Anybody considering picking up an Oculus Rift..?

[Asmo]

This looks quite nice:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/805968217/antvr-kit-all-in-one-universal-virtual-reality-kit

Looks interesting. Says with the flat screens you should be able to watch standard side-by-side 3D content, which is pretty interesting.

It's the same setup as the other current headsets, a single 1080p display shared between both eyes - the only difference (optically) seems to be they say their lenses remove the need for pre-distorting the image. You can watch standard SBS 3D on all the current headsets too, either natively (e.g. Morpheus prototype) or with VR Player or VR cinema on the others.

There is some scepticism about the AntVr's claims -

http://www.roadtovr.com/antvr-universal-vr-kickstarter-proves-controversial-like-know/

https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8525&p=116238#p116319

He's building a 'retro room' with functional 8 and 16 bit games consoles & a PC or two - with floppies and dial-up modem ( emulated legendary BBSes planned!).

Is this going to be "a thing"? Because IMO, it just seems a little silly.

It's a thing! It's been done for individual systems already (see previous posts) but he's going for a complete retro room - including old gaming magazines you can flip through, shelves of cartridges and diskettes you can 'use', and more.
When Mame can be run this way.....! Especially with a virtual pinball room, that would be quite a sight.


It would be great to have, for example, emulation of the bar in which the first Pong cabinet was installed, or the computer lab with the PDP-1 running Spacewar, Twin Galaxies in it's heyday, all sorts of possibilities!

 

[thatgui]

He's building a 'retro room' with functional 8 and 16 bit games consoles & a PC or two - with floppies and dial-up modem ( emulated legendary BBSes planned!).

Is this going to be "a thing"? Because IMO, it just seems a little silly.

It's a thing! It's been done for individual systems already (see previous posts) but he's going for a complete retro room - including old gaming magazines you can flip through, shelves of cartridges and diskettes you can 'use', and more.When Mame can be run this way.....! Especially with a virtual pinball room, that would be quite a sight.

It woud be great to have, for example, emulation of the bar in which the first Pong cabinet was installed, or the computer lab with the PDP-1 running Spacewar, Twin Galaxies in it's heyday, all sorts of possibilities!

I still don't get it, its still not real. You won't be "flipping through the pages" you still will be using some kind of a control device to actually flip the pages - the only difference is in the visual impression. But human memory isn't exclusivly visual, the other sensoric input (taste, smell, feel, hear) is important too. So while this may be nice, I have doubts that it will really "feel" much different to just look at retro magazine in a viewer or play a game in an emulator.

 

[WizardStan]

There is some scepticism about the AntVr's claims

Marketing problems aside, I genuinely hope they succeed. More diverse competition is exactly what is needed.

 

[WizardStan]

its still not real

Of course not, it's virtual.

So while this may be nice, I have doubts that it will really "feel" much different to just look at retro magazine in a viewer or play a game in an emulator

And? Would you tell them not to bother because it can't be perfect? I don't think you would, so let the kids have their toys. Wanting better toys is exactly how progress happens, so in order to get the perfect smells and textures you need to start with something imperfect and work up.

 

[thatgui]

its still not real

Of course not, it's virtual.

So while this may be nice, I have doubts that it will really "feel" much different to just look at retro magazine in a viewer or play a game in an emulator

And? Would you tell them not to bother because it can't be perfect? I don't think you would, so let the kids have their toys. Wanting better toys is exactly how progress happens, so in order to get the perfect smells and textures you need to start with something imperfect and work up.

aww, I just wanted to nag a little, and you just bust in with your fancy pants logic and reason n'stuff

 

[WizardStan]

Yeah, I'm in a grump, sorry.

 

[pmprog]

Especially with a virtual pinball room, that would be quite a sight.

Pinball I get, the components of a pinball machine are 3 dimensional by nature, but I can't really see the point of emulating a TV. Sounds like an Xzibit Meme

 

[Asmo]

Emulating a classic TV's 'look' is already a goal in many emulators - scanlines, curvature etc. The old systems never looked the way they do now, got to have some of that dot crawl, RF noise and bowed CRT shadowmask for the full experience. Why not go the extra yard and have it all wrapped up in a 14 inch portable or a 21 inch with fake wood panelling! The hardware is 3D..


You could have your own mid-80s Radio shack where you won't get booted out for playing with all the merchandise.


I wonder how long before there's a VR game & watch 'museum'..

 

[FaeMinx]

Paired with a pair of really accurate gloves... I would love to get all my old lego sets back... what was I thinking giving them all away!

