VR support 'not at launch' for Odyssey

[Rat Catcher]

Don’t underestimate the effect Apple will have on the VR industry along with all the other companies investing hundreds of millions dollars in VR.

They are very likely to produce a very pretty looking piece of hardware, it will perform well, and very likely to placed at a price point to make it very exclusive... Of course, if it only works on Apple hardware one might be led to believe that the commercial sector is the target, not the consumer.

For mass adoption we need the quality to go up and the price come down, honestly, I think we are at least 5yrs away from that.

Pretty good summation. It will be interesting to see how successful the Quest Pro (?) is, that looks to be a nice piece of hardware.

 

[Arioch]

It will be interesting to see how successful the Quest Pro (?) is, that looks to be a nice piece of hardware.

It’s being targeted at the productivity area rather than gamers - with a matching price tag (“significantly” higher than $800 is all we know at the moment) but it’ll probably give a good idea as to what the Quest 3 will be like.
———
The new Pico headset looks very nice - smaller, lighter headset with pancake lenses (like the Quest Pro), battery moved to the back of the head strap, dual 2k screens (so higher resolution, better IPD adjustment, and slightly better FoV) - and something I’m looking at to replace my Quest 2 as a portable home cinema and PCVR display.

I’m more interested in the next generation of Qualcomm chips as I’ve been surprised at the quality of current stand-alone games such as Red Matter, RE4, Vader Immortal, Into The Radius, BattleGroupVR etc. If anyone thinks VR indie titles (even the stand-alone stuff) are stuck with 90’s graphics then either a) they’re exaggerating for effect b) they haven’t played many VR titles or c) they haven’t played many 90’s titles

Fingers crossed that increased VR user numbers might tip FDev into revisiting VREDO - even just something like the most upvoted post in the Suggestions forum?

 

[Rat Catcher]

It’s being targeted at the productivity area rather than gamers - with a matching price tag (“significantly” higher than $800 is all we know at the moment) but it’ll probably give a good idea as to what the Quest 3 will be like.

Ah! It is the Quest 3 I was thinking about - been watching waaayyy too many recent VR youtubes and my brain has turned to mush!

Thanks.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

They are very likely to produce a very pretty looking piece of hardware, it will perform well, and very likely to placed at a price point to make it very exclusive... Of course, if it only works on Apple hardware one might be led to believe that the commercial sector is the target, not the consumer.

Pretty good summation. It will be interesting to see how successful the Quest Pro (?) is, that looks to be a nice piece of hardware.

I actually think the Pico 4 may be about to nuke the quest pro from orbit before it's even launched. £379 with quest like standalone support and top of the line lenses a high quality (but sadly still LCD) screen, a proper display connection to pc and nice and comfy.

(preorder today in the UK from system active)

 

[Sylveria]

I think we all know that it's going to take more adoption of VR hardware before major development studios get serious about programming for VR.

Right now, there's just not enough financial incentive, being that most people are content to play on pancake screens- once that price point for mass adoption kicks in, there will be more incentive for development studious to actually utilize VR capability.

I specifically bought a Lenovo Explorer years ago to play ED with in VR. I knew even then I was investing hundreds of dollars into a purchase for a $60 game (at original price) but I was willing to do so because of my love of the game itself. Kind of like some are more than content to purchase tickets to a sporting event but never buy jerseys and other goods unless they're a fan. Since that time, I've stepped up to a Vive Pro 2 (a bit beyond "entry level VR"), base stations, Index Controllers and such so I can experience more of what I love, but also expand a bit more into what VR has offered thus far. I've got plenty of PC power to drive it, and whether I don my headset or not, I've got a decent pancake panel for games that don't support native VR anyway. I'm not really impressed with what's available outside of ED just yet, but I don't feel like I've "wasted" anything because I still play the game, and there's inevitably more on the horizon.

As to the changing tech and hardware, who knows? Pimax has impressed me so far with their improvements, but not enough to shell out their premium asking prices to support R&D while they 'figure it out'. I tried the Quest 2 (not mine) and it was a virtual headache to even get an account set up just to play ED, then when I did, it kept losing synch for some odd reason and didn't play as expected. Having no love for social media ecosystems in general (another topic entirely) I can't say I was all that motivated to even bother with it, so on I went to solutions other than tethered to a social media platform.

I'm relatively happy with the Vive Pro 2, and if I ever get the opportunity to test the Pimax (no stores near me even have display models, nor have I been to an event that demonstrates it) I'll gladly consider it for my next upgrade... but I'm not going to go out of my way to shell out a couple thousand to "beta test" it for them. Same goes for any other evolving tech at this point, as I'm not a bleeding-edge adopter of anything.

 

[Sylveria]

whilst I would welcome more made for VR titles what we need imo is more flat screen games optionally supporting VR.

I definitely agree with this perspective, which is actually what I meant with saying we need more AAA games available in VR. I think if people had the option of playing more games they love in either, there would be more incentive for VR adoption, but the Catch-22 here is also that developers aren't necessarily going out of their way to program VR support into titles these days. So far, we've got a relatively minor percentage who do, and some oddities like Bethesda who "ported" their games into VR with not-so-spectacular results.

