Ye, but this thing has been out since october last year. They said (or hinted)that they would announce a new 3d headset on TGS which is between the 19-23 of september. It's possible it's going to be just as expensive and subpar but I think they'll probably try to match the Rift's price point($300).
the next generation of consoles has yet to prove that it can run 1080p@60 fps and it doesn't look pretty good, who are they kidding here? Who is supposed to be their market? super hardcore nerds with a state of the art gaming machine? The resolution is also only just one of the issues the Rift has, maybe the biggest right now, but who are they targeting to be their audience? Almost nobody can run this thing properly until this next console generation is gone.
Maybe i'm wrong and Gaming PCs become a big thing again, still these things costa shitload of money to run any current gen game at 4k as smooth as you would need it for the oculus.
They are not working on a 4k model yet. The hardware (screen resolution) is simply not currently available. Here is the exact quote from the article: “You can’t imagine what it’s going to look like when it’s 4K,” he said. “It’s not now, but it’s coming.”.
He's basically saying given the natural progression of the mobile market there will be a time where 4k resolution is possible, not that they have a current prototype.
IMO the biggest issue the oculus rift has right now is it's latency/positional tracking which can cause pretty bad nausea (stopped using my dev kit because of it). Also, the next gen consoles (ps4 and xbox1) will not be able to run a regular AAA title with the oculus rift. The 60 fps requirement is probably not enough, it'll need to be higher.
I remember using the oculus rift at GDC for 5 minutes without any problems. But it's a completely different story when I (along with 5 other friends who I've had test it) have a longer play session since the sickness tends to kick in quite late in the play session.
i'm confident 4k will come around in time, no problem. surely it'll be all the rage during the upcoming console cycle - on PC, obviously.
i agree that the upcoming console cycle will most likely be left out. performance on one hand, perhaps technical issues that were not factored in but there's also a traditional lack of customizability on console that stands in the way of using the glasses imo.
anyway i find the oculus the only device in years that has me genuinely excited for the possiblities with the major issue going to be the perfect fit you need to use it for extended periods of time without discomfort.
They could always upsample for platforms that couldn't support 4k. I realize not perfect solution, but it would allow a person to buy 1 headset for multiple devices.
I think the higher res screen will help for sure with immersion/motion sickness to a degree.
Also, latency is always being improved in the hardware it sounds like. But it mainly comes down to the Devs, and getting solid perf I think.
In any case, I cannot wait to try the HD version/final product. I hope the motion sickness/weird feelings I've had go away/are reduced, but time will tell.
I really do feel though that it was in part of the low resolution, and maybe latency in the
Tuscany demo I tried, that caused issues. I was also standing up for half the time, or maybe the entire time I was using it. Which seems to cause issues.
To get the 60fps, or higher, devs might have to reduce visuals, although hardware is always improving, and rapidly. At least in phones/PCs.
But, repeating what John Carmack said, we don't necessarily NEED photo-real visuals, because the Rift already can create a very immersive experience by nature.
I have a question to people who might have tried: is it possible to use OR with a 3d blu ray? i mean that movie got 2 frames rendered is there a way to get those to render on the eyes? That would be a major reason to buy since i absolutly dont buy into 3d tvs eventhough i quite like 3d in movies for some stuff.
I couldn't see any screen door effect on the 1080p demo. The image still wasn't that crisp, but way better than version 1 dev kit. I don't think they had the low persistence screen at that time. So it will be interesting to see how much that improves the quality as well.
getting rid of the motion blur from DK1 is going to be a big plus, even subtle movements affected the overall clarity when looking off in the distance, so this going to really help.
Maybe I should try to get a 2nd hand DK1 for cheap...
I wouldn't.
I've only tried the original 1080p LCD set (before they incorporated low persistance and OLED) and there was still very noticeable motion blur and somewhat noticeable screen-door effect. I can only imagine how bad it was DK1.
Besides, if you work on a project using DK1 we still don't know just how easy/difficult it will be transition over to the newer hardware. Apparently they want it to be relatively seemless for devs that have already thrown their weight behind the Rift, but there wont be any first hand accounts until DK2 is out.
Actually if you just want that, hold tight a couple of months - there are a lot of small companies making alternatives to the rift. At the last Bossa Studios Occulus meetup I went to there where no less than 3 groups showing off their light alternatives. (although one group was pretty keen on going toe to toe with occulus in the future...)
These ranged from an open source, 3d printable project that will hold a large smartphone and lenses in place in a small pair of goggles that uses the phones own motion sensors and display. A similar, closed development company had a slightly nicer setup with the same idea.
The last group (gameface) Has a working prototype of an android based HMD that was a fully contained wireless system. You could just put it on and they handed you a ps4 pad. No PC, no wires. They used mobile phone technology but built specifically into their own HMD unit. It was pretty good actually. Lacking in FoV and tracking but much nicer resolution and the wireless aspect was a joy. They plan on building up prototypes to go against sony and occulus.
