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Oculus Rift Kickstarter [Ended, $2.4 million funded]

L

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game?ref=recently_launched

Best 3D VR headset for gaming (110 degrees view, ultra low latency) for $300. Yes please!

"Rift could be the closest we've come to Star Trek's holodeck." - Gamespy

“...the effect of using the Oculus Rift as you play is mind-blowing." - G4TV

"...we found ourselves entirely absorbed; a gaming experience with a level of immersion genuinely unlike anything else we have ever encountered." - CVG
Click to expand...
 
C

Chairmanchuck

Member
Really love the idea, but didnt carmack say at E3 that right now about 500$ seem realistic, because the current Headtracking-VR-Displays are too slow?

Edit: Oh. It is the one from Carmack, it seems *haha*
 
D

DarkSoul520

Member
I really hope this makes waves like Ouya did, because I feel that this is much more important in reviving the VR dream.
 
E

ekim

Member
So the dev kit is like you can't play games with but can write your own games to use Rift?
Or does the bundled Doom 3 BFG support it out of the box?
 
H

HoosTrax

Member
sTeLioSco said:
lots of endorsements....
Click to expand...
From a lot of glasses wearers. Can I assume from that that glasses won't be an issue then?

And is this mainly intended for developers, or would this be of interest to end users?

I feel like this thing would benefit from a top strap like Sam Fisher's goggles, to distribute the weight better.
 
K

kami_sama

Member
I want to get one, but I don't have the money.

Either way, I want this to be bigger than ouya. Cheap VR for everyone!
 
D

DieH@rd

Banned
Wow they brought down price from 500 to 275!

And with this kind of dev suppot, i cant wait untill they manage to rip out some mobile phone screens with 1080p+ resolutions and integrate them into VR set!
 
D

Durante

Member
The video is about 10x more professionally produced than I expected. Good going Oculus!

I have no doubt that this will reach its goal.
 
D

DieH@rd

Banned
ekim said:
So the dev kit is like you can't play games with but can write your own games to use Rift?
Or does the bundled Doom 3 BFG support it out of the box?
Click to expand...

The problem with the rift is that is uses cheap screens, literal screens that are taken out from the mobile phones. And, to deliver image to both eyes, they use cheap optics that transfers FISH EYE view to the user. To play the game on Oculus Rift, developers or modders need to render the game with that FISH EYE effect in mind, so when we look trough the eyepieces we will see normal image.

In a year or two, i think that many many games will support this kind of rendering out from the box.


[Sony HMZ-T1 uses two extremly small OLED screens that cost an arm and a leg [<2" screens with 720p pixel density].
 
S

SquiddyCracker

Banned
I really want this to succeed, but 300 dollars is a bit too mcuh for me to gamble on and the cheaper rewards are pretty meh (that t-shirt is nice though, but still overpriced).

I hope it does get funded though, VR-gaming needs a revolution and this might be just that.
 
D

Durante

Member
DieH@rd said:
The problem with the rift is that is uses cheap screens, literal screens that are taken out from the mobile phones.
Click to expand...
This is literally wrong. It's a screen for industrial applications, Palmer confirmed that on the mtbs3d forums.

This doesn't mean it's great or anything, it's just the best feasible option.

shagg_187 said:
Are the specs as good (and as compatible) as Sony's HMZ-T1?
Click to expand...
They are much worse in some aspects, but infinitely better in others. This is a VR device, not a movie watching device.
 
H

HoosTrax

Member
DieH@rd said:
To play the game on Oculus Rift, developers or modders need to render the game with that FISH EYE effect in mind, so when we look trough the eyepieces we will see normal image.
Click to expand...
Is this something that the big name developers listed in their Kickstarter could add to their respective SDKs (UDK, Source, etc) at a low level, to make available to any games that use those?

SquiddyBiscuit said:
I really want this to succeed, but 300 dollars is a bit too mcuh for me to gamble on and the cheaper rewards are pretty meh (that t-shirt is nice though, but still overpriced).

I hope it does get funded though, VR-gaming needs a revolution and this might be just that.
Click to expand...
Just to keep things in perspective:
- high end racing rigs costs thousands of dollars
- high end racing steering wheels and flight sticks cost up to $500
- a TrackIR set costs up to $150
- decent quality 3D / 120Hz capable monitors cost at least $400
- one performance-grade video card (NV GTX _70 level) costs around $300-$400
 
D

Durante

Member
HoosTrax said:
Is this something that the big name developers listed in their Kickstarter could add to their respective SDKs (UDK, Source, etc) at a low level, to make available to any games that use those?
Click to expand...
Yes, easily.

CaLe said:
Can it be used with anything else than DOOM 3 BFG ?
Click to expand...
People are working on open source drivers to make it compatible with e.g. Skyrim and Mirror's Edge. I'll be contributing once I get mine.
(early sample footage)
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
I kind of wonder if/hope we'll get a standard for VR headsets. Like the stereo3D standards, but for the motion input going the other way.

