VR?

[Philippe]

I really like Track IR, but it's still a bit like having tunnel vision in that if you want to see something you have to turn your head and look more or less directly at it.

Don't really play racing games myself, but I would imagine that being able to focus on one thing with your direct gaze and keep track of several other with your peripheral vision is fairly important.

Maybe the solution is to have three monitors as well as Track IR.

[Queeg]

In the past we had "Wii gamer throws controller through TV" news reports.

Now we'll have "VR gamer falls down stairs" news reports. 

That's progress, I guess.   

[kludger]

Being a semi pro  Iracer. If it is ever implemented for the game, I will definitely be getting one. Lots of racers drive with a 3 monitor setup, which lets them see more to their left and right. Currently I just use the spotter function in the game, because I dont feel like buying 2 more g-sync monitors.  But having the ability to just move my head to see who is to the side of me would be of great benefit, not to mention the feeling of speed you would get driving in a VR environment.

BTW a g-sync center monitor will work in surround mode with 2 side monitors that aren't g-sync as long as all 3 monitors are the same resolution, the side monitors just don't benefit from the g-sync.

I'm doing that fine in iRacing and other games using a GTX970, a g-sync center monitor (BenQ XL2420-G) and two cheap older Dell P2310H side monitors, running at 5760x180 the center monitor gets g-sync while the side monitors don't but I don't really notice when racing.

Nvidia confirms this on their own surround reqs site:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/surround/system-requirements

GeForce GTX 970 Single-GPU With 2D Surround (Landscape)
> Orientation: Landscape
> Accessory Display: Yes, no additional GPU (if using    3 or less displays)
> Maximum Resolution: 11520x2160
> Maximum Resolution (Bezel Correction):  10,240x1600
> Maximum number of displays: 2-4 in Surround, 1    Accessory Display when using 3 or less displays in Surround
Special Instructions:
> Any connectors can be used to enable Surround.
> Once Surround is enabled, users can use any connector for the Accessory Display.
> Max of 4 displays can be used simultaneously (3 if monitors are 4K)
> G-SYNC and regular monitors can be mixed in Surround; effects of G-SYNC will only be seen on G-SYNC- enabled monitors

Personally I'm sticking with 3x 1080p monitors for a while yet, VR sounds cool but I wear glasses and often use the keyboard or HOTAS in games, and I don't think you can see anything through the VR screen for hitting the right keys at least with the upcoming VR versions.

[Jarhead0331]

I broke down and picked up an HTC Vive today. I'm absolutely speechless. I can't even describe how miraculous the technology is.

I'm playing this early access mil-sim shooter called Onward. Digitally, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Simply amazing. It will literally rewrite FPS combat games.

[MikeGER]

Congrats !
secretly i was waiting for this day O0

now we get firsthand info from an experienced grog :)

a friend of mine also has the Vive but is still in the setup process with the room tracking full blown (he simply has to make more room in his mancave to get a bigger footprint area on the floor to move around in)
he also reported he was blown away by the immersion step

Jarhead, cant wait to hear about your VR experience with DCS and also ARMA 3 and maybe Fallout 4, (well in an experimental setup: i got told with a software called "Vorpx" (https://www.vorpx.com/features/)  its is possible to get older games which were not optimized  like for example Elite Dangerous from the beginning to get at least semi-working in VR.
the caveat is you will not get the 90 frames /sec for a smooth VR immersion, and a lot of parameters need to be individual adjusted and the results are varying from game to game ... at least its like playing in 3D with Track-IR on a very big virtual screen for some of the older beloved titles
 
in general consumer VR technology step wise:
1. the actual problem is the upcoming to be developed games have to do 90 FPS (both eyes, in the given resolution), period.
and so atm the the game graphics cant be as real world photo-realistic like we are already used to marble at in our latest premium PC titles.
but more abstract SiFi (Tron style, etc ) settings work already stunning well.
2. there are reports that the display resolution is still not high enuf to not sometimes see that so called screen door effect.

nevertheless i am heavy on the fence and almost  tipping

 

[JudgeDredd]

oooh....good news. Straight from the jarhead's mouth.

