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[Durante]

There's a new article up at the Verge with a office tour at Oculus, some impressions, and -- most importantly -- some exceedingly awesome unboxing pictures.

If that is the actual box everyone gets I'm really impressed, I'd have happily paid extra for that! Not one but two HDMI cables and plenty of power adaptors, huge console companies could learn a thing or two

 

[SteveWinwood]

But what's the tf2 hat look like?

 

[sn00zer]

So what are the chances of this thing being licensed to Sony and Microsoft for next gen consoles?

 

[Durante]

But what's the tf2 hat look like?

It looks like a Rift:

 

[dragonflys545]

That thing looks ridiculous. I'll stick to console/pc gaming.

 

[Durante]

So what are the chances of this thing being licensed to Sony and Microsoft for next gen consoles?

Sony would build their own. MS doesn't seem particularly interested in the enthusiast market.

Both are likely to take a wait and see approach to such a disruptive device.

 

[benny_a]

That thing looks ridiculous. I'll stick to console/pc gaming.

But that thing is PC gaming. It's a cool peripheral with a lot of support which makes it amazing.

 

[majik13]

It looks like a Rift:

yeah, I thought that would have been obvious.

 

[Des0lar]

That thing looks ridiculous. I'll stick to console/pc gaming.

You won't once you hear the GAF impressions.

 

[ComputerMKII]

So that's the final design? I always thought that huge black thing was a prototype.

 

[MoonLightWave]

So that's the final design? I always thought that huge black thing was a prototype.

Don't think so, it's a devkit.

 

[benny_a]

So that's the final design? I always thought that huge black thing was a prototype.

It's the design for the developer kit.

They haven't announced how the consumer version will look. They probably don't know yet as what panel are going to be used is not known yet at this point. (Panel size change was the biggest reason why it changed design.)

 

[Durante]

So that's the final design? I always thought that huge black thing was a prototype.

That's the final design of the developer kit. The prototype was the thing held together by black duct tape.

 

[Pharaoh 117]

Oh man, they have to start shipping that thing ASAP. I want mine. Now!

 

[RiccochetJ]

Sony would build their own. MS doesn't seem particularly interested in the enthusiast market.

Both are likely to take a wait and see approach to such a disruptive device.

Honestly feels like Oculus and "good" Kinect functionality would make natural bedfellows.

 

[Jb]

Very slick packaging.

So how does it work in a FPS like TF2 if you want to do a 180? Does the Rift work like a track IR where you choose your direction with the mouse but can look around in another direction with the sensor?

 

[SteveWinwood]

yeah, I thought that would have been obvious.

I was just joking. There are people who care much more about the digital hat then the product.

 

[LordCanti]

I also would have paid extra for the carrying case, but I guess it was necessary to keep the Rift from being damaged in transit.

The Verge's write up is probably the best I've seen for the Rift. They mention that it's not a perfect technology yet and that the display doesn't cut it for retail; a fact that most articles tend to gloss over. Reading some of them (or seeing the youtube reviews) you'd think that the Rift gets strapped on and you're presented with a completely seamless world, so it's nice to read a real review for once.

The leap from the VR of twenty years ago (which I barely remember playing once and hating as a kid in the arcades) and now is so huge. It's amazing that we could have a 1080p consumer version with actual content as early as next year. Not that I'm not excited to get my hands on the dev kit as soon as I possibly can.

Honestly feels like Oculus and "good" Kinect functionality would make natural bedfellows.

If Kinect 2.0 can really track all of the fingers in real time (and more accurately model the skeleton), I could see Microsoft buying Oculus just for the sake of showing off the ability to strap the thing on your face and then interact with the virtual world via Kinect. In a world where a company like Nintendo spends money to develop a heartbeat sensor, this isn't that outlandish. Sony could do the same thing with the Rift and Move (maybe not fingers, but arm tracking certainly).

 

[Übermatik]

So how much is this? £300?

 

[majik13]

I was just joking. There are people who care much more about the digital hat then the product.

I see, and yeah, I have noticed that.

 

[Darklord]

I wish I backed this, I really want one.

 

[LordCanti]

So how much is this? £300?

