As a recent convert to VR (I'll not be going back to ED2D), I wish I could, but I too am worried. I think the things implemented in VR early on in the game's are amazing, while later things feel tacked on. For example, the Orrery map is just sad in VR. The planets are 2D sprites that don't even always face the viewer! This should be an epic map in VR, not this slapped-together project that freshmen students learn in Programming 101 class.Reassure me, please.
The FSS is also disappointing. It works, don't get me wrong, but it feels like another lazy "do whatever you need to make this 2D screen work in VR" implementation. I still remember the live stream when Frontier first introduced the FSS. Someone in chat asked them about VR, and the two lead developers looked at each other like, "Oh crap, this game has VR. We totally forgot about that!"
All I know is that if ED abandons VR, I'll likely be abandoning ED. VR is one of the few things setting ED apart from the growing list of competition. I had shelved the game for Space Engineers until I got my Rift S, which has breathed new life into ED for me. Now ED feels like a VR exclusive, even though it's not. I know we are a niche group of players, but I think it would be very foolish for Frontier to abandon VR. That doesn't mean they won't, however. Frontier and Foolish both start with F, after all (as does Fail).
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Just like me!
The interesting thing is that the recent ships appear to be designed with VR in mind as the cockpits are considerably more detailed than the early ships.
Don't even go down the FSS/Orrery path - random 'cage' on the FSS, no moon orbit lines... 3D with a capital flat...
The sysmap is very good too...
On many write-ups of VR in general, ED is often quoted as the best VR game available.
But I guess Frontier know the size of the market segment and whether it is worthwhile supporting VR.
For me, VR revitalised the game. I tried to play it in 2D again recently (due to motion sickness in the SRV) but it is a pale reflection of the 3D experience.
Similarly with NMS. Even though the 2D graphics look better in both cases.
Here hoping.... but hope is insignificant compared to £s.
But I guess Frontier know the size of the market segment and whether it is worthwhile supporting VR.
For me, VR revitalised the game. I tried to play it in 2D again recently (due to motion sickness in the SRV) but it is a pale reflection of the 3D experience.
Similarly with NMS. Even though the 2D graphics look better in both cases.
Here hoping.... but hope is insignificant compared to £s.
I think maybe the arrival of Alyx next Spring may give a boost to VR uptake, it would be foolish if this was to happen and FDev were to ignore the VR market with the 2020 update as this game is likely to benefit from a proportion of new HMD sales too.
VR or space legs? The latter doesn't guarantee the former.
Now that is a question I really am unable to answer, but the detail we have still looks splendid in VR... plus see my last post, just chewing an idea over
Don't get me wrong, I want ED to continue to develop with VR in mind. Unfortunately the fact that I love ED in VR means it is DOOMED, just look at what happened to ED on PS4!Now that is a question I really am unable to answer, but the detail we have still looks splendid in VR... plus see my last post, just chewing an idea over
I may be wrong (what's new?) but I have the impression that both Oculus & HTC 'sponsored' VR in ED, how long the agreement to continue supporting VR was, who knows, but dropping support (or not developing new assets into VR) may have repercussions.Don't get me wrong, I want ED to continue to develop with VR in mind. Unfortunately the fact that I love ED in VR means it is DOOMED, just look at what happened to ED on PS4!
I'm not sure that is the case, i've been bumbling around with ED since the early days of the alpha and I don't recall there ever being any mention of a tie-in with a hardware supplier (although they were giving away X52 joysticks in an early competition, but i don't think it was an official tie-in) - delighted to be proved wrong tho.
I too have concerns over the future of ED:VR, as outlined above by Old Duck, FD seems to have forgotten at times that it even exists, especially in recent releases where the interface is just so clunky, certainly compared to earlier releases. I have a horrible feeling that legs/feet etc may well bork VR for good, and sadly that would be it for me too. Wouldn't be able to go back to 2D.
What will help is the Oculus and other VR hardware uptake, it appears pretty strong, but what would help even more would be the new consoles, specifically the Xbox Series X to have Oculus/VR support (it's just a pc) - that might help FD focus their time in the VR realm... maybe.
Only 12 months to go before we find out
I am sorry to rain on your parade, but Elite was "one of the best"... in 2016. Many better VR games came out later. Modded SkyrimVR blows ED out of the water, even Fallout 4 VR does... Doom VFR is not too shabby too... And there are newer games, like Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Asgard's Wrath, Stormland, Arktika 1, Red Matter, Lone Echo... Oh, I would forgot, our own Polish space vr game Detached... But a picture tells a thousand words, right? Well:
I see those games (Detached is from 2017...), I look at the hangar floor in Elite with its obscenely low res texture, and I can't say with confidence that Elite is the best vr experience out there. I simply can't. It's still nice, but its glory days are over, unless FDev does something. Which is highly unlikely considering already mentioned CEO's stance on VR...
But back to other games. Let's not forget Everspace and X:Rebirth VR, which I both consider really good games and like to play them in VR. Everspace is even better in VR because you can aim with your head, not with the thumbsticks
So yeah, ED is falling behind on the VR front, as FSS amply demonstrates. And the bridges on Conda and Corvette never looked more fake than in VR
I'm sometimes tempted to step out of the ship and look at them from the side, but I don't have enough space to do it without some serious tweaking of my room setup ;-)Tbh it doesn't also rule it out. Onward for example has no comfort options and people are playing it somehow
Motion sickness issue is exaggerated, and unless someone is really prone to it, it completely passes with time (as in you adopt to it).Speculation on NextBox VR using PC VR came about a few months back then died, (rumours of Rift S being supported) it seems odd that Microsoft - as they already established WMR - aren't dipping their toes into into the market. Perhaps they don't consider the market large enough to warrant the 'risk', or that insufficient 'quality' software could be developed in time for the release.I'm not sure that is the case, i've been bumbling around with ED since the early days of the alpha and I don't recall there ever being any mention of a tie-in with a hardware supplier (although they were giving away X52 joysticks in an early competition, but i don't think it was an official tie-in) - delighted to be proved wrong tho.
