VR Roomscale

John C Flett

John C Flett

Veteran of Psychic Wars
The release of Boneworks and the announcement about HL Alyx has made me wonder about how other users get on with roomscale VR.

Having had my setup for just over a year I've settled mostly into seated VR for sim games. This suits me fine as they're things I played anyway and DCS World was probably my key title for VR.

Roomscale in my experience was the one that fell most short of the promise because I simply don't have the space to do it justice, just short of 3mx3m.

So I was just wondering how that compares with other users here. How much space have you been able to free up or has roomscale just been impractical for you?
 
John C Flett said:
The release of Boneworks and the announcement about HL Alyx has made me wonder about how other users get on with roomscale VR.

Having had my setup for just over a year I've settled mostly into seated VR for sim games. This suits me fine as they're things I played anyway and DCS World was probably my key title for VR.

Roomscale in my experience was the one that fell most short of the promise because I simply don't have the space to do it justice, just short of 3mx3m.

So I was just wondering how that compares with other users here. How much space have you been able to free up or has roomscale just been impractical for you?
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With my Quest wirelessly I can take it anywhere in the house but haven't really done that yet. I found in my den with the computer playing Arizona Sunshine in an odd shaped 3mx1m pathway was mostly "playable" but I needed to reset myself and warp around on occasion. I definitely think that roomscale VR is more enjoyable when you're not being warned by your headset that you're leaving the space. Maybe over the holidays I'll try to make a larger space but yeah, nothing much bigger than what you've played in for me so far.
 
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+1 on the Quest.

I often play in my backyard in the evening, or in the lobby at my office after hours. I've come to think of the Quest more like a skateboard than a game console... it's something I take with me and use when I find good places for it.

I do use it in my living room sometimes, for games that don't need much space. But the best experiences are the ones that make use of much larger spaces (Robo Recall, Sariento, etc.)
 
SubCog said:
+1 on the Quest.

I often play in my backyard in the evening, or in the lobby at my office after hours. I've come to think of the Quest more like a skateboard than a game console... it's something I take with me and use when I find good places for it.
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I was thinking about using it outside but it's winter here and bitterly cold. Can't wait for summer!
 
I've had a Vive for about three and a half years which I bought after trying out the Occulus Dk2, my original plan was just to use it seated but I think roomscale is where VR really shines particularly in combination with the motion tracked controllers.

The size of my room sounds similar to yours although I've not mentioned it, the chaperone boundaries kick in quickly but I don't find it spoils the enjoyment for me.
 
John C Flett said:
Roomscale in my experience was the one that fell most short of the promise because I simply don't have the space to do it justice, just short of 3mx3m.
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You don't think 3x3m is enough for room scale? That's a bigger play space than most people have. My area is 4x3m and I consider it to be a pretty generous play area.
 
I think the majority of experiences that are essentially stationary, and they'll work fine in a 3m x 3m playspace.
 
I've had mixed results. Some have worked quite sufficiently in 3mx3m especially the wave shooter type games. There is a tech demo "Shattered Lights" which does a really good job of cheating to give the impression of more space.


Against that though even some very simple titles can hit limits. The VR art gallery has Michaelangelo's David and I can't do something as simple as walk round it. I have to teleport because even that takes up too much room.


So yes, 3mx3m allows some room scale, but I don't think it's sufficient to unlock the full potential.
 
It's interesting you both say Robo Recall as the videos I've seen only use standing gameplay. I don't actually see players taking advantage of roomscale.
 
I think the problem in general is that once you have to teleport or slide, it's no longer really worth walking around in your play space. You may make small adjustments here and there to reach stuff or back off from enemies, but for the most part you'll just teleport or slide around.

I'm afraid that's just the nature of the beast. I don't think it would change that much even if you had a 5x5m play area. Once you have a huge world to move through your play space will just prove to be inadequate.

That being said, roomscale works really well for games like SPT or Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes (use elevator mode).
 
John C Flett said:
It's interesting you both say Robo Recall as the videos I've seen only use standing gameplay. I don't actually see players taking advantage of roomscale.
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Nagorak said:
I think the problem in general is that once you have to teleport or slide, it's no longer really worth walking around in your play space. You may make small adjustments here and there to reach stuff or back off from enemies, but for the most part you'll just teleport or slide around.
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It's a totally different game in a large play space. You start to use your feet for the smaller movements during combat, weaving between robots as you play. Teleportation is only used for larger movements (like moving between sections of the level), and also as a strategic super power that you can use to get the drop on enemies.

Not having to use the teleporter for smaller combat movements really completes the sense of immersion. You don't realize how much the teleportation takes you out of the experience until you try it in a large play space.

I've said before many times, but I really want them to expand the maximum guardian size. It's currently ~30'x30'... but would be amazing if it could fill an indoor basketball court.
 
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