Please share your experience with ED and Oculus Rift
- Thread starter ArkAngel
- Start date
Every ship just comes alive.. all around you is the cockpit or bridge of your ship.. and they're all different. Such tiny detail right down to individual switches.. then outside there's this vast endless space.. where you see small rocks and vast planets.. all with depth and a scale you can never see on a monitor screen. As you fly the bright light of a star illuminates your whole environment.. everything you can see. Then you move in to shadow and all is dim but for the bright lights of your display screens. Stations loom vast around you, but you can set down with precision and ease because you intuitively know the size and position of everything around you. Combat is amazing as ships dance around each other, even their smoke trails seeming tangible.. and when you manoeuvre close and fire, you can almost feel the impact.
It's not perfect. It needs to be more comfortable. In the distance, the resolution is a problem as things become ill-defined and fuzzy. The screen-door effect is visible. You need good hardware to hit the required framerate. The galaxy map and system map are only just barely usable with it on. You have to know your controls without being able to see them (use voice attack and/or HOTAS).
But in short, Oculus Rift is the best way to experience Elite Dangerous, and Elite Dangerous is the best way to experience Oculus Rift.
It's not perfect. It needs to be more comfortable. In the distance, the resolution is a problem as things become ill-defined and fuzzy. The screen-door effect is visible. You need good hardware to hit the required framerate. The galaxy map and system map are only just barely usable with it on. You have to know your controls without being able to see them (use voice attack and/or HOTAS).
But in short, Oculus Rift is the best way to experience Elite Dangerous, and Elite Dangerous is the best way to experience Oculus Rift.
Could you confirm, is it worth it to purchase Rift now or should I wait until retail is ready.... However long that will take. From your experience does Rift work well with that many other games?
It is said that the retail version should be out summer 2015. It will probably better and cheaper than what you can buy right now. I think it's worth the wait!
Well OP. You probably already have your mind made up to buy one and are looking for reassurance 
Mine arrived yesterday. It was a pain to setup but figured it out in the end. My first impression was omg I am in a spaceship. The second impression was what the hell does all that text say. I can't read nothing.
Visually it looks amazing but I need to spend more time tweaking it to get the text at an acceptable quality before I am anywhere near happy
Mine arrived yesterday. It was a pain to setup but figured it out in the end. My first impression was omg I am in a spaceship. The second impression was what the hell does all that text say. I can't read nothing.
Visually it looks amazing but I need to spend more time tweaking it to get the text at an acceptable quality before I am anywhere near happy
I have the DK2, and specifically got it because of the VR publicity surrounding E : D.
There are a couple of challenges so I don't use the DK2 for my regular ED gameplay:
1) The ergonomics: if you want to simulate the DK2 experience, jam a tea-strainer over each eye and then over the top put on one of those cheap oval swimming goggles that usually comes with a snorkel. Sit in the garden for half an hour looking at the stars. The resolution is truly laughable with even the large main E D menus being barely readable unless you lean in.
2) I have an upscale desktop/gpu setup with 2 graphics cards in SLI and a triple-monitor layout. For DK2 to work properly in ED I have to disable two of the three screens and one of the graphics cards (for the techies, my 3-screen 3600x1200 desktop has max vsync of 60hz, the current elite/dk2 needs the monitors all running at the same refresh rate but that has to be 75hz which I can get from a single monitor, and ED/DK2 runs slower with sli than without). Without this the DK2 suffers severe position-update blurring (it's ok if you keep your head still, but that defeats the point).
BUT... the first time you see the inside of a space station through your DK2 it would be hard not to be impressed, particularly if you've played on a regular monitor for a while first. Suddenly you feel you ARE in a proper 3D cockpit, and the space station suddenly looks HUGE. In particular you can track other spacecraft flying around by moving your head and that is a very different experience than turning your spacecraft so you can see out the windscreen. Caveat #1 still applies though.
