Oculus Rift

[red_slr]

Content is coming but its slow. Its mostly small developers, small teams of people. There are very few VR headsets (I think <250,000 units world wide for vive and rift combined at the moment) which means development budgets will be tiny. Which is why most content is coming out quite rough around the edges because it has literally been made in a dudes bedroom.. You are basically paying £15-£30 for some guys to sit in a room and make you a game, and send you updates every few weeks.

How long that support / development cycle goes on for I am not quite sure.

I play one game quite a bit and it was $20 ish. They are doing weekly updates at the moment. How long that will last - no idea. Till they money runs out I expect. I don't know what a good game developer will earn but I guess you are looking at $40-$50k easily? Make that 3 or 4 people and you are up at $150k PA easily just for wages, stuff like server space etc could easily run into tens of thousands. So the $1/2M the game brought in might not last that long without new users to pay the wages. Perhaps 18 months before they have to start seriously looking at another game. Which is how the larger companies work, DICE etal. But they have tens of millions of users to sell their games too and they can also sell content. Not so easy in the current VR world as people don't really expect to even pay for the game let alon DLC.

[snuffy]

Bullett said:

The Vive and room scale is amazing, but one major caveat is you need a lot of space to not break immersion via the chaperone system. That might be ok in US homes but in the UK space is limited. I use mine in a converted double garage and would like more room.

Now that's another thing that puts me off. So, when I bought a PS3 a plonked it in my living room and instantly felt like I was in the way of the missus (that and the stupid controller). So I never bothered with it again.

I know play games in my office at home (which was the 3rd bedroom, i.e. it's not very big; desk, chair, book case, that's about all there's room for). So walking about would not be an option. Therefore, a Vive would maybe be a waste of time for me ?

[snuffy]

Bullett said:

The games in the majority are test beds and experiences rather than proper games, there is some interesting stuff around but you are right it's more about the VR than the game.

Now that's what I felt when I had a go with a 3d-TV. The shop had a demo looping; a train coming at you and someone diving into water. i.e. it was about the 3d and nothing else. I had one look and it's never entered my head to get a 3d TV.

[Bullett]

snuffy said:

I know play games in my office at home (which was the 3rd bedroom, i.e. it's not very big; desk, chair, book case, that's about all there's room for). So walking about would not be an option. Therefore, a Vive would maybe be a waste of time for me ?

Not enough space for room scale that's for sure.
Standing will be ok but even then you will be reaching out to touch stuff and I've not found any game so far where I am not moving about at least a little.
Seated, obviously ok so racing, flying, space sims etc. all good.

[snuffy]

Bullett said:

Not enough space for room scale that's for sure.
Standing will be ok but even then you will be reaching out to touch stuff and I've not found any game so far where I am not moving about at least a little.
Seated, obviously ok so racing, flying, space sims etc. all good.

I have had an idea just now; My office/bedroom is directly above my garage, so I could drill a hole under my desk and drop all the cables down and play in the garage. Sounds good but then I'd have to remove my car every time I wanted to play a game. Nothing is simple.

[p1stonhead]

snuffy said:

Bullett said:

Not enough space for room scale that's for sure.
Standing will be ok but even then you will be reaching out to touch stuff and I've not found any game so far where I am not moving about at least a little.
Seated, obviously ok so racing, flying, space sims etc. all good.

I have had an idea just now; My office/bedroom is directly above my garage, so I could drill a hole under my desk and drop all the cables down and play in the garage. Sounds good but then I'd have to remove my car every time I wanted to play a game. Nothing is simple.

Reading that plan made me laugh out loud.

[Chunkychucky]

MagicalTrevor said:

Mine's great, highly recommended for racing games (primary reason I bought it)

Interesting. In principle I think it's a great idea and would love to try one on iRacing, however as a sim racer I think my next upgrade is instead going to be triple monitors - I can't see how a VR headset would allow me to utilise the buttons on the steering wheel/hot keys that I have for pit settings etc, where as with 3 monitors I still have a decent FOV/sense of immersion and can do other things whilst in game.

I may well jump to VR further down the line however should the opportunity to try one arise!

[Tonsko]

Chunkychucky said:

Interesting. In principle I think it's a great idea and would love to try one on iRacing, however as a sim racer I think my next upgrade is instead going to be triple monitors - I can't see how a VR headset would allow me to utilise the buttons on the steering wheel/hot keys that I have for pit settings etc, where as with 3 monitors I still have a decent FOV/sense of immersion and can do other things whilst in game.

I may well jump to VR further down the line however should the opportunity to try one arise!

Valve have opened (or are going to open) the tracking API, so peripherals will come out that you can see with the headset on, the same as the current hand controllers can be seen now. Imagine that's at least 12 months away though.

[Bullett]

Chunkychucky said:

Interesting. In principle I think it's a great idea and would love to try one on iRacing, however as a sim racer I think my next upgrade is instead going to be triple monitors - I can't see how a VR headset would allow me to utilise the buttons on the steering wheel/hot keys that I have for pit settings etc, where as with 3 monitors I still have a decent FOV/sense of immersion and can do other things whilst in game.

I may well jump to VR further down the line however should the opportunity to try one arise!

I don't find it a problem at all. My wheel has 6 buttons, a pad and a toggle and I use them via touch. Mind you I don't muck around with brake bias or the like. You can also use voice commander.

[snuffy]

I bought myself a Gear VR and a Steel Series controller (since I have an S6) about 3 days and I'm unbelievably impressed with it for £110 for both bits.

If that's what you can get from your mobile dog then I think it will soon be time to pop it up on ebay and get the proper job. But which to get ? A Vive or a Rift ?

