Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Nintendo has revealed that the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon will feature playable trainer characters from the series’ 1990s origins, Pokémon Red and Blue, who will return for a pair of high-stakes, late-game battles.
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Windows Phones were never the success that Microsoft wanted them to be. Though the company made some progress over the years, it was never able to properly establish its operating system with both iOS and Android already so popular.
CEO Satya Nadella doesn’t want to make that same mistake with mixed reality.
As you’ll know, Microsoft is one of the two big names in MR right now, the other being the mysterious Magic Leap. The company’s HoloLens headset, an untethered headset that projects virtual images into the real world, went on sale to developers in the US and Canada earlier this year, and only recently expanded into Europe. It’s still early, but Microsoft is hoping its eagerness will help establish itself in this new category.
“We clearly missed the mobile boom,” Nadella told a crowd during Wall Street Journal Live yesterday. “Now we have to make sure we grow new categories.”
But why MR of all things? “The ultimate computer for me is the mixed reality world,” the CEO said. “Your field of view becomes an infinite display. You see the world and in the world you see virtual objects and holograms.”
As it stands, HoloLens actually has a pretty limited display. It’s also incredibly expensive as a developer device at $3,000. But, as we said, its early days for the kit, and it has shown immense promise with games like Young Conker and other productivity apps and more. That said, there’s no real hint as to when it might be ready for consumers right now.
It’s a position that Nadella thinks is similar to the early days of the company’s Surface laptop-tablet hybrids, which he explained had now grown into their own category. Indeed, the Surface is now on its third iteration in its base form, and continues to expand its capabilities with each release. “Whether it be HoloLens, mixed reality, or Surface, our goal is to invent new computers and new computing,” Nadella said.
It might be going all in on MR, but Microsoft also has a stake in VR with its upcoming enhanced Xbox One, codenamed Project Scorpio. Last week the company called the more powerful device the only console capable of “high fidelity VR”, which may have been a shot at Sony’s PlayStation VR for PlayStation 4.
When a new platform releases, there are certain types of games you expect to see. There is usually some type of racing game, as it’s a tried and true genre that fans will purchase immediately for a lack of options. In today’s market, you can also expect a few shooters. A handful of action games across a few different genres, a few simple puzzle games, and that gets the job done for the most part. After that launch week though the rest start to trickle out, such as Pixel Gear.
For a platform like PS VR that supports the PS Move motion controllers, a simple wave shooter was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, Pixel Gear lacks the creativity and originality to be anything other than a criminally short by-the-numbers adaptation of a tired trope.
As opposed to most games available on PS VR, Pixel Gear does not allow you to use the DualShock 4 controller in place of a PS Move controller. This is one of the few games that requires the use of Sony’s peripheral, no matter who you are.
The entire game is played with a single Move controller held upright in your hand, similar to holding the grip on a handgun. There is a decent variety of weapons, including a laser pistol with unlimited ammo, machine guns, rocket launchers, and more. Ultimately though, I found that the basic pistol was the most accurate, reliable, and easy to use. And I didn’t have to worry about ammo at all.
Each of the three levels take place on a single static map with a variety of waves. After killing every enemy in a wave, you have a short rest that lets you choose upgrades — such as expanded ammo, more guns, etc. — and then you’re tossed back into the fray.
To put things into perspective: Pixel Gear literally has just those three stages. While each level contains about a half dozen or so waves, you can complete each stage completely in roughly 20 or so minutes. In total, that means the entire game is only about an hour long. Other than replaying levels for trophies and a higher score, that’s about it. There aren’t any special training courses, multiplayer modes, or endless levels. It’s about as bare bones as it gets. A small wrinkle of fun is introduced when you get the power to slow down time, but I often forgot the power existed because I never needed it.
We originally previewed Pixel Gear a little while back, it turns out we were seeing what the entire game had in store already. Some DLC and a potential coop mode are on the agenda at some point, but those are things that should have been included when it launched, not after the fact. What you’re presented with is barely enough content to package together into a game — if it were at least compelling, that would provide a worthwhile reason to play, but alas, that’s not the case here.
After the first level, you’ve mostly seen everything this game has to offer. The enemy variety is decent visually, but they’re all incredibly slow moving. Only a few have projectile attacks or fly in the air, meaning the majority of the zombies and other slow-moving troops pose little to no real threat.
Visually its charming and evokes a very Minecraft-esque style that will surely appeal to fans of that game, but don’t let it fool you. Textures are flat, colors are bland, and there is absolutely no voxel-based building, creation, or exploration here. You stand in one spot, unmoving, and face enemies that are all funneled directly down towards you in a single 180-degree funnel. Whereas games like The Brookhaven Experiment surround you with enemies, in addition to a ton of other content and game modes, or Until Dawn: Rush of Blood’s engaging narrative and horrifying undertones, Pixel Gear lacks any distinguishing features.
