First Oculus Rift released into the Wild

They've been threatening to release the mythical beast for what seems like forever but now Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has released the first consumer Rift into the wild by hand delivering the unit to a chap in Alaska , let's face it if anyone needs VR it's someone who lives in Alaska.




I'm willing to wait my turn in line while I see if the Oculus lives up to its potential or if the HTC Vive offers the better experience but I think I know what Santa is bringing me at the end of the year.

Unfortunately I think this tech is only a gimmick much like the Wii and its nunchucks. I think it is going to be too much of a hassle for hardcore gamers then what they are willing to put themselves through.

a reply to: gortex

I have the highest hopes for the future of VRG but I'll stay off the hype train until I can see how easy/hard boring/fun the system is.

-Alee

originally posted by: gortex
let's face it if anyone needs VR it's someone who lives in Alaska.

Funny, I live here and was thinking exactly the opposite when I read the story in the local paper yesterday. Spring is right around the corner here... the things would go untouched until November in my household.

a reply to: Brotherman

As a gamer the thought of looking from the cockpit of a car , plane or spaceship in a virtual world holds a lot of appeal , racing or flying in VR can offer immersion that games up to now have lacked due to the third person nature of gaming.

I intend to build a new gaming PC through the year and get one or other of the headsets at the end of the year , I think it's exciting new tech that has the potential to move gaming forward from the rut it's in at the moment.

My only worry is I may have to get a racing cockpit to go with the VR for proper immersion.

originally posted by: gortex
I'm willing to wait my turn in line while I see if the Oculus lives up to its potential or if the HTC Vive offers the better experience

Yeah, the "console wars" is already in full swing.
I preordered the Rift, but I waited about a week or so once preorders were open and now my ship ETA is in like..june or july..god knows.
people ordering now may be waiting till christmas..the backlog is real, but plenty of cancelled orders and such, so it might shift up..who knows.

as far as which system is better...well, depends on who you ask. once the oculus touch (the hand controllers) is released, things are going to become difficult to say which is better. Vive's "room size experience" no doubt is kinda cool for a few games, but almost all games will be sit down or stand in a small area experiences..so not really a huge selling point there

the oculus has better graphics (same resolution, tighter packing, and better lens with no halo artifacting) and better weight distribution. vive has a slightly larger FOV..it goes back and forth with these minor differences but ultimately both are good systems...so fandom starts kicking in...why pepsi is better than coke kind of stuff.

a reply to: Brotherman

Hmmm well people who have tried it rave about it.

originally posted by: gortex
My only worry is I may have to get a racing cockpit to go with the VR for proper immersion.

I got a buddy that suggested I get a wheel. one of the best immersive experiences he said he has had is in american truck simulator. makes sense, even on a monitor that game is pretty awesome and immersive..I can imagine what it would be like in VR.

I recommend getting Elite Dangerous though (if you like space and wanna explore the galaxy, or have dreams of being a space merchant (or pirate). definately need a joystick for that though. not just for immersion..the game is near impossible to use with mouse/keyboard anyhow..joystick however makes you feel like you are legit flying your own ship..awesome stuff.

a reply to: SaturnFX

Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen would I think be a required purchase , all my Star Wars dreams as kid come true.
For driving games a wheel is a must and with decent force feedbak really enhances the driving or racing experience , my VR will I think be mostly used in racing games at first but space sims and FPS won't be far behind.

Please let us know how you get on with your Oculus when you get it.

I think they are cool, and look forward to getting one of the systems in the future. I mostly play RPG's, but with headtracking and a wider fov, I feel the immersion level will be worth it.

I'm currently using a 40" monitor, so FOV is a big deal to me and I'd have a hard time going back down(in size, or overall FOV). These units just seem like the next logical step to me.

However, can't get this image out of my head whenever I read about these VR units.

ktismatics.files.wordpress.com...

originally posted by: Brotherman
Unfortunately I think this tech is only a gimmick much like the Wii and its nunchucks. I think it is going to be too much of a hassle for hardcore gamers then what they are willing to put themselves through.

You very well may be correct about this version of VR, but comparing it to the nunchucks isn't very accurate. This is the beginning of a technology that we can only pretend to understand the impacts of. With the exponential growth rate of technology & AI, we could very well see Sword Art Online style VR within 30 years (assuming a technological humanity survives that long).
For those of you who aren't anime fans, in SAO you put on your headset, lay down, & suddenly you're in the VR world using your powers & skills like its the real world.

a reply to: BigScaryStrawman
As the tech develops people will basically have to remodel their game rooms to play. I've read multiple articles criticizing the standard of conformity required to use this the way its intended. I dont doubt its appeal but I'm concerned its going to flop out after record sales like the playstation move and Kinect etc. I think that it will have a niche but ultimately I think that gamers will shy away from this even after its purchased.

That video was painful to watch.

For now, I still prefer the company of augmented women over virtual.

The tactile feedback is more realistic.

a reply to: gortex
I'll weld and fab the car set up for u. # id be pleased to make something like that blending welding and video games would bring a tear to my eye.

a reply to: Brotherman

Competitive gaming or just daily gamers have been to refined to change over to VR. It's like a sport, why change a good thing? Would we change hockey, or football? Why do we need to improve o an already massive entertaining business, that people enjoy?
The last thing that really improved gaming was voice chat and live streaming,
But, I do think VR will have its place, it's own little niche market. The game no man's sky would be a good game for VR.

a reply to: strongfp
Its just my humble opinion, the vr is going to have fair sales and then flop, I predict no mans sky to fail as well after a ton of people buy the game. I also predict a new genre of YouTube videos filming people dropping things and breaking stuff playing their VR devices, kind of like Kinect, move, Wii epic fail vids.

I've never seen VR in person before so I am still curious, does anyone know what the difference between it and a computer monitor is? Aside from the fact that it is closer to your face and no one else can see it? Is it 3d or something? I know you can get 3d monitors.

Is it because you can look around in 3d? You can do that already in computer games on a computer monitor.

a reply to: LifeisGrand

With a monitor you are always looking at a screen , the real world is always in your peripheral vision ,with VR the screens become your eyes putting you in the game world as opposed to just looking at it.

While I am incredibly excited for virtual reality, I'm not interested for the headset VR. Give me my own Holodeck! Then we can talk!

Still, I can appreciate how far the technology has come, and have very high hopes for how the technology will proceed. It is an exciting time In the meantime though, I'm happy with conventional monitor + keyboard/mouse gaming.