Guys, I *finally* got my Rift today and already "played" up and down demos and stuff from Oculus Store and Steam
Allow me a "review" from someone who never have a VR experience before, maybe it helps someone
* Setup was retarded easy and quick, unbelievable.
Also no problems with my "not so extremely powerful" PC with an overclocked 4770K and only a GTX 970.
Performance wise I don't feel I'd need anything faster at this point, although of course I hadn't have a chance to try everything out there.
I downloaded/tested Dreamdeck and several other free demos/experiences and also some rollercoasters
* My impression overall is somewhere between "WHOAW!" and "slight disappointment".
* Screen door effect is definitely there, and there is lots of "rays" and "flares" etc. which I think is normal, so this is a slight pain in things like menus etc. It is definitely at first a shock when you're used to playing on a highres monitor. SDE and resolution etc. is also highly depending on experience, in some it's less noticeable. Same with flares/rays, it always depends. Just don't expect clarity like from a monitor.
* FOV is definitely "limited", and the comparison with a diving mask I think fits perfectly. But actually I don't think the limited FOV is such a problem at this point considering the other things.
* Despite the shortcomings, some things blew me away, and my absolute favorite is this "Senza Peso" "short opera" experience, it's incredible and for me totally symbolizes what VR is about and the potential it has.
* Dreamdeck, Dinosaurs etc, "nice" but didn't blow me off my feet, neither did the "Showdown" demo. It really didn't impress me as much as some people say it impressed them.
* Then it was time for my first rollercoaster and other similar experiences, and I LOVE them although you can get dizzy if you do stupid things like riding a roller coaster and then move your head around because you WILL get dizzy. There was one demo where you ride a broom stick through a house which is really pushing it because there are no tracks, so you have no idea where the broom goes. I mean you REALLY feel it in your "stomach". Same effect with that scene in dreamdeck where you look down the skyscraper. Holy crap, MONEY WELL SPENT You really get scared you might fall down, awesome. Or the sense of size of a planet or whatever large thing.... just awesome.So this stuff comes across well even with the "diver mask FOV". I also experienced for the first time ever the notion that I could be genuinely "scared" playing a game and then facing an enemy/boss etc....some things just appear so *real*, this absolutely would give horror etc games an entire new dimension.
* I also loaded up Google Earth VR and somehow figured out a little how to move around using the tutorials. It is *extremely* well done (actually, mind-blowing) but of course without Touch I think I can't use 70% what it can even do. It was odd however that everything was "miniature" size and you feel like a giant.
* Oculus Home is "nice", this is all I can say. "Nice". I personally like the Steam VR interface A LOT better, a lot cooler with the big screen to the side.
* Lucky's Tale. Absolutely not my type of game but it is extremely well done. I was in awe about this game.
* Sound quality of the headphones? I was at first disappointed since one demo had crappy sound, but then I loaded some others and it turns out it is actually good and can deliver some "oomph" and actually has good bass. Nothing to complain here, and very comfortable.
* Set is very comfortable to wear and very light although it needs some figuring out how to position it on your face for best experience.
* Sensor is even smaller than I figured and goes nicely even on my crammed desk.
* My overall impression is positive, but it's sort of like that you are aware we're at an early stage of things. Like...I'd say it feels it's 65-70% of the potential of stuff in the future. Less Screen door effect, less flares from the lenses, a notch higher FOV. This is what we need. And when we get this, next gen or gen 2, there is SO MUCH potential I shudder just thinking about it. Imagine THIS but with full clarity of a normal monitor and none of the downsides. I can understand those people who say wait for next gen although I don't think I "wasted" money.
Additions:
* I am actually having a hell of a time to get any demos/experiences where you can actually actively move. There are not many that even take advantage of the Xbox controller. It lay on my lap unused most of the time. But I really want the "BARF!" experience just for the lulz.
* I am quite disappointed with the quality of MOST 360 deg "VR movies" out there. I read somewhere that 360 deg movies need insane bandwidth/size...but those in the Oculus store are low resolution and blurry.They even said this. I read somewhere a "proper" 3D movie needs 18K resolution, insane. This coming from the philosophy that a movie always looked better than something *RENDERED* in 3D, and with VR it seems to be the opposite.