Oculus Rift Development Kit Hands-on

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PC Perspective finally got a little hands-on time with an Oculus Rift development kit. Hit the link for the full review and a video of the Oculus Rift in action.

I have read other user's accounts of their time with the Oculus Rift but I needed my own hands-on time with the consumer-oriented VR (virtual reality) product. Having tried it for very short periods of time at both Quakecon 2012 and CES 2013 (less than 5 minutes) I wanted to see how it performed and more importantly, how my body reacted to it.
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I've never been so excited for a product such as this since I bought a Nintendo 64. The more I see the Oculus in action, the more convinced I am that this is the game changer the video game AND movie industry has been looking for.

And before I get the vitriol of comments from you guys, don't misinterpret what I'm saying in assuming the Oculus itself is going to turn the industry around, it won't. I'm merely saying that what we're seeing with VR headsets now is only the beginning, and because this is a kickstarter product, everyone is going to be allowed to participate in its growth and in the future we're going to see something beautiful and amazing. I could go on and on with examples, but just picture the idea of watching movies in full stereoscopic view @ 1080p (god knows how long this will take), or two 50 man Alliances raids, attacking the Barrens which takes full advantage of a VR headset, which admittedly I have no idea what ideas or additional pleasure this will bring, but there's millions of smarter dudes than me running around, and I'm hella positive they'll figure that out quick.

Like I said, for the first time in 8 years, I'm excited for gaming once again...
 
I agree. Technology has finally caught up and we can now do VR right. I think this will only work well for games designed for it, that is games who's goal is to exploit visual stimulation. For instance the biggest interest has been in FPS's, since they already possess the first person view. A game like TF2 seems terrible for VR whereas a game like Mirror's Edge seems great for it. Both FPS's, however 1 is more or less "on rails" while the other is a bit too open ended. The fun factor in MI is to set up an elaborate jump sequence and then basically watch it unfold. You're more or less along for the ride once you figure out how to get from point A to B. TF2 requires constant visual adjustment at all times (aiming at bad guys) to be of much use for VR. Again, any game in which you arent required to look somewhere, such as MMO's will do well, as you can basically let your gaze drift and just look at whatever. Obviously racing/flying sims will do well too.

I like the idea about a movie. Can you imagine a real-time 3d movie where you're "in the movie"? I imagine it would be sorta like a Disney World ride. The action is all in front, but you can look around you if you so desire, more or less in a flying captains chair as you are dragged along for the ride.
 
I really hope this thing takes off, I am particularly looking forward to trying it with Star Citizen.
 
Ski said:
...just picture the idea of watching movies in full stereoscopic view @ 1080p (god knows how long this will take)
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Not long at all. Note that 1080p isn't actually going to give you a really great experience, though. The pixel density to view distance ratio at that resolution, assuming a single display, is still fairly low. 4k, though, may happen on 5-6" mass-produced displays within three to five years or so. Whether those are going to be affordable enough depends on how much demand there will be for 4k phones/phablets, but it's a foregone conclusion that some manufacturer is going to salivate at the idea of marketing a product like that and that it's going to happen. Something with that high a resolution is going to be almost completely 'seamless' on an HMD (but still not 100% what you'd want).

If you can deal with not really being able to move your head at all, watching 3D movies on an HMD can be a good thing. You get essentially perfect stereoscopic 3D that doesn't suffer from polarization ghosting and the sense of depth is much better than what you get with a 3D TV. Given a wide FOV, it'll also feel like looking at an IMAX screen. Move your head around too much, though, and you have a problem.
 
Woah! I... uh... crossed my eyes kinda like you do with stereographs, and it looks funky. I know it's not the full effect because of the skewed image and all, but I did kinda get a "feel" for it.

Tho, when he says that his brain doesn't like it when he turns the screen with the mouse it's true. My brain didn't like it much.

Still, I can see the appeal, particularly in FPS. It is very, very interesting technology without a doubt!
 
Damn the optic neuritis in my right eye. It makes 3D impossible for me.
 
While pretty cool, I think it needs at least another generation or two in order to fully mature (i.e. higher display resolution per eye / greater pixel density, even better/faster tracking speeds, perhaps even less bulk/weight) What's there now works, but what this will grow into given another couple of years to mature should be pretty amazing.
 
