3d Gaming

Patre

Senior member
May 29, 2013
398
0
76
Do you guys do 3d gaming and what's your experience with it?

Is it worth the setup?
 

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,353
1,862
126
you mean like doom and quake or any other "3d" game?

Or do you mean those weird optical illusions and the gaudy glasses?
 

Patre

Senior member
May 29, 2013
398
0
76
Well, generally the 3d gaming experience and all the hardware/software needed. One guy on Steam said it was an awesome experience, but Steam had some issues with stereoscopic 3d and he couldn't use 3d on Steam......I think he said Origin had it worked out.

I'm just curious as to how good the general setup/gaming experience is in 3d.
 

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
10,110
5
81
Well, generally the 3d gaming experience and all the hardware/software needed. One guy on Steam said it was an awesome experience, but Steam had some issues with stereoscopic 3d and he couldn't use 3d on Steam......I think he said Origin had it worked out.

I'm just curious as to how good the general setup/gaming experience is in 3d.

Why would Steam or Origin have anything to do with this?
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I have a 3D setup with my PC. I use NVIDIA's 3D Vision with an ASUS VG278h 120Hz monitor. It works alright I guess, but it is rather pricey.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
I have the Nvidia 3D Vision setup and I like it a lot. I play most games with it if I can, though not multiplayer.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
I have the Nvidia 3D Vision setup and I like it a lot. I play most games with it if I can, though not multiplayer.

It usually ends up causing a lot of eye strain for me after only 15 minutes or so. I can watch a 3D movie on my TV, which is passive instead of active, for far longer without any issues. :\ I think the last game that I tried on it was DmC: Devil May Cry, and while it worked, I had to turn it off. Trine is probably my favorite game to use it with though. I don't recall having so much of a problem with that game.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Gaming in 3D I don't really do. To be honest I haven't tried it beyond Zen Pinball on PS4. I would need to buy the Nvidia TV software though because I don't have a 3DVision monitor. Anyway For me, watching a 2-3 hour movie is fine and not uncomfortable at all. I enjoy it. When playing games, I think it would be a distraction in some circumstances. Now keep in mind that I have no personal experience with it but when watching movies there are portions of the scene that have crosstalk and are a bit blurry as a result. I can imagine if that happened in a game, it would be terrible when it would normally be sharp in that scene.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
It usually ends up causing a lot of eye strain for me after only 15 minutes or so. I can watch a 3D movie on my TV, which is passive instead of active, for far longer without any issues. :\ I think the last game that I tried on it was DmC: Devil May Cry, and while it worked, I had to turn it off. Trine is probably my favorite game to use it with though. I don't recall having so much of a problem with that game.

The biggest thing I found is making sure that is dark all around you so you don't see any flickering. Usually after 5 mins I'm totally adjusted and can game for hours with no problems. I loved Tomb Raider in 3D, it just looked phenomenal.
 

Patre

Senior member
May 29, 2013
398
0
76
Why would Steam or Origin have anything to do with this?
I'm not 100% sure about the details, but it seemed like Steam's software (for Stereoscopic 3d??) has some (known) issues that's being worked out.....at least that's what I understood from the chat with him.


Thanks for the replies everyone, some useful info here. Like someone said above, it looks to be a bit expensive to set up, so I'm not sure right now......
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
Thanks for the replies everyone, some useful info here. Like someone said above, it looks to be a bit expensive to set up, so I'm not sure right now......

It really depends on what monitor you go for. If you go for a huge 27" monitor that supports 3D, you're going to pay a pretty penny. However, at least from what I recall, there are far more 24" monitors that support 3D, and I've seen some good sales on them as they release newer models. You'll still pay more than you would for a 24" non-3D monitor, but you also have to consider that you're getting a 120Hz panel instead of a 60Hz panel.

The biggest thing I can say is... do not get a 3D TV and try and use it for 3D PC gaming. There are two huge issues that make it a bad idea. The first is that you have to use secondary software to actually perform the 3D conversion. NVIDIA does sell their own software called 3DTV Play, which can do this for you. The second issue -- and it's probably the biggest problem -- is that you would be forced to use HDMI 1.4a, which is severely limited in its 3D support. HDMI 1.4a requires any 3D TV to support 720p50, 720p60 and 1080p30 for 3D transmissions. If you want to play at 1080p, you're stuck at an effective 30Hz (60Hz split between two eyes), which isn't pleasant. You can downgrade to 720p and still get an effective 60Hz, but that's quite the concession.
 

Patre

Senior member
May 29, 2013
398
0
76
It really depends on what monitor you go for. If you go for a huge 27" monitor that supports 3D, you're going to pay a pretty penny. However, at least from what I recall, there are far more 24" monitors that support 3D, and I've seen some good sales on them as they release newer models. You'll still pay more than you would for a 24" non-3D monitor, but you also have to consider that you're getting a 120Hz panel instead of a 60Hz panel.

The biggest thing I can say is... do not get a 3D TV and try and use it for 3D PC gaming. There are two huge issues that make it a bad idea. The first is that you have to use secondary software to actually perform the 3D conversion. NVIDIA does sell their own software called 3DTV Play, which can do this for you. The second issue -- and it's probably the biggest problem -- is that you would be forced to use HDMI 1.4a, which is severely limited in its 3D support. HDMI 1.4a requires any 3D TV to support 720p50, 720p60 and 1080p30 for 3D transmissions. If you want to play at 1080p, you're stuck at an effective 30Hz (60Hz split between two eyes), which isn't pleasant. You can downgrade to 720p and still get an effective 60Hz, but that's quite the concession.

Good tips Aikouka...

I'll be looking into getting a 2nd video monitor (24") for Audio Workstation/gaming PC sometime soon, so I'll keep in mind to look for a 3D one.
If I'm lucky, hopefully the 3d vision glasses will be bundled with the monitor.

So basically, are these the only two items I really need for 3D gaming?
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
So basically, are these the only two items I really need for 3D gaming?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Based upon your hardware stats in your signature, you will need a new video card. As you can probably guess, NVIDIA's 3D Vision requires a NVIDIA video card to use it, and your stats list an AMD card.

AMD does have their own competing stereoscopic 3D format called HD3D, but it's pretty much dead in the water. The biggest problem is that AMD came to the party with pretty much no monitor support. You were stuck using a television, which meant you had to use HDMI and a third-party software tool to actually translate the 3D scene. It was incredibly taxing on the system, and most games ran terribly. I'd know because I tried it! :\ Eventually, when a monitor or two came out, you were able to use far superior DisplayPort connectivity, but it was too little, too late for AMD. It also didn't help that a game had to directly support HD3D, and the only one that I can recall that did so was Deus Ex: Human Revolution. NVIDIA builds support into their driver for 3D Vision.
 
Last edited:

mizzou

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2008
9,734
54
91
On my 3ds, I usually turn off the feature. It is cool, but it gives me an odd sensation that I don't like. It's not relaxing :\
 

Patre

Senior member
May 29, 2013
398
0
76
If I have to also buy a new video card, this 3D thing will have to take a back seat. :(

I just built this machine about 6 months ago (which I'm still paying it off) and of course, wasn't planning on watching 3D movies or playing 3D games at the time......so, it's not a must. I appreciate all the clearly detailed posts Aikouka, you've been extremely helpful.
:)
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
On my 3ds, I usually turn off the feature. It is cool, but it gives me an odd sensation that I don't like. It's not relaxing :\

I know what you mean. Sometimes when I'm playing on the 3DS, I'll turn on the 3D just to see what it looks like, but I'll never leave it on. It's simply too awkward to look at since it has very, very tight viewing angle requirements!