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Red Matter 2 has launched for PCVR! Reviews and impressions

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

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This is great news - earlier Red Matter 2 was only confirmed for Querst 2, but devs have now revealed that the game launches for both PCVR and Quest August 18 - see the Steam page here:

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081470/Red_Matter_2/

 

Interestingly, only Rift and Index hmds are supported - and since Index often is more or less auto-supported on Steam, the game may work best only with Oculus hmds - we'll see. 

 

Some of us did expect that the game would launch for PCVR, as the trailer looks like the PCVR version with high-res textures, high poly count and nice lighting:

 

 

When the trailer arrived, RoadToVR also wrote: "[...] the game’s announcement trailer (below) is probably captured on PC" - so the PCVR version is not surprising, but great that high-end VR users don't have to wait months for the full and unreduced version of the game. 

 

Recommended system requirements are not known, but some shots do look great:

 

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The carpet looks very high-res

 

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Geometry levels don't look low

 

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A great view

 

Now I have to finish Red Matter soon, sigh - so many games, so little time 😅

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

40 REPLIES 40

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

In recent YouTube videos it may look like the PCVR version of Red Matter 2 has the same polygon count as the low-end Quest 2 version - so I asked the devs:

 

"Do PCVR owners get same polygon levels as Quest 2 standalone users?"

 

- and they replied:  

 

"Polygon levels on PC are higher. Every mesh is rendered at its highest LOD possible unlike on Quest, where pretty much every mesh is being lodded. Sometimes the highest LOD is not even displayed on Quest and is reserved for the PC version."

 

Thus don't get fooled by the YouTube vids, where differences like antialiasing may be impossible to see - while being very easy to see when wearing a hmd. The devs wrote about the YouTube videos:

 

"Unfortunately, a YouTube video does not make it quite justice how crisp both the textures and render resolution are on PC. The video does a great job at showcasing how many graphical features, which are typical for PC, we've been able to squeeze on Quest by doing clever optimization. Obviously, there are quite a lot of features we've not been able to bring to Quest. And it goes without saying that the render resolution and framerate are simply not comparable."

 

Also for the textures I asked:

 

"Devs behind Brink Traveler used 2048-res textures for PCVR and 1024 for Quest 2 standalone, so PCVR got 4 times higher textures res. How much do PCVR textures differ from Quest 2 Standalone in Red Matter 2?"

 

- and the devs replied: 

 

"Textures on PC have at least 4 times as many pixels as Quest, if not more. Textures on PC are between the range of 2048 and 4096". 

 

4096 could be mindblowingly awesome - at least after seeing what 2048 did for Brink. 

 

I'll buy Red Matter 2 when it launches 🤓

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

Ya, well often the developer’s info isn’t always true.  I do hope they are true in this case!  I’ll probably  wait for more reviews on both platforms before deciding to buy and for which platform.  Cheers.

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

Agreed, I'm counting on my 2 hours refund window if needed 😎 With my backlog, new games need to impress me fast these days. 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

Like some say (if you're living in the EU or close) 😎

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081470/Red_Matter_2/

 

I guess in L. A, everything will be available shortly after breakfast 😄 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

iMight404
Retired Support

The ray tracing is making my computer scream in silence.

In all seriousness, this game looks pretty cool. The graphics remind me a bit of Bioshock in a weird way, the gameplay seems reminiscent of portal with elements of SCP in there, as far as level design goes. All while rocking a skybox environment looking like something straight out of Destiny. I'd be interested in giving this a go, there aren't too many AAA VR games, or rather, AAA-looking VR Games.

Take your destiny into your own hands. Sand cannot keep a shape by itself, but add water and it becomes malleable. Fate can be such, if you add the right element.

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

The game is a very clever Quest port, and if you don't know what to look for, it looks like a PCVR game made for a GTX 970 or close, like Red Matter 1. I started with an insane Index res 500% - and I got nice 90 fps. I really only get such extreme performance in Quest ports - res 500% is 45 mill pixels per frame - nearly 50% more than 8K res, lol. But going further into the game, I could not keep 90 fps everywhere, but it was close - I ended lowering to res 400% (about 35 mill pixels) and now got solid 90 fps. I also ended up using Index res 400% for Cosmonius High, which just like Red Matter 2 is a Quest port with added dynamic shadows. So performance is same as Cosmonious High, and you do not need a fast gpu for Red Matter 2. 

 

You only have these graphics options, so you cannot set antialiasing or other advanced options, just shadows:

 

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It's normal for Quest games not to have any options - and you really don't have many in the PCVR port. 

 

Quest and PCVR versions have the same amount of objects, so you'll see no more objects (and furniture etc.) in a location that the ultra-low-end XR2 SoC can handle. But Red Matter 1 was kinda an empty game like Myst - so not a bad choice with limited processing capabilities. 

