• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

EDGE: Sony’s VR tech will be revealed at GDC

StuBurns

Banned
I feel it's a legitimate concern. Considering a PC several times more powerful than last-gen consoles struggles to hold a constant 120fps with last-gen titles at 1080p, I don't know how the PS4 would do it with games with any kind of graphical complexity. I'm not rooting against Sony - hell, I just bought a PS4 last week, I want this to take off - but I really hope it's a great showing because it's an important one.
Okay. Let's actually address this logically.

Firstly it's not 120Hz, maybe one day, maybe even with Rift CV1, but we don't know that, the best suggestion so far is 95Hz, because they plan to meet or exceed the Valve prototype.

It is 1080p, and it is 3D, so that's more demanding still, typically from between 30 and 50%.

So let's say it's 1080p+50% for 3D and 90Hz.
That is roughly twice the performance of 1080p/60fps/2D, which PS4 is comfortably providing with very pretty results.

Roughly halving performance seems brutal on the face of it, but then you have to look at what is more effective in VR. Valve have said shaders look horrible, and textures can look really bad, preferences seem to be more flat shading with nice lighting. Ironically, less is more in VR, which bodes extremely well. The other thing to consider is the limitations of game design in VR, you want a very stable simulation, so performance spikes don't happen, you don't want TitanFall where performance demand per frame is incredibly wide, you want a highly controlled simulation, this is excellent for performance.

You're going to see a visual hit, no question, but it's going to be so much closer than you'd expect on the face of it, and the impact of VR is really impressive.

If you have a really beautiful PC, you're going to have a better experience with the Rift, no doubt. But people are really going to be awestruck by what's capable on lower end hardware like PS4.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
I hadn't even considered that... but now I need it.

pfnzsc.gif

So many pants will be ruined with this game, VR or no VR.
 

scitek

Member
1. 120 FPS isn't necessary.
2. Optimisation, ever heard of it?
PCs ≠ consoles!

It's not nearly as cut-and-dry as you make it seem. There aren't many companies that would be willing to dedicate a team specifically for making a VR game for a console, which is what it'll take to make experiences worthwhile. Tacked-on implementations won't cut it. Sony itself could very well be the only one willing to do such a thing.

If you have a really beautiful PC, you're going to have a better experience with the Rift, no doubt. But people are really going to be awestruck by what's capable on lower end hardware like PS4.

I honestly expect that they have something that can compete with the Rift. They know better than to bring out a subpar product at this juncture, and they know they have an opportunity to really wow skeptics.
 

vpance

Member
What he mentions about not having a subpar experience is dead-on with what I was saying earlier. Right now, the average joe is already wary on the idea that VR's worth his time. If the first thing he sees is a gimmicky, rushed experience, it'll turn him off to the idea altogether, and that concerns me knowing that - and I'm really not disrespecting the PS4 here, but it's true - the PS4 just isn't powerful enough to truly handle the type of top shelf VR experience that Oculus is aiming for.

I wouldn't worry much about so called sub par experiences now. If we're waiting for the optimal then I guess most people can just go to sleep for 5 years, including Oculus fans.
 

Mr.Green

Member
You're assuming anyone who's interested in this event is a fanboy when there's clearly not true. There's many reasons to be excited for whatever is announced tonight and it's not because "Sony". You're basically fanboying the assumed fanboys.

To clarify, the guy you quoted said "I really hope this actually gets revealed tonight and isn't just another massive hype train that goes nowhere". He was saying he hopes the hype lives up to exceptions. It has nothing to do with what you think it was.

Well first I don't think everyone interested is a fanboy as I am very excited myself, and second, the hype and expectations clearly are about VR so I'm not sure what your point is.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
I shudder to think what kind of gpu PC users will need to play this in VR to achieve presence. Then again, I'm not entirely sure I want my brain fooled into thinking there's a real live Xeno trying to eat me. Might need some therapy after that.

And that's why Oculus VR will take it slow.

They will start with 1080p panel most likely, fully knowing that there is very little SLI/Crossfire users out there, and that best performing single-chip GPU solutions cost $500+ [reaching $1000 in Nvidia's case]. VR cannot be sustained with full aim at visually rich environments. Vaaaaaast majority of VR games will be aimed to provide mid-range PC rigs with very impressive VR content, allowing PS4 to easily reproduce the same content on their 1080p rig.
 
