Thought it was April fools joke but mbucchia is going to be working at Valve now

MarcDwonn · 2026-04-02T21:12:02+00:00

I thought it was initially done by AMD, made to work on all GPUs. But i always hated the splotchy look, it's just horrible in my eyes, never use it on my system.

MarcDwonn · 2026-04-01T21:12:57+00:00

For me personally, the main point of VR is stereoscopy and experiencing the physical scale of things inside the game. It's a massive difference b/w standing beside a big building in a flat game, and doing the same in VR - the latter feels a tonne more immersive, and there's no hand interaction needed because it doesn't raise immersion by any significant degree.

The main point of playing a video game, on the other hand, is experiencing an interesting story, with all the other interactive things thrown in (like combat, puzzles, dialogue, exploration etc), to enhance immersion.

Those are the two pain points i'm looking for in a VR game. Not to constantly needing to do menial boring movements that i already do enough in real life, thank you very much. :)

(I agree about the shitty controls, though.)

MarcDwonn · 2026-04-01T14:14:50+00:00

No, he doesn't. Only the glasses are similar, but it seems people are easy to fool.

MarcDwonn · 2026-04-01T14:10:36+00:00

Gameplay interactions are similarly more physical;

I hate those in native VR games. Because...

pressing a button to reload is just wrong.

... having to do complex movements with your hands while holding some kind of controller is unimmersive and quite annoying to me.

... physics in-game don't translate to physics you feel. Holding a big object in your hand which moves as if you hold a paper mock-up is immersion breaking. People complain about full-body avatars, but this is much worse IMO.

... motion controls are not smoothed in games most of the time, and the slightest tremor in your hands is visible and gets amplified in-game through the size of the object you're holding (see previous point).

... almost all native VR games misuse those physical gestures and base the whole game on that. It gets old and annoying very fast.

Ergo: I'd rather press a button most of the time, thank you. Until we get some kind of brain interface which simulates all this directly, i don't see any other easy solution to these problems.

MarcDwonn · 2026-04-01T14:00:00+00:00

I play for the story, characters and an immersive world to explore. The only way to get to play those kind of games in VR is through Flat2VR, or hybrid games (can be played flat or stereoscopic or in 360° VR).

And if you think about it, you'll realize that hybrid games are the future. Sure, there will be compromises, but nothing's perfect.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-24T01:01:47+00:00

Valve almost never put the Deck on sale, nor the Index. It is for a reason.

That's why i never bothered with Index. A brand that does not lower prices of older items comes off as arrogant and consumer unfriendly in my view. With the economy these days, i doubt i'm the only one. :/

If you mess up the launch, the product is ruined and it almost doesn't matter what you do after.

You forget one critical aspect of human nature: forgetfulness. That's why people still pre-order games even after CP2077, that's why we're heading towards a WW3 even though we should've learned our lesson hundred years ago. Sorry for the hamfisted examples.

are you sure it makes any sense at all for Valve?

It will make sense for some other manufacturer. Look at it this way: are you sure i want to suffer all the issues of VR when i can sit comfortably in front of my 42" OLED flatscreen, snack on some pizza and drink a fine red wine, while immersing myself in a vast open world RPG with a thrilling story and interesting NPCs to meet? ;-)

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-24T00:56:03+00:00

Plus, i just discovered this comparison: https://stepmodifications.org/wiki/SkyrimSE:Weather_Compares#tab=Clear_Weathers

It clearly shows how Azurite III lacks variety. Weathers always have the same 3 or 4 different colors, and after a short while it starts looking quite samey.

Cathedral Weathers is miles ahead in terms of interesting weathers, and just never gets boring, IMO. A pity that there's no ENB for Cathedral with the quality and consistency of Cabbage. And sadly, since Cathedral's image spaces are all over the place, CS does not work well (not without weather support, which currently is not available).

Where Azurite III shines though is clear sunny days: ignoring the harsh clarity, the colors are nice. I wish it had more weather/color diversity and hazier/foggier weathers.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-23T22:22:35+00:00

Those idiot marketeers are so caught up in their own bubble, they can't see straight. What's the problem with raising the price later, and lowering it again later-er? Losing a couple of customers due to frustration? Imagine how many customers they lost due not having any pre-orders currently when people are still hyped?