Yeah, I'll buy into it when it has a higher res and is like $200 or less.
 
Yeah, we got ours at work yesterday, it's pretty awesome. Been messing with it pretty much non-stop since then. Even the strongest stomachs got quite a workout depending on the game/app we were trying. Especially strafing left/right, that really does wonky things to your guts with the Rift on.

I'm almost more impressed with the head tracking than I am with the display itself. The display is cool (though obviously way too low-res for a commercial product), but damn the head tracker is insanely accurate. Everything VR I've tried before had so much lag, but this is really good. Not perfect, but pretty damn close.

My favourite little demo app right now is a cheesy helicopter demo. It's great to just look down and see your skids when you're trying to land a helo. After trying that out, I think the real killer games for this are going to flight/space sims. Star Citizen is going to be nuts with this.
 
Honestly, I always thought virtual reality was just a gimmick and wouldn't really be great at least until a long time from now (I'm 20). Although it is nice to see things are being attempted and progressed such as this Occulus Rift. When it gets more fined tuned it should be pretty awesome and hopefully it takes off like some of you mention.
 
wonderfield said:
Not long at all. Note that 1080p isn't actually going to give you a really great experience, though. The pixel density to view distance ratio at that resolution, assuming a single display, is still fairly low. 4k, though, may happen on 5-6" mass-produced displays within three to five years or so. Whether those are going to be affordable enough depends on how much demand there will be for 4k phones/phablets, but it's a foregone conclusion that some manufacturer is going to salivate at the idea of marketing a product like that and that it's going to happen. Something with that high a resolution is going to be almost completely 'seamless' on an HMD (but still not 100% what you'd want).

If you can deal with not really being able to move your head at all, watching 3D movies on an HMD can be a good thing. You get essentially perfect stereoscopic 3D that doesn't suffer from polarization ghosting and the sense of depth is much better than what you get with a 3D TV. Given a wide FOV, it'll also feel like looking at an IMAX screen. Move your head around too much, though, and you have a problem.
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I get exactly what you're saying with the ghosting and depth, and you make a really good point about the issue regarding moving your head with a fixed camera view, but we both already know they'll realize this issue early and compensate somehow. But most of all, I just fascinate to watch a 3D film and be able to experience it on a HMD with a complete 180 degree eye view, which is why I'm curious to see what the limitations currently regarding view angle (if there is any?) and things like that.

I mean it's a Kickstarter, but not to get on myopic rant but as long as it remains a Kickstarter for the long haul, it should thrive. Let's just hope Apple doesn't prison rape Oculus' concepts and ideas and mutate into some sort of $4000 headset made from outer space, cuz you know at this point in their future, they're gonna running out of creative idea's to stealPlz emulate because they no longer have Attila The Hun to mentor their next endeavor.
 
They're really late to market with this. It would have been a lot smarter to bring this to market when there was still a 3D TV fad creating buzz among home theater people. Now, with tablets and laptops putting pressure on desktops and most desktops being dinosaur P4 and C2Ds, there's just so little room for a person to accessorize thei PC with the latest jangles. Oh and if it doesn't work with consoles....
 
Im incredibly excited about getting my hands on the final consumer version of this thing. Those worried about the screen just know that the commercial version is supposed to have a high resolution screen...im wanting to say it WILL be a 1080p screen but I can't recall if I actually read that or im pulling it out of my ass.

CreepyUncleGoogle, I don't know if your trolling or what but I think your sadly mistaken. There is still a HUGE market out there for immersive gaming and "most desktops" that will have one of these things are not going to be P4s and C2Ds. As far as working on consoles, that's going to be entirely up to the developers coding the game to work with it. That's really what this current round of kits are going out for, to get the developers hands on time so they can get their games working with it. With the next gen consoles being so architecturally similar to PCs, I don't see why the Rift couldn't work with them.

I personally can't wait to play a flight sim and (fingers crossed) jumped into BF4 with these. Also really interested to see how my body reacts to the thing...I get a kick out of screwing with perception.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Im incredibly excited about getting my hands on the final consumer version of this thing. Those worried about the screen just know that the commercial version is supposed to have a high resolution screen...im wanting to say it WILL be a 1080p screen but I can't recall if I actually read that or im pulling it out of my ass.

