• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

"The Witness" will have VR compatibility on PC, no support for PSVR

ArtHands

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
http://www.idigitaltimes.com/witness-dev-says-vr-compatibility-works-not-playstation-vr-506051

The VR compatibility will be exclusive for the pc.

The Witness will have VR compatibility creator Jonathan Blow told iDigitalTimes, so indie game lovers can explore the beautiful world of The Witness in virtual reality. Unless you want to do it with PlayStation VR, then you’re screwed. The Witness will eventually be compatible with VR headsets on PC, but won’t be compatible with PlayStation VR. Blow confirmed to iDigitalTimes there are no plans to make the game compatible with Sony’s VR headset at present.
Click to expand...

Here's the reason

Blow explained the only way to make The Witness compatible with PlayStation VR would’ve come early on in the development process.
Click to expand...

“Not on PlayStation VR simply because to support that you would’ve had to design the game from the outset,” Blow said. “We started this game a long time ago way before PlayStation VR was a concept so for for this game. We might do some support for PC based UV because it’s easier to add that in later.”
Click to expand...
 
I imagine Blow would do it if he could, so there's probably not much overhead on the PS4 to support VR at the game's current fidelity.
 
I do imagine that making a game VR compatible is a strain on the hardware, I wonder if that's the case or if he ran out of piss jars
 
Mediking said:
Hahaha oh man... The VR exclusivity experience begins...
Click to expand...

I'm going to assume this at least isn't because Oculus or HTC bought exclusivity. He probably just doesn't have a plan to get it running acceptably in VR with the PS4 yet. Wait and see what happens.
 
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.
 
Weird that there are no plans for PSVR. But it matters not, as I will have both Occulus and PSVR. And providing the game is good, I'll buy accordingly.
 
Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't implement it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.
Click to expand...

Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.
 
430a94c2_Denzel-Boom.gif
 
Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.
Click to expand...

He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.
 
Someone get Shu on this.
 
Ridley327 said:
Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.
Click to expand...
True but I thought the little box that ships with PSVR was there to help alleviate some of that? Unless it's literally just there for image post-processing like the warping thing.
Danlord said:
He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.
Click to expand...
Oh okay, thank you for the confirmation! Interesting.
 
Mediking said:
Hahaha oh man... The VR exclusivity experience begins...
Click to expand...

I doubt this is an exclusivity issue versus an effort issue.

Each additional platform adds significant cost, from engine support to compatibility testing.

It's smart for them to not commit to a platform that's unlikely to launch anytime before September and could be incredibly niche.
 
Garrett Hawke said:
Hmm, I thought it was 60fps on PS4? If that's true and it holds a solid 60fps I don't know why they wouldn't try to implement it unless there are even more performance costs associated with it.

I could be completely wrong tho, I just read that it was 60fps on GAF.
Click to expand...

That's not how it works.
 
Ionic said:
I'm going to assume this at least isn't because Oculus or HTC bought exclusivity. He probably just doesn't have a plan to get it running acceptably in VR with the PS4 yet. Wait and see what happens.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think its more likely to be a power issue (and/or Blow's sales expectations of the VR platforms) that have led to this decision, but we'll just have to wait and see.
 
Ridley327 said:
Any game running at 60 fps on your TV is no guarantee that it can do the same in VR.
Click to expand...

I think the user meant that its easier to compromise to making a 60fps game run properly on VR than making a 30fps game running properly.

Less sacrifices necessary
 
Rendering a stereoscopic view is much more demanding than a standard render. It's unlikely the game would hold frame-rate at the same fidelity.
 
Danlord said:
He confirmed in a responding tweet to me that it runs 60FPS on PS4. As for PSVR integration, I wonder if he's either waiting for final PSVR SDK and working on ensuring that he can get it working efficiently OR he's maybe concerned that people might delay their purchase on PS4 to wait for the PSVR launch so he could see reduced sales at launch period. Just conjecture here of course.
Click to expand...

If he was concerned about later sales then why would he confirm that it'll be on PC VR?
 
tuxfool said:
Yes.

And sensor fusion and HDMI passthrough.
Click to expand...
Ah, that's cool too then.
so no hidden GPU :P
hodgy100 said:
Rendering a stereoscopic view is much more demanding than a standard render. It's unlikely the game would hold frame-rate at the same fidelity.
Click to expand...
Okay, thanks for the explanation!

