*I would just like to preface this by stating that the January Oculus Rift release is a developer version and not recommended for typical consumers owing to its lower specs and game support*


Hey all, in January I'm hoping to get my hands on the Oculus Rift and wanted to spark a bit of discussion about a complementary modding setup I could use it with for Skyrim.

For those unaware, thehttp://oculusvr.com/ is a recent development in virtual-reality gaming. It is a device that, to put it simply, covers your eyes with a screen that displays the game you're playing. It's different to the many failed devices of the 80s and 90s because instead of watching a screen in the distance while wearing them, the display actually arcs around your entire field of vision so there are no black borders and you can barely see the edges.

Anyway, read about it if you want. There are some great videos of people using it on youtube. But this isn't supposed to be about me marketing the device, moving swiftly on...

I'm more interested in building a modded install of Skyrim from the ground up that compliments the experience of wearing the Oculus. Which actually is going to be a bit more involved that it first seems. Games today are full of things that aren't necessarily great for a head mounted display, and Skyrim is no exception. Thats where the mods come in.

For example, there are a lot of visual tricks Skyrim uses that look great from the couch but not in a true first-person perspective. The screen shakes when you run or sprint, it swings violently when you thrust your weapon. It blurs when low on fatigue. All nice effects, but also potentially quite vomit-inducing in a HMD.

Many ENBs come with DoF, which, as far as I can see, would be off the table. Your eyes are focused at infinity in the Oculus, not a flat surface - so you just look at things as you would in real life and focus shifts as it would naturally. Anything but the lightest DoFs would probably not work well. ENBs on a whole, though, will be a great asset! Graphics are obviously going to be a big thing, the idea being to make the game look as good as possible to be as immersive as possible. (Just as with playing on a monitor)

But I don't think this will be the same as slapping on a bunch of ultra-hd texure packs. The Oculus has a maximum resolution of 1280x800 across both eyes. Theres a limit to how much detail we'll get out of that. So the question becomes, which texture packs (if any?) are worth it, when detail is lost below 1080p displays. What other graphical mods are there to be taken advantage of?

There are other things, too, to do with interfacing with the game that I'm not sure whether I want to get into. Its easy to see a VR headset and then start jumping the gun and want compatibility with the playstation move or (more appropriatley) the Kinect. I'm not entirely sure we should go down that road. I just want to play Skyrim in the most immersive way possible - hands on mouse and keyboard, my eyes in the game.

And then theres the question of immersion mods, not just graphics. Mods that hide the UI or simplify it would be a start, but what else is a good fit? Immersion doesn't necessarily mean realism, though. Food/Thirst mods and such, which encourage more time spent in menus than Tamriel may not be worth it.

Another big thing I've been thinking about is the use of third-person in the game. Supposedly 3rd person works well in HMD's but I think it would be quite jarring to experience it suddenly in the middle of a first-person adventure. What options are there to limit its useage throughout Skyrim?

Anyway, just some of my first thoughts. Most people who hear about the Rift think of Skyrim as a game they'd love it on, and with good reason! Looking down from great heights is supposedly one of the most surreal experiences in one of these things, and Skyrim sure isn't short on those. (I also just really, really, look up in the dead of night and stargaze...)

Hopefully we can generate some good discussion here, honestly I spent more time in the Oblivion modding scene than this one and am just getting to grips with the Skyrim landscape. I've finished a STEP installation over the past few days and am hoping to use that playthrough as a bit of a guide for other good mods to use - but maybe other people are excited by this idea too and we can have a good chat about the whole propsect.