Oculus RIFT Head Mounted Display 90 Degree FOV

[Mayaman]

Thats just it, its not hype. Hype is unsubstantiated. From everything out about the Rift, its totally substantiated. In fact, you have several hundred first hand accounts of its awesomeness from people who have used it. The exact opposite of hype. People have actually used it. This isn't the Phantom console or the PS2 "Toy Story" Graphics. People are and have been using the Rift for months and are blown away.

Here is another reason it isn't hype. Here is yet another update from Palmer. This is what I call going the extra mile. Palmer is a gamer first and foremost. His input into this is invaluable and its the big difference between the Rift and other attempts by other companies.

http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=88dbd06829e35d5cbf84bbc2e&id=e54b91ff58&e=3b5efbb21d

 

[oqvist]

No there is a lot that isn´t substantiated and that is the input lag of the device among other things.

I didn´t suggest the Rift was vaporware. Hype is not the same hype is more closely related to marketing by my definition.

btw is there any speculation whenever we can see the consumer model hit the market? 2014 unrealistic?

 

[II-zOoLoGy-II]

I agree; I think the input/response lag alone will deter me from using first gen Rifts with any game other than racing titles. Even then it is up in the air in that genre.

 

[oqvist]

May get it still for other purposes it all depends. But it would be a huge downer

 

[Mayaman]

No release date yet but according to the chat on the 3D forums they're shooting for mid to late 2014.

Input lag has been mentioned as something on the board to be addressed. Seeing as they've done huge improvements from the original design I wouldn't worry about this. Check the link I posted to see the substantial effort being put into this thing.

 

[Nastradamus87]

Well, iRacing will survive because of the online system. No game on the horizon will ever get close to matching it, because they don't want to.

But back to the subject of the Rift, it will indeed be a pretty niche product but that's not to say it won't get a big enough following to get game developers to notice. Huge companies like Id, Epic, and Valve among others are backing the technology by offering native support with their games. For those games that don't natively support we've got companies like Nthusium offering their software to bring older games and those that don't offer native support into the technology.

Maybe I'm optimistic because I'm a 3D enthusiast, the glasses don't bother me, don't give me headaches, and don't make my eyes tired. I've done 8 hour 3D marathons with friends and had no problems whatsoever. These are also a little different because each eye is isolated and getting it's own picture and our brain does the rest putting it together into 3D, at least I think that's how it works.

I'm not without my skepticism of course, with the current low resolution of 640x800 per eye (1280x800 total) on a 3.5" image it's not going to be like playing on a 2560x1600 monitor of course. However I think it will be perfectly acceptable. Also the consumer version is likely going to have 960x1080 per eye (1920x1080 total screen resolution) which is significantly higher and on a 3.5" screen is still very good PPI.

I'm looking beyond the pure resolution numbers and looking at the immersion factor. I hated the Sony HMZ-T1 because the screen for each eye was 0.7" which made it feel like I was looking at a screen that was far away from me, even though it wasn't. But with a 3.5" screen for each eye in this, the immersion level should be absolutely amazing. Pretty much all of our frontal visual field should be taken up and with a 110 degree horizontal FOV it will match the visual field of many people with triple monitor setups. To me it's all about feeling like I'm in the game, not looking at a game. For me on my triple monitor setup the bezels are a constant reminder that I'm not "in the game." Combine this FOV with accurate head tracking and we are truly "in the game." If I need to look down to check my oil temp gauge I just move my head slightly down and actually look at the gauge. No more faking it with monitoring software running on a cell phone or little separate monitor.

I understand the potential negatives and there are a ton of mistakes that these guys can make that will kill this device. But I'm holding out hope that it will completely replace my triple monitor setup. If the 720p setup I get with the dev kit impresses me, I'll buy the 1080p consumer version as well.


Resolution is an issue that many people are worrying too much about IMO. Look at some of these guys with stupid 55" 1080p screens that they are sitting 3ft away from, that's 40 pixels per inch. The 3.5" 640x800 screen is 292 pixels per inch. Yet they are very pleased with their 40 pixels per inch. I think even though we'll be significantly closer to the screen, the 292 pixels per inch will look very good. Now think about the consumer version with 960x1080, that's 412 pixels per inch at 3.5", pretty good for 3.5" even being only a few inches away. Companies are already working on 2560x1600 versions of these 7" screens too.

So yes, it will be niche, but I think it will absolutely impress those willing to give it a chance.

Great post. I'm one of those nut cases sitting with my face up against a 50" plasma. Compared to what I'm looking at now (which doesn't look awful), the Oculus should look fantastic.

