[Request] VR Support and Character Model to Virtual Avatar

[Xzygy.1452]

Hey there.  With the tech getting better every day with hand, eye, and face tracking, and the new Steam integration, I started wondering how difficult it might be to support SteamVR.

The social elements and the persistent world really would make for an amazing VR experience, even if it were limited to non-combat applications.  Combat via controller is already possible, which might make supporting a VR combat interface less painful.

 

Additionally, with the concept of a virtual representation of one's self being advertised by companies like Meta, and much more exentive support in applicaitons like VR Chat, we're starting to see standards forming like .vrca, where a user can upload a custom avatar, The ability to customize my character in GW2, then take that mesh, textures, movement, and speech animations into the metaverse where it could make use of eye and face tracking is a really appealing concept, and would be pretty incredible advertisement for the game.  "What the hell are you?"  "Oh, I'm an Asura from GW2, let me tell you about it!"

 

Some of this is already possible, but very hacky.  I was curious if this was already on ArenaNet's mind, and curious what other players would feel about this.  Most, I expect probably wouldn't care, but those of you who do, what would you like to see?

[Omega.6801]

I  meaan VR is cool and all. And indeed, the technology has come a long way in the last 10 years. However, it's still years away from being an integral part of everyday life. What you describe sounds like something, a person would not only have to have the money to spend on it, but also like, an extra room dedicated to VR and the """metaverse""". It's just not a thing, many companies focus on, especially with products, that have reached their cashcow years or beyond. Maybe, at some point, when GW3 is in the works, VR will be more of a concern.
I think i saw a few yt-vids about ppl playing GW2 in VR, made possible through some software and the, then newly implemented first person zoom. One problem, at least when it comes to gameplay(Combat, JPs, Exploration...) GW2 is just not optimized for first person gaming. It would work for the social experience, but not for Strikes or PvP f.e..

[Xzygy.1452]

There's usually a seated version where movement is via the controllers.  You can look around, but moving is more standard controller movement than moving your whole body.  The hardware is here, I think, at least for SteamVR, its the lack of experiences that limit the tech now.  You're definitely correct that PVP, etc. is disadvantaged when played via controller and first person. 

 

[Eekasqueak.7850]

I don't think a decade old MMO is the best fit for VR

[Dawdler.8521]

How exactly do you think playing a bounding dodger staff thief with alacrity and quickness in realistic 1st person VR is going to turn out?

[Sarius.9285]

6 hours ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

How exactly do you think playing a bounding dodger staff thief with alacrity and quickness in realistic 1st person VR is going to turn out?

there are many 3rd person vr games 

[Strixxe.2019]

13 hours ago, Xzygy.1452 said:

Hey there.  With the tech getting better every day with hand, eye, and face tracking, and the new Steam integration, I started wondering how difficult it might be to support SteamVR.

The social elements and the persistent world really would make for an amazing VR experience, even if it were limited to non-combat applications.  Combat via controller is already possible, which might make supporting a VR combat interface less painful.

 

Additionally, with the concept of a virtual representation of one's self being advertised by companies like Meta, and much more exentive support in applicaitons like VR Chat, we're starting to see standards forming like .vrca, where a user can upload a custom avatar, The ability to customize my character in GW2, then take that mesh, textures, movement, and speech animations into the metaverse where it could make use of eye and face tracking is a really appealing concept, and would be pretty incredible advertisement for the game.  "What the hell are you?"  "Oh, I'm an Asura from GW2, let me tell you about it!"

 

Some of this is already possible, but very hacky.  I was curious if this was already on ArenaNet's mind, and curious what other players would feel about this.  Most, I expect probably wouldn't care, but those of you who do, what would you like to see?

If you want your character represented in 'mEtAVeRsE' why not just open blender, press x to delete default cube, insert a sphere and start modelling? 

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

This is a 10 years old game and not long ago there were people complaining that Anet is planning to end DX9 support, you think a community like this would utilize VR to an extent that it would be worth it for Anet?
 

Just now, Sarius.9285 said:

there are many 3rd person vr games 

Sit in front of your monitor with a cloth over your head and the monitor, a curved monitor makes it even more believable.

