VR Game Titles, Your Impressions

[garnerx]

it's the feeling of actually being there that's hard to describe, but absolutely brilliant.

I think it's because you can see your whole arms and body rather than just a pair of hands and a shadow. Even though all you can actually move is your hand, there are some great 'inverse kinematic' animations that make the rest of the arm pretty much exactly match what you're doing.

Plus there are those exposed pistons and pulleys in the hands when you move your fingers. And the zero-G environment gives an excuse for having dangling legs as you pull your body around. It's amazingly well done, I haven't seen this in other VR games yet.

 

[Huntn]

Hope to contribute to this thread as I explore VR through my new Oculus Rift. I've just set it up and run through a few free experiences and The Climb which I also purchased while on sale.

I plan to try Lone Echo over the weekend. I rushed my Rift setup right after completing my PC build so it's currently in a cramped room with very little floor space.

Initial impressions are awesome though, even the initial Oculus demo with the small robot was incredibly immersive. I really thought that you needed better graphical fidelity to really feel involved.

How was Lone Echo? Any other games?

 

[garnerx]

Anyone hankering for new VR experiences, you've got to try Beat Saber. It's completely amazing. Hard to do it any justice in words - rhythm / drumming / dancing game with lightsabers - but this video is worth a watch.

It's way easier than it looks, I think this guy is playing on expert (but even that is simple enough to understand). The way the targets are positioned makes it feel natural to do all these cool moves, sidestepping obstacles and so on.

Only just come out in early access but I'd already rank it with Lone Echo as one of the two real must-have VR games. It's definitely the first thing I'd show to a VR skeptic or non-gamer. So satisfying, and the lightsabers rumble nicely when you clash them together.

 

[alvindarkness]

Anyone hankering for new VR experiences, you've got to try Beat Saber. It's completely amazing. Hard to do it any justice in words - rhythm / drumming / dancing game with lightsabers - but this video is worth a watch.

It's way easier than it looks, I think this guy is playing on expert (but even that is simple enough to understand). The way the targets are positioned makes it feel natural to do all these cool moves, sidestepping obstacles and so on.

Only just come out in early access but I'd already rank it with Lone Echo as one of the two real must-have VR games. It's definitely the first thing I'd show to a VR skeptic or non-gamer. So satisfying, and the lightsabers rumble nicely when you clash them together.

I'm glad you posted that. I was playing boxvr (I think thats what its called?) on the occulus store while it was free for the weekend. Looks basically identical to Beat Saber, except you have boxing gloves and are doing jabs, hooks and uppercuts along with squats when dodging obstacles. Thoroughly enjoyed it, far more than I thought I would. Although I'm not sure about its longevity.

Either way it is definitely now on my short list, together with Beat Saber which I imagine to be very similar.

 

[garnerx]

I'm glad you posted that. I was playing boxvr (I think thats what its called?) on the occulus store while it was free for the weekend. Looks basically identical to Beat Saber, except you have boxing gloves and are doing jabs, hooks and uppercuts along with squats when dodging obstacles. Thoroughly enjoyed it, far more than I thought I would. Although I'm not sure about its longevity.

Either way it is definitely now on my short list, together with Beat Saber which I imagine to be very similar.

That's very similar! The boxing one seems to be more energetic and fitness-focused, while Beat Saber is very gamey, though. It reminds me a bit of Frequency on the PS2, or maybe Guitar Hero, but the motions you do are more limited to wrist and elbow, like drumming or conducting the music (you can play with a single saber to make it easier).

The developers really nailed the audio/visual feedback for slashing the blocks, it's like popping fruit in Candy Crush - very satisfying. Only 10 tunes at the moment so longevity could well be a problem, but I had Oculus store credit from the brief downtime a couple of months ago, it worked out very cheap.

 

[BillyBobBongo]

So, after recently dropping an RX 580 8GB in to my Mac Pro, I decided to have a look at VR gaming. I picked up a second hand Oculus Rift DK2 to check things it with the hope that perhaps they'll be another sale on Rift products this summer.

Having the Oculus Rift DK2 limits me to games that use and Xbox controller and a refresh rate of 75Hz. Not too much of an issue for me as I predominately play sim racing games with a force feedback wheel and pedals.

Assetto Corsa: Easily one of my favourite racing sims, I've logged hundreds of hours in it outside of VR. As other users have said getting it set up so that ASW doesn't kick in took some fiddling. One tip I can give it to use the Assetto Corsa Content Manager as it lets you know what settings will have the most influence on your FPS. Another tip was to use openVr and not Oculus VR, think I gained about 10% performance overhead from this alone. I've got it now that it only suffers a tiny drop when drive past the paddock. The force feedback in this game is second to none, and I'm just over a second faster around Monza in the Ferrari F2004 in VR. So much easier to aim for that apex.

Project Cars 2: Getting Project Cars 2 to sit at a constant 75Hz has taken more time than I care to imagine. I even had to result to a spread sheet to track all my changes to work out where the most gains would be. I seem to have it sitting stable but, much the same as Assetto Corsa, driving past the paddock causes a very minor drop in FPS. The most time consuming part of setting up Project Cars 2 is that you constantly have to restart the game every time you tweak graphics settings. Most irritating.

rFactor 2: Compared to the previous two games/sims, setting up rFactor 2 was a walk in the park. I pretty much used the same settings as I had for my previous graphics card (HD 7950) and it held stable. If you're unfamiliar with rFactor 2, whilst it's graphics leave a lot to be desired, the physics in this simulator are rock solid. It's a relatively inexpensive sim to pick up and is certainly worthwhile taking a look at.

