ED & Oculus Update Request

[Brodie]

Hello Frontier,

May I please request an update on your progress on getting Elite Dangerous to be compatible with the latest Oculus runtime/firmware.
I am not asking for specifics or even promises, just a word or two stating if progress has or has not been made following your last announcement on the subject.

I'm sure i'm not the only Elite Dangerous fan with a CV1 preorder who would appreciate some regular updates.

Thank you in advance, keep plugging away at it

Brodie

 

[Juanlo]

Like they have been saying for months...

"We are still working with Oculus and will update when/if there is something to update"

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Like they have been saying for months...

"We are still working with Oculus and will update when/if there is something to update"

I think OP is just trying to keep optimistic, because, given Frontier has not said anything new for 6 months (since 0.7 came out) if you take your quote literally, then that means they have made zero progress since then.

I personally am hoping this is not the case and FD ARE getting support going but choosing to keep quiet about it till it is working fully, but, I get why the OP is getting nervous.

On the other hand I also agree that asking here is pretty much a pointless exercise, I gave up on that one a while back.

 

[wstephenson]

I'm wondering (in a completely non-binding way) whether they will, as part of their VR readiness campaign, do anything about the UI elements that don't work well in VR - the game menus, the left hand panels of the system map and the galaxy map, CQC menus, and Outfitting. Anyone heard any tidbits?

 

[xondk]

Last I checked several people have stated that it works with latest oculus currently by way of the steamvr/openvr stuff?

 

[Juanlo]

Yeah, it works via SteamVR, and performance has been greatly enhanced, but it's still lower than native Oculus SDK support.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Last I checked several people have stated that it works with latest oculus currently by way of the steamvr/openvr stuff?

it does work on the 0.8 sdk exactly as you state... however performance wise it is a poor relation to a proper oculus implementation.
(bear in mind CV1 will push your fig a lot harder than dk2, and using the newest steamvr, my overclockled gtx980 and 6 core i7 runs it, ok, on somewhere between medium and ultra levels.

but on CV1... i am not so sure.

steamVR is a great bandaid and it does put my mind at ease that one way or another come release i will probalby have access to VR one way or another.... but I hope FD do not decide to just go with steamvr support with a "that will do!" approach

I'm wondering (in a completely non-binding way) whether they will, as part of their VR readiness campaign, do anything about the UI elements that don't work well in VR - the game menus, the left hand panels of the system map and the galaxy map, CQC menus, and Outfitting. Anyone heard any tidbits?

its interesting you feel this way, personally i cant think of a single part of EDs UI which doesnt work well in VR right now when your controls are configured.


(this is not to say the UI could not be improved... indeed, imo it could, but i just find it no more clunky in VR than i do on a screen)
Not saying you are wrong, just that it has not been my experience

 

[wstephenson]

The difference might be in the usable field of view you have with DK2 vs I have on Cardboard. For me, the info panels in the maps are highly compressed and stuck in the left edge of my field of view. Is that the same with the Rift?

It would be more useful to me if the maps worked like the Station Services UI, i.e. a virtual screen that you can move your view around with your head.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

The difference might be in the usable field of view you have with DK2 vs I have on Cardboard. .

Indeed as you say, this may be a limitation of your setup. I have not noticed any such issues using the DK2

isnt the point of being in vr is you turn your head and you can see stuff in your peripheral vision.. that is how it works for me in DK2 anyway.

 

[wstephenson]

So when I use the above UIs, they are locked to one position, head tracking is disabled. Even in cockpit, as soon as the 'Opening System Map' popup appears, head tracking is disabled. Is this not the case with the Rift?

 

[xondk]

Yeah, it works via SteamVR, and performance has been greatly enhanced, but it's still lower than native Oculus SDK support.

it does work on the 0.8 sdk exactly as you state... however performance wise it is a poor relation to a proper oculus implementation.
(bear in mind CV1 will push your fig a lot harder than dk2, and using the newest steamvr, my overclockled gtx980 and 6 core i7 runs it, ok, on somewhere between medium and ultra levels.

