Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 announced, up for preorder (based on Crystal Cove)
- Thread starter DieH@rd
- Start date
stufte
Member
There are plenty of worse companies out there, and I'd wager a bet that you own things from those companies too. Everyone is entirely too emotional about this and are making sweeping claims about what might or might not happen.
People need to chill the fuck out until we have more information.
brain_stew
Member
The only practical short term change is that CV1 will likely now be delivered faster, at higher spec, with a lower cost and in higher volume. Beyond that, who knows, but if CV1 has a successful launch (and this deal has only strengthened the chances of that) then the VR genie is out of the bottle and whether it is Facebook, Sony or even Valve, VR is going to be a staple of gaming for years to come.
Alright so after letting my emotions settle
and having a bit of a think about the whole situation, I've come to the conclusion that I think this is going to be a good thing for us (the 'core' gamers) for a few reasons.
Facebook are clearly playing the long game here, there is no way they can get their $2b investment back in the first few generations of hardware, and they've already stated they aren't in it to make profit off the hardware, so the safe assumption is they want to eventually make money off ads.
If they're going to make their money back off ads they NEED VR to get as big as possible and that's only going to happen if the product is both a good experience and the price is right (even if this means selling hardware at no profit or at a loss, like consoles have done in the past).
At this point we all have a pretty good idea of the basic specs needed for 'presence' and a good VR experience, low latency low persistence ~95hz with a good resolution and wide FOV.
There is no way around those specs, they need them for whatever VR social networking crap they're planning the same as we need them for our gaming.
In the short term this can only lead to a better product for us, the extra money Oculus has for staff and R&D will be hugely beneficial, not to mention the extra swing this kind of money will give them with hardware suppliers like Samsung, this could lead to custom panels or cheaper per unit prices, heck, $2b could possibly lead to Oculus manufacturing their own panels.
VR is going to get bigger, faster because of this acquisition, and that's better for all us.
And even if in a few years time Oculus Rifts become some kind of soulless Facebook branded product that stops pushing the boundaries of the technology like us gamers want, VR will be big enough that there will be competitors waiting to sell us more niche, gamer focused products.
(fuck Facebook)
Facebook are clearly playing the long game here, there is no way they can get their $2b investment back in the first few generations of hardware, and they've already stated they aren't in it to make profit off the hardware, so the safe assumption is they want to eventually make money off ads.
If they're going to make their money back off ads they NEED VR to get as big as possible and that's only going to happen if the product is both a good experience and the price is right (even if this means selling hardware at no profit or at a loss, like consoles have done in the past).
At this point we all have a pretty good idea of the basic specs needed for 'presence' and a good VR experience, low latency low persistence ~95hz with a good resolution and wide FOV.
There is no way around those specs, they need them for whatever VR social networking crap they're planning the same as we need them for our gaming.
In the short term this can only lead to a better product for us, the extra money Oculus has for staff and R&D will be hugely beneficial, not to mention the extra swing this kind of money will give them with hardware suppliers like Samsung, this could lead to custom panels or cheaper per unit prices, heck, $2b could possibly lead to Oculus manufacturing their own panels.
VR is going to get bigger, faster because of this acquisition, and that's better for all us.
And even if in a few years time Oculus Rifts become some kind of soulless Facebook branded product that stops pushing the boundaries of the technology like us gamers want, VR will be big enough that there will be competitors waiting to sell us more niche, gamer focused products.
So you'd rather give your money to a knock-off cashing in on Oculus's work and success instead of giving it to the people who actually revived this whole scene and did all the real work? You sure have high standards.
Well the people who did the "real work" already have a couple of billion facebook-dollars to dry their tears with.
Sandy Nipples
Banned
That guy does realize they PAID for the Rift right, there are actual people on the receiving end of the $2Bill? It's not like there was a truck pulling up with Facebook Foot clan soldiers raiding the Rift offices and stealing everything?
Some folks are set for the next few centuries because of this deal.
Please be joking. This is the kind of bullshit people were seriously posting on Reddit but I think GAF is better than this.
metareferential
Member
Go ahead guys, cancel your pre-orders so that we get ours earlier xD
Haha yeah. Looking forward to play HL2 with my DK2, with or without a FB logo on it.
Huw_Dawson
Member
People need to grow up, this means nothing but good stuff for the OR and VR in general.
EDIT:
I'm serious about it.
I ordered kinda late maybe I can get bumped up if everyone overreacts. lol
blastprocessor
The Amiga Brotherhood
I still want the kit to play around - will finally get me into coding DX11.
Would not be surprised if they cancel the pre-orders and bring forward the consumer version; who knows?
completely agreed... the Oculus having the support of such a large and powerful company like Facebook well I think has more positive than negatives at this current stage....
I don't understand why it's wrong to at least reconsider your $350 investment after yesterdays news.
Oculus Rift is going to change. Period. It's naïve to believe that their laser-focused drive, to create a very high-end peripheral dedicated to gaming, will remain the same with a giant like Facebook behind the wheel.
