Anybody considering picking up an Oculus Rift..?

[pmprog]

Interesting... I assume the two eyes will still be treated as a single display device, rather than two seperate "screens", otherwise I'm sure it'd break most of the existing software

 

[Asmo]

Interesting... I assume the two eyes will still be treated as a single display device, rather than two seperate "screens", otherwise I'm sure it'd break most of the existing software

I would imagine so, the big benefit being the huge increase in density and the physical separation allowing better use of each screen's area. The DK2 has a slightly lower FOV than DK1 because it's screen is smaller - separate screens means they can be centered for each eye giving maximum coverage.

Mind you, DK2 broke the old DK1 stuff..!

It should make a huge difference at current resolution outputs.

 

[pmprog]

But didn't they say somewhere the DK2 was going to be compatible with the retail edition? I'm sure they said this, after they changed the DK1 and the devs where all "What am I supposed to do with this now?"

 

[WizardStan]

But didn't they say somewhere the DK2 was going to be compatible with the retail edition?

They did, I just can't find that exact phrasing.Implied from their FAQ, anything written even for the original dev kit will be compatible with the retail edition, citing "With SDK 0.3.2, the Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 will run in a limited “compatibility mode” and certain Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 features, including positional tracking, will not be available".

So basically, any additional features will just be "turned off" if you're writing specifically for the DK1 or DK2.

I'm still looking for the exact quote that said stuff built for DK2 will definitely work on the CV.

 

[Asmo]

The official, less forthcoming announcement is here:

https://www.oculus.com/blog/first-look-at-the-rift-shipping-q1-2016/

along with pictures of the CV1, or at least renders of what it'll look like. I can (just about) see that the lenses in it are much wider than the existing ones. Maximum FOV ahoy.

Note the snorkel-like thing on top - (one of) the rumoured hand sensors? Could just be how the overhead strap looks in the renders.. though there are also new side panels visible, with forward facing surfaces at the front and what I bet are headphones on the back.

They promise a dribble of specs to come:

In the weeks ahead, we’ll be revealing the details around hardware, software, input, and many of our unannounced made-for-VR games and experiences coming to the Rift. Next week, we’ll share more of the technical specifications here on the Oculus blog.

 

[Asmo]

A couple of new announcements on their blog, detailing the system specs you should be aiming for if you want to start saving now...

https://www.oculus.com/blog/powering-the-rift/

https://www.oculus.com/blog/the-rifts-recommended-spec-pc-sdk-0-6-released-and-mobile-vr-jam-voting/

Given the challenges around VR graphics performance, the Rift will have a recommended specification to ensure that developers can optimize for a known hardware configuration, which ensures a better player experience of comfortable sustained presence. The recommended PC specification is an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD 290, Intel i5-4590, and 8GB RAM. This configuration will be held for the lifetime of the Rift and should drop in price over time.

Note, this is not what's "needed" for a rift, rather this is the spec at which the ideal experience with one will be targeted, throughout it's shelf life.

Apart from the recommended spec, the Rift will require:

Windows 7 SP1 or newer

2x USB 3.0 ports

HDMI 1.3 video output supporting a 297MHz clock via a direct output architecture

Our development for OS X and Linux has been paused in order to focus on delivering a high quality consumer-level VR experience at launch across hardware, software, and content on Windows. We want to get back to development for OS X and Linux but we don’t have a timeline.

Elsewhere, there is talk of 4k Blu Ray support on PS4, which would make a PS4 with a Morpheus headset the first 'Blu-Ray Player' capable of playing (hypothetical) Spherical 4k BR content. I imagine one or two standalone players might eventually appear, with VR headset support purely for watching 3D/360 content.

 

[fusion_power]

Heavy. And they really need 90Hz? No tricks possible to have a fluid feeling with 60Hz? Same with the resolution, no tricks possible to lower the requirements? Like High Res screen but lower res ingame resolution (where Anti Aliasing etc. can hide some things)? The High Res screen is AFAIK only needed to reduce the visibility of the actual screen pixel matrix "grid".

 

[Asmo]

All the indie stuff, remakes and emulators will get away with less, the AAA titles will probably be in a kind of Arms Race to squeeze the most out at the upper limits specified.

It'll be interesting to see if this announcement has an effect on high end GPU prices as the shipping date draws nearer.

 

[WizardStan]

I'm exceedingly disappointed that Mac and Linux support has taken a back seat.

Like, I understand the difficulties of testing across multiple platforms, but if you're doing multiplatform "right" then even if you can only guarantee one platform works you should still be able to provide a "this is pretty close to working and may need some system specific tweaks", which, in the closed source world would be a problem but the Rift library is open source, let the open source devs finish what is needed, providing there's a solid base.

 

[pmprog]

I found this amusing:

"Oculus only distributes developer content that meets its terms of service, which forbids pornographic content from being a part of the Oculus Store," a spokesman told Business Insider.

Business Insider then asked, whether in Oculus' efforts to produce a family-friendly headbucket, it would also be banning violent content too.

"Oculus only distributes developer content that meets their terms of service, but it isn't open to discuss what those terms are at this time," came the exceedingly American reply.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/15/unlucky_palmer_facebook_now_going_to_ban_sexy_oculus_apps/

 

[Nintendo]

Is the final version at e3?

 

[Asmo]

Is the final version at e3?

Their most recent prototype is fundamentally the same spec as the consumer version, so they should have something on show that gives an impression of the CV1's performance. They're also supposed to be showing their controller device.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xx6sO0Lwmr8?feature=oembed

 

[vcoleiro1]

MR Lucky has a message to Oculus Rift doubters

 

[Nintendo]

Facebook still sucks

 

[ElPoco]

We're starting to have quite many VR headsets coming our way. I hope they'll all be interoperable, but for some reason I doubt it...

 

[Klumpen]

We're starting to have quite many VR headsets coming our way. I hope they'll all be interoperable, but for some reason I doubt it...

Better wait till time has sorted this out. I may get back to it when it's clear which model (including the controllers) is most comfortable long term and has the best Linux and games compatibility.

 

[ElPoco]

@Klumpen: I totally agree with this, it will also leave time to lower the price of the PC that will be required to get it running smoothly.

 

[Nintendo]

Is the final version at e3?

Their most recent prototype is fundamentally the same spec as the consumer version, so they should have something on show that gives an impression of the CV1's performance. They're also supposed to be showing their controller device.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx6sO0Lwmr8http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/11/oculus-touch/Microsoft are going all-out to embrace VR suddenly, first Oculus now Valve -http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-announces-valve-vr-partnership-at-e3-201/1100-6428128/

Tsunoda's announcement of a Valve partnership closely follows the Windows 10 deal with Oculus VR. Retail models of Oculus Rift will ship with an Xbox One controller, with the software fully supported on Windows 10.

Microsoft are really doing good things this generation.

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Microsoft always sucked and always will.

 

[DaMummy]

Fuck timed exclusives with a rusty nail, and fuck microsoft for making me wait to play the next Tomb Raider