Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 announced, up for preorder (based on Crystal Cove)

If you're running Windows be sure to have the Rift set up as an extended monitor and not a cloned/duplicate display (duplicate display adds a small amount of latency). I'd suggest making the Rift your primary monitor as some games only go full screen on monitor 1. It is more difficult to use when in extended mode as the Rift can't display the desktop in VR, so it can be hard to launch demo's, go through launchers, etc, but once you're in game you're fine.

Hope you enjoy the Rift! :D

This relates to a question I've wondered about but haven't found a clear answer.

I don't own a Rift, but for future reference I have a question about how Rift connects to Windows. Is it simply seen as a 2nd display and treated no differently, by Windows, than a monitor? I can view the screen like it is a personal theater? My personal preference will be to laze flat on a couch using a controller to play.

(Reason is my bad neck which is separate story)

More importantly, as a plug and play display, the head tracking is disabled I presume? Sometimes I will want no head tracking. I would like the Rift to really be a display. I would use a controller, recline and play totally relaxed using my eyes to observe the huge world in front of them. As I said, like an awesome personal theater.
 
The Rift is seen as a display, yeah, but the lenses mean the image will be split into two and distorted, making normal content unviewable. You'd need some software to transform whatever your source image is into something that makes sense for the Rift lens setup.

Does Steam's VR mode do this? Didn't Valve say they were planning on doing this? I don't quite remember. Edit: Sounds like Steam does this, it's in beta. Sounds pretty cool.

And the head tracking won't do anything if the software isn't written to make use of it.
 
The Rift is seen as a display, yeah, but the lenses mean the image will be split into two and distorted, making normal content unviewable. You'd need some software to transform whatever your source image is into something that makes sense for the Rift lens setup.

Does Steam's VR mode do this? Didn't Valve say they were planning on doing this? I don't quite remember. Edit: Sounds like Steam does this, it's in beta. Sounds pretty cool.

And the head tracking won't do anything if the software isn't written to make use of it.

I see. So apparently some software is needed. Hopefully down the road, native hardware image transform will be built into the headset. Just plug in any HDMI source and be able to switch between floating theater screen or surround VR screen view. That would be so convenient. Having more software between the source and the headset complicates things and probably affects response time a little.
 
Even a timewarped scene is pretty convincing as a 3D environment. I really don't notice any geometry stutter/inaccuracies by clicking it on-off-on-off because the camera keeps tracking smoothly.
It's going to do wonders for applications that dips a few frames under the desired framerate.
 
Man Oculus developer forums are full of users who attack anyone who dares to even critique the current product (DK2). A big example is the Intel Laptop problem.
 
Man Oculus developer forums are full of users who attack anyone who dares to even critique the current product (DK2). A big example is the Intel Laptop problem.

Just seen that thread now, I'll have a decent PC for Rift but was hoping to use my laptop to demo to others when out and about but if it's locked to 60hz and No low persistence it won't be a great demo I imagine.

Hopefully it's something that a workaround is found for
 
It's July, it's the long awaited DK2 release month and yet Oculus seems to have faded into the background. I don't know about you but if I were to be releasing a 40,000 pre-order device within the next week or so I'd be having a rather large web presence with posts in as many places as possible on what demos to download first to show it off etc.

But they aren't... it's a bit strange? Oculus can barely post a quick update on their own forums.

I have a bad feeling about this /hansolovoice
 
It's July, it's the long awaited DK2 release month and yet Oculus seems to have faded into the background. I don't know about you but if I were to be releasing a 40,000 pre-order device within the next week or so I'd be having a rather large web presence with posts in as many places as possible on what demos to download first to show it off etc.

But they aren't... it's a bit strange? Oculus can barely post a quick update on their own forums.

I have a bad feeling about this /hansolovoice


Why? It's a developer device, and with DK2 they've been pretty clear that they don't want consumers buying it. DK1 had Kickstarter hype. Now it's time to move past that.

