Preparing for VR: LEAP Motion+Cinemizer OLED headtracking at 5120 by 1600 using Crysis 3 and countering multiple VR controller fatigue

Playing Crysis 3 the other day in 1080p  OLED 3D with headtracking also gave me the chance to test out LEAP Motion control on my gaming PC that was powering it.This is my first mess with Crysis 3 using LEAP control , as usual I am also looking for VR control hooks ..

At some point hopefully in the not too distant future and for Virtual Reality's sake not off the back of another kickstarter project (10000 voices sigh in concert), someone is going to create an ultra high res  VR device. The best res I can currently manage is 5120 by 1600 by way of my desktop.. 

Once that is solved , the issue of how we interface with that world comes into play. VR fanatics always harp on about latency being a barrier, which they have so far failed to solve as the hardware has not arrived to solve it for them (: so as part of my Crysis 3 test I set out to see how LEAP Motion handles , dual screen and extreme resolutions , firstly just running the basic demos on Windows 8  and secondly in one of the most GPU and CPU intensive games out there . 

I achieved mouse control via the LEAP using the wonderful Dangermouse.  This is one blindingly fast piece of software paired with one blindingly fast piece of hardware the LEAP Motion.. 

currently in a pre VR gaming world these wonderfully rendered blades of grass are decoration serving no function different to bitmapped 2D foliage in old Doom engine FPS games....

Using a resolution of 5120 by 1600 necessitates a control device with mm like sensitivity and that is what we get . In fact it is way too sensitive as you will see. But the power, the feel and immersion of moving your world , or touching it is second to none. And this is just messing about with the thing..but sometimes this is the best way to learn.. 

The LEAP brings so many game changing VR control ops:what if we had to brush aside this tall grass with our hands  as we walked through? What if I could part it with one hand and aim through the gap with my right gun holding hand or headtracker?

Displays, portable, displays with ultra high resolutions will come, we are already at true 1080p with the smd ST1080, the next step is 4K  and I mean 1 inch panels , powered by a usb even kinetic energy perhaps from all that headtracking? 

With the LEAP we could draw the bow with accurate hand, palm and finger recognition far more effectively than with old gen motion sensing ..like the wii mote or Kinect

What is significant is we already have a fast enough control device for that VR and hmd revolution in the LEAP Motion even at a developer stage and it can be combined with Zeiss headtracking right now in any game or app. I did not need to tweak screen calibration or, mouse settings . The LEAP picked up the 5120 by 1600 resolution without issue.The Zeiss headtracker is even simpler to use , you plug it into a USB port and give it 5 seconds to lie still and calibrate ..then BOTH are controlling your 5120 by 1600 game OF Crysis 3 ..like so 

Breaking the Virtual Reality Multiple Controller Fatigue barrier:

Here we are just controlling the FOV with the LEAP , for this type of game though we have to consider one of THE barriers to gaming in a VR environment... no not latency .. Mr Abrash.. but user fatigue... 

VR gaming is going to require multiple forms of input , headtracking and hand tracking are just two. Amongst other issues the current state of this tech , the shear weight of it is going to cause it's own problems as is long term use of the LEAP ..

One of the magic things about the LEAP is it is a totally resistance free method of control , but your hands are also missing the support they usually have resting on a keyboard , mouse or joypad , and you can find yourself holding the controllers ..in this case your hands in steady positions or in constant movement , all the time having to use your strength to support them. 

You may think you want to raise your hands and hold a weapon in a game , or control a gun sight that way but in practise raising your arm or hand , or both of them in a fast twitch game is going to cause fatigue.You are going to run around in a MMO or FPS for hours at a time  , ask yourself could you do that in real life in the real world? Now transpose that behaviour to you standing in a small space playing your VR game... 

We may all become fitter, you know like every one was supposed to with the Wii scale and Kinect ... or in the short and long term, Virtual Reality Multiple Controller fatigue combined with nausea may just be one more insurmountable barrier preventing VR gaming ever reaching mainstream. 

Nothing's gonna stop us how ...?


For the purpose of this video I had my arm raised , just to show it was LEAP causing the FOV movement . However when I do game with the LEAP I find my hands are where they would be with a keyboard or joypad .  The natural gaming position we are already used to .. I find myself placing the LEAP at a lower level than I am sitting so my hands are resting on my legs , or on the desk . All it takes to move is to use your fingers, at any time you can rest your hands on the desk or your legs and continue to game. 

The hmds I use like the Cinemizer OLED and smd ST1080 are so light , you do not feel them , the headtracker is a few grams , the small displays create minimal heat so fatigue and discomfort are no problem.  It takes little effort to move the ST1080 and Cinemizer OLED hmds ..which makes them perfect for long gaming sessions ... 

So as you can see both LEAP Motion and Zeiss headtracking handle extreme resolutions like 5120 by 1600. Playing with VR leaning controls already gives you a glimpse of how in VR versions of our games , gamers are going to expect to be able to interact with a game world , playing this level there is an awesome feeling  of touching that grass, you know Ridley Scott style ,even though you are not at this basic level of control , you also expect to be able to manipulate objects like that grass and  you expect to be able to draw that bow . For non VR gaming I would  ideally set the LEAP as a WSAD  + fire button replacement and combine  it with the Zeiss headtracker for FOV movement and aiming. But for VR the options endless , you could pick up rocks, throw them to distract guards ( classic Crysis) , part an individual blade of grass , open doors etc all through the power of LEAP ...all without reinventing the games design wheel ..because I am sure you can see all the tools are already there for designers to start thinking outside of the old WSAD mouse control scheme.  So people time to bring it... 

more to follow  

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