Oculus Rift

mid_gen · 8 Jan 2016 at 15:51

darwin1859 said:
Is there a consensus on how VR games will be controlled by the user?

Depends hugely on the type of game. HTC and Oculus have their hand-wavey controllers (although only HTC bundle them with the headset as standard, and the Oculus one is delayed).

They work well but I don't see myself playing standing up wavey-arm games much. It's ok sweating when you've just got a wii-mote but sweating into a VR headset ain't nice, feel sorry for the guy next in line when I tried the Vive!

Oculus are also using an Xbox controller as a standard input device...which makes sense, they're cheap and easy to use without being able to see them. Mouse and keyboard is a bit of a nightmare.

Specialist controllers like a HOTAS work well if you get the positioning right, ED is pretty special on VR+HOTAS.

passey89 · 8 Jan 2016 at 15:54

Gregster said:
I have a front USB 3 - 4 port hub on my case with my RIVF but will grab a 4 port PCI hub to keep everything tiday at the back of the computer. Any will do the trick and I will go for something with 4 ports.

Yeh im in trouble atm as i have already used all my usb ports

Have to keep the wireless 360 controller unpluged atm.

Which pci card u goin for gregster? Think i deffo need a 4 port 2.

darwin1859 · 8 Jan 2016 at 15:55

mid_gen said:
Depends hugely on the type of game. HTC and Oculus have their hand-wavey controllers (although only HTC bundle them with the headset as standard, and the Oculus one is delayed).

They work well but I don't see myself playing standing up wavey-arm games much. It's ok sweating when you've just got a wii-mote but sweating into a VR headset ain't nice, feel sorry for the guy next in line when I tried the Vive!

Oculus are also using an Xbox controller as a standard input device...which makes sense, they're cheap and easy to use without being able to see them. Mouse and keyboard is a bit of a nightmare.

Specialist controllers like a HOTAS work well if you get the positioning right, ED is pretty special on VR+HOTAS.

Thanks for the info. To me an xbox controller would make sense, it's a pretty easy layout to learn and navigate without seeing.

Also, how does it work say on an FPS game, is all the aiming done with head tracking?

IT Troll · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:02

Jono said:
What's the solution to trailing cables? Have them mounted up a mast/boom thing so they hang down? Like the hoses at some DIY car washes

No, the high purchase price includes a personal cable slave who follows you around.

JBuk · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:14

I'm really tempted to buy one of the VR sets but I think ill wait to see which one seems the best overall although I'm sure I wouldn't be disappointed with any of them, id like to get the Samsung one just to try it but it would cost me a fortune to do an early upgrade

Exciting times are ahead ,I can see this being one of the best techs ever invented for entertainment, much like TV and radio, it has so much potential

I'm looking forward to playing a sword fighting game or a shooter and having a controller that gives the feel you're really holding the weapon and interacting with it in the game seemlessly

hyperseven · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:15

passey89 said:
Yeh im in trouble atm as i have already used all my usb ports

Have to keep the wireless 360 controller unpluged atm.

Which pci card u goin for gregster? Think i deffo need a 4 port 2.

You could just get a cheap powered hub.

Gregster · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:26

passey89 said:
Yeh im in trouble atm as i have already used all my usb ports

Have to keep the wireless 360 controller unpluged atm.

Which pci card u goin for gregster? Think i deffo need a 4 port 2.

Inateck Superspeed 4 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card

Out of the country tomorrow but will order from the forest on Monday.

mid_gen · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:28

JBuk said:
I'm looking forward to playing a sword fighting game or a shooter and having a controller that gives the feel you're really holding the weapon and interacting with it in the game seemlessly

Played Fruit Ninja on the Vive....the controller tracking is pretty good, waving the sword around looks great.

Chopping fruit is just about OK, you get a little haptic feedback through the controller when you slice a fruit. I wouldn't get your hopes up for sword fighting though....when you hit a solid object with the sword (like the floor) and there's no resistance, the immersion goes straight out the window.

VR to work best needs to not have any of these immersion breaking moments....that's going to take a lot of cunning design work and imaginative new types of gameplay.

sprite- · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:37

Even though i've pre-ordered the Oculus Rift, i think the HTC Vive looks fantastic. I do have a couple of reservation with it though;

- I just don't believe people have rooms big enough to really take advantage of the lighthouses. I absolutely love the idea of tracking to a point where i can simply walk and it mimics it in game, i do however wonder how much is actually possible in a confined space. I can imagine it being major blocker for most. So while i LOVE the idea, the practical applications for me are few. I can just imagine an adventure game, where i'm using the controller 95% of the time until i'm in a room which visually corresponds to my physical room size so i take advantage of the walking - a bit start / stop. Even then, with a wider space the cable becomes an issue..

- HTC as a company i think are great - but they're so on the ropes financially at the moment. Sales down again, 35% over the last 12 months. While i appreciate Valve are heavily involved, i don't really want a headset manufactured by a company who could go pop. Even if the HTC Vive receives great fanfare and people buy it - this is the kind of company reviving product. Not until VR goes mass market and thats a good 2-3 years off. HTC are literally burning through their cash reserves currently, with no sign of the mobile market changing for them (if not getting worse).

