Official VR Headset discussion

[_TiTaNiuM]

Anyone? Anyone? Pretty tempting. Still a dev kit, but appears to be a heck of a lot closer to "final product" than the first one, 1080p this time around with head tracking, $350.



Ships july of this year.

Can only imagine how awesome this would be in Arma

[DaJMasta]

It's taking a while...

Hopefully there's still potential for an end of 2014 release, but the fact that there's a second dev kit announced like this doesn't suggest to me that they're making all of their deadlines.

Sure you want the devs to be using complete hardware, but still, this project is taking longer than I would have expected from all the hype and early demos.

[_TiTaNiuM]

It's taking a while...

Hopefully there's still potential for an end of 2014 release, but the fact that there's a second dev kit announced like this doesn't suggest to me that they're making all of their deadlines.

Sure you want the devs to be using complete hardware, but still, this project is taking longer than I would have expected from all the hype and early demos.

It's not as if they've been stuck in the mud for the past year or so. The head tracking supposedly makes it a whole lot better than it was before than when it was just working on gyros and accelerometers alone.

[daPhoenix]

I thought this was going to be Dungeon Keeper 2 integration for Oculus Rift.

Now I am mildly disappointed

[AllexxisF1]

I have a feeling you will not only get a better VR unit from Valve but it will be on the market first as well.

Occulus needs to get their ass in gear and get this thing to market already.

[Mangler]

Didn't valve discontinue their unit?

[daPhoenix]

Sony is actually delivering a PS4 headset and they've been doing research on VR helmets since the 90s - I think they'll be able to compete with OR if they make it PC compatible.

[RicH(SAD)]

Tempted to pick one up, but I'll just wait for the consumer version.

[_TiTaNiuM]

Sony is actually delivering a PS4 headset and they've been doing research on VR helmets since the 90s - I think they'll be able to compete with OR if they make it PC compatible.

Which they probably won't because why would they? "If you want the best VR next gen experience, buy a PS4!"

[Mangler]

Isn't the sony unit only 960x1080?

NVM, seems like the same is true for the rift.

[badboy]

I have a feeling you will not only get a better VR unit from Valve but it will be on the market first as well.

Occulus needs to get their ass in gear and get this thing to market already.

valve isnt making a VR unit... they are helping Oculus develop theirs

[Omega53]

Anyone? Anyone? Pretty tempting. Still a dev kit, but appears to be a heck of a lot closer to "final product" than the first one, 1080p this time around with head tracking, $350.



Ships july of this year.

Can only imagine how awesome this would be in Arma

Count me in

[Nascar24]

Sony is actually delivering a PS4 headset and they've been doing research on VR helmets since the 90s - I think they'll be able to compete with OR if they make it PC compatible.

Initial impressions of the sony unit were very poor. Don't expect anything great from them.

[Chubz]

I'm psyched about the Rift, but I'm going to wait until it's completely finished before ordering one.

The last thing I want to do is spoil my first-ever VR experience with a prototype intended for developers.

[YellowBeard]

I'm very tempted. Was on the fence about picking up the earlier version and now with a 1080p version. I might bite the bullet to try it out.

[Mangler]

I wonder if the final unit will be 1080p?

[bill dennison]

how long before they run out of money and someone buys them up
or buys them just before it goes retail

anyway looks like no retail unit this year

[_TiTaNiuM]

I wonder if the final unit will be 1080p?

well... the second dev kit is 1080p, and they're $350 a pop... I would imagine that the final product will be the same, or better maybe, we are getting some pretty dense displays these days in OLED form like that which the rift uses.

Mass production will bring the cost down, I doubt they would bring the price down, but it would likely increase their profit margin. I think 300-350 will be the final price, they've set a precidence with the dev kits (which aren't such things usually more expensive than the final product?) and end users have shown they're willing to spend that much on an untested, unfinished product with very little software support.

[Jimby]

Would love to wander Skyrim with one of those.

[Omega53]

well... the second dev kit is 1080p, and they're $350 a pop... I would imagine that the final product will be the same, or better maybe, we are getting some pretty dense displays these days in OLED form like that which the rift uses.

Mass production will bring the cost down, I doubt they would bring the price down, but it would likely increase their profit margin. I think 300-350 will be the final price, they've set a precidence with the dev kits (which aren't such things usually more expensive than the final product?) and end users have shown they're willing to spend that much on an untested, unfinished product with very little software support.

If CSGO gets support it will be worth the price alone

[Mangler]

well... the second dev kit is 1080p, and they're $350 a pop... I would imagine that the final product will be the same, or better maybe, we are getting some pretty dense displays these days in OLED form like that which the rift uses.

Mass production will bring the cost down, I doubt they would bring the price down, but it would likely increase their profit margin. I think 300-350 will be the final price, they've set a precidence with the dev kits (which aren't such things usually more expensive than the final product?) and end users have shown they're willing to spend that much on an untested, unfinished product with very little software support.

I meant 1080p aka 1920x1080, not 960x1080.

[Sundance Kid V2]

I thought this was going to be Dungeon Keeper 2 integration for Oculus Rift.

Now I am mildly disappointed

me 2


But $350 is little bit expensive (x10 = ZAR 3000). So I'll wait till final version. I remember a friend had a VR set about 15-20 years ago (seriously long time ago). But it was uber crappy, and very little support. Can't remember what it was called..

[Omega53]

I meant 1080p aka 1920x1080, not 960x1080.