Sure, the transition won't be immediate and I don't doubt that the DK2 will be everything they promised. But as of right now, Facebook is going to be setting the targets and deciding the future roadmap of the device.
And I think everyone here knows that Facebook's end-game isn't to create a dedicated gaming peripheral. It just so happens that a lot of the people interested in OR wanted just that.
If you're fine with just getting a DK2 for what it is, then this news should not concern you at all. You'll probably get enough mileage out of the thing and support won't just vanish.
But realize that in the grand scheme of things, gaming is just going to be a stepping stone for the Oculus Rift, they are aiming to introduce VR in a much broader sense to try and pull in the connected mass-market audience.
Isolated and extremely immersive gaming experiences don't really align with that goal, even though we all want it to.
Oculus Rift is going to change. Period. It's naïve to believe that their laser-focused drive, to create a very high-end peripheral dedicated to gaming, will remain the same with a giant like Facebook behind the wheel.
Sure, the transition won't be immediate and I don't doubt that the DK2 will be everything they promised. But as of right now, Facebook is going to be setting the targets and deciding the future roadmap of the device.
And I think everyone here knows that Facebook's end-game isn't to create a dedicated gaming peripheral. It just so happens that a lot of the people interested in OR wanted just that.
If you're fine with just getting a DK2 for what it is, then this news should not concern you at all. You'll probably get enough mileage out of the thing and support won't just vanish.
But realize that in the grand scheme of things, gaming is just going to be a stepping stone for the Oculus Rift, they are aiming to introduce VR in a much broader sense to try and pull in the connected mass-market audience.
Isolated and extremely immersive gaming experiences don't really align with that goal, even though we all want it to.
Well... VR is a technology that will always be deeply interconnected with gaming - if only because the requirements for VR are the same requirements for gaming... except more so.
Including graphics processing, advanced and intuitive input tech and game engines.
It's not wrong, but I really don't see many good reasons to do so. Unless you ordered DK2 to support a philosophy - but I don't think that's a common case.
This was always clearly going to be the case if VR took off in a big way whether FB bought Oculus or not. I see no reason why that means VR gaming would be abandoned, in fact it would make absolutely no sense to do that.
This. And thanks.
I think most of people that are really upset about this news, it's just because in their brain, Facebook is connect to casual, casual is connected to shit games, shit games connected to poor graphics and, I don't know why, poor graphics connected to poor hardware.
But everyone needs to remember that even if Facebook push Occulus to work with their Candy Crush 3D with a graphics quality of the N64, it will be the exact same constraint that if they push the next Crysis.
So compare the buy of Occulus by Facebook with "oh no no more hardcore gaming with Occulus, welcome Candy Crush" is more or less pretty stupid.
You're absolutely right. I just had a feeling that a large part of the hardcore PC gaming crowd latched on to Oculus so tightly because it perfectly aligned with what they want.
High-end hardware dedicated for the absolute best gaming experience possible.
A company with passionate and gaming-centered individuals who stop at nothing to achieve the best possible product and bring the gaming medium forward in a big way.
I mean, John fucking Carmack is on the team. A legend that lives and breathes PC gaming.
I imagine a lot of the people hopping aboard were partially doing so because they were interested in the device's future and the promises made. Particularly the implications it held for future gaming.
Now we slowly realize that gaming isn't the number one goal anymore, it's obviously disappointing to hear.
I'm sure great games will come out for it, but at some point funding is going to be redirected not at graphics, immersion, sound or gameplay, but towards interconnectivity, social interactions, general media consumption and mass-market appeal.
Please.
I hope the money from facebook will boost the production line so I can get my hands on dk2 earlier.
I would enjoy getting my DK2 early as well.
If anything, I would say this is potentially going to delay the DK2 timescales, the company will now have lots of integration/side activities on top of their normal working daily responsibilities, at least for a while I would imagine.
You mean like they always wanted to do eventually?
On the surface - this facebook deal doesn't seem like it'll necessarily obviate their drive and passion to bring the best VR to as many people as possible.
Indeed, the obviousness of having access to significantly more resources then they previously had seems that it'll actually accelerate the process more than not.
It is simply our distrust or paranoia of large corporations beholden to their shareholders that gives us... not just pause, but in this case pure unrelenting white hot rage.
Which is a rather petulant, immature and emotional response to the situation - but understandable, because as you put it; Oculus were kind of like a dream story - something the hardcore gaming community raised up, championed - then turning suddenly to the 'dark side'.
As for Oculus and its mission focus on great VR; I don't think that's going to go away. The enthusaist crowd are if anything, more forgiving about flawed technology - evidenced by their willingness to adopt things early and for a high price. It's just that the casual crowd won't even look in this direction until there's a big enough buzz about it - and that kind of buzz only happens when the technology and the ecosystem that surrounds it is compelling enough to generate a solid community of people which is what truly attracts the casual set.
Once you get VR to a mass consumer level... then you can really start to see rapid iterative breakthrough developments in the tech.
