How many people are still playing in VR?

-VR- berni420

V
Hello all,
I used to play Elite exclusively in VR but since Odyssey came out I got frustrated with performance and my Xbox controller not being recognised. So now I'm only playing flat which is a shame since ED was so so fantastic in VR.
What is your experience, are you still playing in VR, did you manage with the limitations or are you playing flat?
 

CMDR Junagu

CMDR Junagu
Just started playing in VR lately (been playing ED since launch). It really is very different from pancake.
I don't get great frame rates but it's perfectly playable and looks pretty good (fairly low powered PC for VR and Lenovo Explorer headset). Not too fussed about the on-foot window, which I have faith will be 'fixed' somewhere down the line.
I've used an EDTracker until recently, which does a great job of opening things up in pancake mode.
 

Faded Glory

Faded Glory
Sure, still playing in VR. Not interested in the FPS gameplay, and stepping onto a planet to scan bio signals isn't gamebreaking with lack of VR.

Stepped down from my Reverb G2 and play on a Quest 2 with VR graphics quality set to ultra - performance is Ok and at least for me the ED graphics don't require what the Reverb can deliver. I use the Reverb for MSFS 2020.
 

Arioch

Arioch
I wouldn’t say I play Elite in VR at the moment - I merely start the game up after each Update to check on the various VR bugs and a few flatscreen ones, and infrequently between Updates if I need to try duplicating new problems. I’ve played regularly since Premium Beta but Odyssey slammed the brakes on.

The annoyance of disappearing shadows, the view glitch when jumping to SuperCruise, flickering shadows, and a fair host of minor irritations like distant planets not being visible all put me off playing what has probably been my most favourite VR game (it’s certainly my most played by a long margin).

I’m a patient sort and hope that it’ll all get fixed eventually - I’ve decided to wait until Odyssey gets sorted out instead of going back to Horizons in the meantime (plus I can make some inroads into the Gaming Backlog of Shame 😅).
 

Astaran

Astaran
I still play Elite in VR from time to time, but it's a PITA to setup correctly. Especially when switching between VR and pancake mode. I got myself a new PC this week and I'm very excited to play Elite in some high/ultra quality VR settings. I still need to either re-bind all my keys or I need to copy the keybindings from my old rig, so I haven't even bothered starting Elite on the new PC :D

I still prefer Elite in VR over pancake mode for the experience, but sometimes pancake mode is just more convenient for short game sessions
 

VR Mr Teatime

VR Mr Teatime
Still playing exclusively in VR in Ody...

I'm always hopeful FDev put more energy into improving the VR experience, as the technology is now unlikely to go away and only grow, but am patient enough and understand conflicting priorities within development...
 

Dragsham

Dragsham
Edo VR 100% 3 years solid now.
Even on foot I'm using that daft view. But I've adapted.
Runs smoothly for me. Over 4k per lense
 

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
I only play ED in VR. I still play a few hours now and then, but I have spent thousands of hours in the game.

Performance is ok if you use FSR, but 1:1 it is still pretty heavy.

I hope Frontier pull their head out of wherever it went. I play the game to fly spaceships in space in VR.
 

blastard

blastard
I only play in VR (EDH and EDO) + CQC most evenings. Started in 2015 with DK2, then CV1 for a few years and for last 4 years with Pimax 5k+ (wide angle). Don't do much 'on-foot' except the odd lifeform scan so the headset never comes off. Almost 8500hrs solely in VR so far (plus all in my motion simulators - see links below). Doubt I'd play ED else.

Blastard
 

Darth Ender

D
i do all ship combat in VR. it's easier and more fun.

everything else i basically dont use VR for because elite requires external monitors/screens to make use of your time in most cases (or to distract you from repetitive actions or long spans of nothing)
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
-VR- berni420 said:
Hello all,
I used to play Elite exclusively in VR but since Odyssey came out I got frustrated with performance and my Xbox controller not being recognised. So now I'm only playing flat which is a shame since ED was so so fantastic in VR.
What is your experience, are you still playing in VR, did you manage with the limitations or are you playing flat?
Click to expand...
I've never been a VR-only Elite player, but Elite and VR are tied together in a way no other game is. That is to say, if not for Elite, I'd have very little reason to break out my VR headset (though MSFS may someday change that). And conversely, if not for VR, I'd play Elite a whole lot less than I do now, if at all. VR is what makes Elite great, and Elite is what makes VR great. Compare that to MSFS, where I can happily fly my planes on a big TV and feel immersed. I can't say that with Elite, except when I'm exploring and focusing more on 2D tools like the FSS or the skybox (which, from a stereoscopic point of view, is 2D).

