Will the game support vr in the future?

[A12134]

Just a curious question, will the game support the vr such as oculus or HTC in the future? It is a really cool idea for us to seat inside a vessel, pretend we are kerbals and get ready for the suicide mission.

[nukeboyt]

I have an Oculus Rift and I agree wholeheartedly!   IVA-only missions in VR would be totally fantastic.   Especially in the A.L.C.O.R. capsule by @alexustas!!!!!

[eddiew]

Problem is, 95% of the game doesn't work very well from a first-person perspective... KSC, any of its facilities, SPH/VAB, actually controlling vessels...

Not against VR support, just that I would never use it cos I don't think it would be interesting for more than 2 minutes  

[Curveball Anders]

12 minutes ago, eddiew said:

Problem is, 95% of the game doesn't work very well from a first-person perspective... KSC, any of its facilities, SPH/VAB, actually controlling vessels...

Not against VR support, just that I would never use it cos I don't think it would be interesting for more than 2 minutes  

Yep on all points.

Adding VR as a late addition, esp to a program where first person view is totally optional, is an exercise in the  futile.

 

[Alshain]

I just think it's still very niche (and really I don't think VR will ever be anything BUT niche).  Is it really worth the devs time to spend it on something so few people will use?  I would say unless that Unity update made it incredibly easy, then I doubt it is worth the time at this point.

[nukeboyt]

No one would expect a mod developer to be interested in developing for VR unless he/she was already a VR enthusiast.   I disagree about the forever being a niche part.   While it still has bugs that need working out, and is probably too high-priced, there are some 'knock-your-socks-off' games/titles out there that, when people experience them in VR, interest and sales will pick up.

I agree that most of the game wouldn't play well in VR.   But I'm an IVA-only enthusiast (see my videos) and I would love to do missions like those in VR.

Edited May 13, 2016 by nukeboyt
agree on minimal usefullness

[Gaarst]

Please no. Make a complete, stable and polished game before thinking of spending that much time on something that close to no-one will ever use.

[Guest]

Maybe.

[nukeboyt]

I don't think Squad will (or should) make VR a priority.   Stability and playability have to come first, of course.   But I look forward to the time when a mod developer makes it happen.    

[Basto]

Probably 

 

"Now that the party is over we are taking sometime to make some VR tests. Nestor (Nestor) is a VR enthusiast and he is very excited to see how those tests will end up looking."

[Curveball Anders]

1 hour ago, nukeboyt said:

I disagree about the forever being a niche part.   While it still has bugs that need working out, and is probably too high-priced, there are some 'knock-your-socks-off' games/titles out there that, when people experience them in VR, interest and sales will pick up.

I agree with this.

VR isn't going to be a niche part forever.

However the 'killer apps', the software/games that will bring it out from the niche will be written (and most of all designed) for a VR environment from day one (EvE Valkyrie for instance).

Adding VR support in retrospect to increase the value of the game/software is almost guaranteed to end in tears.

VR adds a completely new paradigm in abilities and, not to forget, UI design.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Curveball Anders
Gramar

[nukeboyt]

8 minutes ago, Curveball Anders said:

However the 'killer apps', the software/games that will bring it out from the niche will be written (and most of all designed) for a VR environment from day one (EvE Valkyrie for instance).

Adding VR support in retrospect to increase the value of the game/software is almost guaranteed to end in tears.

VR adds a completely new paradigm abilities and, not to forget, in UI design.

Agreed.   Games & apps designed for VR from the beginning will always be significantly better than those that are "retrofitted".   That's why I look towards mods, and not squad.   Only the cockpit or command pod (like A.L.C.O.R or the MK1-2 Pod by ASET) would provide sufficient realism, in my opinion.   But WOW wouldn't those be fun?

[Curveball Anders]

2 minutes ago, nukeboyt said:

 Only the cockpit or command pod (like A.L.C.O.R or the MK1-2 Pod by ASET) would provide sufficient realism, in my opinion.   But WOW wouldn't those be fun?

Indeed.

The issue might be that such mods not only have to deal with the tracking (which is almost there) but also with the 3D depth issue.

[nukeboyt]

Right.

It's been done before (successfully retrofitting a game made before VR).    FSX and P3D are good examples.   Only the in-cockpit views work, but they are GREAT.  Exterior views don't function properly at all.   I've spent hours flying different planes in those two programs and IMHO, they make the Oculus (almost) worth the price.

