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GameGradeVR Introduction

By December 1, 2013GameGradeVR

Welcome to GameGradeVR (GGVR) – the quality assurance system for PC based Virtual Reality video games!  If you’re trying to figure out which games will work well on your system, how to get them to work, and what kind of VR experience you can expect –  SEARCH NO MORE!

Thanks to current and impending VR product launches by OculusVR, castAR, Sony and more, the VR software market is poised to become a wild west of quality assurance claims and product support.  There are no less than three VR driver solutions (TriDef Ignition, Vireio Perception, VorpX) as well as a wave of native VR support that doesn’t require a middleware add-on.

To keep things transparent, gamers needed a qualiy assurance rating system that was objective, held up to public scrutiny, and would serve as an accurate measurement of what kind of quality gamers could expect from the VR software they buy and download.  If used properly, it’s also a great motivator for software makers to improve their work, and make sure their marketing claims hold up to reality.

After much time and effort invested by Neil Schneider, Vadim Krivosheev, and Cris Villalobos, we have the solution! 

GameGrade3D Logo

GameGradeVR is a fully functional system that asks a series of multiple choice questions.  Based on the answers given, a huge database is created complete with recommended game settings, quality expectations, and current GameGradeVR certification ratings.  These ratings adjust and compensate according to what members submit, driver updates, diversified results, and more.

The engine’s back-end is completely dynamic, and we have the means to alter questions, add new options, adjust scoring, and fine tune the process without losing or resetting earlier contributions.

Some of GGVR’s benefits include:

  1. GGVR will give gamers an independently developed and credible resource for S-3D game quality and best settings for DDD, Vireio Perception, and VorpX VR drivers.  It will also indicate the level of native VR support (e.g. Oculus Rift, castAR, etc.).
  2. GGVR is customer driven, and is designed to avoid subjective or easily swayable opinions.
  3. Whereas before VR quality was subjective, we now have objective measurable results to look for and improve upon.
  4. Game developers and technology enablers now have a non-proprietary quality expectation to aim for, and will see how their solution compares to others through the eyes of their customers.
  5. GGVR is dynamic and adjusts with the times. The more gamers submit, especially for games already listed, the more accurate the system is.

New Features

GameGradeVR is based on an earlier prototype system called GameGrade3D.  Here are some key features and improvements!

  1. When selecting anomalies, gamers can attach screenshots and share comments to help illustrate the problem.
  2. Each submission can have a driver profile attached.  Games can upload DDD TriDef Ignition profiles, .TXT files, and .MTBS VRBoost files (for VIreio Perception).  Other formats will be added as they become available.
  3. Submissions can include a subjective score in addition to the measured approach, though this doesn’t impact the final grade.
  4. Gamers can edit their submissions as software gets updated.
  5. Instead of being faced with countless questions, the new system has collapsible option trees that highlight key areas of interest.
  6. In addition to the standard QA algorithm, GameGradeVR also highlights bonus features like body tracking, positional head tracking, non-standard driver features and more.
  7. GameGradeVR does NOT support 2D+Depth or Z-Depth game technologies.  Do NOT submit games based on this technology.  However, we do have an option to indicate compatibility with these technologies in the bonus feature section, but it doesn’t negatively or positively impact the final score.

Before using GameGradeVR, please follow these steps:

  1. Download and install the latest graphics card and VR drivers available for your system.  If there are updated game profiles by driver developers, it’s encouraged to use them as well.
  2. Download and install the latest game patches for the title you are submitting.
  3. Download and install the latest DirectX runtime executable.
  4. Read through MTBS’ Stereoscopic 3D Anomaly Guide so you know what to watch out for.  This will eventually get updated to reflect VR issues as well.
  5. Start submitting games and viewing results.  You will need to be an MTBS member to make submissions (free).  Join via the front page membership tab.

Where possible, all games are tested according to the ability to achieve a combined depth and pop-out experience as demonstrated in the settings guide.  Games are not penalized for not being able to achieve this!  However, it’s important to test this way because it helps us spot anomalies or problems to be fixed, and it gives fellow gamers an indicator of what type of VR flexibility they can expect with each game listed.

In all cases, Virtual 3D (AKA 2D+Depth, Z-Depth) options and auto-convergence features must be turned off!  This is necessary because the visual problems and anomalies associated with 2D+Depth are completely different from those you would find with a dual camera rendering, and would not be accurately scored with GameGradeVR.  Auto-Convergence needs to be turned off in the game because camera angle problems need to be accurately scored so they can be properly fixed, and this feature makes consistent separation and convergence settings impossible.  If you think these features make a positive improvement to the game’s VR performance, please feel free to include your remarks in the comments section – but this won’t impact the game’s actual score.

Submissions should be as accurate as possible.  It helps no one if users submit perfect scores when the game isn’t truly deserving.  Problems can only be fixed if game developers and driver developers know about them!

GameGradeVR is currently in beta, and we expect much more functionality in the near future.  GGVR is an independently developed effort, and while we recognize multiple driver solutions, this should not be construed as an endorsement by DDD, VorpX, or native game and technology makers.  In truth, the only real opinion that matters is yours!

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