I too have concerns over the future of ED:VR, as outlined above by Old Duck, FD seems to have forgotten at times that it even exists, especially in recent releases where the interface is just so clunky, certainly compared to earlier releases. I have a horrible feeling that legs/feet etc may well bork VR for good, and sadly that would be it for me too. Wouldn't be able to go back to 2D.
What will help is the Oculus and other VR hardware uptake, it appears pretty strong, but what would help even more would be the new consoles, specifically the Xbox Series X to have Oculus/VR support (it's just a pc) - that might help FD focus their time in the VR realm... maybe.
Only 12 months to go before we find out
The recent patches/updates from Frontier have done VR support no favours as fixes to the FSS demonstrate. Like other VR users, I'd like to see support for VR actually mature in ED, but we'll have to wait another year to find out.
m$ is very skeptical of VR for some reason, and a fairly recent remark from the XBox CEO was rather chilly about VR. TL; DR: forget it. Did they change their stance on that matter?
Detached looks fun @StarLightPL - I may have to get that one! (already have Lone Echo - that is brilliant!) Thanks for showing it 
Oh, if anyone wants FTL in VR, they should check out "From Other Suns":
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a5-H98dJd8
@[U]StarLightPL[/U]
I dunno my old chum. Yeah, most of those games you mentioned are pretty slick. (Arktika 1 though? I thought that was a load of rubbish!) Lone Echo is impressive. Robo-Recall too. I think I have Detached, and if I remember correctly, Detached ticks my VR boxes (see later if you care).
I think the reason people STILL gush over ED is because of how it snuggly sits in VR's perfect sweet-spot - cockpit gameplay. I feel the chair behind me and see the sticks. My arms are kinda in the right place too. Others have rigs with everything in the right place. Same goes for racing games and all flight sims.
Until we a better way of handling leg movement, any form of locomotion is going to feel at odds with VR. And that's why I couldn't care less about space-legs but can't wait for atmos' landing.
I can also kinda deal with FSS's implementation because I can still imagine it being projected in my helmet so it works for me sufficiently as to not break muh immershun!
That's my 2 pence anyway
I dunno my old chum. Yeah, most of those games you mentioned are pretty slick. (Arktika 1 though? I thought that was a load of rubbish!) Lone Echo is impressive. Robo-Recall too. I think I have Detached, and if I remember correctly, Detached ticks my VR boxes (see later if you care).
I think the reason people STILL gush over ED is because of how it snuggly sits in VR's perfect sweet-spot - cockpit gameplay. I feel the chair behind me and see the sticks. My arms are kinda in the right place too. Others have rigs with everything in the right place. Same goes for racing games and all flight sims.
Until we a better way of handling leg movement, any form of locomotion is going to feel at odds with VR. And that's why I couldn't care less about space-legs but can't wait for atmos' landing.
I can also kinda deal with FSS's implementation because I can still imagine it being projected in my helmet so it works for me sufficiently as to not break muh immershun!
That's my 2 pence anyway
If 2020 is a paid update then I assume, like Horizons, that it will be optional and the game as it is now will still exist, VR and all. Paying to walk around a space station on a flat monitor or exploring the whole galaxy in VR for free. I will have to think about that one. Not.
I am sorry to rain on your parade, but Elite was "one of the best"... in 2016. Many better VR games came out later. Modded SkyrimVR blows ED out of the water, even Fallout 4 VR does... Doom VFR is not too shabby too... And there are newer games, like Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Asgard's Wrath, Stormland, Arktika 1, Red Matter, Lone Echo... Oh, I would forgot, our own Polish space vr game Detached... But a picture tells a thousand words, right? Well:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGecTrjiRh0
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5a4nWtbVyY
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ak2h3PkY1I
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YJlwyTmP0w
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pmV2mwAV9k
I see those games (Detached is from 2017...), I look at the hangar floor in Elite with its obscenely low res texture, and I can't say with confidence that Elite is the best vr experience out there. I simply can't. It's still nice, but its glory days are over, unless FDev does something. Which is highly unlikely considering already mentioned CEO's stance on VR...
But back to other games. Let's not forget Everspace and X:Rebirth VR, which I both consider really good games and like to play them in VR. Everspace is even better in VR because you can aim with your head, not with the thumbsticks
So yeah, ED is falling behind on the VR front, as FSS amply demonstrates. And the bridges on Conda and Corvette never looked more fake than in VR
Tbh it doesn't also rule it out. Onward for example has no comfort options and people are playing it somehow
Of those that you mention I own Lone Echo. I loved it but it was quite linear and short, and it's not a world that I feel compelled to revisit like Elite. I intend to check out Asgard's Wrath and Stormland, but again I don't expected them to scratch the same itch that Elite does.
I wish FDev would throw us a bone on this one, eg "Yes, all the 2020 secret stuff will work in VR". My eight year old PC is being pushed to its limits and is now becoming a bit unreliable. I would also like to try the Rift S but I am loathe to upgrade my kit unless I know that VR will persist into the new 2020 update. I still have XPlane to fall back on but that is not the point - I am rather into ED at the moment. 30% of the way to Colonia in fact.