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[Dreamwriter]

"Hey Bob, I improved our system software - the safety camera can now show actual shapes of things in your way rather than generic warning grids."

"Great job, Joe! Hey, maybe we could use this as an excuse for our delay! Sure it's just a small software upgrade, but we'll call it a 'technological breathrough' and those idiot consumers will be none the wiser! Heck, I'd bet some people won't even remember that we had a front-facing camera all along."

Vive Pre as in Vive Pre-release. Just another way to say "we're close".

Yeah, it's HTC's version of Oculus' DK2.

 

[MaxiLive]

Sounds like they're scared of Oculus, reactionary announcement.

Nah its just CES the biggest tech trade show of the year so the perfect time to get the headset in investors hands.

 

[daveo42]

That controller...

Glad to see they continue to iterate, though what I've seen out of the Rift seems better at this point, including their controller setup. I also lack the space to take advantage of their Lighthouse tech.

 

[Dr. Black Jack]

Maybe an asinine question, but why the name change? Why not just "Vive" if no consumer model has been released yet?

Not asking rhetorically, genuinely curious.

Marketing to differentiate the new product and make the old one seem obsolete. They'll do it again within the year.

 

[DieH@rd]

This will be the consumer headset too? But with a different name?

Yes. That is the whole point of offering devkits. To give devs software/hardware that as closely as possible aproximates what will consumer have in their homes.

 

[Pif]

That only breakthrough is in my wallet. No foveated rendering, nothing that I must have over the other VR options.

 

[jmga]

Possibly the same effect can be achieved by the single camera in conjunction with the room sensors.

Nope, with just 1 camera you can't record in 3D.

It is clearly not made to do AR and just for security and comfort purposes.

 

[Vyse The Legend]

Sell as in "please develop for our platform", not sell as in "buy this". Which was my entire goddamn point.

You're still off-base; they don't need to sell devs on anything. People interested in developing VR games are already doing it, and Valve is pushing an open platform. So, they're not interested in exclusives.

HTC needs to make money on the hardware, but they're not selling this model to consumers yet. So, that's not their goal with this announcement either.

 

[family_guy]

VR is beta tested in the future too, it seems.

Hopefully htc doesn't go out of business before a product is released.

They'd just sell of the patents if that were to happen.

 

[$h@d0w]

"Hey Bob, I improved our system software - the safety camera can now show actual shapes of things in your way rather than generic warning grids."

"Great job, Joe! Hey, maybe we could use this as an excuse for our delay! Sure it's just a small software upgrade, but we'll call it a 'technological breathrough' and those idiot consumers will be none the wiser! Heck, I'd bet some people won't even remember that we had a front-facing camera all along."


Yeah, it's HTC's version of Oculus' DK2.

I think this is more akin to Oculus Crescent Bay, it should be very close to the consumer version.

Crescent Bay => CV1 minor stuff has changed like the padding quality and removable inlay.

 

[Solid Samus]

You're still off-base; they don't need to sell devs on anything. People interested in developing VR games are already doing it, and Valve is pushing an open platform. So, they're not interested in exclusives.

HTC needs to make money on the hardware, but they're not selling this model to consumers yet. So, that's not their goal with this announcement either.

it bears repeating that this is the guy who referred to the phrase 'generation', as it relates to tech, as 'console nomenclature'. none of us should even be taking this weak ass dollar store bait.

 

[DieH@rd]

That only breakthrough is in my wallet. No foveated rendering, nothing that I must have over the other VR options.

Quoted, for time when you hit yourself/hit someone/fall/break something while in CK1/PSVR.

 

[ashecitism]

.

 

[demigod]

that's exactly the 'breakthrough' described here and enabled by the camera. At the link posted above you can see a short video of a man in a headset easily and comfortably sitting down into a chair he shouldn't be able to see.

I'm sorry but that's not a *breakthrough* for me. If i'm putting on anything over my face, I sure as hell will make sure I won't break anything or trip over myself.

Is it me or did the headset get uglier?

Edit : I take that back, it looks better.

 

[jmga]

That only breakthrough is in my wallet. No foveated rendering, nothing that I must have over the other VR options.

Well, room-sacale positioning out of the box is really something the other headsets don't have.