[Sarius.9285]

4 hours ago, IAmNotMatthew.1058 said:

Sit in front of your monitor with a cloth over your head and the monitor, a curved monitor makes it even more believable

of course, if you never used VR before you could believe that sure...

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

6 minutes ago, Sarius.9285 said:

of course, if you never used VR before you could believe that sure...

And if you never really played an MMO you could believe that VR would be successful, especially third person VR

[The Greyhawk.9107]

Fundamentally GW2 just isn't the right fit for what you're asking for.

[Xzygy.1452]

19 hours ago, Eekasqueak.7850 said:

I don't think a decade old MMO is the best fit for VR

This game will run on a potato, has a vibrant, gorgeous world, and is full of character and little details that I'm sure would be loads of fun.  

14 hours ago, Dawdler.8521 said:

How exactly do you think playing a bounding dodger staff thief with alacrity and quickness in realistic 1st person VR is going to turn out?

I didn't know I needed this in my life until now.  That sounds like ridiculous fun, I'll just need to keep a bucket handy just in case.

[Xzygy.1452]

7 hours ago, KrivukasLT.3507 said:

If you want your character represented in 'mEtAVeRsE' why not just open blender, press x to delete default cube, insert a sphere and start modelling? 

That's an awfully adorable asura female forum icon you've got there.  We're not long from days where we'd mock dudes for haivng something like it, but this is becoming more mainstream.  I remember a gnome female with bright pink pig tails named "Plushy" in my WoW guild back in the day who sounded like a long haul trucker guy in voice coms.  Our collective acceptance of such things, especially in GW2 has moved significantly, to the point where it's rarely questioned these days.  I'd probably argue that how you're feeling about the metaverse largely involves the early expressions like VRChat and VTubers, but these will likely become more and more commonplace over the next decade as these technologies improve.  MMOs are already a place where a 60 year old woman doesn't need to represent herself as an old person, or where a 12 year old boy wants to represent himself as a huge, ripped Norn. 

Realistically, I'll be giving blender a shot at some point, it looks like fun, but modeling, painting, lighting, rigging, and animating are massively time consuming, and a lot of that work is already done.  It'll be easier for me to access thee in-game resources, but a better solution would be for the game itself to encourage the behavior for the free advertising.

[Randulf.7614]

VR tech just isn’t anywhere near the point for enough players to want or afford it, no matter the (admittedly slow) progress it’s making. It’s going to be maybe a generation or two. That means Anet aren’t going to be justified in time, money and resources - esp given the cutbacks over the years. I don’t know what’s on the priority table, but I cannot envision better VR support being in the same building, let alone on the table.

I will add I’m neither for or against the idea, it’s just not something to expect to happen in the game’s lifetime.

[Eekasqueak.7850]

2 hours ago, Xzygy.1452 said:

This game will run on a potato, has a vibrant, gorgeous world, and is full of character and little details that I'm sure would be loads of fun.  

I didn't know I needed this in my life until now.  That sounds like ridiculous fun, I'll just need to keep a bucket handy just in case.

The old infrastructure and spaghetti code to build it through isn't worth the cost that would be involved. 

[Zephire.8049]

5 hours ago, Xzygy.1452 said:

This game will run on a potato, has a vibrant, gorgeous world, and is full of character and little details that I'm sure would be loads of fun. 

Not true. They're increasing the recommended minimum specs and there's frequent posts by people with high-end rigs wondering why they're getting <60FPS. The game uses a 20 year old engine (it's GW1's engine) that's heavily modified and CPU-locked. It used to be true the game could run on low specs but that's no longer a case and technically runs =/=  looks good. The change over to DX11 helps with some of that but the game is terribly optimized, can't utilize GPUs to mask the problem, and is so old that it's extremely unlikely it's even possible to integrate VR.

The closest you'll get outside a new game built with VR in mind is to use a headset as a monitor and have the camera in first-person mode.

[Vilin.8056]

This has been modded 6 years ago, it's really not too bad.

https://youtu.be/Vh4bSYYaMqQ

Edited January 16, 2023 by Vilin.8056