an event for the presentation with the devs, families and some other people who were invited to the event. There's a video of the speech from dev and Gabe Newell, an album full of pics of the event and also a bunch of new information that was posted on reddit.



Here you have a few pics and here it's the link
PRb6Pyjlg7N2PQd-DJjB7XqwZ83rrjqjuFUDt-P_kX3w0k9ARNZsFgJq2klUKRyv0WKqO_tMp_dbiCN0OJVfjApzmqs-qnbL5_VXfoNXqELJ2ZKTp3vgikUeP3jq_KlD__SaMlkQVVaAWknXX7-XIVZQmECM--ZkZSX4FU2HWgyBnelCXdrsrGcyPN90PH3623KgExZK1IxDhmZry-6WZcttXwVJdmfU11SeS9p-SPMuIkuD52kOx4mZiLCvRXU7r_eknhpbzDtYxCCXjwVjyZB0_aY5_LKAKfDJYXtSscs6E9h9nxULzx2lkO2N9X-Rd-h_LJI0vMlYRnGDsbh9iB_Uv42IKluYaxi6nswxREB8qT5E15mX5mCU7ICPXDCzxancLavTPsKcGEd6Z-ESaLcPaxP5Acd-ASrqHFgdKKJtHOP30G32ZMYV_0tSnkePpRUWwWy86mXMxNpo3Q0y459th-gjk3TBRvNKDkIvGZj_TPtKZFWW7UwkONn0-kRIZfNwbOJRqAtkBKLQpCSw8GtlhPVNvKgB12Z0SXibZbZQeyIeTTCre-xSDa-KHjXJziJAZgacMwa-_t5OYxheDcNG8AQwTMF-EgKzGJDyPeu0lQJEuePLvzq5UR6cyY4EjEzaLWttNQHZMbE4xBvVtJsFihLLiRU6aEzS2Itjulf7D0FaYl3Y42vFDnSSc4Ro3vBpnCY6Ex6o7MpTnAVQJFqvWw=w477-h358-no


6AAfpKTY_PWVDTi1iTtGGidJp47pMYEwOQwLQeEZAz9_mFeION9FOADh7Ef0LJKkv0t2v8RNdtXk94lrA2mShHJ_2buXFSa-WPCQSwZYVvhnOJ5VfHWWrjObSv2zl632yzVA-hdSJjrXD-17FFwj5FeqRIPnqrpyOu5RTL-q_iJkwpHv64B9LcM59ezo4ND7go3uupD4lFpPTRBKMtJcwg1ZBYg-zHTLHgMR8ZghsznNYXrNEQCJ_JiTZUDbWyN9qn2cQGSENWXAEeRR__S-JHAM2icFY1tIWJngHaHLvEFmnar_yLB4YKNG2s03h0Hb8u_XMZaY1_XyUlckEWpVlxWC-ZEmRKm6obDVJaZaZug-7HU60sL6EqX8UgprOKPbffFOG5gvn-QjhJxbYm4BeYaG_2rcA9GMlRE2j0eBkuT66SNL7qeE0xdFScAJDxhwYHXSPSP9B0-gzHTYlQNWlq4_PsOaYrtNMf2Lfo8DDogjIHSb0q7FTUMbhBbR-wwPOQAMrTa5GzmSG6Qs8PwyaTvOlviE45W9Bxd0mRcGcbLNqeXXMyUhw1gKINjRCW-QhAIXpVlKyhu_iLTuQno6Re2Few62Vi924XXi5nmP0j9uW-LEc3RT0zkGzDDEtukUi4p3yWuFFbkxfsayQoHF128wOXfQTgJ28k7u9DgQ5it2UU_SAv_5Z444mbcPxlO8o_mv9U2tJgiqZiX2ZYkSQlHKpg=w457-h343-no