 

[EVIL]

I'm sorry but that's not a *breakthrough* for me. If i'm putting on anything over my face, I sure as hell will make sure I won't break anything or trip over myself.

Is it me or did the headset get uglier?

seeing as the rift has non of this functionality, its a pretty big step up, also allows devs to do some basic AR stuff.

and looks much better then the first

 

[Future PhaZe]

Half Life 3 soon

I can feel it

 

[KingSnake]

I assume the consumer headset will be similar to this? And if so, do they have enough time to produce them until April? (it suppose to launch in April, right?)

 

[Skulduggery]

Goddam, they better still have something up their sleeve other than this. This is not a breakthrough, there was always going to be a camera. There's gotta be something else, please Valve.

 

[Solid Samus]

I'm sorry but that's not a *breakthrough* for me. If i'm putting on anything over my face, I sure as hell will make sure I won't break anything or trip over myself.

so you were gonna set yourself up an obstacle-free dedicated VR room in your house? I mean, shit, you can't deny the usefulness of a passthrough port or irl object visibility, even if they somehow don't apply to you

ugly is an understatement, this damn thing looks straight up like a helmet from Halo Reach

 

[wapplew]

Can you wear glasses?

 

[Hendrick's]

So Vive Pre VR?

Guess it makes sense to call this tech pre-VR, but not great marketing.

 

[jon bones]

so close to VR i can taste it

 

[EVIL]

"Hey Bob, I improved our system software - the safety camera can now show actual shapes of things in your way rather than generic warning grids."

"Great job, Joe! Hey, maybe we could use this as an excuse for our delay! Sure it's just a small software upgrade, but we'll call it a 'technological breathrough' and those idiot consumers will be none the wiser! Heck, I'd bet some people won't even remember that we had a front-facing camera all along."

they never had an actual working front fracing camera in the devkit, I am pretty sure they where close to scrapping that feature, until someone at valve made it work, hense they call it a breaktrough and a reason for a delay

 

[Seiru]

This is really their breakthrough? Something enthusiasts have been doing with Rift dev kits and webcams for years now?

 

[InaudibleWhispa]

so you were gonna set yourself up an obstacle-free dedicated VR room in your house? I mean, shit, you can't deny the usefulness of a passthrough port or irl object visibility, even if they somehow don't apply to you

It's definitely useful for walking experiences. I expect most of my time in VR to be seated though, or occasionally standing in one spot. The vast majority of currently announced games aren't targeting a room scale experience.

 

[Dreamwriter]

they never had an actual working front fracing camera in the devkit, I am pretty sure they where close to scrapping that feature, until someone at valve made it work, hense they call it a breaktrough and a reason for a delay

It was a working camera, its whole point was to put a blue grid in front of you when you were about to step on your dog. Now instead of a grid it shows the dog's silhouette (it still isn't a regular camera that can display the real world as it is).

 

[ashecitism]

Everyone taking HTC's words of "breakthrough" for granted were setting themselves up for disappointment.

Goddam, they better still have something up their sleeve other than this. This is not a breakthrough, there was always going to be a camera. There's gotta be something else, please Valve.

hahahaha

 

[Movalpolos]

Cool, but hardly a technological breakthrough. Unless I'm missing something here.

 

[Nzyme32]

Right, but that's not a "generation". They're using console nomenclature as a marketing term to sell unfinished hardware to devs to screw around with. Hardly a "generation", especially if the "first" is only a few fucking months old.

They are not selling anything. These are dev kits and are free for those that apply successfully

 

[Skulduggery]

Can you wear glasses?

Yep

 

[ashecitism]

more hands-ons

http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/5/10714522/htc-valve-vive-pre-v2-development-kit-ces-2016
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc-vive-pre-first-look,30894.html

 

[Super Wario]

Where's the first generation? Oh, not released yet. Okey.

 

[bloodyroarxx]

Was a forward facing camera really the breakthrough that we were supposed to get excited at CES about?

this is a joke right?

 

[chrominance]

So if I understand correctly, this is a "second-generation" headset in the sense that it'll be the second iteration of the development hardware, not that this will be the second version of the Vive shipped to consumers? In other words, we can expect these improvements on the first consumer version of the Vive?

