ED and the Oculus Rift Developers Kit 2 (DK2) Discussion Thread
Well from what i'm reading the game needs to be compiled using the latest SDK. I'm hoping that will of happened by the time mine arrives and I wont have to apply work around's to get it working.
Dont get me wrong, I'd be over the moon if it arrives next week but I dont think that's gonna happen!
I use the DK2 in ED absolutely trouble free and it's amazing. The improvements I'd like to see are all feature related really like small text improvements that would help a bit. As I understand it the SSE4.1 thing that effects some people is to do with compatibility with older processors, for example, you might simply have a new enough processor to not see that problem. But you are absolutely right, if you've only just ordered we will hopefully see an update before you get it.
DK2 First Impressions and the Galaxy Map Question
I finally received my DK2 last week, and after a little bit of trial and error and reading these forums got it up and running
What can I say?
It actually was really awesome, in the truest sense of the word!
It really felt like I was there, looking around the cockpit, peering at the racks on either side, looking up and around and behind!!
Just incredible!!
I tried out a couple of the single player missions in the Sidewinder and then did an interstellar flight in my Hauler.
Fighting seemed much harder in the Rift somehow, although I suspect that skill will come with time.
That said, being able to look around in a dogfight is a clear advantage, over just wondering where your opponent really is.
Flying in and out of the space station was incredible. I actually ducked going out of the exit slot!!
Flying around the outside of the space station just felt so much more real.
Opening the Galaxy Map in the Rift was also amazing. You look behind you and you see stars everywhere!! It's like you are suspended in interstellar space!
On the flip side, I did run into a few issues which make playing full time with the Rift a bit harder, although I am sure that there are solutions.
1. The keyboard is almost useless as you cannot see it!!
I had been using the X52 Pro before and it was great, but when I finally received the DK2, my X52 was having a few problems of the flashing light variety so I had ordered a Thrustmaster HOTAS X as an interim replacement until I could afford a Warthog.
The Thrustmaster is an excellent Joystick, but it has far fewer buttons than the X52, X55, Warthog etc, so you have to rely on the keyboard.
Unfortunately, you cannot see the keyboard at all wearing the Rift, so it all gets a bit frustrating.
Fortunately for me, my X52 decided to start working again after it had been disconnected for a few days, so I can now use it again with the Rift.
Therefore, my advice to others would be to only consider using the Rift with a good Stick/Throttle combo unless you have Voice Command software.
2. Text in the Rift is very hard to see.
I am very shortsighted and had been concerned that I could not use the Rift with glasses; but everything I had read had indicated that the Rift would work with glasses.
Well the Rift might work with other peoples glasses, but it does NOT work with mine at all!!
I can see nothing.
Therefore, I tried the lenses that came with it and I can see the text in the Rift if I do "Reset Oculus" and then lean forward. Then I can just about read the text, although it does look very pixellated.
I very much hope that Frontier can give an option to increase the text size or something or use a different colour because I find it hard to read right now.
I have tried mucking about with Anti-Aliasing settings and setting the Rift to 75Hz etc.
I think I will raise a ticket for this one.
3. Although I can see objects and craft near me, small things that are far away are almost invisible in the Rift.
This is probably just my eyes, but I found that I could barely see anything when I was dogfighting Crimson Triumph in the third Single Player Mission.
As long as I had the enemy targeted, I could still hit him, bit it looked to me like there were just a couple of pixels out there, instead of an enemy Sidewinder.
4. The Galaxy Map is almost unusable in the Rift
As I mentioned above, the Galaxy map is amazing in the Rift.
But...
The Mouse does not select stars at all!!
I can use the Mouse to zoom inh/out, pan left and right etc, but I cannot select a star system!!
Also, when I click on the Star Information Panel on the left, I get dumped out to Desktop!!
Does anyone know how to solve this one?
Also, what settings do other people with an X52 use in the Galaxy Map? It looks like one can "fly" through the map, but how do you select star systems?
Any advice on this one would be very helpful!!
To conclude, the Rift IS amazing and ED is a different experience when seen through the Rift!!
However, I cannot use the Rift in ED full time until I can get the Galaxy Map working properly in the Rift.
Any suggestions??:S
I finally received my DK2 last week, and after a little bit of trial and error and reading these forums got it up and running
What can I say?
It actually was really awesome, in the truest sense of the word!
It really felt like I was there, looking around the cockpit, peering at the racks on either side, looking up and around and behind!!
Just incredible!!
I tried out a couple of the single player missions in the Sidewinder and then did an interstellar flight in my Hauler.
Fighting seemed much harder in the Rift somehow, although I suspect that skill will come with time.
