'Experimental' VR branch for Odyssey launch

[VR Golgot]

And no, playing flat is really just not an option for a game like Elite.

Yep, I'm in the 'can't play flat anymore' group. All my gaming is VR-only these days (and that's entirely ED's fault )

We may only be a subset of VR users (going by stuff like the subreddit poll), but it's pretty certain that any player who uses VR in some capacity now would like to continue doing so...

 

[VR Dextrovix]

I support this. At least it would ensure I'd re-engage with the ED, because I've removed all builds at the moment as I feel I've had my fill of Horizons, considering development won't go any further.

If there was any level of Odyssey that supported VR, like cockpit as we have now and then a projected 1st/3rd person view on a projected screen, that'd do me and I'd be happy to give Frontier my feedback during any sort of test.

The current silence, however, is deafening...

 

[shreddog]

+1

 

[[VR]HaywirePhoenix]

+100

 

[Cpt.Badger]

Hello lovely devs!

Please consider releasing an experimental VR branch for Odyssey when the time comes. This could be made available through the current launcher.

+support of course

 

[Bantha]

Yep, I'm in the 'can't play flat anymore' group.

Yep, me too.

I started ED flat in 2014 (with a headtracker) but then I got myself a CV1 and it transformed a great game into something quite magical.
So much so that I deleted my 2 year old CMDR and started again!

By the way, have they given any information as to how they expect us to transition from VR to flat during gameplay, in Odyssey?
Will we have to take the headset off to walk? Will we keep it on but use it as a flat screen?

Also, what about the controls? I’m HOTAS (as I assume most VR users are). What’s the deal here? Pick up the Xbox pad?

Anyone know?

Thanks

 

[VR Golgot]

By the way, have they given any information as to how they expect us to transition from VR to flat during gameplay, in Odyssey?
Will we have to take the headset off to walk? Will we keep it on but use it as a flat screen?

As far as we’re aware there will be zero VR support in Odyssey at launch, and they’ve said it’s best to assume zero VR access to Odyssey content via Horizons for now:

Is Elite Dangerous: Odyssey coming to VR?

Currently, Elite Dangerous: Odyssey will not be VR-compatible at launch. We’re big fans of VR and we are truly proud of the amazing experience that we currently offer in Elite Dangerous. However, the new gameplay, mechanics and features that will be introduced with Elite Dangerous: Odyssey means that we had to re-examine if we could deliver that same experience without compromise, which, for launch, means Odyssey will not be VR-compatible.

Just to add to this, VR will still be compatible with the base game and Horizons!

—

I went through the Thursday stream, and there's a minor glimmer of hope there regarding post-launch support. I'd be wary of reading too much into it though. It was some quick phrasing from Stephen while dealing with an angry mob & streaming the game

So again, I mean, this is just the beginning right now. We've explained the reason why it won't be there on launch. Obviously especially with VR it's a very difficult... you have to get it really right, because people can get motion sickness and everything else, and all this other stuff. So it may not be there on launch. And we hope that it doesn't upset anybody, we do apologise. [29m35s]

Full VR quotes from the stream here

—

UploadVR got this further info from FDev:

In a follow up email we confirmed that VR support is still an open possibility sometime after launch, “with no defined date,” according to the company.

—

Alec Turner: Zac Antonaci just PMed me on my VR question: "Can we fly ships under blue skies in VR? IE: Where's the cut off?"

Zac Antonaci: Hey Alec. Quick follow up to your question. For now it's too far out to confirm 100% where the split will be. We'll have more details closer to release. For now best to assume all Odyssey content is not VR compatible. But we can share more when we get close to the launch.

(Source)

Hence this proposal for a limited form of access at launch

 

[Bantha]

Eesh!!!

 

[Franc Kaos]

i bought an oculus rift because of elite, i bought a x56 hotas because of elite, i modified my gaming chair with mobile arms for hotas because of elite, i bought elite because of its VR support. please do not look into the past, frontier be a trend setting. help VR become mainstream please do not hold VR back, or even make people think VR is obviously a fad.

