Outerra to support the Rift!

Post by **Oneironaut** » Mon May 13, 2013 11:47 am

I think this pretty much confirms it:

https://www.facebook.com/outerra/posts/551339484917003

Post by **t0pquark** » Mon May 13, 2013 7:20 pm

Never heard of it before, but it looks pretty slick!

Downloading demo now, thanks for the heads up.

Post by **t0pquark** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:01 pm

WOW - I don't have my dev kit yet, but that is seriously impressive even on a regular monitor. I just flew from ground level, up into space, and around the planet from the dark side through an artificial sunrise. It's crazy.

Anyone planning on any sort of flying/sky diving/hang gliding/wing suit simulation for the rift needs to check this out BEFORE getting too far into your own development...

Post by **cerulianbaloo** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:14 pm

Outerra is pretty great, they've got some impressive tech going on too, like the procedural grass. Looks leagues better than most games' vanilla grass. Also, Outerra has planes, vehicles etc. to travel around with. My favorite feature is the integrated google maps widget that allows you to input accurate lat/long coordinates to anywhere in the world and be transported there instantly. I just had an idea that would be cool for these planet sims, have something like the ISS doing its flybys in orbit, and the user able to look out through the viewports aboard the ISS at the surface of earth below as it glides by. Could be quite relaxing with a Rift.

Post by **Thodder7** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:47 pm

I downloaded Outerra awhile ago waiting for the Rift. Does anyone know when Rift support is happening?

Post by **cybereality** » Mon May 13, 2013 10:29 pm

Awesome!

Post by **Tacklebait** » Mon May 13, 2013 10:57 pm

I see so much potential with this engine.
My only problem with it is its unbelievably slow progress!!!
Only 2 devs working on building the world.

Ah well its still gorgeous and I will be pop back from time to time in the years coming to see how its progressing.

I even paid the $15 to get the added features to support them.

Post by **Evenios** » Tue May 14, 2013 12:34 am

we already knew that... i think listed on the page in wikiepdia.

Post by **laast** » Tue May 14, 2013 2:07 am

Really, really, really impressive (best vids on their website). Put open-world game like Skyrim to shame. I know it's not really a game, but it could be perfect for the Rift. Will test the demo asap.

Post by **Paladia** » Tue May 14, 2013 2:15 am

Outerra was one of the absolute first engines to confirmed they'd support the Rift. It was confirmed since the first Kickstarter, it has been on the Rift list for almost a year and the developer even posts on this board.

So this is hardly news, it's been written all over the place for a very long time.

Post by **Oneironaut** » Tue May 14, 2013 3:18 am

Paladia wrote:Outerra was one of the absolute first engines to confirmed they'd support the Rift. It was confirmed since the first Kickstarter, it has been on the Rift list for almost a year and the developer even posts on this board.

So this is hardly news, it's been written all over the place for a very long time.

Pardon me for not knowing about the existence of such a list.

Link?

Another impressive (benchmark) demo in the same vein is Unigine Valley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a8AM2z_FzQ&hd=1#t=24s

Though it suffers from some major LOD issues, which I guess makes Outerra even more impressive in its category.

Post by **braddas** » Tue May 14, 2013 3:52 am

I'd never heard of this before. I started watching this video and honestly thought I was watching a home video of some mountains at first. Very impressive.

Post by **Paladia** » Tue May 14, 2013 4:05 am

Oneironaut wrote:
Paladia wrote:Outerra was one of the absolute first engines to confirmed they'd support the Rift. It was confirmed since the first Kickstarter, it has been on the Rift list for almost a year and the developer even posts on this board.

So this is hardly news, it's been written all over the place for a very long time.
Pardon me for not knowing about the existence of such a list. Link?

The Outerra developer made a comment about it here with a link to the list he ment. It is also on the list of Wikipedia, RoadtoVR and theriftlist.com; it's on every major list there is.

Post by **zella** » Tue May 14, 2013 11:55 am

kerbal space program needs to migrate to this engine!!

Post by **ftarnogol** » Tue May 14, 2013 3:47 pm

zella wrote:kerbal space program needs to migrate to this engine!!

