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[GreatestHits]

Anyway, I think Crytek is right. There's a brand new medium coming soon, and now is the time to start make a plan and to stake a claim. I think it's going to change the landscape for developers forever, at least eventually.

IMO, you get it. This isn't a new tech being released, like Kinect, or motion controls, or 3D TV. This is as you said it, a new MEDIUM. Those who do not get this will not get it until they play that one game or step into that one experience that pops their cherry forever. Some of us don't want you to get it and would rather you be a skeptic so we can give you an even more intense experience than if you knew what to expect.

Spoiler

Nintendo has always been doomed. They've been dying and on the decline since 1998

 

[Fried Food]

Man I can't wait for AAA non-sim VR games

 

[Air]

Still not convinced it'll be more than a niche thing. It'll definitely grow and have a following, and I really like the idea behind the void, but crytek hopping on doesn't instill a lot of confidence. We'll see. I also think people should be aware, drawing comparisons from the military and medical fields, that there's a lot of specialization involved in that and may not translate to your average consumer.

That said, I don't think VR needs to be in the homes of everyone to succeed, in fact I think if there were to be a Trojan horse moment for VR, it will be the relating to the adoption in specialized fields.

 

[Train of Midnight]

Just me, personally: I think this is going to herald a new mainstream field of technology in the next decade and it's going to have serious impacts on society.

The sheer potential is staggering. I think people underestimate how quickly technology moves when people are passionate about it, and how quickly the right device can catch on.

 

[Can Crusher]

The counterpoint to a myopic BBC article is an interview with a bloke from Crytek?

This is basically the kiss of death.

 

[Suzushiiro]

Just me, personally: I think this is going to herald a new mainstream field of technology in the next decade and it's going to have serious impacts on society.

The sheer potential is staggering. I think people underestimate how quickly technology moves when people are passionate about it, and how quickly the right device can catch on.

Yeah, VR is definitely going to be a big thing at some point. It's just a question of if this upcoming wave of VR devices is going to be the tipping point.

 

[ScatheZombie]

You just need to look to the military to see where technology is headed.

I actually just googled "military vr" for the first time and I'm already seeing lots of examples

The military has been using VR technology for ... about 15 years. I would hope you could find lots of examples.

 

[Thursday War]

if you want to be relevant in 4 years in game dev, don't be crytek

also, vr is still somewhat of a niche right now and doubt it'll take off in 4 years

 

[Zaptruder]

The counterpoint to a myopic BBC article is an interview with a bloke from Crytek?

This is basically the kiss of death.

The counterpoint to the seeming lack of hype is that there is genuine enthusiasm in the industry for the tech.

But people are going to be people. Most have made up their minds already - few are willing to have their minds changed, and will look for many reasons to reinforce what they already feel.

 

[ScatheZombie]

VR will be disseminated to the public the same way. They will be introduced to it in movie theaters, they will become familiar with it at their doctor's office. They'll see it on the sideline of NFL games. Then it'll become normalized, then it'll be everywhere, then it'll be a staple in the home.

People also don't realize that "gamedev" doesn't necessarily mean home consumer use. It also means military.

You had me until this part. The likelihood of movie theaters investing in individual headsets for patrons, of your doctor's office having VR for ... any reason, or seeing someone on the NFL sidelines wearing a headset when the real game is two feet away is pretty much nil. And that's what they need to sell. Headsets.

Can you imagine ticket prices for a VR movie experience? It's an extra $5-$10 for 3D with the shittiest and cheapest glasses. And the start-up costs? Not only having to purchase, and maintain, individual headsets for every moviegoer but also a platform to run it from.

Or will they just have a demo kiosk? Is that what you mean? Why would I, a movie theater owner, show you a product - which I have no financial stake in - that actively encourages you to get a better experience away from my business? I'm not doing that.

And the military has been using VR forever. Oculus just gave them nicer headsets.

 

[DragonSworne]

I'd say the time frame is correct. In 4 years the new consoles will be coming out and VR will be the primary focus.

 

[Yudoken]

Crytek, you we're the shining star with Far Cry and Crysis but nowadays you're really not in the position to give advice to anyone after what you did since Crysis 2.

 

[A_Gorilla]

After the abominations that were Crysis 2 and 3, Crytek has no right to tell anyone anything.

 

[Krejlooc]

You had me until this part. The likelihood of movie theaters investing in individual headsets for patrons, of your doctor's office having VR for ... any reason, or seeing someone on the NFL sidelines wearing a headset when the real game is two feet away is pretty much nil. And that's what they need to sell. Headsets.

