One-third of Valve is currently working on Virtual Reality - Polidicks

[url]http://uploadvr.com/valve-third-vr/[/url] [quote] It’s true that VR is just one of many sectors of Half-Life developer Valve, but it turns out it’s a sector that a significant portion of the company is working on. Speaking recently in a thread on the Vive subreddit, Valve’s Alan Yates confirmed that VR now encompasses “about a third” of the company. Yates explained that he came on board right around the time that Michael Abrash had begun research into both VR and augmented reality (AR). Things have changed a lot since then; Abrash now works as Chief Scientist for Oculus VR and the team that he started at Valve has grown exponentially. It’s somewhat surprising to hear that so many people are working on VR at Valve considering the company has so many other products and services, the most prominent of which being its digital PC store for PC games, Steam. That in itself requires a huge amount of infrastructure work with constant updates, and then there are other initiatives to consider such as the Steam Controller. It wasn’t even that long ago that the company was only teasing VR prototypes, which helped influence Oculus VR’s own work with the Oculus Rift. According to Yates, many of the “key individuals” that worked on issues to make the first consumer headset – the HTC Vive – possible are now working on “the next generation” of devices. That’s a tantalising tease; Valve’s SteamVR system that enables the Room Scale user-tracking technology within the Vive is known to be open to other collaborations, so we’ll be seeing it in other headsets going forward. Hopefully a successor to the Vive is also on the table, though it’s early days yet for the original system – it only launched back in April. [/quote] This year's resurrected Steam Dev Days should certainly be interesting if VR is becoming Valve's content focus.

[QUOTE=Timebomb575;50554974][url]http://uploadvr.com/valve-third-vr/[/url] [QUOTE]It’s true that VR is just one of many sectors of [highlight][B][U]Half-Life[/U][/B][/highlight] developer Valve, but it turns out it’s a sector that a significant portion of the company is working on. Speaking recently in a [highlight][B][U]thre[/U][/B][/highlight][del]ad on the Viv[/del][highlight][B][U]e[/U][/B][/highlight] subreddit, Valve’s Alan Yates confirmed that VR now encompasses “about a third” of the company. Yates explained that he came on board right around the time that Michael Abrash had begun research into both VR and augmented reality (AR). Things have changed a lot since then; Abrash now works as Chief Scientist for Oculus VR and the team that he started at Valve has grown exponentially. It’s somewhat surprising to hear that so many people are working on VR at Valve considering the company has so many other products and services, the most prominent of which being its digital PC store for PC games, Steam. That in itself requires a huge amount of infrastructure work with constant updates, and then there are other initiatives to consider such as the Steam Controller. It wasn’t even that long ago that the company was only teasing VR prototypes, which helped influence Oculus VR’s own work with the Oculus Rift. According to Yates, many of the “key individuals” that worked on issues to make the first consumer headset – the HTC Vive – possible are now working on “the next generation” of devices. That’s a tantalising tease; Valve’s SteamVR system that enables the Room Scale user-tracking technology within the Vive is known to be open to other collaborations, so we’ll be seeing it in other headsets going forward. Hopefully a successor to the Vive is also on the table, though it’s early days yet for the original system – it only launched back in April.[/QUOTE] This year's resurrected Steam Dev Days should certainly be interesting if VR is becoming Valve's content focus.[/QUOTE] HL3 Confirmed :freakout::freakout::freakout: [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Why reply" - Novangel))[/highlight]

the other two thirds are making money

There will never be another Half-Life game.

[QUOTE=1/4 Life;50555076]There will never be another Half-Life game.[/QUOTE] At this point, I hope so

The headsets are neat for immersion but forcing people to move in game in the real world and use motion controls is 2006 Wii tier gimmick technology. I really hope beyond the VR shit valve is making something more accessible. Its been a year since the last TF2 comic, a decade since HL2, and 8 years since L4D2. I miss when Valve came out with a game annually.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555121]The headsets are neat for immersion but forcing people to move in game in the real world and use motion controls is 2006 Wii tier gimmick technology. [/QUOTE] Moving around is naturally impractical for most people, but you give me three good reasons why motion controls aren't the perfect match for VR.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555121]The headsets are neat for immersion but forcing people to move in game in the real world and use motion controls is 2006 Wii tier gimmick technology. I really hope beyond the VR shit valve is making something more accessible. Its been a year since the last TF2 comic, a decade since HL2, and 8 years since L4D2. I miss when Valve came out with a game annually.[/QUOTE] There's a new major title from a major game company every few months. We're not short on games. They can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care.

[QUOTE=Reds;50555130]Moving around is naturally impractical for most people, but you give me three good reasons why motion controls aren't the perfect match for VR.[/QUOTE] If anything I would like to see omnidirectional treadmills get perfected.

