VR Games, especially racing games and Elite Dangerous

yes I agree about Elite…I play it and DCS World the most, using a HOTAS. Although I am pleasantly surprised by how immersive SkyRim can be at large FOV and hoping that No Man’s Sky VR addon released this summer wil be 5K+ friendly. Bought it at 50% off yesterday from a Steam sale.

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To make a good “VR Game” is nothing more than a party trick.

Good Games are Good Games and have NOTHING to do with all the Eye Candy that VR provides. So “making good VR Games” is an oxymoron. You can add VR to some Good Games but you can’t just make a VR Game Good. If you are not starting from a good game to begin with than the VR component is nothing but Eye Candy.

Elite is a perfect example of a really good game which got better with VR. Elite is my whole reason for VR and VR is my whole reason for Elite…

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…in all fairness I should also add iRacing to a good game to which VR was added. I have a BMW M4 Race car and I use iRacing to refresh my memory of some pretty complicated tracks (i.e. Nurburgring) before I revisit them in Real Life. So for that, VR is very worthwhile addition.

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The term “good game” has a very persononal interpretation. Not everyone has similar or “good taste” to be able to appreciate or diferentiate a “good game” from a “bad game”. Some people are oblivious and easy to entertain.

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My go to racers are PC2 and Dirt Rally. Had DR on psvr and bought it again on Steam when I changed platforms. I like the gritty raw feel of the developer’s interpretation of rally driving.

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I don’t use iRacing as a Racing “game”, I use it as a “tool” to help memorize turns and corners for tracks I will be driving in RL.

So Elite stands as the only “game” I personally think worthwhile in VR.

What a coincidence, I use ED as a tool to help map out my real life journey to Sagittarius A next year. I mean as long as Elon Musk doesn’t mind the competion it’s all good right :wink:

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Do not confuse VR with the eyecandy. VR is as much a platform as the others are, e.g. console, PC, mobile. There are games which are very good on one particular platform, but not good on the others. Taking an example from one studio.

Chameleon run is a good mobile game, not because of some effects but because it fully utilizes the platforms capabilities. The concept is sound, but playing it on PC would hardly attract so many people to play it.

Beat Saber is good VR game, but translated into 2D would be far less fun.

Civilization (IV at least) is a good game on PC, but I cannot see how one will play it on the phone and enjoy it.

So while I agree that good games are simply good games, I do not agree that “good VR game” is an oxymoron. It gives exactly the same precision as “good console game”, or “good mobile game” and implies that it makes good use of the platform (and may not even run on the other ones).

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Well, I’ve done the 'Ring now each year now for the past 5 years and I’ve been using my Rift to familiarize myself with the track for the last 3 of them. So yeah, thats ACTUALLY using VR as a tool…

How many times have you been to Sag A?

This will be my 2nd trip, but still pretty pumped. Want to do further analysis of the black hole lurking nearby.

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Mine too. VR makes the game so much better, without actually changing the game at all.

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Yeah… OK… Sure…

Wow you really don’t like VR do you… Also I know a lot of people who think ED is just boring and not a game worth playing so you have that going for you

No, I ***LOVE *** VR. (I’ve had 5 HMD’s!)

Its just that VR for VR’s sake does not a good game make - just a party trick.

For example, I’m not into jumping around and shooting zombies. (Video games were intended to be played in comfy chairs :wink: Remember the Nintendo Wii? Once the novelty wore off…

But if a VR interface can make a game Better and More Immersive then I’m all for it. This is how it worked for Elite (IMHO)!

VR is also a great tool (like iRacing does for track familiarization or a good flight simulator can do for instrument proficiency)

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Clicked to check accessory status.
Bam
Clickbaited

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No, but because of different perception & controls, the game should be designed specifically for VR to be good and then it will not really work on monitor.

There might be some exceptions like simulators that work well in both environments, but most don’t.

It is bit like 3D movie - if designed well for 3D then many things won’t make sense in 2D (camera movements/views etc.). On the other hand if it is directed for 2D and 3D is just afterthought, then it will look nothing special in 3D. VR vs monitor is like this but the difference is much bigger.

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My position is EXACTLY the opposite.

I like First Person Shooters, but the mechanics that have to be implemented to make them work in VR (without nausea) completely ruin the games and immersion…

I’ve only tried a few other games so far and I agree with you. Elite Dangerous is much better in VR. I will continue to try other VR games, but I’m on the Distant Worlds 2 expedition in ED, so all of my game time is tied up for quite a few more months.

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And Elite was developed for VR, so it’s a “VR game”.
“VR game” obviously doesnt have to mean that it’s VR only. That’s probably why the quality of VR-only-games is generally low… there aren’t enough customers for VR-only-games to put big money into them yet.

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Elite was developed for VR, huh?

I was playing the original version of Elite on my Commodore 64. (Yes, I’m THAT old). I didn’t realize we had VR back in the 80’s. What headset did you use?

Elite has been around for a very long time and it definitely wasn’t developed for VR. In fact, the PC version has even been around longer than any VR implementation.

I guess you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet…