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VR - What are your thoughts?

Soldato
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Not sure if this should go here or in the monitors section...

I think it was at E3 that AMD started talk of VR in connection with the Fury X.

So I'm thinking, what is everyone's thoughts on VR?
Are you looking forward to it?
Will it last or is it another fad like 3D seemed to be?

Also, do we think it will have any effect on the development of GPUs going forward?
Needing to display the image twice (once for each eye) at a decent framerate is going to be demanding. Counter to that though is the fact that resolutions will probably go down as the technology probably won't be doing 4K for each eye for a while. Plus, I believe with the Oculus Rift they say you need something like 72fps in each eye to be smooth, which is higher than current 4K panels.

How will this work for people with visual disabilities? Will this stop VR becoming anything more than an extra?
 
VR is big. It's way better than 3D. I've been with Oculus since the first development kit and it's amazing. It still has a long way to go but the possibilities are unbelievable. In my opinion it is the future of gaming.

It is getting more and popular with new headsets coming out soon. It is not just Oculus anymore. I expect VR to reach its mainstream potential in 2017.

Visual disabilities are not an issue. You can use your glasses in VR headset. Some headsets come with a few sets of lenses which correct the most common problems.

When I mentioned visual disabilities I was thinking more things that prevent people using both eyes. So effectively they'd only see through one lense of the headset.

My friend has a Oculus Rift and he was kind enough to let me try it. From my experience I think it takes a bit of getting used to (I spent a lot of time just looking forwards). I think it will also take a while for games to integrate it properly.

But for me the biggest issue is that from a gaming point of view it's extremely limited as to the games it can be applied to.
Basically it has to be a first person view (on foot, in a car/plane/etc.), I don't imagine it's going to add much to the next Total War game, MOBA or Football Manager.

I don't like driving game (well that's not true, I'm just no good at them), have no interest in flying/space sims and there are very few FPS games I play these days.
I prefer 3rd person games, or games that give you a more overhead view (Civ, Total War, Dota 2 type of thing).

So for me I don't see it being something that will help my enjoyment. I really hope that it's an extra thing and games aren't designed around it, but that a few may have it as an option.
 
My other worry is that lots of new games decide to go first person so they can support VR headsets.
Especially early on while games that support it are limited, makign a game that does is a good way to eek out a few more sales I expect.
 
These days gaming seems to largely be driven by the consoles and the PC just get ports (for the most part, yes there are a few PC exclusive games).

So I can't see VR really taking off until consoles do VR. I can't see current gen consoles doing VR. They seem to struggle with 1080p @ 60fps. For VR it seems apparent you want higher resolutions and higher framerates.

Plus, consoles are probably seen as a little more social. A couple mates can get together and play FIFA/Rocket League/etc. fine, but what about when both parties need a VR headset? The consoles will then need to drive 2 VR headsets. Unless we just don't see local multiplayer any more.

Still a lot of hurdles before VR really takes off I think.
 
Hey guys, if VR can't work with every single genre of game, or input method, we have to abandon it. K? Once done, we have to **** on it and say I told you so to all the enthusiasts.

I think that raises an interesting point. What sort of saturation level does something (such as VR) need to achieve before it's considered more than a novelty peripheral?
In my opinion on the PC flightsticks and steering wheels are probably still in the novelty (or niche) area. Gamepads however are probably utilised enough to not be considered novelty/niche anymore.

I think the other thing is that there are likely to be very few games that are VR exclusives due to the competitively low market share (I'd imagine). So it seems to me that most VR games will also need to work perfectly well in 2D. I then have to wonder how many games can really make use of it for a beneficial reason other than 'because they can'. It'll take more than Football Manager getting VR so I can now watch the games from the sideline for me to be tempted.

As I think I've mentioned, I have tried a friends Oculus for a bit. I tried Elite a few VR demos and Alien Isolation. Nothing there made me want to get an Oculus of my own. In fact it probably put me off. If they release it for under £50 then I MAY be tempted if there's support in the games I play, but I'm not going to change the games I play and buy games just because it has VR support. I maintain that I play games for the gameplay and not the graphics.

I tried 3D gaming and wasn't impressed and I'm not really any more impressed by the Oculus DK2.

Also the resolution on the DK2 is really bad, combined with not being able to use my glasses it made things very hard to read.
 
That's great, because VR is not about improving graphics. In fact, you will probably have to sacrifice graphics in order to play in VR.

And apart from existing games that get rudimentary add-on VR support, there is a ton of potential for new gameplay ideas that are only possible within VR.

It's been a popular idea that VR is just some new way of looking at something, but it really opens up motion controls to be *far* more impactful than they ever were before, and something that truly changes how something is played. And something not often realized is that your head becomes a replacement for a right analog stick. Your head becomes an input method. Leaving a gamepad-controlled VR experience to have that stick provide some new functionality that wasn't possible before. That's low hanging fruit, but it would still absolutely change the way somebody plays a game.

EDIT: Also, DK2 does indeed make it very difficult to wear glasses. That isn't the case for CV1, Vive or Morpheus, though. This was a priority for them.

It is a visual/graphical thing though.
Also, making games that are only possible on VR will have to be someone that's looking for a very low number of sales, which is going to have to be a dedicated developer/publisher.
 
Alright, let me ask you, would you be fine switching from a 24"+ monitor to a 15" monitor? Cuz even if that doesn't effect the actual graphics, it still has a pretty profound effect on the presentation of the video game. VR takes that **** to a whole new level. It is unique and captivating in a way that seeing something on a flat display just can't be.

And you have a point about making games that are only possible in VR. The marketability of these games is far more difficult. But I also think it's pretty obvious that we wouldn't be seeing giant AAA titles purely dedicated to VR anytime soon. And that is not a bad thing. Indie developers have more freedom and are less afraid to take creative risks, which VR needs.

Either way, unless you're picky about what you're interested in, I think launch lineups for this initial wave of VR look to be extremely strong, with a combination of either well-worked existing games with VR support or built-for-VR games. I'd say it's actually stronger than either the PS4 or XB1 launched with.

No, going from a 24" to a 15" wouldn't bother me, my laptop is a 15" display, it's not going to change how the game plays.

I don't tend to like indie games (there are exceptions, obviously, FTL for example). Also don't like driving games or flight/space sims as a rule. There are a few FPS games I like, but generally few and far between. I guess most games I like are a sorta top-down view or 3rd person. Sporta games can be ok and 2D fighting games (don't like 3D ones, except wresting/mma type ones). So yeah, can be sorta picky.
 
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