Sony VR Headset/Project Morpheus/PlayStation VR

[MrFox]

well it seems that there will be a very small supply at first for the vive and it should come out in dec while I think both the rift and morphous is late q2

Well, Vive will have volume in Q1 2016
Oculus is still Q1 2016
Morpheus is still H1 2016

Without enough devices out there the games won't sell. The Vive paper-launch in december can be mostly ignored, Q1 is when games on PC will be able to launch with competition between Vive and Oculus and enough devices so that the games are profitable.

Morpheus is it's own platform with no competition in that space. They'll want to launch with a large volume and coordinate with their own games releases and also third parties. They will make money with any game released for morpheus (which is not the case in the PC space where the hardware sale is the profit). Volume launch is critical.

 

[DieH@rd]

They will make money with any game released for morpheus (which is not the case in the PC space where the hardware sale is the profit).

Valve has Steam which will probably be the source for purchase of 95%+VR games for Vive.

Oculus on other hand are building their own online store [with integrated community options], but who knows how will that end up working.

 

[eastmen]

Well, Vive will have volume in Q1 2016
Oculus is still Q1 2016
Morpheus is still H1 2016

Without enough devices out there the games won't sell. The Vive paper-launch in december can be mostly ignored, Q1 is when games on PC will be able to launch with competition between Vive and Oculus and enough devices so that the games are profitable.

Morpheus is it's own platform with no competition in that space. They'll want to launch with a large volume and coordinate with their own games releases and also third parties. They will make money with any game released for morpheus (which is not the case in the PC space where the hardware sale is the profit). Volume launch is critical.

Well I think its more that HTC needs something positive this year as their earnings are very poor. So they want something to wave at investors.

Anyway for Morpheus there is a rumor of MS VR tomorrow apparently a cardboard like device leaked and there is a rumor of an oculus / ms announcement tomorrow also. But your largely correct.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

Well I think its more that HTC needs something positive this year as their earnings are very poor. So they want something to wave at investors.

Anyway for Morpheus there is a rumor of MS VR tomorrow apparently a cardboard like device leaked and there is a rumor of an oculus / ms announcement tomorrow also. But your largely correct.

Personally I'm quite excited about the possibilities of VR, it's the kind of thing I dreamed about as a youngster watching Lawnmower Man (as awful as the film is). Thing is, all these companies jumping on the VR bandwagon I guess is a good thing, since support will be quite varied, but I do wonder whether it's the generation's motion control.

It can also be argued that motion control was the catalyst for VR and an evolutionary step behind.

I can't say that I've heard anything about Microsoft's possible competing device, though I think it can only be a good thing if they get involved too. Especially considering an ultra-advanced version of Kinect could be an amazing addition.

 

[goonergaz]

I wonder if VR will see a bit of a boom and bust thing like motion control (Wii) and kinect?

I recall seeing PSeye in the early days, it was an early adopters thing - not too bad but not great, then came the Kinect 'upgrade' which sold really well - it caught the publics imagination...but now seems to have died a death.

Likewise we had motion control type games - I remember a ECTS years before Gamecube (let alone Wii) people playing Tennis games with a racket (etc) but again it was not 'in the public eye' until the release of the Wii...but now this also seems to have died a death.

With VR - we had the 'early stuff' back in the late 80s/early90s and now we are entering a potential 'boom' period, where there's been a gap in new hardware (PS4/XBO a couple years old now) and the tech minded want a new toy to try and there's been quite a rise in the profile of VR lately (hell it was even in Dr Who at the weekend!)...if they can hit the right price then I could see a similar scenario to Kinect.

 

[Jwm]

Wrong thread for me to say this, but my concerns for VR = price, diversity of human heads (kids/adults), potential for fragmentation of standards that could lead to lower adoption overall.

If I could, I would design a GPU add-on box for consoles/low tier PC's/tablets/etc that would in some fashion boost FPS. Allowing for more consistent experiences across platforms. Sadly that would just add more to the price (although in some cases might lower it).

 

[Prophecy2k]

Framerate isn't going to be too much of a problem for VR games on console, as games will be designed for a rock solid consistent framerate as a matter of priority; they'll make every sacrifice to achieve it. So no add-on box needed there.

Tablet games won't need it, because tablet/phone VR games will by default not be taxing on the processing cores, since you don't have much to work with to begin with (not to mention issues with battery life and HW throttling).

Low tier PC HW just won't be a target for VR and it shouldn't be. The same way that AAA multiplatform console games put out a minimum spec. that disqualifies pretty much all low tier PC HW. If someone in the market for a PC has gaming as a requirement, why not just buy a beefier PC, instead of some low rate laptop and then have to shell out on an additional add-on board? Makes no sense.

 

[goonergaz]

TBH this is why I prefer a console solution, in theory there should be no performance issues due to the fixed target

 

[pjbliverpool]

TBH this is why I prefer a console solution, in theory there should be no performance issues due to the fixed target

Occulus Rift has a fixed target on the PC too. They've specifically said and stated on their website that games will be designed to run at a solid 90fps on a GTX 970 / R9 290 and upwards. So as long as you have such a system you should have no performance issues.

 

[goonergaz]

Sorry, I just meant the whole 'plug and go' aspect of consoles, hardly the same

 

[MrFox]

So as long as you have such a system you should have no performance issues.

