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My Six Month Review of 3D Gaming (PC) and 3D Vision Tips

S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
So I picked up an Asus VG278H 27" monitor yesterday. After a little bit of trouble getting the 3D to activate I have to say I LOVE this monitor. I have an Acer HD5360 720p 3D projector so I've played some stuff in 3D before but the lightboost really makes a huge difference. It looks as clear, bright and vibrant in 3D as it does in 2D.

There is still something to be said for 3D on a 106" screen (and for movies it's definitely better) but since my gaming rig is not usually hooked up my projector this is a great alternative plus it has a brighter picture and 1080 vs 720.

So far I've tried:

Batman Arkham City - already knew it looked amazing but since it's already a dark game it looks even better
Darksiders - looked great but cutscenes are in 2D and some effect don't render correctly in 3D
Metro 2033 - looks fantastic
SWTOR - generally looks amazing but has a few annoying issues that are pretty much gamebreakers and also has some ghosting issues that I didn't notice in other games

Going to try some more tonight. Spent a lot of time last night playing with depth and convergence settings.

Here's a couple shots from SWTOR, download and rename to .jps

http://www.abload.de/img/swtor02_50hcuhl.jpg
http://www.abload.de/img/swtor03_504ru8h.jpg
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
En-ou said:
cant go back to flat gaming. have had my 3d monitor for about 2 months now and it is just jaw dropping to see full depth in the games. dark souls is just fucking impressive in 3d! sen's fortress, blighttown, ash lake etc are sights to behold!

and my god...trine 2...everyone needs to see this shit in 3d...
Click to expand...

I just recently picked up a VG23AH because I wanted a non TN panel that was fast, and this appears to be the best 60hz monitor you can buy for consoles in terms of input lag and image quality/colors. It just so happened to have 3D as well, so I decided I'd use it as a test to see if 3D was "worth it" since it's definitely not right now at the theatres.

I haven't played too many games with 3D activated yet, but those that I have played were rather impressive. It's also done something to my head though, because I'm now seeing depth in static 2D images where I didn't before. Pretty much everything on this monitor has a Viewmaster effect happening.

Anyway, console 3D seems more user friendly than PC 3D does with this screen simply because of how far back you need to sit to get a decent effect with passive. Sitting too close just makes for some awful convergence. Adjusting it to get rid of the "ghost image" when sitting at a normal viewing distance or whatever it's called practically kills all of the 3D effect too. I'm not sure if it's worth the effort right now, but it is pretty neat.
 
mr stroke

mr stroke

Member
Decado said:
Anyone tried DmC in 3d?

btw, has this become "the PC 3D thread"?
Click to expand...

Played about half way through the game in 3D Vision Surround and its fantastic. Best use of 3D in any game I have seen so far. Plus the game is well optimized, so 60FPS even at 5760x1080 in 3D.

Trine 2 and DMC are now my top 2 benchmark 3D games.
 
D

dookeh

Member
I played through DMC in 3D without the fix and it worked pretty damn well except for some cutscenes. I personally enjoy the game at 120fps though.
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
mr stroke said:
Played about half way through the game in 3D Vision Surround and its fantastic. Best use of 3D in any game I have seen so far. Plus the game is well optimized, so 60FPS even at 5760x1080 in 3D.

Trine 2 and DMC are now my top 2 benchmark 3D games.
Click to expand...

You've got 3 fucking 3D monitors?! God damn dude! Which monitor? That sounds pricy as hell!
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Alo81 said:
You've got 3 fucking 3D monitors?! God damn dude! Which monitor? That sounds pricy as hell!
Click to expand...

I've seen other gaffers with this. Some of the older models are pretty cheap.

Even the new 24-inch 3D Vision2 monitors from Asus (that do 144hz in 2D) have basically released at 279.99. So even the high end isn't that expensive compared to the really crappy sets that pass for HDTV these days.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
As far as I could tell, CES came and went without a single set being upgraded to the new HDMI chip. I suppose it's possible the Westinghouse 4k set will support it since it needs it for 30hz 4k mode, but none of the other 4k models are supporting resolution additions beyond 30hz@4k. So I wouldn't expect 1080p@120fps or 1080p3D@60fps on that one either.
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Anyone know what's going on with Dolphin? The 3D vision toggle (Ctrl + T) no longer seems to work with it.
 