Kerbal recently migrated to Unity, so now it's more plausible than before

Post by **Oneironaut** » Tue May 14, 2013 4:08 pm

First impressions from Outerra dev:

http://www.outerra.com/forum/index.php? ... 0#msg19680

Post by **3usergreend** » Tue May 14, 2013 4:54 pm

The Middle-Earth DEM Project (Lord of the Rings):

http://www.cartographersguild.com/gener ... oject.html

http://www.me-dem.me.uk/

Post by **3usergreend** » Sun May 19, 2013 3:03 pm

First test of Oculus Rift integration with Outerra. Some clipping issues, lowered grass density, needs further tweaking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfy9Ho10o6g

From here: http://www.outerra.com/forum/index.php? ... ic=1639.30

Post by **mahler** » Mon May 20, 2013 1:32 am

Apart from the fact that it's YouTube (low framerate) and lack of head-movement control. The game looks absolutely amazing. The mountains, even the rocks on the ground are so huge when you get close to them. The details are also really impressive. Because of the nature of the engine, detail is generated depending on how close you are. So mountains look great from the distance, but even the ground, sand, grass and rocks look super.

I keep wishing the Oculus Rift had a higher resolution so I could enjoy it more and look further into the distance!!

Post by **Tankshell** » Mon May 27, 2013 6:20 pm

Guys. A new build of Outerra has just been released with Oculus Rift support. I have just spent an hour flying around in a mig. Oh. My. God.

If you have a Rift, you need to get this NOW.

Link: http://www.outerra.com/forum/index.php? ... 4#msg20144

EDIT - did I say oh my god?

EDIT2 - flying down narrow canyons avoiding the rocky valley walls is possibly the most exciting thing ever.

EDIT3 - I never say oh my god, normally.

Post by **Marulu** » Mon May 27, 2013 6:34 pm

Rift support is out? Nice!
I have to try this!
Do you know if the Lord of the Rings world works with the Rift?

Post by **raijinspecial** » Mon May 27, 2013 7:29 pm

Where can we download the latest version that has the rift support?

Post by **Marulu** » Mon May 27, 2013 7:41 pm

raijinspecial wrote:Where can we download the latest version that has the rift support?

http://www.outerra.com/forum/index.php?topic=637.0

Post by **Evenios** » Mon May 27, 2013 8:35 pm

already has support in latest version of the non-demo. For 15 bucks not a bad peice of software though would be nice to see more buildings and such

but def a fun thing to use with the rift i am sure!

Post by **Kra** » Tue May 28, 2013 12:59 am

I would of thought the 2D sprite trees etc would have been super distracting.

Post by **Tankshell** » Tue May 28, 2013 3:46 am

Kra wrote:I would of thought the 2D sprite trees etc would have been super distracting.

I honestly have not noticed them at all whilst piloting the mig about.

Post by **limpa** » Tue May 28, 2013 4:34 am

OMG OMG OMG!
Tankshell, thanks a million for posting! This might be the coolest ever. EVER.

Post by **museumsteve** » Tue May 28, 2013 4:50 am

limpa wrote:OMG OMG OMG!
Tankshell, thanks a million for posting! This might be the coolest ever. EVER.

lol..I've read that so many times over the last 3 or 4 weeks...but the funny thing is it's almost true. Every new bit of software seems to be more impressive than the last.

The joys of early adopting...very cool indeed. I'll grab this tonight

Post by **DarkBytes** » Tue May 28, 2013 6:36 am

sadly I cannot get this to run without heavy artefacts as soon as I spawn any vehicle ( land or sky) on my ati 6970HD

this happens both in rift mode and standard. seems to be very little guidance on forums , there is apparently an AA related bug but I get the same behaviour whether enabled or not , have latest drivers etc. installed.
Gutted, shelled out for full version but its a no go for me

Post by **cameni** » Tue May 28, 2013 7:12 am

AA is turned off by default for AMD since their OpenGL drivers have a bug that mangles depth values. There's also a problem with their installer occasionally not installing new driver versions properly, but leaving you thinking everything went ok.

It's advised to follow instructions here: http://www.outerra.com/forum/index.php?topic=705.0, particularly:

uninstall ATI/AMD Catalyst drivers completely and restart Windows
download driver sweeper (now driver fusion) and use it to clean up zombie ATI/AMD driver files and registry entries
download and install the latest AMD drivers for your operating system

Unfortunately these OpenGL driver bugs make it seem as it was our issue, but we can do little about it except suggesting people to try these these procedures. However, it has helped most of the users that were having these kinds of problems with AMD/ATI (see the most recent here. We have of course reported these issues to AMD, but while we had a great cooperation with them before and we helped to fix a number of OpenGL driver bugs, after their recent organizational cuts it went all down

Another aspect that may be causing artifacts are the programs that hook into outerra.exe and tend to interfere with the rendering. Please check your eng.log to see if you have any of those listed as injected modules, and try to shut them down.

Post by **DarkBytes** » Tue May 28, 2013 8:58 am

I seem to have resolved the initial problems, although now my head tracking seems to be fixed , rather then allowing free look, is this a restriction of the current build ?