I think it's $300 plus whatever taxes and shipping apply for European pre-orders.

 

[sn00zer]

Quick question....now that people have these in their hands...whats going to stop a major publisher from picking one of them up and creating their own occulus rifts?

 

[LordCanti]

I wish I backed this, I really want one.

You can still order one with an estimated May delivery at Oculus's website.

Quick question....now that people have these in their hands...whats going to stop a major publisher from picking one of them up and creating their own occulus rifts?

Not much. It would cost less to just buy Oculus than to R&D their own though. A big company would have to worry more about the lack of patents that Oculus holds compared to how much Oculus is probably worrying about that.

 

[Wario64]

Time Crisis 5 with Oculus Rift please. omg

 

[Tobor]

Unfortunately, as of this writing, there’s no easy way to simulate walking around and interacting with things that you see. You can control your head, but your body is another matter... and using a standard gamepad to navigate actually gave me motion sickness after a bit.

This is why games where you operate a vehicle will be far more immersive.

 

[Darklord]

You can still order one with an estimated May delivery at Oculus's website.

I thought that was dev kits or something? Or is that what everyone gets?

 

[Durante]

That looks like my desk, just with more Oculus. I even have the same keyboard.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

You can still order one with an estimated May delivery at Oculus's website.

Isnt the shipping more expensive now? I remember it was about 30$ worldwide-shipping during the Kickstarter. I guess not it was 100$, wasnt it?

I thought that was dev kits or something? Or is that what everyone gets?

The Kickstarter was for the devkits. There is no releasedate for the consumer-version right now.

 

[electricpirate]

Quick question....now that people have these in their hands...whats going to stop a major publisher from picking one of them up and creating their own occulus rifts?

From a technical perspective, probably not much.

I don't think there are any patent/copyright issues, as VR is pretty well established. I think Occulus has their own SDK for the thing, so if games are developed to that, any developer wanting to develop for other VR systems would need to make changes to conform. All the pieces are basically off the shelf, abundant and cheap thanks to the mobile phone/tablet explosion.

The software that drives it, and handles the image modification is custom (I think Carmack had a hand in it), but none of it is really cutting edge stuff from what I understand.

Ideally, there's a set of standards for VR, and anyone can target that, and any headset can use it, and competition drives the price down/adoption rate up. For now though, the occulus guys are the first ones willing to put together a consumer package capable of high quality VR, build the developer relations.

That looks like my desk, just with more Oculus. I even have the same keyboard.

I have one too, but I can't stand the layout or the feeling of the keys.

 

[Jinroh]

Are you going to get one Durante? I can hardly wait for some first impressions.

 

[plagiarize]

Its so insanely sexy for a dev kit. I hope mine ships soon...

 

[DouglasteR]

Imagine a Mechwarrior with the Occulus, its a better world

 

[Felix Lighter]

Oh boy! It's happening!

 

[Durante]

Are you going to get one Durante? I can hardly wait for some first impressions.

Yep, order #58 here. My hype is through the roof.

Imagine a Mechwarrior with the Occulus, its a better world

Well, Hawken will have full Rift support.

 

[Polari]

Has anyone done a costing on the dev kits yet? Looks expensive!

 

[LordCanti]

I thought that was dev kits or something? Or is that what everyone gets?

Until the consumer version comes out next year (estimated) everyone will be getting the same kit shown in the pictures.

Yep, order #58 here. My hype is through the roof.

Soooo....where are we on the Dark Souls Rift mod?

Spoiler

If only it had a first person mode

 

[mrklaw]

how does it connect to your PC? No HDMI through so you need to connect it up in parallel?

 

[metareferential]

I can't wait.

I won't get mine for another month I guess though, I was in the last batch of backers. But still, it's happening.

how does it connect to your PC? No HDMI through so you need to connect it up in parallel?

DVI/hdmi, just look at the pictures.

 

[DieH@rd]

Has anyone done a costing on the dev kits yet? Looks expensive!

On the contrary, it has very affordable design. Much simpler components than any other VR headset.

Soooo....where are we on the Dark Souls Rift mod?

