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Oculus Rift Launch Thread: Ballpark 2016
- Thread starter Compsiox
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Peterthumpa
Member
Just a small but maybe useful information. Just found out that you can actually tilt your Rift up and down to best fit your eyes needs - the god rays actually are a little better after adjusting it accordingly. These are actually hinges on each side near the velcro straps.
This thing is amazingly well built for a first gen device.
This thing is amazingly well built for a first gen device.
I'm not surprised. I had a store manager at a Best Buy in Marlborough, MA treat me like dogshit because I wanted to return an (unopened, completely re-sellable) product two days after their return deadline, even though it had previously been cleared by a customer service associate and even though all I wanted was store credit. I posted on their Facebook page and got a very concerned-sounding response that promised to look into it for me, and then they stopped returning my emails with no resolution. It's why I don't shop there anymore.
Holding stock for employees is ridiculous.
Pops Maellard
Member
It's a really beautifully made piece of hardware. The Vive has similarly beautiful packaging, but the actual HMD isn't as good as the Rift. As much as I love my Vive, it's not the same.
Everything about the Rift was so thoughtfully put together. The built in yet removable audio solution, the sliding straps, the back section that cups your head gently. It's so light, but it still retains a premium feel thanks to the cloth exterior. Amazing stuff, Oculus really nailed it. If Touch can replicate the Vive's room scale without hassle (and actually seems comparable levels of developer support), I'd probably switch.
The most unfortunately part of this is the Rift has better exclusives IMO. Thankfully Revive fixes a lot of this, but Lucky's Tale and ADR1FT are genuinely good games, not just good VR experiences which is something the Vive really suffers from. I would totally play Chronos and Lucky's Tale on my monitor, but I'd never touch any of the Vive games I've played so far if they weren't in VR.
Wowfunhappy
Member
What exactly is wrong with holding stock for employees?
If I'm a retailer, and I get products in stock, it's my prerogative whether I want to actually sell them as I so choose.
bmcphail2008
Member
Pretty sure most retailers, including Best Buy, have policies against this. Generally, retailers require that their employees make purchases while off duty and subject to the same rules as the general public.
baphomet
Member
Thus why people won't shop at your shitty store.
Quote
Member
Because you want to build a relationship with your customers, for one.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Well after much thought and consideration, I just cancelled my Oculus rift preorder.
I preordered within minutes (would have been instant for the credit card glitch) but have been pushed into a June delivery date.
Ordered my Vive 6-7 hours late, and I have had it for a week now. Also Revive improving by the day..
And with yesterday's news of the 1080 Nvidia card releasing this month, I feel as if my money would be better spent there, improving my VR experience vastly over my 970's.
Kind of sad to see my order cancelled after so many months of anticipation.
Hopefully a GAFer here can jump on my preorder slot.
Maybe Rift gen 2 will be mine..
I preordered within minutes (would have been instant for the credit card glitch) but have been pushed into a June delivery date.
Ordered my Vive 6-7 hours late, and I have had it for a week now. Also Revive improving by the day..
And with yesterday's news of the 1080 Nvidia card releasing this month, I feel as if my money would be better spent there, improving my VR experience vastly over my 970's.
Kind of sad to see my order cancelled after so many months of anticipation.
Hopefully a GAFer here can jump on my preorder slot.
Maybe Rift gen 2 will be mine..
Has anyone tried "Life Is Strange" on the Vive or Rift using VorpX? The game's movement is much slower and I was wondering how well it worked and if it was playable/enjoyable with VR?
If anyone has the ability to try this game with VR and would be willing to share some thoughts, it would come highly appreciated.
If anyone has the ability to try this game with VR and would be willing to share some thoughts, it would come highly appreciated.
Pops Maellard
Member
The city one with the Palmer billboard in the background was one of the most intense feelings of presence I've had with VR, although that was probably helped by room scale. I dunno how I'd feel about it had I been seated.
The tiny city with the planes is neat, but other than that I definitely agree with you. There's two really cool thing in it, and everything else is pretty forgettable. Oculus needs something like the Vive tutorial or The Lab to show people. Everything Valve has put together is the perfect mix of engaging, quirky, and with all of the crazy " oh, so this is VR" moments you'd want from a first experience.
Of course it is, but it's a bad customer service practice if you do. For one thing, you're disappointing customers who have choices of where to shop (your employees likely aren't going anywhere) and harming your relationship with them. For another, you're giving up the opportunity to hit those people up for additional purchases (at full markup). And especially telling your customers that's what you did just looks bad. You're supposed to be running a store, not a group-buy scheme.