You'll get your media blitz when the retail version is ready. Until then, it's a dev kit for devs, and devs are already watching the forums and know where to find things to play with.
 
It's July, it's the long awaited DK2 release month and yet Oculus seems to have faded into the background. I don't know about you but if I were to be releasing a 40,000 pre-order device within the next week or so I'd be having a rather large web presence with posts in as many places as possible on what demos to download first to show it off etc.

But they aren't... it's a bit strange? Oculus can barely post a quick update on their own forums.

I have a bad feeling about this /hansolovoice

Oculus is just totally weird. For all the hype they give about acquisitions and "best of the best" new hires, they have really horrible PR. It's just amazing how bad they are at sharing information with their customers (actual and potential).

There are 1-10 people dev teams that are better about communicating that this child of facebook startup.
 
Oculus is just totally weird. For all the hype they give about acquisitions and "best of the best" new hires, they have really horrible PR. It's just amazing how bad they are at sharing information with their customers (actual and potential).

There are 1-10 people dev teams that are better about communicating that this child of facebook startup.

Yup this tweet: https://twitter.com/oculus/statuses/481819734799708163

"Oculus is a company founded on integrity and transparency. We’re looking for more of the best and brightest to help build the future!"

And what happened a few days after regarding them being behind schedule really says a lot.
 
Why? It's a developer device, and with DK2 they've been pretty clear that they don't want consumers buying it. DK1 had Kickstarter hype. Now it's time to move past that.

You'll get your media blitz when the retail version is ready. Until then, it's a dev kit for devs, and devs are already watching the forums and know where to find things to play with.

Nah. It may say "dev kit" on some sticker slapped on the box but it isn't really a dev kit.

60,000 alleged devs purchased their last dev kit and 40,000 alleged devs have just pre-ordered their latest dev kit, yet the total output of demos and rift enabled software over the last year has been around the 500 or so mark, with most of them being from small team or one man homebrew type Unity demos.

If Oculus had limited the sale to only real software developers then their sales would be so low that it wouldn't have been worth their effort putting the DK2 together.
 
Nah. It may say "dev kit" on some sticker slapped on the box but it isn't really a dev kit.

60,000 alleged devs purchased their last dev kit and 40,000 alleged devs have just pre-ordered their latest dev kit, yet the total output of demos and rift enabled software over the last year has been around the 500 or so mark, with most of them being from small team or one man homebrew type Unity demos.

If Oculus had limited the sale to only real software developers then their sales would be so low that it wouldn't have been worth their effort putting the DK2 together.
Its a publically available dev kit. The point is certainly to get people working on VR content rather than sell a device for consumers, although I'm sure they're happy to take money from non devs for people excited about it(which helps spread hype as well, obviously).

They definitely would have had to have made the DK2 anyways. It has the full feature set of the consumer version(which the DK1 does not) and devs need that to know how to build VR experiences for it.
 
It's July, it's the long awaited DK2 release month and yet Oculus seems to have faded into the background. I don't know about you but if I were to be releasing a 40,000 pre-order device within the next week or so I'd be having a rather large web presence with posts in as many places as possible on what demos to download first to show it off etc.
Why? They are releasing a developer kit, and they can't currently even ship as many as people want.

Everyone who needs to know, does.

What exactly what they gain from what you suggest?
 
Its a publically available dev kit. The point is certainly to get people working on VR content rather than sell a device for consumers, although I'm sure they're happy to take money from non devs for people excited about it(which helps spread hype as well, obviously).

They definitely would have had to have made the DK2 anyways. It has the full feature set of the consumer version(which the DK1 does not) and devs need that to know how to build VR experiences for it.

Are we sure about this? I remember a rumor about CV1 having 2 camera's on the front that can be used in the future for hand tracking
 
Honest to God this will be how most of the general public will react to the Oculus Rift:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLCwpu1-SAw

...except 10 fold because this was with a DK1.

