15 replies to this topic

[Zaptruder]

Finally got my Oculus Rift in the mail yesterday. Have been doing extensive testing with it with a fair number of demos that have popped up since its release.

And it's a fantastic device really. Once this thing has been perfected, people won't want to go back. There's just no way.

And it works especially well for cockpit games - the best one been a space shooter called First Law.

That game is exceedingly basic right now, but it highlights how correct VR is for cockpit games. After a few minutes, I was literally looking all around the (bubble canopy) cockpit to track enemy fighters before turning my ship to face them.

Also, flying around obstacles such as asteroids careening around just feels exceedingly intuitive. You can circumnavigate an asteroid easily because you can look up and easily judge and maintain the distance from the surface of the asteroid.

Plus the sense of scale is really excellent. Things appear around you as they should... you really genuinely feel as though you were inside a spaceship, flying around very sizeable and considerable asteroids. I also tried an International Space Station demo highlighted the scale of the ISS - it's around the size of a 3-4 story tall building, which was really cool to see.

There's no doubt in my mind that VR will fit MWO like a hand in a glove eventually. As it currently is though, it's not entirely viable, owing largely to the illegibility of the text. Readable text needs to occupy around 1/20th of the screen height. UI and HUD needs to be specifically designed for it, or it'll fail miserably - you really can't read text outside of the centre 30-50% of the screen (too far away from center becomes uncomfortable, or even just cut off by the physical constraints of the lenses).

You can definetly make MWO playable in VR even at this early stage though; the main information are the blips on the map, the targeting boxes, which are all good and identifable in the Rift. Although sniping would essentially be off the table; it's akin to having the advanced targeting module across your entire FOV without the ability to turn it off. Indeed, I'd say the advanced targeting module has better resolution.

But it really would be quite an awesome sensation to be able to see mechs to scale in all their 15-30m glory.

Come the consumer launch* in mid-late 2014, I think the Oculus Rift would be an essential item for any self respecting hardcore Mechwarrior.

*which should see a bevy of functional improvements including higher resolution and translational tracking.

[Will HellFire]

Oh man, its great to hear that.

Im very excited about Oculus Rift, Im holding my paypal finger though until launch, hopefully late next year. I want the finished product in my hands.

I really hope MWO supports the Oculus, but I will be buying it mainly for Star Citizen. I think it will SHINE in there.

Thanks for the feedback!

[ThinkTank]

What mech is 30 meters? Atlas is at most 16 meters, depending on the source. Mechs are not as big as you may think.

[Zaptruder]

The scales of mechs in MWO aren't to canon scale. Light mechs are the ones that are at a correct canon scale. The rest of the mechs have been sized up to balance for hit chance.

[ThinkTank]

Posted 29 February 2012 - 03:32 PM
To clarify, the Atlas is 18m.

That's a quote from Dennis Dekoenig, the art director.

It's a little bigger than other sources. Mechs are not 30m tall. They are not as big as you may think.

http://mwomercs.com/...le/page__st__40

Edit: added relevant link

Edited by ThinkTank, 01 May 2013 - 11:17 AM.

[Adridos]

Zaptruder, on 01 May 2013 - 07:19 AM, said:

The scales of mechs in MWO aren't to canon scale. Light mechs are the ones that are at a correct canon scale. The rest of the mechs have been sized up to balance for hit chance.

Actually, there is nothing as canon scale, really.
I can show you 50 canon and official sources, each of which would show different heights.

[Audit]

I've been told it causes a real ***** of a headache after extended use.

Can you confirm this?

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Audit, on 01 May 2013 - 12:07 PM, said:

I've been told it causes a real ***** of a headache after extended use.

Can you confirm this?

Does it cause nausea? can you use it with glasses? can you use it with two magnification different eyes (IE why 3d - and binoculars - dont work for me)? One eye is farsighted, one is nearsighted and I have astigmatism, so I have two different lenses in my glasses, I think thats what breaks 3d for me

[Zaptruder]

ThinkTank, on 01 May 2013 - 11:13 AM, said:

Posted 29 February 2012 - 03:32 PM
To clarify, the Atlas is 18m.

That's a quote from Dennis Dekoenig, the art director.

It's a little bigger than other sources. Mechs are not 30m tall. They are not as big as you may think.

http://mwomercs.com/...le/page__st__40

Edit: added relevant link

Huh. That's good to know. Well, whatever the case, the relative size of light mechs is way smaller than their tonnage would indicate.

Audit, on 01 May 2013 - 12:07 PM, said:

I've been told it causes a real ***** of a headache after extended use.

Can you confirm this?

Yeah. But it's something that you become acclimatized to after a number of hours. But the most pressing issues causing the nausea will probably only exist in this early dev kit version.

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 01 May 2013 - 05:38 PM, said:

Does it cause nausea? can you use it with glasses? can you use it with two magnification different eyes (IE why 3d - and binoculars - dont work for me)? One eye is farsighted, one is nearsighted and I have astigmatism, so I have two different lenses in my glasses, I think thats what breaks 3d for me

It causes hella nausea. There are multiple factors involved, but the most critical ones are - lack of translation tracking, and high latency graphics (i.e. low frame rates). Translation tracking will be added before the consumer version, and frame rate is dependent on your rig.

You can wear glasses. If your glasses compensate appropriately for that, then in theory the other issues should be a wash.

[ThinkTank]

In other news, this type of technology is probably going to change gaming (and other stuff we don't even realize yet).

[Sean von Steinike]

And morons will still need 3rd person because they can't figure out torso twist no doubt.

[Adridos]

ThinkTank, on 01 May 2013 - 07:59 PM, said:

In other news, this type of technology is probably going to change gaming (and other stuff we don't even realize yet).

Like it changed the gaming world in 80s... and then in 90s...

Even if it gets popular, most people will still stay with normal monitors.

[ThinkTank]

Once it gets really good and really cheap, it will turn the tide.

[Adridos]

ThinkTank, on 02 May 2013 - 05:54 AM, said:

Once it gets really good and really cheap, it will turn the tide.

Because people who like to play all sorts of top-down/ god perspective games will surely appretiate it.

[Purplefluffybunny]

I am very jealous of you OP.

[Voridan Atreides]

Sounds awesome!