Initial Oculus Rift Impressions After Demo

[Jason_Williams]

Hi everyone,

 

I know there are several of you here that are interested in the Oculus Rift device and have been writing us encouraging 1C/777 to adopt it for BOS and ROF so I thought I would make some comments. There has been much hype surrounding this new product on the web and it bills itself as a revolutionary product that will finally give PC gamers an amazing Virtual Reality experience. I just returned from the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco where I was able to finally put one on and check it out. Here are my impressions and comments. And please note I make these comments as objectively as possible with absolutely no agenda. I applaud ANYONE who tries to create innovative products and improve gameplay. Due to my varied experiences as a former TrackIR product manager at NaturalPoint, a product development director making gaming devices and a sim developer, I feel I am in a peculiar position to comment on this new device as I saw it at GDC. I hope the Oculus is a success and PC gaming can continue to be seen as the most innovative gaming platform. Of course, as simmers, there will naturally be comparisons to the TrackIR as both are VR devices albeit with different approaches. Oculus can be described as first-person VR and TrackIR as fishbowl VR.

 

So, after spending a week in snowy, freezing Moscow with the team I was looking forward to a nice cruise up to San Fran in the California sun to check this thing out. I previously crashed their office hoping for a demo, but was not afforded an opportunity, so I trekked 500 miles to give it a look see. The Oculus was the belle of the ball and a huge line formed each day for attendees to give it a whirl. But seriously, if you are a twenty-something aspiring game developer, a simple shower with soap and water will do wonders. Why must gamers reinforce the stereotype? But I digress???

[HippyDruid]

Good review Jason. It seems like you have presented the information quite objectively indeed.

 

The motion blur doesn't sound great, but prehaps as you say, this is a limitation of the screen at the moment.

 

I have a question for you.

When you cast your eyes down, whilst wearing the headset, were you still able to see controls such as the keyboard? If so, how much viewing range did you have?

Edited March 29, 2013 by HippyDruid

[Jason_Williams]

HD,

 

No after you put them on you can't see anything but the screen. As far as FOV goes it felt the same as any other monitor. Maybe a tiny bit less due to the proximity to your eyes.

 

Jason

[SharpeXB]

Experience any motion sickness? I wonder if the device fills up your entire field of view that might be a problem for some.

[JG13_opcode]

This leads me to my biggest disappointment with the Oculus and I think this can be a deal breaker for some users if it doesn???

[Jason_Williams]

Experience any motion sickness? I wonder if the device fills up your entire field of view that might be a problem for some.

 

No no motion sickness. I don't get motion sickness, but the Oculus reps were warning people they might experience some if they are sensitive to it. I don't think it will be any more prevalent than what is experienced with TrackIR.

 

Jason

 

Sounds to me like the refresh rate of their display just isn't up to the task. Pity.

 

Well they claim you need 60hz with Vertical Sync on, so I would assume their screen can handle that. I really couldn't say what was causing the blurriness since I've rarely ever experienced it on a computer monitor. It was strange.

 

Jason

[AndyJWest]

I wonder if the blurriness is a consequence of the way they use fancy optics to increase resolution at the centre of the FOV at the expense of reducing it at the edges? This would result in the number of pixels representing a stationary object changing as you swung your head around - and I can imagine this could result in apparent blurring of small objects.

 

Anyway, thanks for the review, Jason. Nice to see an objective appraisal rather than the hype we've seen so far.

[JG27_Chivas]

Thanks for the review Jason.

 

The headset is adjustable for glasses.

The developers are hoping to have a much lighter and higher resolution version ready for the consumer release. 

It will be interesting to see if they will eventually be able to use the new very light, bendable Oled screens.  Not sure if that would make it possible to eliminate the some of the weight of the lenses.  Time will tell. 

[BlitzPig_EL]

Not being able to see your keyboard, and other peripherals might be problematic for flight simulation as well.

[JG27_Chivas]

Not being able to see your keyboard, and other peripherals might be problematic for flight simulation as well.

It could be problematic, especially for those without Hotas systems.  Personally I use a MS joystick, Cougar throttle, throttle quadrant, and can quickly access them without having to look.  If required I could easily put another small button/switch bay between the two throttles.  That way I could keep my right hand on the Joystick and the left hand could  easily navigate to all required buttons,rotaries,levers, and switches. 

