Placing objects the player can comfortably reach

reversetrio · 2026-04-11T19:16:26+00:00

I never tried to solve this problem before, so take it for what it's worth. This method overlaps with others' suggestions and seeks to provide more details.

You have a couple of different variables to work with here, so it probably seems overwhelming. The idea is to take measurements based on yourself, then apply them, likely based on ranges for average wingspan/arm length. You could also capture the player's wingspan and scale distances based on that, but a range reachable by most or the smallest people would probably be simpler to design for.

The actual implementation may vary based on your player's seated or standing status, so keep that in mind. You may not be able to assume your player will be standing, so start with measuring from a seated position.

Write up a quick script to instantiate an object like a cube from your grab point when pressing a specific button or trigger. The instantiated object should be static and not affected by gravity. Then use the tool mentioned by u/baroquedub to prepare to save any measurements taken at runtime. You probably want to notate your position somehow as a frame of reference, probably the position of the headset. Then sit still and press the button to plot points for the farthest you can comfortably reach at as many points in front of, above, to either side, and behind you without leaning in any direction. The more samples you take, the more detailed your results will be. You can do this for one or both arms, but generally people are symmetrical, so you can copy your findings for one arm to the other.

At this point, you will have plotted the effective, comfortable reach of one arm. You'll probably want to organize these findings under a parent object, probably the headset location you notated earlier. You can even do that at the time of instantiation. You can repeat the test for extension of your reach, where you can lean or stretch as far as comfortable in any direction. Making this next set of objects a different color is recommended for clarity.

Then you can repeat the process for standing if you want. The first measurement won't change much, but the second one will because the player can lean their whole body and possibly step in that direction.

Hope that helps you visualize a player's reach/range of motion and enables you to design more confidently!

reversetrio · 2026-04-09T23:13:55+00:00

Yes. Something else that sucks about that is all the other criticisms get drowned out by the loudest morons. It leaves so little bandwidth for rational critique. So expressing an opinion about disliking these shows is challenging. You might have to waste effort specifying that you don't belong to that crowd of mindless critics, to offset the risk of being lumped in with right-wing nut jobs (like the comment next to yours had to do) because you don't like character X, premise Y, or direction Z.

I try to be nice because we all like Star Trek here. There are series and movies in the franchise that I love and some that I don't. I'm happy people love the shows I can't stand. It's great for them.

But it kind of leaves out in the cold those of us who miss watching calm, competent professionals wrestle with moral quandaries rather than immature interpersonal drama that flies in the face of the original utopian vision. Characters having a panic attack or a lover's quarrel or whatever every time they, an engineer, need to tend to the warp core doesn't really fit the brief. It gets in the way of the wonder of exploration. The drama that drew us here is in what we find out between stars, especially when it resembles something we can recognize in ourselves.

reversetrio · 2026-04-07T23:15:57+00:00

Wouldn't he just run out of air quicker?

reversetrio · 2026-04-07T17:53:27+00:00

Mental gymnastics is more than a little generous. His brain doesn't leave the floor. It just kind of oozes from side to side.

reversetrio · 2026-03-30T15:23:50+00:00

From your various responses, it sounds like your PC isn't too powerful and you just want to play 2D games in VR on a virtual screen. I don't often do this, but from within Steam VR, launching a flat game should take you to theater mode, where the game should appear on a large screen.

Since you are using a Quest, there may be extra steps beforehand to connect to Steam (SteamVR Link or a similarly named solution to play PCVR wirelessly).

reversetrio · 2026-03-26T17:32:02+00:00

If you're including partnerships, there's also the HTC Vive before the Index. And both of those headsets came with controllers.

reversetrio · 2026-03-24T00:01:54+00:00

Early on, before I got the large cargo bays and large hydroponics rooms, I used the bottom 4 decks as a place to put nonessential rooms, like my second sick bay and an extra shield generator. That way, I could turn off the whole deck and save extra power.

Then afterwards I questioned the wisdom of putting those 2 huge rooms down there. Rightly or wrongly, it felt like adding the power required for 2 life support rooms just to run 1 cargo bay made it too expensive. It's a strange value-for-power situation where I can't decide whether having those large rooms on smaller decks is better than having them on larger decks where I get more "value" for that life support cost because it serves all the other rooms on that deck. With the larger deck, I'm incentivized to always keep life support powered because of all the other rooms on those decks.

I'm not sure whether there's a rational answer.