I've done demos at work with mine and at get togethers and more than the majority are as impressed as that guy is, if not more. Hell, I've reacted to a number of DK1 demos like that. Early hardware like the DK1 affects different people to different degrees of course, but some people already legitimately lose their shit instantly. And it's to the moon from here with CV1.

The video is perfect because he goes through all the textbook stages of reactions from a non or casual gamer:

1) Playfully mocking skepticism
2) "Oh wow"
3) Upon taking it off, immediately asks where and how you buy one

So just remember guys, it might be a painful wait for your DK2 and yes its a developer kit that is going to undoubtedly have its kinks, you will be getting your hands on some of the most crazy bleeding-edge tech that has ever been available to the general public.
 
Nah. It may say "dev kit" on some sticker slapped on the box but it isn't really a dev kit.

60,000 alleged devs purchased their last dev kit and 40,000 alleged devs have just pre-ordered their latest dev kit, yet the total output of demos and rift enabled software over the last year has been around the 500 or so mark, with most of them being from small team or one man homebrew type Unity demos.

If Oculus had limited the sale to only real software developers then their sales would be so low that it wouldn't have been worth their effort putting the DK2 together.

I don't really care who bought it. It's a dev kit. They've been more than clear about that fact. The reality is, folks want VR and they're buying DK1/2 with no intention to develop. That's fine, but that's also on them. It's a dev kit, and they get what they get.
 
I don't really care who bought it. It's a dev kit. They've been more than clear about that fact. The reality is, folks want VR and they're buying DK1/2 with no intention to develop. That's fine, but that's also on them. It's a dev kit, and they get what they get.

I have two purposes in mind. One is to develop, the other is to share. My first goal upon receiving my DK2 is to set up an event in my home and invite as many people as possible, and have them all try out a few existing demos. I think that all the non-devs purchasing these are those who understand that you have to try it to understand how absolutely incredible functioning VR is. There's a sense of pride in being one of the heralds of the virtual world. I think VR evangelism is a legitimate enough reason to purchase a devkit.

I agree that non-devs should just sit back and be patient. The shipments will arrive soon enough.
 
Are we sure about this? I remember a rumor about CV1 having 2 camera's on the front that can be used in the future for hand tracking
Well that's what they said when DK2 was released. But yes, I suppose its entirely possible that plans have changed since then.
 
I have two purposes in mind. One is to develop, the other is to share. My first goal upon receiving my DK2 is to set up an event in my home and invite as many people as possible, and have them all try out a few existing demos. I think that all the non-devs purchasing these are those who understand that you have to try it to understand how absolutely incredible functioning VR is. There's a sense of pride in being one of the heralds of the virtual world. I think VR evangelism is a legitimate enough reason to purchase a devkit.

I agree that non-devs should just sit back and be patient. The shipments will arrive soon enough.

Demoing the Rift is my plan too. I'm thinking of doing it at work and maybe another demo at the public library for anyone interested. I want everyone to be excited for VR as early as possible, and I want to try it myself as soon as I can, so buying a developer's kit even though I'm not a developer isn't such a bad idea to me.

In regards to the long wait and the lack of official information, who cares? I'm a sucker who bought into something I know won't get the best use in my hands because I couldn't wait. If it comes in August, fine. It'll get here when it gets here. I don't care as long as I get to be inside a video game.
 
I'd love an actual F-Zero clone.

There was a guy that was actually working on making F-ZeroGX support the Oculus Rift. I don't remember where the thread is but I'll look for it and post it accordingly.
 
Curious for those who have tried it: is the immersion and 3D effect like real life? I just got a 3DS, have had a 3D plasma for a couple year, occasionally watch 3D in theaters... and it all feels like a pop-up book with 4-5 overlapping flat layers. It's been neat ever since Avatar came out, but the real world doesn't look like this at all. I imagine Rift will blow them all away.
 
