Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion Archive [2016 - 2017]

[Shortbread]

Digital Foundry reviews the HTC Vive review
A whole new world.

It makes PSVR look tidy!

And yet there's nothing quite like this. Load up any of the key Vive titles and it's like nothing you've experienced before. Gaming feels fresh, exciting, renewed - a giddy feeling after years of variations on the same themes. This is more than just a gimmick: it's an entirely new, blank canvas for developers to work with and it's already delivering some unique experiences. Clearly, it's not quite the finished article, but I can't wait to see how it develops.​

Sounds like a nightmare of an installation. Three power supplies, proper (large) spacing, overhead tracking installation, high-spec'd PC to run it and steep pricing... definitely keeps Vive out the hands of the masses that's for sure.

PSVR and Oculus Rift are (will) more than likely drive the VR market for mass adoption amongst their respective platforms.

 

[Billy Idol]

Does PSVR also need so much space?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Digital Foundry reviews the HTC Vive review
A whole new world.

It makes PSVR look tidy!

And yet there's nothing quite like this. Load up any of the key Vive titles and it's like nothing you've experienced before. Gaming feels fresh, exciting, renewed - a giddy feeling after years of variations on the same themes. This is more than just a gimmick: it's an entirely new, blank canvas for developers to work with and it's already delivering some unique experiences. Clearly, it's not quite the finished article, but I can't wait to see how it develops.​

Yup, that's why if I were to get a VR device (which I'm not, it's still not compelling enough and still uncertain about its future), I'd get a Rift. It's the lightest headset with the best default audio quality. And the tidiest with the least amount of cables to hookup. Plug headset into device. Plug camera into device and you're done. PSVR is in between. It has that intermediate hub like the HTC Vive. And really short cables. And heavier, although better balanced than the Vive. With more light bleed and slightly more screen door effect. And no physical IPD, likely not that noticeable for 95-99% of users, but for people with larger or lesser eye separation than average, it'll be a problem. It's too bad that Sony skimped on physical IPD. I can't imagine it would have cost them more than another 5-10 USD at most to implement it. Of course, if they end up putting it into shipping devices I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Regards,
SB

 

[Shortbread]

Does PSVR also need so much space?

Depends on the application/game. For the most part, sounds pretty flexible on space requirements.

PlayStation VR supports room-scale experiences, clearing the way for Vive ports

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I do wonder if anyone that complained about the space Kinect needed will suddenly find they have the space for PSVR room scale?

Regards,
SB

 

[Shortbread]

I do wonder if anyone that complained about the space Kinect needed will suddenly find they have the space for PSVR room scale?

Regards,
SB

People tend to find ways (workarounds) for things they want... not necessarily for the things they perceive to be a waste of time.

I on the other hand, will be picking up the (nightmare of a setup) Vive for my PC needs and of course, PSVR for console gaming.

 

[orangpelupa]

When Sony showed room scale Psvr ages ago using a scene from The Walk VR, it seems it does able to work for small space.

 

[Nesh]

But I thought the PSVR is not wireless

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I do wonder if anyone that complained about the space Kinect needed will suddenly find they have the space for PSVR room scale?

Unlikely, because if you haven't got room, you haven't got room. PS4Cam has a significantly wider FOV to the original Kinect so can accomodate smaller spaces. However, if a game requires more space than you can physically find, you can't find the space for it.

Games targeting Vive and porting to PSVR may find a number of PSVR owners can't accomodate the play space. Games targeting PSVR will keep movement to a minimum.

 

[Globalisateur]

Unlikely, because if you haven't got room, you haven't got room. PS4Cam has a significantly wider FOV to the original Kinect so can accomodate smaller spaces. However, if a game requires more space than you can physically find, you can't find the space for it.

Games targeting Vive and porting to PSVR may find a number of PSVR owners can't accomodate the play space. Games targeting PSVR will keep movement to a minimum.

Those weak consoles limiting PC gaming! Again!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Those weak consoles limiting PC gaming! Again!

More those pokey console-owner's living rooms limiting PC's in their spacious man-cave basements.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Face-Off: Microsoft Xbox Elite controller vs Razer Wildcat
Can premium-priced controllers make you a better player?

This article is a missed opportunity and it doesn't answer the question it poses. There's no objective comparisons of the impact of each controller's use in games or quantification of what makes one different from another, e.g. differences in the potentiometers of the sticks. It would also have been interesting if they'd compared the swappable controller parts against the almost-standard sensitivity options in games. E.g. is installing a short stick for great sensitivity any better than using a standard Xbox One controller and increasing the sensitivity.