D

Decado

Member
mr stroke said:
Played about half way through the game in 3D Vision Surround and its fantastic. Best use of 3D in any game I have seen so far. Plus the game is well optimized, so 60FPS even at 5760x1080 in 3D.

Trine 2 and DMC are now my top 2 benchmark 3D games.
Click to expand...

Wut? How did you get that crazy resolution? Are you playing using active or passive 3D? I haven't figured out how to downsample to a resolution lower than my display (passive 3D).
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Kingdom of Amalur is pretty awesome in 3D. The fantasy element really sparkles here.

Absolute must to use the Helix fix. And if you're running the latest drivers (which you have to for the 6xx cards), you'll need to go into Nvidia Inspector and delete the KoA profile so Nvidia's hackish 3D settings aren't loaded.
 
D

Decado

Member
Anyone know how to get the 3D in Metro 2033 working? It seems to be enabled and I have depth cranked to full, but I can't see any 3D effect at all. Even after unlocking it in the nvidia control panel, I can't change convergence, but that's not unique to this game.

Anyway, for a game that is supposed to be great in 3D...the 3D looks just like 2D, to me.

On the flip side, Batman Arkham Asylum looks quite nice.
 
D

Decado

Member
1-D_FTW said:
Kingdom of Amalur is pretty awesome in 3D. The fantasy element really sparkles here.

Absolute must to use the Helix fix. And if you're running the latest drivers (which you have to for the 6xx cards), you'll need to go into Nvidia Inspector and delete the KoA profile so Nvidia's hackish 3D settings aren't loaded.
Click to expand...

Might try that now that I've learned there are some mods that increase the game's difficulty and balance things out a bit.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Decado said:
Anyone know how to get the 3D in Metro 2033 working? It seems to be enabled and I have depth cranked to full, but I can't see any 3D effect at all. Even after unlocking it in the nvidia control panel, I can't change convergence, but that's not unique to this game.

Anyway, for a game that is supposed to be great in 3D...the 3D looks just like 2D, to me.

On the flip side, Batman Arkham Asylum looks quite nice.
Click to expand...

Weird. Shouldn't have any issues loading. Game's even rated 3D Vision. I personally didn't like the game, but I played longer than I would have normally, just because the 3D was so good in it.
 
S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Tomb Raider in 3D is pretty amazing. I just started so I haven't gotten to the point of having to use the crosshair which I hear has some issues but so far it's one of the best 3D games I've seen. It has it's own 3D engine so all the settings are done from the game options instead of the Nvidia settings.
 
B

beast786

Member
StudioTan said:
Tomb Raider in 3D is pretty amazing. I just started so I haven't gotten to the point of having to use the crosshair which I hear has some issues but so far it's one of the best 3D games I've seen. It has it's own 3D engine so all the settings are done from the game options instead of the Nvidia settings.
Click to expand...


Yea, its a new poster child for 3d. Crosshair is about couple of centimeter off, really annoying.
 
A

ArachosiA 78

Member
I have a Panny Plasma. So all I need to play PC games in 3D is 3DTV Play software? How does 3DTVPlay on a 3DTV comapre to on a 3D monitor?
 
S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Alo81 said:
Can you disable the crosshair and just use the 3D vision forced one?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately no because it's not an Nvidia 3D Vision game.

ArachosiA 78 said:
I have a Panny Plasma. So all I need to play PC games in 3D is 3DTV Play software? How does 3DTVPlay on a 3DTV comapre to on a 3D monitor?
Click to expand...

Is your TV 3D capable? You can't do 3D on just any TV. If it is then the 3DTVPlay software is just used to send the 3D signal to your TV where it can then transmit to your glasses.
 
Reallink

Reallink

Member
beast786 said:
Yea, its a new poster child for 3d. Crosshair is about couple of centimeter off, really annoying.
Click to expand...