wyCfk9LFFGeEtRJoH1RZvGrb1s8Qr2UUpJf5x7cZCUuZLzHOH5ySV4O1rr4exVAMyVCBo4BeHZUizSGCtozfgP50vCrd0OHHpaGxxjw8m4uSYQevPg2ndeOfh5uI-FezJshHr7CUjWy7pzwMSYmUtjhUa1Fa3_yIQQiG9178kVIEtXWIE9q883NAt8c5FA8lvjVQ-zVMoe3d8DKFcrqLCBOmz3bMxT9F-vG9MSQBRyCj5O2XweRUcbXlXgPw35MrZ_OuYMgKLTSonPNQ3K2-HVGi2h04RSMv19_1-0NgCmqGhA5CkEJsP7Wo8NBVLosDetjFnYGpBOx_CWc11iyjx7geI6soxnHxcVoDcvLBcEUbJO7zNAUmnUYM6ScTnqaG85LDwKT5Kt_Z9jLDxpjDGBKvpPX4VSA3JRbUddYpKZKT8V353Qbm4BCn0rQwRnK1s2Mti9aXc0d142h5YVCybxHo8rbJh-DJgTSNcVUKJ32t6SyhgkmnZA3K5ObqINI9tg90tDHyBvH43313P0rM6vhxR1tRxuT1lF9_cTVGWTqzQJZHydJT3Osk8gh4QRTXIZOqrZGz7y8q44d-Z_jr4b_F8RR4dMI4o_i2TWFq0XVOrP2j_39iE-BbREIeGnsDKrOdD2FW9YAkRnvnO4yabKGnG8jHWQ4T_u1MVZbYHHBYZV-Fmt0x5fzfVickFkizjMrTT2Y3wnAWW1Rl2R2aKxGDLg=w1774-h1330-no


That fella in sandals... GabeN :3
pWsKSy5EOVSqwP02YGfWR6_ptI2zTVImKKmZEbuuExxZFCX3o89VltsbisIFLgm0E-PlFQMMGA6r1mT9nwAhmtB-ivNr9KMDP5AW02Oc8UAnu7M-PulWdPjSVUvzXT0Cj7OwJq5hc1WZk_qt8-5DwixK4VxtFyKOUAY02gaAmg6jWkvV4uySrCiNScfjB1vFIkkOt7YJzcJVcMGKY8wYR2a80glkDz9R2hDilALzUUR4cfn01RYlox-dlAqp7zN4jKyo75Cw2oGBHOgsmh_412dgbKzA956NBu1WN_MfCQKCnewSkGXSWwNlsw-PLT8uOp0u2o3FDBvqZ90bcmj5IqUime_F3QjdbXmFCFSqfxg_FTucYvNjcxwn6yTuhZMt5abZezHWDe6SyKY3d1he7aDLqQRCWG4jDCiVcbuF4L-BXJTdj7kAszBQ49UanWpKoSdOE4u0nOuZq4i1WZ5NbHHrFMNEmdPgYIJx0lYDdof2JVuy_Q3HUzN0ulIuptVoxpr48DSjx0o1ASvS3w9FMdaLPElbbbMWWp7cBtP0wBLlG_lm4smW4hvA8WsjIJoWCDDD79Nem5toH_t3k1qOp-6BhA1dIFm0Jf6frffVltGjPLfqdTWb2t5SWLz6p_c_2JmQdJYCHRlgkwBwfsk18wzOMLnS4fhQXSdW6934SAdzQcmYHNT43JTUQtTdKUz-UNvdZ3ORp2EK_21Q80yYKEFCNw=w1774-h1330-no

And here you have the information that was uploaded to Reddit, give the OP an upvote ^^

Optics: I asked whether the Valve Index contained a new/unique optics system. The answer is a resounding YES, but the details are very confidential and were not shared with us. We will have to wait for the teardown that will inevitably come.

AR + Front Camera Tech: I asked whether new features were coming for the new camera system beyond simply passthrough (alluding to AR features, room mapping, etc): The engineer said "they're there for a reason", but any more information than that was confidential.

Lighthouse tracking update: The peripherals still use a similar FPGA system to process the incoming sensor data. There is no big hardware change here compared to the old peripherals. Still not Bluetooth, still using consumer-grade Lattice FPGAs, still using a custom 2.4GHz radio protocol.

