HTC Vive resolution and focus

[xxiii]

Scaling - I admit I have no idea what people are talking about here (for either headset). I'd rather not know since I'm not bothered by whatever the issue is, and there is no upside to figuring out something that might bug me.

Er, sorry; but as already mentioned a couple times, at least some of us Vive users perceive our avatar bodies to be about 4 ft tall (1.3 meters or so), and if I turn around and look at the door in a Python, I'd have to duck to get through it (my avatar wouldn't though). On the other hand the console (where the holograms float over) and handholds and such seem larger than they should. I'm unclear if this is the case for ALL vive users, or only some of us, and if its the case on the Rift at all. Its not hugely bothersome, at least to me, though I wonder if its affecting the scaling of planets, stations, and such (and maybe related to the galaxy not appearing to be "infinitely" far away. Maybe Earth is being rendered at the size of Mars, for example.

God Rays - These are a total non-issue for me. I know what they are, and maybe if I look I can see them but they don't but me the slighest on either headset.

I've noticed that if god rays seem excessive or bothersome, its probably because the eyes are not perfectly centered over the lenses. I think this is the case for some other artifacts as well.

 

[Chaz]

Er, sorry; but as already mentioned a couple times, at least some of us Vive users perceive our avatar bodies to be about 4 ft tall (1.3 meters or so), and if I turn around and look at the door in a Python, I'd have to duck to get through it (my avatar wouldn't though). On the other hand the console (where the holograms float over) and handholds and such seem larger than they should. I'm unclear if this is the case for ALL vive users, or only some of us, and if its the case on the Rift at all. Its not hugely bothersome, at least to me, though I wonder if its affecting the scaling of planets, stations, and such (and maybe related to the galaxy not appearing to be "infinitely" far away. Maybe Earth is being rendered at the size of Mars, for example.

I'm using a Rift CV1 and there are similar scaling issues also. Yes the Python door does look far too small. On the other hand the door in the Clipper looks too large and the one in the Courier looks just right, so it seems to depend on the ship. Planets to me look too small and too close until they start to fill up more of your view. The legs on the pilot body do look a little overly foreshortened too. In the future people have obviously shrunk a bit, guess their diets have declined again, an over reliance on nutrient pills.

 

[vizvayu]

Er, sorry; but as already mentioned a couple times, at least some of us Vive users perceive our avatar bodies to be about 4 ft tall (1.3 meters or so), and if I turn around and look at the door in a Python, I'd have to duck to get through it (my avatar wouldn't though). On the other hand the console (where the holograms float over) and handholds and such seem larger than they should. I'm unclear if this is the case for ALL vive users, or only some of us, and if its the case on the Rift at all. Its not hugely bothersome, at least to me, though I wonder if its affecting the scaling of planets, stations, and such (and maybe related to the galaxy not appearing to be "infinitely" far away. Maybe Earth is being rendered at the size of Mars, for example.

I wonder if this could be related to the FOV... a wider FOV would make things look smaller, right? I mean, how do you change the absolute size of the objects perceived by a camera (point of view)? Right now I can only think on distance and FOV. And I don't think FD changed the distance between objects in the Vive... so my guess is that FOV is the issue here. I can be wrong of course, I'm just guessing.
I'm pretty sure it's the same for every Vive owner. It's just that some people simply didn't notice it. I don't know about Rift users though. We need some stats.

 

[stripealipe]

There is def a scale issue in the Vive - i have a DK2 as well, and in the DK2 planets seem huge and daunting... i don't get this in the Vive.. something is off.

 

[Skafen]

I wonder if this could be related to the FOV... a wider FOV would make things look smaller, right? I mean, how do you change the absolute size of the objects perceived by a camera (point of view)? Right now I can only think on distance and FOV. And I don't think FD changed the distance between objects in the Vive... so my guess is that FOV is the issue here. I can be wrong of course, I'm just guessing.
I'm pretty sure it's the same for every Vive owner. It's just that some people simply didn't notice it. I don't know about Rift users though. We need some stats.

In photography, the FOV is dependent on the focal length of the lens, where a 50mm lens will approximate normal human vision on a full frame sensor. A wider angle lens than 50mm will tend to make nearer objects look bigger than they really are, so if you looked at, say, someone's face with a 20mm their nose would look really big. So if it was an overall 'lens too wide angle' problem the pilot's torso would look too big and his/her feet would look really small.

Edit: a small fov change might do the trick, mind. And it's certainly doable, whatever the cause. I also play Project Cars and they implemented a VR scaling fix which works pretty well.

 

[vizvayu]

In photography, the FOV is dependent on the focal length of the lens, where a 50mm lens will approximate normal human vision on a full frame sensor. A wider angle lens than 50mm will tend to make nearer objects look bigger than they really are, so if you looked at, say, someone's face with a 20mm their nose would look really big. So if it was an overall 'lens too wide angle' problem the pilot's torso would look too big and his/her feet would look really small.

