Re: Extreme Gpu Bruteforcer Full Version
Osoulo Lejeune
The Rift exclusive PCVR version of Blair Witch arrived last month, but having to pay $30 for a game I wasn't sure I'd like did put me off for some time. Bought it yesterday though - the trailer looks great:
"the graphics have really impressed me. There are tons of graphical options, as well as sound, game and movement. I did have to tinker with the movement options for awhile, to find a setting that works for me. I would recommend using continuous motion, and setting your degree of turning to continuous. Also make sure to change your rotation speed to max."
The above warning was probably written from a user not using high levels of super sampling. Having to use the lowest setting to get acceptable fps with an RTX 2060 is kinda a red flag. Or a green flag using the brute force of the RTX 3090, lol.
Even if some may think Oculus only makes low-end Quest games, nothing could be more wrong. No one but Oculus has made truly high-end PCVR games, like Stormland, Asgard's Wrath, Lone Echo and especially Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond (recommending a RTX 2080 at launch). Turns out Blair Witch may be the most gpu demanding game I've ever played - but I'm forcing 17 mill pixels per image using Rift CV1 ss 2.0 - my tech-focused "review":
Not sure I've got any other game forcing me down to 36 fps using ss 2.0, then again suddenly the name "Seeking Dawn" springs to mind Blair Witch is a 10.6GB download - same as the install size. Quest version is only 3.7GB.
The main problem with this game may be a severe lack of optimization making the game more or less unplayable for most/many users. I can get solid 90 fps using low settings, but then the game looks awful. Medium setting goes to 45 fps and sometimes/often 90 fps - and High goes from like 30 to 90 fps, but mostly 45 fps and often below 45 fps. So pick your poison. I don't mind some low fps in this game here'n there - it does look great, especially the dog:
Btw, new games rarely show the old Touch controllers anymore, but usually just show Rift-S controllers. This game shows both the old original Touch controllers and supports temporal antialiasing (TAA). TAA looks really bad and blurry with lcd hmds. I have the feeling the PCVR version has been in development for a looong time...
Just tested the game with the Index, and Revive works perfectly. Actually detects Knuckles like Rift-S controllers, lol. Using the highest settings the game was solid 90 fps in 90 Hz using Index res 100% - but motion smoothing kicked in using res 200%. So the game works perfectly using the Index (=same performance as Rift CV1 ss 2.0), but still it doesn't.
After thoroughly testing the game, I'm fully convinced this is another old CV1 game, like Medal of Honor AB and Asgard's Wrath, and for some reasons Blair Witch PCVR got severely delayed. Because Blair Witch looks totally like garbage using lcd hmds like the Index. Well maybe not the first level, but even using Index res 200% there're too many jaggies. Already in chapter 2 you encounter cliffs and rocks with surfaces that are strangely discolored - sorta shimmering - simply looks totally wrong. Maybe many will not notice it much and just think the devs did a poor job designing the game, but devs did not. Now try the Rift CV1 - and it's totally like magic - now everything looks right and totally awesome! The light looks perfect, rock surfaces look awesome - and there're no jaggies. Plants look much better too. And when the night comes, everything looks perfectly black too.
I haven't seen this CV1 advantage as pronounced for long, but surely there are games like Gnomes & Goblins, Ark Park and Robinson: The Journey, where lcd does not just look wrong, but totally destroys immersion. And now I'll add Blair Witch to this game category too. Might also include Stormland, Defector, Gloomy Eyes and the old original PCVR version on Affected the Manor (the awesome 4GB high-poly version with great textures, before that game was Questified and destroyed down to 1.2GB).
I do have the advantage of being able to switch between hmds in seconds - making it extremely easy to observe the strikingly differences. I guess most who have sold their CV1s no longer have a clue how games really looked with the CV1.
For now the game feels more like an adventure game, which I'm fully enjoying. Really feels like walking in a forest among trees and cliffs, looking for clues to a lost kid, tomorrow this is the game I look forward to play again the most! Also having a dog with you greatly reduces the feeling of loneliness, and might reduce the frightening atmosphere, especially for those not too keen on VR horror - like me
Luckily the Blair Witch PCVR version delivers almost everything the movie didn't. First out all the story searching for a 9-year old kid is great (one of my sons are also 9 years old today, so I can relate, lol) - and then the immersion is second to none, so much better than the movie.
From the creative minds behind the critically acclaimed Layers of Fear, experience first-hand the toll that fear can take on the mind in an original story inspired by the cinematic lore of Blair Witch.
In VR you do bond with Bullet, quite a strange feeling, but kinda feels like I've got my own dog, lol. Can't help petting him now and then - and you can give Bullet a biscuit and control his actions with a whistle.
Can't remember if we got separate translucency in the PCVR version, but devs kept all the other settings. Especially the LPV setting was a bit of a mystery to me, never seen that before in a game, and it may take some toll, it's the Light Propagation Volume setting:
I didn't find that fps noticeably increased when disabling LPV in Blair Witch VR, actually I've not found a single setting causing a major fps reduction. In Blair Witch it seems more that the sum of many activated settings cause a big fps hit. Therefore it may make more sense to just select a low, medium or high quality setting, and then add the antialiasing you want - and then see if there's any headroom for more res.
Thus Oculus didn't say PCVR is about to stop, but that they'll continue offering high-end PC VR experiences. In many ways Blair Witch PCVR stays incredibly true to that commitment. My best guess is that we're only getting Blair Witch PCVR, because Oculus supported it. Already now there're several complaints on Steam from users wanting a Steam version - and no response from the devs. Not sure we're going to get a Steam version at all.
There has been no high-end exclusive Rift game launch in the Oculus Store since we got Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond, and frankly speaking that wasn't an exclusive, even if Oculus paid for the game, because the game was also available on Steam.
For now Blair Witch PCVR is a true extremely high-end PCVR release, and totally exclusive to the Oculus Store. To me it's the best new game available in the Oculus Store since Medal of Honor arrived in Dec 2020.
Thus the game is cheaper than the $30 I had to bleed in the Oculus Store, and I can't refund after playing for like 6 hours But I'm pretty sure that this version is close to 100% the same as the Oculus version (screenshots are the same on Steam and in the Oculus Store), and the Oculus version looked really bad using lcd - this is an oled game if there ever was one. It's still not known if the Steam version supports native Oculus drivers.
The PlayStation version looks like low-poly garbage with almost no branches or leaves on the trees, and the amazing dynamic light and shadows simply gone - compared to the awesome PC version. This is the PlayStation VR trailer:
Btw, if some are holding off buying this game due to a fear of VR horror, then don't. This game is much more like a walking simulator with some puzzles. It's by far not a real horror game - maybe much more like a thriller, somewhat like the movie Seven.
Do let us know how the game performs using the Vive Pro - could be interesting. Reviving the game I don't even always get 90 fps with Index res 100%, but that's with all in-game settings maxed, and measured in chapter 2 (where the forest may be most dense).
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