I agree; I think the input/response lag alone will deter me from using first gen Rifts with any game other than racing titles. Even then it is up in the air in that genre.

?
Racing titles are the ones you really want low input lag for.

 

[Devedander]

?
Racing titles are the ones you really want low input lag for.

Pretty sure he is talking about how fast your FOV changes in tracking the movement of your head.

The display lag should be very low but if there is much delay between a head turn and a viewpoint change in game, for things like FPS it will be very disorienting.

But since Doom BFG is coming packed in with the RIFT I imagine input lag is a big issue for them.

 

[Mayaman]

You not a problem? Since Doom requires ultra fast head movements.

 

[oqvist]

It need fast gun movement. I suppose this is what you mean. Generally we control both the head and gun at the same time with our mouse or gamepad if you are a console gamer.

I am not sure Doom 3 is the best game to showcase a HMD with head tracking. I would have hoped more for say Penumbra. Penumbra with Novint Falcon controller and Occulus Rift that should make people litterary crap their pants. Since you can then both feel the game world and not see the borders of it. No escape Slow paced where shooting first think second seldom is the answer. the Hunter is another game where I see potential. However it´s current TrackIR support is quite lacklustre so would need to jump to a new game engine.

The fps games I run with head tracking primarily is the HL 2 beta and Armed Assault 2. It´s primarily the later I see the potential with head tracking not arcadish twitch shooters.

I sure hope Rift get it´s game that is the equivallent of the Penumbra overture and black plague for the novint Falcon. If it wasn´t for these titles I would been more frustrated by the lack of game support on this device.

Same thing may very well happen to the Rift as well. It may end up being great but not getting the game support it deserves.

 

[superbike81]

Interesting news:

@twintips: I haven't looked at iRacing so far, but I might. However, rFactor is already supported when it comes to serious racing.

This was a post from the developer of VorpX, an injection driver program that will give Rift support to select current games. The iRacing developers have confirmed that they have two dev kits on order, but while they are working on it, we will still be able to enjoy rFactor.

Disclaimer: VorpX will not be free, expect the cost to be somewhere between $40-60 with support for about 50 games initially.

 

[museumsteve]

Got as newsletter from Oculus this morning saying shipping is planned to start mid March

 

[superbike81]

http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=88dbd06829e35d5cbf84bbc2e&id=6f4894c75c&e=a96ccc6750

This is the HTML version of that newsletter.

 

[lemansfanatic]

I am a grown man and I don't get over excited about silly toys. That said, after seeing the youtube reviews on the Rift, this is the most exciting "gadget" I have ever seen, period. I have never ever wanted any piece of electronic equipment more than realistic virtual reality, and people are saying its finally here. I just can't wait to try it. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! Now I can save all this money on tripple screens and a cockpit and just play from the couch again!

EDIT: It would be perfect if they came up with a way either with front mounted cameras or mirrors to be able to toggle sight through the device so you could move around without having to take it off.

I hope they add advanced tracking smoothing too, it looked kind of jumpy and shaky, but still amazing none the less

 

[VINCE__]

Spotted this on FB

 

[King Rocket]

My Oculus Cannot turn up fast enough! Can't wait to try some driving games with it, plenty of games already work but I really hope Project Cars will be compatible soon.

 

[lemansfanatic]

I wonder if he's looking at the virtual baby in the backseat?

 

[Mayaman]

Looks like he's reversing

 

[museumsteve]

According the wiki - rF2 support is ready

 

[paskowitz]

Spotted this on FB

Which dev?

 

[smokey777]

damn I gotta buy this soon

 

[museumsteve]

Video may not stay up for long as they keep getting removed but this popped up..Oculus driVR

 

[Mr Latte]

I am not dogging at this but I am a little sceptical of just how good it may be. So curious to hear tester-consumer reports.

My main concern is still being within the virtual world you cannot physically see all your devices or additional driving tools and hardware.

In this video the guy stated things you can do things in a VR driving game that are not possible in a normal driving game

• "Peter can look out his window"
• "He can even look completely behind him"

Firstly triple displays or more limits how much you'd need to do this.
I am not sure how much I would want to look behind, what are mirrors for?
As for the virtual cockpit, what does PS Eye, Kinect and to a better extent Track IR let you do on a normal racing game?

So far I am not convinced regards "Sim Racing" on this hardware.
If anything could a combination of Track IR with large 3D displays be more immersive and better suited, still allowing a user to use all their other hardware?

Yes their is the price factor too but for the best immersion, experience mmm?

