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ArtHands · Jan 25, 2016

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/witness-dev-says-vr-compatibility-works-not-playstation-vr-506051

The VR compatibility will be exclusive for the pc.

The Witness will have VR compatibility creator Jonathan Blow told iDigitalTimes, so indie game lovers can explore the beautiful world of The Witness in virtual reality. Unless you want to do it with PlayStation VR, then youre screwed. The Witness will eventually be compatible with VR headsets on PC, but wont be compatible with PlayStation VR. Blow confirmed to iDigitalTimes there are no plans to make the game compatible with Sonys VR headset at present.

Here's the reason

Blow explained the only way to make The Witness compatible with PlayStation VR wouldve come early on in the development process.

Not on PlayStation VR simply because to support that you wouldve had to design the game from the outset, Blow said. We started this game a long time ago way before PlayStation VR was a concept so for for this game. We might do some support for PC based UV because its easier to add that in later.

Mediking · Jan 25, 2016

Hahaha oh man... The VR exclusivity experience begins...

johnnydrama · Jan 25, 2016

Well, I'm getting an Oculus then.

Ridley327 · Jan 25, 2016

I imagine Blow would do it if he could, so there's probably not much overhead on the PS4 to support VR at the game's current fidelity.

James Scott · Jan 25, 2016

I do imagine that making a game VR compatible is a strain on the hardware, I wonder if that's the case or if he ran out of piss jars

Fermbiz · Jan 25, 2016

Thats disappointing to hear...

-COOLIO- · Jan 25, 2016

oh damn, DO WE WAIT!?

Ionic · Jan 25, 2016

Mediking said:
Hahaha oh man... The VR exclusivity experience begins...

I'm going to assume this at least isn't because Oculus or HTC bought exclusivity. He probably just doesn't have a plan to get it running acceptably in VR with the PS4 yet. Wait and see what happens.

Garrett Hawke · Jan 25, 2016

Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.

BigTnaples · Jan 25, 2016

Weird that there are no plans for PSVR. But it matters not, as I will have both Occulus and PSVR. And providing the game is good, I'll buy accordingly.

Ridley327 · Jan 25, 2016

Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't implement it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.

Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.

fluffydelusions · Jan 25, 2016

Danlord · Jan 25, 2016

Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.

He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.

TAJ · Jan 25, 2016

Someone get Shu on this.

Garrett Hawke · Jan 25, 2016

Ridley327 said:
Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.

True but I thought the little box that ships with PSVR was there to help alleviate some of that? Unless it's literally just there for image post-processing like the warping thing.

Danlord said:
He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.

Oh okay, thank you for the confirmation! Interesting.

Mattenth · Jan 25, 2016

Mediking said:
Hahaha oh man... The VR exclusivity experience begins...

I doubt this is an exclusivity issue versus an effort issue.

Each additional platform adds significant cost, from engine support to compatibility testing.

It's smart for them to not commit to a platform that's unlikely to launch anytime before September and could be incredibly niche.

gdt · Jan 25, 2016

Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.

That's not how it works.

tuxfool · Jan 25, 2016

Garrett Hawke said:
True but I thought the little box that ships with PSVR was there to help alleviate some of that? Unless it's literally just there for image post-processing like the warping thing.

Yes.

And sensor fusion and HDMI passthrough.

Tenebrous · Jan 25, 2016

Ionic said:
I'm going to assume this at least isn't because Oculus or HTC bought exclusivity. He probably just doesn't have a plan to get it running acceptably in VR with the PS4 yet. Wait and see what happens.

Agreed. I think its more likely to be a power issue (and/or Blow's sales expectations of the VR platforms) that have led to this decision, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Draper · Jan 25, 2016

Ridley327 said:
I imagine Blow would do it if he could, so there's probably not much overhead on the PS4 to support VR at the game's current fidelity.

Pretty much what I'm assuming.

Meaty · Jan 25, 2016

Ridley327 said:
Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.

I think the user meant that its easier to compromise to making a 60fps game run properly on VR than making a 30fps game running properly.

Less sacrifices necessary

N30RYU · Jan 25, 2016

Will wait for a price drop then

hodgy100 · Jan 25, 2016

Rendering a stereoscopic view is much more demanding than a standard render. It's unlikely the game would hold frame-rate at the same fidelity.

SketchTheArtist · Jan 25, 2016

The one game that would have made me buy PSVR. What a shame.

Tagyhag · Jan 25, 2016

Danlord said:
He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.

If he was concerned about later sales then why would he confirm that it'll be on PC VR?

$h@d0w · Jan 25, 2016

DK2 support?

Garrett Hawke · Jan 25, 2016

tuxfool said:
Yes.

And sensor fusion and HDMI passthrough.

Ah, that's cool too then.

so no hidden GPU

hodgy100 said:
Rendering a stereoscopic view is much more demanding than a standard render. It's unlikely the game would hold frame-rate at the same fidelity.

