Sony VR Headset/Project Morpheus/PlayStation VR

I think we need to try and filter out not just bias, but also oddities that don't fit with the consensus of what we know, and accounts where we know the technical details are plain wrong.

So the opening Reddit post just doesn't match what the consensus now seems to be, and in detail it appears to just be down to an unoptimised PC port, given it was from GDC perhaps not too surprising.

On turbosquid's post he simply doesn't understand PS VR frame rate: he thinks the HMD is receiving 60 or 70 fps in some cases, whereas in reality it is receiving either 90 (native + repro) or 120 (native+ repro, 60 fps = repro) from the breakout box. Given his basic misconception we can't trust what he is saying (bias). He might be seeing stuttering if the underlying game is not delivering a consistent 60fps. Overall though not a bad summary.

The Gizmag comments have been discussed before, and I think they needed to try the best motion controller demo available (London Heist) before making such damming comments. Also they are obviously ignorant of the technologies involved (recycling a pair of Wiimote-like controllers). I think what they experienced was likely due to developer implementation (and possibly environmental lighting), however they may also be seeing orientation drift. The PS move should be as accurate positionally as Oculus Touch given the technology both are using. However one issue with the move is that while it shouldn't drift positionally, orientation drift is definitely possible and may even be likely. Most observations around the London Heist are very positive as to the accuracy of the controllers, however I've noticed this isn't the case so much with other games. I think the Jury is still definitely out on this one.

 

There was just something about the colours and fluidity which made it really stand out for me.
A few years ago I tried a +100.000 euro VR system at my university; with high speed cameras all over the dedicated room; a tracking markers all over the HMD and a laptop on my back attached to it, so you could walk around. Of course it was 'room scale' but I am pretty sure the professors would not believe the value which the PSVR provides. I am pretty sure companies want PC compatibility because it will be one of the easiest, and best available headsets around. In case of a defect it would help to have them in stores; or have it replaced in a few days. Not to mention buying a few spares.

If Sony is smart; they will have a separate PSVR for education edition.

 

sony already said they want to bring PSVR to other platforms in the future. But the immediate focus is only for PS4. Maybe similar like what MS has done with Kinect for PC.

with PS division (and one other i forgot the name) basically the only one making sony afloat, surely sony want to milk it to the max.

 

Just been watching the Rebellion Battlezone Twitch Stream replay, and one of the points they mention is that lighting at events can interfere with tracking, they would be talking about HMD and DS, they also say that the tracking is quite tolerant of lighting and they don't tend to have problems in their own studio. Here is the stream, the conversation is at the 1 hour 2 minute mark: https://www.twitch.tv/rebellion_official/v/65961160

 

They specifically mention up-lights as being a problem, and also at events vibration affecting the camera, they say don't rest the camera on the PS4 because of vibration

 

OK we knew PSVR would have exclusive content but it appears the PC-based VR systems will be the same too.

http://arstechnica.com/?p=888319

So buy the system with the content you want.

 

That this happens on PC is disappointing to me. One of the biggest draws was being able to play everything except PS4 exclusives. Now my enthusiasm for PC drops a bit more. But it's early, may still go for a Rift when it is on sale here in Europe and hopefully for 400 euro or so at some point.

 

So, you are waiting for a 50% pricedrop? That's gonna be a long wait.

 

At 800 euros, which is a bad conversion from USD 599 mostly because they don't have proper resale infrastructure I imagine, it's overpriced, though typical for this kind of product for this market. But it will come down I am sure, or it will never get the install base required for supporting games, let alone exclusives. Vive's price is even more outlandish.

 

Until VR can manage to detach itself from the teat of its parent companies' investment dollars and become a legitimate self-perpetuating industry driven by actual profits then people should probably get used to the idea of platforms having dedicated content. Most of the content that does or will exist for the foreseeable future is not going to be coming from independent studios because there's no other way for most studios to justify creating for platforms that have tens of thousands of users.

We're in the middle of an initial investment bubble, the platform(s) have no killer apps that justify their cost, and it's anyone's guess as to how many years it may take (and in what form the tech will be in by that point) before the hype can pivot into profit. Vive/Steam will continue to be the home for uncurated, low budget, exploratory, morsel-sized VR content, while Sony and Oculus dump money into their ecosystems to prime the pumps for the future.

 

I wonder, what's the big game for PSVR?

I see: ace combat, dreams... Then what?

London heist turns out is just a small game part of "vr world" game collection.

 

Cockpit games and racers are the most probable initial killer apps, and they are the ones that can fully support VR in an optional way. Beyond that it's hard to see major investments so soon. Some clever indies can always break through with a budget more attuned to the initial market size. Everything else look like a loss of money with VR experiments and side projects.

Rigs looks fun and intense. Eve valkyrie, ace combat, gran turismo, robinson journey, dreams... they all look interesting. I am curious about the battlefront project too, but it's probably going to be some cheap on rail stuff. Maybe I'm pessimistic.

 

I think the defining traits of a successful VR game with staying power will need 1) closer proximity, <50ft interaction (core gameplay needs to occur within stereo depth range otherwise you're just interacting with an animated skybox), 2) hinge on multiplayer and/or procedural generation (needs replay value without requiring a huge time investment creating assets, story, etc. And/or 3) some kind of asymmetric/shared multiplayer support.

A tank game will work better than a flight game, mario kart-style over gran turismo, etc. I think the first game to incorporate a user friendly map/level editor for POV gameplay will probably be a huge hit. Games like Mario Maker do well because it's fun to create and fun to see other people try your stuff (in maybe the most malicious way possible). In VR this could mean creating virtual haunted houses for your friends to try and walk through.

 

Is there a lot of non-gaming VR content?

People touting those 360 cameras or stitched up photos. Not interactive but may have broader appeal, especially on the PSVR compared to the PC-based systems, mainly because of the cost of the latter.

But can that content work across all systems or at least be easily ported? I guess it might not be the most exciting things, just have someone go inside some place like the Taj Mahal with a 360 camera and produce a full VR rendering.

Or maybe have someone like Shaun White wear a 360 camera and do some tricks on the snowboard?

 

Yeah, I fear the same - but then it doesn't have to be rubbish...it could be a half-decent game. I guess the first generation of games will be much toe-dipping from devs. Hopefully Elite will be coming - eitehr way I suspect some more info at E3.

 

Unfortunately video need to be in really high resolution to deliver great 3D 360 degree. 4k still looks super low res.

 

If 4K is needed for a 90 degree FOV, we'd need 16K for 360 degrees to provide 4K in any direction. So likely 4x res in horizontal and at least 3x in vertical, so 12x resolution. 15360 x 6480 = 100 megapixels... For video, if 8 MBps is good enough for 4K VR streams, you'd want 12x that, so 100 Mbps streams.

 

A VR Time Crisis with a Star Wars setting, I could live with that.

 

A VR on rails shooter should work very well.

 

procedurally generated time crisis will be even better!

unlimited replayability! even better if they also give "cheats" option.