Minecraft Arrives On The Oculus Rift

[HardOCP News]

Microsoft announced today that Minecraft is now available for the Oculus Rift. Obviously the downside is that you still have to play with a keyboard and mouse or controller but it still looks like fun.

 

[Shmee]

The Java version has worked with the Vive for quite some time, but it is cool to have official Oculus support. Source: How to Play Minecraft with the HTC Vive

 

[steakman1971]

Do any of the versions let you use the Vive's controllers? I remember letting my kids try out the Oculus Rift Dk1 a few years ago. They both held up their hands like they were using a pick axe.
I guess you'd have some issues with telling Minecraft Steve which way to walk.

 

[rudedog]

The Vive edition mentioned above uses both vive controller. Lots of fun to be had

 

[Sonicks]

As much as the touch controllers are a sweet dive into the actual world of the game, I really do see the future of VR being augmented with controllers or at the very least a touch controller with a control stick of some kind. As I said in a previous thread, I would hate for all future built-for-VR titles to sport the teleportation movement that seems quite popular on the Vive.

There are limitations to both solutions, room scale and seated, but I think I'm coming around to Oculus' view in that VR is better suited to a sitting/static position rather than walking around when it comes to games. I simply cannot see full fledged titles like Minecraft, Doom, Assassin's Creed, or any other AAA game sporting the teleport mechanic. So far, the Vive has a leg up on the touch controllers but most games I've seen are on rails, in one static room, or use the teleportation mechanic. In all three instances you're still only essentially in the same spot, physically, so I'm beginning to lean more towards the Rift than the Vive for longevity.

I think once developers see the limitations of room scale for actual games, not tech demonstrations, then we will start seeing a hybrid of touch and control based movement. I guess I'll wait until more VR titles pop up before I make a decision. Sure is nice to see this new tech unfold as each developer does something different with it.

 

[DukenukemX]

If only John Carmack would get his hands on their game engine.

 

[Shintai]

Very nice to see. Just the controller part to work out.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Obviously the downside is that you still have to play with a keyboard and mouse or controller but it still looks like fun.

Obviously the downside is that you still have to play Minecraft...

 

[Shmee]

Obviously the downside is that you still have to play Minecraft...

Always a problem.

 

[Youn]

If only John Carmack would get his hands on their game engine.

I thought he was a big part of getting this to work in VR, and no doubt was knee deep in the codebase trimming the fat so-to-speak...

 

[The_Oasis]

As much as the touch controllers are a sweet dive into the actual world of the game, I really do see the future of VR being augmented with controllers or at the very least a touch controller with a control stick of some kind. As I said in a previous thread, I would hate for all future built-for-VR titles to sport the teleportation movement that seems quite popular on the Vive.

There are limitations to both solutions, room scale and seated, but I think I'm coming around to Oculus' view in that VR is better suited to a sitting/static position rather than walking around when it comes to games. I simply cannot see full fledged titles like Minecraft, Doom, Assassin's Creed, or any other AAA game sporting the teleport mechanic. So far, the Vive has a leg up on the touch controllers but most games I've seen are on rails, in one static room, or use the teleportation mechanic. In all three instances you're still only essentially in the same spot, physically, so I'm beginning to lean more towards the Rift than the Vive for longevity.

I think once developers see the limitations of room scale for actual games, not tech demonstrations, then we will start seeing a hybrid of touch and control based movement. I guess I'll wait until more VR titles pop up before I make a decision. Sure is nice to see this new tech unfold as each developer does something different with it.

I think locomotion is going to be solved some other way. I personally prefer having a far more dynamic camera, because I get little to no motion sickness anymore, and I'd really rather play games where I have control over what I can see and do (Chronos v. Dark Souls, for example). But even then, the current solutions are being implemented reasonably well, in ways that aren't the worst. Raw Data has a sensible teleport mechanic that 'makes sense' for the setting, and can be seen more as a feature than a workaround the limitations of your own house. Chronos, as mentioned, means you can focus on building a beautiful world that you know your user is going to see, thanks to camera placement.

All of that, for now, still needs an upgrade. Treadmills and such aren't a solution, as they will never come down in cost enough for every VR gamer to own one. Something like Samsung's fancy headphones, though? The ones to mess with your inner ear so you can feel acceleration? Now that is a fantastic idea, and would skip over any and all problems we have for a far more reasonable price point.

Always a problem.

Memes aside, Minecraft is a fantastic game that fits the VR genre well; a foreign new land that you, you, get to explore. I know the kids I interact with loved playing Minecraft on the Gear, and the Rift lends itself to be even better.