Anyone else get a dk2? This is my first time using a VR headset and I am really impressed. The image quality still needs to improve but the sense of space and depth is really incredible.
I am planning to do some environment work to take advantage of it. I think building compelling content for VR is going to be very different than what we do for regular monitors.
i've been sidetracked in the last few months and am yet to re-connect my oculus to my new setup. anyone knows if the new SDK's will continue to work with the DK1? would rather skip DK2 in favour whatever comes after. or is the old model now incompatible?
i've been sidetracked in the last few months and am yet to re-connect my oculus to my new setup. anyone knows if the new SDK's will continue to work with the DK1? would rather skip DK2 in favour whatever comes after. or is the old model now incompatible?
I'm just working with unity so i've held off on that since there seems to be some issues.
here's a small writeup if you're using unity http://talesfromtherift.com/getting-started-with-unity-and-oculus-rift-sdk-0-4-0/ . As far as i can tell from reading up you can still use your dk1 but its probably not worth the trouble yet
There's been a lot of problems since the first 0.3 sdk preview so i'm still on 0.2.5 for any serious projects
I have been messing around with the DK2 off and on for a few weeks. There are a lot of pretty severe SDK issues that need to be resolved before I try and do anything serious with it.
One thing I have noticed with the rift is that you can't really model just for silhouette and then rely on normal maps to fill in the details. Since the image is stereoscopic objects built that way are immediately seen as flat and simplified.
One thing I have noticed with the rift is that you can't really model just for silhouette and then rely on normal maps to fill in the details. Since the image is stereoscopic objects built that way are immediately seen as flat and simplified.
Yup, I've heard that before, kinda makes me happy, more polycount, less using normal maps for every "flat-ish" surface detail.
Just got it setup, was disappointed at first with the positional tracking then realized my usb port was fuuked and the camera wasnt working. A lot better once i got that fixed. The higher res is def better than what i remember from the couple times i was able to try out the dk1.
Alec, i've heard similar things already about normal maps not holding up with stereoscopic. ill be curious as to some of the other differences making art for the oculus entails.
I def realized how much more inclined i am to look up with the oculus on. In level design its the hardest thing to get a player to look up, but with the oculus it's very natural.
A few things I've heard, figure out what areas you can cheat and what areas you can't. There's a lot of testing being done about various things, such as for the skydiving game AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! They learned that having players look at a downward angle instead of looking completely down, players were more comfortable and didn't realized they weren't looking straight down. There's also testing being done to make a empty room you can walk around like a holodeck. They are doing testing that involves rotating your camera more or less than you actually rotate in order to make it seem like you zigzag'd a long distance in one direction, when you are actually going in circles.
For modeling, scale is a lot more important and needs to be really accurate, people can much more easily tell if something is too big or too small. People are more sensitive to stuff going right by their head. There's a lot more presence in environments, so you'll need to pay more attention with things like ceiling height
Yeah, funny enough one of the guys who worked on the AAHHH oculus port lives in winnipeg where i am, he did a presentation on the stuff they ran into for that game. Like you said they found they were able to just slightly rotate the camera at the point when the player jumps off the platform so the player doesn't notice. They think there looking straight down but there actually in a more natural pose.
Never really thought about scale as much though. I could definitely see a lot of standard level design scale habits colliding badly with Oculus environments, doorway widths being double wide etc.
The sense of scale is the thing I most enjoy about it and what excites me about making environments for the rift. Its hard to convey to people have haven't tried it but actually seeing your work as a 3d space around you and not as a flat image is really cool.
I am also into motorsports and this will really help with simulators translating to real world skills. You can practice good habits with your eyes and where you are looking, and the sense of speed and estimating distances is much better. Elevation change on race tracks actually feels correct (and awesome).
I am still fighting simulator sickness and I hope that it is something I can overcome for good.
I've had mine for a few weeks and havent been able to do much due to intense judder with the current SDK, though one thing i'm having a blast with is using it in combination with the leap motion mount seen here [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ATQG9mnm34"]Leap Motion Intro to VR - YouTube[/ame]
Hopefully the issues get sorted soon because i love working with these things!
Yeah i'm aware of that, but there are still issues even when well above 75fps on some systems. Its been acknowledged by oculus so i'm sure it will be fixed soon enough
Replies
Honestly, this thing keeps getting better and better.
Maybe i'm wrong and Gaming PCs become a big thing again, still these things costa shitload of money to run any current gen game at 4k as smooth as you would need it for the oculus.
He's basically saying given the natural progression of the mobile market there will be a time where 4k resolution is possible, not that they have a current prototype.
IMO the biggest issue the oculus rift has right now is it's latency/positional tracking which can cause pretty bad nausea (stopped using my dev kit because of it). Also, the next gen consoles (ps4 and xbox1) will not be able to run a regular AAA title with the oculus rift. The 60 fps requirement is probably not enough, it'll need to be higher.
