Blueplanet VR has no relation to the BBC production, Blue Planet, however it does feature some pretty astounding sights. Though most scenes struggle from bouts of low resolution textures and ugly shrubbery, each scene has at least one convincing view that justifies the scene.
The most stunning scene is of Antelope Canyon, which exhibits some of the finest modeling and texture work in the whole game. Looking up through the walls of the cavern, it appears so photorealistic, I feel like I can reach out and touch the rocks. Gentle music, sound effects and particle effects add a nice touch to the experience.
Blueplanet VR’s biggest strength is its ability to completely immerse you in stunning detail, giving the feeling of actually being there.
There are also fly-over scenes that give you the reins to soar over recreated landscapes. One that stands out in particular is that of a glacier. The texturing and modeling of the cracked landscape is so precise, flying over it feels astounding.
Most scenes give you at least one view that is worth your time, like here in a cave scene, the textures and lighting work together to create a single view that is pretty incredible.
However, if you turn around, the immersion in the scene is broken by sloppy textures and jagged edges.
There is a degree to how bad some of the textures are, but some of them are really bad, irreparably breaking the immersion.
Pockmarks of flat textures, as well as some incomplete geometry, kill the immersion that is so meticulously created throughout other parts of the scene. For example, this path along the ruins has clear geometry errors as a result of how the photogeometry is captured.
In general, the textures are not a high enough resolution to closely inspect. Blueplanet VR looks its best when viewed from a distance. For example, in this stunning scene against a watery backdrop, the textures and modeling look immaculate. However, upon closer inspection, the textures become pixelated and start to blur.
Using the depth of this shot, you can see how the textures in the foreground are blotchy and indistinct, while the more distant textures are vivid and have a photorealistic look.
These lower resolution textures are typically not a big deal, as you get a sense of where your attention should be focused based on how focused the textures are. Avoid looking too closely.
Here’s one more example to make my point, notice how from a distance, the bricks look defined and photorealistic; but once I get too close, the illusion is dampened.
However, there are some areas where the lower resolution quality is definitely an immersion-killer. For example, this following scene presents a beautiful tree, meticulously modeled and detailed:
But if you happen to look down at the ground, you see this:
I’m not even that close to those textures and they are blotchy, pixelated, and undefined. It’s really hard to feel immersed in a scene when there is such a variation in texture quality.
Enough poor-quality textures make some of the scenes really underwhelming; for example, this scene with a bell. The texture of the bell looks flat, the letters aren’t three-dimensional, and the colors look patchy and blurred. It doesn’t actually feel like I’m looking at the real bell, even at more of a distance.
It also doesn’t help that the surrounding pillars have errors in their geometry.
Too many immersion-killers puts the bell scene on the list of scenes that I will never visit again — and there are a few. For instance, there are panoramic shots of abandoned warehouses, power plants, and other industrial buildings, which have far less appeal than the natural wonders, and are generally uninteresting.
There is also an abandoned shed that can be explored, but again, why would you want to?
One of the biggest immersion-killers for me personally was the shrubbery and vegetation, which, as a result of how the image is captured, appear blocky, with jagged edges, blotchy textures, and a lack of transparency.
For a moment I actually felt like I was going to fall into the Grand Canyon, but then I saw these plants and the illusion was destroyed.
Pretty much anytime shrubbery or vegetation is too close to the camera, it’s going to be a problem.
There is something about looking out to a beautiful waterfront view and realizing that none of the trees are blowing in the wind, the clouds aren’t moving, and there are no waves in the water.
Many of the scenes really leave a craving for something more, perhaps that is the desire to actually visit some of these locations; but more so, it is a vision for where this technology could move in the future. If video VR technology could add wind to the branches and leaves and rippling waves to the water, the immersion would easily be doubled in certain scenes.
Pretty much every scene with water struggles to look realistic. They add some steam effects to this waterfall to make it look like it’s moving, but you’re going to have to use your imagination to imagine the water is moving. Water and vegetation are the two biggest immersion-killers throughout the experience.
Despite its flaws, Blueplanet VR is still worth your time, granted the spectacular views it has to offer. However, the price point does seem a bit steep. For the $30 asking price, I would expect some of the geometry to be cleaned up, especially in regards to vegetation. For instance, the above scene uses image data from Google Earth to create the scene.
Especially when it comes to vegetation, the Google Earth data does not always translate so well and certainly could use some clean up. This exact same location within Google Earth VR has sharper textures and more defined geometry for the surrounding vegetation — and Google Earth VR is completely free.
It just seems that with a $30 price point, details like that could be cleaned up, especially when the image data is coming directly from Google Earth.
For the content available, $20 seems like a more appropriate asking price, and even then, I would probably recommend buying Blueplanet VR on sale.
Luckily, the developers have more content packages planned for the future, so you can expect more scenes to be added over time. The ability to snap-turn within scenes is also still being added in, as of review, so there is potential for additional features to be added in the future.
It would be easier to recommend at it’s current price point if I had a better understanding of where the development was going over time and how many more scenes would be added. I would also be very pleased if currently-released scenes had more work done to them to sharpen their textures and geometry.
Ultimately, Blueplanet VR is a staple for any VR library, especially given the competition. I used to keep The Lab installed, specifically so I could introduce new VR users to the experience of being atop a mountain range, to see themselves in a beautiful environment. Now, I’ve uninstalled The Lab and I keep Blueplanet VR installed and I show them some of my favorite scenes, and there are plenty to choose from.
I may even come back here by myself just to relax and enjoy the view.
Reviewed on Valve Index.
James P. W. Martin 