=~. O =

 

[Asmo]

Yes, fulfill a childhood dream - build your Lego house, and then shrink yourself down to lego-man size and go explore it!

 

[erico]

There is some scepticism about the AntVr's claims

Marketing problems aside, I genuinely hope they succeed. More diverse competition is exactly what is needed.

Exactly my thoughts.

I´m not into VR at all, had my share in 1993/4, but if I was, I would easily support this instead on oculus rift. After the KS of course, don´t like KS either.

 

[thatgui]

Emulating a classic TV's 'look' is already a goal in many emulators - scanlines, curvature etc. The old systems never looked the way they do now, got to have some of that dot crawl, RF noise and bowed CRT shadowmask for the full experience. Why not go the extra yard and have it all wrapped up in a 14 inch portable or a 21 inch with fake wood panelling! The hardware is 3D..

You could have your own mid-80s Radio shack where you won't get booted out for playing with all the merchandise.

I wonder how long before there's a VR game & watch 'museum'..

Thats something I don't get in general (beeing it gaming or just video), if the game/movie is interesting and able to "suck me in", the presentation is somewhat irrelevant to me. Beeing it on my tv-set in my kids room, that small b/w telly in my parents mobile home or on the Pandora: if I fire up Probotector (=Contra) I just don't care how big the screen is, or if there are black bars on the sides or even if it is presented in color - I'm into the game and everything else isn't a priority anymore.

Yes, fulfill a childhood dream - build your Lego house, and then shrink yourself down to lego-man size and go explore it!

That sounds cool

 

[Asmo]

Samsung enters the race -


http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/22/samsung-vr-headset/


To be unveiled this year (E3?) - said to be for a new series of Galaxy phone and tablets.

 

[rygD]

Samsung enters the race -

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/22/samsung-vr-headset/


To be unveiled this year (E3?) - said to be for a new series of Galaxy phone and tablets.

In case they aren't already enough of a distraction, we will just fully remove your visual awareness of the outside world.  It is amusing to watch people staring at their mobile devices while in public (but not while driving...had a guy behind the wheel doing something on his fone and almost push my car into another car).

 

[Asmo]

Only just saw this -

http://www.businessinsider.com/oculus-riftdate-for-sale-to-consumers-2014-4

More tantalizing still is what Oculus is hiding inside a secret room within its Irvine headquarters near Los Angeles. We first heard about this from Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon, an investor in Oculus VR, who says that the version of Oculus Rift inside the "special room" is more powerful and impressive than even the existing Crystal Cove and DK2 versions that outsiders have been allowed to play with.


"Crystal Cove is 50% of what they are running in LA," he says. Oculus Rift Crystal Cove is impressive, but it's still obvious that you're inside an animated game environment. It doesn't yet closely approximate reality. However, "what they have in LA does," Dixon tells us. "You go into a room. It's a special room. Fancier headset. ... In user testing it gets to a level of realism where almost all people feel that it's realistic." He gestured to the San Francisco street where we were drinking coffee. "Imagine everything you can see now, but it's a little bit pixelated. Eventually that [pixelation] will go away."

He believes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought the company after being ushered into the room. (He obviously tried the other versions as well.)


The Oculus rep wasn't quite as hyperbolic when asked about the "mythic" room. But he did tell us that the demo version inside the Valve room does feature a photorealistic experience that is so real even people who are very sensitive to motion sickness don't "feel" it.


The test unit has an entire room to itself because it requires a massive amount of processing power to run. It's a headset tethered to a giant server, basically. Oculus expects, eventually, to be able to crunch that down into units that can be sold commercially.

Heh, maybe Zuckerberg never left 'the room'


VR Gloves look set to ride the comeback wave too -

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LPszKhewSec?feature=oembed

 

[FaeMinx]

Yay for gloves! ^· ^

=~. O =

 

[Klumpen]

Yay for gloves! ^· ^


=~. O =

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AacoxHFYvZw?feature=oembed

 

[Yoyobuae]

Heh, maybe Zuckerberg never left 'the room'

Yep, Zuckerbergs mind is probably still trapped inside the virtual realm (without him realizing it) and his body has become a drone controlled by the OR people.

 

[FaeMinx]

Yay for gloves! ^· ^


=~. O =

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AacoxHFYvZw?feature=oembed

It's so bad! X3


=~. O =

 

[Asmo]

Back to the future hoverboard set to become (virtual) reality -


http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-kinect-wii-balance-board-combined-to-simulate-hoverboard/1100-6419868/