Finger tracking details: The final revision of the Knuckles controllers contain 32 capacitive sensors JUST for the lower three fingers area, not counting the capactive buttons for the thumb or the trigger cap sensor. These use a pretty amazing learning algorithm that learns the shape of your hand and the changing capacitance of your skin. The most amazing thing is that this adaptive algorithm runs on the controller, not the PC.\

This improved adaptive algorithm is exclusive to the consumer release of the Knuckles and is not compatible with the EV3 kit. (Not sure if there's a later kit version that this will work with, but I don't have them.)

Front expansion: It's a single USB (presumable 3.0). Valve has no immediate ideas for what they or anyone else will do with it, but they see it as a part of a wider strategy to collaborate closely with the community and work together to find the future of VR.

Knuckles materials + durability: The small tab that holds the controller strap on to the main controller body has been redesigned after a ton of people (me included) had theirs snap off. The new material will not shatter.

Fabric: The fabric used on the Index is the same as the fabric on the controllers. Its light, attractive, breathable, and actually anti-microbial. Very cool stuff, and it looks like a million bucks.

Manufacturing: The lighthouses are manufactured on-site right in the building I visited. Please check out the album to see the photos! However, the headset and controllers are manufactured overseas.

Knuckles form factor: They are releasing/want to release a 3D-printable STL that acts as an "adapter" for the Knuckles for people with larger hands, whose thumbs reach too far to the top of the controller, making pressing the lower buttons difficult. This was the exact issue I was having with my developer kit so I'm extremely happy they're doing this.

Fun facts:

The main industrial designer for the headset designed the entire thing in only 5 weeks of grueling effort.

They changed a key design element of the capacitive sensors "yesterday". This seems crazy to me but the engineer may have misspoke. Apparently a man with extremely large hands sent them a picture and his hands were much larger than anything anyone had ever seen, so they moved the sensors around to allow them to reach the larger hands.

International shipping?
Yes, they know! Yes they're working on it! Yes they want to! Just takes some time.

Demo time!
I was able to use the Index hands on for a good hour or so. I put it through its paces in non-ideal tracking conditions with a wide range of games.

Clarity: This is a clear and obvious step up from the Vive. The lack of pentile pattern in the display (this is a high-refresh-rate LCD instead of AMOLED) makes the screen door effect MUCH smaller. It's still there, but it's pretty much a non-issue at this point. The resolution is really great, but its not crazy high like "not seeing pixels" level here. Its a sizeable step up but thats about it.

Optics: The FOV is absolutely amazing. For context, when you push the eye relief on the Index out as far as it will go (reducing the FOV), it basically is the same as the original Vive FOV. It's that much better. The one drawback is that at the max Index FOV you can see the flat edges of the panels a little bit if you strain your eyes to one side. Otherwise, the clarity, FOV, and everything is great.

Bad news time; the godrays are there, they're noticeable, and they're not going away. This won't be a great headset for super high contrast applications. The godrays are much "softer" though, if that makes any sense. Back in the Vive, you can see the ridges and the exact sort of sharp shapes that the Fresnel lenses make in the godray pattern; but in the Index, its more like a light smear instead of a ridged reflection, if that makes any sense. It feels more like some light leaking in rather than a shaped artifact.

Build quality: Holy shit. Holy mother of god. This thing is the most polished VR headset I've ever seen. It's light. Its compact. Its beautiful. It's tightly put together, zero flex, feels like a piece of tech from 50 years from now. All of the fabric is soft, antimicrobial, smooth, comfortable, and breathable. It looks, breathes, exudes, and screams "awesome". This thing is the MacBook Pro of VR build quality.

Knuckles: Tracking is great, finger fidelity is great, you get the gist. This is not news, these things are the best controllers since sliced bread for VR interaction.

Please let me know in the comments if you have additional questions. I'll see if they gave me any good morsels on your topic of choice.

Cheers,

Finn Sinclair VR Museum of Fine Art Dev
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!