That said, being able to look around in a dogfight is a clear advantage, over just wondering where your opponent really is.
Flying in and out of the space station was incredible. I actually ducked going out of the exit slot!!
Flying around the outside of the space station just felt so much more real.
Opening the Galaxy Map in the Rift was also amazing. You look behind you and you see stars everywhere!! It's like you are suspended in interstellar space!
On the flip side, I did run into a few issues which make playing full time with the Rift a bit harder, although I am sure that there are solutions.
1. The keyboard is almost useless as you cannot see it!!
I had been using the X52 Pro before and it was great, but when I finally received the DK2, my X52 was having a few problems of the flashing light variety so I had ordered a Thrustmaster HOTAS X as an interim replacement until I could afford a Warthog.
The Thrustmaster is an excellent Joystick, but it has far fewer buttons than the X52, X55, Warthog etc, so you have to rely on the keyboard.
Unfortunately, you cannot see the keyboard at all wearing the Rift, so it all gets a bit frustrating.
Fortunately for me, my X52 decided to start working again after it had been disconnected for a few days, so I can now use it again with the Rift.
Therefore, my advice to others would be to only consider using the Rift with a good Stick/Throttle combo unless you have Voice Command software.
2. Text in the Rift is very hard to see.
I am very shortsighted and had been concerned that I could not use the Rift with glasses; but everything I had read had indicated that the Rift would work with glasses.
Well the Rift might work with other peoples glasses, but it does NOT work with mine at all!!
I can see nothing.
Therefore, I tried the lenses that came with it and I can see the text in the Rift if I do "Reset Oculus" and then lean forward. Then I can just about read the text, although it does look very pixellated.
I very much hope that Frontier can give an option to increase the text size or something or use a different colour because I find it hard to read right now.
I have tried mucking about with Anti-Aliasing settings and setting the Rift to 75Hz etc.
I think I will raise a ticket for this one.
3. Although I can see objects and craft near me, small things that are far away are almost invisible in the Rift.
This is probably just my eyes, but I found that I could barely see anything when I was dogfighting Crimson Triumph in the third Single Player Mission.
As long as I had the enemy targeted, I could still hit him, bit it looked to me like there were just a couple of pixels out there, instead of an enemy Sidewinder.
4. The Galaxy Map is almost unusable in the Rift
As I mentioned above, the Galaxy map is amazing in the Rift.
But...
The Mouse does not select stars at all!!
I can use the Mouse to zoom inh/out, pan left and right etc, but I cannot select a star system!!
Also, when I click on the Star Information Panel on the left, I get dumped out to Desktop!!
Does anyone know how to solve this one?
Also, what settings do other people with an X52 use in the Galaxy Map? It looks like one can "fly" through the map, but how do you select star systems?
Any advice on this one would be very helpful!!
To conclude, the Rift IS amazing and ED is a different experience when seen through the Rift!!
However, I cannot use the Rift in ED full time until I can get the Galaxy Map working properly in the Rift.
Any suggestions??:S
What a nice experience, keep it up!
In hope my suggestions are read by a dev, otherwise maybe someone likes the feedback anyway
I tried ED with a Rift DK2 some days ago and it was unplayable by mouse and keyboard and my GTX 580 was too weak for good visuals in VR mode. I was kinda disappointed and thought I wasted my money.
I should add that I bought ED only because people wrote it is a great VR demo and from the number of pages here .. it seems like a lot of players own a Rift or wait for one.
I do not like to give up so I upgraded my hardware to a Nvidia Titan Black and a Hotas Warthog. Today I played around for one hour with the Rift and I am amazed.
ED is clearly not finished for VR but it is, by far, the best VR experience I have had.
No sickness at all with 75hz and true immersion.
I came to the point when I wanted to look at the throttle stick if it is also split like the Warthog and I lifted my left hand. Of course my Avatar ignored that movement but that shows how well the immersion already works.
For Elite the DK2 will be state of the art during release, so in my opinion ED needs to be optimized for the HD res, more resolution won't happen for now.
Here are some suggestions/hopes for additions and fixes:
a) You already have awesome Joystick mapping, please also support the joystick and throttle by adapting the cockpit instruments to them.
For example, the Throttle of my Warthdog has no reverse direction, it has a reverse switch. Also the 3d model is quite different.
I do not ask for a 1:1 3d replica, but maybe a few models and choosing the best fit depending on the user controls.
b) The DK2 resolution is low, the pixel surroundings are visible, this has impact on readability mainly but also in realizing what you see out of the cockpit.
The way you implemented the displays is awesome, please make the finishing steps to make them more useful for VR.
