Build Your Own: Wall-Sized 3D Gaming, Just Like Theaters Do It

Features
By Don Woligroski
published

Benchmark Results: Dungeons And Dragons Online

While not the best-reviewed massively multiplayer online (MMO) to hit the Internet, Dungeons and Dragons Online is a solid, quality product that has something no other major MMO can boast of: totally free play. We took Turbine's free MMO out for a spin in stereoscopic 3D to get a feel for the epic-sized environments. The game didn't disappoint and provided a richness that surprised us.

Game Settings:

We set the native projector resolution to 1280x720 and the game's visual detail settings to ultra-high details (DirectX 10 disabled) with 4x MSAA.

This is the only game other than Crysis where we have to leave a DirectX 10 option off. In Dungeons and Dragons Online, this option doesn't do much anyway, so we aren't disappointed by the visual results.

Game Experience Using the TriDef Ignition Driver:

Nothing to report, because the TriDef driver crashes when we try to use it. It gets us to a stereoscopic 3D version of the character selection screen, but then the game promptly craters. We should mention that other users on the TriDef forum have gotten the driver to work, so we guess that the problem lies with the method of 3D output. The dual-projector setup is one of the least-used methods of stereoscopic 3D, and therefore does not receive a great deal of testing compared to other output types.

Game Experience Using the iZ3D Driver:

While we have experienced some glitches with the iZ3D driver, we will say this: it works with every title we tried it with and Dungeons and Dragons Online is no exception. The only visual problem is the recurring sky texture issue, where each eye sees a very different view of the heavens. This was more distracting in some areas than others, but it never made the game unplayable. Another issue was that the mouse cursor was only rendered on one display, meaning that you could only see it with one eye. It was workable but not quite ideal. 

The only visual issue of note here is the sky texture. Each perspective seems to show a different version of the clouds

Dungeons and Dragons Online 3D Stereo Performance:

The iZ3D driver gives us very good performance in this game, and favors the GeForce GTX 260 over the Radeon HD 4890. However, both deliver smooth playable frame rates, so we're quite happy with the result. The TriDef driver crashes so there is no performance to compare.

Don Woligroski
124 Comments Comment from the forums
  • MiamiU
    seems like being a hardcore gamer just keeps getting more and more expensive...
    Reply
  • Don't gives too big an image to try and see it 3d. A monitor can't handle: 800px × 248px!!!! That's just crazy big!!!
    Reply
  • Icehearted
    As for poor folk like me, we'll just settle for those still images where we cross our eyes, and cry because $2,565 is far away from "comfortable".
    Reply
  • winner4455
    I can see this becoming main stream and the next few years... In 3d too.
    Reply
  • tigerwraith
    2.6k now but you know things like this keep getting cheaper and cheaper. Maybe by this time next year, the 1080p 2600 lumens will drop to 500, and the drivers will better support dual projector setups.
    Reply
  • tigerwraith
    But I do have a question would of mattered if you used LCD projectors?
    Reply
  • gti88
    Great article! Thanx a lot.
    But as I can see, 3D stereo is not there yet.
    Almost no movies are available at 3DS, and game developers don't focus on stereo optimisation. Thus, we have some glitches and inconveniences.
    Reply
  • pojih
    ahh, something else to cost an arm and a leg...

    not saying that many people here don't want the fastest and most expensive....

    but it was clearly shown that many people looking at this site want something that performs for what it costs, as seen by the fermi release and the comments .....
    Reply
  • skora
    Whats the next price bracket up for a projector with higher res?

    I like the idea of dual projectors better than the alt-image standard, but they didn't ask me.

    Here's a wild thought, soon, everyone will have their own glasses that not only do the shutter for 3D, but will also be able to be personal monitors. Connect to any computer/phone/TV with your glasses. Displays might even become unnecessary. That will be the next wireless mainstream device. The iShades. Phone, mobile pc and display, earbud is right there. Have pants that have built in keyboard. We'll all just be sitting there with our shades on and never see the person next to us as we get lost in the cloud. And it all starts with 3D glasses. :P
    Reply
  • djab
    IceheartedAs for poor folk like me, we'll just settle for those still images where we cross our eyes, and cry because $2,565 is far away from "comfortable".
    No, you can at least use red/cyan paper glasses with iz3d drivers and a normal display.
    That is not that bad!
    Reply