Conclusio - Latest Driver-Infos

Today we updated our Oculus Rift Runtime to version 0.6-beta in the hope that the problems with juddering, fps-drops etc. are solved.
We tested the new driver with the game "Affected" which we think is a good reference.

These are our experiences:

NVIDIA Driver 344.75 and Oculus Runtime 0.6-beta:
Update had no positive effect and juddering is as bad as usual. FPS is also unstable and low (50).
The game Abandoned School (made for Oculus Runtime 0.4.4-beta) surprised us a bit, because of extraordinary performance and no juddering. We hope that this is the problem, that games are made for older Oculus Runtime versions (lower than 0.4.4-beta) and are not completely compatible, which ends in juddering.

NVIDIA Driver 352.86 and Oculus Runtime 0.6-beta:
The NVIDIA Driver-Update had no effect - same sad situation.

The settings and device we used for the test are specified >HERE<.


Recommendation:
Unfortunately we are not able to give you any good recommendation for the versions of Oculus Runtime an NVIDIA Driver which you should use for perfect performance.

If you use the Oculus Rift Runtime 0.4.2-beta and NVIDIA Driver 344.75 you have a good performance and no juddering, but newer games won't work.

If you want to play a newer game which is not supported by 0.4.2, you have to update your runtime. Install the newest version, because the performance of all runtimes higher than version 0.4.2-beta is exactly the same (juddering and lower fps).

We think that the best way would be, if it is possible to install two different runtimes (0.4.2-beta and newest) parallel at the same device, but unfortunately this isn't working.

In our opinion there is actual no way to play newer games on an notebook without juddering and hopefully the situation is better on a desktop pc, but we didn't check that.



We would appreciate if you send us comments of your experiences, especially if you have a different opinion and working setup :)

New Games (Direct to Rift)

Tuxracer        [DOWNLOAD]
We were happy to find the classic game Tuxracer for VR. I think everybody knows this game. It's easy to explain it: You are a penguin and have to slide downhill as fast as possible while collecting all fishes. Headtracking is used to control the penguin (left & right).
It's funny to play it for a few minutes, but afterwards it's getting boring, because there is no real VR-feeling. There is no huge difference to play it on the monitor or on the Oculus Rift.
We are a bit disappointed because Tuxracer would be a perfect VR game if it uses more VR-specials like first person.

Luge
This game doesn't support the newest Oculus Runtime (0.6 beta), so we weren't able to play it.

Abandoned school        [DOWNLOAD]
First impression was that the performance of this game is very good (no juddering). The graphics look very amazing and realistic. It is one of the best-looking VR-game and is on the same level as Affected.
You are in a horror house and you are walking around. After a few minutes of playing, you are waiting that something scaring happens - but there is nothing. It's annoying that you have to use mouse to move the torch and the keyboard for walking. A better idea would be to link the torch to the camera and support a controller (like XBox).
We think, it's a game in a beta-version, so maybe there are coming some new features, but the great horror atmosphere and the high quality graphics are a good base to build a brilliant horror-game. We are looking forward to see final version of this game.


Parkinson VR Experience
The idea of this game should be to fimiliarize the player with the feeling of someone who suffers from parkinson. We don't want to talk more about the game-content because we think that the developers didn't do a proper research. When you are developing such a game, you should include affected people to find a way to a respectful approach. This game is one of the most heartless games we've ever seen and is insulting.

We don't want to post a picture of the game and a download-link in our blog as a sign of our refusal.

Do not run        [DOWNLOAD]
You have to creep up on a polar bear to catch it. Watch the suspicion indicator in the game that the polar bear doesn't detect you.
The game principle is very simple, like a game called "Ochs am Berg" which is well known in Austria.
It's very funny to play, but it has many many bugs.

Dinosaur Land        [DOWNLOAD]
You are sitting in a duck (amphibious vehicle) and driving through a dinosaur-park. While looking around you can discover different dinosaurs and by aiming at one, details are displayed (height, weight,...). This game-concept could be a new and exciting way of learning and would perfectly fit into school-lessons. It should be a bit more interactive and it wouldn't hurt, if the graphics get improved. With the current Oculus Runtime the juddering is unbearable.

City Z        [DOWNLOAD]
In this game you really have to mention the special camera position, because you have a overview of everything but you are feeling like you are in the middle of the occurence. It's hard to describe - it's like the old topview of the game "GTA" perfectly optimized for VR.
The game itself is a survival game, where you have to kill zombies and try to stay alive.
The fun factor of the game is very high, you are not getting bored for a long time.