Post by **Tankshell** » Tue May 28, 2013 9:00 am

DarkBytes wrote:I seem to have resolved the initial problems, although now my head tracking seems to be fixed , rather then allowing free look, is this a restriction of the current build ?

I just had this same problem. Head tracking was working fine before the last update (today). I restarted the computer (not just outerra) and then tried again and head tracking started working again. Go figure.

Post by **DarkBytes** » Tue May 28, 2013 9:44 am

no such luck for me , about to reinstall and see how that go's

no joy seems the latest update broke tracking for me

Post by **cameni** » Tue May 28, 2013 10:14 am

I'm trying to figure what may have gone wrong, but the update didn't even touch the rift code. No luck replicating that behavior here so far.

Post by **DarkBytes** » Tue May 28, 2013 11:39 am

cameni wrote:I'm trying to figure what may have gone wrong, but the update didn't even touch the rift code. No luck replicating that behavior here so far.

fixed,

am also unsure, had to disconnect hmd (i.e. remove rift as monitor) reconnect tracking came back, weirdly it seemed to have killed tracking full stop ( or something did) . Tuscany etc. where showing no tracker messages too.

All good now, its the controls that seem to be a little bit mad now , ( hydra & 360 pad) but tracking is back

Post by **museumsteve** » Tue May 28, 2013 7:04 pm

Cant get it to launch on mine, double click or run as admin and nothing happens

I'm on win7 x64, i7, 16gb + hd7950 3gb

Post by **cameni** » Tue May 28, 2013 11:22 pm

Haven't seen this kind of problem for ages. Could you check if there's eng.log and/or crash.log in your home dir/outerra and PM it to me?

Post by **museumsteve** » Wed May 29, 2013 3:50 am

Thanks for the reply mate. I'll let you know via your forums how I get on later

Post by **goonie** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:50 pm

Hi all,

One of the best VR experiences I've had so far was flying around Mount Everest and Yosemite Nat Park at sunset in a Cessna 172. It took quite a lot of setup to accomplish, so I wanted to outline what I did to hopefully save others a lot of the trial-and-error that I went through to figure it out so far. I'm sure there are much better ways to do it but here is what I did and, for what it's worth, I hope someone else who is new to VR may find it useful. Happy flying.

HARDWARE:
Oculust Rift
Razer Hydras
Nice 'over-ear' headphones (I used AKG K-501's)
Buff headwear
one sock
one velcro tie
a small fan
Mac Pro using bootcamp
AMD Radeon 5800

SOFTWARE:
Oculus Rift Config Utility v1.2 SDK 0.2.5
Opentrack win32-2.0b3
Motion Creator 2
Outerra Anteworld 0.8.0.4301
Windows 7 64bit
Latest AMD Catalyst Control Center

OPTIONAL:
A good pint of beer. For the flight, of course!

PROCEDURE:
1. Install all programs. Have latest video drivers installed.
2. Run the Oculus Rift config utility to make sure everything is set right and calibrate the Oculus Rift, then close that program.
3. Run OpenTrack and configure as follows:

Main Tracker = set to Rift
Auxiliary Tracker = set to Hydra
Auxiliary Tracker settings = disable pitch, yaw, roll and enable X, Y, and Z.
Game Protocol = set to Freetrack 2.0
Keys = I set "center" to Shift-Z so that I could find it easily on keyboard with the Oculus Rift on.
Curves = For yaw, pitch, and roll, I had a straight diagonal line from 0-0 (bottom left) to 180-180 (top right). For X, I dragged the top right vertex to 20, for Y, I dragged the top right vertex to 25, and for Z, I dragged the top right vertex to 25. This is adjustable, of course. So far, however, I've found this to feel most natural for spine motion. I can lean a few feet to the left or right and look right outside the side of the Cessna and check my landing gear or even examine the side of the plane. I can move a few feet up or down or virtually scoot forward or back in my seat and it feels more natural.
Axis Inversion = I had to have TX and TY checkboxes highlighted while the rest were blank.

4. Start OpenTrack to determine which Hydra controller is being tracked by its X,Y,Z coordinates. This controller will be physically attached to the Oculus Rift.