Perfectly smooth 90fps on the minimum recommended specs without ever fiddling with the game's graphics settings. Riiiiiiiight....

I do expect drama. I'll definitely upgrade my GPU way above the minimum specs when I'll get my Rift.

[drama]
Oh I got the setting okay, no headaches at last!! Oh no the second level is more taxing I have to fiddle again!! Oh no when there are too many trees I have to drop it more because it's the CPU bottlenecking in those levels!! Oh when I put it on Automatic Settings it's 90fps stable, but there's no shadows and it's stuck fugly!! Automatic settings drops the wrong things I have to fiddle again!! Oh there's a patch available, let's see if it solves my problems!!
[/drama]

 

[Deleted member 11852]

The Walk PlayStation VR Simulation

Love that they have a fan blowing wind at her.

 

[pjbliverpool]

Perfectly smooth 90fps on the minimum recommended specs without ever fiddling with the game's graphics settings. Riiiiiiiight....

What's a minimum recommended spec? Specs are usually minimum OR recommended. In this case it's the target spec for a 90fps experience so I'd say that's closer to a recommended spec than a minimum. If done properly then the games default settings should be playable at 90fps or above on a 970. I don't see what's particularly complicated about that. It's straight forward enough that if a developer gets it wrong they are just as likely to miss the target frame rate on a console too.

[drama]
Oh I got the setting okay, no headaches at last!! Oh no the second level is more taxing I have to fiddle again!! Oh no when there are too many trees I have to drop it more because it's the CPU bottlenecking in those levels!! Oh when I put it on Automatic Settings it's 90fps stable, but there's no shadows and it's stuck fugly!! Automatic settings drops the wrong things I have to fiddle again!! Oh there's a patch available, let's see if it solves my problems!!
[/drama]

Sorry but if the user is using a 970 and deliberately resets their settings to higher than those recommended for VR on a 970 (which should be the defaults if done properly) then it's the users own stupidity that's at fault and not the platform or game design. If you want a simple console like experience which is guaranteed to work then get (at least) a 970 and leave the games settings at their defaults (or let GeForce Experience handle them). That should be comparable to a console experience right there. If you don't like the better graphics that will probably give you and have a problem with the option to fiddle with settings and increase graphics to the possible detriment of performance then get a console. Seems pretty straight forward to me. Obviously that's dependant on meeting the recommended CPU requirement as well.

 

[goonergaz]

It's quite pricey, £400 for a GPU & CPU - obviously something to consider on a couple of years (for me anyway)

edit - actually my setup is closer than I thought....I might get away with an overclock and a GTX970...essentially a £150 upgrade, mind you OR will likely be around PSVR price anyway

 

[Nesh]

The Walk PlayStation VR Simulation

Love that they have a fan blowing wind at her.

That should help me get over my fear of heights.

edit: what is interesting is how her balance is affected by the way she perceives something that doesnt exist. She is actually walking on a flat surface. Yet if she wasnt wearing the VR glasses and tried to walk on a straight line she wouldnt have been losing her balance.

 

[upnorthsox]

Perfectly smooth 90fps on the minimum recommended specs without ever fiddling with the game's graphics settings. Riiiiiiiight....

I do expect drama. I'll definitely upgrade my GPU way above the minimum specs when I'll get my Rift.

[drama]
Oh I got the setting okay, no headaches at last!! Oh no the second level is more taxing I have to fiddle again!! Oh no when there are too many trees I have to drop it more because it's the CPU bottlenecking in those levels!! Oh when I put it on Automatic Settings it's 90fps stable, but there's no shadows and it's stuck fugly!! Automatic settings drops the wrong things I have to fiddle again!! Oh there's a patch available, let's see if it solves my problems!!
[/drama]

How dare you question the power of the dark side.....I mean PC, You will be schooled shortly on your discretion.

 

[upnorthsox]

That should help me get over my fear of heights.

edit: what is interesting is how her balance is affected by the way she perceives something that doesnt exist. She is actually walking on a flat surface. Yet if she wasnt wearing the VR glasses and tried to walk on a straight line she wouldnt have been losing her balance.

Yeah that was great, and I think she was only barely aware of just how much it was effecting her.

 

[MrFox]

How dare you question the power of the dark side.....I mean PC, You will be schooled shortly on your discretion.

Do not underestimate my power. I have a gaming PC so I'm allowed to attack my own race with impunity.

There's some confusion in the media about whether a 970 is minimum or just recommended. But looking at the war thunder and project cars forums is an eye opener. Some have a 970 and it works fine by default, others have performance issues in VR.

Anyway this is completely off-topic.

 

[Arwin]

That should help me get over my fear of heights.

edit: what is interesting is how her balance is affected by the way she perceives something that doesnt exist. She is actually walking on a flat surface. Yet if she wasnt wearing the VR glasses and tried to walk on a straight line she wouldnt have been losing her balance.

They actually put something on the ground if you pay close attention, that she is walking on and can in fact fall off ...

 

[Nesh]

They actually put something on the ground if you pay close attention, that she is walking on and can in fact fall off ...

Oh I didnt notice that. I am pretty sure it was affecting her more than it should though because of the VR