Couple centimeters off? Well that's certainly putting it nicely. It's 100% 2D stuck at the display plane. Crosshair's are nothing but a double image. I have no idea how this problem continues making it past the very first stage of 3D implementation. The fact that it does suggests that not even a single person sits down and plays so much as 30 seconds of these games in 3D.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Reallink said:
Couple centimeters off? Well that's certainly putting it nicely. It's 100% 2D stuck at the display plane. Crosshair's are nothing but a double image. I have no idea how this problem continues making it past the very first stage of 3D implementation. The fact that it does suggests that not even a single person sits down and plays so much as 30 seconds of these games in 3D.
Click to expand...

It really is baffling. I was bored and looking at the Nvidia boards yesterday. Seems like somebody has found a way to launch the game in DX9. So it's possible a Helix mod could fix the game if you didn't mind losing the tessellation.

How does a game with it's own 3D renderer ship with a 2D cursor? It really does blow one's mind.
 
L

LaB_NL

Member
1-D_FTW said:
It really is baffling. I was bored and looking at the Nvidia boards yesterday. Seems like somebody has found a way to launch the game in DX9. So it's possible a Helix mod could fix the game if you didn't mind losing the tessellation.

How does a game with it's own 3D renderer ship with a 2D cursor? It really does blow one's mind.
Click to expand...

Unbelievable indeed. Any known work-around?
 
L

LemonGremlin

Member
It takes some messing getting the depth and focal point right but once you do it transforms the whole thing. To minimise the crosshair problem you've got to tone it down, but I've found setting depth = 2, strength = 5 to be the sweet spot.

Tomb Raider has seriously impressed me in 3D. It's up there with Batman Arkham City and Trine 2. Caves feel claustrophobic, forests have amazing depth, wind effects are incredible, combat has real meat to it. Some of the highlights are the rollercoaster ride sections - while I'm seriously apathetic to them in 2D, being dragged down a fast flowing river, falling over the edge of a waterfall and landing on glass that slowly begins to crack underneath you is genuinely impressive in 3D.

It's a shame there doesn't seem to be a chapter select feature. I want to grab every 3D naysayer and convert them with bits of this game.
 
I

Izayoi

Banned
TERA looks lovely with the UI off, but there really needs to be some kind of work-around to "sink" the UI into the picture a bit. It would improve playability with many games by a lot. Are there any hacks that do something like that for UE3 games?
 
J

jaypah

Member
Recently switched from AMD to a 660 as a wedding present from my wife and decided to try 3DTV Play this morning since I don't have shit else to do. Just Cause 2 in 3D is just...what the fuck am I even doing?! It's too early in the morning for my mind to be so blown. Well it's not really morning anymore but I've been parked in front of the tv drooling for about 3 hours.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
LaB_NL said:
Unbelievable indeed. Any known work-around?
Click to expand...

Eidos has posted on their forums that they're aware of the problem and working on a solution. Here's hoping.

jaypah said:
Recently switched from AMD to a 660 as a wedding present from my wife and decided to try 3DTV Play this morning since I don't have shit else to do. Just Cause 2 in 3D is just...what the fuck am I even doing?! It's too early in the morning for my mind to be so blown. Well it's not really morning anymore but I've been parked in front of the tv drooling for about 3 hours.
Click to expand...

Yup. It's a helluva drug once you've seen truly great 3D for the first time.
 
S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
jaypah said:
Recently switched from AMD to a 660 as a wedding present from my wife and decided to try 3DTV Play this morning since I don't have shit else to do. Just Cause 2 in 3D is just...what the fuck am I even doing?! It's too early in the morning for my mind to be so blown. Well it's not really morning anymore but I've been parked in front of the tv drooling for about 3 hours.
Click to expand...

Try Dead Space 2 ;)
 
Spazznid

Spazznid

Member
I've been wanting to get into 3d gaming for a while, but I don't really have much room.

I have a Bravia 55inch LED 3dtv and it's 3d is hit or miss.

Does 3d usually suck at 720p? Whenever I play at that resolution, the ghosting is ridiculous. At 1080p there's still a tiny bit of ghosting but it's not very noticeable... But playing most games at 24fps is crappy. I want to invest in a nice 3d monitor, but then I'd have to buy a slim desk and a chair... My current setup is an Ikea chair, a square table and a bigscreen TV in my small room.