I remember using the oculus rift at GDC for 5 minutes without any problems. But it's a completely different story when I (along with 5 other friends who I've had test it) have a longer play session since the sickness tends to kick in quite late in the play session.
i agree that the upcoming console cycle will most likely be left out. performance on one hand, perhaps technical issues that were not factored in but there's also a traditional lack of customizability on console that stands in the way of using the glasses imo.
anyway i find the oculus the only device in years that has me genuinely excited for the possiblities with the major issue going to be the perfect fit you need to use it for extended periods of time without discomfort.
Also, latency is always being improved in the hardware it sounds like. But it mainly comes down to the Devs, and getting solid perf I think.
In any case, I cannot wait to try the HD version/final product. I hope the motion sickness/weird feelings I've had go away/are reduced, but time will tell.
I really do feel though that it was in part of the low resolution, and maybe latency in the
Tuscany demo I tried, that caused issues. I was also standing up for half the time, or maybe the entire time I was using it. Which seems to cause issues.
To get the 60fps, or higher, devs might have to reduce visuals, although hardware is always improving, and rapidly. At least in phones/PCs.
But, repeating what John Carmack said, we don't necessarily NEED photo-real visuals, because the Rift already can create a very immersive experience by nature.
is it fine enough to not see the pixels anymore? i mean with first one i could see the lines between the pixels
I wouldn't.
I've only tried the original 1080p LCD set (before they incorporated low persistance and OLED) and there was still very noticeable motion blur and somewhat noticeable screen-door effect. I can only imagine how bad it was DK1.
Besides, if you work on a project using DK1 we still don't know just how easy/difficult it will be transition over to the newer hardware. Apparently they want it to be relatively seemless for devs that have already thrown their weight behind the Rift, but there wont be any first hand accounts until DK2 is out.
These ranged from an open source, 3d printable project that will hold a large smartphone and lenses in place in a small pair of goggles that uses the phones own motion sensors and display. A similar, closed development company had a slightly nicer setup with the same idea.
The last group (gameface) Has a working prototype of an android based HMD that was a fully contained wireless system. You could just put it on and they handed you a ps4 pad. No PC, no wires. They used mobile phone technology but built specifically into their own HMD unit. It was pretty good actually. Lacking in FoV and tracking but much nicer resolution and the wireless aspect was a joy. They plan on building up prototypes to go against sony and occulus.
343 Industries founding member, Kenneth Scott, is now Oculus art director
They also have a whole lot of old id folk. Basically most of the Doom 3 team is there now.
yeah, I know! Those are gonna be some fancy ads for farmville dur-hur-hur-hur!
The license & patent info on Github looks pretty straight forward.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/24/oculus-acquires-carbon-design-the-team-that-designed-the-xbox-360-controller/
I am planning to do some environment work to take advantage of it. I think building compelling content for VR is going to be very different than what we do for regular monitors.
Are there any worthwhile demos out yet? I wanted to pick up elite dangerous but 75 is a bit too much for a beta
Look into technolust.
I'm just working with unity so i've held off on that since there seems to be some issues.
here's a small writeup if you're using unity http://talesfromtherift.com/getting-started-with-unity-and-oculus-rift-sdk-0-4-0/ . As far as i can tell from reading up you can still use your dk1 but its probably not worth the trouble yet
There's been a lot of problems since the first 0.3 sdk preview so i'm still on 0.2.5 for any serious projects
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27403761
One thing I have noticed with the rift is that you can't really model just for silhouette and then rely on normal maps to fill in the details. Since the image is stereoscopic objects built that way are immediately seen as flat and simplified.
Yup, I've heard that before, kinda makes me happy, more polycount, less using normal maps for every "flat-ish" surface detail.
Alec, i've heard similar things already about normal maps not holding up with stereoscopic. ill be curious as to some of the other differences making art for the oculus entails.
I def realized how much more inclined i am to look up with the oculus on. In level design its the hardest thing to get a player to look up, but with the oculus it's very natural.
For modeling, scale is a lot more important and needs to be really accurate, people can much more easily tell if something is too big or too small. People are more sensitive to stuff going right by their head. There's a lot more presence in environments, so you'll need to pay more attention with things like ceiling height
Never really thought about scale as much though. I could definitely see a lot of standard level design scale habits colliding badly with Oculus environments, doorway widths being double wide etc.
I am also into motorsports and this will really help with simulators translating to real world skills. You can practice good habits with your eyes and where you are looking, and the sense of speed and estimating distances is much better. Elevation change on race tracks actually feels correct (and awesome).
I am still fighting simulator sickness and I hope that it is something I can overcome for good.
I've had mine for a few weeks and havent been able to do much due to intense judder with the current SDK, though one thing i'm having a blast with is using it in combination with the leap motion mount seen here [ame="
Hopefully the issues get sorted soon because i love working with these things!