Posted - 2007.09.07 07:49:00 - [3]

 

Whilst EVE is 3-D, from a gaming point of view it's more a 3rd Person Shooter (or slide-show depending on the numbers on screen ).

You could achieve some immersive results quickly using a Matrox Triple-Head and three projectors, and set it up like a triple monitor setup, but use walls. Needs no modding of the software and uses off the shelf components.

For real immersion, use a gyroscopic mouse.

Cheap? Definitely not. Do-able? Oh yeah, now where's the credit card

Regards,

Gil

Posted - 2007.09.07 09:56:00 - [5]

 

I may have found a problem with the "Triple Head" idea. EVE's resolution support seems to range from only 1024x768 to 1280x1024 (unless it's hiding other options due to my current monitor's limits). That means a "Triple Head" setup (at any of EVE's resolutions) would either be very, very, very stretched width wise, or only make it as far as the middle monitor. I'm thinking the racing game Matrox uses in their screenshots (much like the Microsoft Flight Sim series) is probably made for weird resolutions to stretch accross multi monitor setups.

I'm also worried that in any case, it would get stretched and blown up to a point where it didn't look so pretty anymore. Maybe the upcoming graphics engine upgrade will help this.

Posted - 2007.09.07 11:07:00 - [7]

 

Not running any numbers, but four beamers to cover the inside of a sphere... methinks you'd need quite a few more to avoid serious uglification by distortion.

BTW, nice sig chewy... makes loling noises^^

Posted - 2007.09.08 02:53:00 - [9]

 

Edited by: Delfinu on 08/09/2007 02:54:47
I don't think what your thinking is renderable in DX without a serious overhaul of the engine.

each frame rendered from the point of view of a "camera" which is setup in the environment. This camera takes a snapshot of the 3d world and that image is translated into a 2d image. so a fully 3d environment isn't possible without reprogramming the engine to display 6(up, down, left, right, front, back) camera's on separate display devices all at the same time.(need a kick a*s computer to do this too)

but maybe I'm wrong

That would definately rock

Posted - 2007.09.11 07:19:00 - [11]

 

Dunedon, thanks for the linkage! That's awesome... Don't know why I missed that on their website when I looked before.

Delfinu, that's getting to the heart of my original thoughts. I wasn't shure how it worked, i.e. 2d snapshots done very quickly or true full 3d, but I figured either method would involve some serious programing genious. That's why I'd love to hear from some devs on if this is even possible.

T'Amber, I was worried about that. Thanks for your testimony. I'm hoping the upcoming graphics upgrade makes multi display setups more appealing.


DEVs, inquisitive (and sickly addicted) minds want to know!.. Just how disgusting of a display setup is possible in EVE?

Posted - 2007.09.11 22:19:00 - [13]

 

Edited by: Delnadres Courthelia on 11/09/2007 22:33:34
Triple2GO tells your computer "Hey, you can do THIS huge resolution now!", making it think that resolution belongs to a single monitor. Then the box splits that signal up into separate pieces for the different monitors. EVE thinks nothing of it, so it just displays a view port as wide as the resolution set at the time.

If you could make your own (or take some tools to) Triple2GO box to add more monitors, the view port size would continue to grow (I'm sure if you made a screen too wide, the EVE client would either go past 360 degrees and show the same image over again, or crash). So if you took two Triple2GO boxes, and spent several years as a technical computer-based electrician, and could make the hardware split the signal across 6 screens, you could probably manage a true 360 degree environment.

Problem is...since you'd make it go 360 degrees, where do you think the UI will be? Behind you... the only solution I can think of for that is to find a room with a door in the middle back of the room, and set up 4 projectors and screens, purposefully leaving room for the 2 remaining screens open behind you (or use a big black sheet or plether curtains like my room, blocks out the sun so they'll block any other light easily), and then hook the far left and far right screens to some nice regular LCD screens that you can position to the left and right of your seating position so the UI sidebars are always at your fingertips.

To take it a step further, use LCD touch screens as those two panels. You'd have to use a regular mouse for your projected screens though, I doubt the software for that gyro mouse is equipped to handle a screen the same size as it's ability to track, and if the gyro mouse is always communicating with the PC, then I'm sure they'll be a device conflict when you try to use the touch screens (whereas a regular mouse just modifies the current position of the cursor, I think)

Finally, for surround sound, my girlfriend has a PC surround system from Logitech, instead of going crazy on a sound system, get one of these, and buy one of those chairs that have speakers in the back, I'm sure you can get some adaptors from your local electronics store to reroute the rear L/R speakers to the chair, then use the regular Front L/R, C and Subwoofer speakers. You could ceiling mount those three and put the sub right behind your fancy new chair. Or just get speaker tower mounts and place them to the sides of your chair and back just a tad out of your peripheral vision.

I play EVE on my Panasonic AE900U 720p LCD Projector, though since I bought it 1080p projectors are out for only a couple hundred more than I got mine just a couple years ago. I payed $3500 CAD after all the taxes for just one, and even without a screen (I use my white wall) EVE looks pretty damn good at 1280x720p.

I have more to say...you best have a PC with a really badass CPU, since EVE is CPU-intensive, having such a ridiculously wide display could give a PC some headaches.

Have fun. And don't take out a loan for your setup unless you're absolutely positive you can keep a job for the amount of time it will take to pay it back... *sighs* ...yeah...

Alright, have a good one, Cya!

PS: If you try to make an above and below viewpoint, it won't work. EVE will assume your screen includes the total height and will make a view port to include the full height, I don't know how EVE would look in that case, and I'm not even sure Windows would support that at all. If you did that, your ship would likely no longer be centered just on the center screen anymore, but span multiple screens, so the benefit is reduced and you'd have less than a 360 degree view. That's what I'd expect anyways.

Posted - 2007.09.11 22:58:00 - [15]

 

As far as controls go- have a wee look at the Novint Falcon controller. I got my hands on one for a few days- it's.. interesting. But it's designed for 3D, notably.

Posted - 2007.09.12 19:53:00 - [17]

 

Mission accomplished.

For an independent study at the Rochester Institute of Technology, I (and 15 other people) constructed a setup involving networked projectors and a sphere large enough to fit a handful of people. The result? A completely immersive environment.

I was personally in charge of writing software that determined the location of people inside the dome using optical devices and blobbing algorithms. My software broadcasted the coordinates to various bits of software that could use the data for anything (mostly navigation purposes). For instance, if everyone moved to a particular edge of the dome, and their general mass was dense enough (to prevent people from scattering), the software knew to "steer" in that direction.

We mostly played with an immersive Google Earth and WoW however I ran some EVE tests (and it rocked).

Eve-Online + Large Immersive Dome + Surround Sound = the win. I know from experience!