Quest 2 — Waltz of the Wizard update comparison
We are psyched to release an update for Quest and Quest 2 with big improvements, and pleased to release our comparison media to showcase the many differences.
With Quest 2’s processing power we’ve made the world more believable with real-time lights and true post-processing bloom for realistic glow effects, more interactive objects, increased world detail, and more. We also offer an alternative mode, Super Resolution, which increases resolution to 150% for crystal-clear visuals, showcasing what the Quest 2 display is truly capable of.
We have been absolutely amazed by Quest 2’s capabilities and can’t wait to hear what you think! Our major upcoming expansion, Natural Magic, will include even further improvements to visuals and hand tracking.
All screenshots and videos were captured in-headset and are presented here without adjustments. Note that some additional media might be added after the initial publishing of this post.
Before Update on Quest/After Update on Quest 2
For comparisons with live sliders, please visit this page here—Note the widgets may take long to load.
The update includes improvements on both the original Quest & Quest 2. Here are comparison shots to fully convey the difference before-and-after.
MAKE SURE TO SET THE GIF QUALITY TO HD!
Lighting & Glow effects (Bloom)
Bloom Mode is the default setting in the experience. An alternative setting is Super Resolution mode, which increases software resolution to 150% to truly show what the Quest 2 display is capable of. (More in Super Resolution section below). Worth noting that this mode does not require foveated rendering, a common performance enhancer for standalone VR content, so your full field of view remains crisp and clear.
BLOOM!
Bloom is a visual post-processing effect that adds realistic glow to lit objects in the user’s field of view. Post-processing effects are computationally expensive and therefore pretty much unheard of in standalone VR content, so we feel this is a milestone for us and Oculus Quest 2.
In particular for us, the most noticeable change is in magical particles and light-sources in the environment, however sharp-eyes will notice that even light reflected on glossy surfaces is also realistically amplified by bloom.
REAL-TIME LIGHTS!
So far, Waltz of the Wizard has been using what’s referred to as baked lighting. This is lighting that typically does not change in real-time, mostly usable for fixed world elements like wall lights or other immovable sources. With Quest 2, in addition to bloom, we now have real-time light sources that can move and change in real-time.
This makes various effects more dramatic, as well as introduces new mechanics like using light sources to light up dark environments.
Super Resolution Mode
In addition to the Bloom Mode, we offer a Super Resolution mode that increases software resolution to 150% to truly show what the Quest 2 display is capable of. To describe further; in favor of performance, all Quest 2 software runs at a lower resolution by default than the Quest 2 display is actually capable of. What we do in Super Resolution mode is increase the software resolution above the resolution of the display, thereby fully utilizing the display. Waltz of the Wizard may be the only experience on Quest 2 that lets you see the full resolution of the display!
It is challenging to properly communicate the resolution change, especially because the difference in Quest 2’s display, but we have done our best with these comparisons. It is worth noting that the Quest 2 has much less noticeable screendoor effect than the original Quest, improving the clarity greatly when ‘you’re there’.
Click here to visit a page with a live slider to compare Original Quest (Note that widgets may take long to load).
In this mode, Bloom is disabled since it lets us push the resolution higher, but that is the only difference beyond resolution in Super Resolution mode—both modes are otherwise the same.
What about 90hz and more?
The current update maintains stable default framerate on Oculus Quest and Quest 2. We plan to include a 90hz mode once that mode becomes available to the public on Oculus Quest 2, similar to our earlier 144hz optimization update on Valve Index.
We also expect even further improvements in our massive upcoming Natural Magic expansion!
