The online racing simulator
Quote from Gutholz :-In some menus you first have to activate the virtual kb and then press the button.
(For example editing F-key binds)
That 'trick' does not work everywhere because sometimes the virtual kb blocks the textfield, making it unreachable to clicking.
(For example join-server dialog)

It is not normally a problem because when you have a VR headset on, the virtual keyboard always appears if there is a text dialog. The virtual keyboard key is really just to enable the virtual keyboard for other uses.

Quote from Gutholz :-When on track, does the virtual kb button have any other use beside typing chat messages? If not, virtual-kb button could also open the chat dialog. (One buttonpress instead of two)

Yes, it's useful for anything that is not bound to a controller button, e.g. car reset or ignition, F9 to F12, clicking any assigned F keys and so on.

There is a separate 'T' assignment to open the chat dialog with a single button press.

Quote from jasonmatthews :Any tips on getting better image quality Scawen on the Vive? I see alot of aliasing in the distance, like a shimmmering effect. I tried settings dsr to maximum, didn't seem to make a difference.

What about clamp/allow options? Any tips?

I don't really have a suggestion at the moment, specially as the antialiasing to the render target texture is fixed at 4x. I have it on my VR notes to allow this to be an option, as in non-VR modes. I guess this might help. I know the problem you are talking about, most particularly on armco barriers because of the stripey appearance.
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Cheers Dave, will try that. I have a gtx980 so should be able to max everything.

i was surprised the DSR didn't seem to help at all Shrug
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Quote from jasonmatthews :i was surprised the DSR didn't seem to help at all Shrug

I guess it's because LFS and all other VR programs have an extra stage where they render to a large render target texture which is subsequently distorted onto the final output screen.

Many of these effects you can apply, using driver settings, only affect that final step which outputs to the screen. But the things they affect aren't done in that stage so there is no effect. For example you might be able to force antialiasing, and that would have absolutely no effect whatsoever, because it only affects edges, and there are no edges when the render target texture is distorted to the final screen. Supersamping and other things will also have no effect at all. You can't get any more detail into that render target texture after it has already been drawn.

The only way to affect the VR graphics is to affect the stage where the game is rendering to the render target texture.

If you want to try things in a easier was without the headset on, you could enable the post-processing shader as that goes through a similar process (rendering to a render target which is then transferred to the screen). First edit the post-processing shader to have no effect, then switch it on. Now, any effects you can successfully apply to that will also affect the VR mode version.
Are you able to render to a bigger output to help with the resolution? I know some games have a slider - like 1-4 times render target.
It would actually be a nice idea to have an internal resolution option in LFS, to scale from 0.5x to 4x the resolution of the screen, with a supersampling shader pass to filter it. Smile
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Performance (for GPU limited users) while still having a crisp UI (UI is rendered at native resolution).

And super-sampling filters are really good, you can render the game at 0.6x the screen resolution with nearly no quality loss on edges (textures are blurrier though).

I tried the one on this sample, really nice implementation : https://github.com/Microsoft/DirectX-Graphics-Samples (Mini Engine)
Brilliant work on getting this to work in VR. Just spent most of today playing on it with my Vive. Once I'd worked out how to get it setup and working (I was trying to use the keyboard instead of the wheel controller) it's been ace fun. I'd been trying Project Cars but that's got loads of pop-up and doesn't feel right yet, but this feels excellent. Forgotten how much fun this game is and the VR adds that dimension I was missing all those years back. Upgraded to S3 as well to get Rockingham. Keep up the good work.

(One thing I would like is to be able to move some of the HUD items around, some end up going through mirrors or A-pillars and break the immersion slightly).
Just tried lfs on my HTC vive, truly brilliant, enough to bring me back to lfs for sure, LFS ftw.
Also spent some hours now back in LFS with my Oculus CV1. Overall great experience, but like Eddy said - it would be awesome to be able to move the HUD elements (like damage, tire wear, etc) around. Right now the float somewhere within the interiour, so this is a bit distracting.
What would be great is to have the hud elements as part of your car dashboard....
I was thinking a race computer could be put in the cars to show most of the info. It might not work with the current low resolution VR displays though. Also, there's no room for that stuff in a single seat car.
Yeah some of the things are just fun but obviously unrealistic. For example the list of racer names in their current positions, there just isn't such a thing in reality. But in reality there is no mid race join or teleport to pits, and you are more likely to recognise the other cars. In a racing sim the joining and leaving is so fast compared with reality that the race position list is just a good thing to have. Also people like the track map. In reality you don't jump from one track to another in a few seconds. You would have days or weeks to study a track that you were going to. So again this unrealistic thing is just useful and good fun, but there's not really much space for it in many of the cockpits.