To be clear, if you’re dying for a wave shooter, then Pixel Gear is technically that and it does function properly. However, beyond that, there isn’t much worth mentioning. You’ll finish the game in about an hour with nothing left to do. The (only three!) levels are uninspired, the enemies are simple, and the content provides little more than a tired excuse to point your hand at your TV screen.
Pixel Gear is now available on PlayStation VR for $10.99. Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score.
In an announcement this week Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) has partnered with the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), in a year-long collaboration. This will see the pair upskill and co-create content with emerging and established production companies in Singapore for technologies such as 4K and virtual reality (VR).
The $5 million USD partnership aims to nurture new and upcoming producers, as well as helping established producers in Singapore showcase their expertise to a global audience. Local producers will have the opportunity to learn the latest techniques, train in using new technologies, experiment with various content formats and present them across multi-channel platforms that will premiere on Discovery’s platforms globally.
“Discovery is a pioneer in using cutting-edge technology to tell amazing stories. Together with IMDA, a long-time partner and supporter of the development and growth of our homegrown talent, we are pleased to have the opportunity to help mentor and invest in the next generation of Singapore producers,” said Louis Boswell, General Manager, Discovery Southeast Asia. “Building on Discovery’s expertise across the globe, together with the industry’s top players, we will establish a training ground for Singapore producers to showcase great content that can resonate around the world.”
The initiative will begin next month with a public call for entries and pitch brief, follwed by a boot camp aimed at taking aspiring producers through DNAP’s best practices of documentary-making. In partnership with Viddsee, an online video platform for short-films in the region, the training aims to prepare these upstarts for the big leagues across both linear and digital platforms.
“We are pleased to partner Discovery to create this opportunity for Singapore’s media talent to tell their stories using new production technologies that deliver a more immersive and engaging experience for the viewer. We are confident that this combination of Discovery’s experience in innovation with the creativity of Singapore’s media talent will result in a series of new shows that will delight global audiences.” said Angeline Poh, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Content & Innovation Group, IMDA.
Discovery was an early adopter of VR, launching its Discovery VR app back in August 2015 for the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition and Google Cardboard. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Discovery, reporting back with any further announcements.
PowerColor finally made available its external graphics dock called Devil Box. The device supports a number of cards from AMD and Nvidia while adding ports to a connected desktop or laptop. The enclosure is based on AMD’s XConnect tech.
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VRFocus first reported on Q-Games’ zombie feeding title Dead Hungry back in July when Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) Head of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida was filmed demoing the title on the HTC Vive. Now the developer has released the first teasing footage of the title, but for the Oculus Touch controllers instead.
Dead Hungry follows a fairly simple premise, players have to make food for an ever increasing horde of ravenous zombies. As the trailer showcases, this involves cooking and building burgers, loading up buns with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and other fillings in as fast a time as possible. There’s a timer located at the front of the hatch where players then throw the produce out to the hungry zombies waiting. But these burgers can contain whatever is to hand, put in a radio or a fire extinguisher for added points and alternative reactions to the various concoctions.
Q-Games will be taking Dead Hungry to this weeks Oculus Connect 3 (OC3) event in California. OC3 starts today, running through to Friday. The main announcements are expected tomorrow when the company holds the keynote address.
VRFocus will be there to bring you all the latest news and announcements, so stay tuned for updates.
PlayStation VR launches on October 13th, but today is review day and we’ve got a detailed PSVR review ready for you!
For those who don’t want to dig into the full review, here’s our handy summary. For the rest of you, we’ve got 2,000 words awaiting your eyes.
PlayStation VR is a strong start for virtual reality on consoles, showing that it not only can be done, but it can be done well; the system is home to some of the best VR content I’ve played yet.
Powered by the now three year old foundation of PS4, I’m blown away by the visuals that have been achieved on PSVR. I’m especially interested to see how things improve further with the launch of PS4 Pro.
The PSVR’s 1920×1080 OLED panel resolution might be lower on paper than the headset’s two major competitors, but with it’s RGB pixel structure, it’s perfectly capable of creating powerfully immersive experiences and beautiful virtual worlds, despite a few display flaws.
The design and ergonomics of PlayStation VR feel class leading in many ways when compared to the Rift and Vive, with a design that maximizes both field of view and comfort. However, I really would have liked to have seen built-in headphones to eliminate an extra cable, not to mention bulk, from a pair of headphones not designed to be worn with a VR headset.
PSVR’s optical, camera-based tracking system is likely to be it’s biggest challenge going forward. It feels only just over the ‘good enough’ line and is notably less accurate and responsive compared to the more expensive Rift and Vive.
By no surprise and no mistake, PlayStation VR is in a big way all about the price. Consoles have always been about value. And despite being based on demonstrably less powerful hardware, PSVR delivers a VR experience that punches above its weight class and makes a strong argument for both existing and new console players to jump into VR right now.
