The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Edition - Jack Into Cyrodiil - General Columns

SBFord · April 2018

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Edition - Jack Into Cyrodiil - General Columns

We have just been given another version of this game, one that involves strapping on a full headset and diving into the newly charted realm of Virtual Reality. Skyrim VR is available on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality, though our review came from the HTC Vive.

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JTST83 · April 2018

Kind of hard to take this score seriously when you keep calling it Cyrodiil.

Orthelian · April 2018

And is this calling something else "depth perception"? Sounds like saying the IPD is off, but that can't be right as it's entirely in your control.

Sovrath · April 2018

You know, I'm going to dissent here.

I just downloaded it a few days ago and I have to say that some of the complaints are weird.

I do believe there is a "real life crouching" option. You just have to tick it in the settings. There is also a "real life swimming" option where you have to move your arms to swim.

I found the "hands" to be in a perfect place so not sure what the issue is for the writer.

Melee is "amazing" if you can get over the fact that you won't connect to your opponent. Blocking with a shield and swing the sword is very cool with an actual draugr standing right next to you.

However, the left touch pad is very sensitive and you will find that you will absolutely have to get used to movement.

I do get a bit dizzy/nauseous with this game because of the change in landscape.

What I've done (which is sort of funny to me) is to sit in a chair and raise your character's height to the max. The effect is like I'm Charles Xavier from X-Men (first thing that came to mind when I tried this) and I'm zipping around a bit lower than everything. This pretty much has allowed me to play for several hours before I have to take a break.

When I do melee I stand up and when it's done I sit back down. I am going to be looking for a .ini fix that will raise the camera a bit so it will appear that I'm at walking height when siting. (edit just found it

Archery is excellent and Magic is also excellent.

In truth, I'd love to talk about this experience more as I originally thought that it would replace my Skyrim game playing but it feels like such a different experience that I usually do a VR Skyrim session and then go back to the regular "game'.

Jakdstripper · April 2018

Has anyone tried this? I tried Skyrim with the rift (dk2) back before FB had gotten into the company....back then you had to use a third party program to make it work. Menus didnt work, dialogue was a pain, you had to turn shadows off, etc....still, it was an amazing experience, and to date one of my favourite vr experiences, right up there with Elite and Minecraft. However, I have read some reviews and they weren't too exciting. Everyone saying the graphics are all turned down (I actually remember upoading texture mods cause otherwise everything looked like shit in vr). Toning downdgraphics in vr is just a bad idea. Many say the gameplay is also toned down. Looking at the vids, with weapons wobbling around, and free floating....it just looked silly... Anyone here has first hand experience?

Sovrath · April 2018

I'd also like to add that you have several choices for turning.

You can "smoothly turn" or you can turn by "snapping" to a new orientation".

I was using the "smooth" turning but found after a while I'd get a bit nauseous. I set it to snap which helped a lot. What REALLY helped is that you can set the snap angle to a wide or much smaller increment. So when I turn I just hit the right or left several times quickly and it "snaps/snaps/snaps" me to the new direction. it sounds weird but it helps a lot with nausea yet it's not such a large angle that you feel you are not "moving".

Also, there is an option to have your field of view (FOV) lessened when you turn move quickly which also helps. you can change a few options with that.

Theocritus · April 2018

I figure that VR is probably the future of gaming, but really it doesn't interest me.

Kajidourden · April 2018

VR is a cool experience, but I would much rather have mods, etc.

Cryomatrix · April 2018

I'll wait until it gets better. Then I'll get it, it looks like it could be amazing

Phaserlight · April 2018

This is a bit of a weird article, but I... like it? It reads as though written by a bitter VR vet with just enough "in" references to make it cool.

What's with the perspective-screw graphic? And... "forward/ack" are we seeing some effects of long term VR use? /s

This article may also be an unintentional huge plug for wireless VR, as in most wireless VR games you don't have that disconnect between what your head is doing laterally and where you are looking in game. I really strongly dislike the "use the thumbstick to turn" scheme as it can be very nausea inducing and it defeats the purpose of having a VR set strapped to your head in the first place. However, it seems like this is indeed one of the pitfalls of tethered VR. For all the disdain I've seen across the web from Rifters and Vivers for 3doF rigs, maybe they should stop calling their own setups 6dof and in favor of (more accurately) "5.5dof"?

In an open world game, you need to be able to turn around 360 degrees without losing tracking or getting tangled in cables.

Sorry for the rant, just slightly bitter from some PC-master-race-ism I've run across over the net regarding this burgeoning new tech.

Sovrath · April 2018

I'm going to say that fighting moving enemies melee takes practice but it's not insurmountable.