Can you imagine ticket prices for a VR movie experience? It's an extra $5-$10 for 3D with the shittiest and cheapest glasses. And the start-up costs? Not only having to purchase, and maintain, individual headsets for every moviegoer but also a platform to run it from.

Or will they just have a demo kiosk? Is that what you mean? Why would I, a movie theater owner, show you a product - which I have no financial stake in - that actively encourages you to get a better experience away from my business? I'm not doing that.

And the military has been using VR forever. Oculus just gave them nicer headsets.

and i work in cancer research. we will have a vr product to sell to patients in 2 years.

 

[tanooki27]

too soon, say eight years at the earliest.

 

[Train of Midnight]

Yeah, VR is definitely going to be a big thing at some point. It's just a question of if this upcoming wave of VR devices is going to be the tipping point.

It's going to be a big leap.

 

[ScatheZombie]

A picture of the 3D interstellar demo.

Right. But there are a few key things here.

First, the movie theater is investing exactly zero dollars in this. They aren't getting in line to open an entire VR theater for movie goers. The headsets are provided for free because every VR company worth a damn needs publicity more than anything right now. This is a very narrow window that allows this to happen.

Second, these singular events are marketing for the actual movie to bring people into the theaters. This only works because VR is not available to the public. Once it becomes available, this has significantly less impact as a marketing tool for the theater and more for actual VR hardware - which the theater benefits nothing from, in fact could potentially be harmful to their business. And because it is no longer a demo product but a consumer product, would cost considerably more than 'nothing' that it currently does if they wanted to use it anyway. Both for the theater and the user.

Both of these points were actually made in the extremely pro-VR article I think you pulled that from.

And third, this doesn't actually address anything I said in terms of logistical complications and monetary issues. This repeated 'look at all these benefits' mantra while simultaneously either ignoring or downplaying the very real hurdles is frustratingly tiresome. I'm not trying to pick a pro/anti-VR fight. But time and time again when anyone says "Well, how do you solve for this problem" and the answer is "Shut up! VR is great! You don't know shit!"

It's like ... really ...

 

[MCN]

Hmm. Cool. Looks like the military is so 1337 they still use windows 98!

That's 88 versions ahead of what we have!

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

That's 88 versions ahead of what we have!

98 refers to the amount of children souls used to create every copy

 

[diffusionx]

Is Crytek relevant right now?

 

[dragonfart28]

Abandon thread!
Abandon thread!

 

[vio]

Is Crytek relevant right now?

Not even close to UE or Unity. Shame really, Crytek programers are best. For example this is Global Illumination solution they are working on. It is in latest version of the engine.

 

[system11]

The counterpoint to the seeming lack of hype is that there is genuine enthusiasm in the industry for the tech.

Lack of hype? We must be following different forums and news sources. It's the hypewagon of the apocalypse and there's going to be a big mess when it hits the wall of reality. My main concern is whether the small group of dedicated customers will be big enough in number to support devs who bet the farm on this.

 

[Theonik]

Not even close to UE or Unity. Shame really, Crytek programers are best. For example this is Global Illumination solution they are working on. It is in latest version of the engine.

In part Crytek is facing the same issue that Epic was facing in Japan but on a larger scale. Big development teams want hotline support and they are not in a position to provide it to US and Japanese developers due to being based in Frankfurt. In addition, UE managed to hook a lot of developers last gen which basically means the hiring pool for it is much larger, and finally UE and Unity have more aggressive pricing for attracting students and small developers.

 

[nortonff]

To stay relevant, you need to be relevant.
Crytek isn't.
And I don't care at all for VR.

 

[OriginalThinking]

Whilst I expect VR to be successful, I don't see it as being the be all and end all. VR creates problems as it offers solutions;

Cost - in terms of the hardware and the hardware required to run VR at the fidelity of modern gaming;

Presence - the hardware creates a barrier between you and the real world, in a way that no other medium yet has. This is VR's greatest strength but also its greatest weakness.

I expect both these issues to be solved, I just don't foresee that being in as little as 4 years. Traditional gaming will be dominant for a while longer.

 

[Solid Samus]

90%? What are you smoking?

did you actually process what I posted?
VR consumer hardware isn't even out yet and Source 2, Unreal Engine 4, CryEngine 3, and Unity already feature VR development tools as part of their packages. Several other major engines are expected to follow suit and many more still support VR without explicitly providing tools to develop VR games.