Note: This review is coming in hot. More photos, links, and details being added as we go.
Sony’s years of hardware design experience shines through on PlayStation VR. Right out of the gate back when the company announced (the formerly named) Project Morpheus, the headset’s ergonomic design was already matured very close to what you’ll get out of the retail box. It’s an elegant design that feels more sophisticated than the Vive and more ergonomic than the Rift. That elegance may however lead to some fragility however.
Unboxing the PlayStation VR ‘core’ headset (the package without the camera and Move controllers) was a fun experience. The outer box design mimics that of PlayStation’s overall playful branding, but slides away to reveal a strong inner cardboard box that’s thoughtfully designed around the elegant headset within. From the minimal grey exterior to the blue interior and and the diagonally-opening lid held in place with a white ribbon, Sony is conveying a sense of uniqueness to what’s inside, and for many people who are opening what’s ostensibly a $400 or $500 peripheral (depending upon which package was purchased), it certainly should feel special.
After cracking the diagonal shell open, players are greeted with a series of smaller boxes which contain cables aplenty. All are removed easily with finger holes, and reveal the pearl within the box, the PSVR headset itself. There’s a surprising number of cables and bits in the box, but most of it is in service with connecting the PSVR’s breakout box to the PS4; fear not, only a single cable will run away from the breakout box to the headset, and setup is actually pretty painless (more on that later).
For what will be the first VR headset for many people, I think Sony did a good job with a memorable unboxing experience, and that inner box will serve as a good storage place for the headset and an occasional transport box (though for more substantial transit there’s more robust options).
Plastic is the predominant material found on the headset, and while it’s elegantly designed, it doesn’t have quite the premium feel of the Rifts svelte fabrics or the firm feel of the Vive. The overall impression the PSVR leaves is of greater fragility than it’s PC powered counterparts.
Part of that has to do with the materials, but a larger part is likely due to the design of the headset which has a fairly large display assembly connected by a relatively small mounting strut. With the leverage provided by the display assembly, there’s some flex to PSVR’s overall shape. This may have been a necessary sacrifice in order to have the comfort of a hanging-style design that’s also highly adjustable (which we’ll talk more about later).
Generally speaking, you’re unlikely to feel comfortable tossing PlayStation VR around like you might one of the PS4 controllers, but then again, neither of the other major headsets out there feel quite ready for that level of handling either.
The inner padding of the headset that rests on your forehead and squeezed behind your head is squishy and comfortable, providing a lot of wiggle room when it comes to tightening the headset your comfort.
Because the display assembly doesn’t rely on resting against your face like the Rift and Vive, the shielding around the lenses is made of a lightweight and highly flexible rubber that will quite easily defer to the frame of a pair of glasses, making PSVR potentially the most glasses-friendly high-end VR headset out there.
As I wrote previously, I think PlayStation VR stands among the most comfortable headsets out there. The ‘hang-down’ design of the very different than what the Vive and Rift bring to the table, and the result is a headset that puts almost no pressure on the sensitive muscles in your face. I explored the differences in head-mount approach between the three systems:
At 470 grams, the Rift relies on a semi-rigid strut and strap system that grips the crown of your head, to which it transfers much of the display enclosure’s weight via a strap running over the top of your head. The display enclosure then rests somewhat on your brow, with just a bit of pressure on your cheeks (when properly adjusted).
At 555 grams, the Vive takes a straightforward goggle-style approach (much like the Rift development kits) where flexible straps are pulled tightly to squeeze the unit against your face with force applied from the back of your head. Like ski goggles, the pressure from the headset is felt largely in the brow and cheek areas surrounding your eyes.
Both the Rift and Vive end up putting a fair amount of pressure on your face. This isn’t ideal as the face is filled with muscles that like to move, especially in the cheeks and around the eyes. They don’t quite like bearing pressure either; poor placement of a headset on your face can hold the muscles in non-resting positions which is notably uncomfortable, sometimes leading to twitching. If you’ve ever squinted or opened your eyes widely while putting on one of these headsets, you’ll immediately notice the discomfort of having the muscles in your face unable to reach their natural resting position.
Sony’s approach is very different. PlayStation VR uses a ‘hanging’ style display enclosure which doesn’t rely at all on pressure from your face to keep it in place. Instead, the display hangs down from the structure of the headset while transferring a great majority of the weight to the top of your forehead (which, if you poke around up there a bit, you’ll notice has very little muscle compared to your face). From your forehead, the circle of the headset’s body wraps low behind your head to act as an anchor for the forehead section.
Headphones
Sony opted to go with a ‘Bring Your Own Headphones’ approach, and they include a pair of inexpensive earbuds with PSVR. Headphones can be attached via a 3.5mm port on the side of the inline ‘remote’ that sits along the headset’s cord. The PlayStation VR breakout box spits out spatial 3D audio to whatever headphones you plug in there.
