Cyber's DIY Stereo Driver [Work Log]

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:19 pm

DearEsther.jpg

Dear Esther looks to be mostly working. Right now the only major issue I see is with the wide FOV and clipping/culling. If I leave the FOV at 45 (or adjust it with game settings) then it should be OK.

Post by **brantlew** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:45 pm

Oh awesome! That's pretty cool. The Tridef drivers don't work very well for me with this game. It works fine until I look down at the ground and then the textures sort of break into a layered 2D pattern. You haven't seen any weirdness like that have you?

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:20 pm

Yeah. If you look down then the floor disappears. I thought it was because of the FOV change. Will have to test more though.

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:17 pm

Another idea for a game. I've been digging around the Valve website trying to figure out what's involved in using their SDK. As far as I can tell it's free to use for non-commercial modding (not 100% sure though). Anyway here are the list of games that are compatible with the SDK and I assume can be interfaced with the Head Tracking API.

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wik ... Source_SDK

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Head_Tracking

I haven't found the specifics about character motion yet, but I bet that could be modded as well to allow for analog speed/direction and variable height. Oh, and you can mod the camera FOV.

So potentially we're talking about a game mod + Rift correction for any of these Source games that would have the hooks in it for full VR motion control without any clipping problems. (Don't know about independent gun - but maybe that as well). That would be a really nice demonstration platform for testing full VR immersion. With the right trackers - it could be even more immersive than the Doom3 demo.

Post by **WiredEarp** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:30 am

Yep, the Source stuff looks pretty promising. I don't know how easy it will be to do separate gun movement however - since I assume most of the games use the head vector to aim the gun as well, you'd have to separate that somehow. Having said that, it could probably be hacked in, but I really hope that Doom 3 BFG supports independent aiming OOTB.

Post by **Alkapwn** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:22 am

I'm hoping this is the exact thing that Palmer and Carmack Have been meeting with Valve about. Because if they get all the parameters needed from those two guys, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for them to add Rift compliance the code and SDK. To have those games as Rift Ready for the Rift launch would be a huge bonus to be able to show full games to play and demo the Rift.

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:57 pm

@brantlew: The Source SDK stuff looks promising but, to be honest, not a whole lot of games use the Source engine. Currently I am trying to find a more generic solution that will work with more games, not just a couple. However, using the SDK would simplify a lot of things and could be more robust than trying to hack DirectX. And as much as I'd like to explore this, I only have so much time to dedicate to my driver before the Rift launches.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:15 pm

So I have spent the whole weekend completely re-writing the driver from scratch. While the old version did work somewhat, it had a lot of problems with instability with too many games. This new version is a lot cleaner and will be more easy to maintain (ie object-orientated). The old version was basically one huge Main file hack (LOL!!). So far I am still only supporting Source engine games, but it should be easier to add others (next up will be the Unreal Engine).

Anyway, now Half-Life 2 works!

HL2_3D.jpg

Post by **rajveer** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:44 pm

Awesome! How's the frustum clipping with the new version (does it still clip objects at the top and bottom)?

Post by **Fredz** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:31 pm

Looks very good so far, one of the most realistic shots you posted.

I found a free FPS game which has freelook support (True Combat: CQB), maybe it would be interesting to try to support it when headtrackers are available for the Rift.

From http://www.truecombatelite.com/index.ph ... qboverview :

"Freelook is probably the biggest and most unique feature in CQB. It's when your player model can look from side to side while keeping your weapon in the original forward position. Keep in mind that you can still shoot while in freelook and that the more you move to the side, the more your weapon will shift/sway."

Example of freelook in action :

Freelook is an optional bind in the game, so you can choose whether or not to use this feature.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:44 pm

@rajveer: There are still issues with clipping, but I think they may be solved by adjusting FOV within the game console. Still have to test this out though.

@Fredz: Thanks! From what I can tell True Combat is based on the Quake III engine (OpenGL) so it won't work with my driver unfortunately. Though I may want to try it anyway in 2D since it looks so cool.

Post by **CyberVillain** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:55 am

Another game that would be cool that has freelook with translation is Arma2. You would need to use optical tracking though.

Post by **rajveer** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:58 am

Yeah I was wondering why setting the FOV to 90 (for games that allow it) and setting the correct aspect ratio wouldn't get the right frustum that we need, but I suppose not all games support custom resolution to be able to get that aspect ratio in the first place (especially portrait resolutions).

Will your driver also support other headtracker APIs (Freetrack/TrackIR) so that we can interface with existing games without having to use mouse emulation?

Post by **brantlew** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:07 am

Looking good cyber.

Post by **Alkapwn** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:23 am

@cyber
Is there any way, via a screengrab, that you'd be able to show the final resolution that these games would display once on the Rift? I'm really curious to see what the final rendered resolution will be.

Keep up the good work! And again, if you setup a donation page once the driver is done, I'm sure people would donate to the time you've spent. I know I would.

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:27 pm

@Alkapwn: That image of HL2 is pretty close to actual resolution for the Rift. Its at 720P (1280x720) and the rift is 1280x800, so on the Rift the image will be a little taller, but its close enough.