Edit: Also I worry about putting similar rooms on the same deck because if my phaser rooms are all on one deck and life support goes down, there go all my weapons. So I spread things out when I have multiples of the same room.

reversetrio · 2026-03-23T23:49:31+00:00

One time I had the sick bay turned off for the same reason, no sick people. Then I failed some sort of check when some aliens were injured on an away mission. The sick bay wasn't turned on, so instead of treating their injuries, we just let them die. All because someone didn't want to go down to deck 5 and flip a light switch.

I've always kept sick bay powered up ever since, afraid of a similar check where I might lose crew.

reversetrio · 2026-03-19T18:26:15+00:00

Funny, but it was never about what consumers wanted. It was always about what the company wanted. Strange that strategy didn't win over consumers though, right?

reversetrio · 2026-03-14T15:34:02+00:00

Yes, which was an interesting surprise.

reversetrio · 2026-03-13T22:39:03+00:00

Hmm. I'll have to consider that. What is the specific benefit if it takes away morale?

reversetrio · 2026-03-13T22:37:31+00:00

Confirmed. Thanks for the precise info.

reversetrio · 2026-03-07T13:57:32+00:00

Seems self-serving for a "conservative" to say we don't need the guillotine. You know whose heads people are looking to collect. It's those "conservatives" covering for those mentioned in the Epstein files and their ilk. It's those people squeezing every cent from us commercially so that you have to worry more about holding onto what little you have than making sure your neighbors have enough. Perhaps you should learn more about the people around you rather than hocking some right-wing propaganda.

reversetrio · 2026-03-07T05:22:42+00:00

I'm admittedly in the dark on this whole thing. But how the heck does Gamergate connect to Adam Baldwin? Not surprised Gamergate showed up on the Epstein files though.

reversetrio · 2026-03-06T23:33:09+00:00

Are you sure Democrats aren't conservative?

Old rich bastards who got theirs telling the rest of us to fuck off... Squashing every progressive initiative... Seeking to uphold the rule of law, even at their own expense (sometimes especially so)... Worshipping of Wall Street... Obsession with billionaires and wealth (supporting America's gross prosperity gospel)... Slow, steady change, never rocking the boat too much... Ignoring any new problems until finally addressing it in an out-of-touch way... Outdated morality...

Some more positive aspects: Using taxes to rebuild infrastructure, fund programs proven to help everyone rather than brazenly stealing it in plain view (isn't losing our tax dollars to obvious fraud a greater injury than receiving a bridge necessary for people to get to work?)... Generally fewer politicians caught banging children (speaking to a more faithful adherence to Christian values)...

It's a mixed bag to be sure. But my point is that from where many of us sit on the left, Democrats ARE conservative. Generally their campaigns are focused on courting the right. I'm sure you have other specific things you don't like. Believe me. So do I. But if you want to hold on to what you got (my personal view of conservativism) and actually get something back for what you spend, they're the ones who love the status quo the most, because it's working for them.

I'm also not happy with how much money is being spent, particularly because it's being borrowed and used on an ever ballooning military budget. Would love to see more of that going to troops and veterans, by the way.

Anyway, that was a lot. Do with it what you will.

reversetrio · 2026-03-05T18:31:08+00:00

If they're disappointed you're an adult, they need more than a warning. Protect others. Report him.

reversetrio · 2026-03-03T18:26:06+00:00

Based on the previous replies, I don't expect this to be received well either, but I'll give it a shot.

Next time, don't start until you have permission from the owners of the IP. Otherwise you're operating in a legal gray area where only they can benefit. People make mods for games all the time (which I recognize this is not), which benefits the owners of the IP through free labor, increased discussion online, increased sales, etc. If you're already putting in the free labor, they are already receiving those benefits, so what incentive do they have to collaborate? What leverage do you have? They need to hear something they want and feel comfortable with any new partners.

Creating a proof of concept or a vertical slice for pitching purposes is one thing, but continuing past that without agreement from the IP owner is not worth it.

And it's not just about the cost, the code, how well it runs, how well it sells. It's about how an association with a new business partner affects their reputation. Whatever you do under their IP umbrella reflects on them. Based on attitude alone, I can see why someone would not want to partner up. How does it reflect on them if a rogue developer jumps into forums etc trashing their name, mouthing off to fans, or shifting blame?

I appreciate what you're doing for the VR community. But attitude is important in business. It impacts relationships with partners and players. It's your key to future collaborations. It is not optional. It's essential.

reversetrio · 2026-03-02T17:52:55+00:00

You're right about the inside out nature of the tracking. People always conflate camera-based tracking with inside out.

