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[SpaceWolf]

Yup

https://twitter.com/mmalex/status/659791802287919104

That game has so much goddamn potential going for it right now. Could be revolutionary.

 

[Tripolygon]

Probably performs the reprojection and maybe some pre-processing for the motion controls?

Nope, that would add an extra step and increase latency. The reprojection is done on PS4 before being sent out to the breakout box which sends the image to PSVR first and does 3D audio processing before it dewarps the image and sends it out to the TV. Yes it takes the sensor data from PSVR and preprocess before sending it to PS4 also.

This will not increase the power of PS4 although it does help take 3D spacial audio processing away from PS4.

 

[Dinjooh]

That game has so much goddamn potential going for it right now. Could be revolutionary.

Remember reading that a few days ago and thinking 'oh, how neat' but it's just now that i'm realising how big this is. In under a year we could all be making VR games for eachother.

 

[Portugeezer]

Processing Unit is pretty vague, although it does save powerful, so it might be more substantial. Would be cool, but then I worry about how low they will be able to get the price.

Shu said in the beginning that this was going to roughly be the price of a console

I took it as it's not going to be a cheap peripheral.

They need to aim for $300 for mass market, IMO.

 

[soundscream]

We've known this for ages



I wondered in a previous PSVR thread whether the box would have additional power, nice to see it confirmed.

There were people who shouted down there being a second box. I remember during the whole Xbox oculus announcement the theory was floated about an external box like the ps4 was rumoured to be using, and multiple people posted that there was no box, and it was only early dev hardware that needed it.

 

[Breads]

Oh wow they went all in on the R&D of the PSVR. These solutions sound really clever when this entire time I kept thinking morpheus/ PSVR was just a vapid "me too cause I gotta" situation like PS MOVE. Sounds like we have something really compelling here.

 

[jon bones]

sounds dope af

i'm in day one

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

That game has so much goddamn potential going for it right now. Could be revolutionary.

Agreed. The rendering tech they're using is what I hope is going to be revolutionary, really hope more devs try to develop a similar method+results with fidelity and performance. Could be great for games and development as a whole and especially for VR. Really curious just how much complexity you can have in a given Dream before perf goes to shit.

 

[MrBigBoy]

I can see a new PS4 launching next year with this VR CPU built in.

So this VR CPU is only responsible for the 3D view and sound? Nothing extra like extra power the PS4 could use?

 

[Johndoey]

We've known about this for a time yes?

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Agreed. The rendering tech they're using is what I hope is going to be revolutionary, really hope more devs try to develop a similar method+results with fidelity and performance. Could be great for games and development as a whole and especially for VR. Really curious just how much complexity you can have in a given Dream before perf goes to shit.

What exactly is the rendering tech they're using?

 

[JP]

I believe the PS4 contains a TrueAudio processor just like modern AMD cards. Always assumed that would handle 3D audio for VR.

Yeah, the TrueAudio compatability has been known about for quite some time now.

I don't know if they've mentioned where the audio processing will take place yet but I assuming that it's one of the reasons that it includes a separate TrueAudio professor as VR was something that the PS4 was designed for.

With VR you really need to have a good quality binaural audio setup as old style (5.1/7.1/etc) positional audio just doesn't fit in with VR as much as true 3D audio.

 

[PGamer]

It would considering the res is 1080 vs Oculus' 1440, plus it has almost no screen door effect due to its superior optics.

The Oculus Rift is not 1440p. The consumer model is going to be 2160×1200 split over two displays.

 

[benny_a]

I can see a new PS4 launching next year with this VR CPU built in.

So this VR CPU is only responsible for the 3D view and sound? Nothing extra like extra power the PS4 could use?

Splitting one HDMI digital stream into two HDMI video signals while doing reverse optics correction and handling the 3D audio aspect for regular stereo headphones.

That also means the thing needs to be quick at a specific task but that doesn't mean any visuals will be improved.

 

[Elandyll]

So much for the people who were swearing high and low that Sony's reprojection tech was only cpu bound and could be easily replicated by their competitors.
Makes me nervous for the pricing though.. $299 max for me (for day 1).

 

[Steel]

We've known this for ages



I wondered in a previous PSVR thread whether the box would have additional power, nice to see it confirmed.

So that's a usb device, and it looks like the PS Camera is plugged into it. Hmmm, it could be PC compatible.

 

[Venom Fox]

Sony testing the waters with hardware add-ons. Paving the way for an upgrade to HBM through the USB ports! Or, maybe an upgrade to a R9 290 class GPU through the optical ports!

 

[kiguel182]

It would considering the res is 1080 vs Oculus' 1440, plus it has almost no screen door effect due to its superior optics. As an Oculus devkit owner I kinda wish we were getting it for PC too, but knowing Sony that would never happen. Gonna stay firmly in the PS ecosystem.