Additionally, having worked at Best Buy in the past, I'm fairly confident in saying there's probably a corporate policy against doing this kind of thing which was violated here.
Zeouterlimits
Member
I think Dreamdeck is a great quick intro. The T-Rex, the skyscraper ledge and the cute ribits animation has gone down really well with the VR first timers I've shown it to.
Iced_Eagle
Member
Holy shit, just tried Blaze Rush for the first time.
Every recommendation for this game has been spot on! So good! It's like your hot wheels came to life or something. Death Race has been the best mode for me because of those near-death experiences you get right before you get run over, you boost away.
I don't have any friends on Oculus Home yet, so some of you should add me: briguy992
Every recommendation for this game has been spot on! So good! It's like your hot wheels came to life or something. Death Race has been the best mode for me because of those near-death experiences you get right before you get run over, you boost away.
I don't have any friends on Oculus Home yet, so some of you should add me: briguy992
Zeouterlimits
Member
Heard about it on the Giant Bomb UPF segment this week (they are starting a new regularish VR show too next week), and tried it out myself.
DOOM in VR, using GZ3Doom. It's pretty fantastic, I recommend anyone interested in Doom or that has nostalgia for it & others 90s shooters to give it a go.
DOOM in VR, using GZ3Doom. It's pretty fantastic, I recommend anyone interested in Doom or that has nostalgia for it & others 90s shooters to give it a go.
Felix Lighter
Member
Thank goodness for asynchronous timewarp, however, while the head motion still feels smooth, you immediately notice it kick in because everything else noticeably stutters. Great for short dips but no good for long stretches.
This is literally the one thing I'm wanting VR for at this point. How refined is this. Do you get motion sickness instantly?
I'm sure this will be refined for as long as VR is a thing, so I'm not too worried if it's not great yet.
I guess there are rules preventing employees from doing this for the customers sake but from the few retail places I've worked at employees do it regardless, managers aren't really going to enforce it. I've done it at Banana Republic we had a leather jacket I really wanted and my manager put it on hold for me until payday lol.
Whether it is employee or customer the store is still getting the sales especially if your employee discount doesn't work with the item.
Dreamwriter
Member
You're not supposed to be seated - the very first thing Dreamdeck says when you start it is that it is a standing experience.
Betta Lines
Member
The 'component shortage' is probably not the full story. One possibility is that a component was discovered to be defective after many units were produced using it. They could have been stockpiling them for months, and then had to check the entire lot for a potential problem just as they were about to go out. Perhaps entire batches had to be scrapped or rebuilt using an improved component. All sorts of things go wrong with manufacturing, and it could be very complicated to explain, or impossible to do so without revealing sensitive information about their partners. They probably decided that going into more detail would only cause more confusion / fuel more speculation.
Later Alligator
Member
i think dreamdeck is a great way to show off personally. when people come over its the first thing i have them try, and everyone is blown away by it
the t-rex and skyscraper ones being the most intense
the t-rex and skyscraper ones being the most intense
Dreamwriter
Member
How do you figure? They sold far more units than they expected, the majority of orders were made in the first 10 minutes, and they've shipped most of the units pre-ordered in that time. So it's very likely they've shipped tens of thousands of units by this point, and I would guess over 100,000 based on how many people on Reddit said they got theirs (considering the low percentage of actual owners who would post on Reddit).
Wowfunhappy
Member
On that point, at least, I can agree. I have no idea why the store would tell people they had reserved stock for employees.
family_guy
Member
Those employees will most likely try to flip em.
At this point I would assume it was a one time thing to fill contracts and get the retail demos set up.
This, too.
Well I got my rift a few days ago. First the things I don't like:
Screen door effect is definitely noticeable.
The God Ray thing can be a distraction. It's not as bad as people make it out to be.
There is a sweet-spot for clarity and focus and it's kinda small.
If I trip on or run over the goddamn cable from the headset one more time today I'm gonna lose it...
I can't get over the FOV. It's awful. Two huge black bars on either side of your horizontal view if you look straight ahead. I had DK1 and honestly this feels worse if not the same. I was so sad about this. Was expecting better in this regard, so much so that I thought for sure I had a defective headset at first.
The good stuff:
The build quality of the oculus is great. It is comfortable and the headphones do a great job.