 

Faces look fine, but of course far from Lone Echo 2:

 

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The PCVR version has up to 16 times higher texture res than the Quest 2 version - and hands do look nice - devs remade Index controllers inside the game - but no finger tracking:

 

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Now, before everyone says they love the hand details - this is how Red Matter 1 looked - and I think Red Matter 1 looked better or similar - Red Matter 1 is 4 years old:

 

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As written, Index controllers are fully remade in the game - see the scratches and the imperfections in the surface here:

 

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Devs even gave Index users the trackpad - pretty awesome 😮

 

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I'm holding my thumb on the trackpad in the above image.

 

The game has some sort of barren feeling to it - like the interior of these space shuttle pods with very limited surface complexity - and I do suspect that's due to Quest 2 processing limitations:

 

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Rooms and locations do look nice - but you easily get that feeling of emptiness again:

 

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Definitely the best Quest port so far - but if this game was properly designed for current PCVR rig, surely it could have been so much more.

 

Dynamic shadows do look great - see the shadow on the suit here - the Quest version has no dynamic shadows:

 

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The PCVR version also has indirect shadows, which also are not in the Quest version - like shown here on the syringe:

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Shadows do look awesome in this game - but you have no shadows for your arms and hands on surfaces, only other objects have shadows. 

 

The rings of Saturn look nice - in Lone Echo 1-2 you did get many 3D rocks and debris, here it looks like a moving 2D pattern - but it looks fine, I suspect this is how devs reduced the poly levels for Quest 2:

 

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I'm only in the start of the game - I'll take some more shots if I see more interesting stuff. Not sure I'm going beyond a 75% rating for now. I just finished Red Matter, and while Red Matter 2 looks fine, I'm not that impressed - for now. 

 

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Btw, according to the devs, the main advantages of the PCVR version are:

 

  • High-resolution textures
  • Highest poly count mesh is always visible. No mesh lodding.
  • Dynamic shadows
  • Indirect Shadows
  • Valve Index Controllers: If the game detects Valve Index Controllers being used, you will see a custom-made controller in-game.

Source: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2081470/Red_Matter_2/

 

The Steam version supports native Oculus drivers - so same performance as the Rift Store version.

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

@RuneSR2   Thanks for your early impressions mate.  I'll probably wait until this is out on the Oculus Rift store because it's supposed to be cross-buy.  I'm really not sure why it was released on Steam but not on the Rift store anyway?  Maybe they haven't met all the Meta requirements, who knows?

 

Edit;  RM2 just showed up on the Rift store so I guess I’ll have to give it a go, lol!

 

The Rift version of RM1 def looks better than the Q2 standalone version but I'm not all that impressed with the gameplay.  It's sort of AAA graphics with A gameplay, for me anyway.  Maybe just not my cup of tea and I found the locomotion pretty so-so.  Hopefully better with RM2.  Cheers.

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

It's an adventure game, and quite special with the Russian themes - probably not everyone's cup of tea... 🙂 

 

There are only 10 ratings on Steam today - that does not look good at all. The devs really try to connect with Index users - making Index controllers inside the game - but it's my impression from the Index Subreddit that many Index users will not buy Quest ports. Even one as pretty as this one.  And no WMR-support may annoy many Steam users too. Some were annoyed by the devs offering 10% off to Quest/Rift users (pre-order), while Steam users got no such offer.

 

The Rift Store version only has 5 ratings - but the Quest 2 version has 83 ratings. Of course this games shines with the Quest 2, but isn't anything special for PCVR.

 

Nearly all reviews are based on the Quest version - here's one using PC (but in Spanish) - rating = 9/10:

 

https://as.com/meristation/2022/08/18/analisis/1660834959_361589.html

 

Seems like PCVR doesn't get much attention, I hope the devs did send some copies to review sites... And maybe reviews are still being written. 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

I've played each version for about 1 hour and I actually enjoyed it both standalone and PCVR with Air Link.  Of course it does look better with my Q2/rtx3090 using Air Link.  Much nicer textures and sharper objects.  While I don't think that the graphics quite match Lone Echo 2 or HLA they are still very good and I don't think the PCVR version has been a lazy Quest 2 port. 

 

Here's the short review I left on the Rift Store page today;

Looks and plays fantastic with my Q2/rtx3090 using Air Link. I think this is soooo much better than RM1 and I especially love the Jet Pack and it has much better locomotion. I have also played the standalone mobile VR version and while it's surprisingly very good, PCVR adds much better textures and sharper objects. Still very good that the developers made this cross-buy. Thanks for a great sequel and I look forward to RM3!

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

Great review - and nice to read about standalone vs. PCVR. YouTube videos trying to show the differences are really worthless - you need to wear a hmd to truly see the differences. 

 

Although the devs wrote they are using MSAA, there's no setting to adjust it - and I did feel the standard image was somewhat blurry - so res 400% may not be total overkill. Still would have been nice if the devs had added more objects to the PCVR version, maybe like dust particles in the air etc. Res 400% does indicate we've got a lot of gpu power that could have been put to better use. 

 

I'm going back in later tonight 🙂

 

Btw, also need to test the CV1 and oled - I was surprised to see the game automatically added to my Oculus library - love it, when native Oculus drivers are detected 🤗

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"