I don't know the technical side of it (really not an hardware guy) but if they could boost the power of a regular PC (a laptop even) to allow VR they would be really dumb to not make this available on every platform.

 

[MrBigBoy]

Splitting one HDMI digital stream into two HDMI video signals while doing reverse optics correction and handling the 3D audio aspect for regular stereo headphones.

That also means the thing needs to be quick at a specific task but that doesn't mean any visuals will be improved.

Okay thanks.

Looking forward to see where this all leads to in the future.

 

[DieH@rd]

Probably performs the reprojection and maybe some pre-processing for the motion controls?

No, reprojection [and 3D tracking of LEDs] is done by PS4. That GPU task was included in the rendering pipeline examples in the video.

We've known about this for a time yes?

Yes, PU was present in Project Morpheus from the start, but before we knew only that it is used for splitting video feeds [sending untouched feed to headset and creating separate feed for TV].

 

[Z3M0G]

This news really sucks... doesn't it...

 

[Steel]

This news really sucks... doesn't it...

? Why does it suck? If we're talking about the price, it has been known it'd be quite expensive.

 

[Tripolygon]

So much for the people who were swearing high and low that Sony's reprojection tech was only cpu bound and could be easily replicated by their competitors.
Makes me nervous for the pricing though.. $299 max for me (for day 1).

It can be replicated by their competition. The reprojection is not done by the breakout box but why bother when PC VR is only limited by how much money you are willing to spend.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Thing is gon bomb hard at console prices doe. Not that I think it should be lower, I think PS4 is not the right platform for VR at all and this is more of a test dip before PS5 or whatever.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

What exactly is the rendering tech they're using?

Here's a good breakdown of it even though I don't understand the nuts and bolts behind it:

Rather than using polygons to render 3D objects, Dreams utilizes something called "signed distance field." I've read through an enormous document and watched a half-hour talk on the graphics engine and it's still difficult to break down. The results are easier to convey: It makes in-game assets far smaller, and real-time 3D modeling on the relatively underpowered PS4 a reality. It does this by sending the list of actions used to create an object, rather than the result of those actions. The character model that Ettouney built, which might run into tens or hundreds of megabytes using a traditional polygon system, apparently takes up "less than 50KB" space with the signed-distance field method. As the system is very efficient with storage requirements, it also allows for streaming and collaboration among multiple players with lower bandwidth needs.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/30/dreams-ps4-paris-games-week/

Also here's a presentation on the creation mode that shows how crazy flexible scaling is when creating objects and scenes:

http://www.twitch.tv/media_molecule/v/23158010?t=45m10s

 

[vpance]

We already knew this I think. Except maybe for the part where he said they're bumping it up somehow.

 

[RealityCheque]

No box, tape a graphics card to the back of my head!

The multitude of wires with this are pretty much the thing nobody wants to discuss aren't they?

 

[Roshin]

$598

Get that second job.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

What exactly is the rendering tech they're using?

Software-based rendering. The game doesn't use polygons. Or at least not in the way most games do iirc.

EDIT: Beaten.

 

[Tripolygon]

$598

I think $350 will be the price.

 

[RadioJoNES64]

As swell as this is, I would never want to buy this due to how it isn't PC compatible and how Sony has a history of abandoning peripherals if they don't do well (Remember PS Move with PS4 guys?)

 

[Ape]

Do we know for sure if the ps4 is required for psvr?

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

I don't know the technical side of it (really not an hardware guy) but if they could boost the power of a regular PC (a laptop even) to allow VR they would be really dumb to not make this available on every platform.

It would certainly make adoption for VR as a whole get boosted a lot sooner for the gaming crowd, but I'm really skeptical they'd do that. Maybe a year or two into the first gen's release they might consider it? Fingers crossed.

 

[KOHIPEET]

Good to hear. It'll probably have a high price, but in this case I don't really mind. Seeing all the upcoming VR content, I'll probably get an incredible value for my money so yeah.

#TeamVR

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Here's a good breakdown of it even though I don't understand the nuts and bolts behind it:



http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/30/dreams-ps4-paris-games-week/

Also here's a presentation on the creation mode that shows how crazy flexible scaling is when creating objects and scenes:

http://www.twitch.tv/media_molecule/v/23158010?t=45m10s

Thanks! That's pretty interesting...even if I still don't fully understand it (and I'm wondering why it's not used in non VR games too?)

Edit: Added a crucial word

 

[Steel]

As swell as this is, I would never want to buy this due to how it isn't PC compatible and how Sony has a history of abandoning peripherals if they don't do well (Remember PS Move with PS4 guys?)

Are we sure that it won't be PC compatible? The breakout box looks USB, and the PS Move looks like it connects to the breakout box and not the PS4.