So if I take the jump, I'd have to be pretty committed..
 
H

hodgy100

Member
does anyone know how to get 3d working for pc games on a passive 3dtv? nvidia 3d vision only seems to support their implementation (120hz monitor + active glasses)
 
M

M3d10n

Member
hodgy100 said:
does anyone know how to get 3d working for pc games on a passive 3dtv? nvidia 3d vision only seems to support their implementation (120hz monitor + active glasses)
Click to expand...

AFAIK you need to buy the NVIDIA 3DTV Play software, which enables other display formats like side-by-side, which should be compatible with most (if not all) 3D TVs.
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Spazznid said:
I've been wanting to get into 3d gaming for a while, but I don't really have much room.

I have a Bravia 55inch LED 3dtv and it's 3d is hit or miss.

Does 3d usually suck at 720p? Whenever I play at that resolution, the ghosting is ridiculous. At 1080p there's still a tiny bit of ghosting but it's not very noticeable... But playing most games at 24fps is crappy. I want to invest in a nice 3d monitor, but then I'd have to buy a slim desk and a chair... My current setup is an Ikea chair, a square table and a bigscreen TV in my small room.

So if I take the jump, I'd have to be pretty committed..
Click to expand...

Oculus rift is quite compact ;)
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
SapientWolf said:
What's the standard way to take/view 3D screenshots?
Click to expand...
3D Vision itself can do it, it's Alt-F1. I forget where it puts it, somewhere in My Documents, I think. Sort of a "hidden" feature, since it's not listed among the regular hotkeys. The image is double-width, and contains the full resolution left- and right-eye images. Load it into any program that can read 3D images and you're all set.
 
J

Jedi2016

Member
M3d10n said:
AFAIK you need to buy the NVIDIA 3DTV Play software, which enables other display formats like side-by-side, which is compatible with most (if not all) 3D TVs.
Click to expand...
If you're using a TV, yes, it should support side-by-side. If it's just a passive computer monitor, it probably won't, it'll be relying on the computer to provide the input.

That said, run a Google for "EDID Override". It allows you to install a NVidia profile for one of the rare models of passive monitor that the program actually supports. Fools 3D Vision into thinking you have a compatible monitor, so it will spit out the proper image to display. I'm using it on my Asus VG23AH, works like a champ. And nothing to buy.
 
J

jaypah

Member
M3d10n said:
AFAIK you need to buy the NVIDIA 3DTV Play software, which enables other display formats like side-by-side, which should be compatible with most (if not all) 3D TVs.
Click to expand...

correct. I snagged the 14 day trial but I'll be buying it as soon as it run out. Works really well and it's easy to get it up and running.
 
H

Hzoltan69

Member
Are there any tricks to do downsampling in 3D? I play on a projector and since 1080p is only 24Hz, I have no choice but to play in 720p and the aliasing is killing me. If I try to downsample from a higher resolution, it's reported as 'not 3d compatible'. :(

I know SGSSAA should work, but it's a pain to get it to work with most games...
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Hzoltan69 said:
Are there any tricks to do downsampling in 3D? I play on a projector and since 1080p is only 24Hz, I have no choice but to play in 720p and the aliasing is killing me. If I try to downsample from a higher resolution, it's reported as 'not 3d compatible'. :(

I know SGSSAA should work, but it's a pain to get it to work with most games...
Click to expand...

Rather than use SGSSAA, you could always just try regular SSAA. It shouldn't be as much of a pain to set up.
 
D

Decado

Member
1-D_FTW said:
Kingdom of Amalur is pretty awesome in 3D. The fantasy element really sparkles here.

Absolute must to use the Helix fix. And if you're running the latest drivers (which you have to for the 6xx cards), you'll need to go into Nvidia Inspector and delete the KoA profile so Nvidia's hackish 3D settings aren't loaded.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Are you using any of the fan made difficulty patches? The game sounds interesting, but not particularly balanced. If the mods really do the job it may be worth picking up. Trying to get back into RPGs...but I'm fussier now than I used to be, so it's hard. :p

It's also $7.50 at GMG now.