They should sell Outlast VR edition that comes with an extra pair of boxers. Or maybe has a packaged adult diaper.

I could see horror VR games giving people heartattacks
 

StuBurns

Banned
I honestly expect that they have something that can compete with the Rift. They know better than to bring out a subpar product at this juncture, and they know they have an opportunity to really wow skeptics.
Hardware wise, probably, but just raw performance there's no way Sony can match high end machines. Even if they're both 1080p, on PC you can just super sample as much as you have GPU performance to do it.

It would certainly be the better option if you have a serious rig, but yeah, people are going to be shocked at what VR looks like, even on a PS4, even on the slightly weaker XBO if it gets it.
 

Mr.Green

Member
pfnzsc.gif

So many pants will be ruined with this game, VR or no VR.

I can't stand horror in VR. It's just too intense. Horror movies and games usually do very little for me by the way.

I don't know if it's because you're completely isolated from the real world (playing with headphones) but I nearly had a freaking heart attack playing one of the horror demos (Alone in the Rift). Since then, I'm scared shitless to play anything remotely scary. True story.

Jump scares are unbearable in VR. I hope devs tread lightly.
 
And that's why Oculus VR will take it slow.

They will start with 1080p panel most likely, fully knowing that there is very little SLI/Crossfire users out there, and that best performing single-chip GPU solutions cost $500+ [reaching $1000 in Nvidia's case]. VR cannot be sustained with full aim at visually rich environments. Vaaaaaast majority of VR games will be aimed to provide mid-range PC rigs with very impressive VR content, allowing PS4 to easily reproduce the same content on their 1080p rig.

Of course, also SLI actually creates latency for VR. Case in point, a demo released the other day for the Rift called Kite and Lightning Station was giving someone frame dips all over the place on a 780 SLI setup, whereas my modest 7850 was giving me a rock solid 60 the whole time. I don't really know why SLI or Crossfire causes these issues but it seems like a single dedicated gpu is much better for VR right now.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
I can't stand horror in VR. It's just too intense. Horror movies and game usually do very little for me by the way.

I don't know if it's because you're completely isolated from the real world (playing with headphones) but I nearly had a freaking heart attack playing one of the horror demos (Alone in the Rift). Since then, I'm scared shitless to play anything remotely scary. True story.

Jump scares are unbearable in VR. I hope devs tread lightly.

Alone in the Rift was made just for VR, taking advantage from effects that would not be THAT impressive with monitor gaming. Alien Isolation and many other current and upcoming horror games are aiming first at TV/monitor audience, which will make ther VR games "timid". They will not be able to provide full specter of effective VR scares.
 

Good response.
I don't think it would hurt Oculus if Sonys puts out a good VR solution.
Oculus isn't after the console market and Sony isn't after the PC market. But both markets share a certain amount of content and a bigger VR install base would lead to more content specifically for VR.

I also think that we shouldn't underestimate Sony. Sony a multi-billion-dollar hardware company and has probably many years of R&D experience with VR.
I think Oculus did a brilliant job and they have some of the smartest people in the industry, but Sony is just another league.
I could very well imagine Sonys VR headset beating Oculus to the market and not only that, but also delivering the better product and cheaper price.
Oculus on the other hand has the advantage that they can release new versions of their headset every now and then and they have the evoluving PC-hardware while Sony is stuck with the Ps4. So Oculus will overtake Sony with their second or third iteration of the consumer Rift.
 

Anyone have recommendations on who typically does the best liveblog coverage between what's available here? I've been spoiled by streams of past conferences, just want to make sure I'm getting some good descriptions of what's being presented.
 
Good response.
I don't think it would hurt Oculus if Sonys puts out a good VR solution.
Oculus isn't after the console market and Sony isn't after the PC market. But both markets share a certain amount of content and a bigger VR install base would lead to more content specifically for VR.