Re the Consumer Version - the resolution will be a *bit* higher, with a change of lcd technology to reduce the dark gaps between pixels (particularly red), but I don't think it will fundamentally change the experience. Especially the resolution point - it will take a LOT more that a 1440p/2 screen (DK2 is 1080p/2) to improve the readability of text - this will surely come in the future as tech can always add pixels, but not in the consumer version so I think a DK2 purchase now actually makes sense.
There are a couple of challenges so I don't use the DK2 for my regular ED gameplay:
1) The ergonomics: if you want to simulate the DK2 experience, jam a tea-strainer over each eye and then over the top put on one of those cheap oval swimming goggles that usually comes with a snorkel. Sit in the garden for half an hour looking at the stars. The resolution is truly laughable with even the large main E D menus being barely readable unless you lean in.
2) I have an upscale desktop/gpu setup with 2 graphics cards in SLI and a triple-monitor layout. For DK2 to work properly in ED I have to disable two of the three screens and one of the graphics cards (for the techies, my 3-screen 3600x1200 desktop has max vsync of 60hz, the current elite/dk2 needs the monitors all running at the same refresh rate but that has to be 75hz which I can get from a single monitor, and ED/DK2 runs slower with sli than without). Without this the DK2 suffers severe position-update blurring (it's ok if you keep your head still, but that defeats the point).
BUT... the first time you see the inside of a space station through your DK2 it would be hard not to be impressed, particularly if you've played on a regular monitor for a while first. Suddenly you feel you ARE in a proper 3D cockpit, and the space station suddenly looks HUGE. In particular you can track other spacecraft flying around by moving your head and that is a very different experience than turning your spacecraft so you can see out the windscreen. Caveat #1 still applies though.
Re the Consumer Version - the resolution will be a *bit* higher, with a change of lcd technology to reduce the dark gaps between pixels (particularly red), but I don't think it will fundamentally change the experience. Especially the resolution point - it will take a LOT more that a 1440p/2 screen (DK2 is 1080p/2) to improve the readability of text - this will surely come in the future as tech can always add pixels, but not in the consumer version so I think a DK2 purchase now actually makes sense.
I'm hesitant to recommend buying it now, unless money is not an issue. It is still a development kit and not a consumer quality product.
Much of what you'll hear about it is exaggerated because it does get people quite excited. There are really very few games that work well with it - a couple of car games, couple of flight sims and Elite.. Then you're struggling. Alien Isolation looks great and is very atmospheric but for me, first person controls aren't there yet - it makes you feel weird.
I think even CV1 won't be there yet for a lot of VR stuff, but it should be a big step for space sims. So if you can afford both and it's worth it just for E : D and car racing get DK2.. Otherwise definitely hold out for CV1.
If money is an issue then I would say wait, otherwise there is no feeling like actually being inside these ships. Also, the experience will vary from user to user, bambam OFC (post7) is a good example. Myself and many others have no issue reading txt or the menu's, it's completely clear for me. My eyesight is very good, so far I have demonstrated it to around 20 people, all of those who wore glasses or had dodgy eyesight found the rift to be blurry.
Bottom line, make sure you adjust the DK2 software & use the correct lense to match you eyesight. Another good example, when I purchased my rift, the guy allowed me to demo his rift 'rollercoaster' demo, it was very blurry and got me a little worried, he wore glasses, I took mine home and set it up for my eyesight, the difference was like night and day.
Last edited:
Out of interest, what cards are you running in SLi and what are your other settings?
I'm running a pair of GTX970s on a 4790K CPU and I don't have any issues with position update lag with the DK2. Operation checking via GPU-Z confirms that both GPUs are being used at roughly equal loads.
Settings-wise:
2560 x 1440 downsampled (not DSR - I had issues with that)
Extended mode on the DK2, 75Hz
ED settings at - Medium.
I'll chime in and try to be brief (lol, fat chance)
I had played with one of the early VR systems about 30 years ago (the exact one from the first scene in the Welcome to Oculus demo actully) so I have been waiting a while to see something good come of all this.