Still too expensive for me and not enough in the way of support at the minute. But I thank you and others who plunge in because without people like you, things like this could lose traction and not get that support I crave.

What made you decide on the Vive? I know DCS has Oculus Rift support, and I know you have that

[Thomm]

I was able to play Assetto Corsa in VR for 10 minutes at some public shop lately, equipped even with a force-feedback seat.

+) Sitting in the car feels real. You can look around, see the interior, your opponent.

+) It was very immersive. I played with a friend and nobody said a beep, fully concentrating on driving.

~) I thought the "true" 3/D would make driving easier. This is not the case. You are still going too fast and the turns are still too tight, or hidden behind the horizon. Learning the track by heart is still essentially.

-) The resolution is still too low, but not by much.

--) I felt *seriously* sick after the 10 minutes  test run. Not by regular driving, that was just fine, but when I went off the track and the car started spinning. Now that I know I would perhaps just close my eyes during these events, but the nausea keeps creeping up so secretly that you only notice it when you stop. It was awful and lasted almost an hour.

I then went on to play a HTC Vive game where you control a small drone with your hand and try to evade other drones while aiming at them to destroy them! That was awesome!! Control was perfect and you had to move with your whole body in real space to avoid the projectiles of the enemy drones in the virtual reality. It had a "martial arts aspect" to it that I enjoyed a lot!

Kudos to everybody buying the things to keep the development ongoing!

Best regards,
Thomm

[Jarhead0331]

I'm still struggling with the right words to describe the experience. It's simply unlike anything else in gaming and the potential is truly infinite. Whether the technology moves beyond headsets and hand controllers, make no mistake, this is the future of simulation and gaming, beyond any shadow of a doubt.

I have tried out 4 VR games so far and each one has totally rocked my world.

I've already mentioned Onward. When I first posted last night, I had only been to the shooting range. Afterward, I discovered a kill house. I know the military is experimenting with VR tech for training...well, this is it. Moving through the kill house and engaging targets in this thing, I shit you not, I was giggling like a little girl. My little office was literally converted into a multilevel training environment. Sensation of drawing equipment from your LBV, reloading and operating weapons, bring them up to your cheek to aim, etc., is just surreal. The game is still EA, I just can't even imagine what they will come up with next.

Then I played this sci-Fi robot combat game called Raw Data. You are basically a robot ninja assassin. It has gun play, sword play, hand to hand combat, etc. again, it had me literally ducking, jumping and shouting, and yes, giggling like a little girl. Nothing short of a breathtaking experience.

Finally, I played CDF Star Fighter and House of the Dying Sun, both combat space games. By this point it was pretty late, so I didn't play much, but I was still stunned by th experience and the potential. Moving around a space ship, and looking around your cockpit...amazing. This will also rewrite the book on flight and space simming.

So overall, I'm just dumbfounded by this hardware and the early software that utilizes it. I had the system set up in under 30 minutes and it's been a mostly smooth experience so far from a technical perspective. My play space is a little more tight then I would like, but I was able to move some stuff around and get an acceptable open space to move around in. The head set is comfortable and the controllers work perfectly. It all really transports you to another place, like no other game experience has in the past. In short, this must be experienced to be believed.

Now, some people will struggle with VR. As Thomm mentioned, it can cause nausea or vertigo. When I first started walking around and turning and twisting my body, both virtually and physically, I definitely had an uneasy sensation at times. It does take some getting used to. However, for me, it wasn't extreme or uncomfortable enough to turn me off of the experience. Your mileage may vary.

I picked the Vive because it is generally reviewed to be superior to the rift and all other options currently on the market. I also chose it because Onward is a vive exclusive.