Maybe it's because I'm a musician so I'm used to doing several physical things at once (used to play the harp - did gigs - and that instrument has you moving your feet as well as your hands/fingers) but you can move your hands to block/swing but you also have to use your thumbs to move/turn.

It was odd at first but I've gotten more used to it.

In truth I think VR Skyrim is more about the immersion and "being there". If one can come to grips with that and can set their difficulty appropriately (maybe others have gotten used to movement and can fight on the hardest difficulty) it is pretty amazing.

Still, fighting at a distance with bow or magic is really where this experience shines with the exception where I mentioned standing toe to toe with a draugr.

Using the "realistic" (or whatever it's called) Shield You can move your shield arm and "bash" your enemy. That's a great feeling as you sort of feel it through the controller.

I should mentioned that you also feel the "pull" of the drawstring as you use the bow.

I honestly can't wait to have my roommate try it this weekend.

Sovrath · April 2018

Jakdstripper said:

Has anyone tried this? I tried Skyrim with the rift (dk2) back before FB had gotten into the company....back then you had to use a third party program to make it work. Menus didnt work, dialogue was a pain, you had to turn shadows off, etc....still, it was an amazing experience, and to date one of my favourite vr experiences, right up there with Elite and Minecraft. However, I have read some reviews and they weren't too exciting. Everyone saying the graphics are all turned down (I actually remember upoading texture mods cause otherwise everything looked like shit in vr). Toning downdgraphics in vr is just a bad idea. Many say the gameplay is also toned down. Looking at the vids, with weapons wobbling around, and free floating....it just looked silly... Anyone here has first hand experience?

Hey Jack,

I think you are referring to the bow use correct?

I saw this as well and it was a huge issue for me. But guess what? It doesn't exist with the headset on.

So either this is just how the screen capture "sees" the arrow nocked or they fixed it.

There is a "little" shake if you put (I never remember these terms) "realistic" bow use but nothing like how the videos portray it.

If you don't put "realistic" bow used the bow ends up to be higher than it should be but the arrow is extremely stable.

If you use "realistic" it's at a better place and you can angle the bow. The arrow then has a small "shake" but NOTHING like the videos. It's more akin to having your arm slightly shake the arrow as you pull it back.

As far as graphics, that is an odd one. I have it at max and it looks pretty good. The downside is that mountains in the distance look "flat" as opposed to 3d. My guess is that this is done to make the game run at the higher frame rate that is needed. Also, it is an old game so it's no as if the whole thing was programed to be VR ready.

Sovrath · April 2018

Phaserlight said:

This is a bit of a weird article, but I... like it? It reads as though written by a bitter VR vet with just enough "in" references to make it cool.

What's with the perspective-screw graphic? And... "forward/ack" are we seeing some effects of long term VR use? /s

This article may also be an unintentional huge plug for wireless VR, as in most wireless VR games you don't have that disconnect between what your head is doing laterally and where you are looking in game. I really strongly dislike the "use the thumbstick to turn" scheme as it can be very nausea inducing and it defeats the purpose of having a VR set strapped to your head in the first place. However, it seems like this is indeed one of the pitfalls of tethered VR. For all the disdain I've seen across the web from Rifters and Vivers for 3doF rigs, maybe they should stop calling their own setups 6dof and in favor of (more accurately) "5.5dof"?

In an open world game, you need to be able to turn around 360 degrees without losing tracking or getting tangled in cables.

Sorry for the rant, just slightly bitter from some PC-master-race-ism I've run across over the net regarding this burgeoning new tech.

Just an fyi, you don't have to use the controller to turn. You can turn and it's like you are turning in the game.

Here is an interesting comparison. I have also been fooling around with Doom VR and in that game you have to turn in order to "turn".

But I was more used to using the stick. So when I booted up Doom I couldn't find the "turn" button (so to speak) That's when I realized that the Doom VR was set up to actually have you physicall turn. So I had to get used to that (and wire control) when I didn't in Skyrim.

For me the turn feature for Skyrim on the controller was a bit of a life saver as my space for playing is narrow. On one side I have several DVD towers an on the other side I have a low platform bed which I'd rather not knock into it.

I'm going to be experimenting with other ways to play this weekend but I gurantee you can just "turn" or "crouch" and the camera will follow you.

Octagon7711 · April 2018

Sounds like VR is getting there, but it still has a long way to go. I'd need my mods.

Sovrath · April 2018

Octagon7711 said:

Sounds like VR is getting there, but it still has a long way to go. I'd need my mods.

IT seems like one can mod Skyrim VR but I'm not clear on how many of the available mods would work well.

