Official Thread VR Headset

Lucid Rifter

VR Master Race
Cornerstone Member
Sep 11, 2013
1,508
583
11,470
Here I would like for us to discuss an emerging piece of technology in the gaming world. The Oculus Rift.

"The Oculus Rift is an upcoming high field of view (FOV), low-latency, consumer-priced virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD)."

As technology advances, we are starting to see practical solutions for a true virtual reality experience. Dev kits for this device cost $300. So, what do you guys think of such a device? What games would be best? What sort of inherit drawbacks do you see?

This could apply to all gaming platforms. Right now it is only being used on PCs, but let's try to just keep this as a general gaming discussion and not a flame war. That is for theother thread.

Here are a couple videos for people's reactions and impressions as well as some informational/background content. I think this could very well revolutionize the way we play videogames and beyond (virtual business meetings/conferences/pr0n?).



 
  • Like
Reactions: Two Pennys Worth
I want this if only for racing games, I'm just imagining racing round a track at high speeds, or cruising along a high way in an open world game with the roof down. VR is seriously going to be a game changer for that genre.
 
SixSense Wireless Stem system starts on kickstarter today!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...he-best-way-to-interact-with-virtual?ref=live

The STEM System™ is a wireless, modular motion tracking platform for video games, virtual reality (VR), and more. It enables players to interact naturally and intuitively with games by tracking full position and orientation at all times, whether at the desktop or throughout the entire living room.

1151039_715503341798276_820608357_n.jpg


VIDEO:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ay-to-interact-with-virtual/widget/video.html
 
Last edited:
Yeah this has a lot of potential to make a big impact on the industry. I'd love to test one out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lucid Rifter
A buddy of mine lectures in game development and has one of these. There is a tech demo where you are the victim of a guillotine execution. It's very creepy.
 
Reading more into it, it sounds like the're going to have 4k "soon", not necessarily the first iteration. Not sure any current rig could run a 4k game in stereoscopic 3D anyway. I'm hoping for a quality 1440p screen with a very wide FOV at least. That would be very doable with a good rig.

The good news is, is that it looks like they now have positional tracking on the rift itself. So you can lean in all directions rather than just tracking the swivel as it currently does. A lot of motion sickness came from people leaning or moving around without any visual indicator. Sounds like that's fixed on their internal build and that's excellent news.
 
Just PC right now. Dev kits are out in the wild and there are a lot of indie titles being created for it. There is no announced support from console manufacturers yet but that is solely on MS/Sony as the Rift only needs USB/HDMI (or DVI) to function. As we get closer to the commercial launch sometime in 2014, we should start hearing more concrete news on any potential console support.

I think that Sony/MS want to see how the reception of the Rift is and how the launch pans out for PC first before adding support to their closed systems. Sony is rumored to be creating a VR solution for the PS4. Whether that is Rift support or their own proprietary hardware, we won't know until after the consoles launch sometime in 2014. Kind of a waiting game until then.
 
As a side note, there are already 1440p screens (LG I believe) that are ~7". So it's hard to believe anything < 1440p is going to be in the Rift.
 
Oculus CTO John Carmack gives us a little update.



I haven't been keeping up with Oculus stuff much, because I didn't even realize Carmack was so heavily involved in it.

He sounds really excited and enthusiastic. "I feel more like myself than I have in a long time." Very nice. :txbsmile:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lucid Rifter
I guess investors are liking how the rift is evolving...

Oculus Rift raises 75 Million!

From a new investor:
"“I think I’ve seen five or six computer demos in my life that made me think the world was about to change,” he tells WIRED. “Apple II, Netscape, Google, iPhone… then Oculus. It was that kind of amazing.”


http://www.wired.com/business/2013/12/oculus-vr-funding/
 
I really can't wait for the consumer version. I can't think of a single person who's said they did not enjoy the experience. Hopefully it comes out by the end of 2014.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lucid Rifter
I wonder what framerate the low persistence needs to be running at. My guess is 120 fps. That's one of my main concerns. I plan on getting a top of the line Maxwell to go with the rift, but will that even be enough? SLI it just to make sure? lol We'll see...