The included earbuds didn’t fit me very well initially, but there’s a pair of smaller and larger rubber tips that you should try on for size before giving up on the earbuds all together. I took the the smaller size and have mostly enjoyed using the earbuds rather than adding the additional weight and bulk of a pair of over-ear headphones.
No matter which approach I took, I was still left itching for an integrated headphone solution like those found on the Rift. Dealing with an extra headphone cable is already bothersome, but so too is fiddling with the headphones to find the right/left while the headset is already on. For those with expensive headphones of your own that you’d like to employ with PSVR, I’ll remind you that the Rift’s headphones are removable for that purpose as well, giving us a good model for how audio on a VR headset should be done.
Cable Placement
Placement of both the cable coming out of the headset and the inline remote seems off to me.
The cable mounting for PSVR’s tether points it out behind the headset, but I found it more comfortable to let the cable run in front of my shoulder and straight toward its home near the PS4 in front of me rather than behind my shoulder.
The inline remote—which houses a power button, volume buttons, and the headphone jack—seems placed at a very odd length down the cable; it seemed to like to rest around the height of my chest which made it awkward to grab and manipulate. Placing it longer down the cable (maybe around waist-height) seems like it would make it easier to use. It’s likely that Sony wanted it fairly close to the head to try to minimize the distance between the headphone jack and the player’s ears, but that’s just one more point in favor of going with the built-in headphone approach.
| Product Name | PlayStation VR |
| Product Code | CUH-ZVR1 series |
| Release Date | October 13, 2016 |
| External Dimensions |
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| Mass |
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| Display Method | OLED |
| Panel Size | 5.7 inches |
| Panel Resolution | 1920×RGB×1080 (960×RGB×1080 per eye) |
| Refresh Rate | 120Hz, 90Hz |
| Field of View | Approximately 100 degrees |
| Sensors | Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer) |
| Connection Interface |
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| Processor Unit Function | 3D audio processing, Social Screen (mirroring mode, separate mode), Cinematic mode |
| Included |
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Of the three ‘big three’ VR headsets, Sony’s PlayStation VR is the only one that has opted not to use a Fresnel lens which eliminates one of our biggest gripes about the lens system on the Rift and Vive which is the light ray (aka god ray) artifact. Despite this, PSVR still manages an impressively wide field of view, and one that I suspect will be reported as the largest among the three headsets because of its ease of adjustment.
Field of view is tough to measure because there isn’t currently an agreed upon method of measurement, especially because facial structure can play a big role in how wide a field of view can be seen by each individual.
With that said, Sony quotes the PSVR field of view at 100 degrees, same as the Rift. And while it’s tough to track down an official field of view figure for the Vive, it has been shown to be wider than the Rift.
Despite that, I think that many reports will state that PlayStation VR has the widest field of view, not because it has the largest on-paper field of view spec, but because of how easy it is to adjust the lenses very close to your eyes.
Because PSVR uses that ‘hanging’ style display assembly mount, which doesn’t rely on the display assembly pressing against your face to hold it on your head, the display assembly is free to move back and forth as needed, and Sony has built in a handy button under the bottom right of the assembly which allows you to slide the entire thing back and forth a significant amount.
The maximum extended position is handy to be able to peek at your smartphone or to get your orientation on the controller you’re holding. Conversely, the minimum extended position lets you bring the lenses very close to your eyes, giving an impressively full field of view that, to me, feels as large, if not larger, than that of the Vive.
While PlayStation VR doesn’t have a physical IPD adjustment (to change the distance between the lenses), it does have a software IPD adjustment which can help improve clarity and comfort in VR.
You can manually dial in your IPD if you already know it, or you can use the PlayStation Move camera to do an approximate measurement. You’ll find the option under Settings > Devices > PlayStation VR.
The tool works by snapping a stereo image of your eyes as you stand near to the PlayStation VR camera. After taking the photo, the software will attempt to automatically detect the center of your pupils, and you’ll be given the opportunity to fine tune that detection by moving a cursor on each photo of your eye to the exact center. The result will spit out an IPD measurement in millimeters and automatically plug that value into the IPD setting.
In my experience the IPD measurement seemed inaccurate by one or two milimeters, but the UI during the process does warn that it’s an approximate measurement only.
I’m fairly certain PSVR is going to generate reports of “bad screen door and low resolution,” but these reports are going to come from people misattributing what they’re seeing to the wrong causes.
Screen Door Effect
The screen door effect (SDE)—the black unilluminated spaces between pixels—is impressively unobtrusive on PlayStation VR.
While some tend to think that PSVR’s lower 1920×1080 resolution (compared to 2160×1200 on the Rift and Vive) must mean there’s a greater SDE, that doesn’t seem to be the case, or is at least extremely difficult to tell. You can make out individual pixels if you have good eyesight and focus very carefully, but it’s almost impossible to see the subpixel structure.