Curious for those who have tried it: is the immersion and 3D effect like real life? I just got a 3DS, have had a 3D plasma for a couple year, occasionally watch 3D in theaters... and it all feels like a pop-up book with 4-5 overlapping flat layers. It's been neat ever since Avatar came out, but the real world doesn't look like this at all. I imagine Rift will blow them all away.

Completely different 3D effect.

Besides, even 3D gaming on pc is much different and better than anything else you're describing.
 
I really hope there's a shipping update tomorrow. They said the first batch would begin arriving this week but nobody's gotten an email yet.
 
I really hope there's a shipping update tomorrow. They said the first batch would begin arriving this week but nobody's gotten an email yet.
I think this was the quote:
Just to help keep expectations in check, cybereality said:
"The very first units" (which could mean anything between 2 and 5.000)
"are expected to reach developers the week of July the 14th" (this means any day between the 14th and the 20th)
Given one unboxing has already happened (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=851518), I could easily imagine maybe 2-5 special early partners have received "the very first units" by now.

Normal consumers may receive a shipping update in August and their units in September, for all we know. There hasn't really been any confirmation as far as I know. It would be NICE if mine is shipped next week but I don't think it's even been promised at this point because of the wording and unboxing mentioned above.
 
I'm thinking any orders from 8 to 12 will get Thiers in July and all orders after that will either be at the end of July to Aug & September
 
I think this was the quote:

Given one unboxing has already happened (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=851518), I could easily imagine maybe 2-5 special early partners have received "the very first units" by now.

Normal consumers may receive a shipping update in August and their units in September, for all we know. There hasn't really been any confirmation as far as I know. It would be NICE if mine is shipped next week but I don't think it's even been promised at this point because of the wording and unboxing mentioned above.

he meant 2-5 thousand right? only 2-5 single rifts will reach devs this week? And whats this talk about normal consumers vs. special devs? for all Oculus knows every order is to a "real" developer. YOu guys are killing me over here ;(
 
he meant 2-5 thousand right? only 2-5 single rifts will reach devs this week? And whats this talk about normal consumers vs. special devs? for all Oculus knows every order is to a "real" developer. YOu guys are killing me over here ;(
Geo and I made up the 2-5 unit number. The point is that we don't know how many units are actually expected to make it into people's hands in July, since there's basically zero communication from Oculus as far as I know.

We know at least ONE unit made it into someone's hands, because of the unboxing article. Judging from what happened with the first devkit (people like Mojang got it early), a few trusted developers probably get to try it out before everyone else. Did Cybereality mean these early units, or did he mean the general shipping units? No one knows (please correct me if I'm wrong).
 
I'm thinking any orders from 8 to 12 will get Thiers in July and all orders after that will either be at the end of July to Aug & September

Holy shit, you're optimistic.. lol I ordered at 10:03 PDT on the 19th and I'd consider myself lucky to get it in July.
 
even watching 3D movies in VRcinema has a better 3D effect than anything I've experienced in real cinemas or on TV's

On DK1? I remember on DK1 watching movies in the VR Cinema wont give you a good experience, because of the horrible screen-door effect.

Is it a better experience using DK2?
 
Xing demo up on Oculus Share

https://share.oculusvr.com/app/xing-the-land-beyond---rainforest-demo

Is a really good looking UE4 puzzle game.

We have successfully achieved 60 fps on an HD prototype with a midrange i5 and a 780ti, but your milage may vary. DK1 is much more forgiving when it comes to graphics horsepower. We are of course continuing to look into optimization improvements for future builds.
GTX 760 or better, GTX 780ti for HD/DK2 at high settings

Ouch.
 
Isn't Unreal in general supposed to be really efficient? I could hit 1080p/60 on Unreal 3 games a whole PC ago, my new one eats them for breakfast. I know Unreal 4 is doing a lot more, but I imagined it would still be pretty light on system requirements compared to other engines doing the same sort of things, the way UE3 was. I haven't had the chance to play any UE4 content on my current system, though.
 
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