Apart from buying Elite for VR that's me (inc the X56 which 3 years later I still love - and emailed Hello Games to include in No Mans Sky please), I bought the game then spent nigh on a £1000 to enjoy it in its full splendour. Maybe if Fdev had gotten a percentage of all those hardware sales they wouldn't have abandoned VR so casually.

+1 for an experimental VR branch to be added to Odyssey but if, as Old Duck suggested, they release a paid VR update in '22 or '23 then I'll just wait for that, I'm patient, I waited until Horizons before I bought ED.

I don't understand the space simming game companies - Car, truck and flight sim companies are hacking VR into even their old products with MS promising to try and enable VR into their latest iteration (which looks gobsmackingly gorgeous) and EA have finally put a toe in the water with a cockpit Star Wars game - lets hope they retroactively add VR to NFS: Most Wanted (05) & Undergroud 2 (04) with maybe a nice little graphical upgrade...
But Star Citizen, X4, Dual Universe, EDO, Everspace 2, even Bethesda's Starfield - nothing, nada, zilch. Might have to try giving Evochron Legacy another try as I'm not too sure how many more times I can go back to X Rebirth VR...

 

[VR Golgot]

I don't understand the space simming game companies - Car, truck and flight sim companies are hacking VR into even their old products with MS promising to try and enable VR into their latest iteration (which looks gobsmackingly gorgeous) and EA have finally put a toe in the water with a cockpit Star Wars game

But Star Citizen, X4, Dual Universe, EDO, Everspace 2, even Bethesda's Starfield - nothing, nada, zilch

I suspect that’s the answer right there. Most of the exceptions involve 'legs'. All of the compliant ones involve seated cockpit play.

Cockpit sims require less dev to introduce VR I suspect. (No motion controllers required, no locomotion nausea issues, no character modelling issues, no unique control schemes to add, or to balance with flatscreen players in multiplayer etc). Assuming they don’t have hellish amounts of fast yaw / perpetual acceleration changes etc, then sims are in an ok place on the nausea front. (Plus they come with a handy attentional anchor in the form of the cockpit frame, which helps there too).

Primarily I think it’s the things you can leave untouched in a sim that make them a more amenable subject for a port though.

At least that’s one of the assumptions I’ve made for this proposal . That 'Legs' involve a lot more additions. And are likely the primary blocker...

 

[Kellan Fell]

Count me in

 

[CMDR J P]

I’m all for this. Glad this issue isn’t going away.

FDev shouldn’t have half a game VR, and the other half not be.

 

[Nick Yandoo]

I'm in! I play Elite Dangerous in VR. Very disappointed to hear that Odyssey won't support VR at launch, but comforted to hear that VR will remain supported in Horizons (and some Odyssey improvements might find their way into Horizons).
I'd like to buy Odyssey anyway, to support Frontier... but I don't want to encourage them [to ignore VR]
I'd be happy to pay extra for VR support in Odyssey.
To be honest, I don't understand why it's an issue to include VR in Odyssey - surely we can move around with the thumbstick? Players could either stay seated, or stand up and recentre VR (which I would do).
Good luck Commanders.

 

[VR Golgot]

Cheers for supporting the proposal

To be honest, I don't understand why it's an issue to include VR in Odyssey - surely we can move around with the thumbstick? Players could either stay seated, or stand up and recentre VR (which I would do).
Good luck Commanders.

Standard thumbstick motion is a classic nausea trigger (mainly due to the smooth yaw rotations of the player's viewpoint). FDev couldn't really launch that as a AA+ product onto the market. You won't find a single title launching in the last few years using stick as the lone locomotion option.

It is something that most VR vets can handle though, and would work as a basic interim solution for an 'experimental' build . (Such a build wouldn't be held to the same standards as a launch product, wouldn't be accidentally loaded by players expecting a fuller experience, and could be caveated by 'play at your own discretion' notices )

It's certainly something I'd be happy to use just to experience some of the new Legs stuff in VR. And at minimum it'd allow for the fly-boy action to still be accessible in VR to most players at a reasonable standard...