Anyway, I'll continue to post impressions, but let me know if you guys have any questions in the meantime.

Just totally awesome.

[Staggerwing]

How much room were you able to free up to move around in? In my house, the way it is, I don't see any way I'd ever have more than about five feet on a side of open space anywhere.

[Jarhead0331]

I would say my play space is roughly 8' x 10'. There are two different modes for set up. One is where you have space to move around in. The other is if your space is too limited for moving around and you'll be mostly playing in the seated position.

[Swatter]

I've known for awhile that VR was going to be the future of simulation gaming, but its good to hear JH is enjoying FPS games just as much as the sim games. Hopefully I will be joining the VR ranks sooner rather than later. I would imagine War Thunder in simulator mode with VR would be awesome. I don't know when or if Falcon BMS would support VR, but I hope it will. ARMA 3 would be my next choice. Not to mention, my kids would go nuts. Good times ahead.

[bboyer66]

I'm really looking into making the move to VR when it is completely supported by Iracing. 

It will get rid of the need (want) of having 3 monitors side by side.  It might not seem like a big deal, but getting the right field of view settings is essential to driving fast.  With VR, all those settings you have to figure out for your monitors POV is out the window.   

[Rayfer]

JH....these may be silly questions but I am clueless as to how this new VR works. In a FPS game, when you run down a hallway are you running in place in the real world? If you throw a grenade, are you doing the arm motion in the real world?  In other words, is it like a sophisticated Wii console only with a headset that lets you see as if you were actually in the game rather than watching on a TV screen?  Thanks.

[Jarhead0331]

JH....these may be silly questions but I am clueless as to how this new VR works. In a FPS game, when you run down a hallway are you running in place in the real world? If you throw a grenade, are you doing the arm motion in the real world?  In other words, is it like a sophisticated Wii console only with a headset that lets you see as if you were actually in the game rather than watching on a TV screen?  Thanks.

Locomotion is very game specific. In a mil-sim game like Onward, walking and running is performed with a track pad on one of the hand controllers. However, using weapons, aiming, facing, crouching, going prone, is all done through actual real world movement. To use your example, in order to throw a grenade, the player must actually reach it on the load bearing vest, pull the pin, release the spoon and throw it. The immersive effect of this is unlike anything I have ever experienced in a digital environment.

Other games that have more or less limited movement, are all player based in the real world, for instance, I have a sword fighting simulator where all movement is physical.

Finally, some games use a teleportation system where the player aims a hand controller at a point on the ground and presses a button to teleport to that position in the virtual world. This system is the least immersive, but also is the safest and least likely to cause motion sickness.

[Father Ted]

JH....these may be silly questions but I am clueless as to how this new VR works. In a FPS game, when you run down a hallway are you running in place in the real world? If you throw a grenade, are you doing the arm motion in the real world?  In other words, is it like a sophisticated Wii console only with a headset that lets you see as if you were actually in the game rather than watching on a TV screen?  Thanks.

Locomotion is very game specific. In a mil-sim game like Onward, walking and running is performed with a track pad on one of the hand controllers. However, using weapons, aiming, facing, crouching, going prone, is all done through actual real world movement. To use your example, in order to throw a grenade, the player must actually reach it on the load bearing vest, pull the pin, release the spoon and throw it. The immersive effect of this is unlike anything I have ever experienced in a digital environment.

Other games that have more or less limited movement, are all player based in the real world, for instance, I have a sword fighting simulator where all movement is physical.

Finally, some games use a teleportation system where the player aims a hand controller at a point on the ground and presses a button to teleport to that position in the virtual world. This system is the least immersive, but also is the safest and least likely to cause motion sickness.

There must be a bit of self-consciousness to overcome.  I mean, I feel a bit of a nerd using TIR and uttering pseudo-milspeak over TS, so I'm not sure I could manage ducking behind the armchair and lobbing pretend nades at the telly.