Brilliant idea, that will definitely encourage Facebook to leave the Rift running independently as its own thing.
Hindsight is a funny thing. I bet their kickstarter pitch didn't feature the fact that they were aiming for media, QOL and social experiences with gaming as a side project.
If they did actually do that, I must have missed it.
Please do not try to think again.
Dombrowski
is responsible for the well-being of this island.
Any chance of this being on Amazon?
call_kotaku
Member
They've been saying that for the last year or so, as far as I can recall.
But I mean, people use computers for everything too, and that doesn't instantly negate gaming PCs. If there's a demand for higher fidelity VR gaming then someone will deliver it.
May not have been but they have made it VERY clear recently that they want it to be for that too.
disastermouse
Banned
Facebook. Oculus are not their own people anymore. We should run a 'deadpool' on how long Luckey will still be involved in FaceRift.
I doubt him and Carmack are going anywhere for awhile. First to go will probably be John but I don't think it will be because of FB and I don't think it will be a bitter departure either.
It's Facebook. They planned to invade our privacy and stuff. There is also the possibility of ads and stuff. And there is a lot of other stuff.
It's Facebook guys. Don't you know what you are getting yourself into?
That's a lot of stuff
I'm sure there is a lot of stuff judging by the negative reaction.
What a fucking tragedy.
This isn't from an official page fyi
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Like... Microsoft, apple, google.. Even GAF throws ads at you. You really think there is a technology company nowadays that dont share information about its users?
oh wow
But lets just focus on the big baaaadddd Facebook, they ran over a lot of dogs over one day it seems.
DouglasteR
Member
I cant believe that Palmer signed a contract that didnt gave him powers to hold Oculus together.
Its both Oculus and Facebook interest in this.
The tech is still developing and i dont believe that Carmack would stay in this if he didnt like it. (although he signed his contract these days and can be "locked" contractually to stay there at least for a while).
The main problem is:
Short term = Will this affect Oculus and his vision of VR ?
Palmer PR answer = NO, this "investment" will help us fund VR to the stars.
Mid term = Will the push for better hardware and software continue ? Will games be the mainstream choice ?
Facebook PR answer = Absolutely ! VR farm and VR Candy will be launched later this year.
Long term = Will these AD´s be removable ? They´re in front of my hud.
Facebook QA VR Advisor = Only if you "like it" 250000x.
But seriously, i really hope that Palmer can hold Oculus together. I REALLY HOPE YOU DID A NICE DEAL PALMER. YOU HAVE ONE MISSION.
Its both Oculus and Facebook interest in this.
The tech is still developing and i dont believe that Carmack would stay in this if he didnt like it. (although he signed his contract these days and can be "locked" contractually to stay there at least for a while).
The main problem is:
Short term = Will this affect Oculus and his vision of VR ?
Palmer PR answer = NO, this "investment" will help us fund VR to the stars.
Mid term = Will the push for better hardware and software continue ? Will games be the mainstream choice ?
Facebook PR answer = Absolutely ! VR farm and VR Candy will be launched later this year.
Long term = Will these AD´s be removable ? They´re in front of my hud.
Facebook QA VR Advisor = Only if you "like it" 250000x.
But seriously, i really hope that Palmer can hold Oculus together. I REALLY HOPE YOU DID A NICE DEAL PALMER. YOU HAVE ONE MISSION.
Please understand. There is a lot of stuff. It's Facebook. Privacy. Ads. Stuff. NSA. Things.
And you don't want to know what I have been planning to do to evilore and his team of mods.
Theonik
Member
flyinpiranha
Member
I do. It's almost like Facebook asks for my information and I have a choice to give it to them. It's almost like if I didn't want an embarrassing picture of me posted I wouldn't put it up there. It's almost like if I didn't want people knowing I was eating at a restaurant I wouldn't post about it. (reading back, I think you might be sarcastic in your reply, but not sure)
"It's almost like" VS "stuff". The epic battle.
Seriously though, I've said this time and time again, FB is what the user makes of it, shitty friend posts and material? It's because YOU have shitty friends. All your photos published and shared? Don't upload them to FB!
Google does this, MS does this, there are a LOT of statistics being mined about us, even the start-up I work for is mining data with audit tables and history.
I think I'm done trying to talk sense to a majority of people overreacting (not saying you are). They just see FB as "evil" but it's a fucking choice, it's like saying wineries are evil because alcohol is known to cause health complications. Don't fucking drink it! Same with FB, you get out what you put in. I personally use it for a calendar of events, other friends use it for more ...
In the long run all this does is bring more visibility to VR. As I've mentioned before, millions of people just went "what is Oculus Rift?".
And regarding the "gaming focus". I think in almost every interview since inception Palmer has always mentioned about how this isn't just for gaming, they are fostering a gaming peripheral ... but it goes further than that. I mean one of the most impressive things shown is the "Tuscanny Demo" and that's not even a game!
Well I guess it would be nice ..
