3D for Gaming

aperture_nuig

Hi All,
I was just wondering, do many of us here in the PCB&U forum use 3D monitors when gaming? I had dismissed it as a useless fad or a gimic but my housemate got a laptop with a 3D display and I have to say, it really adds to the gaming experience IMO. If you do have a 3D monitor, do you find that you are using the 3D capabilities less and less or do you love it?

Thanks!

Tea_Bag

iirc, Tar.Aldarion does/did play in 3D. you could shoot him a PM if you dont get any responses here.

Sourcream

Hey there,

[EDIT] I was replying with a small comment, but got carried away so just read sections you are interested it haha

I invested in the nvidia 3d vision system not too long after it came out. Wasnt sure how it would work out, but loved 3d in the cinema and such so I decided to give it a go. Ended up getting the 3d vision kit plus an acer GD245HQ screen.

3D systems a fad in my opinion?:
In terms of wether this 3d vision is a trend that is going to pass come six months? Well that was said when it came out back in Janurary 2009 and its only got more and more popular since then. I now believe that everyone who says this, has either not tried the nvidia 3d vision, or perhaps they are used of the realD version of 3d in cinemas or other such things(anaglyph/polarised or any of them). But I have to make it clear that nvidia 3d vision cannot whatsoever be compared to those systems, 3d vision setup works with top notch shutter glasses. It works at a much higher frame rate per eye, and doesn't in my experience give any headaches or things which I myself sometimes get with the realD or polarised setups.

My equipment:
First off the unpacking the screen and getting it up and running on a game with 120hz in 2D mode is quite an improvement in itself. The Picture just seems more clear and crisp. I have a dual monitor setup with the other one running at 60Hz but the difference you notice between the two is quite substantial. The difference would be best noticed if your machine can pump out 120fps on a given game though I guess.

If you want to know my original experience with 3d vision and games:
When it came to the 3d I was honestly awestruck by what I was looking at. Think the first game I stuck on at the time was Portal 2 and I litteraly just spent aaaages just looking around at objects in the world that you just didnt notice before. The amount of detail that 3d vision adds to games is amazing. This seems especially true with charachters in games and facial detail, the experience becomes so immersive because it really does feel like you are right there, you can see the exact distance things are from you in the game world. Another example was playing world of warcraft, seeing a horse running towards you and then almost right past the left side of your face is quite an experience. For an example of how sharp the 3d rendering is and how much detail it adds, you can notice difference in distance from the end of a characters nose to their face when looking straight at them. But again it is really something to see and experience for yourself.

My recommended setup of the 3d vision kit:
Once all the drivers are installed and good to go, hit up the nvidia control panel, go into stereoscopic settings and 'set keyboard shortcuts', in there you will find a checkbox to enable advanced features shortcut. Hit that.
(By default the adjustment wheel on the emitter changes the 3d 'depth', basically the separation, meaning how far into or out of the screen you want objects to go.)
However in the advanced shortcuts you can also change the 'convergence' which moves the plane at which things are 2D(on the surface of the monitor) By adjusting this, you can move the point at which things 'pop-out' instead of appear further away. (This is a feature existing in no other 3d setup at the moment I believe)

By fiddling with this you can make a seriously immersive experience, My best practice was to reduce the depth to in or around 15-25% and increase the convergence as much as much as you find comfortable with your eyes.(Different settings are better with different games, but once you set up a profile you can save your settings to auto load every time each game is run)

My overall opinion:
Definately not a passing trend.
Huge compatability out of the box with almost all games. old and new. (For the few popular games that have a couple of effects that dont render properly on out of the box drivers, these are fixable in under 5 minutes just by googling, downloading a directx dll and sticking it in the game folder)
Most immersive gaming experience I have ever seen(I'll never get back the half an hour I spent inspecting the cracks in the tiling of a floor in crysis 2 )
I play everything in 3d now, games just feel dead without it. It has become the norm and not using the 3d just renders games dull now that I've seen what its like with it.
Makes a world of difference when convergence is setup correctly so play around and take your time to experiment with it if you do decide to invest.

I love the whole system and cant give it too many faults. One thing that does really annoy me is the headset dont fit that well with the glasses. That said the new 3d vision 2 glasses fit perfectly with headsets and things, something to keep in mind.
Also this new addition of 'Lightboost' IS compatable with 3d vision 1 also, the only difference between 1 and 2 is the glasses themselves having bigger shutters and just an all round more ergonomic design.

Also bear in mind, 3d mode halves your framerate. Your Pc needs to be able to keep up!

Hope I helped, tried to be as detailed as possible.
Any questions just give me a shout.

Yours drawn-outly

Dave

aperture_nuig

Thanks very much for that sourcream, yes I was very impressed with it on my friends laptop (Playing l4d2, so not a game designed or coded with 3d in mind). ATM I have a 2d BenQ monitor and a 1gb AMD 6870 (Which I've had less than a year) so it looks like Ill wait unitl my next Graphics refresh, pick up an nVidia card and a (hopefully) cheap monitor for 3d. I know you can play 3d with amd cards with the help of a plugin on certain monitors, but the card is just about coping with the latest games at full tilt, so Id imagine 3d will push it over the edge in terms of performance.