I noticed they sometimes pop out of view if you move your head a bit, that's anoying when it happens.
I do not want to be forced to lean toward the virtual screens to read them.
For VR users we need slightly larger windows to make it readable without leaning.
A nice trick would also be to make a virtual magnification if users lean toward them, so the cockpit reacts on the lean and makes the window larger.
I fear that also counts for some other visuals in the cockpits.
While all of this is a lot of work, I think ED could become the prime example for VR which also means a LOT of media and blog attention and sales. Doing these things early will prevent having to redo everything later or reading the same negative critic parts over and over again.
c) Direct to Rift feature very much wanted, maybe with some mirror option to show a small screen on the monitor what is going on for bystanders.
d) When moving the head out of the camera area the synchronisation sucks, it's a general SDK problem I guess. That happens when turning the head far enough, maybe something can be done to sync it less abrupt.
e) The DK2 currently heavily suffers from FPS lower than 75hz. If that happens to players then the VR immersion drops a lot and the stuttering ruins the fun. While the visual problems are probably related to the SDK/engine I think the FPS problem needs to be tackled more by the developer.
Usually a FPS drop is not a problem, in VR it is a big one.
I suggest to add an option which can dynamically reduce visual quality in case of FPS lower than 75.
Reducing quality when required and going back to the settings when possible should be built in.
f) Keep up the good work, Elite now is my prime example for immersive VR and if you keep developing it then it might establish it's position as one of the first true VR games.
In hope my suggestions are read by a dev, otherwise maybe someone likes the feedback anyway
I tried ED with a Rift DK2 some days ago and it was unplayable by mouse and keyboard and my GTX 580 was too weak for good visuals in VR mode. I was kinda disappointed and thought I wasted my money.
I should add that I bought ED only because people wrote it is a great VR demo and from the number of pages here .. it seems like a lot of players own a Rift or wait for one.
I do not like to give up so I upgraded my hardware to a Nvidia Titan Black and a Hotas Warthog. Today I played around for one hour with the Rift and I am amazed.
ED is clearly not finished for VR but it is, by far, the best VR experience I have had.
No sickness at all with 75hz and true immersion.
I came to the point when I wanted to look at the throttle stick if it is also split like the Warthog and I lifted my left hand. Of course my Avatar ignored that movement but that shows how well the immersion already works.
For Elite the DK2 will be state of the art during release, so in my opinion ED needs to be optimized for the HD res, more resolution won't happen for now.
Here are some suggestions/hopes for additions and fixes:
a) You already have awesome Joystick mapping, please also support the joystick and throttle by adapting the cockpit instruments to them.
For example, the Throttle of my Warthdog has no reverse direction, it has a reverse switch. Also the 3d model is quite different.
I do not ask for a 1:1 3d replica, but maybe a few models and choosing the best fit depending on the user controls.
b) The DK2 resolution is low, the pixel surroundings are visible, this has impact on readability mainly but also in realizing what you see out of the cockpit.
The way you implemented the displays is awesome, please make the finishing steps to make them more useful for VR.
I noticed they sometimes pop out of view if you move your head a bit, that's anoying when it happens.
I do not want to be forced to lean toward the virtual screens to read them.
For VR users we need slightly larger windows to make it readable without leaning.
A nice trick would also be to make a virtual magnification if users lean toward them, so the cockpit reacts on the lean and makes the window larger.
I fear that also counts for some other visuals in the cockpits.
While all of this is a lot of work, I think ED could become the prime example for VR which also means a LOT of media and blog attention and sales. Doing these things early will prevent having to redo everything later or reading the same negative critic parts over and over again.
c) Direct to Rift feature very much wanted, maybe with some mirror option to show a small screen on the monitor what is going on for bystanders.
d) When moving the head out of the camera area the synchronisation sucks, it's a general SDK problem I guess. That happens when turning the head far enough, maybe something can be done to sync it less abrupt.
e) The DK2 currently heavily suffers from FPS lower than 75hz. If that happens to players then the VR immersion drops a lot and the stuttering ruins the fun. While the visual problems are probably related to the SDK/engine I think the FPS problem needs to be tackled more by the developer.
Usually a FPS drop is not a problem, in VR it is a big one.
I suggest to add an option which can dynamically reduce visual quality in case of FPS lower than 75.
Reducing quality when required and going back to the settings when possible should be built in.
f) Keep up the good work, Elite now is my prime example for immersive VR and if you keep developing it then it might establish it's position as one of the first true VR games.
DK2, Mad Catz gaming headphones, powerful PC, decent TI card, X52 Pro, Voice Attack. I have all of these.
