Oculus Rift

Reedy what order number were you?

Im order 8888 was wondering what you were on the list.

Really want this to arrive.

4608 apparently. I received the shipment notification the day after it arrived though.. :/ Might be a while! :(

They are however shipping from the UK rather than all direct from wherever.


How you finding it then Reedy? Fired anything up with it yet?

After attempting to use TF2 to calibrate, trying to play HL2 SP rather then TF2 MP seems a better option.

Of course, this has involved letting steam convert things to the new efficient format, then decide it wants to download number MB or GB per game in "missing files".

Good reason for another playthrough of HL2 too!

Glad to see it was very much plug and play. Just enable it as an extra monitor. Steam/TF2 automagically opens it on that screen at the right resolution. Great! The loading screens look funny, and some are swapped, but when you're to the game menu, it seems alright.


Even after attempted calibration, I think it all looks quite blurry still. At this point I'm not sure if I'm doing anything obviously wrong, or expecting too much. I guess it's gonna be pretty hard to have a screen shot of how it should look from the users perspective... ;)

Various reports of it not working properly in TF2 too.. https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=777 See if updating to pre-release (rather than the TF2 Beta separate thing).
 
"Three different pairs of lenses are included with the development kit. The tallest set (A) is designed for 20/20 or farsighted vision. The middle set (B) is designed for moderately nearsighted users. The shortest set (C) is designed for very nearsighted users.... If you wish to wear corrective lenses while using the Rift, please use lens set A, the tallest lens cups and use the side screws of the Rift to adjust the headset to fit on your head"

Crappy photo of inside the plastic dev kit case:

BJ6XsyZCEAAMEOQ.jpg

Why you little... :p
 
With the headset and a pair of fairly big headphones (Corsair Vengeance 1300) on too, it could quite cause problems for someone who is claustrophobic.

I'm not sure if I want to know how I look to the outside world by someone walking into my office... Even more creepy if I turn the other screens and the lights off...

Looking around by moving your head is both cool and strange at the same time. Especially with separate mouse aim at the same time.

Apparently I can't post on their forums. Clicking new topic redirects me to https://developer.oculusvr.com/. Helpful..
 
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Not really much point me ordering a dev kit then, given that they wont be shipping any new orders till august.

They've never given a release date. Current speculation is that we're at least a year away for the consumer version. There was a leaked slide from a presentation that suggests there will at least be a revision 2 dev kit in between now and the official launch, so it's a long time off yet.
 
They've never given a release date. Current speculation is that we're at least a year away for the consumer version. There was a leaked slide from a presentation that suggests there will at least be a revision 2 dev kit in between now and the official launch, so it's a long time off yet.

Yes indeed, given they're a small company that has been absolutely swamped with thousands of orders for the dev kit since they started shipping. They definitely seem interested in pushing at the developer community right now, rather than mass market, which is great - the more indie devs that get involved, the more likely the mass market will get involved too.

I've only pre-ordered the dev kit, not for serious game development, but for playing around with as a hobbyist - I've always dreamed of using a device like this.

For the consumer version, I imagine they will be aiming for a higher res screen (I'm not sure 1080p is going to cut it). So we might be waiting until Retina-like displays are cheaper and available.

For anyone interested in seeing reactions to the 3D immersion/depth, check out this Portal 2 video presented by the excellent Cymatic Bruce (skip to 3:30):

 
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They definitely seem interested in pushing at the developer community right now, rather than mass market, which is great - the more indie devs that get involved, the more likely the mass market will get involved too.
I think some of the most visually innovative stuff will come from the demo scene, but seeing what indie devs and hobbyists are already playing about with is pretty cool.

I've only pre-ordered the dev kit, not for serious game development, but for playing around with as a hobbyist - I've always dreamed of using a device like this.
Same here (backed it just before the kickstarter ended). I remember the old Legend Quest Virtuality machines from the 90's, so yeah, I've been waiting a good couple of decades for someone to make a proper push at VR.

For the consumer version, I imagine they will be aiming for a higher res screen (I'm not sure 1080p is going to cut it). So we might be waiting until Retina-like displays are cheaper and available.
Been wondering that myself. At the end of the day, the panel for the first consumer version will come down to cost. I think a 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) panel will be used just to keep the retail price down. It would be a nice surprise if they went for something higher though.
 
I have been following this for a while and deffinately want to get a retail unit. They genuinely seem to have got this right. Back in the day the virtuality VR arcades were just a bit too far ahead of their time (and the tech available)
If they can keep the price under £200 I think they are onto a winner with this.

I am most looking forward to simply playing the game dear esther and just looking around, it's already an impressive game as it is. Whilst I think you could break the immersion somewhat in games when turning around to look behind you (lets assume you are sat down) they might have to simply implement a 180 degree button spin like they did on the 360 version of left 4 dead.

Performance wise can we expect a bit of a performance hit? I presume each frame needs to be drawn twice at a slightly different offset for each eye, fine for half-life 2 engine games...not so good if you want to play Crysis 3 :)

Exciting times for gamers certainly!
 
Performance wise can we expect a bit of a performance hit? I presume each frame needs to be drawn twice at a slightly different offset for each eye, fine for half-life 2 engine games...not so good if you want to play Crysis 3 :)
That's correct. But at 1280x800, it's not that demanding right now. If the consumer version is 1920x1200 or perhaps even higher, you're gonna need a beast of a PC, as 60fps is essential.
 
Performance wise can we expect a bit of a performance hit? I presume each frame needs to be drawn twice at a slightly different offset for each eye, fine for half-life 2 engine games...not so good if you want to play Crysis 3 :)

There's a slight hit, but probably not as much as people think. To get some sort of idea, download the Unigene Valley Benchmark. Just ran it here twice - the first results are for a single 1280x800 view (ultra settings, no AA):

FPS: 66.6
Score: 2786
Min FPS: 30.4
Max FPS: 126.3

Now, compare that with a 3d side by side view at the same resolution (1280x800 screen, 640x800 per eye):

FPS: 56.3
Score: 2355
Min FPS: 26.5
Max FPS: 100.7

That's just a 10fps hit on my PC (2600k, GTX480), not the halving in frame-rate that some people seem to assume. You've got to remember that although you're rendering it twice, you're also only rendering each eye at half the resolution.

Obviously, different engines might give different ratios, and there's also the need to apply the screen warp for the Rift, but at least it can give you a rough idea about the performance hit on your system.
 
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All I can think about is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. (worth a read. Had several Captain America, "I understood that reference" moments)

[Edit] oh! he did: http://www.readyplayerone.com/post/44787868920/ernest-cline-tries-out-the-oculus-rift [/edit]

So many games I wish I could play with this. The current titles + WoW, Trackmania.
I'd need to start a kickstarter to get the money to buy this though, and a PC powerful enough.
 
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