Oculus Rift Catch-All

polypusher wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

I don't expect any screen door effect to bother me.

That's something to try before you decide on. Screen door isn't just an impairment so things look a bit worse. It can make it difficult to read text, slow your reaction times due to not recognizing things as quickly and it really just looks bad.

Should worse come to worst my dastardly plan is to sell it!

And use the money to help buy the next one!

I think I'm tending toward the Valve variant in part because it was previewed well but also in part because it's coming out first, and keys have it, Steam whim be supported by the developers. In going to try to keep my mind open but I'm not a fan of Facebook and don't want to give them any business if I can help it.

RolandofGilead wrote:
polypusher wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

I don't expect any screen door effect to bother me.

That's something to try before you decide on. Screen door isn't just an impairment so things look a bit worse. It can make it difficult to read text, slow your reaction times due to not recognizing things as quickly and it really just looks bad.

Should worse come to worst my dastardly plan is to sell it!

And use the money to help buy the next one!

Thats exactly what I did If the Consumer version is at least 1440p I think it should go great with appropriate hardware to push it.

I really can't remember it too well, since it was when I visited King's Dominion as a kid, but I recall there being a full-body VR game (it tracked your gun), and it was over before it began really, but that's why I'm hopeful low res/screen door won't be too bad.
Yeah, I know. Whole thing lasted less than ten minutes.

Buried in this article from Polygon about recommended spec for the retail version is the device's final resolution. 2160x1200 at 90hz

Compare to 1920x1080 at 75hz of the DK2

I'm not sure its a big enough resolution jump for me. The idea is to shrink the black lines between pixels as much as possible. They'll be thinner but will it be enough to no longer be distracting and make text more readable?

polypusher wrote:

Buried in this article from Polygon about recommended spec for the retail version is the device's final resolution. 2160x1200 at 90hz

Posting the actual recommend specs, since that's just as, if not more important than the resolution. And for anyone who doesn't want to click through to Polygon.

Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8 GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer
MeatMan wrote:
polypusher wrote:

Buried in this article from Polygon about recommended spec for the retail version is the device's final resolution. 2160x1200 at 90hz

Posting the actual recommend specs, since that's just as, if not more important than the resolution. And for anyone who doesn't want to click through to Polygon.

Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8 GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer

Ah well, no Oculus for me until I get a new PC at some unspecified point in the future.

Interesting... I wonder how it gets along with SLI setups.

Tanglebones wrote:
MeatMan wrote:
polypusher wrote:

Buried in this article from Polygon about recommended spec for the retail version is the device's final resolution. 2160x1200 at 90hz

Posting the actual recommend specs, since that's just as, if not more important than the resolution. And for anyone who doesn't want to click through to Polygon.

Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8 GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer

Ah well, no Oculus for me until I get a new PC at some unspecified point in the future.

The Oculus is making me think that it's time I traded in my laptop for a desktop.

Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8 GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer

I put together a PCPartpicker that hits these minimums. You're basically looking at $1k, and still needing a monitor/keyboard/mouse/OS/optical drive.

Keep in mind that those specs are also going to depend on the sort of game you end up running. I'm running something similar right now to play Elite: Dangerous. It handles certain parts of the game well, but there are definite framerate issues in stations.

JC wrote:

Interesting... I wonder how it gets along with SLI setups.

They've been working pretty closely with AMD on a crossfire solution. Nivida also has something in the works called VR SLI

Nvidia wrote:

SLI: We’re also tuning the way our GPUs work together when they’re paired to drive virtual reality experiences. In the past, our GPUs would alternate rendering frames when joined in SLI mode. For VR, we’re changing the way our GPUs work in SLI, with each GPU rendering one display. - See more at: http://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2014/09...

I think the last I read was that the AMD solution was further along because they had been working closely with the oculus guys. No idea if any of this will be ready for the consumer release though.

Needing to update the video card just to make it run will definitely put a damper on my ability to pick one of these up in the near future. Was hoping my GG rig would hold up, it sure does to play anything at my desired resolution right now.

Pretty great stuff from the event. Some bullets:

* Q1 2016 - No price announced
* Native integration with Windows 10 and DirectX 12 (alleviates setup headaches, for one thing!)
* Included Xbox One controller and wireless PC adapter
* Oculus Home as your landing 'page' for when you put the headset on, gives you a virtual room to launch games from, check out new games, do friends etc... basically Steam VR
* Some cool games, but oddly many of them were 3rd person. I wonder if this is the near-term solution for solving the fact that you're not actually standing and walking around. Your brain probably accepts being a floating camera behind a character and controlling their movement without needing to feel balance changes and other feedback.
* Oculus Touch (codename Half-Moon). A pair of wireless controllers that have similar tracking as the headset itself does, some haptics (probably vibration). Dual thumbsticks, analog trigger, 3 buttons each, 2 on the face and one on the handle. It basically looks like a PS2 controller, pulled in half and surrounded by a thick black ring. They say it detects gestures too, like thumbs-up and pointing. They didnt say that it would be ready for launch or included with the Rift, so I expect it's not ready for prime-time, though the prototype is playable at E3

They were notably light on technical specifications. No resolution, Field of View, Refresh Rate or anything else like that announced. They did say that there are TWO screens inside the headset, which is a change from the other prototypes which had one that covers both eyes.

Half-Moon prototype: (The cord on the bottom is a wrist strap, like a Wii controller)
IMAGE(data:image/jpeg;base64,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)

Two screens sounds promising. Hopefully it's to double the resolution by not needing to split it now.

polypusher wrote:

* Oculus Home as your landing 'page' for when you put the headset on, gives you a virtual room to launch games from, check out new games, do friends etc... basically Steam VR

I don't think I'm quite ready for this...

