Wall-Sized 3D Displays: The Ultimate Gaming Room
RPGs
I only really have one RPG right now, and that's Oblivion, so it'll have to represent the genre.
Oblivion:
Oblivion works, but not perfectly. The game is absolutely beautiful, of course, but the interface doesn't work well in stereoscopic mode. To see the crosshair/visual aid properly you'd really have to go cross-eyed, and it was distracting. Text boxes and whatnot had the same issue, and it's hard on the eyes. It's unfortunate because everything else looks great, but this RPG demands a lot of reading through the interface, and for me it's too distracting to use. You can do it, but I don't think I would.
3D stereoscopic rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Conclusion
It turns out that fully functional wall-sized 3D displays are well within the reach of the average PC enthusiast.
Before performing the testing for this article, I would never have guessed that a common sub-$1000 DLP projector, $100 set of stereoscopic glasses, a sub-$100 stereoscopic inverter and a sub-$200 Geforce 7900 GS could combine with a common PC to produce such incredibly crisp and engaging 3D images on a 100" screen.
Perhaps I'm a bit of a 3D display nut, and I admit that this is the sort of thing I've been interested in since virtual reality's heyday. Still, if you have any interest in wall-sized 3D gaming, I really doubt you'd be disappointed after purchasing the equipment you'd need to make this display a reality.
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Out of nine games tested, all of them technically worked with the Nvidia stereoscopic driver. Two of the nine titles didn't perform ideally, but they worked nonetheless. That's not a perfect track record, but it's pretty darn close, and speaks to the effectiveness of this affordable setup.
What is more, that very same projector isn't limited to stereoscopic 3D. You can simply use it for regular big-screen applications like your PC, game console, home theatre, or presentations. The value that I regularly get from having purchased this relatively cheap display impresses me on a near-daily basis. Even my wife and kids think it's cool to have in the living room.
Editor's Opinion
Until science develops the technology to project alternate realities inside our heads, 3D virtual worlds will be the next best thing to being there.
Until that happens, I'll be playing Far Cry in my personal virtual tropical island. At least until Crysis comes out, that is...
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myrsati I bought the Acer P1303W its awsome for the price. You do have to go through a computer to get the 3D to work. I have a AMD FX 6 core proccesor and ATI 6770HD card that supports 3D. I then bought a Blu Ray 3d Internal Burner from LG for 77 bucks which is really nice. I got the Expand x102 Active glasses they are price well and look great. I thought i was screwed when the 3d didnt work when i put a blu ray 3d movie in and played it thru my Projector. My resolution was correct and at 120hz. I found out after messing around for about an hour that the software that came with my Blue Ray 3d player didnt work with my projector which is POWER DVD 9. I found a program called TotalMedia Theatre 5! As soon as i installed it and played the blu ray 3d movie and turned the glasses on everything worked!!! I had to adjust a few settings but nothing major. Dont forget not all projectors have to go thru a computer to work but you will prob pay more for them.Reply