I've read that the original Skyrim mods do work. There is something one needs to do in order to have Skyrim VR recognize those mods but people are playing with mods.

Ozmodan · April 2018

The only thing I have found with VR is it makes me dizzy. I want nothing to do with it

godseph · April 2018

Read this article and I wished to share that I have purchased and played Skyrim VR with Oculus and a lot of the criticisms can be explained.

Yes the game is old and looks old. If you go to settings you can increase the graphics as the default is on medium to low.

First thing after the VR tutorial you should do is go into settings then "VR Settings" and here is where you will fix your entire experience.
- In here you can set it so when you crouch in real life it crouches in game.
- you can change realistic bows where both hands are needed to aim (instead of 1 to aim and one to draw bow.
- you can change so when you move you no longer get the black circles. This is on by default for slower pc's and to assist with motion sickness.

This doesn't change too much about your final conclusions but it will fix a lot of the major complains I see with Skyrim VR.

If you have any questions about the experience go ahead and ask I have over 30-hours into the VR version now and have a blast even with a few control issues and the motion sickness that you will get.

Best settings - fluid movement. Remove moving black circles. Turn on realistic crouch. Turn off realistic swimming. turn off snap turning. Mod Support to assist with graphics (If you have high end computer). change game graphics to highest and distance of render to max (doesn't increase enough for me to notice performance degradation).

Sovrath · April 2018

godseph said:

Read this article and I wished to share that I have purchased and played Skyrim VR with Oculus and a lot of the criticisms can be explained.

Yes the game is old and looks old. If you go to settings you can increase the graphics as the default is on medium to low.

First thing after the VR tutorial you should do is go into settings then "VR Settings" and here is where you will fix your entire experience.
- In here you can set it so when you crouch in real life it crouches in game.
- you can change realistic bows where both hands are needed to aim (instead of 1 to aim and one to draw bow.
- you can change so when you move you no longer get the black circles. This is on by default for slower pc's and to assist with motion sickness.

This doesn't change too much about your final conclusions but it will fix a lot of the major complains I see with Skyrim VR.

If you have any questions about the experience go ahead and ask I have over 30-hours into the VR version now and have a blast even with a few control issues and the motion sickness that you will get.

Best settings - fluid movement. Remove moving black circles. Turn on realistic crouch. Turn off realistic swimming. turn off snap turning. Mod Support to assist with graphics (If you have high end computer). change game graphics to highest and distance of render to max (doesn't increase enough for me to notice performance degradation).

Do you know anything about the Super Sampling option?

godseph · April 2018

Do you know anything about the Super Sampling option?

You can turn this option on in Settings, It helps with images such as trees looking "Sharper" not as jagged. but it can decrease performance. Since I use Oculus I have software that allows Oculus to interact with SteamVR in this software (free) I can increase sampling through this up to 3X-4X (not sure while im at work). This is much better option since its not as big a hit to performance.

choc · April 2018

But the real question here is, it have the same bugs that it have 7 years ago and that every re-release of skyrim have?

Sovrath · April 2018

choc said:

But the real question here is, it have the same bugs that it have 7 years ago and that every re-release of skyrim have?

You would have to be specific.

I haven't come across any flying mammoths if that's what you mean.

Physics is still wonky but that won't change at this point. So touch one thing on a table and it could make other things tip/fly off.

The only crashes I've experienced were when I changed certain settings and the game indicated it needed to be restarted. This sometimes caused a crash.

There is an annoying little bug or "oversight" where, at character creation, the game asks if you are finished and you want to name your character. Hit "yes" and nothing happens.

Apparently you need to change the type of keyboard (I think this was on the VR settings but if you don't find it there then the Skyrim settings for VR (still think it's in the Steam settings). that allows for an on screen keyboard and that will allow you to progress.

Sinmar · April 2018

I have tried and used a little over 70 mods and they all worked fine. With 4k textures it is really hard to call the game anything but beautiful. SkyrinVR is the ONLY way Skyrim should be played in my opinion.

kinkyJalepeno · April 2018

Octagon7711 said:

Sounds like VR is getting there, but it still has a long way to go. I'd need my mods.

I'vr got over 40 mods running on Skyrim VR - Read more

OP I have zero idea what game you were playing and some of the stuff you pointed out has options in the settings - DUH

Kajidourden · April 2018

Sovrath said:

Phaserlight said:

This is a bit of a weird article, but I... like it? It reads as though written by a bitter VR vet with just enough "in" references to make it cool.