- Oculus have a huge financial pull with Facebook backing them, also been developing for such a long time i just feel short to medium term support is going to be better.

Overall. I think both will likely be the same, as good as eachother. HTC Vive just has the extra room tracking (which i wont use and i dont think is ready yet tech wise anyway).

Gregster · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:42

I would put the Rift and Vive down as Beta samples really and it will get better in time. Cables for the Vive need sorting and wireless would be awesome and can see that happening. Controllers work well apparently on the Vive, so a real plus there but the touch controllers not so well on the Rift, so a bit of work needed there. Resolution for both is still a little low but better than previous models. I have no reservations of tweaks being needed and have no problems doing that but 5 or so years will be decent res, wireless and much better all round tracking.

Nismo · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:48

Exactly.

For a first gen consumer product, it seems whichever brand you chose you are in a good position.

Just imagine where we will be in 5 years. VR isn't going to go away even if things don't go to plan this year, I firmly believe that it's going to rapidly improve.

JBuk · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:48

mid_gen said:
Played Fruit Ninja on the Vive....the controller tracking is pretty good, waving the sword around looks great.

Chopping fruit is just about OK, you get a little haptic feedback through the controller when you slice a fruit. I wouldn't get your hopes up for sword fighting though....when you hit a solid object with the sword (like the floor) and there's no resistance, the immersion goes straight out the window.

VR to work best needs to not have any of these immersion breaking moments....that's going to take a lot of cunning design work and imaginative new types of gameplay.

Yeah its going to take some time to develop new things but that makes it so exciting, so many possibilities

Imagine a gun controller that mimics the recoil by having some sophisticated mechanics bulit in or even a gaming chair that can tilt and sway or vibrate a little to give the feeling you you're in a cockpit or something , mix these with surround sound and you're nearing a gaming wet dream heh

mid_gen · 8 Jan 2016 at 16:57

sprite- said:
Even though i've pre-ordered the Oculus Rift, i think the HTC Vive looks fantastic. I do have a couple of reservation with it though;
- HTC as a company i think are great - but they're so on the ropes financially at the moment. Sales down again, 35% over the last 12 months. While i appreciate Valve are heavily involved, i don't really want a headset manufactured by a company who could go pop. Even if the HTC Vive receives great fanfare and people buy it - this is the kind of company reviving product. Not until VR goes mass market and thats a good 2-3 years off. HTC are literally burning through their cash reserves currently, with no sign of the mobile market changing for them (if not getting worse).

It wouldn't at all surprise me if Valve are just waiting for HTC to go **** up to then snap up the VR division.

Guest2 · 8 Jan 2016 at 17:18

I am surprised there are so many people not passing the USB 3 requirements. Is it a specific speed / chipset that is required instead of standard "This board has USB 3"?

I am using this which is a few years old now and passes - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4959#sp

Gregster · 8 Jan 2016 at 17:40

Guest2 said:
I am surprised there are so many people not passing the USB 3 requirements. Is it a specific speed / chipset that is required instead of standard "This board has USB 3"?

I am using this which is a few years old now and passes - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4959#sp

My mobo only has 2 USB 3.0 ports on the back and it needs 3. I have a header as well and could just dummy that but for simplicity and the fact I charge quite a few things, I will be getting a PCI-E usb card.

Skynet5 · 8 Jan 2016 at 18:06

Gregster said:
Inateck Superspeed 4 Ports PCI-E to USB 3.0 Expansion Card

Out of the country tomorrow but will order from the forest on Monday.

There is a cabled version...would that work? Or should we get the psu powered one

passey89 · 8 Jan 2016 at 18:13

Gregster said:
My mobo only has 2 USB 3.0 ports on the back and it needs 3. I have a header as well and could just dummy that but for simplicity and the fact I charge quite a few things, I will be getting a PCI-E usb card.

I have 4 x usb 3.0 and 4 x usb 2.0 on the back panel and mines passed on a gigabyte x99 sli.

They might all be in use but it passed lol. Mobos need more usbs nowadays.

Skynet5 · 8 Jan 2016 at 18:29

lnoton said:
There is a cabled version...would that work? Or should we get the psu powered one

Reviews say the cabless versions don't work too well with more than one device. Sounds like I'll have to do some cable braiding
..

Gregster · 8 Jan 2016 at 18:32

passey89 said:
I have 4 x usb 3.0 and 4 x usb 2.0 on the back panel and mines passed on a gigabyte x99 sli.

They might all be in use but it passed lol. Mobos need more usbs nowadays.

I have a phone, 2 Vaper box mods, a HOTAS, a 360 pad, KB/Mouse, lights all running out the back of my PC in cables.... A mare lol

lnoton said:
There is a cabled version...would that work? Or should we get the psu powered one

I am getting the PSU powered one.

Skynet5 · 8 Jan 2016 at 19:14

Gregster said:
I have a phone, 2 Vaper box mods, a HOTAS, a 360 pad, KB/Mouse, lights all running out the back of my PC in cables.... A mare lol

I am getting the PSU powered one.

Yeah gone for the 4 port powered..gonna look sucky in my case. But I want at least another year out of my mobo.

You think our CPUs will be OK?