Thirith on 6/1/2018 at 15:58
I've not played any more of it, but I liked my first impression. In fact, I thought that the game might actually work better in VR, since it's all about perceiving the world and its spaces differently, and that feeling is there much more strongly in VR. I'm thinking it might be the next game I play after finishing
Lone Echo (which should be tomorrow).
Edit: Have you guys heard about the hint at a Vive announcement, which suggests there'll be a (
https://www.roadtovr.com/htc-tease-vive-resolution-ces-2018-debut/) higher-res Vive before long?
Thirith on 7/1/2018 at 11:18
Just finished Lone Echo, and while the ending wasn't what I expected (I was fairly certain the whole thing would end up being a test for Jack, allowing him to show that he's sentient/more human/ready for command or something along those lines) I enjoyed it. I was also pretty certain that the Apollo AI would turn out to be less than friendly), but I think that and some of the loose plot threads were in there to allow for a sequel. If they do, I'm there, in particular if they add some puzzle elements (I think they could keep the controls as simple and intuitive while adding more point-and-click-style puzzles) and possibly more choice.
Volitions Advocate on 8/1/2018 at 06:01
Has anybody else tried this mod for Doom 3 BFG? It's awesome!
(
https://github.com/Codes4Fun/RBDOOM-3-BFG/releases)
I ran it on stock settings with the newest release and it ran just fine. Only one option that I changed. You open the console and set "vr_comfortMode 0" other wise every time you use your locomotion the game slows down and it gives you tunnel vision. I'm okay with a bit of a vignette, but this was a bit much.
If you have Doom 3 BFG I highly recommend it.
[video=youtube;uCXkFWblwr8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCXkFWblwr8[/video]
henke on 9/1/2018 at 07:29
[video=youtube;DPMJDXmYwiY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPMJDXmYwiY&feature=youtu.be[/video]
(
https://www.vive.com/us/product/vive-pro/) Official website
(
https://www.roadtovr.com/ces-2018-first-look-htc-vive-pro/) RoadToVR First-Look
-the addition of a 2880 x 1600 resolution OLED display ( 1440 x 1600 per display) makes the new Vive Pro a full 78% higher resolution than the standard Vive headset.
-it includes a few of the ‘premium’ add-on comforts of the original Vive including integrated audio via a headstrap similar to the original deluxe audio strap.
-The headset also includes dual mics, an in-line amp, and dual passthrough camera sensors.
-and there's an optional wireless adapter!
Mmm, looks nice! Looking forward to more hands-on impressions over the next few days.
Thirith on 9/1/2018 at 08:08
I'm kinda surprised they're upping the resolution without using foveated rendering; if I understand correctly, the latter could allow for higher res headsets while mitigating the impact on performance that typically comes with higher resolutions. (I'm also wondering if adaptive resolution would be an approach that works well in VR, or if dynamic changes in resolution would be more noticeable in VR because the screens are much closer to your eyes.)
Jeshibu on 9/1/2018 at 09:21
I thought foveated rendering still had some latency hurdles but apparently it's been very feasible for over 2 years. Weird that they're not including eye tracking cameras with that kind of resolution, yeah. Or maybe they are and it's not easy to convey as a good thing in their swanky video. Very excited about the wireless adapter though, and the comfort additions are nice. They should bundle this with the knuckles controller and they'll have better features in every regard (except for being at least triple the price of a Rift, probably).
EDIT: the inside look on the official website doesn't seem to have eye tracking cameras, just a forehead proximity thing. Shame.
Malf on 10/1/2018 at 11:51
I've been working with a company that does VR Post Production work for concerts recently, and it's interesting to see the challenges they're facing. This is mostly technical, as none of the big players have stepped up with a camera offering yet (Sony, Arri and Canon are notable by their absence in the field). So they're having to rely on devices made by manufacturers who have been making consumer-level devices with no concept of broadcast sync.
The jobs they're working on at the moment suffer particularly because they were shot on a device consisting of 6 different cameras each recording variable frame and bit-rate footage to MP4. On top of which, each stream is separate, so the images have to be "stitched" in post. This is already a lengthy procedure, but complicated even further when each stream is different in data size and frame length. They've even resorted to using clapperboards, bit the variable framerate still results in each stream having different numbers of total frames.
From an industry perspective, the solution would be simple. Take all processing hardware out of the camera. Pop a sync generator in the camera to make sure all cameras are recording at the same frequency. That way, you ensure that your source signal from each camera is consistent and in sync. Hang as much SDI as you need out of the arse-end of the camera assembly. Then you let the recording device sort out the file format, ensuring the total number of frames per source is the same. Job done.
But no-one's making such a camera.
Malf on 11/1/2018 at 14:24
(
https://www.pcgamesn.com/htc-vive-pro-performance) Interesting commentary over on PCGamesN noting that the visual upgrade isn't as impressive as they'd hoped, but that the ergonomics of the headset are a massive improvement.
Kinda thankful for a less enthusiastic response, as it tempers my growing technolust. I'm guessing the headset itself is going to be eye-wateringly expensive, much like the original Vive on release. And the language they've been using to describe it suggests that is going to be the case. With increased resolution, I'd also bet that a new graphics card and CPU (therefore motherboard and RAM) would probably be necessary too. Not sure my bank balance would appreciate that much spending at the moment.
Thirith on 12/1/2018 at 11:49
Scanner Sombre is a bit too scary at times for me to play it for longer than half an hour or an hour. The scares are largely predictable, but they still work for me; if I'm stuck in near-darkness in virtual reality, it doesn't much matter if I know where the scare will come from and how it will manifest itself. I'm also pretty susceptible to manipulative audio design, no matter how much I'm aware of the manipulation.
Quake 2 works surprisingly well in VR, but I'm not sure I'll play particularly far. I don't feel much nostalgia for Quake, I've never played Quake 2 before, and the fast, glidey movement isn't how I generally like my shooters, whether in VR or not. Also, after two levels I can definitely feel a headache and some nausea creeping up.
Finally, Offscreen Colonies (available on the Oculus store) is a neat example of a demoscene demo being translated to VR. Nothing spectacular, but nice - and free.
Jeshibu on 12/1/2018 at 14:16
I played some Hot Squat, but it gets pretty sweaty quickly. Might need some better covers. I've read that VRCover's PU leather piece is nice, but the cloth wrapping is sloppy and gets in the way. WidmoVR seems nice, but I'm not sure the cloth over the nose won't get itchy, and it's more expensive.
I'm not sure if it's teaching squats correctly, you basically have to slav squat to make it through the gates, while I was taught to do it slowly and only until your knee and hip are at the same height. I guess making it slow doesn't suit the game, but it occasionally throws walls at you fast enough that I really didn't have enough time to stand up and squat again.
I've run into two non-VR games that fuck up when you play them with a Rift hooked up to your computer. The first is the Home Sweet Home demo, a horror game that offers you the option between VR and non-VR, and crashes if you pick VR. If you don't pick VR, all the audio is output over the Rift's headphones, leaning doesn't work, and you can look away from item-screens like they're just floating in the air. Messy. The rest of the game wasn't brilliant enough for me to bother waiting for a fix. Removed from my wishlist.
The other game was Half-Life 2: Update. If you open the options screen, it freezes and opens SteamVR. Annoying. Uninstalled until it gets fixed.
More importantly, my Rift and one of the three sensors seem to no longer be detected, so I can't use it anymore. Will have to figure out if it's the USB ports messing up or something else tonight. If it were still working, I'd suggest we try the Raw Data free weekend for the Saturday co-op.