Hello adventurers!
Today we are going to show you a peripheral that could enhance the VR experience.
It is the 3DRudder and if you need any subtitles during the video.
Just turn them on, because they are here.
The 3DRudder is an innovative controller that let’s you move around in-game with your
feet, leaving your hands free for other tasks and also gives you the ability to move freely
in VR without standing.
First of all, thanks 3DRudder for sending us a review unit so that we can check it out!
So this is the box.
It’s a beautiful, professional box and there is really not much in it.
Just the round device, that kinda looks like an autonomous vacuum cleaner.
Lastly, there is a hard wired cable attached to it.
And this is what it looks and feels like.
The 3DRudder has a diameter of about 13.4 inch and is about 2.3 inch tall.
It is made mostly from plastic and well manufactured.
The top has red leather pads on it for your feet and extra grip.
The bottom here has a round rubber grip.
The cable itself is about 6 foot and is hardwired, so you can not replace it with a longer one.
However you can use an USB extension cord.
3DRudder installation The install process is actually super easy
and smooth.
You are pointed to the website where you have to download the dashboard.
After installing, you can just plug in the 3DRudder and Windows will automatically detect
it as a joystick.
After hearing several beeps, you will know it has been succesfully recognized.
Then to start using it, just put your feet on the 3DRudder, wait for another bleep so
that it is calibrated and you’re ready to go.
There is also a very simple, but effective tutorial that you can follow.
As you can see, the 3DRudder uses several points and sensors to track your movements.
And all the movements feel very natural,
except for this one.
The pressure sensors for moving up and down vertically is a bit awkward.
So for testing we tried out the 3DRudder out with two games.
A relatively more fast paced one, Fallout 4 VR and a more relatively slow paced one:
Arizona Sunshine.
Let’s start with Fallout 4 VR.
First of all, for most popular VR games you can easily load the pre-configured settings.
And most of the time it was very easy to load the configuration.
Just pick the right game, load settings, launch the game and put your feet on the 3DRudder,
wait for the bleep and you are ready to go.
For Fallout 4 VR you did have to turn on smooth locomotion in the in-game settings too for
it to work.
As for playing the game, it worked great.
However, it did take some time getting used to.
Especially in action-packed battles, I had to struggle turning around fast enough to
kill an enemy before it hit me.
It was during these kind of fast-paced battles that I felt like playing like I’m used to:
standing up with roomscale.
Arizona Sunshine was great with the 3DRudder though!
The more relatively slow paced gameplay was a perfect fit.
The 3DRudder even made it possible for us to fly around in this game.
Not really what you want maybe, but still kinda funny to be able to do that.
We did notice that some settings were kind of sensitive.
But thankfully the dashboard has a good amount of configuration available.
You can adjust the dead-zone, acceleration and maximum speed for each axis, which is
great and solved most of our problems.
End thoughts However, the 3DRudder did not solve the motion
sickness issues for me.
I usually get motion sick when using smooth turning or when movement happens unintentionally.
I tried adjusting the smooth turning to a slower speed, but still, I got nauseous.
Chary however, did not get sick at all, so this is also just something personal and it
happens in other games as well without the 3DRudder.
It also takes some time getting used to finding that neutral center point on the 3DRudder.
Sometimes when I was intending to stand still in-game, the 3DRudder would not be in its
correct neutral point which made my screen move around and that didn’t help the nausea.
Every so often my 3DRudder would drift away from its original position as I turned it
left and right in pretty high speed.
On multiple occasions I had to use my feet to put it back into position or even take
off my headset to put it back into place.
This does take away the immersion.
But this could just be our wooden floor or our green screen mat and I can imagine that
this could be easily solved by putting down some kind of non-skid mat.
Without any doubts however, the 3DRudder does add another level of immersion to VR games
if you prefer to play seated.
Using it to control VR games is also just a fun addition to other locomotion ways.
I can also imagine that you could use this for different scenarios, like flying or zooming
in and out in creative applications.
I also think that an innovative controller like this could help even more people get
into VR, perhaps people with a disability for example.
After trying it out I don’t think this is a must-buy for any VR users.
However, it is a fun addition and not expensive at all at a price tag of 139 dollar.
So definitely something if you are looking for other ways to move in VR.
Lastly, definitely props to 3DRudder to invent such an innovative product that works so well.
The installation and setting it up for a VR game is just super smooth and there is a lot
of configuration to adjust to your personal preferences.
The 3DRudder is definitely a good addition if you’re looking for other ways to move
than the standard locomotion methods.
We can’t wait to see what creative things people will do with a product like this.
And we are really excited to show you guys more VR hardware in the future on this channel.
And if you want to explore the world of Virtual Reality with us.
Like, comment and subscribe!
We are Cas and Chary.
I am Chary and I say: VR ON!!