Poor Mura Correction
If you hear someone saying that PSVR has bad screen door effect, they’re probably talking about bad mura correction.
Mura is an artifact that could easily be misconstrued as the ‘screen door effect’ if you asked someone to infer what ‘screen door effect’ looks like by it’s name alone. In reality, SDE and mura are two different things with different causes.
A hypothetical ideal display is capable of emitting the exact same amount of light from every pixel on the screen. This means that when you set the pixels of the display to a specific color value, they all look exactly the same.
In the real world however, most display have small discrepancies in the amount of light output by each pixel at the same brightness setting, causing a slightly different (brighter or darker) shade from one pixel to the next, even if the software driving the headset has asked for all pixels to be the exact same color and shade.
The larger the range in brightness between pixels that are supposed to be the same color and shade, the more mura artifact you will see. The result tends to look like a thin layer of linen over the image, and in most cases it’s exacerbated in darker scenes, especially when the pixels are set to their darkest lit value, where the user will see a field of grey speckled with lighter not-so-grey pixels.
Because the mura is a result of an imperfect manufacturing process, the mura pattern is essentially random, making it an especially bad artifact for a stereo view, because when you see it the mura pattern won’t line up in each eye, creating an uncomfortable stereo conflict.
The good news is that you probably won’t notice the mura artifact in well lit scenes. You’ll probably see it (and get that uncomfortable stereo conflict) in games and experiences that like to fade to grey between scenes and loading, but this is something that can be effectively designed around once developers catch on, except for experiences that want to put you in dimly lit virtual scenes.
Aliasing
If you hear someone saying that PSVR has bad resolution, they’re probably talking about aliasing.
Aliasing commonly takes the form of jagged virtual edges that result when you try to represent a vector line of unlimited detail using a finite number of pixels.
Anti-aliasing is the art of treating those edges to make them appear more smooth. In the exact same number of pixels, not doing any anti-aliasing will make an image look terrible compared to something that’s properly anti-aliased (see right).
Good anti-aliasing takes technical know-how and requires a good bit of processing power. A poorly optimized VR experience probably isn’t abiding by best anti-aliasing practices from the get go, and isn’t going to have much overhead for anti-aliasing when all is said and done.
On PSVR I’ve seen some very poorly optimized and poorly anti-aliased experiences which really do not flatter the PSVR’s capabilities. On the other hand, I’ve seen some absolutely impressively crafted experiences, like Batman: Arkham VR, which stands excellent benchmark for how good console-powered VR can look through the PlayStation VR headset.
The truth is that a 1920×1080 display is sufficient for an impressive VR experience and the resolution will not greatly distract you unless the experience throws anti-aliasing out the window.
To my eyes, the PSVR display has slightly muted colors, especially in darker scenes. This is one of those problems that can be quite effectively designed around once developers catch on by using brighter and more constrasting colors.
Thankfully, I haven’t spotted any black smear from PlayStation VR, which was a problem that plagued the Rift DK2’s OLED display, causing black parts of the scene to ‘smear’ into lighter parts as the users moved their head (due to a slow response time from the pixels that were turned off completely to achieve true blacks).
The muted colors and lack of black smear may be interrelated, as Sony may have opted to prevent the display’s pixels from going to true black (thereby reducing contrast, but eliminating black smear).
PlayStation VR’s lenses seems to have a spacious sweet spot (the range of the area where things look sharp through the lenses), but it seems to be somewhat limited in the vertical direction (up and down on your face). When donning the headset you’ll want to tighten everything most of the way and then make a last second adjustment for clarity by moving the headset up and down a bit before making the final crank.
If you access the PlayStation VR settings menu in PS4 you can have it display a screen with text to help you judge the clarity and your position in the sweet spot before heading off to your VR experience.
PlayStation VR’s tracking system uses the PlayStation Camera to track visible-light markers on the PSVR headset, PS4 controller, and PlayStation Move controllers. And while the system works well enough for a solid VR experience, it performs notably worse than the tracking we see on the Rift and Vive, and may be PSVR’s biggest downside in an otherwise impressive system.
You can (and should) calibrate the PSVR tracking system using software that’s built into the PS4. Through the PlayStation VR settings menu you can find the option which will ask you to hold the headset up to the camera and align it with an on-screen outline of the headset. This will be repeated for the front, sides, and back of the headset. The calibration process is similar for the PS4 controller and PlayStation Move controllers.
Camera alignment seems very important to achieving the best quality tracking the PSVR is capable of; unfortunately the system does a poor job of instructing the users how their camera and tracking space should be set up.
Instead of just telling you how far you should be seated from the camera, the instruction booklet tells you a bunch of seemingly arbitrary distances, like to distance from the camera to the front of the tracking volume, the width of the front of the tracking volume (which doesn’t match the width of the rear of the tracking volume) the distance to the rear of the tracking volume, and, quite confusingly, doesn’t show the ideal angle or altitude of the camera at all (the booklet diagram could almost be misconstrued as telling you to place the camera on the floor at your feet).