Edited by snuffy on Saturday 20th August 17:29

[RobM77]

p1stonhead said:

snuffy said:

Bullett said:

Not enough space for room scale that's for sure.
Standing will be ok but even then you will be reaching out to touch stuff and I've not found any game so far where I am not moving about at least a little.
Seated, obviously ok so racing, flying, space sims etc. all good.

I have had an idea just now; My office/bedroom is directly above my garage, so I could drill a hole under my desk and drop all the cables down and play in the garage. Sounds good but then I'd have to remove my car every time I wanted to play a game. Nothing is simple.

Reading that plan made me laugh out loud.

I'd hide your car keys as well for playing certain games You wouldn't want to drive off up the road in real life with your VR telling you that you're at Laguna Seca

[RobM77]

Bullett said:

Chunkychucky said:

Interesting. In principle I think it's a great idea and would love to try one on iRacing, however as a sim racer I think my next upgrade is instead going to be triple monitors - I can't see how a VR headset would allow me to utilise the buttons on the steering wheel/hot keys that I have for pit settings etc, where as with 3 monitors I still have a decent FOV/sense of immersion and can do other things whilst in game.

I may well jump to VR further down the line however should the opportunity to try one arise!

I don't find it a problem at all. My wheel has 6 buttons, a pad and a toggle and I use them via touch. Mind you I don't muck around with brake bias or the like. You can also use voice commander.

I'm starting to ponder using VR for Assetto Corsa actually (I believe it has OR compatibility). It's the only game I play on my PC and I drive about 3 or 4 hours a week, partly for fun but also partly to practise for real life racing. I currently have a great three monitor setup which I love, but the big problem for me has always been being stuck bolt upright in an office chair, and then there's the issue of locking the chair's movement so you can brake properly (I have an uprated brake spring to make it more like my real life racing car so I can practise LFBing). I currently sit in my study with a wall behind me, so I currently just wedge the chair against that using some wood, but when I re-arrange the study next year (essential for other reasons) that won't be an option. Obviously an old single seater tub is a good option (I've had coaching on a pro sim that uses this), but then unless you sit in there to do other PC work , you'd need an additional triple monitor setup and it would take up a huge amount of space. However, if I could initialise the game up at my desk on the triple monitors, I presume I could then hop into an actual single seater tub or a racing chair on the other side of the room and use a VR headset to drive from there?...

[Irrotational]

RobM77 said:

I'm starting to ponder using VR for Assetto Corsa actually (I believe it has OR compatibility). It's the only game I play on my PC and I drive about 3 or 4 hours a week, partly for fun but also partly to practise for real life racing. I currently have a great three monitor setup which I love, but the big problem for me has always been being stuck bolt upright in an office chair, and then there's the issue of locking the chair's movement so you can brake properly (I have an uprated brake spring to make it more like my real life racing car so I can practise LFBing). I currently sit in my study with a wall behind me, so I currently just wedge the chair against that using some wood, but when I re-arrange the study next year (essential for other reasons) that won't be an option. Obviously an old single seater tub is a good option (I've had coaching on a pro sim that uses this), but then unless you sit in there to do other PC work , you'd need an additional triple monitor setup and it would take up a huge amount of space. However, if I could initialise the game up at my desk on the triple monitors, I presume I could then hop into an actual single seater tub or a racing chair on the other side of the room and use a VR headset to drive from there?...

Yes absolutely. The only thing to plan out is cabling. The rift headset is HDMI, so you may need an extender as well as some USB extenders. It can be a bit picky about which brands and models work so just find someone who has done it and get the cables that they did.

[Blib]

Does any PH owner of these devices wear spectacles during use? I'm blind as a bat (v. long sighted) and would need to wear mine along with the headset.

Id like to give it a go. But, not if the experience is compromised.

[Bullett]

I'm short sighted and wear glasses all the time.
I can wear the Vive with my glasses, no problem and the OR Dk2 is fine as well. I've heard the CV1 OR isn't great for glasses wearers but that's 2nd hand info, not tried myself.

I should caveat that and say I need to wear my smaller glasses, my trendier, bigger glasses fit but are not comfy.

[Blib]

Thanks for that. It's a shame that there aren't enough units in retailers yet for me to pop into a shop and try them out for myself.

[FourWheelDrift]

Has anyone tried this - http://cgcloud.pro/
download - http://cgcloud.pro/virtual-tour/

Scandinavia is rift compatible, London not (yet)

[Mannginger]

Ordered my Rift this morning after spending time with a mate's over the last couple of weeks. I was originally intending on getting the Vive but I feel the Rift is a slightly better package at this stage with the way it has few, better managed cables and I can get my Steam games on it in any event so no issues there. Also Valkyrie's not out on Steam yet and I want it!

I also prefer the look of the upcoming handset / wands from Oculus but appreciate I'll need to spend more on them (Christmas present maybe?)

Very much looking forward to sending some proper time in Project Cars and Elite this weekend, assuming the 2 business day delivery is accurate

Edited by Mannginger on Tuesday 20th September 08:31

[p1stonhead]

Can Half Life 2 be played on the Oculus?

If so im tempted just to get one for that. Doing the game over (havent played it through in YEARRRRS) would be incredible.

[RobM77]

There's an Oculus Rift DK2 for sale that I'm really tempted to buy, but I'm hesitating due to system requirements... I run a five year old PC with an i7 2600K overclocked to 4.6GHz and a 680Ti gfx card... apparently I may need to upgrade at least the gfx card to cope? I'm currently running most games on max everything smoothly across three 24" monitors.

Does OR require significantly more gfx power than required for triple screen gaming? (genuine question - I have no idea other than what I've read).