A VR Kickstarter? (Hypothetical)

[VR andysonofbob]

Such as? (genuinely curious)

I asked the exact same question!

What VR enhancements and optimisations would you be considering? And how would you image they might physically work etc?

Also genuinely curious. I play ED with Twin Sticks and pedals and VA. I am efficient with everything including GalMap

ANYHOO!!!
Here is my 2p.
The only thing I can think of is an in-game keyboard that has been custom built around HOTAS.
Maybe split keyboard in half for efficiency using HOTAS:

• left side controlled by left stick's hatswitch / throttle buttons
• right side controlled by the right stick's hatswitch...

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

Some suggestions to make EDVR better...

Physical interactions with buttons and consoles on ships (would also work for 2D space legs).

Option to change seating position (feet on the floor)

More customisable components and bling for the cockpits.

More VR interfaces that don’t take you out of the cockpit.

Space pets ...

Optimisations to make VR run smoother

NPC Copilots

Better looking bridges

Ability to move panels around

More effects inside cockpit when ship is damaged

Did I already say space pets?

Ability to access internet on a panel from within the game (not dash / 3rd party)

HUD colour changes

Custom hotas sticks and throttles depending on your real life setup.

I’d love to see people milling about in stations too!

I’m sure you guys can think of a bunch more...

For me I’d like to mainly be able to crank up the SS and not blow up the gpu!

Oh and fix the Aliasing.

 

[CylonSurfer]

Some suggestions to make EDVR better...


More VR interfaces that don’t take you out of the cockpit.


Optimisations to make VR run smoother

NPC Copilots

More effects inside cockpit when ship is damaged

Did I already say space pets?

I’d love to see people milling about in stations too!

Oh and fix the Aliasing.

I'm with you on those! In particular the last one

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

Also a more hands approach to engineering along the lines of minority reports interface...

Spoiler

[video=youtube;PJqbivkm0Ms]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJqbivkm0Ms[/video]

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Elite is already working on WMR devices without problems, some people posting here use them

As for KS, I think they got pretty burned by it years later, as people are still clamouring for some promised features.
What I would like them to do is less disconnected mechanisms like the FSS, and more "in cockpit" type thingies or at least something designed in 3d, not 2d, akin to the galaxy map. No more 100" tv's hanging in pitch black.

• HUD COLOUR changing from the unfriendly orange to something else easier readable in Vive or Rift (changing colour on PC via a "hack" is possible but I dislike how it changes everything else)
• Oh, and fix the *bleep* station interiors performance.
• UI in itself could use some love, it's 3305 ...
• GIVE US OUR HEAD BACK! I hate to be headless cripple in the wheelchair emmm... captain's chair!
• It would be cool if system map could be switched from flat to orrery mode on demand.
• And last but not least, space legs, so we can truly be inside the universe.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Also a more hands approach to engineering along the lines of minority reports interface...

You don't want that for two reasons: 1. it is tiresome after a while, 2. you would need to take hands of hotas to controllers and it is not exactly convenient. Unless they introduce gesture ship controls like X:R, though the opinions on this one are, as always, subjective. CylonSurfer for example doesn't like them, I love them and find them much more agile than HOTAS. YMMV.

EDIT: coupled with space legs though, why not.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Still a common sentiment. I'm surprised you haven't seen it. This video made the rounds recently

So perhaps stop spreading this clickbait without proper context [haha] because they backtracked a bit. See here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/aconqm/linus_has_a_new_vr_is_dead_video_heres_where_im/
Also some of his comments on Pimax show that he is not really knowledgeable in the area, important games didn't get mentioned etc.

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

You don't want that for two reasons: 1. it is tiresome after a while, 2. you would need to take hands of hotas to controllers and it is not exactly convenient. Unless they introduce gesture ship controls like X:R, though the opinions on this one are, as always, subjective. CylonSurfer for example doesn't like them, I love them and find them much more agile than HOTAS. YMMV.

EDIT: coupled with space legs though, why not.

Haptic gloves will be here before you know it!

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Haptic gloves will be here before you know it!

Along with Valve's knuckles, yes, but #iwantthemnow ;-)

 

[Darkfyre99]

We are always hearing in the media how VR is dead, too niche, blah blah blah!

