woah on 27/2/2023 at 03:45
I gave in and ordered the Bigscreen Beyond. It's been a long while since I've purchased a VR headset (that I didn't return) and I'm really curious to try a VR headset of this size/weight, pixel density, and contrast/black levels. You actually have to send in a scan of your face because the gasket and IPD are custom fit to match your face perfectly. This may be the first VR headset that actually displays blacks well.
Quote Posted by Aja
Well, I did a silly thing and got a PSVR2...
For comfort, one thing you might want to do with the PSVR2 is reduce the brightness. Apparently at higher brightness levels the persistence is too high (even worse than 2016 OLEDs, never mind modern ultra low persistence LCDs) and this is causing comfort issues for many. Of course, there are still the many other VR comfort issues (visual and otherwise) that I listed above, but every little thing helps. If you play VR enough, you'll adapt to many of these things. However, there are limits: I've been playing since 2016 and things like the fixed focus and pupil swim still bug me. And yeah, on one hand I did get more used to them, but on the other hand I'm even more acutely aware of them now that I'm long out of my VR honeymoon.
The image in the headset probably looks "dirty" because the PSVR2 suffers from pretty bad mura (pixel brightness inconsistency). To help with this, usually "mura correction" is performed during a calibration process that takes place in production, but some are speculating that Sony may not have done this. Regardless, this calibration process wouldn't completely eliminate mura anyways. As it currently stands, dark games are often a big challenge for VR. Reducing headset brightness may also help with this.
It sounds like you know what you're doing when it comes to simulator sickness. Just stop as soon as you start feeling discomforted, don't push through. Then wait a while before trying again.
In terms of regularity, infrequent usage of VR is pretty common, for a variety of reasons. I think it's fine though, as long as you feel like the experience you get out of it is still worthwhile. Early on in VR there was a ton of hype that tried to push VR as a flat gaming substitute (e.g. with commercials that had kids throwing their console to their dog), but as you can see that was entirely premature. But I think it's fine to just accept that it's still early days and enjoy it for what it is.
Aja on 27/2/2023 at 05:37
I took a couple days off as I was out of town and tried it again when I got home, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t feel sharper than before, and even after an hour I didn’t feel sick. I’ve been reading a bit about vergence-accommodation conflict, and that might explain it; my eyes are getting used to focusing in a new way.
The mura is definitely present and more visible in dark scenes, but it doesn’t really bother me, and I find it pretty easy to ignore. It’s also the case that some games are just sharper than others, and I’m getting better at finding the sweet spot. Persistence is definitely present in some games, but I haven’t found it particularly bothersome either. It sounds like it may be the result of the way the headset does reprojection (I’m learning so many new words!) which could possibly be improved with software updates over time. In GT7 it mostly manifests when looking sideways, and in first person games when you smooth turn, which I’ve mostly avoided. The brightness has its pluses, though. When the sun glints off your hood you can almost feel the warmth. And the black levels, in spite of the mura, are extremely good.
Overall I’m starting to feel pretty excited about it, but yeah, it’s not so much a substitute for traditional gaming as a different type of gaming altogether. I’m sure the phase of wonder will eventually pass, but as long as devs keep releasing novel, interesting games, I could see myself enjoying this years.
Keep us posted about your new headset!
Thirith on 27/2/2023 at 08:19
Quote Posted by Aja
Overall I'm starting to feel pretty excited about it, but yeah,
it's not so much a substitute for traditional gaming as a different type of gaming altogether. I'm sure the phase of wonder will eventually pass, but as long as devs keep releasing novel, interesting games, I could see myself enjoying this years.
I'd very much agree with this. There are certain kinds of games that I think I'd prefer to play in VR, more sim-like racers, flight sims and most cockpit-based stuff, at least if they run well enough, but VR has never felt like it should replace anything.
If you ever have the chance to play one of the
Lone Echo games, check them out. (Chances are they'll remain Oculus-exclusive, sadly.) IMO they're fantastic examples of working within the limitations of VR when it comes to locomotion, and as a result I've found them to be some of the most immersive VR games I've played.
And when
Beat Saber is released on PSVR2, get it immediately. It's VR rhythm game perfection, even if you're not generally into rhythm games.
henke on 27/2/2023 at 09:36
Great write-up Aja. I feel like I got to experience VR for the first time again vicariously.
And yeah, Beat Saber. Legit one of the best games of the past decade.