What's with the perspective-screw graphic? And... "forward/ack" are we seeing some effects of long term VR use? /s

This article may also be an unintentional huge plug for wireless VR, as in most wireless VR games you don't have that disconnect between what your head is doing laterally and where you are looking in game. I really strongly dislike the "use the thumbstick to turn" scheme as it can be very nausea inducing and it defeats the purpose of having a VR set strapped to your head in the first place. However, it seems like this is indeed one of the pitfalls of tethered VR. For all the disdain I've seen across the web from Rifters and Vivers for 3doF rigs, maybe they should stop calling their own setups 6dof and in favor of (more accurately) "5.5dof"?

In an open world game, you need to be able to turn around 360 degrees without losing tracking or getting tangled in cables.

Sorry for the rant, just slightly bitter from some PC-master-race-ism I've run across over the net regarding this burgeoning new tech.

Just an fyi, you don't have to use the controller to turn. You can turn and it's like you are turning in the game.

Here is an interesting comparison. I have also been fooling around with Doom VR and in that game you have to turn in order to "turn".

But I was more used to using the stick. So when I booted up Doom I couldn't find the "turn" button (so to speak) That's when I realized that the Doom VR was set up to actually have you physicall turn. So I had to get used to that (and wire control) when I didn't in Skyrim.

For me the turn feature for Skyrim on the controller was a bit of a life saver as my space for playing is narrow. On one side I have several DVD towers an on the other side I have a low platform bed which I'd rather not knock into it.

I'm going to be experimenting with other ways to play this weekend but I gurantee you can just "turn" or "crouch" and the camera will follow you.

What do you think about DOOM? I heard it was "meh" but it might be better with the AIM controller I just got with farpoint.

Kajidourden · April 2018

Sinmar said:

I have tried and used a little over 70 mods and they all worked fine. With 4k textures it is really hard to call the game anything but beautiful. SkyrinVR is the ONLY way Skyrim should be played in my opinion.

On Ps4?

Sovrath · April 2018

Kajidourden said:

Sovrath said:

Phaserlight said:

This is a bit of a weird article, but I... like it? It reads as though written by a bitter VR vet with just enough "in" references to make it cool.

What's with the perspective-screw graphic? And... "forward/ack" are we seeing some effects of long term VR use? /s

This article may also be an unintentional huge plug for wireless VR, as in most wireless VR games you don't have that disconnect between what your head is doing laterally and where you are looking in game. I really strongly dislike the "use the thumbstick to turn" scheme as it can be very nausea inducing and it defeats the purpose of having a VR set strapped to your head in the first place. However, it seems like this is indeed one of the pitfalls of tethered VR. For all the disdain I've seen across the web from Rifters and Vivers for 3doF rigs, maybe they should stop calling their own setups 6dof and in favor of (more accurately) "5.5dof"?

In an open world game, you need to be able to turn around 360 degrees without losing tracking or getting tangled in cables.

Sorry for the rant, just slightly bitter from some PC-master-race-ism I've run across over the net regarding this burgeoning new tech.

Just an fyi, you don't have to use the controller to turn. You can turn and it's like you are turning in the game.

Here is an interesting comparison. I have also been fooling around with Doom VR and in that game you have to turn in order to "turn".

But I was more used to using the stick. So when I booted up Doom I couldn't find the "turn" button (so to speak) That's when I realized that the Doom VR was set up to actually have you physicall turn. So I had to get used to that (and wire control) when I didn't in Skyrim.

For me the turn feature for Skyrim on the controller was a bit of a life saver as my space for playing is narrow. On one side I have several DVD towers an on the other side I have a low platform bed which I'd rather not knock into it.

I'm going to be experimenting with other ways to play this weekend but I gurantee you can just "turn" or "crouch" and the camera will follow you.

What do you think about DOOM? I heard it was "meh" but it might be better with the AIM controller I just got with farpoint.

Well, you have to bear in mind that I'm not some "jaded gamer" nor do I approach these things with pie in the sky expectations. I don't sit there and say "ok you've got five minutes, 'WOW me!'"

When I was a kid the first video game was a dot. And it was AWESOME!

So when I tried Doom VR at Pax Seattle, for 10 minutes, that was enough for me to upgrade my computer and buy a headset.

So what do I think of it? Awesome. Why? Because I'm standing toe to toe with demons, or they are flying above me and it's an extremely unique experience.

Same with Skyrim. When that Draugr came out of its crypt in Bleak Falls Barrow and walked up to me and I was bashing it with a shield and battling it out it was "AWESOME".

For me, unique experiences are unique experiences.

Heck, in Doom, I actually just had fun in the last tutorial area blowing away demons in that white room. That itself was enjoyable in and of itself! I'm walking around the corridors of a Mars station. I'm there. That has to count for something.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Edition - Jack Into Cyrodiil - General Columns

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Comments

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey