FapFapFap

[ichigo]

Razer Edge Pro Gaming System: The World's First Tablet Designed for PC Gamers | Razer United States

Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game by Oculus — Kickstarter

 

[Buzzlightyear]

Wow, That Oculus look awesome!

 

[CUDlyBunny]

i'd like the razer pro cause I like tablets but not a fan of laptops, essentially you get both here.
Problem is its damn expensive, you can get a better spec'd lappy...

 

[Off-The-Chart]

and here I thought someone was just looking for me

 

[dA_k1D]

i want that oculus! man i cant wait for something like that, virtual reality gaming can only be fun!

 

[retrab]

Bumping an old thread here, but I got my Rift about 2 weeks ago...and yes VR is ridiculous and everything we'd hoped it would be (or at least well on its way there)

Took it to work last week and got a couple work mates to try it out and filmed their reactions - it was hilarious You can check them out on my YouTube channel (same name as my nick here 'retrab')

 

[Joshua_Weiss]

Other you tubers were complaining you get motion sickness. Is it bad?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Orihalcon]

Retrab - you got a unit for review, dev kit or retail unit? The vids I've seen so far all looked amazing and they said the retail unit would be upgraded to 1080p screens...

More info please

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[retrab]

Retrab - you got a unit for review, dev kit or retail unit? The vids I've seen so far all looked amazing and they said the retail unit would be upgraded to 1080p screens...

More info please

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

I backed the Kickstarter just a few hours before it ended so its the Dev Kit. There is still no consumer version available yet and it looks like it will most likely be anywhere between a year from or as late as Christmas 2014 before we see it hit retail.

The consumer version will be at LEAST 1080p (but bear in mind that is split into two) even though the Dev Kit resolution is low it still isn't enough of an issue to detract from the overall experience and immersion - there's nothing quite like it - you honestly feel like the games/places you visit are real. Outside of the certain improvement to the screen resolution the biggest difference will positional tracking. Some games and demos utilise the Razer Hydra quite nicely (I strap mine to my chest with my gym heart rate monitor) but its still not ideal obviously

By far (for me) the most immersive games are Half Life 2 and War Thunder. I did a 30 minute play through of Hlaf Life 2 the other night and came out recalling the most random things like how tall Alyx is, the height of buildings etc...like it was a memory of a place I had been to.

War Thunder is just incredible to experience the sensation of flying a plane and looking out over your wing etc as the ground/water passes by - pretty surreal. I'm gonna try post some videos of that this weekend.

The motion sickness really comes down to certain games/demos. Games where your movement speed is really high (like running pace) tends to make you feel woozy. Other things like using the mouse or keyboard to play a game are a no no. The Xbox 360 controller and/or Hydra are by the best. Standing in FPS style games also adds to immersion. I'm getting the Virtuix Omni too in January which I think will aka a huge difference for FPS games by actually WALKING in a game - that's gonna be exciting!

Outside of typical games though there are some exceptionally awesome 'experiences' where it's not really about PLAYING; like Museum of the Microstar or Titans of Space. It's quite bewildering to experience what it's like to get up close and personal with a planet or the sun - the sense of scale is like nothing you can actually compare it to on earth.

 

[Evan]

and this:

Disunion Guillotine Simulator (Oculus Rift) - YouTube

 

[retrab]

and this:

Disunion Guillotine Simulator (Oculus Rift) - YouTube

this demo is very disorientating as you don't control your movement/body when approaching the guillotine and you honestly have to pose in the same position as in the video to get the 'sensation' Looking up at the blade as it drops is petty cool/odd sensation though

 

[crackOlicious]

This is all pretty cool and as the devs think of more uses for the rift, the immersion in gaming will only get better, ill take this over Kinect or move any day.

Sent from my HTC One X HD Revolution using Tapatalk 4

 

[retrab]

I think the educational applications as well as 'sight seeing' is going to be big - demos like Blue Marble, Titans of Space and even walking on the beach in Dear Esther are all incredibly awesome experiences and unbelievably relaxing...in fact the complete opposite feeling you get to say playing a game of COD.

 

[Pansyfaust]

That poor security guard [MENTION=316]retrab[/MENTION], you guys had to hold him down

 

[WiZard]

Oh, this is so delightfully retro...

VFX1 anybody?
"One of the first commercially available HMDs was the Forte VFX-1 which was announced at CES in 1994. The VFX-1 had stereoscopic displays, 3-axis head-tracking, and stereo headphones."

 

[crackOlicious]

True its not a new concept but the leaps and bounds between tech from '94 and now are pretty huge lol

Sent from my HTC One X HD Revolution using Tapatalk 4

 

[WiZard]

Well, here's to hoping it is going to be a success...

The challenge is to break into the main market, and not remain just a niche product like all the previous Virtual Reality headsets of the past 20 years...

 

[retrab]

Well, here's to hoping it is going to be a success...

The challenge is to break into the main market, and not remain just a niche product like all the previous Virtual Reality headsets of the past 20 years...

Funny you say that (and also your mention of the VFX unit) I was lucky enough to have tried out the successor to the VFXR-1, the VFX3D back in 2005 in Japan. I've also owned the Sony HMZ-T1 and still currently own the HMZ-T2 and of all my VR experiences nothing has come close to the level of immersion you get from the Rift. The biggest issue with the VFX3D was the latency. It had head tracking but the delay between your real life movement and what you saw on the small low res screens was terrible. I remember feeling sick almost instantly. The framerate was horrible too...that and the fact that the FOV must have been around 60-70deg at most.