I'll start by saying all of this is still in flux, the Rift is still in development, games are still in development as far as how they need to change themselves to interact better with VR devices but we will get there.
We now have the technology to bring VR to the front and make it a viable platform for so many things, not just games.
The Rift, while not a finished product is still an amazing start, there are many many demos out there and a few games (with many in development) that will absolutely blow you away and the people you sit down to show them to.
I didnt order my Rift DK2 till mid october and after watching all the youtube videos I could and reading more and more info about it I wished I had jumped on sooner but thats ok my Rift came quick (nov 7th).
Focusing on Eilte, I had played it off and on before my rift came and its all cool and stuff with my uber monitor but words cannot fully describe what its like to sit in that cockpit and have it fully realized in 3D all around you. The pit in front of the ship while docked is a actual pit, stations are huge, you can effortlessly track items/ships by just looking out the cockpit, you feel the distance of items/structures. The medkit in the sidewinder was always right next to me in 2d, in 3d it was like whoa that things way over there in 3d. It is something everyone needs to see and feel for themselves.
The text problem (in Elite) everyone keeps beating to death is NOT a major problem, heres why.
You MUST futz with settings for a while and try different things to get it to look best for YOU.
Initially text really sucked for me. I wasnt happy with the text till about 2 weeks in (thats not constant futzing everyday , just messing a little here and there)
I tried DSR and that didnt seem to be that great to me. Now text is -mostly- clear for me and completely playable and enjoyable experience, I attribute that to patches from Frontier and my constant futzing. I'm very happy with text right now, yes it can be even better for sure but thats not just the hardware/graphics issue its also issue where the companies have to create with the idea of hey, we need to have a choice where the user can change text content to be more readable. Not really a huge leap in modern programming.
Back to futzing, its still all in development, its all in flux so yes to even get the DK2 to work the way -you- want it to you must be prepared to futz -a lot-
If your 16 whamma jamma video cards that are all linked via SLI and being powered\cooled by your own personal Hadron Collider with an uplink to your virtual computer brain being stored inside a frozen satellite orbiting jupiter, then yes you in for some futzing but it works, and it works spendidly.
It will only get better. If they come out with 1 technology updated Rift a year (like iPads/Iphones) I will buy one every year hands down.
in closing I would say come on over, buy now and get in on the fun ground floor and ride the elevator up with the rest of us. I think its a going to be a great ride.
Watch all the youtube videos and also check out Voice Attack, Voice attack is a nearly must for ship control while using the Rift.
-Cobreean
I had played with one of the early VR systems about 30 years ago (the exact one from the first scene in the Welcome to Oculus demo actully) so I have been waiting a while to see something good come of all this.
I'll start by saying all of this is still in flux, the Rift is still in development, games are still in development as far as how they need to change themselves to interact better with VR devices but we will get there.
We now have the technology to bring VR to the front and make it a viable platform for so many things, not just games.
The Rift, while not a finished product is still an amazing start, there are many many demos out there and a few games (with many in development) that will absolutely blow you away and the people you sit down to show them to.
I didnt order my Rift DK2 till mid october and after watching all the youtube videos I could and reading more and more info about it I wished I had jumped on sooner but thats ok my Rift came quick (nov 7th).
Focusing on Eilte, I had played it off and on before my rift came and its all cool and stuff with my uber monitor but words cannot fully describe what its like to sit in that cockpit and have it fully realized in 3D all around you. The pit in front of the ship while docked is a actual pit, stations are huge, you can effortlessly track items/ships by just looking out the cockpit, you feel the distance of items/structures. The medkit in the sidewinder was always right next to me in 2d, in 3d it was like whoa that things way over there in 3d. It is something everyone needs to see and feel for themselves.
The text problem (in Elite) everyone keeps beating to death is NOT a major problem, heres why.
You MUST futz with settings for a while and try different things to get it to look best for YOU.