 

[Rat Catcher]

I actually think the Pico 4 may be about to nuke the quest pro from orbit before it's even launched. £379 with quest like standalone support and top of the line lenses a high quality (but sadly still LCD) screen, a proper display connection to pc and nice and comfy.

(preorder today in the UK from system active)

It is an impressive little HMD. Been reading some of the info on it this last week.

 

[Sylveria]

It is an impressive little HMD. Been reading some of the info on it this last week.

I've delved into researching it, as well as many others. I specifically avoid purchasing less well known brands unless they've been established for some time, given the volatility in markets and also the increased scam potential evolving in markets these days. That said, it's going to be interesting to see how some of these less well known brands shake things up in terms of established markets- always good to see "hungry" contenders.

 

[epoch5]

As Next gen VR starts coming out I see the VR seen heating up, I am so excited in what on the horizon.
Sony, Apple, Meta, Valve, Pimax

This Sony unit looks to be incredible

Source: https://youtu.be/PxUXWpj11fw

Well said Red.

 

[epoch5]

VR is about to take a giant leap forward. Too bad FD keeps falling behind.

 

[Rat Catcher]

VR is about to take a giant leap forward. Too bad FD keeps falling behind.

Along with just about all of the "AAA" studios too...

 

[Sylveria]

Along with just about all of the "AAA" studios too...

Lack of innovation and copy/pasta mechanics.

Seems there's a complete lack of originality in all forms of art these days. Movies, TV, music, games, etc.

It's become industrialized and commitment to the mantra of "reduce overhead, maximize profits" is the status quo.

Investors, Owners and Managers all want to retire in their early 30s, so squeezing out profits is their goal.

 

[Rat Catcher]

Lack of innovation and copy/pasta mechanics.

Seems there's a complete lack of originality in all forms of art these days. Movies, TV, music, games, etc.

It's become industrialized and commitment to the mantra of "reduce overhead, maximize profits" is the status quo.

Investors, Owners and Managers all want to retire in their early 30s, so squeezing out profits is their goal.

Pretty much spot on observation.

It just tickles me when others insist that Frontier are falling behind, when they are already way ahead of the pack in producing a title that is playable in both normal flatscreen and in VR... And did this years ago.

Of course, the dissatisfaction from a few (which is all it really is here) is solely because Frontier delivered exactly what they said they would...

 

[Sylveria]

producing a title that is playable in both normal flatscreen and in VR.

And at RELEASE. Not a tacked on afterthought.

 

[thistle]

I actually think the Pico 4 may be about to nuke the quest pro from orbit before it's even launched. £379 with quest like standalone support and top of the line lenses a high quality (but sadly still LCD) screen, a proper display connection to pc and nice and comfy.

(preorder today in the UK from system active)

Looks interesting, good price

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

personally I think pico are beyond the scam danger now.

the Pico 3 was by all accounts phenomenal for the money as well. the 4 looks great a general slight improvement in most areas BUT I just noticed ... they have dropped the display port and it looks like they are relying on wireless for PCVR.
not sure I like that tbh

 

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

I'm relatively happy with the Vive Pro 2, and if I ever get the opportunity to test the Pimax (no stores near me even have display models, nor have I been to an event that demonstrates it) I'll gladly consider it for my next upgrade... but I'm not going to go out of my way to shell out a couple thousand to "beta test" it for them. Same goes for any other evolving tech at this point, as I'm not a bleeding-edge adopter of anything.

as a fellow VP2 user (hello btw) yes I agree with your line of thinking too i.e. its ok to sell me a tested product but don't ask me to spend thousands beta testing your products as you iterate to something you promised in the sales and marketing pitch.

tbh this is perhaps where I fall mostly into conflict and friction with other ED forum members, I get mildly frustrated at other peoples acceptance of 'a complete lack of care, quality and diligence' under the guise of 'being realistic' especially to the gameplay as ED was marketed as being for VR. Its not ok post release to say things have changed and expect customers to just accept that on face value.

 

[Fizzatron]

I wonder if the catch 22 with VR is that having to display two outputs will always put VR behind in the expectations of graphic performance we currently have. There's obviously no getting around that but with better hardware coming in at price point that is more friendly to a general uptake of the technology. Which makes me then wonder if there is any possibility to split the processing of each eye to two separate GPUs, thereby possibly allowing two reasonably priced GPUs to compete more effectively with a behemoth GPU with the price tag to match?

 

[Dragsham]

I wonder if the catch 22 with VR is that having to display two outputs will always put VR behind in the expectations of graphic performance we currently have. There's obviously no getting around that but with better hardware coming in at price point that is more friendly to a general uptake of the technology. Which makes me then wonder if there is any possibility to split the processing of each eye to two separate GPUs, thereby possibly allowing two reasonably priced GPUs to compete more effectively with a behemoth GPU with the price tag to match?

Ohh 2 sli 3090s
One for each lense

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

afaik it was never supported by anyone but Nvidia introduced VR sli back in the Maxwell era iirc (980gtx)