What I also have is a Virgin Media SuperHub 2 and the worlds flakiest internet connection when playing E : D, So much so that every 2-3 minutes without fail I get thrown out from the instance with "no server connection" message. I can watch a Netflix film, stream an iPlayer F1 race or browse the net for hours but 2 minutes in E : D, nope - network drop issues.
I'm using Wi-Fi with an up-to 50M internet connection (normally runs at 10-20M) and a speed test done just now was 52Mbps.
I might raise a ticket if I can prove it's not me
Oh, and to remain on topic, what I have managed to see on the ORDK2 is awesomely better than the DK1, by some way. Hopefully FD will stick with it and get the update out using SDK 0.4 sooner rather than later as it's a bit of a faff at the moment.
What I also have is a Virgin Media SuperHub 2 and the worlds flakiest internet connection when playing E : D, So much so that every 2-3 minutes without fail I get thrown out from the instance with "no server connection" message. I can watch a Netflix film, stream an iPlayer F1 race or browse the net for hours but 2 minutes in E : D, nope - network drop issues.
I'm using Wi-Fi with an up-to 50M internet connection (normally runs at 10-20M) and a speed test done just now was 52Mbps.
I might raise a ticket if I can prove it's not me
Oh, and to remain on topic, what I have managed to see on the ORDK2 is awesomely better than the DK1, by some way. Hopefully FD will stick with it and get the update out using SDK 0.4 sooner rather than later as it's a bit of a faff at the moment.
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
for those in the rift struggling with a lack of buttons on their joystick, whilst waiting for my X55, I found using 2 controllers better than the keyboard alone with a stick lacking in buttons.
Elite plays very nice with multiple controllers and the xbox pad if you have one makes a superb companion control to what ever joystick you have.
with the dpad and 2 independent sticks you make controlling all menus, selecting targets, balancing power to systems a doddle and the extra buttons also come in very handy.
Elite plays very nice with multiple controllers and the xbox pad if you have one makes a superb companion control to what ever joystick you have.
with the dpad and 2 independent sticks you make controlling all menus, selecting targets, balancing power to systems a doddle and the extra buttons also come in very handy.
This may sound a bit stupid but you do realise you have to use the lenses that came with the rift AND your glasses? The way you worded it makes it sound like you tried just your glasses and then put the lenses in without the glasses? You can move the lenses further away from your face using the dials on the side to make room for the glasses.
Oh and for the galaxy map I attach an Xbox controller, works a treat.
SlackR
Banned
I finally received my DK2 last week, and after a little bit of trial and error and reading these forums got it up and running
What can I say?
It actually was really awesome, in the truest sense of the word!
It really felt like I was there, looking around the cockpit, peering at the racks on either side, looking up and around and behind!!
Just incredible!!
I tried out a couple of the single player missions in the Sidewinder and then did an interstellar flight in my Hauler.
Fighting seemed much harder in the Rift somehow, although I suspect that skill will come with time.
That said, being able to look around in a dogfight is a clear advantage, over just wondering where your opponent really is.
Flying in and out of the space station was incredible. I actually ducked going out of the exit slot!!
Flying around the outside of the space station just felt so much more real.
Opening the Galaxy Map in the Rift was also amazing. You look behind you and you see stars everywhere!! It's like you are suspended in interstellar space!
On the flip side, I did run into a few issues which make playing full time with the Rift a bit harder, although I am sure that there are solutions.
1. The keyboard is almost useless as you cannot see it!!
I had been using the X52 Pro before and it was great, but when I finally received the DK2, my X52 was having a few problems of the flashing light variety so I had ordered a Thrustmaster HOTAS X as an interim replacement until I could afford a Warthog.
The Thrustmaster is an excellent Joystick, but it has far fewer buttons than the X52, X55, Warthog etc, so you have to rely on the keyboard.
Unfortunately, you cannot see the keyboard at all wearing the Rift, so it all gets a bit frustrating.
Fortunately for me, my X52 decided to start working again after it had been disconnected for a few days, so I can now use it again with the Rift.
Therefore, my advice to others would be to only consider using the Rift with a good Stick/Throttle combo unless you have Voice Command software.
2. Text in the Rift is very hard to see.
I am very shortsighted and had been concerned that I could not use the Rift with glasses; but everything I had read had indicated that the Rift would work with glasses.
Well the Rift might work with other peoples glasses, but it does NOT work with mine at all!!
I can see nothing.
Therefore, I tried the lenses that came with it and I can see the text in the Rift if I do "Reset Oculus" and then lean forward. Then I can just about read the text, although it does look very pixellated.
I very much hope that Frontier can give an option to increase the text size or something or use a different colour because I find it hard to read right now.