The best experiences so far for me are Elite Dangerous and War Thunder (which for some reason leaves me feeling crosseyed after 20 min or so). Mind blowing stuff right there...
Overall the potential of this tech is huge but I don't think we're quite "there" yet. It will wow your friends for sure but the resolution, size/comfort/cables and FOV are still issues for me. I wish I would have waited for the tech to iterate a few times but I'll still find plenty of things to enjoy with it. I was expecting HUGE improvements with CV1 but overall I am disappointed
Screen door effect is definitely noticeable.
The God Ray thing can be a distraction. It's not as bad as people make it out to be.
There is a sweet-spot for clarity and focus and it's kinda small.
If I trip on or run over the goddamn cable from the headset one more time today I'm gonna lose it...
I can't get over the FOV. It's awful. Two huge black bars on either side of your horizontal view if you look straight ahead. I had DK1 and honestly this feels worse if not the same. I was so sad about this. Was expecting better in this regard, so much so that I thought for sure I had a defective headset at first.
The good stuff:
The build quality of the oculus is great. It is comfortable and the headphones do a great job.
The best experiences so far for me are Elite Dangerous and War Thunder (which for some reason leaves me feeling crosseyed after 20 min or so). Mind blowing stuff right there...
Overall the potential of this tech is huge but I don't think we're quite "there" yet. It will wow your friends for sure but the resolution, size/comfort/cables and FOV are still issues for me. I wish I would have waited for the tech to iterate a few times but I'll still find plenty of things to enjoy with it. I was expecting HUGE improvements with CV1 but overall I am disappointed
Pops Maellard
Member
Unfortunately I feel like the SDE, FOV and cable issues aren't going away for quite some times. That's entirely a hardware limitation on the consumer PC side. To fix the SDE and FOV, you need bigger and denser screens. With drastically more pixels to push, the hardware requirements start to become drastically more expensive or (to a certain extent) completely nonexistent in the consumer space. Regarding the cable stuff, the latency for wireless options is just too high. In all honesty, the latency with entirely wired hardware is still not where people like Carmack would like it to be. The only possible short-term solution to this that I can imagine is headsets like the Gear VR, in which everything is running within the HMD. While this is totally possible, and Carmack is apparently working on some neat inside-out tracking solutions for the next Gear VR, this option suffers too much from hardware constraints. Good games can be had in the mobile VR space, but making that stuff run on a phone is requires compromise on a level that radically changes what type of games you can expect to play, and how visually appealing they are.
If you're feeling crosseyed, probably worth checking your IPD measurement again.
AbundantChoice
Member
BOOM. 8.17 US order, just had my card charged.
Herr Starr
Member
Nah, I think that's War Thunder's fault. Based on my own brief fling with it a few days ago, it's not working properly in VR. The scale is off (houses on the ground look like they'd reach my hips at best), and there's definitely something wrong with the in-game IPD setting. I felt very uncomfortable in that game from the moment it started up.
MaulerX
Member
Huh? Because they themselves admitted things got screwed thanks to a "component shortage". That's how I figure. I doubt they've shipped over 100k Rifts .
So I've written a paper on an immersive solution to VR traversal - which I think is pretty much, as good as it gets in your standard home VR situation, without powerful mobile VR, or jacking into a brain computer interface.
Need some feedback/proof reading on it though. Anyone wanna take a look? It's about 25 pages long, with graphics/diagrams. Will probably take an hour or so to read.
Need feedback on the writing (easy enough to understand?), graphics/diagrams (illustrates the concept adequately) and the general concept/argument as well.
PM me for a copy. Cheers.
Need some feedback/proof reading on it though. Anyone wanna take a look? It's about 25 pages long, with graphics/diagrams. Will probably take an hour or so to read.
Need feedback on the writing (easy enough to understand?), graphics/diagrams (illustrates the concept adequately) and the general concept/argument as well.
PM me for a copy. Cheers.
Betta Lines
Member
Project CARS does not hold 90fps on lowest settings on a 970. However, it will do 90fps in certain situations, i.e. when it's not raining, and with a low number of cars on track. You may be able to turn certain things up to medium, providing you stick to these less demanding situations.
The Elite
BOSS
They're officially over the large hump of orders at this point. They should start cutting through a couple of minutes a week soon.
Judging by the pre-order estimates (which for the most part still look pretty accurate) they'll probably be going faster than that. The majority of day 1 orders happened in the first 10 minutes. My estimate still starts 5/16 and it's like over 20 minutes in since I was one of the ones that got hit with some website payment errors.