Edit: a small fov change might do the trick, mind. And it's certainly doable, whatever the cause. I also play Project Cars and they implemented a VR scaling fix which works pretty well.

Yes I understand the concept of FOV. I'm an amateur photographer myself, I've been using reflex cameras for more than 20 years
What I'm talking about is a small difference in FOV... which may change the scale of the environmets but the distorsion difference could be too small to be easily noticeable. I don't know if this makes sense, it was just a random thought.

 

[cygnusa]

Er, sorry; but as already mentioned a couple times, at least some of us Vive users perceive our avatar bodies to be about 4 ft tall (1.3 meters or so), and if I turn around and look at the door in a Python, I'd have to duck to get through it (my avatar wouldn't though). On the other hand the console (where the holograms float over) and handholds and such seem larger than they should. I'm unclear if this is the case for ALL vive users, or only some of us, and if its the case on the Rift at all. Its not hugely bothersome, at least to me, though I wonder if its affecting the scaling of planets, stations, and such (and maybe related to the galaxy not appearing to be "infinitely" far away. Maybe Earth is being rendered at the size of Mars, for example.



I've noticed that if god rays seem excessive or bothersome, its probably because the eyes are not perfectly centered over the lenses. I think this is the case for some other artifacts as well.

The scale seems a bit off for me as well, but I'm almost 6' tall. I should have my wife check it out and get her opinion (she's 5' tall). My most notable concern is the feeling of de-masculation. Just don't look down. Don't look down. I swear that guy must have dead swimmers down there. Or part of signing up to the Pilot's Federation means going through 'processing' like the slaves had to in the film Ice Pirates:

 

[xxiii]

My most notable concern is the feeling of de-masculation. Just don't look down. Don't look down.

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how to bring that up tactfully. I hope the commander designer will be equal opportunity. Just speaking about video games in general, it seems there is a lot of attention paid to, ahem, torsos, but other characters are ken dolls. I suppose it has to do with what the apparent demographic seems to be/wants.

I don't have the room to try it myself, but I wonder if I were to actually walk over to the door, would the scale/size change, or would my head poke up through the ceiling?

 

[BillD]

Thanks a lot for this report.
Glad to hear it's not day and night between rift and vive. I'll get my vive soon and the choice between the two HMD was not easy.

For me the size is right as in length of arms and legs, but I would admit they are a very slender petite build in the future. I used to have the scale problem very badly in the DK2 but in the Vive it feels much closer to correct.

In regards to readable text, I use a green theme that works very well for me and still leaves red things red (mostly) and makes everything easier to read. Its actually better than the orange in my eye but unlike many of the colour hacks, still leaves the reds red. One friend didnt like it as he likes to see allies in green and the others in orange but as the orange has shifted to green he cant tell. This does not affect my game style at all so I did not even notice it. If someone shoots me or are an enemy they are still red and that's all that matters to me as that's who I have to kill..
Yes objects at a distance are fuzzy and the shimmers in the station are annoying, but I cant go back to 2D. Using a 1080 I can set VR High and 1.5ss and that helps alot. I will occassionally get a slight pause or stammer but nothing game braking for me.u
For those that are interested this is what I have in my Graphics override. Sorry to the original author who created this scheme, I can't find the link but Kudos anyway.
<GUIColour>
<Default>
<LocalisationName>Standard</LocalisationName>
<MatrixRed> 0.5, -0.04, -2.88 </MatrixRed>
<MatrixGreen> -3, 1.36, -3 </MatrixGreen>
<MatrixBlue> 1.07, 0.1, 3 </MatrixBlue>
</Default>
</GUIColour>

 

[Gilsoncav]

...
Yes objects at a distance are fuzzy and the shimmers in the station are annoying, but I cant go back to 2D. Using a 1080 I can set VR High and 1.5ss and that helps alot. ...

Would you be kind to tell a newbie where did you set 1.5ss? Is it forced by nvidia software or ingame?

 

[Adam Lusardi]

Would you be kind to tell a newbie where did you set 1.5ss? Is it forced by nvidia software or ingame?

In game. Graphics option click on the plus sign to open up all the options.
(As I don't think Nvidia options work in direct mode)

 

[Gazwarke]

Would you be kind to tell a newbie where did you set 1.5ss? Is it forced by nvidia software or ingame?

I believe you go to options-graphics-quality, then hit the plus button to expand all settings, ss has a few options both below and above 1.

 

[Magic Man]

Tried mine for the first time today...