I have tried mucking about with Anti-Aliasing settings and setting the Rift to 75Hz etc.
I think I will raise a ticket for this one.
3. Although I can see objects and craft near me, small things that are far away are almost invisible in the Rift.
This is probably just my eyes, but I found that I could barely see anything when I was dogfighting Crimson Triumph in the third Single Player Mission.
As long as I had the enemy targeted, I could still hit him, bit it looked to me like there were just a couple of pixels out there, instead of an enemy Sidewinder.
4. The Galaxy Map is almost unusable in the Rift
As I mentioned above, the Galaxy map is amazing in the Rift.
But...
The Mouse does not select stars at all!!
I can use the Mouse to zoom inh/out, pan left and right etc, but I cannot select a star system!!
Also, when I click on the Star Information Panel on the left, I get dumped out to Desktop!!
Does anyone know how to solve this one?
Also, what settings do other people with an X52 use in the Galaxy Map? It looks like one can "fly" through the map, but how do you select star systems?
Any advice on this one would be very helpful!!
To conclude, the Rift IS amazing and ED is a different experience when seen through the Rift!!
However, I cannot use the Rift in ED full time until I can get the Galaxy Map working properly in the Rift.
Any suggestions??:S
Mouse wont click on systems properly inside galaxy map yet... I switch to a gamepad for this.
If you have a decent GPU you might try down sampling from 1440 to get a clearer text image (very GPU intensive though). Others have done some hex editing, though for me the difference seemed minimal.
Hi SlackR,
Do you need a monitor capable of running at 1440 to do this? My main monitor is only 1080p and ED won't let me select a higher res than this?
I have sluggish stuttering in stations a bit in rift. I just hope its becuse I just installed the latest driver that causes this.
Considering I have 100-150fps at all time when running it at 1920x1200 on my monitor.
I have no problem playing it with mouse and keyboard in rift at all, feels just natural, my arms are stationed just as the avatars anyway.
Considering I have 100-150fps at all time when running it at 1920x1200 on my monitor.
I have no problem playing it with mouse and keyboard in rift at all, feels just natural, my arms are stationed just as the avatars anyway.
So if you have the dk2 and the x52 pro you don't need the pinky trigger to look around anymore. What did you bind to it?
I bound "select nearest hostile" to it and " super cruise/hyperdrive" to the button on the top of the joystick that previously had the nearest hostile function.
Anyone have better alternatives?
I bound "select nearest hostile" to it and " super cruise/hyperdrive" to the button on the top of the joystick that previously had the nearest hostile function.
Anyone have better alternatives?
SlackR
Banned
I leave the monitor at 1080 and create a custom res for the DK2... Works fine that way... Just make sure to have the monitor set to 75 hz if possible...
If you have a rift why can't you just grab the in game joystick and throttle and interact with the cockpit rather than having to use a physical controllers? I'm no oxbridge kid genius but it just seems an oxymoron to be messing a round with physical controllers in a virtual reality world???
The only output the rift has is head movement. So you could probably fly a ship by nudging everything with your forehead but it's not optimal for combat. You'd need something like MS kinect to track full body movements. I'd like to reach up and grab the handles in a sidewinder cockpit, not that it would control anything but just because they are there.
Got my DK2 up and running last night, took a lot of messing about to get it to do anything except run the small room demo. Once I finally got it running I made myself incredibly motion sick on the Helix rollercoaster, so much so that I couldn't try Elite until this morning. Got ED working straight away following the guide on page 1 of this thread. So big Thanks to Slackr and all those who put that together.
I have a couple of questions..
How motion sick do you get in Elite? (I was a bit, but not sure if my brain was still rebelling from the rollercoaster last night!)
Non ED related.. I can't see all my desktop in extended mode so can't play/see alot of the other demos (non direct mode) All I see is a small portion of my wallpaper (a cobra Mk3) rotated 90 degrees and blurry. Anyone know how to fix that (windows 8.1, GTX770)?
I have a couple of questions..
How motion sick do you get in Elite? (I was a bit, but not sure if my brain was still rebelling from the rollercoaster last night!)
Non ED related.. I can't see all my desktop in extended mode so can't play/see alot of the other demos (non direct mode) All I see is a small portion of my wallpaper (a cobra Mk3) rotated 90 degrees and blurry. Anyone know how to fix that (windows 8.1, GTX770)?
Are you pausing the services before starting ED? IS head tracking working in the game?
Yep, using Bilabos app to stop services and head tracking works fine, ED is all working ok, it's anything else that doesn't work 'Direct to rift' that I can't use.
I can get stuff displaying on my monitor but cant see it on rift