Has VR changed your perception of planets?

GunnerBill

GunnerBill
I don't mean cosmetically.

What I mean is best explained by this:

When I saw my first "potato" moon in VR, flew around it and eventually landed upon it I got a palpable feeling that this was just an object. A thing, basically a rock floating in space.

This feeling has gradually expanded (for me) to encompass most moons/icy bodies etc. I thought that ELW's and the larger bodies would be exempt but when I look at a gas giant and fly into close orbit it just appears to me as a bubble of fluid floating about!

That's VR for you, taking the wonder and awe out of space travel. I jest, I think it's frelling awesome!

Bring on 8k [up]
 

slidingback

S
I'm not sure if it's my VR settings as I have been struggling to come up with the right combination of settings, but the planets all look pretty bland to me in VR.
 

[VR] Frank_G

[VR] Frank_G
Planets look really cool in VR, much better than on a monitor. The depths perception really adds a lot. Also setting the shadows to maximum quality enhances planetary surfaces by a lot.
The deep shadows crater walls cast are incredible and you really find large areas, that are not save without the use of your ships headlights.
 

Arioch

Arioch
It happened to me on a potato moon with a surface scan mission - the very visible close and curved horizon (I suspect) suddenly made the base and surroundings look very toy-like and small. This feeling persisted at orbital stations, like I was floating over a model a few meters large.

What I did was swap to a smaller ship (I was in a 'conda), go to a largish planet and have a drive around for a bit. I think the contrast between the smaller immediate surroundings and the nice flat distant horizon mashed my perception most of the way back to big-mode :)

Edit: I find the docking "challenge" mission in the tutorials is a good brain VR enbiggening spritzer - Sidewinder, Station and low orbit over an Earth-like planet.
 
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Chris Simon

Chris Simon
Arioch said:
It happened to me on a potato moon with a surface scan mission - the very visible close and curved horizon (I suspect) suddenly made the base and surroundings look very toy-like and small. This feeling persisted at orbital stations, like I was floating over a model a few meters large.

What I did was swap to a smaller ship (I was in a 'conda), go to a largish planet and have a drive around for a bit. I think the contrast between the smaller immediate surroundings and the nice flat distant horizon mashed my perception most of the way back to big-mode :)
Click to expand...

I also experience the changed perception of scale sometimes. But to me it means that it's about time for a break. :)
My eyes get tired pretty quickly, as I work on the computer the whole day, plus couple of hours of Elite in the evenings... it's not exactly healthy.

That's one of the reasons I play in VR only about 30% of the time. When I'm in the bubble doing missions, trading, generally enjoying stuff, I tend to use VR, but when I plan to do some more focused combat or when I'm out exploring, I use a monitor.
 
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Fokker

Fokker
It certainly adds to the visual interest of many of the moons, though they need more varied landscape in general. Too many are almost absolutely flat without much in the way of varied terrain other than craters.
 

A D

A D
Yep, still remember first time in VR - landing and then seeing a gigantic orb hanging in the sky. Haven't used the monitor since.
 

NeilF

NeilF
CylonSurfer said:
Odd, most people prefer the advantages of VR for combat. Each to their own though.
Click to expand...

Advantages? Putting head look aside (which obvious EDTracker can do for a fraction of the price), and ignoring the fact you lose access to your keyboard when in VR, what do you perceive as the advantages of VR for combat?
 

Kemo

Kemo
Frank_G said:
Planets look really cool in VR, much better than on a monitor. The depths perception really adds a lot. Also setting the shadows to maximum quality enhances planetary surfaces by a lot.
The deep shadows crater walls cast are incredible and you really find large areas, that are not save without the use of your ships headlights.
Click to expand...

Dropping in to an ice filled ringed planet in VR is probably one of the most pant wetting experiences I have had so far (in VR that is, not life in general, sadly, I think may need to invest in Tena pants)

Getting right up close to a planet with an atmosphere, and watching it's parent star's light cast through the atmosphere is stunning in VR, I can float there for quite some time, with the HUD off, watching the ice form on the screen.

I do hope that atmo landings is realised in this game, please FD :)
 

Flapdrol1337

F
NeilF said:
Advantages? Putting head look aside (which obvious EDTracker can do for a fraction of the price), and ignoring the fact you lose access to your keyboard when in VR, what do you perceive as the advantages of VR for combat?
Click to expand...
Most people find it easier to perceive speeds and positions in VR.

I reckon it's the larger FOV which allows you to use more of your peripheral vision. (since stereoscopic 3d and the parallax of headtracking doesn't do much at longer distances)
 

CylonSurfer

CylonSurfer
NeilF said:
Advantages? Putting head look aside (which obvious EDTracker can do for a fraction of the price), and ignoring the fact you lose access to your keyboard when in VR, what do you perceive as the advantages of VR for combat?
Click to expand...