[QUOTE=wauterboi;50555135]There's a new major title from a major game company every few months. We're not short on games. They can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care.[/QUOTE] We're not short on game, but Valve games have always been a treat for me. I loved all the little things in Portal 2, hell I beat the game in one sitting on release day because it was that great. When L4D2 was announced I remember playing the demo with friends for a few days just because I was hyped, and I'd like to have that feeling again from Valve. [editline]20th June 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=daigennki;50555137]If anything I would like to see omnidirectional treadmills get perfected.[/QUOTE] That'll be great for military simulators when you're training soldiers to run around in a hostile environment, but bulk equipment isn't fun to keep at home. Its expensive, takes up a lot of space, and has little resale value. I see tons of Guitar Hero controllers and Rock Band drum sets at thrift stores for $2 each just because the stores can't get rid of them. When the games came out the controllers were ~$40 new. My closet is filled with my old controllers because leaving them out in the living room just looks bad and takes too much space. Tons of dust on the things as well.

I wonder in the future how they will make moving in virtual reality a cheap affair. Honestly, I've always had the idea of using some kind of VR socks for it with a bunch of sensors that simulated your movement back and forth. As we all know the options for movement right now in VR are pretty tad expensive, besides I think this is one of the few issues that I will always have a gripe with when it comes to VR. Teleporting in games while in VR completely destroys immersion. Hence it's a key need that they can simulate movement in virtual reality as soon as possible. Of course, this is still a young industry after it's reboot since the Virtual Boy days. So I wouldn't be so surprised if they get it down sooner rather than later. Besides manufacturer are already producing VR panels at 4K, of course no where near worth selling to the normal consumer yet. But, the future looks bright for VR. Honestly though, whatever Valve does indeed work on. I'd say let them, they have moved away from Single Player game experience and are instead focusing on a new industry that needs all the help it can muster to become better. I've mostly stayed away from VR due to the fear of buying a pair of HMD and getting outdated before the year ends, lacking video game library and how expensive it is to get a library of VR games, movement not being simulated yet and the fact that the cheapest desktop HMD has yet to move into retail stores worldwide yet.

If I got the chance to be paid to play around with VR I'd do it too

[QUOTE=FezianEmperor;50555177]I wonder in the future how they will make moving in virtual reality a cheap affair. Honestly, I've always had the idea of using some kind of VR socks for it with a bunch of sensors that simulated your movement back and forth. As we all know the options for movement right now in VR are pretty tad expensive, besides I think this is one of the few issues that I will always have a gripe with when it comes to VR. Teleporting in games while in VR completely destroys immersion. Hence it's a key need that they can simulate movement in virtual reality as soon as possible.[/QUOTE] Movement using VR is honestly just better done using traditional controls like a controller or keyboard + mouse. Outside of military simulators I don't see how using real world movement (besides view using the headset) would make you any better at a game.

With the store, dota, other hardware projects and vr there's much time to develop any kind of game. What a shame.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555153]We're not short on game, but Valve games have always been a treat for me. I loved all the little things in Portal 2, hell I beat the game in one sitting on release day because it was that great. When L4D2 was announced I remember playing the demo with friends for a few days just because I was hyped, and I'd like to have that feeling again from Valve.[/QUOTE] I hope to never be popular enough that people start treating me like shit for not releasing music or videos. I don't rush my work and I hope that people can have fun enjoying other people's stuff. I'm not suggesting you're one of the bad guys in this, but I'd rather let Valve take their time and release something worthwhile or do whatever they want. That workflow is responsible for all those Valve games you love. I wonder if David Lynch was hated for not taking care of the cliffhanger to Twin Peaks for so long.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555121]The headsets are neat for immersion but forcing people to move in game in the real world and use motion controls is 2006 Wii tier gimmick technology. [/QUOTE] I think it's an entirely different beast here since those technologies complement the core experience of VR - feeling like you're actually there in the game world. In those cases, moving and manipulating the environment in ways that resemble reality more closely than traditional input methods add much more to the immersion than any of the individual components. I mean, look at something like Audio Shield, Job Simulator or Tilt Brush. They've got completely intuitive Vive controls, but translating them into traditional inputs would make them clunky as hell to control. It's still early, but as far as we can tell, traditional game design and VR game design are completely different beasts. Even just moving down a corridor can induce motion sickness in VR because the brain is confused by your eyes and the rest of your body giving it mixed messages about whether you're moving or not. There's a lot of old stuff that VR can't do, but conversely in VR you can do a lot of stuff that you couldn't do in traditional games. The most commonly cited example for that would be drawing an arrow from your quiver by reaching behind your back with motion controls. In traditional game design, you'd need a button for that, and it would simply play an animation for you as your bow "reloads" until you're permitted to use another arrow. In VR, you don't need any button, and it's up to you how quickly you're ready to fire another arrow. It makes for a very different experience. And lastly, the actual quality of the hardware has come a long way since Wii and Kinect. It's accurate enough that someone can throw a VR-mapped object in real space and someone only seeing it in VR space can catch it without problems. I've heard several people specifically pointing out how accurate Lighthouse is.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555195]Movement using VR is honestly just better done using traditional controls like a controller or keyboard + mouse. Outside of military simulators I don't see how using real world movement (besides view using the headset) would make you any better at a game.[/QUOTE] It's not about getting better, it's about getting rid of motion sickness and maintaining immersion

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;50555195]Movement using VR is honestly just better done using traditional controls like a controller or keyboard + mouse. Outside of military simulators I don't see how using real world movement (besides view using the headset) would make you any better at a game.[/QUOTE] Well the point of natural movement in VR is for immersion purposes. I mean if you're playing a VR FPS game. I'm sure the best option would to either use your controller or keyboard + mouse. Then again at that point why bother with the headset. If I want to invest into buying a HMD, I'm looking for immersive games with great stories or cool places to visit, scary places etc. In the end I see a HMD as a immersive device meant to enhance the perception that you are actually physically in the game. It's why I don't like the idea of using a controller or keyboard + mouse if my main purpose to feel like I'm actually physically in the game. VR controllers are fine, it seems the oculus touch gets down the "feel" of it generally. At least from what people have said.

