McHawkson

Sorry for 7 months bump. I don't want to start another thread about Oculus.

3 days ago, I finally got my own DK2 (Developer Kit 2) and tried it on Elite Dangerous and iRacing. I would say it's really worth it. Only negative about having DK2 is picture - which is blurred and hard to read (except for iRacing). I like how free you're able to look around instead of limit yourself to single monitor or triple monitors (I have triple monitors setup).

I would wait for consumer version to release and they said they'd put 1440p screen (from Samsung smart phone, I believe).

flashburn

Not sure 1440p is going to be good enough. I was really surprised how easily I could see each individual pixel at 1080p. I think they really need UHD resolution, but that will take a lot of horsepower to drive at > 60 FPS.

McHawkson

Yeah, isn't that the latest technology for smartphone? Galaxy Notes 4 will be released with 1440P and DK2 used Galaxy Notes 3.

Nausicaa

Awesome! Why'd you get it, are you a developer or just an interested consumer who couldn't wait?

I'm still holding out for the consumer version. At this point my hype has returned to normal levels so the wait isn't so bad. I do wish Oculus had a public timeline for consumer release though. I want to get a new computer right now but not sure if it's worth waiting another year or not.

While 1080p seems much improved from DK1, I'm disappointed it's still far from ideal. I agree 1440p seems like the minimum spec for CV1 at this point.

More concerning is there doesn't seem to be a control platform standardized yet. I don't know if they intend to just use kb + mouse, but something tells me there is a better method in development. I think there needs to be a way to read the players hand movements and translate them in game. Maybe some kind of puck controller the player holds that gets tracked by the IR camera.

It feels like the bigger and more polished the Rift becomes, the further it seems from release.

McHawkson

I'd say I'm interested consumer who couldn't wait. I would blame on iRacing forum that got me bought the DK2. I was going to wait for CV1 to release but I caved in.

The biggest reason I bought DK2 is more visual. With triple screen on iRacing, the view of tachometer is somewhat not able to see and I cannot hear when to change shift. I've tried third party software (using iPad or iPhone apps) and it's not 100% effective for me. With DK2, I CAN see tachometer and able to see everything I'd like to see.

DK 2 also gave me an opportunity to see what it look like and gave me more serious on buying CV1 or beyond.

There is hand tracking in development. But wide use for different game? I dunno. It's called Leap Motion - it was mentioned in iRacing forum - https://www.leapmotion.com/product/vr and other called STEM system - http://sixense.com/wireless

It's just a start. I'm sure it would be big improvement in the future.

fumanstan

Shipping first quarter 2016.

https://www.oculus.com/blog/first-lo...pping-q1-2016/

RichC2

About fucking time.

edstein

I just don't see these devices being much different than Kinect/Move type devices. They always sound great on paper, and the tech demos look cool, but the overall gaming experince usually falls flat.

fumanstan

Recommended specs - https://www.oculus.com/blog/the-rift...vr-jam-voting/

For the full Rift experience, we recommend the following system:

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

Nausicaa

Interesting the resolution isn't much better than DK2. I guess that's just a necessary compromise at this point in time given component costs and the hardware capabilities of modern computers. I hope Oculus has developed some tricks to deal with potential issues like screen door effect, in game text, and objects at distance.

Great to have a release date finally, though. I'm very excited for the future of this product even though I don't think it will become popular for a while yet.

spainlinx0

Haven't kept up as much I used to. About how much is a Rift and a PC that can handle it going to run me?

Jay G.

This guy built a PC rig based on the DK2 specs for about $900. Here's his recommended parts for building a PC based on the consumer specs:
http://www.octopusrift.com/building-the-rift-pc/

The DK2 is $350.00 . Back in Sept, the price of the consumer version was quoted as "between $200 and $400."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/26029...interface.html

So maybe $1100-$1300 if buying both an Oculus Rift and new PC rig.

fumanstan

Kind of random, but I tried the Rift today at E3. Not at their booth, but at one of the other vendors trying to sell additional peripherals. In this case, it was a small "ring" type controller that lets you control movement with just a tiny device that goes around your finger.

Anyway, it was just a really basic tech demo but as far as the VR goes, I was somewhat impressed. Didn't have any issues feeling nauseous or focusing at all (i'm someone that hates 3D movies, wasn't sure if it would translate here). It worked pretty darn well for what it's trying to do, and it really made me feel like I was in that digital environment looking and shooting at things in first person. That said, I can't really say that I would enjoy playing a lot of games like that. And it felt a bit awkward looking left and right knowing you're moving around in real life with this big set of glasses on your head and in the case of the peripheral, trying to move around and turn with your hands.

They had a few vendors with those full on motion rigs that let you actually move and run around. That just looked even more odd to see.

RichC2

Yup, the rift looks odd as shit, but with the right content you wind up not caring so much. For a little while at least.

Drexl

I think that racing and flight sims are the genres that will really shine with this, because in those you're always seated anyway - unlike a FPS in which you're supposed to be running around, in those games your body isn't moving on its own; you're controlling a vehicle that is moving you around.

flashburn

Space Sims. The resurgence of that genre and VR starting to mature is going to be very, very awesome. Elite: Dangerous + Oculus Rift was amazing when I tried it. I just hated the shit resolution of the DK2 though.

RichC2

I like FPS in the Rift, it's just super cool being able to look around in an epic virtual world like that.

But you also do feel like you're living it in a super advanced wheel chair.

fumanstan

Racing and flight sims are probably good examples of genres that would work well. I'm not sure those genres would be enough to carry VR technology as a whole though. For FPS games, I can see it working on a slower paced story focused game. I don't know, overall i'm still skeptical that this will be anything more then a short term fad.

spainlinx0

I can't imagine this being a fad. I don't think it's going to explode overnight, but it will just become more and more commonplace as the technology continues to mature and improve. I do not think it's going away.

RichC2

In it's current state it'll be limited. I think it's a good starting point though.

fumanstan

I don't know, I feel like it has to take a massive leap in form and functionality for it to be commonplace, at least for me. The way it is now, I have almost zero interest in spending a few hundred additional dollars on a big device to wear on my head and wouldn't use regularly. It may not go away, but just be around as an option the way 3D is. Big at first, and now it's just kind of there with the occasional property that takes advantage of it well.

flashburn

The biggest hurdle VR has going against it is that a lot of people will have to push through motion sickness/dizziness issues and have their bodies adjust to the sensation before they can game on it for anything other than a few minutes at a time. I can see many people just writing it off right after trying it if they don't like the sensation. It's also easy to feel fatigued after using it for a short period of time.

Hopefully with increased FOV, resolution, and refresh rates those issues become less of a problem for people as things progress.

I really don't know if it's going to be the next big thing, but there are definitely many companies banking on it. I personally hope it is, because I really enjoyed my initial experiences with it.

fumanstan

Not sure if this is the best shot to use for a cover...

fumanstan

Pre-Order January 6th.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/1/4/1070...pre-order-date

chrisih8u

$600 shipping in March

Pass for now.