Thoughts

 

[museumsteve]

I don't think it will work very well for racing at the start, but it's still an exciting prospect.
I can imagine plenty of ways to bypass the issue of not seeing stuff, the most obvious way is to come up with an augmented reality type setup using a webcam or something...I can see how it can be done but it requires someone much cleverer than me

 

[Mayaman]

You guys are still thinking in display terms. There is no "display" with this device. It It literally feels like you're sitting inside the car. Hard to explain.

 

[museumsteve]

You guys are still thinking in display terms. There is no "display" with this device. It It literally feels like you're sitting inside the car. Hard to explain.

You still have to have a way of seeing your controls at some time otherwise it can never be taken seriously in a racing sim environment IMO. Augmented reality is the obvious way forward I would have thought.

 

[HoiHman]

This will be a great sollution for FPS.

I think it will be a long time before we see this replacing a triple screen racing setup. The only way to really judge this, is to try it your self.

Like Rodney mentioned: you want to interact and see your racing hardware

But in the future, combined with augmented reality (like Steve mentioned) this could be awesome. 👍

Just imagine turning your BMW rim into a Porsche rim (with the buttons on the same place) or just have different labels on all your buttons depending on the race game you play.

I can already see companies like fanatec selling complete green or blue wheels, because they interact better with the augmented reality LOL

 

[BLACK86]

Good thing about this is when you look around the whole screen moves with you. Where as with kinect or track ir you have to keep looking forward with your eyes but move your head which is unnatural

 

[superbike81]

You still have to have a way of seeing your controls at some time otherwise it can never be taken seriously in a racing sim environment IMO. Augmented reality is the obvious way forward I would have thought.

What exactly do you need to see?

I spent a couple days (really about 2-3 hours actual time) learning all my buttons by feel in preparation for the Rift, and I'm now able to get exactly the button I want by feel 100% of the time on the wheel, and 99% of the time on my DSD side panels (I messed up once and hit one button to the right of what I wanted so I can't claim 100%).

I've got a CSW with the GT and Formula wheel rims and I can get all 12 buttons on each wheel without a problem. Then I've got the DSD side panels which attach to the wheel and provide another 30 buttons (49 functions).

If I can memorize 42 buttons by feel with my eyes closed, anyone can. I'm not special, I spent only a few hours and I memorized each button, you can too.

I can also reach my DSD shifter every single time by feel.

It's really easy.

Saying that triple screens with TrackIR will provide a better experience than the Oculus Rift is ignorant.

It will provide more field of view, but you'll still be staring at bezeled screens and TrackIR is still awkward due to the screens not moving with your head.

The Oculus Rift will provide somewhere around 100-110 FOV and you will be put inside of a virtual cockpit in true 3D with head tracking. The immersion factor of this alone is something that a traditional triple screen setup will never be able to provide. The only alternative would be something like a large triple projection display (which I have had) that provides 180 degree FOV and has the outside world completely blocked out, something like that crazy expensive TL1 simulator. But even that won't provide the same immersion level as the Rift.

The only thing we will absolutely lose by using the Oculus Rift is the ability to use external monitoring displays like sim-dashes, SLI's, etc. But with the high vertical FOV that the Rift provides, you'll be able to see all of your gauges in the car anyways. Besides, all that extra monitoring crap isn't realistic anyways, the drivers don't have that in their cars during a race, they study their telemetry with their engineer after the race.

If you are Ray Alfalla, Greger Huttu, or some other professional sim racer, you probably aren't going to want to use the Oculus Rift until it's perfected. But for those of us looking for the greatest immersion possible, the Rift will provide it better than almost any three screen setup out there.


A friend of mine built a DIY head mounted display and I have to say, even without head tracking, it is by far the most immersive gaming experience I've had. We tried a Half Life 2 mod and then just viewed some simple stereoscopic 3D images of an iRacing screenshot and it was incredible how immersive it was, and that was just a static screenshot. Being put "into" the game is something you have to experience yourself to really understand what I'm talking about.

 

[museumsteve]

It is easy mate, I agree..but I'm pretty sure it would be different when you are completely cut off from the 'real' world with a headset on. I think it's one thing knowing where everything is because even though you may know where stuff is it's still within your peripheral vision. Being cut-off completely I think will introduce it's own psychological barriers.
I'm all for the headset...I have one ordered and really hope it turns up in the next few weeks I'll remain a little sceptical yet very open minded about how effective it will be in serious sim racing. Doesn't matter to me personally cos I dont do 'serious' sim racing

 

[superbike81]

I cut myself off from the world completely by closing my eyes. It's how I taught myself to be prepared for the Rift, it worked great. I can't see anything, but I can still get all of my buttons easily.