Text is not an issue for me. Am running a modified ui (green) but can read the text in game without issue if looking at it.
Running custom with high/ultra on a gtx 1080 without issue. Tried x1.5 and x2 ss but to be honest, couldn't really notice a difference. Galaxy view for me is also good and very impressive, zipping around through the stars using a 3d Connexion controller. System view also great - interface has minor issues with selection of planets there - mouse cursor in a different plane so not ideal. Same with galaxy view, the menu and pop-ups sit above everything so prone to parallax issues, would like to be able to move the galaxy view menu as well, it's too far over to the left in 3d view, wojld be better if it was moveable.

Does running AA in game do anything? Tried up to smaa and, again, couldn't say I noticed much difference.
Does the dof option really do anything?

Obviously, it's not as clear as a monitor but I found my eyes actually aclimatising to it and not noticing the 'limitations' of the sweetspot as much - making sure my eyes were wide open also seemed to help.

All in all, very pleased indeed. I'm not 'blown away' as others have been but then I pretty much knew what to expect. The way it does all work though is great - the tracking of the headset and controllers etc is brilliant - and it all bids well for a great future with continued improvements of all the tech involved.

Most impressive (in ED) for me was viewing around my ship from outside whilst in a station - gave me a tad of vertigo and stomach rolls as I panned up and over my ship and rolled the camera around.

 

[jojon]

...But yes, a fix is being worked on - but it takes time to get right and stable.

Might you be persuaded to describe what it entails?

 

[Mike Kangaroo]

Yeah the Vive is a pixelated mess, running Super Sampling at 2.0 does solve a lot of it so I know its not hardware.

The scale is off for me too, but despite the current issues, I still love playing it in the Vive.

Looking forward to hear an update on this!

Also, would love to hear if VR Sli could be a thing. Its annoying to go from maximum details on a 4k TV at over 60 FPS down to VR Low because I cannot engage that second GTX980

 

[jojon]

Ehm... I don't know if I'm just imagining things, but I just fired up the game for the first time in maybe two weeks, and can't help but to wonder if the latest update didn't actually do something...

Now, I have unfortunately broken my Vive, so I have only got picture in one eye, but it seems to me that light levels may have been balanced (maybe the display panel may even have been profiled?).
On the start menu screen, for example, the menu used to be unreadable, against the specular highlights (and surrounding patches) on the Scarab behind it, due to everything bright blowing out into blinding white, including the spots halfway up the sides of the large door to the side, while all detail in shadow on the dark grey Eagle was crushed to black. Fiddling with gamma, to fix either, used to just make the other that much worse, without helping much with the one.
Now? Now I'd say it may look much like in the Rift, including being able to make out rock wall details in those underground hangars with the 50 terawatt ceiling lights.
Took a short (one-eyed) flight, and the gradient of the nebula I started in was very visible, where there used to be something of a contrast "threshold" making things plunge from bloody bright to pitch black, losing any subtlety. Should have looked whether I could make out planet surface detail on a rock in dusk, but didn't think to. The hyperspace tunnel still looked rather dark, though, with the starfield points still kind of stinging one's eyes, and the "nebulas" becoming lost in darkness.

(EDIT: The graphical "junk" outside the viewport circles is as prevalent as ever, and really light up the fringes of the view)

Like I said; Could be entirely something I'm imagining - a second opinion would be appreciated. :7

 

[Gib007]

I received my HTC Vive on Tuesday and only just tried Elite Dangerous today. I had read reports of the game looking awful on the HTC Vive, but I wanted to give it a go. I must say I do agree with the reports I read. Everything is massively pixelated and aliased. Things look as if we've gone back to X-Wing vs TIE Fighter days!
Anyway, I'm glad to read that Frontier is working on a fix. I will probably cease playing the game altogether until I see reports of improved visuals.

 

[Rune]

Got my Vive today and tried ED in VR for the first time. Couldn't read the text on a mission update and the aliasing is awful. Still a stunning experience though, the sense of depth is amazing and docking at Jameson Memorial was spectacular. Really looking forward to them implementing their fixes.

 

[BillD]

Well I have been using vive for about 4 weeks and had a green scheme and 1.5 super sampling. It was pretty good. The Rift Arrived today and I fired that up and WOW Substantially better. Not boasting or anything Just pointing out that once they sort out the vive you will be blown away.
Also with the Vive I had to wear my glasses to read things. With the Rift I do not. I don't know why they scale things by .75 in the Vive.

 

[Gilsoncav]

Well I have been using vive for about 4 weeks and had a green scheme and 1.5 super sampling. It was pretty good. The Rift Arrived today and I fired that up and WOW Substantially better. Not boasting or anything Just pointing out that once they sort out the vive you will be blown away.
Also with the Vive I had to wear my glasses to read things. With the Rift I do not. I don't know why they scale things by .75 in the Vive.

I was fearing to hear something like that... US$ 799 spent to fetch a Vive and bring it to Brazil to hear this...
I'm wondering about the nearest bridge to jump from.