The Elite
BOSS
That's good to hear.
Hopefully at some point they are able to get ahead of schedule.
At this point, I want to start hearing about Touch controllers.
Edit: MiniGolf VR now available for the Rift with Xbox controller support.
Haloid1177
Banned
Did Bestbuy.com already put up their stick? I see coming soon so I assume they didn't. Would like to use my points to get one.
The Elite
BOSS
Was it supposed to go up on the website?
Haloid1177
Banned
I had read somewhere that a super limited stock was going to them and Amazon for web orders, but looking back through my history I'm starting to think I totally imagined it. Oh well.
The Elite
BOSS
Edit: NVM Amazon was May 6th.
Just chiming in to once again recommend Windlands to anyone with a Rift (DK2 or CV1) or Vive and a love of platformers. It's so satisfying to traverse the environments and there's a million ways (usually) to get where you're going via either jumping, wall jumping (so many "this is Mirror's Edge in VR" moments) or grappling/swinging. The sense of momentum and speed you can get is really something.
Yesterday my brother and I would take turns between clearing sections where one person was in the Rift (a DK2... my CV1 has now come and gone) and the other would watch the output on a monitor. It was great to watch from the monitor, but every time you'd go back into the Rift the feeling of being there really strikes home. That was a great reminder of how watching footage of a VR game and playing it for yourself is something you can't really compare... it was really something to feel that for a game I've played many hours of prior.
Anyway, that game is great and I just wanted to throw out some impressions for those that might also enjoy a VR exploration/platformer.
Yesterday my brother and I would take turns between clearing sections where one person was in the Rift (a DK2... my CV1 has now come and gone) and the other would watch the output on a monitor. It was great to watch from the monitor, but every time you'd go back into the Rift the feeling of being there really strikes home. That was a great reminder of how watching footage of a VR game and playing it for yourself is something you can't really compare... it was really something to feel that for a game I've played many hours of prior.
Anyway, that game is great and I just wanted to throw out some impressions for those that might also enjoy a VR exploration/platformer.
The Elite
BOSS
Finally had the opportunity to sit down and play Chronos yesterday. Damn, that's a well put together game. It's too bad a lot of people won't have the chance to play it because it's Rift/VR exclusive. I finished the first area and I love how the design and over-arching puzzle system of the dungeon came together. I had a "holy shit" moment when I realized what you had to do.
The game is much more difficult than I was expecting as well. I found myself dying to just regular foot soldier types until I realized what I needed to do to beat them. Leveling up is fast though so at least that's a bonus.
I have to say, the Oculus Studios games have really hit it out of the park in terms of quality. Lucky's Tale is a great little platformer as well. It's not just the novelty of VR that is keeping my coming back, the games are really well made.
Though, the way they do use VR in both of these games makes me hungry for more 3rd person experiences like this. With Uncharted 4 coming out tomorrow, I kind of wish that had an unlockable VR mode for PSVR.
Between those two games and BlazeRush I feel like I am getting my money's worth, gaming wise, out of the Rift already. I am also spending plenty of time in Virtual Desktop.
I have barely touched Elite: Dangerous but I really love what I have played of it so far. I am going to need to set some time aside to really dig into it in VR.
I haven't even booted up Technolust yet but I heard that had some launch issues so I am going to wait and make sure everything is sorted out first.
The game is much more difficult than I was expecting as well. I found myself dying to just regular foot soldier types until I realized what I needed to do to beat them. Leveling up is fast though so at least that's a bonus.
I have to say, the Oculus Studios games have really hit it out of the park in terms of quality. Lucky's Tale is a great little platformer as well. It's not just the novelty of VR that is keeping my coming back, the games are really well made.
Though, the way they do use VR in both of these games makes me hungry for more 3rd person experiences like this. With Uncharted 4 coming out tomorrow, I kind of wish that had an unlockable VR mode for PSVR.
Between those two games and BlazeRush I feel like I am getting my money's worth, gaming wise, out of the Rift already. I am also spending plenty of time in Virtual Desktop.
I have barely touched Elite: Dangerous but I really love what I have played of it so far. I am going to need to set some time aside to really dig into it in VR.
I haven't even booted up Technolust yet but I heard that had some launch issues so I am going to wait and make sure everything is sorted out first.
Dang, this makes me want to get a 1070 more now when I was hoping to wait out until Volta with my 970. Hmmm.
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