I don't personally play in 2D and never have (and likely never will), so I can only comment based on the posts I've read on here and Reddit from users that have transitioned from playing Elite in 2D to virtual reality. Most are along the lines of "Trading is much harder in VR but combat is where the device really excels due to....". Chris's post is the first I've read that is the reverse of that - not that there is anything wrong with his point of view.

However based on my experinces with other (pre-VR) dog fighting titles I'd have to say: Greater spatial awareness & a larger FOV for starters, but the 1:1 headtracking certainly helps as well. EDTracker? It doesn't even come close to what VR does in terms of head tracking, I used a similar product for many years, I'd honestly say that the price reflects the differences between the two.

Why would I need to access my keyboard while dogfighting in VR? Besides I could access my keyboard or mouse in VR at anytime if I wanted to.
 
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Pville_Piper

Pville_Piper
NeilF said:
Advantages? Putting head look aside (which obvious EDTracker can do for a fraction of the price), and ignoring the fact you lose access to your keyboard when in VR, what do you perceive as the advantages of VR for combat?
Click to expand...

​Hands On Throttle And Stick*





*No keyboard required...




:D



The scanner works way better in VR than normal space. Head or eye tracking can't duplicate the situational awareness of VR. The first time I looked at the scanner, looked in the direction of the blips, saw daaka-daaka going on, then rolled inverted and headed into the fight... I was hooked. Combat is way better with VR. [SUB] [/SUB]
 
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NeilF

NeilF
CylonSurfer said:
I don't personally play in 2D and never have (and likely never will), so I can only comment based on the posts I've read on here and Reddit from users that have transitioned from playing Elite in 2D to virtual reality. Most are along the lines of "Trading is much harder in VR but combat is where the device really excels due to....". Chris's post is the first I've read that is the reverse of that - not that there is anything wrong with his point of view.

However based on my experinces with other (pre-VR) dog fighting titles I'd have to say: Greater spatial awareness & a larger FOV for starters, but the 1:1 headtracking certainly helps as well. EDTracker? It doesn't even come close to what VR does in terms of head tracking, I used a similar product for many years, I'd honestly say that the price reflects the differences between the two.

Why would I need to access my keyboard while dogfighting in VR? Besides I could access my keyboard or mouse in VR at anytime if I wanted to.
Click to expand...

I have EDTracker and an Oculus, and as regards spatial awareness, I can't really say there's a lot of difference IMHO. Add to this EDTracker means image quality is clearer (eg: text easier to read) is a bonus point to it too.

Keyboard? This is probaby my bad as I still haven't bothered mapping all my controls (eg: J & H etc) to my HOTAS. Primarily because I don't really play ED anymore (so can't be bothered), and furthermore don't really want to (it's basically fully mapped as is). Guess I'd need to Voice Attack them and similar other controls...
 

CylonSurfer

CylonSurfer
NeilF said:
I have EDTracker and an Oculus, and as regards spatial awareness, I can't really say there's a lot of difference IMHO. Add to this EDTracker means image quality is clearer (eg: text easier to read) is a bonus point to it too.

Keyboard? This is probaby my bad as I still haven't bothered mapping all my controls (eg: J & H etc) to my HOTAS. Primarily because I don't really play ED anymore (so can't be bothered), and furthermore don't really want to (it's basically fully mapped as is). Guess I'd need to Voice Attack them and similar other controls...
Click to expand...

I also forgot to mention the radar and how much more useful it is in 3D while in combat. H & J keys - thats not combat, thats running away ;)

Not to argue with you as you are entitled to your opinion and a lot of stuff could be put down to being subjective, but a 6 DoF head tracker in combination with a 2D display will never give you the spatial awareness or head tracking capibilities of a VR HMD - the short commings of such a system are fairly obvious, 1:1 head tracking is not possible due to the display being stationary and 2D provides significantly less spatial awareness compared to stereo 3D, a traditional display will provide a FOV of 80 or less. Not to mention the "disconnect" by which I mean the difference between being virtually in a to scale space ship to looking at a small representation of a cockpit on a 2D screen.

Oddly enough, I'm not trying to read text while in combat..:eek:
 
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dogbite

dogbite
NeilF said:
Advantages? Putting head look aside (which obvious EDTracker can do for a fraction of the price), and ignoring the fact you lose access to your keyboard when in VR, what do you perceive as the advantages of VR for combat?
Click to expand...

With a HOTAS and Voice Attack I find that I only use the keyboard to type in the galaxy map. Having a Rift and a handy nose gap, I also haven't noticed any loss of access and indeed play Alien Isolation VR using KBM.
 
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