I haven't tried this yet but, neat:
Previously Rift/Vive users couldn't get past the handshake as squeezing wasn't mapped to the analog Touch trigger or anywhere on the Vive controllers either. I imagine rock paper scissors is another roadblock and maybe hand alignment isn't exactly ideal if Index hand positioning is too different to Touch since this is just a basic (if cool thanks to SteamVR functionality) rebinding and not built-into the game proper support for other controllers.
 
Last edited:

gifgaf

Member
VR Headset Sales for 2019 Are Already Impressive

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) players already have something to celebrate this year. According to an IDC report Wednesday, shipments for VR and AR headsets rose 27.2% year-over-year in Q1 2019. On top of that, the research firm expects the market to continue growing throughout the year, as standalone headsets become more popular in both categories

I know this is the PCVR thread but I bet the Oculus Quest made a big dent followed with the Rift S and Valve index coming in after, just a guess though.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Something good for Rift S users. Sounds like inside out tracking has room for improvement beyond just adding more cameras on the HMD. Quest will receive an update that improves tracking as well.
Playing games like Onward, Pavlov, and Creed with PTC 1.39 feels like using a different headset than before. Instances of tracking loss while playing normally are almost completely gone from what we’ve tested.


I'm good with external trackers (original Rift) but this looks pretty solid now. Although that video doesn't tell if he's using the virtual gunstock setting user comments below claim it looks like a night and day difference in tracking quality.

Edit: that guy has his cable pulley wrong, it defeats the purpose as the cable is dangling so close to him, instead of tripping his legs he'll tangle up his hands if he turns around in some sword fighting game, ha. He needs a couple more to lift the whole cable length so it only drops on his head.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
So, I missed posting about Onward's last big update with the new trailer a few weeks ago (or I hadn't made this thread? I dunno, whatever really).


Another big Onward hotfix today (they've added more stuff since). With apparently a new smoke effect (you can see it wasn't great in the trailer).
Hopefully they will eventually also upgrade stuff like AI, mission objectives, game modes & other stuff to better the co-op, and solo, experience.

I'm not that into PVP myself & even with these being rudimentary I have tons of fun when I play Onward in online co-op with randoms, it's great.
 
Last edited:

gifgaf

Member


Oh nice, my kids loved Waltz of the Wizard when we first got VR, It would be nice for them to revisit.
 

Wonko_C

Member
VR Ping Pong looks great. I was close to purchasing Racket Fury, but 6 venues >>>>> 1, even if that venue is outer space. :messenger_winking_tongue:
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I started playing Rogan and got through a few introductory missions. It gets mostly negative reviews but I don't get it, yet at least.
It's no Thief so far, that's true. The levels are bite sized and it does interrupt you with story bits (well, not really story, you get up to a point, listen in on a conversation or watch some guards do their thing etc, small stuff like that) that disable controls. Not long ones however, nothing like that trailer.

Other than that however, it feels quite polished except for the lack of a smooth turning option and the inability to disable the hood graphics (it's a bit like the helmet option in Space Junkies but more prominent). Also you can't enter the settings from in-game (but unlike a review claims you can before you start rather than have to die or quit the mission to do that). The graphics options are only a few presets that don't say what they do, I chose the max and it's been fine. It looks like the trailers more or less as well, I don't get the complaints for the visuals.

Edit: oh yeah the height isn't very well adjusted and can't be calibrated either, I seem to float off the ground if I look down and try to reach down (or look at the Guardian boundaries pop up). I can't reach the floor with my hands if I try. But they don't seem to have any objects that low either, it feels fine in regular play. Either way I think they can fix much of this with a patch or two. Add smooth turning, separate resolution options, the option to disable the hood, etc.

The interactions aren't quite physical/realistic, you have seen how stealing stuff and putting them away works in the trailer with that circle pop up, it's similar for objects that are actually usable as well, you put them away like that then at the correct points the circle with the relevant object pops up and you grab it. Like I had to listen in on a radio conversation once so it popped up the radio and I grabbed it, then similarly I took a key from a guard, then when I approached the locked door (in this instance very nearby, it still feels like I'm getting through the tutorial sections even if its technically been a few levels already) the circle popped up with the key, I grabbed it and waved it towards the lock and it instantly clicked in by itself. But it's nothing too badly done or anything annoying/misbehaving, it's just not cool like it could have been with better more realistic implementations.