Unfortunately, allowing the elements to be positioned is not a really easy thing. The automatic system that exists at the moment does various things like hiding things or shrinking things depending on the situation. I do agree though, it's a bit visually disturbing when some virtual text, that is visible, is further away than some part of the car that should be obscuring it.

I'd have to start thinking about grouping hud elements into bounded groups and allowing the user to position them in some non-overlapping way. I can't consider it a very high priority at the moment though it is on my list and I'll keep thinking about it.
Quote from Scawen :I'd have to start thinking about grouping hud elements into bounded groups and allowing the user to position them in some non-overlapping way. I can't consider it a very high priority at the moment though it is on my list and I'll keep thinking about it.

Grouping and non-overlapping is not that big of a deal, I mean we don't necessery need them. Snapping to each other borders would be enough. What bothers me in that regard is that current design limits us with 256 points precision, and overcoming that would bring a lot of trouble with all the insim apps around here.

Currently we have 256 points per screen. In VR mode afaik we have that virtual screen on top of the steering wheel. So we want to extend that range. If you just stretch it, you can let users narrow it back by hand moving those insim elements by hand. But there are other options...
Thanks for mentioning the InSim buttons. My post about the issues didn't even include a thought about buttons added by external programs!

Ideally headsets would have better resolution and the HUD could be smaller in VR, e.g. nearer the size of a monitor. I did recently reduce the default HUD FOV to 70 degrees (from 75). You can make it narrower, switch to a 16:9 aspect ratio, move it up a bit, bring it nearer but none of these really solve all the problems and may cause others.

It may be a good idea to switch off as many HUD elements as you can in VR mode, if you don't need them.
I was thinking more on the f9-f12 hud items, like tyre temps. Wouldn't it work to have them displayed in the cockpit?
I bought LFS to use with my Rift but it's the only thing that makes me sick.

I can barely finish a three-lap race without getting sweating and ill. Frown
I don't know if the animations are turned off by default when you enter VR mode, but try turning the head tilt/ acceleration shifts viewpoint all the way off in options -> view.
It's usual to feel motion sickness in some situations at first, but most people can get used to it when they learn just how their inputs will affect the car's motion. As you get used to it, the remaining moments of sickness will be at times such as when the car changes its angle a lot, e.g. driving up a grass bank.

I think the best advice is to drive a little per day, preferably quite gently, and just stop if you feel sick, then have a good break or try the next day. People can get used to being on boats and not being sick. At least with a simulator you can stop at any time. Not advisable to jump out of the boat if you get sea sick! Big grin
I canceled my rift preorder for various reasons. Only way I have found to punish them for all the hiccups and political stuff I disagree with.
I still hope to play lfs in VR but it will be either with Gen 2 or with a second hand Gen 1 (which shold drop in price in June when most preorder should be filled). Vive being currently my first choice.
Not starting an argument here. Just thinking out loud.
Quote from loopingz :I canceled my rift preorder for various reasons. Only way I have found to punish them for all the hiccups and political stuff I disagree with.

Two things I found on reddit today, which I had a look at after learning that their latest attempt to block Vive users running Rift exclusives has already been cracked (within one day, I think).

1) Quite funny, the definition of the word "rift":
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rift

2) A PC World article that seems about right:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3073587
1 is funny!
2 is unfortunate and it does not even speak about the daemon that "could" send big data to fb.

I want VR badly. It just canceled my dream of going triple screen! But I will wait a bit!
1: First gen stuff that will improve over time, Gen 3 is usually worth buying.

2: WTF do you expect from Farcebook ??????

Seriously, you must be crazy or on amazing meds if you think they care at all about the tech, gaming, or anything other than locking down what they think is their 'Intellectual Property' (Check the TPPA for what this really means)

"Facebook is committed to helping people and organizations protect their intellectual property rights. The Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities does not allow posting content that violates someone else’s intellectual property rights, including copyright and trademark."

Actually, that's a complete joke (Sky TV Pay per View Fight) when you look at other peoples stuff * that's uploaded on Farcebook, but it describes their view on their property accurately.

Like, who (with a working brain) couldn't see this coming when Farcebook brought Occ Rift ?

I'm very clear that expressing any approval of software being hacked is completely against every EULA ever written so.........



Yes, VR is awesome and it will be the (short term) future of Gaming (till the next thing).
Well done Scrawen getting the current best implementation in a racing game on a budget of bugger all.
How all the best work is done Smile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbBx4Ql6Umo&ab_channel=TheAdShow

*
It’s impossible to quantify just how much copyrighted material is being shared on Facebook. But illegally uploaded videos routinely clock up tens of millions of views, and hundreds of thousands of shares.

According to Mike Skogmo, director of communications at Jukin Media, “the scale is massive.” And the perpetrators are some of the biggest accounts on the site.
Facebook could solve this problem — but it hasn’t"
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/facebook-copyright-infringement-facebook-content-id-celebrities-2015-5?r=UK&IR=T
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