Meanwhile in the real world...

The company I work for, which leaves deep fingerprints on every penny it spends, just sent four Oculus Rifts to every store in the company for training purposes. It’s interesting to listen to those who have gone through some of the training rave about it. Quite a few minds have been blown over the last week.

 

[Alec Turner]

Some suggestions to make EDVR better...

Thanks - nice list and much appreciated as having specifics really helps to think about the original question. Would I fund a kickstarter for FD to make some/all of the above possible?

Well I guess they fall into categories:

Bling
- More customisable components and bling for the cockpits.
- Space pets ...

Personally probably not - I waste enough time moving the furniture around in Oculus Home, when I get into ED I think I just want to get on with playing the game. That said I'd probably love it if it happened, my cockpits are all festooned with bobbleheads so who am I kidding!

Wow factor
- Better looking bridges
- More effects inside cockpit when ship is damaged
- NPC Copilots
- I’d love to see people milling about in stations too!

Yes - definitely thing like more effects, not sure sure about stuff like "better looking bridges" because I just don't see FD re-designing the bridges specifically for us. The ship bridges are getting better and better actually which makes me wonder whether they'll ever go back and bring the older ones up to the same standard.

Cockpit QoL & interaction
- Option to change seating position (feet on the floor)
- Ability to move panels around
- Ability to access internet on a panel from within the game (not dash / 3rd party)
- Custom hotas sticks and throttles depending on your real life setup.
- More VR interfaces that don’t take you out of the cockpit.
- Physical interactions with buttons and consoles on ships (would also work for 2D space legs).
- HUD colour changes

Probably - you can never have enough QoL improvements. Interacting with buttons would be cool but again, I just don't see FD adding things like landing gear buttons to all the cockpits, seems like too much work. Also - and actually, this is REALLY important for quite a lot of these ideas (and has been discussed a lot in the past) - I still can't really see the idea of taking my hands off the HOTAS in order to pick up hand controllers being a good experience (in fact, I know it's not because I gave up on using Oculus Dash with ED a long time ago) - maybe when we have haptic gloves which are lightweight and flexible enough to be used with a HOTAS - maybe then (but that's a problem for hardware manufacturers, not FD).

General performance/quality improvements
- Optimisations to make VR run smoother
- For me I’d like to mainly be able to crank up the SS and not blow up the gpu!
- Oh and fix the Aliasing.

Yes (and no) - thing is, I don't know how much of this is Frontier's problem. Higher SS just WILL use more GPU, nothing to do with FD and aliasing is a basic problem with relatively low res screens and a space game having lots of high contrast thin lines and hard edges (I'm thinking things like orbit lines against the blackness of space here).

Overall I think it's actually veering towards more of a no from me - I just can't see this raising nearly enough money to persuade FD to do this stuff. I really hope they don't forget about VR, fix some bugs, keep performance in mind and make sure everything new they add (e.g. new mining and FSS stuff) is tested and works as well with VR as it does without. I'll gladly campaign for that (report issues and make a stink about stuff that really doesn't work well and generally keep singing the praises of VR and how important ED is as a poster boy game for the medium) but if they're losing interest (and that's a big IF) I'm not sure there's much we can realistically do to change it.

 

[Aekero]

I'd chip in just for VR optimizations. There are games that look better than elite that also run much better.

To me, he's right, in the sense that VR is still niche. It's going to be as long as you need a beefy rig just to run it.... But I'm surprised he's not more optimistic about it. He literally went from triangles on a screen to being able to feel like he was inside looking out. I'm dreaming of what could be.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

We are always hearing in the media how VR is dead, too niche, blah blah blah!

I do wonder if Frontier realise how many of us are actually only here playing ED because of VR?
I’d love for them to launch a Kickstarter (or something) to raise money to be used specifically for VR enhancements and optimisations. There is no better VR experience out there and many of us have already shelled out thousands on equipment to take the experience as far we can.

IMO the next steps needs to be taken by Frontier, but I just don’t see it ever being a priority as there is little money to be made. So why couldn’t we pay for it ourselves? EDVR isn’t a whole lot different than it was when they launched and there is so much that could be done to make it even better than it currently is.