Edited May 13, 2016 by nukeboyt
punctuation

[Alshain]

Well, I disagree.  Apart from a few games that will inevitably really excel at it, it will remain about as niche as TrackIR has.  TrackIR is really awesome, and I enjoy it a lot but it is still niche.  VR will be much of the same, maybe 10-15% of the PC gaming community will own one.  25% if you are really lucky.  The problem is simply that people don't want to spend that much for a gadget like that.  The really hardcore gamers will do it, the casual gamers will not and those in between more than likely will not.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Alshain

[nukeboyt]

If gaming were the only use for VR, I'd totally agree.   But a lot of the exciting stuff with VR has nothing to do with games.   VR videos are out and the number is growing.   There are people "Working from home" via VR.   There are doctors doing "face to face" meeting with patients.   They're even selling consumer level Go-Pros that record in all directions.  I can see this catching on with Facebook users(Oculus is owned by Facebook).     But, the price has to come down significantly before any of this stuff (and the gaming) goes beyond the niche.    And it will

[TMS]

I certainly hope not.

But Squad do like to invest large amounts of precious development resources in passing fads.

Speaking of which, does 6-DOF support still work?

[Cornholio]

I remember watching Harv (HOCGaming) use an Oculus to do an all IVA Mun landing/return.  It was pretty neat.  IIRC the youtube video showed him on one side of the screen and what he was viewing on the other.

I'll try to remember to find a link when I get home from work tonight.

[BarryDennen12]

I just got an Oculus and I'll hold out the hope that VR support will happen for KSP, either officially or as a mod. People poo-poo this tech a lot, and maybe it's got a long way to go, but if you're not at all moved by the prospect of IVA missions & good 3D then I can't help you.

[Sandworm]

Skip the VR.  KSP is a much better candidate for shutter glasses-style 3d rendering.  All the 2d and 3rd person perspective (90% of KSP) are easily rendered in non-VR 3d.

[numerobis]

It's trivial to add limited VR support to a Unity game, and IVA or EVA in space are perfect candidates for an experience that works, if the frame rate is good enough. Is there really no mod that does it already?

[Mastikator]

On 2016-05-13 at 4:47 PM, eddiew said:

Problem is, 95% of the game doesn't work very well from a first-person perspective... KSC, any of its facilities, SPH/VAB, actually controlling vessels...

Not against VR support, just that I would never use it cos I don't think it would be interesting for more than 2 minutes  

Even if you're not looking through IVA getting depth perception on things like docking and landing would work wonders. You don't need to be in 1st person for VR to be an amazing experience, you just need to be in a game where all 3 dimensions matter.

[eddiew]

5 minutes ago, Mastikator said:

Even if you're not looking through IVA getting depth perception on things like docking and landing would work wonders. You don't need to be in 1st person for VR to be an amazing experience, you just need to be in a game where all 3 dimensions matter.

Tbh, I think what you want is a 3D monitor, as @Sandworm says above, rather than a VR helmet. That feature may actually be already available simply through your graphics card's drivers  

Problem with VR is camera mechanics; KSP's viewpoint is mobile and spins around the vessel or kerbal. This is not appropriate for intuitive use of head tracking. Look left to spin the camera to the other side of the ship? That's not what your brain wants/expects to happen. What if you want to spin the view point 180 degrees? Sounds both nauseating and rather dangerous... In the end, head tracking would simply not be a feature, which means that all VR means to KSP is having a monitor stuck to your face and stereoscopic 3D - the latter of which is available in more comfortable formats  

[numerobis]

Good VR experiences need a reason for you to be sitting down and limited from turning around. IVA and EVA-in-space work for that: your character is either strapped into a seat (IVA) or floating in a suit (EVA). 

In EVA, floating around, VR does what you expect. You can look left and right but if you turn your head too much you are staring at your helmet in-game -- which means you don't get tangled up in real-life cables. Turning is with puffs of EVA, by clicking keys or using a joystick. That would be really fun. I should try it.

Walking in EVA would be weird, probably nauseating.

[EliasDanger]

cant talk about vr always being niche cuz not many people would spend that much money for it. except when new consoles come out, they are friggen 600 bucks, 800 with a bundle. within a year or two they are down to 300. graphics cards come down in price too. with the nvidia 1080s dropping soon for cheaper than a 980ti, i cant imagine those older cards not dropping in price significantly. VR will be accessible by the majority in just a few years. look how fast 4k tvs dropped in price.