westrock2000
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2005
- Messages
- 9,433
Bought this when I first got the Rift last year but never got around to trying it out. Now that I have a better video card than I did last year, I decided to revisit (or visit rather) the game.
It has a heck of a learning curve and I have had some jarring head tracking issues, but other than that, the game is really fun if you are into flying or simulation stuff.
My first attempt at playing was a total failure. I grabbed a mission in some far off star system and ended up being stranded with no fuel in the middle of nowhere. So I watched about 3 hours of introduction videos and delete my character and start over. Now I'm doing a lot better.
The game proves time dilation is real. I use my Frame Shift Drive and hop over to another star and do some bounty hunting and come back to dock. I think it's probably been 30-45 minutes. It's 2-3 hours later! Last week I probably spent 10-12 hours in the game and have barely done anything. I also find that since you aren't really physically moving, I don't get the moisture build-up in the HMD. On some games, the HMD gets all foggy after 20-30 minutes because you are moving around a lot. This game you are pretty much motionless other then looking around the cockpit periodically.
The sense of size and immensity is very good in this game. Space stations feel real. As you fly around other ships or asteroids you get a good sense of their size relative to you. The transitions are also pretty good. As you come up on a Saturn like planet the rings look smooth. As you get closer and closer you start to see distinct asteroids. The game will then transition you to a localized instance of the asteroid field. It's not a 100% seamless transition, but it's not too disruptive to the experience either. Transitions to space stations are more obvious. But overall, the traveling experience and fly experience is very enjoyable. Warping in to a big ass bright sun with coronal mass ejections spewing out is a great experience.
The head tracking was really bad, so I upgraded the nVidia driver which was only a couple months old and the head tracking seemed to be better afterwards. But like I would occasionally be turned around so I that I was staring at my headless body, or down at the base of the cockpit seat. Very disruptive especially when you are in combat.
This is an ideal genre for VR. Right now I'm using the Xbox Controller. I will probably pick up the Thrustmaster HOTAS to make the experience more enjoyable. If Star Citizen ever comes out AND supports VR, it could probably have a wide appeal.
It has a heck of a learning curve and I have had some jarring head tracking issues, but other than that, the game is really fun if you are into flying or simulation stuff.
My first attempt at playing was a total failure. I grabbed a mission in some far off star system and ended up being stranded with no fuel in the middle of nowhere. So I watched about 3 hours of introduction videos and delete my character and start over. Now I'm doing a lot better.
The game proves time dilation is real. I use my Frame Shift Drive and hop over to another star and do some bounty hunting and come back to dock. I think it's probably been 30-45 minutes. It's 2-3 hours later! Last week I probably spent 10-12 hours in the game and have barely done anything. I also find that since you aren't really physically moving, I don't get the moisture build-up in the HMD. On some games, the HMD gets all foggy after 20-30 minutes because you are moving around a lot. This game you are pretty much motionless other then looking around the cockpit periodically.
The sense of size and immensity is very good in this game. Space stations feel real. As you fly around other ships or asteroids you get a good sense of their size relative to you. The transitions are also pretty good. As you come up on a Saturn like planet the rings look smooth. As you get closer and closer you start to see distinct asteroids. The game will then transition you to a localized instance of the asteroid field. It's not a 100% seamless transition, but it's not too disruptive to the experience either. Transitions to space stations are more obvious. But overall, the traveling experience and fly experience is very enjoyable. Warping in to a big ass bright sun with coronal mass ejections spewing out is a great experience.
The head tracking was really bad, so I upgraded the nVidia driver which was only a couple months old and the head tracking seemed to be better afterwards. But like I would occasionally be turned around so I that I was staring at my headless body, or down at the base of the cockpit seat. Very disruptive especially when you are in combat.
This is an ideal genre for VR. Right now I'm using the Xbox Controller. I will probably pick up the Thrustmaster HOTAS to make the experience more enjoyable. If Star Citizen ever comes out AND supports VR, it could probably have a wide appeal.