 

[EVIL]

It was a working camera, its whole point was to put a blue grid in front of you when you were about to step on your dog. Now instead of a grid it shows the dog's silhouette (it still isn't a regular camera that can display the real world as it is).

No it wasnt, the devkits had 2 plastic circles where the camera was planned to be in. There was nothing there in the devkits, it was a planned feature. The grid was something they could pull from placing 4 points manually in the configuration fase when setting up the vive. you pretty much tick off points with the controller to setup your space.

So if I understand correctly, this is a "second-generation" headset in the sense that it'll be the second iteration of the development hardware, not that this will be the second version of the Vive shipped to consumers? In other words, we can expect these improvements on the first consumer version of the Vive?

Yes.

 

[darkwing]

Was a forward facing camera really the breakthrough that we were supposed to get excited at CES about?

this is a joke right?

VR + AR

 

[demigod]

so you were gonna set yourself up an obstacle-free dedicated VR room in your house? I mean, shit, you can't deny the usefulness of a passthrough port or irl object visibility, even if they somehow don't apply to you

Yes? Don't tell me you played the Wii/PS Move with obstacles in your way.

It's definitely useful for walking experiences. I expect most of my time in VR to be seated though, or occasionally standing in one spot. The vast majority of currently announced games aren't targeting a room scale experience.

Exactly. Vive is for PC and most people will be playing at their desk. It would be wise to clean up your desk area before swinging your hands around.

 

[rtcn63]

and looks much better then the first

 

[Militant17]

It was a working camera, its whole point was to put a blue grid in front of you when you were about to step on your dog. Now instead of a grid it shows the dog's silhouette (it still isn't a regular camera that can display the real world as it is).

Actually I think the blue grid was just to let you know when you were about to leave your designated safe area you set up. There was no camera and It couldn't detect dogs or people and provided no overlay at all.
That's the breakthrough.... Now they have the software capability and it's one more thing crossed off the list of VR issues which is big. Obviously like VR itself I'm guessing this is early stages but it's a big step in the right direction.

Anyone thinking the announcement was going to be hardware related must not be aware they're launching relatively soon.

 

[Alx]

still looks like some shit you'd only ever see worn by the spartans of planet reach

so in other words it's a passthrough which enables a real world object overlay. same concept I've been using to combat skeptics and their talk of 'extreme isolation' for over a year now is finally an actual thing in one of the major headsets. whatever will all these junior member detractors have to talk about now

That feature doesn't remove the isolation part. You'll still be cut from your environment when using VR, that's what it's designed to do. The passthrough is used here as a safety system that adds external information only when you're nearing the edges of the gaming area (instead of displaying a grid like it previously did).
As long as you're near the center, you'll only see the virtual world. Otherwise it would be a mess of real contours and virtual objects, that would end up breaking the illusion.

 

[Hendrick's]

Looking at this and the RIft really reminds me how aesthetically superior the PSVR is.

 

[EVIL]

Looking at this and the RIft really reminds me how aesthetically superior the PSVR is.

really, a helmet with lights. hmm okay, to each their own

 

[ashecitism]

I know they're going to show new content after CES, but they still could have picked new demos for CES. The GDC demos are getting old.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

So I probably shouldn't buy the first generation then if the second is already announced?

 

[ashecitism]

Why are people so confused about this generation naming? It's the second gen of their dev kit. Simple.

 

[Symphonic]

So I probably shouldn't buy the first generation then if the second is already announced?

This is a devkit second generation. I assume the retail version will be based on this one, hence the delay.

 

[Nzyme32]

Was a forward facing camera really the breakthrough that we were supposed to get excited at CES about?

this is a joke right?

VR + AR

I'd agree this isn't much of a breakthrough as it is right here and without seeing it in action, but it has some great potential for some AR type uses if it works well.

Third-party developers will be able to tap into it for their own purposes, and an HTC spokesperson says that its software can map 3D space, which would let virtual objects respond to real-world ones — similar to Microsoft’s HoloLens room-scanning tech.

 

[Luq]

I had all of the vr sets on my head and HTC Vive was the best one, hands down. dunno why would they announce 2nd gen if 1st isn't out yet...

 

[Nzyme32]

I had all of the vr sets on my head and HTC Vive was the best, hands down. dunno why would they announce 2nd gen if 1st one isn't out yet...

Second gen developer kit