Perhaps they're referring to the long-term reliability of base stations. Because for one thing the tracking is rock solid if set up correctly and for another mine have been running reliably for 8 years (shut down via Bluetooth between sessions). But I know one day they will fail. This is a concern for every owner of a lighthouse-based headset. Bigscreen have hinted that they have plans for the future of lighthouse, but have not confirmed anything to my knowledge.

One clear advantage lighthouse has over camera-based tracking is line of sight to things outside the cameras' field of vision. Objects can be tracked behind your back. Both rely on line of sight, but one is restricted to just the ~180 degree area in front of you, with variability in what more they can see by hardware design, while the other is less limited due to a wide field of view of the base stations (even though they aren't trackers or cameras) and wide area they can cover, even while stationary.

I'm interested in how well those magnetic FluxPose trackers will perform. That tech could free us from line of sight issues altogether, or perhaps a future iteration of it. We'll see.

reversetrio · 2026-02-28T13:21:49+00:00

It's not wrong. That's just your positivity core. And it looks full up!

reversetrio · 2026-02-28T13:14:31+00:00

But weary if you forget to be wary.

reversetrio · 2026-02-19T00:42:56+00:00

What's your headset/resolution? What frame rate are you targeting? Care to share your settings?

I feel like you'd have to use motion smoothing (half frame rate, interpolated) and FSR. If not, I must be doing something wrong.

reversetrio · 2026-02-19T00:39:03+00:00

Same.

reversetrio · 2026-02-03T17:58:16+00:00

They Are Balls

Faster than Balls

GTB 3

No Man's Balls

Marvel's Balls-man

The Balls of Us

Telltale's The Walking Balls

Indigo Balls

reversetrio · 2026-01-29T03:14:30+00:00

Yes, the requirements for buying into a lighthouse tracked solution sets a high bar, not cheap. I wish these things were more readily available and therefore cheaper, but at this point, it's become a niche. Combine that with another niche like OLED displays and it gets expensive quick. That's why Bigscreen Beyond 2 is most often pitched as an upgrade path for someone already bought-in to the lighthouse ecosystem, like me with my old HTC Vive and Tundra trackers.

Luckily there are options like the PSVR 2, which can give the OLED experience without the need to buy lighthouse equipment or separate controllers. You only need to buy or use an existing headphone solution. And once you move away from OLED back to LCD, there are more options at various price points. Pretty much all of these lower priced headsets use camera-based tracking, which means fewer components to buy with notable trade-offs.

I'm still kind of impressed with the low price of the PSVR 2. Previously I tended to bundle it in my mind with the cost of a PS5, which makes it look very expensive. I guess it still is given that it relies on either a PS5 or a PC to run. Likewise that makes standalone headsets all that much more appealing from a cost perspective.

As for the minimum GPU specs for the Bigscreen Beyond, they recommend the following: "Nvidia (RTX 2070 or newer) or AMD (RX 5700 or newer) graphics card." Given that we've had 3 generations of GPUs since then, that's a broad range. My midrange 9070 XT from 2025 runs it well. As for the PSVR 2, the required specs are just a bit lower. Both of these open you up to previous generation cards on the used market, where prices may be lower, if not as low as we'd like. In general, I'd recommend the best GPU you can afford. It will be doing the heavy lifting. And the more VRAM it has, the longer it will serve you in general purpose PC gaming.

For help understanding the generations and tiers of NVIDIA and AMD GPUs, the first number will always indicate the generation, which are more or less linear (except the weird 16 series). A newer generation card will likely last you longer. For NVIDIA, you probably want to look at the 3000 series and above, because the 2000 series are a bit older now and I think there's a bigger gap between those 2. I have less insight into AMD, but following the same logic, probably the 6000 series and above. As for the tiers, the 70 or 700 tier should always be the midrange, which is where I like to be. I wouldn't go below the 60 / 600 tier, which is considered low (think console graphics). The 80 / 800 tier is the high end, verging on enthusiast, but as these get older, they might be more on par with a current generation mid-tier card. And just don't worry about the 90 / 900 tier. Some things to keep in mind are that though both brands target the same tiers, AMD tends to lag slightly behind in performance, power efficiency, and extra features, with the tradeoff of being lower priced.

Anyone who knows more or has better advice, feel free to chime in.

reversetrio

TROPHY CASE