Spoiler

If only it had a first person mode

I think 99% people would be more than happy just to experience Dark Souls in wide FOV 3D, without motion trackers. I think this approach would work well for many third person games. Transform Rift into "ordinary" Sony HMZ-T1, just will way better immersion because of wider fov.

 

[mrklaw]

I can't wait.

I won't get mine for another month I guess though, I was in the last batch of backers. But still, it's happening.



DVI/hdmi, just look at the pictures.

I meant you don't put the breakout box in line with your PC/monitor - like the Sony HMZ-t1 does. Its a discrete display.

 

[DouglasteR]

Yep, order #58 here. My hype is through the roof.

Well, Hawken will have full Rift support.

My Hype is escalating..... NOOOOoooo.... must not preorder....

 

[metareferential]

I meant you don't put the breakout box in line with your PC/monitor - like the Sony HMZ-t1 does. Its a discrete display.

Oh, you meant that, I didn't get it, sorry.

 

[Polari]

On the contrary, it has very affordable design. Much simpler components than any other VR headset.

Still, I find it hard to believe all that is costing ~$300 with the size of the run they're doing.

 

[Coconut]

The actual headset design looks so lame hopefully the retail version is a little cleaner.

 

[LordCanti]

Has anyone done a costing on the dev kits yet? Looks expensive!

The kickstarter was designed to be pretty much non-profit in terms of what they were providing to those pledging. So what you see should cost $300 minus the cost of shipping, warehousing, production, etc to build.

The full package is kind of stunning to behold all splayed out like that. When this Kickstarter began we were expecting an HMD and little else. Now it's a full kit with all the cables you could possibly need, eye cups, adjustable housing, padded carrying case, etc.

The actual headset design looks so lame hopefully the retail version is a little cleaner.

They were originally planning to use a 5.6" screen instead of a 7" screen, but couldn't source enough of them to fit demand. That forced them to make the devkit Rift much larger than it would have been otherwise. The retail version should be much more compact, with a smaller screen and better aesthetics.

 

[pfkas]

I'm assuming I'd will be able to get their hands on the sdk if I waited for the consumer version. I'm so close to pulling the trigger as it's really not a lot of money for a slice of gaming history. I don't really have a great deal of time to do development these days, but I would like to muck around in UDK or even patch in some VR capabilities into some older games, although saying that I'd have no idea how you'd do that.

 

[Vesper73]

My Hype is escalating..... NOOOOoooo.... must not preorder....

Do it! )

 

[M3d10n]

From a technical perspective, probably not much.

I don't think there are any patent/copyright issues, as VR is pretty well established. I think Occulus has their own SDK for the thing, so if games are developed to that, any developer wanting to develop for other VR systems would need to make changes to conform. All the pieces are basically off the shelf, abundant and cheap thanks to the mobile phone/tablet explosion.

The software that drives it, and handles the image modification is custom (I think Carmack had a hand in it), but none of it is really cutting edge stuff from what I understand.

Ideally, there's a set of standards for VR, and anyone can target that, and any headset can use it, and competition drives the price down/adoption rate up. For now though, the occulus guys are the first ones willing to put together a consumer package capable of high quality VR, build the developer relations.

Of course there are patents on everything about OR, from hardware to the software algorithms. It's just that patent trolls won't bother until it takes off and start making good money. As soon as it becomes popular, you bet someone will come with some stupidly broad patent on something absurdly obvious like the fish eye or how data is transmitted or some other triviality and charge millions for it.

 

[Coconut]

The kickstarter was designed to be pretty much non-profit in terms of what they were providing to those pledging. So what you see should cost $300 minus the cost of shipping, warehousing, production, etc to build.

The full package is kind of stunning to behold all splayed out like that. When this Kickstarter began we were expecting an HMD and little else. Now it's a full kit with all the cables you could possibly need, eye cups, adjustable housing, padded carrying case, etc.



They were originally planning to use a 5.6" screen instead of a 7" screen, but couldn't source enough of them to fit demand. That forced them to make the devkit Rift much larger than it would have been otherwise. The retail version should be much more compact, with a smaller screen and better aesthetics.

Will see.