Also, I just want to golfclap at wherever you got that from for using a base64 encoded img tag, and the GWJ forums for supporting inline-data images.

Its pretty obvious to me that the rift is going to be a commercial failure. The general public is not going to buy this thing. I only hope it does well enough that the tech improvement continues forward and can later be used in actual practical applications.

Some of that stuff looked neat, but looking neat does not a successful platform make. I think everyone who sees it will think "oh thats cool" and then not buy it.

McIrishJihad wrote:

Also, I just want to golfclap at wherever you got that from for using a base64 encoded img tag, and the GWJ forums for supporting inline-data images.

The image link came from the google images results page and not whatever site hosted the image. No idea how long that will last I was astonished at the size of the link and the fact that it appears to work.

Cobble wrote:

Its pretty obvious to me that the rift is going to be a commercial failure.

Right now it has a pretty high bar for entry, requiring a hefty gaming computer to run it. That makes its audience automatically 'gamers'. Can gaming products be commercially successful? Game consoles can at similar prices (assuming price is between $300 and $500) Premium niche peripherals like Steering Wheels and flight stick sets do well enough that there's healthy competition in those categories. I compare those because they have similar target audiences and prices.

Until the device requires a less expensive 'driver' (the PC) like a game console or tablet it can't sell more than a few million, maybe 10 million tops. Thats a great starting point though. They've delivered a few hundred thousand dev kits to date to enthusiasts and developers which is also a good sign. The thing pretty much converts anyone who tries it too, but its a tougher sell to people who have never tried it, so being able to slap the thing on would be key to conversion. Im not sure how they'll do that since we dont really go to Best Buy anymore

I don't think any of that is going to be the biggest bar to entry. I don't think john or Jane Q public will buy a thing that is intended to directly cut them off from reality for an extended period of time. Just like people don't want to play all thier games by waving at a sensor even though at first people thought it was really cool. In the end I think people would much rather not use this thing.

I think the tech has huge impact in things moving forward, but as a console you wear on your face, that's an impossible profitable sell.

But they dont need to. Certainly not next year. They might in a decade when all of the hardware is contained in a sweet pair of sunglasses but nothing needs to sell 300,000,000 to be successful. These things will do fine as niche products for the next few years.

Cobble wrote:

I don't think any of that is going to be the biggest bar to entry. I don't think john or Jane Q public will buy a thing that is intended to directly cut them off from reality for an extended period of time. Just like people don't want to play all thier games by waving at a sensor even though at first people thought it was really cool. In the end I think people would much rather not use this thing.

I think the tech has huge impact in things moving forward, but as a console you wear on your face, that's an impossible profitable sell.

I don't think it's the "wearing something on your face" that's going to be a problem for Oculus. It's going to be "you need a pretty decent computer to run this stuff properly" that's going to be a problem for them. On the other hand I expect Sony to do very well with the Morpheus because it's a closed platform and people don't have to do anything technical but put the headset on and play.

IMAGE(http://procrasti-nation.eu/wp-content/uploads/Shut-up-and-take-my-money.jpg)

The Oculus Touch system looks pretty great. It is actually a little more advanced than what I was expecting from "first gen" VR motion controls. I figured we'd start with Leap Motion-esque hand-tracking and add haptics and thumbstick controls later. This seems to have a little bit of everything.

I'm leaning towards the Oculus consumer model over the Vive at this point. It'll probably be cheaper and Xbox compatibility is a minor plus as well, since I do have an Xbone sitting under a pile of dust somewhere.

I think the DirectX12 and Windows 10 integrations are a big advantage for the Rift over competitive devices. You'll plug it in and it will work. Driver updates could be handled through Windows Update. Performance will be optimized for its unique configuration. It will probably just plain work better with the software than competitors will even if MS does nothing special to degrade competitive hardware because the code was written with the Rift in mind.

I'm starting to get pretty excited for this! My rig is powerful enough even as of now, so that's nice. I'll probably upgrade video cards by the time this is released, though.

I suppose it depends on what their margins and development costs are. The general public doesn't buy HOTASes and throttle pedals either, but the market for a good VR headset is at least as large as the hardcore flight-sim and space-sim crowd.

Yeah, I dunno... I found the presentation lacking. Seems like Oculus is playing catch up to Vive now and MS was there just to try and say they had an answer to morpheus.

* @Bottle: It didn't seem like it was actual XB1 integration. It has a mode where you can stream XB1 games to a virtual theater screen on your PC. I honestly don't understand who this feature is for. Someone with an XB1 but no TV? XB1 and a crappy TV? Plus a PC beefy enough to run VR? What?

* The XB1 controller is "the best way to control games" oh, except for our new controllers yay! Can I get $50 off the price of a CV1 instead?

* The controllers look neat, but seem pretty similar to the ones shipping with Vive. Their release is also confusing. Palmer specifically said these were a "future prototype" and they failed to demo them live at the event. Just some still shots and props he held in his hands. Yet, later, he tweets that they will be available for preorder at the same time as Rift, available in Q1, but a separate product. Which is it?

* The VR market is already small, and they are going to fragment their product further by selling these controllers separately?

* I still think Oculus has tracking wrong and Valve has a better solution.

On the upside, the final HMD looks amazing. The ergonomics seem spot on and better than Vive. The included, but optional headphones are great. (would be nice if it had a mic though). I'm really looking forward to some Vive vs Oculus CV1 comparisons.