Optimizing the camera placement for seated vs. standing experiences was also not clear. Does one placement work best for both or should I move the camera? Only through experimentation did I find that mounted atop my TV seemed to be the best place, but even then it was tough to set the angle of the camera to work well for seated and standing experiences, mostly because the lack of
Sony would probably do well to be more instructive about helping users set up the ideal camera placement to achieve maximum tracking quality.
After getting a properly aligned camera and calibrating the system, the tracking quality of PSVR does not consistently hit that sub-millimeter accuracy mark that we’ve become accustomed to with high-end desktop VR headsets like the Rift and the Vive.
Headset
The PlayStation VR headset itself, with 9 tracking lights, is the most accurately tracked object of the system, with the PS Move controllers coming in second, and the PS4 controller coming in at a distant third.
Face-on, the headset’s tracking is decent, but it has a visibly apparent jitter to it that will make you feel a little wobbly from time to time, especially for standing experiences. For the most part, the tracking quality is good enough that I wasn’t getting nauseas in the headset, which is good, but you should feel your balance sway a bit here and there, especially when there’s nearfield objects floating close by (as you can see them jitter in relation to your head, even when you are hardly moving).
Things get worse when you turn your head a significant amount, giving the camera less tracking lights to work with. I found that tracking jitter increased with fair consistency when turning my head, and when moving my head backward and forward perpendicular to the camera, the camera would often think I was moving closer to it by a few inches as I did so. More than anything else, I found this not-so-precise tracking more distracting than discomforting.
PlayStation Move
The PlayStation Move motion controllers suffer from a similar problem, and appear to have more tracking jitter than the headset (likely owed to their singular tracking light source). They still work well enough for intuitive motion gaming, but don’t have the same impressive accuracy that we’ve seen with the HTC Vive or Oculus Touch controllers. Fast movements especially (like swinging a sword or throwing things with much vigor) seem to be eschewed by most of the content we’ve seen so far, possibly due to limitations with the tracking.
Some PSVR experiences cause you to raise the Move controllers up in front of your head (like when aiming a gun), which can easily occlude the small number of markers on the headset, causing it to jitter more until you put your arms down.
DualShock Controller
The PS4 controller seems to be the least accurately tracked of object of the bunch. As such, it tends not to be used in experiences which require accurate tracking.
However at least one game I tried, Tumblr VR (which is a pretty cool game), can be played using the DualShock controller to balance blocks atop one another, but it’s jittery tracking can really detract from the experience. Thankfully the game supports the Move controllers which makes a huge difference.
While the tracking might not be what we’re used to from the world of high-end desktop VR, PSVR experiences that are designed with the limitations in mind have proven to be effective and extremely fun.
Drift is something that’s common among IMU-only tracked VR headsets (like Gear VR and Cardboard), but it’s been effectively eliminated on systems that use outside-in tracking (like the Rift and the Vive) because those systems have a static frame of reference against which the drift can be corrected.
Curiously, despite also using an outside-in tracking system, I’ve still seen a fair share of drift of Playstation VR. The good news is that Sony has made it easy to reset at any time by holding the Options button for a few seconds (however some apps seem to only treat that reset as a positional calibration and not a rotational recentering).
Why it drift happens in the first place on PSVR though is a bit of a mystery to me. I haven’t been able to put my finger on it just yet, but it seems to happen worse in some experiences than others; it could be a case of newer drift-correction code not yet being applied globally. Whatever the case, there’s hope that this could be improved through software with later updates.
When you first take everything out of the PlayStation VR box, you’re gonna be looking at a lot of individual cables and pieces. There’s a big instruction booklet included, but thankfully there’s big pictures and one step on each page.
Most of the cables are in service of connecting the PSVR breakout box to the PlayStation 4. The breakout box has an HDMI cable that goes to the PS4 and an HDMI cable that goes to the TV. It also has it’s own power adapter and a USB cable that needs to run to the PS4. So over by your TV you may have a big of a table mess, but the headset itself has one thin cable that runs from the headset to the breakout box and plugs in with two ends.
The whole thing took me about 10 minutes to set up as I lazily followed the big pictures in the instruction booklet. Once I hooked everything up the PS4 already knew all about the PlayStation VR system—like long-lost best buds—I didn’t have to download any updates or install anything to start using PSVR right away.
Once you’re ready to pop the headset on, pull the back strap outward and loop it behind your head, resting the remainder of the unit on your forehead. The back strap goes down low around the crown of your head and you can give the crank on the back a few turns to start tightening things up. Using the button under the right side of the display assembly, slide the lenses in as close as they will comfortably get, then adjust up and down to find the sweet spot where everything is sharp. Once done, give that crank a few more turns to keep everything in place. Now you’re ready to game.