I want one headset that will work with PC/consoles etc.

I am tempted to invest in one of these though, and hope for a thriving PC scene.
 
D

Durante

Member
shagg_187 said:
Can't see the video at work but from the sounds of what you're explaining, it has head-tracking as well?
Click to expand...
It has an integrated gyro/motion sensor, yeah.

Since you asked for a comparison to the HMZ:

HMZ wins:
+ contrast
+ resolution
+ pixel switching times
+ compatibility

Rift wins:
+ display latency
+ integrated low-latency gyro/motion sensor
+ field of view (massive difference)
+ community support (this one is an assumption, but a well reasoned one I believe)
+ price

As I said above, they are very different devices, despite the form factor. The HMZ is almost unusable for VR (due to latency/FoV), and the Rift is almost unusable for movies (due to low res, and FoV again :p).
 
H

HoosTrax

Member
I'm torn. This is surprisingly affordable for what it is, yet I'm kind of inclined to wait for a version 2.0 or something, that will inevitable come to address whatever issues come up with the first prototype. As I said before, I think this thing would definitely benefit from a top strap.

bushnell-night-vision-goggles.jpg


I wouldn't want this thing resting on the bridge of my nose for hours and hours.
 
C

CaLe

Member
Durante said:
Less than a day? It made 40k in the last hour.
Click to expand...

Yep, just pledged too.

Would you happen to have a link for the open source driver people will be working on ? Is there a community setup ? I'd love to help once I get mine.

FlyinJ said:
I'm confused about the $300 option. Does giving that much get you a working and assembled Oculus? All the option says is that you get Doom BFG and an SDK
Click to expand...

Yes it does, but it won't be the consumer model from what I understand.
 
F

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
I'm confused about the $300 option. Does giving that much get you a working and assembled Oculus? All the option says is that you get Doom BFG and an SDK
 
D

Durante

Member
CaLe said:
Yep, just pledged too.

Would you happen to have a link for the open source driver people will be working on ? Is there a community setup ? I'd love to help once I get mine.
Click to expand...
I think there are actually two separate projects going on.
You can read all about it on the mtbs3d forums: http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=138
The one I was thinking of is Biclops: https://github.com/josh-lieberman/Biclops


FlyinJ said:
I'm confused about the $300 option. Does giving that much get you a working and assembled Oculus? All the option says is that you get Doom BFG and an SDK
Click to expand...
You get a working Rift. (Oculus is the company, Rift is the first product)
 
W

Waikis

Member
Also, according to the MTBS thread, you can actually upgrade the display module down the road.
"The display module is going to be detachable from the optics module, so you will be able to modify, replace, or upgrade your lenses in the future!
Click to expand...
 
W

wrowa

Member
HoosTrax said:
I'm torn. This is surprisingly affordable for what it is, yet I'm kind of inclined to wait for a version 2.0 or something, that will inevitable come to address whatever issues come up with the first prototype.
Click to expand...

Definitely. Keep in mind that this Kickstarter is pimarly targeted at developers and not at end-consumers.
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
Looks awesome. It would be cool if this launched with the next Xbox.

The Double Fine guy was more serious than he usually is in this video.
 
G

ghst

thanks for the laugh
after carmack's evangelising at e3, this is the tech development i'm currently most interested in, certainly hardware wise. as far as i can gather, the actual motion detection is fairly straightforward tech, and the big issues are in the efficiency of the drivers, fov restrictions (both of which carmack claims to have largely solved) and the resolution of the display, which carmack suggests is something that will soon have a solution due to the sheer amount of funding and research currently going into miniaturisation of lcd/oled displays.

if only some of those kinect/wiiu billions could've been spent chasing a dream like this instead. hope we hear more about it at quakecon.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
I almost clicked on it. But 275 dollars is kind of scaring me off. What are the technical specs on that? That seems way too cheap. That and the fact they make it a point to say this is for developers and a consumer model will be later.

I don't care about the assembly bit. I'm just concerned that a developer is more interested in getting things working properly. Resolution and screen quality really aren't that important, because it's just the end product. What you want is a working device that you can test and make sure your programming works with. So it leaves me uneasy that they completely omitted any technical aspects.
 
A

Aaron

Member
Not a developer, so I'll wait for the consumer version. I really doubt they'll have any trouble hitting their target.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Durante said:
Unless something changed it's a 1280 x 800 screen.
Click to expand...

But weren't they speculating at 500 dollars when that was being mentioned?

Anyways, I'll just wait. The 300 dollar version doesn't have any limits. An extra 25 bucks won't kill me if I get the urge to fund it before it closes.

thuway said:
I am in. Will they use OLED panels?
Click to expand...

No. And I wouldn't expect that for quite some time. They seem to be focused on affordable mass tech. Luckily that means 1080P+ screens could be on the roadmap as soon as next year.
 
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