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TehSpectre
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What is Oculus Rift?
It's goddamn virtual reality. The stuff we've been promised in Movies, books, and TV shows since the 70's. The stuff that big gaming companies like Sega, Nintendo and Atari promised and never delivered. More specifically, it's a Head Mounted Display that does all sorts of motion tracking that works with your PC and various softwares to immerse you in a fully 3D world. Instead of looking at a flat (or stereoscopic) screen in front of you and moving the camera around with glorified RC controls, your head and eyes are the camera. Piloting a mech? Look to your left to see out of the side window as you continue to move forward. Throw a basketball up high? Follow it in the air with your head as though it's actually there.
Any peripherals?
Well, Oculus readily admits that their stuff is only the first step.
The Sixaxis STEM ain't your granddad's motion controller.
Sixense developed the electromagnetic motion tracking technology that is used in consumer products worldwide. The STEM System represents the next generation of this technology, with a new architecture that delivers longer range, lower latency, and better performance at all ranges.
Wireless motion tracking
Freedom of movement for any activity, from desktop competitive gaming to VR with full body tracking and locomotion.
Five tracking points
Allows tracking of all four limbs plus the head – or any other configuration.
Extended range
Optimized performance from the desktop to the living room, with an 8-foot radius (16-foot diameter) range from the Base.
Backward compatibility via the Sixense SDK
Uses an updated version of the Sixense SDK (for Windows, Mac OS and Linux) that also supports games and applications developed for the Razer Hydra.
Our technology uses an A/C electromagnetic field to determine the position and orientation of each STEM (up to five per system) relative to a stationary base. The STEM System allows an uninterrupted and consistent user experience unlike any other motion control system.
No drift
Because Sixense technology does not rely on inertial sensors (gyroscopes and accelerometers) for position tracking, the measured position of each STEM will not drift over time, whether you move quickly, slowly, or not at all.
Low latency
Patented Sixense latency technology is used in the STEM System – giving it the lowest latency of any wireless consumer motion control system.
One-to-one tracking
This means that the STEM System tracks both position and orientation on all three axes for each STEM. These data are very easy for developers to incorporate into software applications via the Sixense SDK.
No line of sight required between STEMs and the Base
You have the freedom to turn around, put the STEMs in your pockets or stand behind your couch – all without interrupting the tracking performance.
Your own personal holodeck. Not really...more like a strollingdeck:
Virtuix.com wrote:The Virtuix Omni™ is the first virtual reality interface for moving freely and naturally in your favorite game.
The Virtuix Omni™ takes virtual reality to the next level— allowing anyone to stand up and traverse virtual worlds with the natural use of their own feet. Moving naturally in virtual reality creates an unprecedented sense of immersion that cannot be experienced sitting down.
Applications of natural movement in virtual reality stretch far beyond gaming: training and simulation, fitness, virtual tourism, virtual tradeshows and events, meet-ups and multi-person adventures, virtual workplaces, museums, VR architecture, VR concerts… The possibilities are limitless.
Why should I care about this?
Oculus makes believers out of those who play it, without fail. There have been hundredsthousands of testimonials since it was in early beta and the theme is the same - even those who are on the fence about the stuff instantly become diehard believers after minutes with the Oculus Rift.
The Rift already seems to have its "Killer app," its Wii Sports, if you will. Dubbed "Tuscany" this is a free demo that seems to show off better than most just what the Oculus Rift can do. It's fully compatible with the Rift and the razer hydra to provide a complete virtual reality playground. Behold:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IwxUD8N8EThere is a moment in that video where the guy throws a basketball high into the air, arcing it so it'll land behind him. he follows the ball in the air and leans backwards in his chair, stretching his arm out backwards and catches the ball. It's only later in the video, when he's reflecting, that he realizes how incredibly complex what he did was, and yet how the immersion made the experience natural and easy.
Much like Wii Sports, this demo seems to have transcended barriers. No matter how good or bad you are at gaming, how old or young you are, what you've seen or what you've done, a few moments in Tuscany seems to be all it takes to make even 90 year old grandmothers go off about how mind blowing and game changing Rift is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAC5SeNH8jwIt's the sort of product that instantly shows you everything you need to know in order to come to the conclusion that Rift is not a minor innovation, but rather a major step forward.