[QUOTE=Novangel;50555221]It's not about getting better, it's about getting rid of motion sickness and maintaining immersion[/QUOTE] I believe the US Navy did a study on motion sickness and found that motion sickness is very specific to the type of motion. They essentially came to the conclusion that the reason most people don't get motion sickness in cars is because we're conditioned too it. While right now we need to continue trying to make the experience better, I think in the future if VR becomes something everyone has people will become A LOT more resistant the VR sickness.

I haven't liked valve in a long time. They've stopped doing anything remotely interesting in years.

[QUOTE=Ragekipz;50555200]With the store, dota, other hardware projects and vr there's much time to develop any kind of game. What a shame.[/QUOTE] Well obviously a big part of the VR team is also working on VR content, including games and such The Lab shows that they still have people making cool game content

[QUOTE=Reds;50555130]Moving around is naturally impractical for most people, but you give me three good reasons why motion controls aren't the perfect match for VR.[/QUOTE] If there's one good thing to come out of VR (and to be honest, I'm still not a fan), it's that people will finally take motion controls seriously instead of dismissing them entirely because "It was a Nintendo idea, therefore it's worthless."

[QUOTE=redBadger;50555270]I haven't liked valve in a long time. They've stopped doing anything remotely interesting in years.[/QUOTE] Aside from their VR department which has produced arguably the most groundbreaking advancements in gaming in years?

[QUOTE=srobins;50555316]Aside from their VR department which has produced arguably the most groundbreaking advancements in gaming in years?[/QUOTE] I don't care about VR and I never will. It's an expensive gimmick.

[QUOTE=Mr. N;50555328]I don't care about VR and I never will. It's an expensive gimmick.[/QUOTE] Your personal lack of interest doesn't change the fact that Valve helped create an industry that is now exploding and growing rapidly. VR isn't even just a gaming peripheral anymore, it has applications in engineering, medicine, education, etc. Trying to claim otherwise is just being petty.

[QUOTE=srobins;50555340]VR isn't even just a gaming peripheral anymore, it has applications in engineering, medicine, education, etc.[/QUOTE] To be fair, so do Kinect and even the Wii Remote.

[QUOTE=wauterboi;50555135]There's a new major title from a major game company every few months. We're not short on games. They can do whatever they want and I wouldn't really care.[/QUOTE] Valve made The Lab. Longbow, which is just one tiny part of the game, which is really just a collection of small demos, is actually one of the best things I have for the Vive. I really hope to see more VR software from Valve soon, because they've already shown that they absolutely master the medium. [QUOTE=srobins;50555340]Your personal lack of interest doesn't change the fact that Valve helped create an industry that is now exploding and growing rapidly.[/QUOTE] I don't think it's completely out of the danger zone yet. Lots of resources is being poured into it, and a ton of big game players are going in, but there's still a lot of issues and most of what gets shown looks gimmicky as fuck. I feel like enough people still hold the opinion that it's a gimmick that it's still dangerous. Not enough people are getting the headsets, so there's still the chance that developing games for it simply turns out to be not profitable. I'd like to see a more informed opinion and analysis on this, though. I don't actually know how well the Vive and Rift and their games are currently selling.

[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;50555347]To be fair, so do Kinect and even the Wii Remote.[/QUOTE] Not even remotely comparable. The level of accuracy and fidelity in the Vive exceeds the Wii and Kinect by orders of magnitude. If the Wii and Kinect weren't so laggy and unreliable, maybe this would be a valid point, but they're not so it's not.

[QUOTE=VinLAURiA;50555296]If there's one good thing to come out of VR (and to be honest, I'm still not a fan), it's that people will finally take motion controls seriously instead of dismissing them entirely because "It was a Nintendo idea, therefore it's worthless."[/QUOTE] Nintendo's implementation of motion controls was pretty piss-poor. All the original Wii Remote had was an accelerator and an optical sensor for the cursor. All the remote could really do was recognize shakes and gestures. Eventually the Motion Plus came out which added a gyroscope. Basically any modern phone has the same or better motion sensing tech in it today. The technology for Vive's tracking is miles more impressive.

[QUOTE=srobins;50555340]Your personal lack of interest doesn't change the fact that Valve helped create an industry that is now exploding and growing rapidly. VR isn't even just a gaming peripheral anymore, it has applications in engineering, medicine, education, etc. Trying to claim otherwise is just being petty.[/QUOTE] With 4 competing standards and exvlusives no less! It's life buying a console!