In terms of donations: I am considering turning this into a commercial product. However the initial version for the Rift will be heavily discounted.

Post by **Alkapwn** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:51 pm

@cyber Sweet deal! Count me in!

This doesn't seem to be as bad as the Crysis photo print test thing was. Though not sure if the two are comparable as I believe his was trying to factor view through the Rift with the high FOV. Do you think the HUD will be readable once the warping is applied and it's wrapped around the large FOV?

Sidenote, CANNOT wait to play Mirror's Edge, and get everyone I know or don't know to test the Rift out. I can't stop talking about how awesome this device will be and how game changing it's going to be for the FPS market. And can't wait to see what people do with things like RTS's and other innovative games.

Keep up the good work!

One more thing I've been thinking about. If Valve and these other studios seem to be on board with the Rift, would them releasing Rift Ready updates/patches negate the work you and brantlew and Emerson are doing? I'd hate to see you guys spend all this time and effort, and then have Valve and others be like, "Oh hey, here's the Rift patch".

Doh! Knew if I named people I'd miss somebody.

Post by **brantlew** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:25 pm

I sure hope Valve offers native support. Bethesday too. I'm sure Cyber and Emerson wouldn't cry too much if their work was negated - they would be too busy playing

Besides, either way - it was a learning experience and the knowledge will just transfer to 100 other games that don't get native support. I hope Palmer and Co. spill the beans a little about the Rift SDK this weekend. That may change everything - and next week we may all be whipping up some other type of software support.

Post by **cybereality** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:32 pm

I know Valve has some interest but who knows what will come of that. They could be adding support to upcoming games only, developing their own hardware, or any number of things that don't involve existing titles like HL2 or L4D. Anyway, eventually I will be supporting other games and I don't imagine all those developers will go back and create patches. Also, Mirror's Edge is one of my favorite games and is the next title I will be adding support for (and hopefully that will enable other Unreal games like UT3).

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:40 pm

So I spent the weekend trying to get Mirror's Edge to work. Its somewhat working now, aside from a few issues. Namely that transparent objects are visible through solid objects, and they also are oddly doubled between the eyes. This seems to be something with the Unreal engine, because I see the same behavior in UT3. I probably need a way to just turn these objects off or something. Will look into this more.

MirrorsEdge.jpg

Post by **brantlew** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:21 pm

Looks cool. I gotta say though - after checking out the Rift I think Mirrors Edge might actually give you a heart attack if you played it like that.

Post by **Alkapwn** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:35 pm

cybereality wrote:So I spent the weekend trying to get Mirror's Edge to work. Its somewhat working now, aside from a few issues. Namely that transparent objects are visible through solid objects, and they also are oddly doubled between the eyes. This seems to be something with the Unreal engine, because I see the same behavior in UT3. I probably need a way to just turn these objects off or something. Will look into this more.

MirrorsEdge.jpg

I'm not too sure what the equivalent of drooling to the mouth, would be to the eyes, but I think mine are doing just that.

DOOM 3 BFG + Cyber's Mirror's Edge = #WorthIt

Post by **android78** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:48 pm

Wow! The progress is looking great here Cyber. The only flaw I can see in that Mirrors Edge image is the steam coming from the vent in the distance behind the big blue sign on the building on the right of the image appears to be drawn at the wrong depth.
Like the transparent objects, you might have to just turn it off?

Post by **artox** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:12 am

Great work, Cyber, I knew that eventually a forum member with mad coding skills will do something like that. Being a big fan of Mirror's Edge too I can't wait to see what you'll accomplish

As for the Rift...I guess this is what we've all been waiting for, the thing that can't be accomplished by pushing the separation to extremes or simply sitting closer to the tv. Too bad I'll be waiting for the consumer version, which means that sadly I won't be able to check it out soon, but on the plus side I bet that your driver will be pretty polished by then

Post by **illkillu1a** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:23 am

can you work on Team fortress 2 next? id like to play that with the Oculus rift

Post by **hammerbot** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 9:28 am

You can also try out Arma2 because it has a freelook. Arma2 has a super popular mod called DayZ that surpassed 1 million unique players today. So i think that supporting that game would be a huge benefactor for your drivers and rift.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/08/07/dayz- ... n-players/

Post by **WiredEarp** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:57 pm

DayZ is pretty awesome really. Its the only shooter i've ever played that makes me actually nervous to do stuff. Sometimes its like that sniper scene in The Hurt Locker where they wait for hours after shooting someone just to make sure hes actually dead. Its nice since so many games nowadays have so much hand holding and lack of penalties for death etc, to appeal to everyone and make it easy to progress, whereas DayZ is more about difficulty/risk/reward.

The best way I can describe it is that most FPS's (like BF3) are like the movie 'Aliens'. DayZ is like the movie 'Alien'. Half of the fun comes from the stress/uncertainty of just when someone will open up on you, potentially terminating your entire character.