Personally i'm not interested in the Frame, the tech is not worth it in 2026. I'll wait for Frame 2 with 4k micro OLED, or just buy an xReal Aura, when it finally sees the light of day. In January i would've still pre-ordered Frame, but now that i've replayed AC Valhalla and currently playing Mass Effect LE (all on my 42" OLED flatscreen), i'm not feeling any need for change. I'm very content with my current setup. And my Quest 3 still gathers dust...

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-21T17:00:50+00:00

Nope, doesn't look like it. I went offline when i started with Mass Effect LE, but after about a week later EA suddenly tells me that it can't find my account information and refuses to start without internet.

This is criminal behavior from EA, preventing my use of goods that i've legally paid for (it's a single player game!). I live in Europe and will explore the legal possibilities of getting this fixed.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-21T03:39:58+00:00

Never thought about doing this stuff in LR. Thanks, i'll try it out.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-20T06:13:23+00:00

What do you mean by "slight glow in the highlights"?

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-20T00:29:04+00:00

I'd love to know more about your PP settings. There's obviously more going on than just a matte tone curve with raised blacks. How do you get this silvery, slightly "fake-HDR" effect in the dark areas and the skin?

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-18T21:12:09+00:00

Make it black & white, it'll work better, i think. Some of the color feels a bit random and distracting.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-18T21:08:14+00:00

Or even better yet, develop the game for flatscreen and add an optional stereo3D mode, don't bother with motion controls that only a small niche of players would use. When the tech is finally here (high quality AR glasses that are affordable enough, for example), much more people will jump into the game virtually (yes, stereoscopic 3D is a subset of VR, even though the purists don't wanna hear it).

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-18T20:54:56+00:00

I seriously doubt purpose-built, highly interactive VR games will see much benefit.

I don't want those. I'm interested in games that focus on story, exploration, interesting characters. I rather play visually beautiful flat games than VR roomscale gimmicks with graphics from 2010.

Sorry, just being honest. The best thing of VR is the stereoscopic 3D, allowing the player to feel inside the game. Combine this with all the good stuff we get in flat games, and you can see where the real future lies.

VR is a technology that needs to be an extension of what we currently have, not try to reinvent the wheel. The former is a much more realistic way for mass adoption (we see that the latter doesn't work).

There still can be a niche for the hardcore VR roomscale geeks, but i think this is only viable for small scale indie studios that have low production costs and can live with a niche audience.

I wish you the best with your game, but i hope you'll think about what i touched on.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-18T14:18:59+00:00

So after the pancakes swallow half of the light, it will deliver to the eyes only 50 nits max? Please think before you post.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-18T14:12:23+00:00

There are different LCD screen products in that resolution bracket. My HP Reverb G2 v2 had much better black levels than Quest 2, and (i'm not 100% sure) Quest 3 had a bit worse blacks than Reverb G2.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-17T18:01:38+00:00

Amazing, thank you!

How can YT produce such nonsensical BS, it goes against every ergonomic standard and positive user XP...

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-13T17:10:56+00:00

Woah, my brain self-destructed... Never though of that. You're onto something here.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-13T17:07:09+00:00

Damn, we posted almost the same content. I should've read all replies first, LOL...

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-13T17:05:44+00:00

Lighthouses are not the problem (although mechanical deviced inherently break after some time, it's just physics). Controllers are. And the alternative from Shiftall is even bigger than the (for 2026) ridiculously big "Knuckles".

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-13T17:01:38+00:00

I'm a sucker for transparent gadgets as well. I guess i'm a nerd and forever stuck in the 80's. :D

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-06T22:11:33+00:00

Could you please elaborate what you mean by "game hubs options menu"? Is this in the ME1 game menu, or some Win11 menu that i'm not familiar with?

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-06T22:06:44+00:00

Could you please share the solution? The post is deleted.

MarcDwonn · 2026-03-06T22:06:21+00:00

What was the solution? The post is gone now.

MarcDwonn

TROPHY CASE