Again, so far, I'd say it's no worse than other cinematic experiences people liked in VR. It remains to be seen if the levels open up and the challenges ramp up as I progress rather than have it feel as guided and limited as it has been which would be a real bummer. I've yet to see many of the elements seen in the trailers though, nothing to bash guard heads with, nothing to light fires with, etc. Those could be just as scripted and limited instances as the radio and key I mentioned of course, and then I'll just say it's a passable experience to get through if the story's at all interesting up to its conclusion (it's pretty standard so far, nothing offensive) rather than an awesome stealth game that happens to be in VR (like Espire 1 looks to be a solid stealth shooter, pre-release reservations aside).

We'll see!

Edit: https://uploadvr.com/2019/07/05/rogan-review/
That sucks, I guess it doesn't improve as you progress and remains simplistic, a 3 hour walking sim with some road bumps as they call it. What a missed opportunity, it would have probably gone over much better if they had actually dropped all pretenses of gameplay and went all in on the cinematic aspect without any of the gamey elements like level transitions with the score screen, loot and all. Then it could have been likened to the likes of Lone Echo and the Vader game which most people enjoyed (even if I didn't like the latter), not the proper stealth games it doesn't live up to.

A game with these production values and the gameplay focus of Unknightly would be killer. Oh well, hopefully the criticism gets them to do it right next time rather than quit altogether. Until then, waiting for Espire 1 to stealthily save us :)
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
More footage from this thing:


Another upcoming VR sci fi MMO.
Over the past 6 months, our small indie team at Mythical City Games has been working to create a game that is desperately missing from the VR ecosystem. A persistent open world experience, where your actions matter. Every wall you build, every item you drop, every enemy you take out, affects a live simulation that goes on whether you're playing or not. Enter the world of Neon Exile, a sci-fi MMO built on top of a distributed server system that allows for this type of depth in a virtual world.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
An update to this Pong-in-VR-like (or Lethal League-in-VR-like?) from CCP with new online modes, a ranked mode and spectating features.


Kind of weird they went to the trouble, iirc after EVE Valkyrie failed to take off (even after dropping the VR requirement mind you) they actually announced pulling out of the VR race.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!

So yeah, a middling scripted action experience a lot like Blood & Truth as expected, with some mid level choices that change the outcome/the next action sequence. Though unlike Blood & Truth you have full FPS-like control outside the events with free locomotion, strafing and turning.

Probably something to get on a sale just to experience it once or twice (until something better in that spy movie vein comes along at least).
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
An update to this Pong-in-VR-like (or Lethal League-in-VR-like?) from CCP with new online modes, a ranked mode and spectating features.


Kind of weird they went to the trouble, iirc after EVE Valkyrie failed to take off (even after dropping the VR requirement mind you) they actually announced pulling out of the VR race.

Free weekend too.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
So, I just tried the above. It's pretty good. Give it a shot even if the concept doesn't sound too appealing or if at first glance you think to compare it to that one Rec Room mini game you already played. People called this a virtual sport and I was thinking esport and went meh, something like Echo VR/Combat or even Space Junkies is more my speed with the freeing zero gravity locomotion and gameplay systems akin to non VR games but perfectly adapted to VR. But playing this is a whole different beast, it does feel like a.viable sci fi sport, the mechanics are simple but well thought out, it's quite polished and is of course quite active, I can see high level play getting intense. I doubt I'll get good at it but yeah, solid game. I wonder if Index users would trash the competition before the rest companies catch up to the higher hz and framerates allowed.
 
Last edited:

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!


Looks fun in a far more gamey manner than physics driven combat games like Blade & Sorcery, almost like a VR Infinity Blade, has roguelite progression, could be worth a play.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom