David Braben comments on VR [gamedaily.biz article]

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Some comments which might raise a few eyebrows...

Braben has seen the evolution of computing and gaming technologies over nearly four decades in the industry. He’s still not a big believer in VR...

“I have never believed [VR] would take off. Right from day one, I said it would be niche,” he noted. “And it's a great niche, but it's still quite niche. We were, I think, the first people to support [VR] with a AAA game, with Elite: Dangerous in December 2013. It's a wonderful experience, it is really wonderful. But it puts quite a high bar on the hardware, so my personal view is you can't run any slower than about 90 frames a second, and the resolution you really want to be 4K per eye. [Currently] it is a bit blurry, it's quite hard on the eyes for a long time. 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.”

Braben does see a “huge opportunity” in AR, and Frontier has worked with HoloLens and others from the early days, he said.

Link to full article: https://gamedaily.biz/article/194/david-braben-why-the-industry-needs-the-return-of-the-publisher

 

[Alec Turner]

Some comments which might raise a few eyebrows...



Link to full article: https://gamedaily.biz/article/194/david-braben-why-the-industry-needs-the-return-of-the-publisher

Eyebrows duly raised. Sheesh, when did Braben become an old fart?

 

[CylonSurfer]

Might explain the lack of any real progress on the VR implementation in Elite for some time now.... VR is the only thing that keeps me playing this title, I wouldn't go near it in 2D. Then again, I don't really play anything outside of VR anymore.

 

[TorTorden_VR]

Sounds like someone who tried for thirty minutes and never bothered again.

Chief of which is eye strain.
The resolution doesn't cause strain.
Trying to force your eyes to see something that isn't there will.

Realising that was the difference between getting tired after an hour and being able to play for 8+ hours in a session.

As for system requirements.
Well duh.
But us interested are probably well sorted there as well.

Could take the recent pimax survey.
Nearly 70% of the backers have a 1080ti or titan and the rest was mostly waiting to get 2080 or 2080ti when available.

 

[Gortron]

Might explain the lack of any real progress on the VR implementation in Elite for some time now.... VR is the only thing that keeps me playing this title, I wouldn't go near it in 2D. Then again, I don't really play anything outside of VR anymore.

Same here.

 

[Rob At Work]

Eyebrows duly raised. Sheesh, when did Braben become an old fart?

It's them MBE things they do things to your revolutionary and anarchic mind sets - Phil Tuffnel went the same way (no longer a rebel rouser)

 

[YinYin]

I don't see why this is raising any eyebrows.

The eye strain thing won't be the same for everyone, whether trying to focus on details that aren't there or not.
I personally get strain from wearing anything on my head for too long. Even headphones or glasses.

And it'll be a while before the average system capability catches up to this. And until then it is undeniably niche - regardless of how deep into it the core users already are.

 

[TorTorden_VR]

I don't see why this is raising any eyebrows.

The eye strain thing won't be the same for everyone, whether trying to focus on details that aren't there or not.
I personally get strain from wearing anything on my head for too long. Even headphones or glasses.

And it'll be a while before the average system capability catches up to this. And until then it is undeniably niche - regardless of how deep into it the core users already are.

Aye, no-one thinks current gen is going to be mainstream, neither will the next or the one after that.

But in about a decade I wouldn't be surprised if HMD's where starting to phase out screens in general.
And considering how stale Elite has gotten lately I doubt anyone would still be here then.

 

[Parmo]

Eyebrows duly raised. Sheesh, when did Braben become an old fart?

When he left the new farts behind.

 

[YinYin]

Yeah - it will eventually take off more.

He also missed out on VR games being made for an audience to watch the player. People have been successfully tackling the divisive nature of the technology.
(whether it's making software for spectators/interaction with players that are not in VR or actual multi player using multiple HMDs)
edit: actually that'd be the AR part I guess ...

Phasing out normal screens within 10 years would surprise me, but not in a longer run.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I can see Braben is drawing a parallel between VR and things like the Sony Walkman which made media consumption more isolated rather than a group experience.

 

[Renown]

Sounds like what Alan Sugar said about the iPod.

 

[Alec Turner]

Also, re: "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.".

While this may well be true it in no way means that VR won't take off.

If I was an old fart I could say about mobile phones .. "when used in a social environment they're really anti-social because you'll be mid conversation and then someone's phone will ring and they'll answer it rather than continue their conversation with you" ..

Spoiler

neeeaargh ... it'll never take off!

.. or about on-line music "it would mean the end of the album as a concept and ultimately the death of decent music"

Spoiler

gnarrrghhh ... it'll never take off!

And don't get me started on tablets ... laptops without a keyboard? Why would anyone want that??? geeeeargh!

 

[YinYin]

While this may well be true it in no way means that VR won't take off.

If I was an old fart I could say about mobile phones .. "when used in a social environment they're really anti-social because you'll be mid conversation and then someone's phone will ring and they'll answer it rather than continue their conversation with you" ..

It does mean you don't easily get it into the majority of households, which probably is what "take off" is supposed to mean here.

Mobile phones are an entirely different beast by now replacing tons of previous technology for an individual user - watches, newspaper, mail, calendar, calculator, music players, cameras, etc - a single social issue doesn't stop all that.

 

[Alec Turner]

Never used VR nor do I have the money for an adequate system, I'm fine with my head tracker. But what actually does raise an eyebrow here is what TorTorden said:

"Chief of which is eye strain.
The resolution doesn't cause strain.
Trying to force your eyes to see something that isn't there will."

This pretty much sounds like the effect I only know from cinema 3-D glasses (again, I never could check out true VR yet). Can anyone confirm this? Because for me this would be the final nail in the coffin of VR as I can't watch these movies (still remember Avatar that I'd rather watched in 2-D due to this effect). That's just not how my eyes are working - always focused on what they should be focused. [where is it][woah]

I'd say it's NOTHING like 3-D glasses (although I guess opinions may vary).

When I first got VR one of the things that struck me was how totally effortless I found the transition from real world (headset off) to VR world (headset on). The way I sometimes describe it to people is ... imagine if the VR headset was just some fancy headpiece that didn't have anything accros the front of your eyes (e.g. like a diving mask without its faceplate) but that when you put it on you were instantly transported to another world ... well, it's like that (for me at least). You sit there looking around your room and see the computer, the walls, the floor, the familiar surroundings and decoration of your room and then you put the headset on and you see the vastness of space, a dashboard, a cockpit, a pilots chair ... and someone elses arms and legs (OK, that last bit IS a tad weird).

It's mindblowing (even at present day resolution).

 

[Skip Rockbounder]

[haha]

Do you guys really think that Braben hasn't talked to the guys in the studio about all this, he has a hellovaload of folks to draw balanced info from... far more than the one sided view of individual 'fans' of VR.
As to the eye strain, well, you might not realise until it hits you later in life... same as most things I suppose.

I guess David Braben only really became an old fart in the eyes of those that think they know better. but he's the one with the vision, the company and the Money!

 

[Alec Turner]

But what's with this strange 'eye focus' effect TorTorden mentioned?

Well I guess it's down to personal experience. At the end of the day your eyes and brain are being fooled into thinking they're observing a 3D world when really they're looking at (but note - not focusing upon) two small lenses about an inch from your eyes. Some people will simply look "into" this new world and feel little or no eye strain at all, others will be more aware of the dissonance and possibly get eye strain after a while. I should also add that I don't play Elite for anything like 8rs at a time. Never mind the eyes, my wife would give me some "strain" of an entirely different kind! I can happily play for 2 or 3 hours tho.

 

[Frank]

I'm not sure I can argue with desktop VR being a niche product, especially as he did qualify that it was a wonderful niche. You really do need a hefty rig to get the best out of VR and so that's going to limit the appeal straight away.

But mobile phones are getting more powerful, and the resolutions of their itty bitty screens are already ridiculous. I can't see them going anywhere else but VR/AR. Gazing down at a screen in your hands is every bit as antisocial as strapping a screen over your eyeballs. If it gets kids listening to stuff through earbuds instead of the tinny buzzing you get subjected to in buses then that's a win for me.

As for the eyestrain thing. I get more eyestrain playing a game using a telly than I do playing in VR. I find the focal plane of the headset to be very comfortable.

 

[Vithigar]

no one can see or hear what you're seeing.

...is he unaware that VR games can have spectator displays? Probably explains why Elite's spectator view is poor.

 

[shreddog]

As for the eyestrain thing. I get more eyestrain playing a game using a telly than I do playing in VR. I find the focal plane of the headset to be very comfortable.

I found the Rift to be very gentle on the eyes as long as I do not use my prescription glasses.
For some reason using glasses in the headset makes me feel cross eyed after a while.

I still see "good enough" without glasses thankfully. Just some text can be hard to read.