Raceroom Racing Experience: You're either going to love or hate the business model of this sim, but what it manages to offer is a lot of content that isn't available anywhere else. It took me a while to get this even running in VR properly, I get being put in to a sort of 'Theatre' instead of fully dropping in to VR. I love the sounds and physics in this one and particular enjoy driving the older DTM cars. It's actually a free game on Steam, you can try it out with a few cars and tracks, and the rest of the content you can purchase later. This is the model that some don't like, but if you're smart and wait for a sale, Black Friday for instance, you can pick up all the content for a reasonable price.

I'll come back here and add more later. I've still got to check out DiRT Rally and I'll probably take a quick look at iRenting (er I mean iRacing) before my subscription expires in August. Thinking about it I'll probably have to see what Euro Truck Simulator 2 is like in VR, I can imagine that it's quite something.

 

[garnerx]

I'll come back here and add more later. I've still got to check out DiRT Rally and I'll probably take a quick look at iRenting (er I mean iRacing) before my subscription expires in August. Thinking about it I'll probably have to see what Euro Truck Simulator 2 is like in VR, I can imagine that it's quite something.

I've tried those, iRacing is by far the best one in VR - easy to map everything to the wheel buttons, and the options and interface are all in VR, unlike AC. Less demanding on the PC, and as far as I know it's the only one with 3D mirrors (the 2D mirrors in AC and others look like the fake screens they have on dummy phones in stores, very unrealistic).

Nasty business model, though. Buy a track, play it for one week only, then never see it again. I haven't played it for months now, the tracks I "own" rarely show up any more.

Dirt Rally isn't bad but you're only ever racing against the clock and the game just makes up fake times for the computer drivers, after the first round they finish in exactly the same order every time.

I thought Euro Truck 2 was rubbish - jerky graphics, the truck cab looks tiny in VR, and a racing wheel isn't the best thing to control it.

 

[Huntn]

I've tried those, iRacing is by far the best one in VR - easy to map everything to the wheel buttons, and the options and interface are all in VR, unlike AC. Less demanding on the PC, and as far as I know it's the only one with 3D mirrors (the 2D mirrors in AC and others look like the fake screens they have on dummy phones in stores, very unrealistic).

Nasty business model, though. Buy a track, play it for one week only, then never see it again. I haven't played it for months now, the tracks I "own" rarely show up any more.

Dirt Rally isn't bad but you're only ever racing against the clock and the game just makes up fake times for the computer drivers, after the first round they finish in exactly the same order every time.

I thought Euro Truck 2 was rubbish - jerky graphics, the truck cab looks tiny in VR, and a racing wheel isn't the best thing to control it.

I’ve not picked up my OR in months, maybe I should. I tried a US based trucking sim (not VR) and it was far from satisfying. Drive from San Diego to San Francisco in 10 minutes? Ha, when I see a Simulator that advertises drive across the US, I expect an actual realistic map, while understanding that most people in a Simulator, don’t want to spend 10 hrs or whatever it would be to actually make the trip.

 

[garnerx]

I’ve not picked up my OR in months, maybe I should. I tried a US based trucking sim (not VR) and it was far from satisfying. Drive from San Diego to San Francisco in 10 minutes? Ha, when I see a Simulator that advertises drive across the US, I expect an actual realistic map, while understanding that most people in a Simulator, don’t want to spend 10 hrs or whatever it would be to actually make the trip.

Sounds like you need Desert Bus VR. Tucson to Las Vegas in a bus. Eight hours.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/638110/Desert_Bus_VR/

 

[Huntn]

Sounds like you need Desert Bus VR. Tucson to Las Vegas in a bus. Eight hours.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/638110/Desert_Bus_VR/

Ha. I might see virtual vacations in the future, even virtual memories!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Can_Remember_It_for_You_Wholesale

 

[Huntn]

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Derail Valley on Steam, a highly immersive and realistic train simulator that I am excited about. You get to drive the train! Talk about it here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/derail-valley-vr-nonvr-on-steam.2169889/

 

[imacken]

I find it astonishing that, in my opinion, the 2 greatest VR games have not even been mentioned here, i.e. DCS and Skyrim!

 

[Huntn]

I find it astonishing that, in my opinion, the 2 greatest VR games have not even been mentioned here, i.e. DCS and Skyrim!

I played through most of Skyrim in it’s pre-VR form, outstanding game, however I was always worried about adequate VR controls. Tyoucally I use a gaming mouse with twelve+ buttons and a Nostromo with another wad of buttons, and usually I have a quick reference key layout until I basically get most of the keys learned. VR puts a hood over your head so you can’t see your notes. Not good for me.

Even in a game like Derail Valley, where you can manipulate train cab controls with your virtual hands, you still need to see manuals, where you can look at virtual manuals in game, which helps, but even those manuals are not complete, so I end up pausing the game, pulling my headset off, try to find answers online, copying down some notes, and throwing the headset back on, it’s a but awkward. They need a quick reference manual in game that you can pickup with a button press, instead of picking up the virtual manual and flipping through it.