A crazy idea (obviously not ideal) but could it work? Would you contribute?


Short version... if we are willing to spend xxx amount to try and improve things on the hardware end, would you be willing to “donate” to improving the experience on the software side?

I think I would ...

I too only play ED for VR, without it i would be long gone......... however I have already paid far more for elite dangerous than i have ever paid for for a game...... IF FD knock it out of the park with an update, i may buy a few skins but a kickstarter to pay for something in game which *already* was used as a hook for me to pay extra cash, its a no from me i am afraid.

ED already supports VR and my view is FD should already be putting in *some* devtime into keeping it viable and working well. That comment from DB was terrible, if VR ends up on the cutting room floor along with all the other content which has been neglected i really am out........... which may actually be good for my piece of mind, I lose too much time on these forums opining for what i thought ED was going to be when i bought in.

 

[Desert63]

I have never played Elite dangerous without VR !!!!!

Me neither. I have had ED for 3+ years and played off and on for awhile, but hardcore the last 90 days. I got a VR headset when I read about ED. Its always been VR, I cant imagine playing it any other way.

 

[Desert63]

[QUOTE="And the other problem is, trying to use it in a family environment, it's really divisive. Because no one can see or hear what you're seeing.”[/QUOTE]

I agree and have very little time to sit in a game with a headset on isolated from my family. So here is what I often do. I run one of my 1080 display ports to the big screen next to me in our basement which puts my headset video and audio onto that screen. Then I am listening to game audio booming out into the room, although the video is on my headset. My wife and son will often sit on the couch watching and hearing ED from the big screen and act in a way as "copilots", occasionally giving in game advice or thoughts. (and some of there advice is deadon, as they have seen it quite a bit). If I pass something that looks amazing, I will throttle down and they will come up and put the headset on to look around for awhile, and then go back to the couch. This doesn't happen for hours, but at times it does as my wife will idly surf her phone and do emails, and when she hears something interesting in ED she will look up and take part. My son is 12 and I am "grooming him" to wing up with me eventually, so this is perfect. No, we don't do this all the time and often I wing up with a friend and my family is not involved. But they are involved often enough in this way to "sortof" turn VR and ED into something more family and social.

 

[TorTorden_VR]

"And the other problem is, trying to use it in a family environment, it's really divisive. Because no one can see or hear what you're seeing.”

Like mentioned above.
That's simply a lack of imagination.

Besides why would everything have to be a family activity?
That's like saying ear buds or headphones ruin music.

For me VR makes my gaming sessions in elite far more intense.
So instead of playing five hours I play an hour and a half.

My family would be about as interested in Elite as I am in soccer.
It would NEVER have been a family activity anyways.

VR gives me a better enjoyment of the game and the isolation factor disturbs my family less.
And lends me in the end happier with less time in game and more time left available to do other activities.

 

[Desert63]

My family would be about as interested in Elite as I am in soccer.
It would NEVER have been a family activity anyways.

.

You have never had them put the headset on? Any Lakon ship is preferred but the Type 6 is perfect and you can keep it around just to demo since its so cheap. Sit on the pad in a huge station and have them stand next to the glass and look around, or next to an ELW and let them try the headset on. They might be more interested then .

But I fully get your points above.

 

[Sweet&Dandy]

The talk about family time is a personal issue and not relevant IMO.

Living in Saudi, you go out for a meal and see a family of six all sitting at a table playing / staring at their phones / devices and not saying a word to each other! Kids included! On the next table the family are laughing and joking together.

I play VR when my wife is busy doing other things. If I was playing a 2D game (which I don’t) we wouldn’t be doing it together either. That DB article is the most depressing read I’ve ever had since ED launched... he doesn’t seem to get what an amazing thing he’s created!

I’ve changed my mind... how about a Kickstarter campaign to buy ED from him???

 

[Glock_N_Load]

I had the Rift for about a year for my main pc. A couple of months ago I got the Lenovo Windows Mixed Reality and it works well with ED at a third of the cost. I think the list of improvements is pretty good but I would be happy with just better control interfaces.

 

[A D]

Haptic gloves will be here before you know it!

Yummy..yes please.

Oh, I should mention a VR keyboard in the game. Don't think that's ever been mentioned.