I also think that we shouldn't underestimate Sony. Sony a multi-billion-dollar hardware company and has probably many years of R&D experience with VR.
I think Oculus did a brilliant job and they have some of the smartest people in the industry, but Sony is just another league.
I could very well imagine Sonys VR headset beating Oculus to the market and not only that, but also delivering the better product and cheaper price.
Oculus on the other hand has the advantage that they can release new versions of their headset every now and then and they have the evoluving PC-hardware while Sony is stuck with the Ps4. So Oculus will overtake Sony with their second or third iteration of the consumer Rift.

Same goes for the rumored Microsoft VR headset. If everyone launches one, VR will be more likely to become a big deal. It has the potential to raise all boats.

But here is the biggest thing; it means more big studios will invest, which means more VR games. VR fans are the biggest winners.
 

StuBurns

Banned
Someone should make a horror game where they make the player draw a rough outline of the room they're playing in at the start, make up some bullshit reason why, but use that data to build a virtual 5.1 mix and use very low level audio, positioned according the geometry of your room, to fuck with you.
 

Oppo

Member
I can't stand horror in VR. It's just too intense. Horror movies and games usually do very little for me by the way.

I don't know if it's because you're completely isolated from the real world (playing with headphones) but I nearly had a freaking heart attack playing one of the horror demos (Alone in the Rift). Since then, I'm scared shitless to play anything remotely scary. True story.

Jump scares are unbearable in VR. I hope devs tread lightly.

I hope they scare the hell out of us. You are free to not play.
 
Wait, can you restate that? I don't quite understand what you mean? What hints?

Just mean that i am so hyped for it that im even taking little things like the new dlc as a hint about vr (its cleary not). Sorry I suppose i should of worded it as everything is making me think of vr at the mo.

Though there have also been enough hints from DemoNite, and other places.
 
Alone in the Rift was made just for VR, taking advantage from effects that would not be THAT impressive with monitor gaming. Alien Isolation and many other current and upcoming horror games are aiming first at TV/monitor audience, which will make ther VR games "timid". They will not be able to provide full specter of effective VR scares.

You'd be surprised at how scary it feels to even walk down a dark corridor. Even the visual of an enemy walking towards you is threatening. I could never play this in one.
 

J-Rzez

Member

It's a gentleman like response, much respect. I wouldn't be as "concerned" since it is Sony doing it (possibly). They've tinkered with that for some time now, and they too have some of the brightest engineers around.

Now, the only worry would be if they target a low-low price point with the product and it's not up to snuff. But Sony "usually" doesn't make cheap junk.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
Someone should make a horror game where they make the player draw a rough outline of the room they're playing in at the start, make up some bullshit reason why, but use that data to build a virtual 5.1 mix and use very low level audio, positioned according the geometry of your room, to fuck with you.

Someone should make VR game in which you are standing/sitting in a room, your body is optionally overlayed with the textures that PSCamera/Kinect is seeing of you, and then add to that room spiders... snakes... rats... moving not only around the room but also climbing on to you. Hand movement controlled by PSmove/Hydra, detecting hits on creatures, throwing them away. But you cannot win.

:D

/that moment when spider legs go across our eyes...
 
You'd be surprised at how scary it feels to even walk down a dark corridor. Even the visual of an enemy walking towards you is threatening. I could never play this in one.

Mmmhmm, Dreadhalls is a good example of this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl7fz__6B-4). You really feel the claustrophobia when walking down narrow corridors in VR. Spotting something moving in the distance is very creepy, and sounds (especially with headphones) are downright chilling when in an environment like that. Metro Last Light's atmosphere becomes insane when using Tridef (injected driver). Seeing enemies in the distance in those long dark tunnels and watching the cones of light from their helmets bounce around creates such an eerie feeling in VR. That feeling of a virtual "thing" being present near you certainly ups the creep factor.
 
Two words......Class Act


Bravo Oculus.....really like that response....that is the way portray your product in public *glares at Microsoft*

Seriously, that's how you do PR. Enthusiastic, doesn't miss the chance to pimp Oculus repeatedly, and keeps it positive by talking about the potential for a greater number of people getting into the VR ecosystem (and hence more devs!).

Ah man, I'm seriously considering staying up for this announcement. Just the lack of livestream that's making me think I should just read about it in the morning.
 

Parablank

Member
wow I just checked into this thread and thought GDC would start later (like a week). Nice to know that I'll have to stay up today watching Sony's conference. :]
 
Top Bottom