Come on DF, if you're going to do articles for clicks at least make them comprehensive.

 

[orangpelupa]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-microsoft-elite-controller-vs-razer-wildcat

"Plastics are replaced with metallic parts, not only giving the pad a premium feel, but also serving to increase durability. "

isnt plastic more durable than metal? or xbox one's gamepad use really bad quality plastic?

 

[steveOrino]

This article is a missed opportunity and it doesn't answer the question it poses.

Yeah I totally agree. Not sure what the point of the article was.

The answer to "Can premium-priced controllers make you a better player?" is no. If I really wanted to dump that much money on a controller, I might as well spend it on a Xim or equivalent because those devices will actually give me an advantage over everyone in games that require you to aim.

Same thing with Fighting games. I would rather spend the money on a stick that would offer far better input precision than the d-pads on these controllers.

 

[HTupolev]

isnt plastic more durable than metal?

What metals and plastics are we talking about, what are our goals, what do we mean by "durability", etc.

For instance, if you need a material that's isotropically strong so that weird stress edge cases won't cause it to break, and you need the strength to be very concentrated in a low-volume region, in many applications it's still almost impossible to compete with steel
A good example would be blades, which are frequently made out of carbon steel because those steels hold edges very well. The tubing on bicycle frames made out of fancy maraging steel can get away with wall thicknesses as low as .3mm, and yes, that period is a correctly-positioned decimal point.
(But, in applications where they're both viable, a steel structure of adequate strength will often weigh more than a polymer structure of adequate strength. Steel is silly dense.)

Aluminum fatigues, steel rusts, wood burns, crabon fiber asplodes, everything sucks etc
Steel is real, join the #aluminati, wood is good, bamboo is true, Ti is fly, plastic is fantastic, everything is awesome etc

 

[Shifty Geezer]

"Plastics are replaced with metallic parts, not only giving the pad a premium feel, but also serving to increase durability. "

isnt plastic more durable than metal? or xbox one's gamepad use really bad quality plastic?

I can't think of any application where plastics are more durable (resistant to wear and tear) than steel. When was the last time you saw someone cutting or grinding metal with plastic?! Steel's only weakness by comparison is corrosion which isn't really an issue in the home environment with a suitably resistant flavour.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

The answer to "Can premium-priced controllers make you a better player?" is no. If I really wanted to dump that much money on a controller, I might as well spend it on a Xim or equivalent because those devices will actually give me an advantage over everyone in games that require you to aim.

Same thing with Fighting games. I would rather spend the money on a stick that would offer far better input precision than the d-pads on these controllers.

Actually, a better controller can make you a better player, assuming you want to be a better player. In the face-off they specifically mentioned that their K/D ratio went up when using the Elite controller compared to the standard controller. They mentioned that their control within the game was noticeably impacted by the choice of controller used. They also mentioned that pulling off moves in a fighting game was significantly easier using the Elite Controller, obviously not as good as a good fighting stick but likely better than a bad fighting stick. And for people that like fighting games but don't want to have 2 controllers, it's the best you can get for fighting games.

That mirrors my own experience with keyboards and mice.

Regards,
SB

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I can't think of any application where plastics are more durable (resistant to wear and tear) than steel. When was the last time you saw someone cutting or grinding metal with plastic?! Steel's only weakness by comparison is corrosion which isn't really an issue in the home environment with a suitably resistant flavour.

And even plastic will wear over time becoming brittle even assuming someone took extreme care of it.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I can't think of any application where plastics are more durable (resistant to wear and tear) than steel. When was the last time you saw someone cutting or grinding metal with plastic?! Steel's only weakness by comparison is corrosion which isn't really an issue in the home environment with a suitably resistant flavour.

I agree with your point mostly but plastics are often used when flexibility is required. Modern plastic injection will produce a geometric shape that has equal tensile strength in all 6 axis whereas steel is typically cast to be strong on a single axis - think folding steel for swords and how easy it is to snap a sword against the grain. It's why aluminium alloys have largely replaced steel in aerospace applications when stresses are applied from multiple directions.

Excessive force applied on a plastic stem will flex whereas a steel stem will snap or, more likely, exert that force on whatever it's connected too - the potentiometer.

Archimedes and angry gamers should stick to stock controllers

 

[hesido]

Archimedes and angry gamers should stick to stock controllers

Unless the stock controllers have shitty plastic that break (AKA DS4 shoulder button pins)