What is the future of Rift applications?
That's the most exciting part - reading the developer boards on oculus' website reveals thousands of people brimming with ideas. The nature of how different Rift is compared to conventional computing demands a different approach to virtually everything, from UI to what is simply possible. A few people, for example, are attempting to create a usable OS UI within Rift. Their concept demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs9kocefwaAThis is the sort of stuff that Rift will make possible. Medical and military fields stand to benefit immensely from Rift. Combined with the Omni and HydraSTEM, there is just so much that seems possible at the moment. It's all crude, but unlike other gimmicky technology the Rift appears to be structurally sound in its foundation, meaning that going forward it'll be more about tweaking concepts to make them work, rather than trying to get a fundamentally broken principal accepted.
For the immediate future, Rift has 3 games that officially support it:
Team Fortress 2 VR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P50fvL_EWYYThis is Valve's first Oculus Rift product, a simple update to TF2 to enable VR controls. By contrast to using the SDK to map mouselook to the headset, Valve actually went in and retooled TF2's controls to better support Oculus Rift and the Razer Hydra. The end result, according to those who have used it, is that the small control improvements go unnoticed until you try a game without them, at which point you realize how vital they are. Your crosshair, for example, is not bound to your headtracking, but rather it works like a Wiimote. You are free to aim your crosshair all around your vision, like a mouse on a desktop, and push the screen around the bounding edges also like the Wii. However, turning is achieved primarily through your head tracking. People say that it doesn't replace the normal TF2 experience, and that you'd probably be at a disadvantage compared to someone with a KB&M, but that it's simply fun and worth playing around with.
HAWKEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STUIuKPa5WoFor gamers, this is likely the killer app beyond Tuscany. HAWKEN is an actiony, arcadey mech fighting game that plays like a fast, arcade version of Mechwarrior. It fully supports Oculus Rift, and is free to play. More than TF2, the benefits of being able to look around in your cockpit are evident, because your sights aren't lined up to your current view. You can be shooting and walking forward, while looking out of the left window to check for enemies sneaking up on you. The way Oculus surrounds your vision is supposed to be especially pronounced in HAWKEN, giving the illusion that you really are sitting inside of a several stories-tall mech. That you can peer downwards and see the ground below you reinforces this.
EVR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUpg9f8I-rQThough technically not announced - this was a demo put together in 7 weeks using a dev kit - it's assumed that this will become a full game. Set in the EVE Online universe, this has been described as a spiritual successor to Wing Commander and X-wing, albeit in virtual fucking reality holy shit! Unlike HAWKEN and TF2 VR, EVR's control scheme is linked to Oculus Rift in a unique way - while you normally have access to rapid fire guns, you also have a number of target-seeking missiles. To lock onto a target, you simply look at it for a few seconds until the computer starts tracking it, at which point your missiles will automatically hit the target. because this is a 3D space dogfighting game, it seems to translate into players frantically looking all around the cockpit, trying to keep enemies in their vision to take them out. Of all the Rift projects, this seems the most unique.
So where can I get Oculus Rift?
Oculus Rift has no announced price. It has no official launch date. It doesn't even have a launch window - most are assuming it'll launch Fall 2014 for ~$350. No major video game consoles existing or upcoming support it, although, given the nature of the Steambox, it'll likely support the Rift by default. Hell, even the final specs for the Rift aren't settled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlXrjTh7vHcBUT you can still get your hands on a Rift today -- or in July, at least. Developers can purchase an Oculus Rift dev kit 2 from the Oculus website for $350 - http://www.oculusvr.com/
Purchasing a dev kit gets you a unit in July. These are prototypes running at a lower resolution, in an uglier shell, with unfinished software. The screens on the prototype produce roughly a 980p image, while Oculus is aiming for 1080p in the final. However, and this is the most important part - they work. Those who have received their dev kits say that, even as unfinished as everything is, the Rift is still absolutely stunning and ready for the spotlight.