[JG4_Sputnik]

Great review, thank you Jason! I really appreciate yours and 777's efford for trying to move our genre forward. it's good to read a finally a review from a simmer and someone who isn't a complete 'noob' when it comes to tracking/vr devices.

 

 

That some people will have vertigo-like feelings, I see that as a very positive statement It seperates the pilots from the ground mechanics

 

 

And I see problems to use the one-eyed german ReVi with the occulus on. But this are details, we will see I guess.

 

I have two questions:

 

- Wahat do you mean by 'the vision appear to be a bit more 3d'? Does that mean its not a real 3D vision? Like in 3D movies?

- Let's say you want to check your six, you turn your head for like 100 degrees to your left back, and naturally you will move your eyes as well left for the last 30 degrees (so your neck doesnt snap). Then do you see the borders of the rift or are your eyes still 'on the screen?'

 

Palmer often sayed that now it's day zero, it is only going to be better. Maybe the occulus 1.0 won't be the perfect fit, but I personally think and hope that after a few versions we will look back and say 'how could've we played in front of the screen like 2013 an thought this had something to do with realism'

 

Cheers,

Sputnik

Edited March 30, 2013 by Sputnik

[JimmyGiro]

Would there be room to cut away the base of the face section, so that folk could have a small window to glance down, passed their nose, at hands and controls; whilst still having all the forward, left-right, and top views intact?

[Sim]

Thanks Jason for the quick first look. They started shipping dev kits yesterday and the SDK is now available. Couple of points:

 

- The minimum requirement card they mentioned - GeForce 650m - is a low end card targeting laptops/notebooks. It's on par with GeForce GTX 285. So I think most of us able to run RoF will be able to use Oculus Rift hardware.

 

- As for the 1 on 1 tracking - I think you will be able to change this with the SDK. Essentially a slider can be added to game options that can change the tracking for 1-to-10 to behave more like the TrackIR.

[Skoshi_Tiger]

Thanks for the review Jason.

 

I'm one of the people that you mentioned that would find it very hard to go back to a flight sim without the functionality of my Track IR.

 

With all the 1:1 head movement required with the Occulus can you see silk scarves becomming a popular peice of flight simming apparel if it becomes main stream?

 

My wife thinks I'm fairly geeky as it is, this might be the final straw that breaks the cammels back!

 

Cheers!

Edited March 30, 2013 by Skoshi_Tiger

[Uufflakke]

Thanks for the review. Interesting stuff.

 

Maybe a silly question but after reading and searching the internet am I right that Initial Oculus Rift is still 3DOF instead of our beloved 6DOF?

 

 

After reading Wikipedia (for what it is worth...)  about IOR perhaps the bluriness is caused by this:

 

"The lenses in the Oculus Rift warp the image so that pixels are closer together in the centre and stretched further apart at the edges"

 

 

Another thing I read is that the FOV resolution (640x800) will become higher:

 

"Oculus is aiming for at least 1920x1080 (960x1080 per eye) for the consumer version."

[Sim]

nvm

Edited March 30, 2013 by Sim

[Feathered_IV]

If this device takes off, it will create an interesting demand for an "eyes free" control box with intuitively placed knobs, buttons and levers. You might want to look into that Jason!

[JG4_Sputnik]

Here one of the 'worse' reviews of the occulus:

http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/26/4147702/hawken-oculus-rift

 

I put this in here, because even though the guy isnt't all that impressed in the device, he says that he easily could have spent hours just flying around with his mech because it gave him such an impressive feeling of hight.

Very good news for us, I suppose

 

Man, think about flying arround above Stalingrad in 8k in a recon plane, scanning the ground and the sky, watching the sun rise hoping nobody sees you.... Nerdgasm!

Edited March 30, 2013 by Sputnik

[Bearcat]

Not being able to see your keyboard, and other peripherals might be problematic for flight simulation as well.

It would be for me. Also the 1:1 tracking would be an issue. between my neck and my meniere's I will most likely pass on this for simming. Plus I don't like the idea of having my eyes totally covered. I always had an issue with headphones as well actually. It sounds promising though, just not for me. Great review Jason. 