On another note, still trying to figure out my issues with Metro 2033. Is 3D only really evident in certain areas?
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Decado said:
Interesting. Are you using any of the fan made difficulty patches? The game sounds interesting, but not particularly balanced. If the mods really do the job it may be worth picking up. Trying to get back into RPGs...but I'm fussier now than I used to be, so it's hard. :p

It's also $7.50 at GMG now.

On another note, still trying to figure out my issues with Metro 2033. Is 3D only really evident in certain areas?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I have casual tastes when it comes to RPGs. A lot of what I like would probably put off the more hardcore. It kind of reminds of Darksiders 2 in that way. I'm sure there are plenty of holes to be poked, but the atmosphere is so damn great in 3d, that I enjoyed my stay the entire time. Can't really help on gameplay mod opinions.

Metro 2033 is odd because it's considered a 3d vision showcase game and that was my opinion (although even with the awesome 3d, I eventually quit because I just had gameplay issues with the game.)
 
D

Decado

Member
1-D_FTW said:
Honestly, I have casual tastes when it comes to RPGs. A lot of what I like would probably put off the more hardcore. It kind of reminds of Darksiders 2 in that way. I'm sure there are plenty of holes to be poked, but the atmosphere is so damn great in 3d, that I enjoyed my stay the entire time. Can't really help on gameplay mod opinions.

Metro 2033 is odd because it's considered a 3d vision showcase game and that was my opinion (although even with the awesome 3d, I eventually quit because I just had gameplay issues with the game.)
Click to expand...

I figured it out. Since I'm playing in DX11, there are some cfg files that needed to be altered. Never seems to be simple. Looks great now, though. BTW, any way to put the crosshair at the right depth?

Looking the Helix mod page, I wonder why there are so many fixes for older games that are DX9 only. Is it easier to work with?
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Decado said:
I figured it out. Since I'm playing in DX11, there are some cfg files that needed to be altered. Never seems to be simple. Looks great now, though. BTW, any way to put the crosshair at the right depth?

Looking the Helix mod page, I wonder why there are so many fixes for older games that are DX9 only. Is it easier to work with?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately. The way DX 9 and 11 handle shaders is different. There's hope that Helix might be able to crack the code and allow DX 11 modding, but it's far from guaranteed. It makes the next gen consoles and DX11-only games a scary prospect. Hopefully developers getting on board with Oculus Rift will mean they'll spend a couple hours and make sure things don't ship with clumsy shaders that break 3D.
 
ebullientprism

ebullientprism

Member
Trine 2. Jesus, I have no words.

Also, for some reason I cant get Tomb Raider working in 3D. The 3D option is greyed out and the game by default doesnt render in 3D no matter what I do. Anyone else having the same problem?
 
S

simonski

Member
ebullientprism said:
Trine 2. Jesus, I have no words.

Also, for some reason I cant get Tomb Raider working in 3D. The 3D option is greyed out and the game by default doesnt render in 3D no matter what I do. Anyone else having the same problem?
Click to expand...

3D wouldn't work on my monitor if Full cfreen Exclusive mode was ticked, and wouldn't work on my TV without it. Give that a try.
 
D

Decado

Member
1-D_FTW said:
Unfortunately. The way DX 9 and 11 handle shaders is different. There's hope that Helix might be able to crack the code and allow DX 11 modding, but it's far from guaranteed. It makes the next gen consoles and DX11-only games a scary prospect. Hopefully developers getting on board with Oculus Rift will mean they'll spend a couple hours and make sure things don't ship with clumsy shaders that break 3D.
Click to expand...

Shitty. So you have to choose between a better implementation of 3D and the better FX in DX10 and DX11 :(
 
S

Smokey

Member
ebullientprism said:
Trine 2. Jesus, I have no words.

Also, for some reason I cant get Tomb Raider working in 3D. The 3D option is greyed out and the game by default doesnt render in 3D no matter what I do. Anyone else having the same problem?
Click to expand...

I tried Trine 2 in 3D Surround (three 3D monitors) and it is insane. Also the hottest my GPUs have ever gotten.
 
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