One very cool feature of PSVR is the ability to operate your entire PS4 on a virtual big screen. Before even launching a game or putting in the demo disk, you’re able to see the usual PS4 home screen inside the headset. You can launch and play any and all PS4 games, apps, and content through the headset as though you’re sitting in front of a massive TV (you can adjust the size of the virtual screen to small, medium, and large).
Gaming is of course the major highlight for VR on a game console, and Sony has arrange an impressive launch lineup with some surprisingly strong debuts.
Batman Arkham: VR
One game that has particularly impressed me is Batman: Arkham VR. Developed by Rocksteady—the same studio that kicked off the popular Batman: Arkham series—the game is a filled with intuitive and satisfying VR interactions that are well designed for PlayStation VR and the PS Move controllers. As the studio’s debut VR experience, I’m blown away by the proficiency in virtual reality interaction design.
Batman: Arkham VR puts you in the boots of the famous masked detective and literally equips you with a belt of gadgets: you’ll be using a forensic scanner with two modes as well as the classic batarang and grappling hook. These all end up being effective tools you’ll use to find out what’s happened to Nightwing and Robin.
While Rocksteady’s prior batman games had you brawling with thugs from a third-person perspective. Batman: Arkham VR has you doing mostly detective work.
Now I’m not even a big Batman fan—I’ve never read the comics—but I was thoroughly impressed with interaction-heavy approach to virtual reality. Almost everything you do in the game is controller with natural motion interactions, from throwing batterings to pressing buttons to firing your grappling hook to move, all of the intuitive engagement with the world around you made it feel very immersive and satisfying.
Beyond it’s design merit, Batman: Arkham VR stands out as a stunning example of what a talented developed can do with VR on the PS4. The game is up there among the best looking real-time VR experiences I’ve seen on any platform, VR or otherwise.
Its biggest flaw? It’s too short. They made an impressive VR game, and I want more.
Thumper
Thumper is a beautiful escape into a stylistic and somehow action-packed rhythm game. At the time of the review I was only able to play a taste of the game from the PSVR demo disk, but it was easily among the most memorable titles I’ve experienced on PlayStation VR to date.
The game has you racing up an infinitely long pathway toward a whirling abstract… actually, you know what… I’m not even going to try to explain it with text. Just watch this:
It’s beautiful, visually and sonically, and once again shows how pretty something can look on PSVR when it’s made by a talented developer. Your milage may vary depending upon how much you like rhythm games, but Thumper may emerge as a sleeper hit for me, depending upon how the game progresses from the demo stages I had access to.
PlayStation VR Worlds
PlayStation VR Worlds is Sony’s collection of excellent VR showcase content that every PSVR owner should have in their collection.
Among the five small experiences is some of the best designed interactive VR content out there, and the included games cross a wide swath of player tastes, making it perfectly suitable for showing friends and family how cool VR can be.
The London Heist in particular, like Batman: Arkham VR, has created a firm foundation, but we want need more!
PlayStation VR is a strong start for virtual reality on consoles, showing that it not only can be done, but it can be done well; the system is home to some of the best VR content I’ve played yet.
Powered by the now three year old foundation of PS4, I’m blown away by the visuals that have been achieved on PSVR. I’m especially interested to see how things improve further with the launch of PS4 Pro.
The 1920×1080 might be lower on paper than the headset’s two major competitors, but it’s perfectly capable of creating powerfully immersive experiences and beautiful virtual worlds, despite a few display flaws.
The design and ergonomics of PlayStation VR feel class leading in many ways compared to the Rift and Vive, with a design that maximizes field of view and comfort. Though I really would have liked to see built-in headphones to eliminate an extra cable and bulk from a pair of headphones not designed to be worn with a VR headset.
PSVR’s tracking is likely to be it’s biggest challenge going forward. It feels only just over the ‘good enough’ line and is notably less accurate and responsive compared to the more expensive Rift and Vive.
By no surprise and no mistake, PlayStation VR is in a big way all about the price. Consoles have always been about value. And despite being based on demonstrably less powerful hardware, PSVR delivers a VR experience that punches above its weight class and makes a strong argument for both existing and new console players to jump into VR.
Disclosure: Sony provided Road to VR with a PlayStation VR headset, PS4 system, and accessories for review.
The post PlayStation VR Review – Console VR Has Arrived appeared first on Road to VR.
Get ready to take another tumble down the virtual rabbit hole; Alice VR is set to arrive on both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive later this month.
Developer Carbon Studio today confirmed that this intriguing VR adventure game will arrive on PCs on October 27th. Along with support for the major VR headsets, it will also be playable on standard monitors and with OSVR’s Hacker Dev Kit. Carbon has also launched a new developer diary for the game filled with fresh footage, which you can see below.