Okay, thanks for the explanation!

But yeah if this has DK2 support... I'll be picking it up on PC. Need to get hands on time with some VR games to help me develop my own!

Bsigg12 · Jan 25, 2016

Tagyhag said:
If he was concerned about later sales then why would he confirm that it'll be on PC VR?

It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.

Ivan Amiibo · Jan 25, 2016

The first in a long line of announcements like this, I imagine.

the ps4 is not all that beastly.

J-Skee · Jan 25, 2016

Well, the only VR hardware I can buy is PSVR, so I hope he changes his mind. Not that I was ever buying for just that reason to begin with, but that was definitely a nice added bonus when he said he was exploring VR.

KalBalboa · Jan 25, 2016

I wouldn't be shocked if it came later for PSVR.

Pif · Jan 25, 2016

If Driveclub supports VR, I see no excuse for any other game not to support it if it is not a technical masterpiece.

I hope it is more business decisions than actual hardware issues.

Tagyhag · Jan 25, 2016

Bsigg12 said:
It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.

Uh what does that have to do with my question lol?

What you are saying is most likely the reason as to why he's saying just PC VR now though.

RoboPlato · Jan 25, 2016

Surprised there aren't plans for this one. Given the art style and slower paced nature of it I expected it to be a strong candidate for PSVR.

LiquidMetal14 · Jan 25, 2016

I think it's really because it's not worth optimizing for PS4 while PV has the grunt. This game wasn't built from the ground up with VR in mind, obviously.

Tagyhag · Jan 25, 2016

Pif said:
If Driveclub supports VR, I see no excuse for any other game not to support it if it is not a technical masterpiece.

I hope it is more business decisions than actual hardware issues.

Driveclub has the backing and budget of Sony behind it.

The Witness has a broke Johnathan Blow.

iNvid02 · Jan 25, 2016

thats a blow for psvr, or is it? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

WITNESS ME

TAJ · Jan 25, 2016

Bsigg12 said:
It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.

You can't brute force on Rift. It needs to run without drops on a 970.

Bsigg12 · Jan 25, 2016

Tagyhag said:
Uh what does that have to do with my question lol?

What you are saying is most likely the reason as to why he's saying just PC VR now though.

I read your question wrong lol. It's been a long day.

TAJ said:
You can't brute force on Oculus. It needs to run without drops on a 970.

I would be shocked if the game isn't buttery smooth in VR with a 970. Hell the minimum requirement for the game itself goes all the way down to Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.

Rising_Hei · Jan 25, 2016

It makes sense, PS4 have it harder to "have support" since the optimizations needed to make a normal game run on PSVR might be insane; but, on the other hand, they have it easier to have "VR experiences only" because of Sony's support, imo.

Chi3fster · Jan 25, 2016

So they don't want me to buy it?

Ridley327 · Jan 25, 2016

Tagyhag said:
Driveclub has the backing and budget of Sony behind it.

The Witness has a broke Johnathan Blow.

Not to mention that it's already confirmed that Driveclub VR operates at a lower visual fidelity than the game normally does, and even has a reduced car count. Something has to give on the PS4 when it comes to VR.

Tain · Jan 25, 2016

Not calling out the Oculus specifically probably means it uses SteamVR.

Does SteamVR not suck on the Rift yet?

TAJ · Jan 25, 2016

Ridley327 said:
Not to mention that it's already confirmed that Driveclub VR operates at a lower visual fidelity than the game normally does, and even has a reduced car count. Something has to give on the PS4 when it comes to VR.

Driveclub was also 30fps.

ArtHands · Jan 25, 2016

Here's the reason

Blow explained the only way to make The Witness compatible with PlayStation VR wouldve come early on in the development process.

Not on PlayStation VR simply because to support that you wouldve had to design the game from the outset, Blow said. We started this game a long time ago way before PlayStation VR was a concept so for for this game. We might do some support for PC based UV because its easier to add that in later.

Tagyhag · Jan 25, 2016

Bsigg12 said:
I read your question wrong lol. It's been a long day.

Hah no problem, like I said, your guess is probably the correct one.

I don't know if Blow will ever say why though.

Edit: Well the post right above me sure showed me lmao.

Colonel Nasty · Jan 25, 2016

Pif said:
If Driveclub supports VR, I see no excuse for any other game not to support it if it is not a technical masterpiece.

I hope it is more business decisions than actual hardware issues.

Drive club also won't look like regular DC in VR

Ridley327 · Jan 25, 2016

TAJ said:
Driveclub was also 30fps.

IIRC, the VR demo runs natively at 60 fps, but uses the headset's reprojection tech to output at 120 fps. I can't even imagine those weather gifs even being half as pretty in VR.

DrROBschiz · Jan 25, 2016

Oh man

Looks like VR software parity isnt going to be simple at all

So it begins

LiK · Jan 25, 2016

Blow is just one man. i doubt he has time to try and get it running on both VR devices.

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