CreepyUncleGoogle, I don't know if your trolling or what but I think your sadly mistaken. There is still a HUGE market out there for immersive gaming and "most desktops" that will have one of these things are not going to be P4s and C2Ds. As far as working on consoles, that's going to be entirely up to the developers coding the game to work with it. That's really what this current round of kits are going out for, to get the developers hands on time so they can get their games working with it. With the next gen consoles being so architecturally similar to PCs, I don't see why the Rift couldn't work with them.

I personally can't wait to play a flight sim and (fingers crossed) jumped into BF4 with these. Also really interested to see how my body reacts to the thing...I get a kick out of screwing with perception.
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agreed devil dog.
flight and driving sim. tons of possibilities for this.
GTA 6 made for the rift would be amazing.
 
Someone made the comment that this should have come out before the wide adoption of tablets and that it is too late too market as a PC peripheral. I feel like this could complement a tablet very well. It seams that people like the tablets because they can be used almost anywhere (the couch, recliner, kitchen, in the car as a passenger, etc). I feel like this could be a compliment to a tablet if it were powerful enough. One could sit on the couch and tap into a tablet and play a game there. Especially if they worked in some hand motion controls.
 
Bendable OLED display technology is going to make or break this type of VR tech.
This is the only high resolution, light weight tech that will have the staying power.
The trend is going to be for the headset to become smaller, lighter and OLED is the only tech promising enough to evolve as the headsets do.
I'm glad the guy kept emphasizing that the Oculus Rift was development project currently and not representing the final product. These still have a long way to go.
 
Is there a prediction when higher-res screens will become as affordable? I know it's to be expected soon, but I often try to find graphs that might help illustrate the rate cost/pixels. Like, say, in 5 years we'll see 4000p at this size for the same cost? Like other technologies, it seems like it would be easy to figure...
 
You could do some extrapolation with a reasonable degree of accuracy, but I don't have a specific answer on that.

A big component of panel pricing is demand-driven, and I'm just not sure what demand will be for 2.5k and 4k displays in the Rift-applicable size range of 5"-7". Two manufacturers have prototyped 2.5k panels at 6.1", and I suspect they aren't going to be dramatically more expensive than the somewhat-smaller 2k displays already available in quantity. 4k is a different beast. I'm kind of hopeful that someone will produce a 4k display for the 7" tablet market, but I think that's at least two to three years out, and it's not quite the size you'd want for the Rift.

These panels still have to spec right in terms of pixel response time and refresh rates as well.
 
wonderfield said:
These panels still have to spec right in terms of pixel response time and refresh rates as well.
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Well, as you are going to be viewing them from a fixed position (so no shift) you could use cheap >1ms 120hz TN panels, rather than the slower 5ms+ 60hz laggy IPS.

the lamed out version of UHD, 4k is supposed to be arriving commercially (as in broadcast) in Asia in 2014, so expectto see them in the US widely available by 2015 then cheap by 2018.. though TBH a high pixel panel aren't actually that expensive when you look into them (just the panel not the extras).
 
USMCGrunt said:
CreepyUncleGoogle, I don't know if your trolling or what but I think your sadly mistaken. There is still a HUGE market out there for immersive gaming and "most desktops" that will have one of these things are not going to be P4s and C2Ds. As far as working on consoles, that's going to be entirely up to the developers coding the game to work with it. That's really what this current round of kits are going out for, to get the developers hands on time so they can get their games working with it. With the next gen consoles being so architecturally similar to PCs, I don't see why the Rift couldn't work with them.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's a very large market for this. Despite the fact that many of the forum dwellers at [H] own or want to own gaming desktop hardware, not even all of them bother themselves with games of any sorts. So, eliminating the large number of older, non-gaming systems out there and the people who own computers, but don't bother with games leaves you with a very small market. Among those that have the hardware, there are those that aren't interested or won't make a purchase for various reasons and you're left with interested potential buyers. There realistically aren't that many people and since 3D is no longer popularized by mainstream media, the reception to the Rift is questionable at best which is why this thing got crowd funded instead of supported by a company that sees a substantial profit margin. As much as people want something they're interested in to be successful, there is a dash of realism that has to salt the optimistic view. The Rift and all the buzz (which honestly seems to be limited to [H] and a few other tech reviewers) might amount to a tepid industry and consumer response as has been the case with past VR helmet marketing attempts.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Well, as you are going to be viewing them from a fixed position (so no shift) you could use cheap >1ms 120hz TN panels, rather than the slower 5ms+ 60hz laggy IPS.
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That's ideal, but those panels don't really exist. Oculus is stuck with whatever's going to be produced for phones/tablets at the moment, which generally means IPS.

