vorpX – Pre-Release Thread

[Ralf]

First thread here. If you have any questions, remarks, wishes etc. that you want to discuss in public, this is the place. Of course nothing speaks against new threads if you feel that makes sense.

So, let’s start with a short introduction for those who are new to vorpX:

vorpX is a 3D-driver with many special features geared towards VR-headsets that are similar to the Oculus Rift. As with all drivers that try to bring older games to the Rift, vorpX won’t give you the full experience of games designed for the Rift, but it definitely aims at the best possible experience you can get with existing software. This is accomplished by various features that go beyond just making a game 3D.

Here are the basics:

vorpX supports DirectX9, 10 and 11 titles. About 50 games are supported in stereoscopic 3D already, including Crysis, Bioshock, Skyrim, Fallout 3, COD: Black Ops and many, many more. Even more games than those 50 will run without stereoscopic 3D, but everything else. Which is more than one might think.

Stereoscopic 3D is created by using a games depth-buffer instead of rendering everything twice. The main advantage of this is high performance (max. performance loss 10%, often less, compared to usually somewhat more than 50% with ‘conventional’ 3d-drivers). 60fps guaranteed at all times even with high AA settings on mid range hardware. This is very important for the Rift. Some games additionally have a ‘classic’ 3D creation mode.

Head tracking support incl. roll for every supported game.

Adaptive 3D-mode mimicking certain aspects of human vision (optional). More on that can be found in a blogpost.

And it doesn’t stop here. There are many nifty details, internally called the SUTs (Small Useful Things) that will be revealed later. These are more important than it might sound, calling them just useful is a little bit of an understatement.

[3dRat]

Hello, can I ask for some specific game support?   (maybe this thread is not for that but I did not dare to create another…  :)

[Ralf]

Besides the ones mentioned in the original post there are for example Mass Effect 2+3, Flight Simulator X, Race Driver Grid (no headtracking for now), Far Cry, Half-Life 2, Metro 2033, rFactor, …

A detailed list with all games that have full 3D-support will be made available before launch. There is something for everyone, or at least I hope so, a good mix of older and newer games from many genres.

And even if your favorite game isn’t among the ~50 with full 3D-support, there is a high chance that it will run without stereoscopic 3D, but everything else.

If you have any wishes, please post them here. I’m always open to suggestions, just don’t be disappointed if your wish isn’t included in the first release. The day only has so many hours. :)

[Anonymous]

For the games without full vorpx support, what have been the major barriers to this? Most Directx 9 games can be given full 3d support with 3d vision by modifying the shaders if it comes down to shadows/ lighting fixes etc. Is there something else in the non-supported games stopping them from getting full support, or is this something you can’t comment on now?

 

thanks

 

[Ralf]

For many games the only barrier might be that they haven’t been tested.

There are a few things that have to be adjusted for each game to get full 3D support, expect the library with fully supported games to grow over time.

[3dRat]

where is the list you talked about? can you post it here?

well I’d love to see Quake I  supported by your driver (with full 3d of course!), and doom too, why not!??

is there some third person game in the list?

thanks

[eqzitara]

I understand the occulus rift is the primary focus but by any chance will standard side by side be supported?

[Ralf]

@ 3drat: the list isn’t published yet. But I have good news in regard to Quake. There is a DirectX 9 port of Quake, called DXQuake. And it runs well with vorpX.

@ eqzitara: Optimal 3D-settings for the Rift and for monitor-3D are quite different. In the current dev build I have a side by side and an anaglyph mode for quick tests on a monitor, but at least for the first release version both will most likely be deactivated. Might be added officially later though.

[jf032]

This isn’t incredibly important, as there is ~100% chance there will be Quake source ports with the Oculus SDK integrated (and I’m not getting my dev Rift until at least mid-April). But anyway, DXQuake is very old, and very slow, as stated on the website (~36% as fast as glquake).

DirectQ, on the other hand, is one of the best-performing source ports. I’m hoping that it works well with VorpX (once again, assuming Quake source ports with direct Rift aren’t available).

[Ralf]

Thanks for the correction, that’s what I meant. DXQuake isn’t even DX9, so it does not work with vorpX.

Like you I would guess that there will be no shortage in native ports.

[Ak]

Hi Ralf,

I was wondering, do you have an idea of the ETA ?

Ty

[Ralf]

A first release should be available relatively shortly after the devkits arrive.

Unfortunately I can’t give you a more exact date for now. Some parameters have to be adjusted for the real Rift devkit, and I also have to include code for the Oculus headtracking sensor. That is not possible without the Rift SDK.

[Arni1984]

Hello Ralf! For me, head movement in the game, much less important than the excellent 3D picture. (Albeit with low frame rate) I think you should strive to this conclusion 3D images (2 full-frame) in all supported games. All other methods of artificial output 3D – just awful. Especially in games in the first person! (Halo, transparent objects are not displayed in 3D (glass, water, dust, fog, light, smoke, blood, and other sprites!) As I understand it, your output method of stereoscopic images is similar to that used in CRYSIS 2,3 and many games on consoles … Did you see coming out of the screen looks like a weapon in CRYSIS 3 in 3D?
I am willing to pay thousands of dollars for moschny PC – just not to see artificial 3D!
People like me, think it’s not enough …
Sorry, a little harsh, but that is the reality. 3D quality should not be worse than the NVIDIA 3D VISION. And please! Add a function separate convergence of weapons from the world, the games in the first person. That there was no effect “Guliver”!

Many thanks Ralf!

 

 

[Ralf]

Once you have your Rift, I’m quite confident that you will realize the importance of speed. :) Trust me. No way you can compare this to playing 3D games on a monitor in any way. When you turn your head, you want the image to follow immediately, 30fps is just not enough for this. If you have any doubts in this regard, read what people like John Carmack have to say about it.

That being said, vorpX has both methods of creating 3D! The fast depth buffer approach is the default and my primary focus for the first release, mainly because of the huge speed benefits. But for some games – not all – there is also a ‘classic’ mode that renders everything twice, in case you prefer that. I wouldn’t though in most cases.

 

[Arni1984]

So long will not play. Well, how much? An hour or two … I’m laying my HMZ for 6-7 hours with a gamepad.
Do not misunderstand me! I do not want to move around, stand, sit, or even a move. I just want to lie down on the couch, pick up the controller, put RIFT and immerse themselves in a virtual universe (The Matrix, Avatar)
I have both and KINECT PS MOVE … After a day, does not have enough power to it. And even more – all kinds of motion sensors are not suitable for 6-8 hour sessions. So that, for me, the picture quality a priority.
Now, if it were possible to control the body in the game with the thought … I think that this is the future!

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