So why is the Rift on backorder for so long? I read they are waiting on parts or something, what part is it?
So why is the Rift on backorder for so long? I read they are waiting on parts or something, what part is it?
They have said it's a part supply issue, but they won't divulge which part or who the supplier is.
Rumors are strong that the missing part is the wireless dongle for the controller.
So my initial comparisons:
W/O the touch,the Rift feels extremely lacking. This is magnified by having used the Vive first. You feel like an observer in worlds that are begging to be explored or interacted with. You WANT to reach out and interact, or go exploring and looking behind or under things, but..you can't. You can only watch. Even some sort of teleport system to explore would have been nice, but even this is missing. In most cases as well, even though they are standing experiences, you are not allowed to actually move to the side to look at anything, the screen follows you. This hurts the overall experience. I'm pretty sure this will change in the near future as Dev's realize what people like.
All of that doesn't mean it's a bad experience, the content and visuals are still amazing and maybe a bit more polished and diverse than what is on the Vive (so far). For example there's a plethora of ongoing 3D video which I have been unable to find for the Vive. They aren't the best experience out there, but it is something different. The Oculus portal is better than Steam VR (IMO).
The built in speakers are definitely a plus. Vive needs to incorporate this. Audiophiles be damned, it wont matter, as long as they don't use bottom of the barrel speakers.
There is much more glare on the Rift. It reminds me of astigmatism (which I have). This is very distracting in dark scenes, but is not there at all in brighter scenes. The Vive has those half circles on the bottom of the view, which gets worse when you have to look down, the Rift does not. Speaking of looking down, on the Vive, the headset will not stay in place and gets blurry, whereas the Rift stays put and never gets blurry. This was a nice change.
The option of a remote, or gamepad is nice, but again, coming from a "right input for the job" I don't think you should be limited to ONLY what the dev thinks (or forces) you to use. The problem is that once touch controllers come out, you STILL won't be able to use them for existing content unless they are patched. This goes for the Vive as well. If something calls for a gamepad...allow it! And don't lock it to a Xbox One controller.
I think it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for experiences, then yes, room experience (Vive) is better. If you're looking for straight gaming, Rift is better (or at least cheaper). In my case, I couldn't care less about room-experience. I just want to play games and feel immersed in them, for example, something like a fantasy MMO where I am in the world, in first person, that's my dream game.
I'm not interested in room experience because that's not what I'm looking for in VR. I want it for gaming. I don't want to be grabbing stuff or pushing stuff with my hands. I don't want to walk around. I want to be sitting, and use a controller/mouse/keyboard to move.
When I first played Everquest, what made me feel it was revolutionary was when I was running in a forest, and I looked around me while I was running and there were other people running with me. This was in 1999. All I want is for the same feeling, but in VR.
I'm not interested in room experience because that's not what I'm looking for in VR. I want it for gaming. I don't want to be grabbing stuff or pushing stuff with my hands. I don't want to walk around. I want to be sitting, and use a controller/mouse/keyboard to move.
When I first played Everquest, what made me feel it was revolutionary was when I was running in a forest, and I looked around me while I was running and there were other people running with me. This was in 1999. All I want is for the same feeling, but in VR.
I'd rather sit too, I just want a huge screen in front of me and I think VR would provide that better than a projector plus the 3D depth is icing on the cake. I liked 3D TV's with games but only a couple actually looked right but there was still ghosting.
I wouldn't mind moving my arms around to reach for things in game but my muscles are usually sore and stiff after work anyway to be standing.
I would say it is 'so so' for that use case. Reading in it on non VR games can be a bit difficult at times. The Rift has horrible glare in dark scenes. I did spend about 3 hours in it reading a visual novel to see how the affect was and it was cool, but again, it strained your eyes to read the text. Many games I've tried so far simply crash after a bit in VR mode, but I imagine there are workarounds/fixes for most things.
There is no 3D depth when playing normal games in VR, it is simply projected on a screen. The only 3D depth you have is the environment you choose (such as a theater).
After doing it a few times I'm not sure I would do it all the time. It's nice that it can, but it's not overwhelmingly cool like games actually made for VR.
Should caveat that by saying I've not tried VorpX yet. I am anxious to try quite a few FPS but that use case is different.
Yes, I don't see the allure of watching a 2d something in a 3d environment, except perhaps as a social thing, like if one day my brothers and sister that live in different parts of the world can decide to go to a virtual cinema where we're there sitting 'next to each other' and we can joke around as if we were in the cinema (without a teenager sitting behind me kicking the seat).
Yes, I don't see the allure of watching a 2d something in a 3d environment, except perhaps as a social thing, like if one day my brothers and sister that live in different parts of the world can decide to go to a virtual cinema where we're there sitting 'next to each other' and we can joke around as if we were in the cinema (without a teenager sitting behind me kicking the seat).
Lucky's Tale or whatever seemed to be a completely pointless platformer type game. I only played it before the Eve game downloaded. I bought Chronos and have played it the most. I enjoy it, but there is absolutely no reason for it to be a game that requires an HMD. There are rooms, you are the camera. You are pinned at a certain position and can look around (think resident evil type camera silliness, but you can pan around). You control a little man in a Zelda like adventure. I'll try with the space dogfighting games more soon though.
Comfort is fine, though I do end up with a bit of a Rift face after playing a while. Also, high contrast scenes look horrible because whites on dark backgrounds seem to get a weird glow or haze on the lens that is super distracting.
I would say it is 'so so' for that use case. Reading in it on non VR games can be a bit difficult at times. The Rift has horrible glare in dark scenes. I did spend about 3 hours in it reading a visual novel to see how the affect was and it was cool, but again, it strained your eyes to read the text. Many games I've tried so far simply crash after a bit in VR mode, but I imagine there are workarounds/fixes for most things.
There is no 3D depth when playing normal games in VR, it is simply projected on a screen. The only 3D depth you have is the environment you choose (such as a theater).
After doing it a few times I'm not sure I would do it all the time. It's nice that it can, but it's not overwhelmingly cool like games actually made for VR.
Should caveat that by saying I've not tried VorpX yet. I am anxious to try quite a few FPS but that use case is different.
Heard Oculus is shipping units to Best Buy before all the preorders are filled. That is pretty ridiculous.