Took a quick look at CAOTS, got motion sick with movement that was not foreword facing (can explain more if you like). I am creating VR content within UE4 and interested in non teleport based VR locomotion. I am very sensitive to motion sickness so I can quickly identify what works. I will be testing out Dash Step and Blink Step today. If you like I can provide detailed feedback.
Viewing post in Freedom Locomotion VR comments
Hey Superme2015,
Thanks for the feedback. How'd the dash/blink step testing go if I may ask?
CAOTS has a lot of mechanics that help reduce motion sickness for a wide range of users... but it's not a bullet proof solution unfortunately. That's a large part of why dash and blink step are included in the first place. But at the same time, I think it's capable of slowing the rate at which people get motion sick - such that people can reasonable use it to build up their motion sickness resistance over time, especially if they're mindful and avoid the actions that are more likely to cause motion sickness... although this too isn't a perfect solution by any means - given that resistance can go back down over time if the user doesn't continue using VR on a regular basis.
I tested them out, the blink step was the best for me. I noticed that with VR moving foreword works best. When the movement changes based on the controllers direction or look direction it start the motion sickness. Any artificial movement that is not foreword facing makes me nauseous.
Elevation change was a big one, as soon as I moved up the stairs or down, it was nasty and had to stop.
I got an idea for you. On the touch pad button press start moving the player in the foreword direction they are looking. But allow the freedom to look without any change in direction. Then when the button is released stop the foreword motion. The speed should be slow, maybe at walking speed or even slower.
I got a feeling that could work and it should be simple to build.
Thanks for the feedback. Glad blink step worked out for you.
As for the suggestion - I'm aware that there are a few other games that employ a scheme similar to what you're describing (e.g. Technolust), but through my own research and testing, it's not an ideal scheme for most users, because you lose a great deal of the flexibility of movement... moreover, most people don't expect motion to be stuck in one direction, but follow their bodily direction of movement.
The main thing I'd suggest if you know you can get nauseous easily from non-forward movement is to keep your hand by your side, aligned with your torso. This should be easy as it's essentially the default resting position for your arms when moving. Also there's an option for 'Simple Touch', which rejects the thumb direction and only uses the controller direction.
This way, you're only moving in the direction of your body - but retain the flexibility to turn and move without having to stop and start.
For more advanced users, simply moving in a manner that roughly indicates their intended direction of travel is sufficient to help further reduce motion sickness (e.g. if I'm moving sideways, I mimic a motion for strafing, or if I'm moving backwards, I mimic a motion of backpedadling).
As for the elevation issue - it's a difficult one to deal with outside of teleportation/blink stepping. I think a reasonable compromise is to make elevation changes optional by allowing players the ability to teleport between the different levels, or to reduce the amount of elevation changes in general.
I assume you had the comfort mode on high?