TehSpectre on
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Can't wait to get my dev kit 2. Of course it looks like pretty much when it's rumoured to be shipped (July time), I'll be adopting two kids, so the time I may possibly have had to develop will go right out the window.
...unless I make a parenting simulator beforehand. Two kids. Two headsets (Dev kit 1 + 2). Perfect!
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
She was working with a team of developers to recreate a portion of the neighborhood for simulation in the rift so her mom could go for a walk one last time, but her mom passed away before they could complete it.
It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/05/03/facebook-twists-reality-again-and-risks-ruining-your-children/
It's an opinion piece, so a lot of what he's saying is total nonsense. I guess I'm just kinda surprised that people actually think that way. Anywho, thought ya'll might be interested in it.
I'm pretty sure that somewhere, long buried, there are engraved stone tablets stating that reading from papyrus scrolls will be harmful to children. Pretty much every time some new medium comes around people start screaming about it rotting children's minds.
http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/5/5682818/zenimax-oculus-vr-claim-response
And that's the only new piece of news in the whole article. Man, who wouldn't want a non-dilutable equity stake in Oculus? Facebook money completely aside, VR is clearly the future. Just look at all the moral panic articles already appearing!
Yeah, jeez. No wonder Carmack left, if he was having to put up with stuff like that.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
They're trying to out-ea actvision.
I um, ... don't
huuurrrk
ok, yeah.
http://kotaku.com/ok-this-oculus-rift-business-is-getting-out-of-control-1573194348
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Socrates, in Phaedrus:
Old PA forum lookalike style for the new forums | My ko-fi donation thing.
And it is entirely possible that airing the codebase is a diversion from the core issue, that they are running with ideas that Carmack gave them while he was an employee of Zenimax.
This is less an issue of who is morally in the right and more of a "how do courts handle precedent like this," and I still don't think the case is so very cut and dry.
I just want it to settle peacefully, and in a fashion that lets Oculus still come out and maybe get some AAA support from Zenimax.
Android phone makers and Apple pay Microsoft a few bucks per phone sold for underlying technologies. In exchange, Microsoft makes sure those devices work with their infrastructure tech like AD and ActiveSync/Exchange.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
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That looks like so much fucking fun
I worry that John Carmack's signature is on a contract that says all ideas developed by him whilst employed by Zenimax are property of Zenimax. I have to imagine he'd be smarter than to a) sign something like that and b) forget about it, but my worry is that that's what Zenimax think they have.
I ordered a DK2 as I don't want to wait and am already pissed I missed out on DK1. I'll buy the retail one on release as well so I can have friends over for coop games. Buy both, eat rice and beans for a bit!
Given he was also working for a space technology group, I can't imagine Carmack would sign something like that.
One big thing to remember is that Oculus was in no way created by John Carmack, it was Palmer Luckey. Carmack just came out as an early supporter of the idea because Carmack has a serious thing for VR and then eventually became part of the company (I think after he'd left Zenimax?)
I'm sure Zenimax is going to do everything they can try and prove otherwise but I think they might have a hard time with that.
How can Zenimax prove that Idea 837 was developed whilst employed by Zenimax if it's not documented code? The burden of proof is all theirs.
I thought I saw a similar video, only they were in a Doom 3 level or something, and had a Portal gun and stuff. Might have even been the same guy
antvr.com/
Seems pretty comparable to the Oculus, the big one-up being the wirelessness. I'll admit, I do think the idea of putting the hmu's battery in the controller is kinda brilliant. If only the controller itself didn't seem so... bad?
But I would think this along with stuff like Oculus and Omni would make a pretty complete package.
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they say their latency is at 1ms, using the newest whdi tech.. who knows how true any of it is though, i've yet to see anyone use it in a video that isn't one of their own promotional ones
I immediately lost interest when they mentioned inertia based tracking...
Unreal Engine 4 Developers Community.
I'm working on a cute little video game! Here's a link for you.
Pretty cool.
Also, apparently Luckey is a brony. Just a neat little tidbit of information.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
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