I think the pixel response times on IPS displays are within the realm of being reasonable, but firmwares need to be available to drive them at higher refresh rates. A lot of 60 Hz IPS panels will quite happily run at rates far beyond that.

CreepyUncleGoogle said:
...the reception to the Rift is questionable at best
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Too obvious. The key to trolling is subtlety.
 
wonderfield said:
Too obvious. The key to trolling is subtlety.
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Calling a disagreeable opinion trolling is similar to saying "Well your shoes are so last year," to escape having to make a rational point about orographic lift during a discussion about modeling weather around a mountain.
 
I'd have to agree with wonderfield, your making yourself out to be a troll here. Your on a hardware enthusiast site saying the product is going to fail because, basically, PC gaming is dead. We've heard that argument for, literally, decades. I also don't see this thing being marketed so much as 3D like 3D television or 3D monitor gaming. As stated on their site's title bar/google search, "Virtual Reality helmet for 3D games. We've been playing 3D games since....Duke Nukem 3D? I think your just taking the terminology out of context but all the impressions ive read have been overwhelmingly positive with slight hints of negatives. Most people's negative remarks have to do with the screen (which will be a higher quality one commercially), input lag which I would hope will be improved upon by the time commercial hits, and an overly immersive experience. Though that last one is arguable since its showing that it is effective in what it does...possibly too much though...that last part has me excited too.

Also, another trademark troll-ism is to try and talk over someone's head about something they know about but isn't common knowledge. When making comparisons, normal people use scenarios that the majority of the population can understand and relate to. Im not the brightest crayon in the box but im certainly nowhere near the dullest...and I could only hazard a guess as to what your even trying to compare in your remark.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Your on a hardware enthusiast site...
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The place an argument is presented has no relationship to the argument itself. Furthermore, a troll tends to drop a comment that incites arguments and/or debate and then sits back to watch the stupidity. People toss the term around at anything they don't like or disagree with in an attempt to discredit the source without addressing the idea itself.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
The place an argument is presented has no relationship to the argument itself. Furthermore, a troll tends to drop a comment that incites arguments and/or debate and then sits back to watch the stupidity. People toss the term around at anything they don't like or disagree with in an attempt to discredit the source without addressing the idea itself.
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Or they pick out the parts of a comment that they can easily attack without taking the whole body of work into consideration to incite further comments.

Must remember rule #1: Don't feed the trolls.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Or they pick out the parts of a comment that they can easily attack without taking the whole body of work into consideration to incite further comments.

Must remember rule #1: Don't feed the trolls.
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You know, I have nothing at all against your interest in the Rift. Don't take an opinion about the timing of the launch or the potential for it to become a market success as a personal attack. It isn't and was never intended to be interpreted as such.
 
The Rift's appearances at trade shows have been the most popular or among the most popular, with people waiting hours in line to demo it. The Kickstarter campaign produced very nearly an order of magnitude more in pledges than its $250,000 goal. It's been featured on every major tech site to as much acclaim as could be expected for a niche product, and that's for the low-spec developer kit with an absolutely awful display. The Verge has done a surprisingly large number of articles about it, and Topalski even brought it on the Jimmy Fallon show to demo it. Near as I'm aware, there's not been any predominantly negative reaction from those in the media who've actually used it. John Carmack, Cliff Bleszinski, Gabe Newell, Michael Abrash and Chris Roberts are all totally behind it, as are others. It's already fully integrated in UE3 and Unity.