Initially text really sucked for me. I wasnt happy with the text till about 2 weeks in (thats not constant futzing everyday , just messing a little here and there)
I tried DSR and that didnt seem to be that great to me. Now text is -mostly- clear for me and completely playable and enjoyable experience, I attribute that to patches from Frontier and my constant futzing. I'm very happy with text right now, yes it can be even better for sure but thats not just the hardware/graphics issue its also issue where the companies have to create with the idea of hey, we need to have a choice where the user can change text content to be more readable. Not really a huge leap in modern programming.
Back to futzing, its still all in development, its all in flux so yes to even get the DK2 to work the way -you- want it to you must be prepared to futz -a lot-
If your 16 whamma jamma video cards that are all linked via SLI and being powered\cooled by your own personal Hadron Collider with an uplink to your virtual computer brain being stored inside a frozen satellite orbiting jupiter, then yes you in for some futzing but it works, and it works spendidly.
It will only get better. If they come out with 1 technology updated Rift a year (like iPads/Iphones) I will buy one every year hands down.
in closing I would say come on over, buy now and get in on the fun ground floor and ride the elevator up with the rest of us. I think its a going to be a great ride.
Watch all the youtube videos and also check out Voice Attack, Voice attack is a nearly must for ship control while using the Rift.
-Cobreean
IMO, you can't rely on someone else to tell you whether you should buy it or not. Only you can decide that based on how bad you want to experience it for yourself. For me, Elite is the 2nd game I've used the DK2 with. I was of the mind I'd wait for CV1 back when the DK2 first released and I waited. Then I started seeing all the positve reviews of the DK2 and ordered last month. I had a pretty sweet triple monitor setup for iRacing which is what I mainly play. The fact that I took the triple setup apart the very day after ecieving the rift should sum up my opinion on how good it is. Yeah, the res could be better, we all know that. But the other benefits and the feeling you get of actually being there FAR outweigh any downside for me. Now, I won't even consider playing any game with rift support on a regular old monitor.
As far as it releasing next summer... Yeah, next summer sounds right (we hope). Maybe it gets pushed back. Most likely there will be a backorder period just like there was with DK2 and that has to be factored in. So a wait of more likely a year from now is reasonable. For me, I'd rather experience what is available now and upgrade when I can. It's like saying I won't buy the new xyz graphics card (or car or whatever) this year because next year there will be a newer one. There will ALWAYS be a newer on on the horizon. If I wait for it, I'll simply be always waiting and never enjoying. A year is a long time to wait and a lot of enjoyment to be missed. $350 is a great deal for the DK2. You can barely get a decent 144hz monitor for that.
Lastly, I had barely any fiddling with mine to get it to work. It just worked very well out of the box except that I have a larger IPD of 70mm so I had to compensate for that but it wasn't too bad of a hassle.
Good luck making your choice.
As far as it releasing next summer... Yeah, next summer sounds right (we hope). Maybe it gets pushed back. Most likely there will be a backorder period just like there was with DK2 and that has to be factored in. So a wait of more likely a year from now is reasonable. For me, I'd rather experience what is available now and upgrade when I can. It's like saying I won't buy the new xyz graphics card (or car or whatever) this year because next year there will be a newer one. There will ALWAYS be a newer on on the horizon. If I wait for it, I'll simply be always waiting and never enjoying. A year is a long time to wait and a lot of enjoyment to be missed. $350 is a great deal for the DK2. You can barely get a decent 144hz monitor for that.
Lastly, I had barely any fiddling with mine to get it to work. It just worked very well out of the box except that I have a larger IPD of 70mm so I had to compensate for that but it wasn't too bad of a hassle.
Good luck making your choice.
