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Not sure how I would even do that...Twitch?

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I'm doing some intense R&D (Research & self-Deception) on the Acer VR kit. And I've decided it may come with a secret ace up its sleeve. Eye tracking...



That would be cool, as it saves a ton of processing power by using a lower render in your peripheral vision (plus has some other neat benefits like making object interaction better etc). It's a likely next step for the tech.

But, you mad fool, I hear you cry, it's not listed in the specs for the dev kit, what are your highly dubious reasons for speculating so?

Well I'll tell you

This fact-lite piece got me pondering, with what may just be some wooly journalism:

So I dug around a bit, and it is interesting that:

• Tobii eye-tracking tech ships integrated with some Acer kit now
  
• Tobii are marketing VR eye-tracking tech, with claims of foveated rendering benefits etc

These are my facts. I find them intriguing . There's clearly a partnership and a possibility there. Although it might be something that'll shake out in a later gen.

For now I'm going full conspiracy, and asking the VR Reddits what the hell these camera-like things above the eye lenses are...



EDIT: I've cracked it! They're Phillips screws

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

Oh damn. Oculus Rift on sale for 6 weeks. $400 (and annoyingly, £400 in UK stores, rather than the £310 that should convert to )

At £310 I would have jumped...

And....addicted to Fallout 4!

I have a couple of settlements going now, and am working my way into Local Leader so I can link them. Also plenty of exploring and fighting has gone on. I had gone with my usual Perception/Agility build to start, as I like to sneak around and snipe and all that. Once I figured out I liked the settlement thing, I started working Charisma and Intelligence up a bit more, as well.

Fun so far!

Oh, is this your first go with it? Have you played any of the previous ones?

I played Fallout 3 twice through. This is my first F4 play, though.

Yeah, Twitch, which really isn't too hard (I'd recommend downloading OBS). Or, if you're on PS4, there are built-in options.

I play on PC! I will look into the streaming thing, although I would think watching me play would be a bit boring, as I scrounge around in every single house and under every bush and rock for secrets/items etc. I still haven't left the NW corner of the map!

I've just bought Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 from a Christian bookshop. Gotta make a living, I guess. *shrugs*

Also bought Prey from a larger bookshop, called Amazon. I didn't see much appealing in Prey when it was released but now that it's dropped to almost half its original price in a matter of a few months, I decided to take a chance.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Nicotine patches seem boring to me, but I know that an addict would still want it.

I've been deeply enjoying Breath of The Wild. It's my favorite zelda game, and it's my favorite open world game.

And it's odd, because there are so many areas I can find problems. Chiefly the variety/difficulty of enemies. The game does an excellent job of giving fair and incremental rewards for exploring, but to a point where I'm actually torn about getting stronger. I don't want the "endgame" to be too easy. Unfortunately I pinned some of my hopes on Master Mode ("hard mode") but it just made enemies aggravating (higher health & regen, testing patience more than skill).

It's also odd because I'm truly not a huge zelda fan. I've always found the dungeons to be a bit more tedious than rewarding. And the combat has never really stuck with me (honestly I enjoyed Skyward Sword's the most because of finally-decent motion controls, but that game's world was gaaaaaarbage).

It's the first open world game where I look at the map and my heart goes just a bit aflutter at how many things I still want to explore (easily my favorite part was trying to find the "memories" via pictures of a scene and trying to triangulate the distant landmarks to locate the spot). Nintendo let the writers run with the written dialogue instead of just translating; I can't even think of a first party nintendo game that comes even close to being as fun to read (the downside is that the cutscenes have dramatically worse writing and it's a very noticeable drop in quality). And the game is overflowing with mechanics.

It's also really accessible, which usually doesn't mean much to me but my GF is also loving it and is having such a different experience than I am (this is one of her first dual-stick games so combat is tricky, but I'm actually kinda envious of her because I think she's not going to feel conflicted about getting as strong as possible before the endgame). It's honestly very gratifying to talk to her about this world we've vacationed to separately.

The context for what makes a game a "perfect" game to me is generally superb execution on a strong and easily-definable premise (Super Meat Boy, Civ4, Herzog Zwei, DOTA, Dark Souls, Megaman X...). "Open world adventure" has always been vague to me, to the point where I pretty strongly felt that there's no way to perfect a concept so abstract. And yet, I feel like I can hold the idea of a perfect open world game in my head, and it's this game with just a little more...

It's an imperfect game that I can't give anything but a perfect score.

I want to argue, but I can't. I've got it bad, people. As recently as a few days ago I was still throwing on Power Armor and sniping raiders near the Corvega plant, an area I've probably cleared out literally twenty times.

Dude, you're speaking my language. I love the scavenging, and I really love watching people exploring new areas.

Please do consider it! I will absolutely watch if I'm anywhere near a computer. And it's not as hard as it seems. Let me know if I can be of any help.

The Zelda stuff I've been hearing has won me over, too. I'm waiting until the Switch comes back down to even retail price, and I'm going to buy it with a couple of my brothers and take turns.

That's actually a great idea. I intentionally left out references to the switch because right now good reviews of Zelda tend to be part and parcel with defenses of buying a switch.

Because honestly, if you don't think you're going to love Zelda, you shouldn't get a Switch (at least not yet). I think Snipper Clippers is the only other switch exclusive I play on it. I also have Cave Story (I have to be on like, my third purchase of this game) and Shovel Knight, both of which I enjoy but are also just as good on PC. Looking forward to splatoon.

I've spent 95% of the time on the switch in mobile mode too. I do think that holding the device can get uncomfortable when you are laying down, so I have a pro controller and wedge the switch into a neck pillow to have it smashed up next to my face and it works really well actually. I really kinda forget that I can use a TV at all. Though part of it is that I think BotW's sound design is AMAZING and I really prefer headphones for that.

I'll always be primarily a PC gamer, but so far this has been a perfect complement to PC.

Talking to a friend earlier today who already played the game, he mentioned he thinks there is a bobblehead at Corvega. I think I missed that! Looks like I am heading back there asap.

I mostly just love the vertical combat there, if you perch on the highway adjacent to it. One of the first firefights of the early game that manages to be hard, but in a way that's engaging and fun.

I run sniper, so I took a few shots from various angles to clear the people outside, but then I went around back and entered through one of the rear doors. I was immediately set upon by about 8 enemies, and I had to scramble for my life, running for cover and blasting shotgun fire in every direction as I went. I was finally able to funnel most of the people into a stairwell and pick them off, but not before downing plenty of stims and food to survive. After that, I was able to methodically clear the rest of the factory, but I somehow missed the bobble!

Thanks to Dead By Daylight, I'm in the mood for horror games so I'm getting ready to download Friday the 13th now. Hear it's also fun but both games have different styles that split some fans on them.

I had a pleasant surprise in the post today - I'd totally forgot pre-ordering the FFXII remaster, The Zodiac Age, and it arrived today.

FFXII is a game I've got a huge soft spot for - It's not the most memorable Final Fantasy, but it's got heart. It also looks pretty nice, and has the previously Japanese language only Zodiac Job System, introducing a ... well ... job system which gives character development some much needed focus.



NEVA4GET!