Where exactly is the "questionable reception"?
 
wonderfield said:
The Rift's appearances at trade shows have been the most popular or among the most popular, with people waiting hours in line to demo it. The Kickstarter campaign produced very nearly an order of magnitude more in pledges than its $250,000 goal. It's been featured on every major tech site to as much acclaim as could be expected for a niche product, and that's for the low-spec developer kit with an absolutely awful display. The Verge has done a surprisingly large number of articles about it, and Topalski even brought it on the Jimmy Fallon show to demo it. Near as I'm aware, there's not been any predominantly negative reaction from those in the media who've actually used it. John Carmack, Cliff Bleszinski, Gabe Newell, Michael Abrash and Chris Roberts are all totally behind it, as are others. It's already fully integrated in UE3 and Unity.

Where exactly is the "questionable reception"?
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It's in here:

CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I don't think there's a very large market for this. Despite the fact that many of the forum dwellers at [H] own or want to own gaming desktop hardware, not even all of them bother themselves with games of any sorts. So, eliminating the large number of older, non-gaming systems out there and the people who own computers, but don't bother with games leaves you with a very small market. Among those that have the hardware, there are those that aren't interested or won't make a purchase for various reasons and you're left with interested potential buyers. There realistically aren't that many people and since 3D is no longer popularized by mainstream media, the reception to the Rift is questionable at best which is why this thing got crowd funded instead of supported by a company that sees a substantial profit margin. As much as people want something they're interested in to be successful, there is a dash of realism that has to salt the optimistic view. The Rift and all the buzz (which honestly seems to be limited to [H] and a few other tech reviewers) might amount to a tepid industry and consumer response as has been the case with past VR helmet marketing attempts.
Click to expand...
 
wonderfield said:
The Rift's appearances at trade shows have been the most popular or among the most popular, with people waiting hours in line to demo it. The Kickstarter campaign produced very nearly an order of magnitude more in pledges than its $250,000 goal. It's been featured on every major tech site to as much acclaim as could be expected for a niche product, and that's for the low-spec developer kit with an absolutely awful display. The Verge has done a surprisingly large number of articles about it, and Topalski even brought it on the Jimmy Fallon show to demo it. Near as I'm aware, there's not been any predominantly negative reaction from those in the media who've actually used it. John Carmack, Cliff Bleszinski, Gabe Newell, Michael Abrash and Chris Roberts are all totally behind it, as are others. It's already fully integrated in UE3 and Unity.

Where exactly is the "questionable reception"?
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Stop feeding him dude....
 
I thought that maybe I my initial reaction was wrong and that he was simply uninformed. Suffice it to say that I should really just trust my instincts.
 
*shrug* Feel the way you want about it, I guess. As I said, I have nothing against anyone who is interested in the product and feels that there's market potential. I just have a different opinion about it.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Well, as you are going to be viewing them from a fixed position (so no shift) you could use cheap >1ms 120hz TN panels, rather than the slower 5ms+ 60hz laggy IPS.

the lamed out version of UHD, 4k is supposed to be arriving commercially (as in broadcast) in Asia in 2014, so expectto see them in the US widely available by 2015 then cheap by 2018.. though TBH a high pixel panel aren't actually that expensive when you look into them (just the panel not the extras).
Click to expand...

4k phablet size OLED by 2014 should be a reality. Each LCD variant has way too much limitations.

I was also disappointed by 4k. We were promised 8k years ago and they have it now but decided to milk 4k first. It's the same HD Ready/720p song all over again.
 
The Oculus guys need to partner up with Rezer and make use of the Hydra, the consuemr version of the Oculus shoudl definitely be bundled with two hydra's if they could work out a deal to make all of that affordable to a consumer level.

Some indie dev's have already been using Hydra's for controls, since the idea of the oculus works a lot better with it then a mouse/keyboard.

Just look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IwxUD8N8E

The controls he does with that looks so much more natural then the videos you see of people using the oculus with a gamepad or mouse.
 
A buddy linked this to me on a diff forum. I think it's pretty badarse. As long as the price is reasonable, it will take off...like the virtual boy! I am interested, but won't be a front runner for purchasing. Still the best I've seen simulated on the tele was from the movie Gamer.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
There realistically aren't that many people and since 3D is no longer popularized by mainstream media,
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This is not a television. That was wearing sunglasses and looking through a window. This as close to immersion as currently possible.

Getting back to the conversation.

I see some potential for movies as well. The movie would have to be rendered in real time, but you could be within the movie. Like being in a dream. Imagine watching Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children in "spectator mode".

Not virtual reality...alternate reality.
 
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