Musing on the use of the
AH film player/editor with VR headsets like the Rift. Thought I’d put these thoughts out there as something to think about, since we’re on the subject; may actually be “wish” for future consideration. (Caution:
musing may be boring and possibly dangerous, proceed with care.
I've added the bold font to make it easier to wade through):
A few diverse facts re. VR and AH, as I see them:
•
AH is intrinsically an ideal VR game experience (i.e., it's a seated sandbox game experience that is highly competitive and absorbing; it accommodates VR-friendly frames of reference like cockpit interiors that improve player comfort; and it is arguably a very “social” experience due to vox and text chat tools, so there should be no sense of player isolation induced by headsets).
• HT’s current work on making AH a VR-compatible experience will undoubtedly make it
a far superior VR flight game/experience to others that are currently available (e.g., WT, DCS, etc).
•
The AH Film Viewer has been a useful tool to produce player made videos of AH game experiences that have helped increase awareness of the game through video sharing sites. Hundreds of AH videos have been uploaded to YouTube from dozens of video makers, myself included.
•
YouTube now supports 360 degree videos (360 degree videos are not true VR, but are best viewed on VR headsets)
•
Oculus has sold literally hundreds of thousands of DK1, DK2 and CV1 Rift units so far. The new Vive headset and Sony’s new headset have also sold thousands of units. The Reddit r/Oculus forum alone currently has around 70,000 registered users--not all those have headsets yet, but all are interested in VR experiences.
•
Many of the Rift/other headset owners are avid cockpit game players (ie, racing games, space sims, flight sims). Many of them already own joysticks, HOTAS and yoke input gear. They would welcome AH into their mix of playing options. I've noted this from their many comments I’ve seen on r/Oculus.
Conclusions: •
This is a market waiting to be tapped. If AH were robustly marketed to this pool of VR game/sim players, HTC might see an influx of hundreds, maybe thousands of new AH players from that pool.
• AH player-produced media that accurately represented AH's VR experience might assist in this effort.
Therefore, should/could the AH Film Viewer be further improved to produce/output VR-compatible media (i.e., 360 degree videos or even game-like VR experiences) to promote the game for the VR era?
Possible challenges:• Adapting the Film Viewer for use with VR headsets, just as the game does.
• Creating editing GUI within it to permit good VR media creation (e.g.,setting up shots easily, etc.)
• Player/media creators' learning curve to produce good content with such an editor might be steep?
• Capturing player headset movements/positions in the film player and its output media (a tech challenge similar to capturing TIR views in the film viewer)?
• Lack of audience control of in-VR “camera” viewpoint s in output media may cause discomfort (a tech challenge because not providing user control of VR experiences is a known comfort issue)?
• Cost (in resources & time) versus Benefit (new players/subscriptions) to take on the effort?
• What else?
Personally, I think it’s an idea that may at least be worth exploring, but would happen after the major game update is done and if solutions or workarounds to challenges are possible.
(BTW, it’s probable that HT and Company are way ahead of me on the above “musings”, and may have their own views on this one way or another)
FWIW,