TerrorFirmer

I play in 3D as well, but only for select titles - I wouldn't be playing competitive shooters online in 3D, but for single player titles, it's awesome - really brings you onto a whole new level of immersion. Black Ops 2 is a great example, and other ones I like playing are Company of Heroes, Crysis, Left4Dead, and Resident Evil 5. I was playing Black Ops 2 recently and spent about 20 minutes just creeping around the grass, the sensation as the foliage moves around you is jaw dropping. Keep in mind not all games work properly with 3D, quite a few will run fine, but have irritating bugs - there's a compatibility list though, and most newer games are fine. I have the Nvidia Vision original and a fairly old 3D monitor, but it still looks better than my relatively new Toshiba 3D TV.

Definitely not a fad in my opinion. I need a new card though, currently using a fairly crappy 550ti and it definitely cannot keep up with 3D without lowering the resolution/settings on anything new, so you'd really want to be looking at at least something like a GTX660 for new games @ high settings.

Tomk1

I just use an LG IPS 23" 2D->3D 23" monitor (€189), didn't upgrade graphics card or any other expense. Works and does add depth & wow to standard games, if not sure on going full Nvidia, a cheaper option, that can still be used as a standard monitor.

note no need for "plugin" just connect and press 3D button, select level high30 to low0, doesn't matter what the source is, used on 7 year old laptop, used on an i7. Also passive glasses so after after 8hrs use no headache.

ScumLord

I have a 3D projector but have yet to get the 3D working. Nvidia don't support the display so it won't recognise it as a 3D display. I think I can give it special setting in Nvidias control centre but then I dropped the glasses and broke them. Fecking things are €70.

RaZzZz

For those who play 3D games which titles have impressed ye the most? I'm investing in a 3D monitor with built in 3D, TriDef I think is the proper spelling ^^ apparently 3D has come a long way since 2009, I remember looking into it back then but with bad reviews I stayed away, until now ^^

TerrorFirmer

I've played a few good ones, but Bioshock 2 just blew me away, it was like truly being in Rapture.

RaZzZz

I never played the Bioshock games, perhaps it'd be a good time to try all of them out when I get me hands on 3D delights!
Have you tried Skyrim?? this is one game I'm very curious about when it comes to possible 3D effects.

Call Me Jimmy

My dad got a 3d laptop and I'm not big into games anymore but it looks very good, and I'm surprised that it works well for pretty much all his games (he has a lot of older games that he still plays from the 2000's).

For me especially, I don't know what is up with my vision but my eyes find it hard to look at normal rendering but in the 3d it seems more suited, as if my eyes are doing less work. Now, some people say the opposite and maybe it's just me, but it is much easier for my brain to process.

Overall, I wouldn't pay for it myself (I wouldn't pay for anything myself these days :P) but it is definitely very good.

RaZzZz

My brother actually said the same thing about 3D movies, his vision seems to improve while watching 3D material haha, I wouldn't mind a nice boost for me eyes while playing 3D media :L

Generic Dreadhead

RaZzZz wrote: »

I never played the Bioshock games, perhaps it'd be a good time to try all of them out when I get me hands on 3D delights!
Have you tried Skyrim?? this is one game I'm very curious about when it comes to possible 3D effects.

What I wouldn't give to be able to go back an play them all again for the 1st time.... in 3D.... I'm jealous :pac:

RaZzZz

You could always return and play them lad especially if you ever invest in 3D ^^ you can buy a 27" monitor from AOC for a total of 325 on dabs.ie if you're curious ^^ the 3D comes built into the monitor (TriDef3D) and it comes with 2 glasses, not a bad deal

FruitLover

I got an Nvidia 3D setup a couple of years ago and so far I've played a grand total of one game all the way through in 3D: Bioshock 2.

Anything else, I sooner or later got annoyed and turned it off (even with Bioshock 2, I had to make myself play it in 3D all the way to the end). I don't even bother turning it on for new games anymore, so to me it's a bit of a fad. I don't think I'll bother with 3D again until the oculus rift comes out.

RaZzZz

Have you tried anything recently?? apparently it has improved alot over the years?

Oculus rift should be good but AFAIK it's designed for fast paced FPS??

Generic Dreadhead

RaZzZz wrote: »

You could always return and play them lad especially if you ever invest in 3D ^^ you can buy a 27" monitor from AOC for a total of 325 on dabs.ie if you're curious ^^ the 3D comes built into the monitor (TriDef3D) and it comes with 2 glasses, not a bad deal

Yes I could.... put the 1st playthrough cannot be recaptured emotionally. It's just a dam great game. Great atmosphere. Never played any series so immersive. Subsequent playthroughs are good, but not the same.

Indeed I could go 3D but I'll probably wait till I get 2 new graphics cards, go SLI and get the Nvidia 3D setup then.
Maybe towards in the end of the year i'd estimate cost wise.

RaZzZz

True, first playthrough of any game is unrivaled, I'll get to enjoy all three games of Bioshock from the very shtart, with 3D just to rub it in your face a little

SLI, some job! that'd certainly ensure perfect 3D effects, it'll be an exciting time no doubt ^^