 

[CriterionDog]

Move and Navigation controller? No one sells those anymore.

They would need to reintroduce those, and hopefully make them better.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

The Oculus Rift is not 1440p. The consumer model is going to be 2160×1200 split over two displays.

Ah okay, dunno why I thought 1440 all this time.

 

[SpaceWolf]

Remember reading that a few days ago and thinking 'oh, how neat' but it's just now that i'm realising how big this is. In under a year we could all be making VR games for eachother.

Agreed. The rendering tech they're using is what I hope is going to be revolutionary, really hope more devs try to develop a similar method+results with fidelity and performance. Could be great for games and development as a whole and especially for VR. Really curious just how much complexity you can have in a given Dream before perf goes to shit.

Just imagine getting to explore seemingly infinite surrealistic landscapes sculpted from a first person viewpoint, even exploring worlds that you yourself have created. The sense immersion would be unreal. Psychedelic, even.

 

[DieH@rd]

Just a reminder.

Processing Unit is connected to the PS4 with HDMI cable [accepting video and audio streams from PS4] and USB cable [for sending internal headset tracking data [gyro, accelerometer, etc] back to PS4].

There is ZERO WAY for this unit to house additional GPU power. For that a faster connection to PS4 is needed [for example some external PCIE port which PS4 does not have].

Do we know for sure if the ps4 is required for psvr?

Yes, we know it for sure. Sony has confirmed that PSVR will only work with PS4. They have no plans for PC support.

 

[BritBloke916]

As swell as this is, I would never want to buy this due to how it isn't PC compatible and how Sony has a history of abandoning peripherals if they don't do well (Remember PS Move with PS4 guys?)

Difference is that loads of developers will be creating titles for Vive and Oculus which can also be ported to PSVR, whereas Move content pretty much only worked with the Move.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Here's a good breakdown of it even though I don't understand the nuts and bolts behind it:

The character model that Ettouney built, which might run into tens or hundreds of megabytes using a traditional polygon system, apparently takes up "less than 50KB" space with the signed-distance field method.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/30/dreams-ps4-paris-games-week/

Also here's a presentation on the creation mode that shows how crazy flexible scaling is when creating objects and scenes:

http://www.twitch.tv/media_molecule/v/23158010?t=45m10s

A true visionary...

"640 k ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981

;-p

 

[Boss Man]

What's the bit about audio? Will this have audio? Was about to buy the Gold headset partially in preparation for VR.

 

[Steel]

Yes, we know it for sure. Sony has confirmed that PSVR will only work with PS4. They have no plans for PC support.

Well. That's a bummer. I have no plans to buy two VR headsets at the same time.

 

[benny_a]

Just a reminder.

Processing Unit is connected to the PS4 with HDMI cable [accepting video and audio streams from PS4] and USB [for sending internal headset tracking data [gyro, accelerometer, etc] back to PS4].

There is ZERO WAY for this unit to house additional GPU power.

They get asked this specific question every time "Does it have additional GPU power" and they say no every time.

PSVR will be a good enough system for VR system for the mainstream. Looking at the impressions they seem to achieve that.

What's the bit about audio? Will this have audio? Was about to buy the Gold headset partially in preparation for VR.

You plug a regular headset into the break out box for 3D audio. No incompatibility as long as it can do stereo.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Thanks! That's pretty interesting...even if I still don't fully understand it (and I'm wondering why it's not used in VR games too?)

Afaik this is some pretty experimental stuff MM is doing, so for this specific method I'm guessing they spent a ton on R&D developing it, and since Sony owns them I can't see this being licensed out anytime soon, but I'm hoping others try and come up with their own variants.

Just imagine getting to explore seemingly infinite surrealistic landscapes sculpted from a first person viewpoint, even exploring worlds that you yourself have created. The sense immersion would be unreal. Psychedelic, even.

Those smoke effects are unreal. Kinda skeptical that's running real time on a ps4 but with this method I guess it's possible.

 

[RichiRamjag]

*chants $350 $350 $350
Come on sony,hardware looks good, launch software looking like a good entry point give me $350(or under but i doubt it being realistic) and im day one

I can swing it at that price without catching looks from the wife.

 

[BumRush]

I'll pay $400 for it...gladly

 

[Branniganz Love]

Very good move by sony, as a xbox fanboy I gotta say that I'm just a little bit jealous. Sony is making it pretty hard to not want a PS4.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Afaik this is some pretty experimental stuff MM is doing, so for this specific method I'm guessing they spent a ton on R&D developing it, and since Sony owns them I can't see this being licensed out anytime soon, but I'm hoping others try and come up with their own variants.

Oops sorry, I meant to say "I wonder why it's not used in non-VR games too? Although your answer kind of answered that still, as well as another interesting question in its own right