Well its a 1920x1080p screen but since each eye only sees half the screen it's 960x1080. I doubt they will put a 3840x1080 screen in there as that will increase price far too much

[Mangler]

Oh, I thought they were using two 960x1080 screens, nevermind then.

[_TiTaNiuM]

me 2


But $350 is little bit expensive (x10 = ZAR 3000). So I'll wait till final version. I remember a friend had a VR set about 15-20 years ago (seriously long time ago). But it was uber crappy, and very little support. Can't remember what it was called..

Is it though? What's a good gaming monitor cost? 250-300. What's a midrange graphics card cost? 250-350. What does a next gen console cost? 400-500. I think the price point is right on for what you're getting honestly.

[jolle]

I wonder if the final unit will be 1080p?

Could be higher, they´re piggyback riding on the mobile display development, and that **** is running amok.
Phones are moving beyond 1080p afaik, so whenever the retail kit ships there is probably no shortage or major cost hurdles at getting displays for it with higher res then 1080p. (I dont follow that stuff to closely, but I did see talk about LG G3 getting a 2560 x 1440 display, for example).
At some point I suppose there is some diminishing returns, for example how many of the target audience will be able to run games at native res if they go 4k? and is it worth the added cost to the unit to go that high in that case? (if people end up rendering the games at a lower res anyway)
Maybe, if it turns out using it for movies or browsing ends up being popular?
I dunno, but the availability of displays above 1080p is probably not going to be a issue.

[AllexxisF1]

valve isnt making a VR unit... they are helping Oculus develop theirs

Source?

[DaJMasta]

It's not as if they've been stuck in the mud for the past year or so. The head tracking supposedly makes it a whole lot better than it was before than when it was just working on gyros and accelerometers alone.

And I don't think when it finally comes out it will be a lesser product than what got all the hype early on, it's just that it's taking an awful long time. Given how early they got the first dev kits out, how many games say they will support it, how much people enjoyed the many exhibitions... just seems like the pacing is weird.

Also, I believe 1080p was their stated launch-product resolution, so I think this dev kit is basically a precursor to the launch setup. Probably will look different, use some cheaper sourced parts, maybe leave off some debugging features, etc... but I think this dev kit is essentially the final product in terms of features, so that devs can finalize their software to work with the launch product... I just thought that they were going to have this in the middle of 2013.

[Mangler]

Source?

And now for the reality check: This unnamed technology isn’t coming out any time soon. News out of Valve’s virtual reality panel at Steam Dev Days is that this prototype is for research purposes only. Research that will then be shared with Oculus.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2088747/valve-and-oculus-team-up-for-virtual-reality-supergroup.html

[SirBaron]

Source?

The interwebs, though this has been common knowledge since the day after the Valve Event.

Too lazy to google for you.

[aviphysics]

It's taking a while...

Hopefully there's still potential for an end of 2014 release, but the fact that there's a second dev kit announced like this doesn't suggest to me that they're making all of their deadlines.

Sure you want the devs to be using complete hardware, but still, this project is taking longer than I would have expected from all the hype and early demos.

They call it a "dev kit", but it is more like pre-release beta/alpha hardware. They just call it a "dev-kit" so people don't buy it with the expectation that it will be plug and play.

BTW, anyone can order one. Would totally do it, if I didn't have other things going on right now.

https://www.oculusvr.com/order/

[jolle]

Well they ARE dev kits, you get one if you want to make a Rift game, or add support for Rift to your existing game.
But they´re not stopping curious people from just getting one to check out techdemos and Skyrim hacks and whatnots... all those Unity "things" people are putting out.
And I suppose there are some "proper" games with support out there already, like TF2 if I dont remember wrong?
But still, Dev kit is a appropriate term I´d say.

[DaJMasta]

Yeah, that's exactly what a dev kit is. The hardware, sometimes with some debugging modifications and workflow enhancements, along with a software suite and some level of technical support.

The kickstarter 'dev kit' was a gimped prototype build that didn't match any of the final features, though it did come with the proper support.

[Cyko]

Anyone? Anyone?

Pre-ordered it. I have a DK1 already and it's pretty fantastic (could be improved upon of course). Looking forward to what this release will bring.

[Sundance Kid V2]

Is it though? What's a good gaming monitor cost? 250-300. What's a midrange graphics card cost? 250-350. What does a next gen console cost? 400-500. I think the price point is right on for what you're getting honestly.

I agree... it could be more expensive example $500+.

$300 is not too bad... but if it is worth it then I'll buy it!

[_TiTaNiuM]

Pre-ordered it. I have a DK1 already and it's pretty fantastic (could be improved upon of course). Looking forward to what this release will bring.

what all have you been able to do with it? is there anything that supports it currently or is it mostly half-assed right now?

[jolle]

Followup on resolution, just ran into this bit:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/19/5524972/oculus-reveals-virtual-reality-development-kit-2-announced

The 1080p OLED panel still isn't high enough a resolution to avoid jagged edges — Oculus says the consumer version will have even higher resolution

[night]

[yt]4d3Wli7s6KY[/yt]

[bill dennison]

Followup on resolution, just ran into this bit:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/19/5524972/oculus-reveals-virtual-reality-development-kit-2-announced

shoot for 3840 × 2160

http://gamerant.com/oculus-rift-4k-resolution/

[BababooeyHTJ]

Followup on resolution, just ran into this bit:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/19/5524972/oculus-reveals-virtual-reality-development-kit-2-announced

Nice, this is what I was hoping for.