Post by **cybereality** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 8:27 pm

@illkillu1a: TF2 might actually work, since all the Source games I've tried seem to work. However this driver would very easily get detected as a hack, so I would NOT recommend playing with this online. Maybe if you play on non-VAC, non-Punkbuster servers or something then it would be OK.

@hammerbot: I will check out Arma2. Never got to play it, and that DayZ game sounds like fun.

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:00 pm

Mirror's Edge is now fully working.

MirrorsEdge2.jpg

Also got UT3 mostly working except one annoying bug that makes it choppy sometimes. Still somewhat playable. Gonna try some other Unreal games and see if they work.

Maybe do Bioshock next. Any requests?

Post by **mrfahrenheit94** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:21 pm

I second hammerbot's suggestion of DayZ/ArmA II mainly because of it being an awesome game and secondly because it does have independent head looking and gun aiming integrated into the game so you don't have to work on that like you did with left 4 dead (which might I add is so incredibly awesome that you managed to control camera movement independent of where the gun is aiming). This would be a mind blowing experience, of course next to leaping from building to building in Mirror's Edge

Also, is there any way that we, the members, can try out your driver? I read that you may have plans on commercializing the driver, which is great, but I'd love to try it out just for fun.

Post by **cybereality** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:30 pm

@mrfahrenheit94: Ok, I will take a look at Arma II tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't think I will be releasing anything until its ready. Mainly because this is going to be a commercial product, and also because some things are not finished yet. With the way things are currently set up it will be difficult to make a trial/demo version, so I may just have no demo, but some sort of money-back guarantee. None of this is really final yet, but that's what I am thinking.

Post by **rajveer** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:35 am

Since you've got Mirror's Edge working, could a similar approach be used for other Unreal Engine games? I'm thinking Tribes Ascend, playing that as a pathfinder in the Rift would be insane (mouse emulation would probably be best off with it since it's so fast, but the Rift's high FOV and 3D would still be awesome).

Also Crysis Wars, so I can play MechWarrior: Living Legends

Post by **Chriky** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:12 pm

A version with full functionality that cuts out after five minutes shouldn't be too hard right, as a demo?

Post by **cybereality** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:26 pm

@rajveer: I figured other Unreal games would work (at least UT3 does mostly) but I attempted Bioshock and it has a lot of problems. So it still seems each game will need some custom work.

@Chriky: Yeah, I could probably do something like that. I just want to make sure I am spending most of my time adding support for games and not spending it with copy-protection/DRM. But I guess I have til around Nov/Dec to have things finished so I should be able to figure out something.

Post by **android78** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:43 pm

cybereality wrote:@rajveer: I figured other Unreal games would work (at least UT3 does mostly) but I attempted Bioshock and it has a lot of problems. So it still seems each game will need some custom work.

@Chriky: Yeah, I could probably do something like that. I just want to make sure I am spending most of my time adding support for games and not spending it with copy-protection/DRM. But I guess I have til around Nov/Dec to have things finished so I should be able to figure out something.

Shame to hear about Bioshock. One of my favorite games ever!
How much work do you think it'll be to get it working?
If it's not a rude question, what sort of price point are you aiming for once complete? Are you looking at an upfront cost + additional fee for each game? I just think that it could be good in terms of keeping it viable after release if you have some income for your after release efforts. It would be better for both you and customers if their initial investment can continue to be usable for many future games... assuming they don't all start including native support.

Post by **cybereality** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:10 pm

@android78: I want to have a price-point that is competitive with other similar products out there, so probably around $50 give or take. I was thinking that would cover all updates for a given release number (i.e 1.x numbered releases). And then when a 2.0 version came out, I could give existing users a discount to upgrade. But I think that is a while down the line, once I have support for a lot more titles.

And, yes, I do want to get Bioshock working so I will continue to investigate this.

Post by **android78** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:16 pm

Awesome!

Probably a good way to go with the pricing.

Post by **bobv5** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 4:31 pm

With your driver, will it be possible to have HMD roll mapped to your hacked game camera roll, and pitch/yaw mapped to (wiimote acting like a) mouse ?

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 5:06 pm

bobv5 wrote:With your driver, will it be possible to have HMD roll mapped to your hacked game camera roll, and pitch/yaw mapped to (wiimote acting like a) mouse ?

Yes, that would be possible. Not sure I can have Wiimote support by launch, but you could use my driver for just the roll and then another software (GlovePIE, FreePIE) to handle the Wiimote.

Post by **cybereality** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:22 pm

L4D_RedCyan.jpg

I've added a number of new display modes for the driver: anaglyph and all the major frame-compatible modes.

So what is supported now:

Side-by-Side w/ Warping (RIFT)
Side-by-Side
Over-Under
Horizontal Interleave
Vertical Interleave
Checkerboard
Anaglyph - Red/Cyan
Anaglyph - Red/Cyan - Grayscale
Anaglyph - Yellow/Blue
Anaglyph - Yellow/Blue - Grayscale
Anaglyph - Green/Magenta
Anaglyph - Green/Magenta - Grayscale