Oculus Rift - Development Kit 2

[Aikouka]

Earlier, Oculus announced that they would be releasing the Dev Kit 2, which is based on the model shown off at CES and replaces the original Dev Kit. The unit sees a price increase to $350 from the original Dev Kit's $300 price tag, but it does include the camera required for the new IR tracking. So, I guess that's somewhat warranted.

It will start shipping in July based upon pre-orders that are open now if you're interested in picking one up.

The technophile in me is really tempted to get one since this will have the 1080p screen that people have spoken so highly of!

 

[mizzou]

I noticed on the original oculus rift, when people moved their heads, it looked like 1:3 tracking, not 1:1

Like someone would look wide left, and on the screen it would appear to barely move left. Same when looking up, down, etc.

This model not only looks slick...but it has a number of improvements

+1 to VR gaming is finally within sight!

The technophile in me is really tempted to get one since this will have the 1080p screen that people have spoken so highly of!

I said the same thing for the first dev kit...I'm glad I held off because from what my brother tells me, it's almost unwearable due to motion sickness.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I really wonder if this is going to be what we want or will it end up like 3D TV's?

 

[avatar82]

i'm looking forward to these for my racing and space/flight combat games.

as far as first person shooters go, i hope they can configure it so that the mouse moves and aims the crosshair which is center screen if your looking straight forward, and looking up/down or left/right just looks around in the game without moving your gun (crosshair)
but moving the mouse while looking away moves where your looking in relation to how you moved the crosshair. i hope that explanation makes sense. the mouse should move the body/torso/arms keeping in mind that moving the body/torso/arms moves the head, and moving the head doesn't move the body/torso/arms.

if the aim tracks with the head movement it will suck. and if the aim isn't linked with the head movement (meaning you have to phisically turn around to turn around in the game) it will suck.

the drawback to this method is if your looking up at a target, as you bring your crosshair up to shoot him, you will need to look back down to straight forward to line up your vision back with the crosshair that are now pointed up to the target.

in combat you shouldn't be "looking" around away from your aim anyway so for first person games the little bit of look will just be an immersive experience, which is fine.

 

[Midwayman]

I ordered one. Almost bought the dk1 several times, but the low resolution stopped me. Of course now the retail will actually make holiday 2014 and make me sad.

 

[TheUnk]

I can't see how this alone could ever work for FPS games. Racing/Flight sims on the other hand..

 

[Aikouka]

I noticed on the original oculus rift, when people moved their heads, it looked like 1:3 tracking, not 1:1

Like someone would look wide left, and on the screen it would appear to barely move left. Same when looking up, down, etc.

If I had to guess... that sounds like it's more of an issue of the software being controlled versus the Rift itself. The Rift is introducing data to the game, but the game needs to control the camera's overall movement based upon the data provided.

as far as first person shooters go, i hope they can configure it so that the mouse moves and aims the crosshair which is center screen if your looking straight forward, and looking up/down or left/right just looks around in the game without moving your gun (crosshair)
but moving the mouse while looking away moves where your looking in relation to how you moved the crosshair. i hope that explanation makes sense. the mouse should move the body/torso/arms keeping in mind that moving the body/torso/arms moves the head, and moving the head doesn't move the body/torso/arms.

That sounds sort of like a free-look system. In a sense it's not completely free-look though as you're still tying the camera to the entity's head.

 

[WiseUp216]

Do want. I don't know how much longer I can hold out for the consumer version.

 

[Red Storm]

One step closer to consumer release, which is what I'm waiting for.

 

[smackababy]

As much as I would love to play around with one of these, I just don't think I am willing to spend $350 to neglect it like every other project I've started in the last couple years.

I will surely be grabbing the retail unit though. Can't wait!

 

[Grooveriding]

Tempted to get one....

Not sure $350 is worth it though just to check it out and shelve it. No real use cases for actual gaming yet.

Still tempted.

 

[QuantumPion]

At least in TF2 there are like 8 different modes for how moving/looking/aiming work with the controls.

 

[BladeVenom]

Starting to sound tempting. How much longer before the commercial model is expected to be released?

 

[BrightCandle]

In games like Arma 3 it will be a real game changer. The sorts of games where TrackIR works are the sort of games where OR will really excel. Simulation games in general (including FPS but only when they have separate head and body tracking like Arma) will work really well with it.

 

[mizzou]

I really wonder if this is going to be what we want or will it end up like 3D TV's?

That's a reasonable comparison. For decades we wanted a real 3d experience. Blue/Red glasses were terrible, but sorta worked. Now we have some 3d that works, without even the need of glasses.