I'm of course a Horizons 3.8 player who prefers space combat in small ships over other forms of gameplay, which is a large part of why VR works so well for me in Elite. I also greatly enjoy mining in VR. These activities immerse me in a truly three-dimensional stereoscopic world where the VR headset adds a sense of scale totally missing even on a large screen. These activities also greatly benefit from the inherent headtracking that is built into VR.

Now compare and contrast this with walking around in VR. I've played Skyrim and some other walking games in VR, and while I do like "looking around" (especially inside buildings and caves), there is an impedance-mismatch between my IRL body and my in-game body. Unless I were to get a treadmill and connect it to my "walk forward" button, I'm basically riding a Segway in any on-foot gameplay in VR, and I find it disconcerting. If I someday do get Odyssey, I would just load the game in 2D to do any sort of on-foot gameplay, with the exception of "looking around" purely for sightseeing. Sitting in a pilot's seat both IRL and in VR, on the other hand, is the perfect impedance-match, and it's one of the reasons traditional Elite works so very well in VR.

ps - there are a couple of situations where performance tanks on me in VR even in Horizons legacy. There's something about Anacondas in RES and CZs that cause my framerate to drop below 40 fps in VR, along with certain planet surface POIs, and it sends me almost instantly into dizzy mode. I must have smooth VR to play, or I literally get sick.
 

-VR- berni420

V
It makes me hopeful that so many people are still playing Odyssey in VR, to be fair I had some problems in the past with performance, especially after going back and forth between stereoscopic and in-headset flat view. Somehow after switching a few times performance would degrade heavily. Maybe I should give it another try tonight.
 

El Guido

El Guido
I play mostly in VR.
Towards high end rig.
Oculus Rift
Liquid cooled Nvidia 3080
Liquid cooled intel i9-900 cpu
32 GB RAM
M2 SSD.
Cannot use ultra, high and super duper everything.
But judicious use of VR and 3D setting gets me a pin sharp cockpit environment. My cutter looks like Etihad Business class.
I don't know if it's supposed to happen but terrain morphs before my eyes as I scud around in my fun buggy.
Lumps and bumps just rise up which is odd.
Otherwise. A great VR experience. Cannot complaine.
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
I still play exclusively in VR, except for a very brief period where I tried my hand at settlement raiding, which I did on the flat screen. I switched to pretty much Odyssey only some time ago, don't remember after which update. I's been a good while, I haven't played in Horizons in many months.

Performance is okayish, but not great. I play with a first generation Reverb G2 on a Ryzen 9 5900X and a 3080 Ti with a mix of mostly high to ultra settings. After a lot of fiddling I settled on a SteamVR resolution setting of 60%, this gives me stable 90 fps in space and a guaranteed low limit of 45 fps (motion smoothing) with alot of assets on screen (stations, HazRes, Horizons settlements) while still looking good. Higher resolutions than 80% don't seem to give me that much of a benefit anyway, the edge blurring of the lenses is pretty much masking any gain in sharpness by upping the resolution.

I don't do Odyssey missions, CZs or other on foot stuff; last time I visited an Odyssey settlement was before update 12, I think. I might check it out again, but I'm sure I will still get drops below 40 or even below 30 fps in busy ones. Also, I guess I lose some performance headroom by using the HUD mod, but at this point it's essential for me. Also, i have set up Voice Attack, more for the company of two HCS voice packs (Kate and Ad-Astra) than controlling the ship, plus I use the npc vocalizer to have the npc chat spoken out. I hate that word, but it's very immersive that way.

it's not great performance wise, but I still enjoy the game immensely. I really enjoyed the Azimuth finale; I was in system and experienced the shutdown sequence and subsequent thatgoid attack in VR and was genuinely scared. Right now I'm out in the black towards the Eta Carinae nebula, having fun in my exploration dolphin. Flying in VR in Elite is just awesome, and I really like landing on atmospheric planets.

I think I would not play ED if it wasn't for VR. Truth is, I discovered ED only when I got my first headset and was looking for VR titles that would suit me. The first time I sat in the sidewinder in VR hooked me completely; it wouldn't have done in 2D.
 
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