Briareos H on 27/2/2023 at 10:06
Quote:
as long as devs keep releasing novel, interesting games, I could see myself enjoying this years
I really hope PSVR remains strong as this may occasionally trickle down onto PCVR gamers. As an owner of the latter I have lost most of my excitement except for a few small niche non-commercial releases because so little seems to be happening -- since 2021 the only title I've been actively waiting for is Vertigo 2 and I don't believe I have played a "novel, interesting game" in VR since Alyx.
There seems to be some interesting titles on Quest but fuck that, I feel like most of the general VR momentum was killed by Meta making everything a Quest exclusive. Just disheartening.
Thirith on 27/2/2023 at 10:52
Have there been all that many Quest exclusives in the last year or two? I thought that most recent VR games came out on Steam as well.
Briareos H on 27/2/2023 at 11:16
People say they stopped making exclusives and I guess Resident Evil 4 VR and Lone Echo 2 (also Iron Man VR and Espire 2?) are the only ones off the top of my head so possibly I'm just ranting without merit but I remember every VR movie or experience that got me interested recently was an Oculus store exclusive.
Still I feel there may be more happening in VR than I know about, what would be a good news source for new releases?
BTW I've been coming back regularly to Compound, it's perfect for short sessions, highly recommended.
woah on 27/2/2023 at 13:16
I usually like RoadToVR's coverage. Though they don't cover every game that comes out, just major or interesting ones. I personally lurk on reddit, roadtovr, and sadlyitsbradley's community to find interesting stuff going on in VR.
I don't know if any of the stuff I mentioned above interests you, but if you like Compound, you might really like Ancient Dungeon too. Another great game to just hop into is Walkabout Mini Golf. If you liked HLA, definitely check out the workshop mods I mentioned. But yeah, looking ahead it's mostly Vertigo 2 and Undead Citadel in terms of what's actually been announced. I know of other devs that are working on things, but they haven't announced them yet.
Facebook did acquire several major indie devs that were formerly PCVR focused, but overall I think it's that most devs are following the money. Their subsidies and hyper accessibility push sold a ton of VR headsets, and thus software sales are higher (particularly around holidays when more headsets are sold). That said, everything I've read is that while there's been a lot of HMD sales, user engagement is still not great (for example, Chet Faliszek just mentioned the other day that MAUs are around 10%). It at least seems like they're mostly focusing on first party content for the quest 3 launch from all of the devs they acquired. Splinter Cell VR was cancelled, and the exclusivity contract for Assassin's Creed VR was also cancelled during the budget cuts (though it's probably still coming out).
Aja on 9/3/2023 at 05:42
Time for a VR UPDATE (I'm following the house style of this thread, in which we capitalize VR-related headings to emphasize our excitement).
The picture quality is improving! Or rather my eyes are. They must be overcoming their vergence accommodation conflict because a few days into owning the set I found myself able to focus on close-up items like my hands or the car's dashboard with much more clarity. It happened pretty suddenly, too, which was neat. Motion sickness is also much reduced, and it's pretty easy to avoid doing the specific things that cause it (namely driving in reverse, for some reason). I've tried nearly every demo on the PS store and I'm here to bring you my opinions!
Gran Turismo 7 -- This is so good that it's hard to go back to flatscreen. The feeling of driving at night in pitch black, the road lit up in splashes of magnificent OLED colour by only your headlights, and then suddenly the cockpit is bathed in light as the driver behind you approaches -- it's so startlingly realistic that I have no choice but to award it the title of Best Immersive Sim. :cool:
But there's practical value to VR, too: when I'm driving I find myself tracing my route ahead with my eyes in a way that isn't possible in 2D, driving where I'm looking rather than focusing on steering input. And it's also much easier to orient yourself in traffic and avoid getting hit, which makes the actual racing so much more thrilling. I've been setting up long races where the weather changes from sunny to torrential rain just so that I can marvel at it all in 3D. Plus wandering around all the cars in the showroom and admiring every interior is almost as addictive as the driving. It's stunning all around, a real showpiece for the system.
Horizon: Call of the Mountain -- I haven't played other Horizons, so I'm going into this one blind, but I can say that's it's beautiful, it has great object interaction, shooting the bow feels very consistent, and I really like the climbing although it's the first VR climbing I've ever done, so I guess I could see some people's complaints about it being repetitive. For me it feels like a playground, and I'll probably be picking up the full version. Although it probably should've been included with a better discount (it was $10 off in the bundle so I didn't get it in case I wanted to return the headset).