(Worst case they could always use the '2D screen' technique too for a zero-nausea solution on the Legs front. It'd be a placeholder, and it's no VR experience really, but it would do the trick in the interim for those who can't handle smooth motion).

 

[Obsidian Ant]

This is a great idea, and has a lot of potential.

The main issue with interim vr support, is that we don't know if Odyssey VR will ever actually be a thing? Would interim vr be ok if it actually became permanent?

It's also possible, I guess, that VR support could be added shortly after launch.

VR has moved on a long way over the past 5 years. Really, Odyssey in VR would need to be exceptional if it became a thing.

But until then? Sure, an interim beta VR option would likely be enjoyed by a lot of people.

 

[[VR] zodd]

This is a great idea, and has a lot of potential.

The main issue with interim vr support, is that we don't know if Odyssey VR will ever actually be a thing? Would interim vr be ok if it actually became permanent?

It's also possible, I guess, that VR support could be added shortly after launch.

VR has moved on a long way over the past 5 years. Really, Odyssey in VR would need to be exceptional if it became a thing.

But until then? Sure, an interim beta VR option would likely be enjoyed by a lot of people.

Well said OA. I think your voice added to the rally adds a lot of weight. Thanks for your support.

Z

 

[VR Golgot]

Thanks for the reply

The main issue with interim vr support, is that we don't know if Odyssey VR will ever actually be a thing? Would interim vr be ok if it actually became permanent?

Yep a temporary solution does risk becoming permanent. I think in a scenario where they never get a full fat version over the line, I’d rather have some access than none though.

It's also possible, I guess, that VR support could be added shortly after launch.

Given the "no defined date" language I’d be surprised if a fuller VR version arrived shortly after launch.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the reasons for the call they’ve made. (Is it technical, resourcing, market strategy, etc etc). And some blockers could fall away faster than others post-launch. But if it is to be a prolonged gap, an experimental branch would at least bridge it for VR veterans. (And ideally act as a beta testing ground potentially, as floated in the OP).

VR has moved on a long way over the past 5 years. Really, Odyssey in VR would need to be exceptional if it became a thing.

Yep absolutely. Hitting even the main beats of the current industry norms for 'Legs' inside an existing vehicle MMO, with flatscreen crossplay, is ton of dev IMO. And the market returns pale compared to flatscreen dev. I understand the current decision.

I suspect there’s still gamer enthusiasm for VR within FDev though. And that an experi branch could act as a halfway house to a pragmatic passion play on that front.

But only they can know if it’s workable

 

[Franc Kaos]

...
The main issue with interim vr support, is that we don't know if Odyssey VR will ever actually be a thing? Would interim vr be ok if it actually became permanent?
...

For me if definitely would be enough, just so long as the option to continue playing it flat if you remove the headset was built in (they did it for X Rebirth VR), so players that couldn't play the FP Shooter bits in VR could just jump straight to pancake mode. It works really well. Ok, graphically you're not getting premo best on your monitor but that's a small price to pay for flying a spaceship in VR.
EDIT: Congrats on 200 000 btw

 

[Maddox2112]

+ ♾. Bump.

 

[James Grimes]

If we can not get Odyssey with VR, having the option for a "best effort" version or a version that leaves space for VR modders to build something around the existing version (implementing controls, FOV mods, head look ...) would still be great. Beside Alyx, ED is my top VR game in relation to VR implementation quality and in terms of hours played by very far my number one game. Would be a shame not being able to play it or feeling excluded from the progress of the game.

P.S.:Just seen Arthur's post through ObsidianAnt's video. I must admit: if we get official VR support in ED I would really want it to be of high quality. There is so many bad VR games out there and they mostly fail on the controls. Alyx showed how to do it. If FDev manages to work this out particularly with the transition from seated gameplay to standing / vehicle to walking it would push the VR gaming community forward. I still hope though it will not take years to work it out and that there will be a way to still play VR in Horizons while playing flat in Odyssey and all the things you do on the one side carry over to the other. The fact that even this hasn't been announced makes me little bit uneasy.