In Alice VR you crash land on a strange alien planet. Played in first-person using a gamepad, you set out to find fuel for your ship, but quickly discover the the planet’s inhabitants have vanished, leaving you to decipher exactly what has transpired. You’ll solve puzzles as you explore the strange landscape, using gravity ramps to walk on city walls and jumping in buggies to traverse vast deserts. Clues are littered all over the place, including BioShock-esque audio diaries. As the name suggests, it’s a loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s legendary novel, Alice in Wonderland.
A price for the title hasn’t been confirmed, but anyone that picks it up will also get digital goods like the game’s soundtrack, an art book, behind-the-scenes footage of the making of it, and wallpapers for your desktop.
We played Alice VR back at Gamescom this year and found a game that was a little dated by modern VR standards, but still stunning to look at with a promising story to boot. Like The Assembly and the upcoming Weeping Doll, it could be one of the last entries in a genre of games that strictly sticks to gamepad.
We’ve reached out to the team to find out if a PlayStation VR version of the game is possible.
Wer sich direkt zum Start des PlayStation VR Headsets mit der passenden Software ausrüsten will, der findet auf Amazon und Co. bereits einige Titel, die im Zeitraum der Veröffentlichung des Headsets ausgeliefert werden. Eine Vorbestellung von Spielen ist immer so eine Sache. Doch aktuell bleibt euch nicht viel übrig, wenn ihr nicht nur die Demo Disc mit eurem neuen PlayStation VR Headset ausprobieren wollt.
Amazon listet die meisten Spiele, die zum Start von PlayStation VR nicht nur als Download erscheinen werden. Hier findet ihr eine Übersicht:
PlayStation VR Worlds: Eine Sammlung an kleinen und größeren Erfahrungen für euer PlayStation VR Headset. Enthalten sind: Ocean Descent, The London heist,Scavengers Odyssey, VR Luge und Danger Ball
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood: Bei diesem Spiel handelt es sich um einen Arcade-Shooter für PSVR. Ihr befindet euch auf einer Achterbahn und müsst alle Gegner vernichten, die euch in die Quere kommen.
Driveclub VR: Driveclub VR ist ein Ableger von Driveclub. Diese Rennsimulation macht euch zum virtuellen Fahrer und will euch mit atemberaubender Geschwindigkeit überwältigen.
EVE: Valkyrie: Für alle Oculus Rift Besitzer ist Eve: Valkyrie bereits ein Klassiker. In spannenden und schnellen Weltraumschlachten müsst ihr euer Können unter Beweis stellen.
Robinson: The Journey: Dieses Spiel von Crytek überzeugt durch eine beeindruckende Grafik und entführt euch in eine Welt voller Abenteuer und Dinosaurier.
Loading Human: Loading Human steht häufig weniger im Fokus der Öffentlichkeit und ist daher sicher vielen Menschen kein Begriff. Es wartet ein VR-Abenteuer auf euch, welches im 22. Jahrhundert spielt.
RIGS: Mechanized Combat League: Virtual Reality und E-Sport. Die zwei schönsten Dinge der Welt möchte dieses Spiel vereinen. In spannenden 3v3 Matches müsst ihr zeigen, dass ihr schnell und treffsicher seid.
Battlezone: In Battlezone werdet ihr zum Panzerfahrer in einer Low Poly Welt und müsst Taktik mit schnellen Reaktionen kombinieren.
Hustle Kings VR: [PSVR] Wer eine Runde Billard mit dem PlayStation VR Headset spielen will, der ist mit Hustle Kings gut beraten. Wer Action sucht, der ist hier aber falsch.
Super Stardust Ultra VR: Super Stardust findet also auch seinen Weg auf PSVR und somit könnt ihr das Spiel aus einer völlig neuen Perspektive erleben.
Batman: Arkham VR: Dieser Batman Ableger ist kein vollwertiges Spiel. Euch erwartet eine kleine Batman Erfahrung, die aber auch nur 19,99 Euro kostet.
Eagle Flight VR: Das Spiel von Ubisoft macht euch zum Adler und lässt euch durch die Lüfte gleiten. Das Spiel bietet auch einen Multiplayer Modus und ihr könnt an spannenden Luftkämpfen teilnehmen.
Star Trek Bridge Crew: Und noch ein Titel von Ubisoft. Diesmal werdet ein Teil der Star Trek Crew und müsst mit anderen Mitspielern das Weltall sicher machen. Das Spiel erscheint leider erst am 6. Dezember.
Für einige Spiele benötigt ihr die PlayStation Move Controller. Sony bietet diese aktuell im Doppelpack an. Ein wirkliches Schnäppchen ist das Paket aber nicht. Sony will für das Twin Pack 89,99 Euro. Ebenso bietet Sony die neue Version der PlayStation Kamera an. Ihr braucht aber die neue Version nicht, wenn ihr schon die alte Version besitzt.
Der Beitrag PlayStation VR: Viele PSVR Spiele bereits vorbestellbar zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