Resident Evil Village -- This one's a banger, too, at least from the demo. I explored some spooky abandoned houses at the foot of a castle and marveled at the lighting and detail, and then I fell into a pile of corpses and felt very unsettled. I've never actually played this game before, but I've seen some footage, and I can't wait to get the full version and be eaten by a giant baby in VR. This (along with GT7) is what PSVR2 needs and will hopefully get more of: VR versions of full, big-budget games.
Star Wars: Tales from Something Galaxy -- I haven't been a Star Wars guy since I was in elementary school, but this kinda brought back some of the old feeling. It looks and sounds very Starwarsian, and it feels especially interactive. A great VR ah-ha moment for me was finding one of those round droids that Luke trains with in the first film, and I immediately knew what to do: pick it up and throw it in the air, and it started zipping around and blasting stuff for me. Hehehe. There's also a fun electric screwdriver/taser that you can fix things with, and the haptic feedback really sells it.
Speaking of, the haptic feedback in general is awesome. I don't ever want to go back to a console that doesn't have it. In the controllers it can be very subtle, a little swish when you put your hand in the water over the side of the canoe in Horizon, and then in the headset you get the big rumbles when you do something bad like crash into a wall in GT7. Plus there's the trigger resistance, which somehow makes more sense in VR (although I do like it on the Dualsense, too). The three feedback types are quite complementary and detailed overall.
That's it for now. More impressions later.
woah on 9/3/2023 at 11:47
Quote Posted by Aja
They must be overcoming their vergence accommodation conflict because a few days into owning the set I found myself able to focus on close-up items like my hands or the car's dashboard with much more clarity. It happened pretty suddenly, too, which was neat. Motion sickness is also much reduced, and it's pretty easy to avoid doing the specific things that cause it (namely driving in reverse, for some reason). I've tried nearly every demo on the PS store and I'm here to bring you my opinions!.
Hmm, VAC can't actually be addressed without a fundamental change to the hardware. There are many speculated ways that this could happen--lightfield displays, holographic displays, varifocal displays (presuming they can actually provide enough accommodation driving feedback), or still more bizarre things, but the issue is at the hardware level and can't be addressed in software. But what typically happens after you've played VR for a while is that you learn to decouple vergence and accommodation for an extended period, or at least this has been suggested by some research I've read. So more hardcore users find they can see clearer and at least tolerate things longer. You can almost feel it after a while, that is "feel" your eyes entering a different mode of operation for the fundamentally different visual stimuli in the headset (and you may feel like things are a little blurry for a short while after taking off the headset)
Another possibility: the other thing I've heard is that Sony recently pushed an update that increased clarity across the board. Many potential reasons for this, e.g. an increased base super sampling level because they were more strict with the computational budget in development vs now, or they made some kind of optimization (perhaps improved foveated rendering).
Regarding sim sickness, each "type" of artificial motion will require its own adjustment period. Usually translational movement is easiest and then yaw, pitch, and roll, and yeah even going in reverse like that is another thing you have to adjust to. I mentioned it before, but the other thing I can suggest for overall comfort is to reduce brightness (closer to the lowest levels). This will decrease display persistence, a well known trigger of fatigue. Things won't look as great and it's likely that you won't consciously see the visual effect low persistence produces, but you will almost certainly find that you can play for much, much longer. The persistence at even the lower brightness levels has been measured to be higher than even 2016 PCVR OLED displays. I'm seeing many reports of VR veterans finding that they can't use the PSVR2 for nearly as long as they can on their PCVR headsets--until they turn the brightness down.
There are so many subtle (i.e. only perceivable at a nearly subconscious level) but absolutely consequential things about VR displays. For example, even setting aside dynamic accommodation, when you move your eyes away from the optical axis in modern vr displays (that is anywhere but right down the center) you're receiving an incorrect image. You need high frequency eye tracking to adjust the rendering because the point of projection changes as you move your eye around. It turns out this is another major trigger of visual fatigue, independent of whether or not you notice it happening. Next time you're looking at a flat textured wall or distant scenery, you *may* be able to discern it by fixing your eyes on a single point in the scene and turning your head from side to side (you might see a sort of distortion effect), but it also concerns things like dynamic IPD. As more and more things like this are addressed, VR will get so much better. Thankfully this issue is much easier to solve than dynamic accomodation (though still not easy)
Reading these impressions is reminding me of when I first got into VR years ago and the things I felt so it's fun to see. I really hope Valve has contracted a team to port HLA to PSVR2. You'll likely find that Horizon took a lot of inspiration from it