But yeah if this has DK2 support... I'll be picking it up on PC. Need to get hands on time with some VR games to help me develop my own!
 
Tagyhag said:
If he was concerned about later sales then why would he confirm that it'll be on PC VR?
Click to expand...

It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.
 
Well, the only VR hardware I can buy is PSVR, so I hope he changes his mind. Not that I was ever buying for just that reason to begin with, but that was definitely a nice added bonus when he said he was exploring VR.
 
If Driveclub supports VR, I see no excuse for any other game not to support it if it is not a technical masterpiece.

I hope it is more business decisions than actual hardware issues.
 
Bsigg12 said:
It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.
Click to expand...

Uh what does that have to do with my question lol?

What you are saying is most likely the reason as to why he's saying just PC VR now though.
 
Surprised there aren't plans for this one. Given the art style and slower paced nature of it I expected it to be a strong candidate for PSVR.
 
I think it's really because it's not worth optimizing for PS4 while PV has the grunt. This game wasn't built from the ground up with VR in mind, obviously.
 
Pif said:
If Driveclub supports VR, I see no excuse for any other game not to support it if it is not a technical masterpiece.

I hope it is more business decisions than actual hardware issues.
Click to expand...

Driveclub has the backing and budget of Sony behind it.

The Witness has a broke Johnathan Blow.
 
Bsigg12 said:
It's a lot easier to brute force a PC version for VR than having to go back and rethink your rendering process to make it run at an acceptable rate for PSVR.
Click to expand...

You can't brute force on Rift. It needs to run without drops on a 970.
 
Tagyhag said:
Uh what does that have to do with my question lol?

What you are saying is most likely the reason as to why he's saying just PC VR now though.
Click to expand...

I read your question wrong lol. It's been a long day.

TAJ said:
You can't brute force on Oculus. It needs to run without drops on a 970.
Click to expand...

I would be shocked if the game isn't buttery smooth in VR with a 970. Hell the minimum requirement for the game itself goes all the way down to Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.
 
It makes sense, PS4 have it harder to "have support" since the optimizations needed to make a normal game run on PSVR might be insane; but, on the other hand, they have it easier to have "VR experiences only" because of Sony's support, imo.
 
Tagyhag said:
Driveclub has the backing and budget of Sony behind it.

The Witness has a broke Johnathan Blow.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that it's already confirmed that Driveclub VR operates at a lower visual fidelity than the game normally does, and even has a reduced car count. Something has to give on the PS4 when it comes to VR.
 
Not calling out the Oculus specifically probably means it uses SteamVR.

Does SteamVR not suck on the Rift yet?
 
Ridley327 said:
Not to mention that it's already confirmed that Driveclub VR operates at a lower visual fidelity than the game normally does, and even has a reduced car count. Something has to give on the PS4 when it comes to VR.
Click to expand...

Driveclub was also 30fps.
 
Here's the reason

Blow explained the only way to make The Witness compatible with PlayStation VR would’ve come early on in the development process.
Click to expand...

“Not on PlayStation VR simply because to support that you would’ve had to design the game from the outset,” Blow said. “We started this game a long time ago way before PlayStation VR was a concept so for for this game. We might do some support for PC based UV because it’s easier to add that in later.”
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PSVR 2 Reportedly “Jailbroken” for PC; Hackers Claim Eye-Tracking and Haptics Unlock
VR Hardware Platform 
10
375
Kuranghi replied
Resident evil requiem - anyone here playing this with VR mod on PC?
Opinion VR Platform 
3
209
BennyBlanco replied
Pearl Abyss confirms Crimson Desert is not supported on Intel Arc GPUs (UP: Devs stated they're working on compatibility and support for Intel Arc)
2
69
1K
Donald mac Ronald replied
Myst and Riven Remakes Launch May 19 for PS5 With PS VR2 Support, Riven Coming to Xbox Series
News VR Platform 
22
421
rkofan87 replied
No Rest for the Wicked 1.0 launches October 2026 on PC and PlayStation 5
News 
46
374
HumongousChungus80 replied
Top Bottom