5. To map controls, I created a different profile in Motion Creator 2 for each vehicle in Anteworld. The Cessna profile I made was a follows:

Controller Mode = motion controller
Game Type = none
Requires Schema = 1.2
Mouse Pointer = not used
Joystick controller = set the other Hydra to 4_way and auto_bind wasd. This will make it behave like a yoke, although I'm sure a Thrustmaster

type joystick would be better!
I setup about 11 key bindings as follows:
THROTTLE UP = button 4 (key "pageup")
THROTTLE DOWN = button 2 (key "pagedown")
MIXTURE UP = button 3 (key "home")
MIXTURE DOWN = button 1 (key "end")
LANDING GEAR TOGGLE = depress joystick button (key ".")
ELEVATOR UP = tilt up (filter = normal, angle = 25) (key "s")
ELEVATOR DOWN = tilt down (filter = normal, angle = 25) (key "w")
RUDDER LEFT = tilt left (filter = normal, angle = 25) (key "z")
RUDDER RIGHT = tilt right (filter = normal, angle = 25) (key "x")
SHOOT = trigger (key "space")
CAMERA = button reset (key "c")

I mapped the top joystick on the Hydra because I've found it easier to start with controlling the plane via the joystick and then use the 'yoke' itself as it becomes more familiar. It's nice to have both methods readily available to use while flying. It's also nice to have rudder and aileron controls separate so you can practice your sweet aerobatics.

The camera button is especially helpful for checking your plane or jet's orientation if things get a little chaotic. Note: I also set the mouse to 'invert' from within Anteworld, so when I pull back on the yoke or joystick, I go up.

6. Save the Motion Creator profile. Exit. Restart. Rescan. Then right-click and 'force' the profile.

7. Make sure the Hydra base station is oriented correctly and located right in front of you. Start Anteworld and make sure the Oculus Rift is being tracked. There's a certain procedure to starting all these programs or they don't alwyas work right, so follow carefully. If something goes wrong, exit all programs and start again.

8. Alt-Tab out of Outerra and start OpenTrack. It will have a FaceTrackIR error "Unable to enumerate Rift tracker". Ignore this error. Make sure the Hydra is being tracked (this only tracks position). A good way to check this is to spawn a cockpit and then move it around, as if you're shifting around inside the vehicle. You should be able to move just outside of the cockpit to the left and right and all XYZ axis should behave normally. Use the center command (I mapped shift-Z) as necessary to center yourself inside the cockpit.

9. Alt-Tab out again and start Motion Creator 2 to initialize "motion mode". Then, right-click to "force" your Cessna profile. If your buttons to control the plane are on the same Hyra controller that is being physically tracked, then correct this in Motion Creator 2. Rescan as necessary. One Hydra should ONLY be tracking your physical location and the other one is for controlling the plane.

10. Once you have it all setup and working, take a quick breather. Get ready for a nice, uninterrupted flight. Now might be a good time to take a sip of that beer and put it out of harm's way.

11. I find putting Buff Headwear bandana on my head to dramatically improve comfort while wearing the Oculus Rift. Next, I affixed a velcro cord strap to the center of the rear adjuster so that it can cradle the top part of the hydra and simulate my spine. Since the bottom of the hydra is kind of sharp, I've found wrapping it in a sock to be more comfortable as it sits against my back. Comfort in VR is everything!

12. Next, I setup a small fan in front of me to simulate air currents. The minute details of VR are everything too!

13. For starters, I tend to lock the door so I won't be surprised by any interruptions in RL. Put on the Oculus Rift and ensure the horizontal strap is tight enough that it never feels heavy. I usually turn out the lights in the room just before doing this to eliminate any light leak. Next, put on your headphones and grab your other hydra controller. When you spawn your airplane or jet, it's best to be either on flat ground or way up in the air, so it's a good idea to set these parameters before starting your flight. Putting your elbow or the bottom of the hydra on the table helps make for a good base on which to control your yoke. (Can't wait to get a real flight joystick). And, finally...

14. Enjoy.

If anyone has improvements to this setup, as I'm sure there are many, I would love to hear them. VR is amazing and it's so good to know we are all experiencing it comfortably, safely, and to the highest degree of immersion possible. We have a long way to go, so let's get there as soon as possible. Thank you to ALL who have contributed to this fabulous hardware and software to bring us to our next reality!

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Post by **mm0zct** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:40 pm

It seems you are letting Outerra use the Rift SDK for orientation, and piping the Hydra data through Opentrack. The error from Opentrack makes this obvious as the detection fails because Outerra is already using it.

What you should do in this case is use the Hydra as the primary tracker, but still set for position only, and the secondary tracker to none.

Trying to bind to the Oculus tracker is just asking for trouble, my Opentrack code for the Oculus tracker doesn't always handle that failure so gracefully, and while it does in the version you are using, it doesn't in some older versions, and it might accidentally break in a future version (I promise to try not to though

)