Ok, I have to ask....
How do you know the performance is 'bad' compared to native oculus SDK, each game is different? and it does need to render two views so the demand on hardware is increased? so how are you on the coming to the conclusion that performance is worse then native oculus?

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Ok, I have to ask....
How do you know the performance is 'bad' compared to native oculus SDK, each game is different? and it does need to render two views so the demand on hardware is increased? so how are you on the coming to the conclusion that performance is worse then native oculus?

not sure how you mean.
I know that performance in the current steamvr is worse than in the native 0.5sdk because i have tried both.........

now, there are a number of issues which could be causing this which are not the fault of steamVR, however, in other games as a general rule, 0.8sdk performance is better than the same game when it was running in 0.5sdk...... again, there are numberous issues why this could be the case, however again, the simplest reason is that 0.8 is potentially a more effective sdk than 0.5.

i am hoping that native support will improve things. logically it does not seem such a stretch.

 

[CylonSurfer]

Ok, I have to ask....
How do you know the performance is 'bad' compared to native oculus SDK, each game is different? and it does need to render two views so the demand on hardware is increased? so how are you on the coming to the conclusion that performance is worse then native oculus?

Because the performance with Elite and SteamVR is atrocious compared to Elite running on Runtime 0.5, people are testing both and giving direct comparisons. People using SteamVR are having to lower GFX settings compared to their previous 0.5 configs, SteamVR also does not support or work with SLI. All in all, SteamVR is not the way forward for Oculus users.

 

[Mazhurg]

Looking at timelines on when 2.1 will be ready (mid to late March), and when the CV1 is being made available (End March), I will look in the tea leaves and predict that Oculus 1.x+ support will come with 2.1.

 

[rich_hard1]

Tbh I'm havin the time of my life right now with SteamVR support, it's a dream, THE best support by a long shot. I'd be curious how we get an option to choose SteamVR support over oculus when the time comes... Shower thoughts.....

 

[CylonSurfer]

Well you are in a very unique position in that case. Although I must admit to be a little confused by how you have "THE best support by a long shot" when SteamVR is neither supported or recommended by Oculus or FDEV as method for using the OR in Elite Dangerous.

As SteamVR completely disables SLI I have to say that in terms of performance it is not equal or even comparable to the native Oculus run time support. There is of course all the other comments from SteamVR users who have had to lower graphical settings compared to what they used previously with the Oculus run time /extended mode.

Most of this will come down to personal preferences I guess. Some of us like the convenience SteamVR provides when compared to the current need to switch run times or even OS's in order to run Oculus 0.5/6 and Elite, others will choose performance over convenience and happily switch OS or run time in order to play Elite at this time.

Personally I'm in the performance camp, I want to run the game at the highest possible settings while maintaining acceptable VR frame rates. SteamVR is unable to provide that at this time.

 

[Bakkster]

How do you know the performance is 'bad' compared to native oculus SDK, each game is different?

Because it's an emulation layer, and it's incredibly rare that an emulation layer would be better than native support.

 

[gamer101]

Even different SteamVR beta versions has an impact. The last 2 beta versions have introduced an occasional micro stutter on my system. Rolling back to beta 235 has overcome this.

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Just read the below in FD's half-year report that was published this morning:

"Elite Dangerous is recognized as the first top quality game to support Virtual Reality (e.g. Oculus Rift and Valve’sSteam VR), which the board believes differentiates the title and will provide sales opportunities as uptake of thosedevices grows."

I find this quite encouraging - if they are seeing the Rift as a long-term sales opportunity (as opposed to just a "nice-to-have") then you can bet they will make a huge effort to get it working and as soon as possible.

 

[Rewind303]

Just read the below in FD's half-year report that was published this morning:



I find this quite encouraging - if they are seeing the Rift as a long-term sales opportunity (as opposed to just a "nice-to-have") then you can bet they will make a huge effort to get it working and as soon as possible.

Well found sir!