Jaw dropping. Sense of SCALE is what hits you the most. With how Oculus develops theres no guarantee the CV1 will be this summer so I think its worth it. Plus Alien Isolation is another must see game as long as you dont get motion sickness. I had a little when I first got the Rift on certain things, but the brain really adapts and now I dont feel anything. I dont even have a good video card and Elite/Alien runs great for me on max settings.
http://falkenherz.blogspot.de/2014/11/premiere-event-and-oculus-rift.html
I found it wonderful how I could almost feel my eyes being relaxed, as versus compared to playing at a monitor. I was able to read the texts after a while; it is just a matter of having a certain unfocused look i.e. do not try to focus and let your brain do the work (it is amazingly competent at that).
Scale seemed a bit weirdly just a little bit too small.
But, compared to the experience itself, all that nitpicking is small and irrelevant; the experience with DK2 and Elite: Dangerous is a total blast. It is just my lacking cash which make me wait for the CV next year.
I found it wonderful how I could almost feel my eyes being relaxed, as versus compared to playing at a monitor. I was able to read the texts after a while; it is just a matter of having a certain unfocused look i.e. do not try to focus and let your brain do the work (it is amazingly competent at that).
Scale seemed a bit weirdly just a little bit too small.
But, compared to the experience itself, all that nitpicking is small and irrelevant; the experience with DK2 and Elite: Dangerous is a total blast. It is just my lacking cash which make me wait for the CV next year.
If things seem small check out the VR forum, it's a problem with your IPD. Everything should look lifesize (IE Crazy huge) I trade in the Type-6 now, if I look at the ceiling it looks at least 20 feet away from me. Insane is the only word I can use to describe the feeling. Am not even going to try to prepare myself for sitting in a Type-9 or Anaconda
Regarding focus, it should be like sitting in a fighter jet, or bridge of a ship. If you have to focus something is not right with your settings. It was mentioned a few posts back, Don't just use the settings out of the box, tweak it to your eyesight, you can even adjust the device itself on the side with a screwdriver, took me 2 day's to realize that.
Last edited:
It's pretty amazing with a Rift, though a low resolution experience that might hurt your eyes (there are problems with the Rift hopefully resolved in full customer version).
If you can afford to buy a DK2 now and then again another one next summer or later, definitely do it. If money is a bit tight I would wait.
If you can afford to buy a DK2 now and then again another one next summer or later, definitely do it. If money is a bit tight I would wait.
I purchased a DK2 and it arrived in October. Its a game changing experience there is no doubt.
However, I now find myself using TrackIR and waiting for a higher screen quality VR headset.
With Rift you cannot use the keyboard, the galaxy map is next to useless, and you must drink through a straw being wary not to knock over your drink when picking it up! Despite being 1080p, the quality of the image isn't very good as you can see 'between' the pixels -its much the same as looking through a wire mesh. That said, the immersion of having a fluid experience that places you directly inside the game, as apposed to peering inside through a window(monitor) is amazing.
As above, I've now gone back to using a TrackIR as its easy to use. I can use the galaxy map fully, I can drink, I can switch to the internet to gather info about my next move and switch back easily and comfortably.
I personally recommend waiting for the Oculus Crescent Bay release, hoping it'll be a higher quality screen which is very likely.
However, I now find myself using TrackIR and waiting for a higher screen quality VR headset.
With Rift you cannot use the keyboard, the galaxy map is next to useless, and you must drink through a straw being wary not to knock over your drink when picking it up! Despite being 1080p, the quality of the image isn't very good as you can see 'between' the pixels -its much the same as looking through a wire mesh. That said, the immersion of having a fluid experience that places you directly inside the game, as apposed to peering inside through a window(monitor) is amazing.
As above, I've now gone back to using a TrackIR as its easy to use. I can use the galaxy map fully, I can drink, I can switch to the internet to gather info about my next move and switch back easily and comfortably.
I personally recommend waiting for the Oculus Crescent Bay release, hoping it'll be a higher quality screen which is very likely.
Yeah, galaxy map needs to be mapped to your HOTAS to work correctly, so if you use purely keyboard & mouse it will be unworkable