What makes the Rift so immersive is how accurate the head tracking is - only in a very few demos does it feel delayed and I'm sure that's down to the programming. Even though the Rift doesn't offer the same FOV you have in real life, it's the closest thing you will get from any HMD - for me it's not far off my own peripheral vision.

The problem with things like the HMZ range from Sony is that they are more like 'personal cinemas' that VR handsets - zero immersion other than the 3D image which is still in FRONT of your eyes. With VR you are IN the game. It's hard to explain but games you've played before start to feel like actual cities or locations that you can 'remember' visiting.

The other big pull factor with Oculus is their price point - the consumer version will be similarly priced to that of the Dev Kit ($300 US) which is ridiculously cheap for what you get. I paid R11000 for my HMZ-T1 and that was almost 2 years ago now. The other big improvement which will also eliminate a lot of the VR sickness is positional tracking. It's a bit strange still when you lean forward toward something or someone in game and you don't actually get any closer.

I don't think it being niche will actually be to much of an issue personally...at least to start. If you consider hardware for simulators; whether it be driving/racing sims or even flight sims - there is still a market for those. I do believe there is a HUGE market for this outside of gaming though...or at least traditional gaming as we know it.

I don't see it replacing the hardcore gamers' 27" LED for the odd competitive BF3 game but from what I've seen already coming from some of the smaller Indie developers working on software specifically for the Rift, it's going to open up a whole new world of 'experiences' - there is some seriously exciting stuff coming within the next year. Already, for me, I can't imagine going back to playing Half Life 2 with a mouse and keyboard.

I backed another product on Kickstarter called the Virtuix Omni which will take VR just that extra step into being fully immersed but I can see 'games' such as running or jogging simulators being a big thing on that, together with playing FPS games. Imagine going for a run on the moon, or Mars? Or even just taking a walking tour through pars of the world that you otherwise would never get to opportunity to explore? 2014 is gonna be an exciting year for gaming

 

[WiZard]

The other big pull factor with Oculus is their price point - the consumer version will be similarly priced to that of the Dev Kit ($300 US)

If they can manage that, they should be fine, most gamers are more than willing to shelve out R3000+ for a good display device

 

[Seeker_ZA]

Funny you say that (and also your mention of the VFX unit) I was lucky enough to have tried out the successor to the VFXR-1, the VFX3D back in 2005 in Japan. I've also owned the Sony HMZ-T1 and still currently own the HMZ-T2 and of all my VR experiences nothing has come close to the level of immersion you get from the Rift. The biggest issue with the VFX3D was the latency. It had head tracking but the delay between your real life movement and what you saw on the small low res screens was terrible. I remember feeling sick almost instantly. The framerate was horrible too...that and the fact that the FOV must have been around 60-70deg at most.

What makes the Rift so immersive is how accurate the head tracking is - only in a very few demos does it feel delayed and I'm sure that's down to the programming. Even though the Rift doesn't offer the same FOV you have in real life, it's the closest thing you will get from any HMD - for me it's not far off my own peripheral vision.

The problem with things like the HMZ range from Sony is that they are more like 'personal cinemas' that VR handsets - zero immersion other than the 3D image which is still in FRONT of your eyes. With VR you are IN the game. It's hard to explain but games you've played before start to feel like actual cities or locations that you can 'remember' visiting.

The other big pull factor with Oculus is their price point - the consumer version will be similarly priced to that of the Dev Kit ($300 US) which is ridiculously cheap for what you get. I paid R11000 for my HMZ-T1 and that was almost 2 years ago now. The other big improvement which will also eliminate a lot of the VR sickness is positional tracking. It's a bit strange still when you lean forward toward something or someone in game and you don't actually get any closer.

I don't think it being niche will actually be to much of an issue personally...at least to start. If you consider hardware for simulators; whether it be driving/racing sims or even flight sims - there is still a market for those. I do believe there is a HUGE market for this outside of gaming though...or at least traditional gaming as we know it.

I don't see it replacing the hardcore gamers' 27" LED for the odd competitive BF3 game but from what I've seen already coming from some of the smaller Indie developers working on software specifically for the Rift, it's going to open up a whole new world of 'experiences' - there is some seriously exciting stuff coming within the next year. Already, for me, I can't imagine going back to playing Half Life 2 with a mouse and keyboard.

I backed another product on Kickstarter called the Virtuix Omni which will take VR just that extra step into being fully immersed but I can see 'games' such as running or jogging simulators being a big thing on that, together with playing FPS games. Imagine going for a run on the moon, or Mars? Or even just taking a walking tour through pars of the world that you otherwise would never get to opportunity to explore? 2014 is gonna be an exciting year for gaming

Cant Wait! Though my wallet might suggest differently, or make that forcefully with no say involved If that display can cover my whole viewing area with screen where ever i look! i may be interested

 

[crackOlicious]

**** the wallet, ill take a loan for this baby

Sent from my HTC One X HD Revolution using Tapatalk 4

 

[Orihalcon]

Been watching all the youtube vids that have been posted uaing this...incredible.

Skyrim...wow.
Mirrors Edge...mind blown.

Thia will definitely be a game changer and I think a lot of people will be picking these up.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[retrab]

I haven't tried Mirrors Edge - I think it will lend itself nicely to VR BUT I personally find that 'head bobbing' in FPS style games adds to the nauseau a bit. Perhaps playing it on the Virtuix Omni it would feel a bit better but sitting down feels strange with head bob. I've played through a few minutes of Skyrim and it's pretty damn incredible even on dodgy drivers! A game I recently downlaoded called 'Strike Suit Zero' (on Steam) is AWESOME! - took a bit of palying around to get the menus to work right but the gameplay and atmosphere is incredible in the Rift!