Since picking up my PSVR Skyrim bundle the week before Thanksgiving I've played a ton of demos. That's one good thing about VR gaming, it's a new kind of game so there are lots of demos. But I've also identified a few things about PSVR and some games that I'd like to comment on.
- Tracking with the helmet and move controllers worked perfectly for me at first, but over time, I've had certain sessions where they didn't work well. I'm sitting in the same basic area with the same equipment, but one day it will be perfect, and the next, my "hands" will jump around or point backwards, or my view will "pulse" forward slightly even though I am still. The next night it will be fine again. I don't know what causes this. Clothing maybe?
Here's my
PSVR Configuration and Tracking Guide, I have started a thread on Reddit on this as well, Grinchy discovered that uneven lighting can affect drift:
Initial Setup:
* Set IPD
* Calibrate Tracking Lights for HMD, controller, Move controllers
Environment setup:
* No direct light shining into camera
* Turn off lights in view of camera
* Cover or move mirrors in view of camera that can reflect tracking lights; ideally when covering a mirror use blackout material
* Small reflective surfaces, even diffuse reflective surfaces, may require some attention
* Lighting should be dimmer than otherwise; ideally only have lighting directly behind the camera
* Camera must be stable and should be situated according to desired play sessionslightly higher than likely HMD position if possible: close for cockpit games (4ft), further out for seated with tracked Dualshock or Move controllers (4ft - 5 ft), further still for standing (6ft - 9ft)
Before Session:
* System should have been powered down since last session
* HMD should be connected up and placed on a flat surface, power-up and leave for 10 seconds
* Adjust Playstation Camera (PSVR menu or Devices, Camera)
* Equip HMD
* Calibrate position (hold down Options button)
If tracking errors occur (try each in-turn until resolved):
1. Calibrate position (hold down Options button)
2. Reset HMD (power off HMD, wait for 10s, power on HMD while keeping it stable)
3. Hard reset of HMD and console (power off console for 30s)
Externally Tracked Rotational Drift:
When playing games PSVR uses sensor fusion and a kalman filter to blend the data from IMUs and the camera to determine the position of tracked objects. Theoretically this should prevent any significant drift when using the PSVR, but in practice rotational drift of the HMD and the Aim controller does occur.
Another PSVR issue that can manifest itself is positional parallax errors (moving forward or backward also induces some sideways movement); this may also be related to drift.
Without the use of diagnostic tools, evaluation of these issue is subjective, but the experience of a number of users is now indicating that in good tracking environments drift can still occur if there is lighting to the side of the camera; and that the best way to eliminate this influence is to only have lighting behind the camera, ideally a single light source centrally placed.