Unreal disappointment
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TobyCWood
Dec 13, 2016, 1:37:39 PM12/13/16
to VR Geeks
In my exploration of what's available in Steam VR i tried the Solus Project. I'm using a Vive with a PC that has optimal resources for it. The game uses the Unreal graphics engine and reviews were mostly positive. I am still at the start of the game, but just the first scene makes it clear that their use of the visual elements makes for poor VR representation. Trees and grass and many other elements are flat with a parallax effect that is more like Cardboard then full room VR. IMO the Unreal engine's approach ain't all that great. Perhaps their game design with such a large wide open area makes it real hard to have many complete virtual elements.
Jan Ciger
Dec 13, 2016, 2:05:42 PM12/13/16
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Hello,
That is indeed 100% poor game design that ignores basic rules of
development for VR and nothing to do with the Unreal engine itself. They
have obviously used billboards, flat "leaves" and 2D overlays that work
ok on a monitor but not in VR. That is what the stock foliage and tree
libraries that both Unity and Unreal engines use to lower the resource
usage. It is visible in the screenshots already. A "VR compatible"
foliage would require a lot more polygonal complexity and likely redoing
the graphic assets for the game.
The reason for it is that that game has not been developed for VR - it
is a normal desktop game that got a "VR patch" to support an HMD later,
so no surprise that it shows. Turning on the HMD support in Unreal/Unity
is not enough for a game to work well in VR, unfortunately - and many
studios *still* ignore this.
For a game to really work well in VR it needs to be designed for it from
start. It is kinda like with the 3D movies - Avatar looked great,
because it was shot in 3D outright. The following 3D films were often
only converted from the original 2D to 3D - and it sucked bad, putting
people off the entire concept.
Regards,
Jan
development for VR and nothing to do with the Unreal engine itself. They
have obviously used billboards, flat "leaves" and 2D overlays that work
ok on a monitor but not in VR. That is what the stock foliage and tree
libraries that both Unity and Unreal engines use to lower the resource
usage. It is visible in the screenshots already. A "VR compatible"
foliage would require a lot more polygonal complexity and likely redoing
the graphic assets for the game.
The reason for it is that that game has not been developed for VR - it
is a normal desktop game that got a "VR patch" to support an HMD later,
so no surprise that it shows. Turning on the HMD support in Unreal/Unity
is not enough for a game to work well in VR, unfortunately - and many
studios *still* ignore this.
For a game to really work well in VR it needs to be designed for it from
start. It is kinda like with the 3D movies - Avatar looked great,
because it was shot in 3D outright. The following 3D films were often
only converted from the original 2D to 3D - and it sucked bad, putting
people off the entire concept.
Regards,
Jan
Balthazar Auxietre
Dec 13, 2016, 2:34:04 PM12/13/16
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Hello Toby,
the Solus Project is not a game designed with VR in mind but a "VR port"
probably made for marketing purposes. I would recommend other VR titles
made with unreal that were actually made for VR from the ground up... and
with all the constraints/advantages that comes with it ;)
A few VR games made with UE:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/355460/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/490840/ (which is free)
I don't want to do my own publicity here but we also did one experience
that is made for the Vive with Unreal:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/436490/
They are probably a few other ones and more you can access through Oculus (
All Epic VR demos and oculus story studio experiences for example) if you
can get one
cheers!
the Solus Project is not a game designed with VR in mind but a "VR port"
probably made for marketing purposes. I would recommend other VR titles
made with unreal that were actually made for VR from the ground up... and
with all the constraints/advantages that comes with it ;)
A few VR games made with UE:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/355460/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/490840/ (which is free)
I don't want to do my own publicity here but we also did one experience
that is made for the Vive with Unreal:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/436490/
They are probably a few other ones and more you can access through Oculus (
All Epic VR demos and oculus story studio experiences for example) if you
can get one
cheers!
2016-12-13 20:32 GMT+01:00 Balthazar InnerspaceVR <balt...@innerspacevr.com>:
Hello Toby,the Solus Project is not a game designed with VR in mind but a "VR port" probably made for marketing purposes. I would recommend other VR titles made with unreal that were actually made for VR from the ground up... and with all the constraints/advantages that comes with it ;)A few VR games made with UE:http://store.steampowered.com/app/490840/ (which is free)I don't want to do my own publicity here but we also did one experience that is made for the Vive with Unreal:They are probably a few other ones and more you can access through Oculus ( All Epic VR demos and oculus story studio experiences for example) if you can get onecheers!
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TobyCWood
Dec 13, 2016, 4:13:36 PM12/13/16
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Awesome! I will go try today! Thanks!
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TobyCWood
Dec 13, 2016, 10:51:07 PM12/13/16
to VR Geeks
Oh! Wow! La Peri was brilliant. Great stuff! Thank you!
You guys were right. When done correctly the Unreal Engine does the job.
On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at 11:34:04 AM UTC-8, Balthazar wrote:
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Balthazar Auxietre
Dec 14, 2016, 6:42:06 AM12/14/16
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😊 Thanks Toby, glad you enjoyed it!
Don't hesitate to reach out if you have other questions regarding Unreal development.
best,
B.
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