For decades we wanted a real VR experience. It was either incredibly expensive, or looked like the Virtual Boy.

I don't think we've really asked for 3d TV to be honest, it was more or less rammed down our throats. Look at Vizio, they don't even offer it any more 2014.

VR we have been dreaming of forever, but nobody has been able to do it mass market. Oculus Rift gave people hope for the first time, finally, the hardware and tech is here to make it realistic AND affordable.

So like 3d TV's, we will see this hit mass market (or moderate market). It will be up to the market to decide if it is worthwhile. We basically took 3d and said "thanks, but no thanks"

If it takes off, it will be like the cordless phone to the corded phone.

My opinion? It will be an expensive sex toy for gaming. An intense, or possibly too intense, experience for gaming, but useful for the hardcore crowd.

It will also be a huge hit in the scientific field, so if anything, Sony may have cornered that market before OR can hit the shelves.

 

[Paul98]

This is what I am waiting for, I would have picked up the previous version but decided to wait for higher resolution. Now I am excited!

 

[skulkingghost]

Ordered one as well. Planning on getting back into game making again with the UDK announcement. Cannot wait.

 

[Midwayman]

That's a reasonable comparison. For decades we wanted a real 3d experience. Blue/Red glasses were terrible, but sorta worked. Now we have some 3d that works, without even the need of glasses.

For decades we wanted a real VR experience. It was either incredibly expensive, or looked like the Virtual Boy.

I don't think we've really asked for 3d TV to be honest, it was more or less rammed down our throats. Look at Vizio, they don't even offer it any more 2014.

VR we have been dreaming of forever, but nobody has been able to do it mass market. Oculus Rift gave people hope for the first time, finally, the hardware and tech is here to make it realistic AND affordable.

So like 3d TV's, we will see this hit mass market (or moderate market). It will be up to the market to decide if it is worthwhile. We basically took 3d and said "thanks, but no thanks"

If it takes off, it will be like the cordless phone to the corded phone.

My opinion? It will be an expensive sex toy for gaming. An intense, or possibly too intense, experience for gaming, but useful for the hardcore crowd.

It will also be a huge hit in the scientific field, so if anything, Sony may have cornered that market before OR can hit the shelves.

I don't think it will ever be 'mass market' as a HMD. It may be popular among the hard core gaming crowd, but the experience of having to wear something on your face and spend a lot on money on a very special used peripheral isn't a good recipe. I think among hardcore gamers it has a chance of doing very well. It just isn't flappy bird, etc.

Once we transition VR to tech beyond the horizon that's when you pick up the casuals.

 

[Face2Face]

I think I will wait for the retail sku. Want this just for survival horror games and Assetto Corsa.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I was tempted to pre order one and pretty much almost did until I read in their FAQ they start shipping in July!! I'm sure there will be increased interest which means I'm sure there's already a queue and with them taking months to ship even just the original beta kits you could be looking at something like a 4-5 month wait, which is crazy.

I absolutely want one of these, it has the spec I'm looking for, but with such a huge delay in getting them out it might just be worth waiting for a consumer version they can pump out in volumes to meet demand.

if I could order one of these today and get it inside a week I'd happily pay $350 or more for it.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

They really need some way to let you see your keyboard through this thing. Like a camera pointed at the keyboard, and when your eyes look down it shows that camera view at the bottom of the screen or something. Otherwise it will be relegated to driving and flight sims.

 

[Worthington]

I think that's in the works for the Consumer version. an outfacing webcam that feeds into a little PiP box on your display

 

[BrightCandle]

Rather than a keyboard I am kind of thinking we really need better controls. Racing games have wheels and pedels which you should be able to use without looking at. FPS games are going to require a gun with 3D tracking just like the googles and it will have to include a bundle of each reach buttons for controls. Presumably some foot pedals for walking forward and back, strafe left and right, duck and jump would also work pretty well combined with a grenades button and such on the gun. Basically there are a load of peripherals necessary to really bring this alive and be more immersive than just kb+m.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I just want it so I can finally live out my Roller Coaster Tycoon creations in REAL LIVE TERRORVISION! (trademark pending all rights reserved).

 

[smackababy]

If only they would make a new Roller Coaster Tycoon! Isometric 2d is only so good! Granted I did resist the jump to RTC3 and 3D for a long time (it was only sale on GOG for like $8 before I first played that entry into the series) and it was fantastic!

If only I could get the same feeling in 1080p with some good graphics!