[Rjel]

I'd wonder too what the effects on one's eyesight might be. I would hope the developers have worked with vision specialists to avoid eye damage from long term use. It sounds great but I'd be surprised if it didn't bring issues some of us might not think about at first blush.

[=BKHZ=Furbs]

Not seeing my keyboard, beer, phone or the Mrs means i prob will not be buying, love the idea though.

[falstaff]

Furbs, they are all *good* reasons to buy it...(except the beer bit)

 

 

Ben

[AA_Engadin]

So glad you finally got your hands on OR!   IMHO, your review is totally unbiased, having in mind your huge experience at NP.

 

After the reading, I can only agree with you and many of the posters before me: there is so much room for improvement and sure the OR team will squeeze  this current platform up to the very last drop to keep up with expectations, theirs and ours. As you say, there is a huge difference between TIR1 and the fabulous TIR4. The same should show in coming versions of OR.

 

OTOH, I am totally agree with the 1:1 vs 1:10 different approaches: for TIR, 1:10 was the optimum solution, no doubt about it on my part. But for OR, the 1:1 is the way to go. Why? IMHO, what OR is intended to give us is the closest experience to the real fighting experience we have ever had (when all glitches are ironed out). 1:1 is pure reality. Any other approach on OR device will be a step back. If Adolf Galland, Douglas Bader, Saburo Sakai, David McCampbell or Ivan Kozhedub had to hear their respective necks cracking to check their six properly, who are us not to do the same thing?    Well, now seriously, I guess a joystick twist or a quick kick to the rudder will help and do the job with no harm to our vertebrae.

 

The 'unable to see my keyboard' issue, IMHO, requires two additional steps to take to solve it. Please, don't call me a dreamer (I dreamed of a OR thingie ten years ago and here we are) when I dream of a 'clickable cockpit plus Leap Motion' solution. I have talked about this combo before, but for now it is a more plausible way to go. Another solution: one hand FPS keyboards, like Logitech G13, after perfectly memorizing keys.

 

Again, nice read and thanks for your effort to bring it to us.

 

AA_Engadin.

 

[Freycinet]

Can't wait to see this come to flightsimming! Thx for the unbiased review. How exactly did the blur look? - Shadows tailing fast-moving objects? "Periscope cursor" like in old laptop screens with a low refresh rate (i.e. several cursors in a conga line)?

 

The only solution I can see for cockpit instruments interaction is a representation of your hands on-screen. Of course you then need a hand-tracker, probably on the OR headset, as well as nifty rings you put on your hands to be tracked. Imagine the nerdy mutual recognition when you meet fellow gamers wearing those cool rings... ;-)  

[Freycinet]

Ah, hand trackers, already done:

 

 

I guess clickable cockpits will be de rigeur again! :-)

[hiro]

Thanks for the great review .. .  comparing it to TIR, I could relate to that. I was LOL at the soap and watering . . . try out the blizzcon or hackercon :D , I wasn't out of place when I brought a gas mask.

 

 

 

The hands idea is a possibility. THey are developing holographic keyboards and the tablet or computer or smartphone uses lasers to read your fingers (and fingertip) positions so you can type, so I can see that expanded to a holographic cockpit displayed in VR and lasers are used to track hand movements so it knows which lever you are flipping or control . . . 

 

THe only issue with this is the tactile, there is no push or feedback or object and some people brains require that . . .

 

 

 

 

unfortunately for me, staring at a pc screen, even those with a refresh rate that can't keep up with normal human head movement . . . . will rule this version out. 

 

TIR works for me with a really good monitor

 

I work on PC's all the time, and the older monitors with refresh rates, I can see the refresh lines (like when you see CRT's viewed  on the news, and those lines running up or down on them . . .) and that gives me a headache. Just like I get eyestrain off kindle if I read too much, or browsing the web to long with a tablet or iphone.

 

Maybe the 2nd or 3rd generation (or a competitor) might make something better. 

[royraiden]

Thanks for the review/first impressions.It seems it still needs a bit of improvement but Im almost sure they will do their best to get this device going.I hope it actually gets implemented into BOS and other flight sims even if I dont use it, Im pretty sure the ones who do will get one of the most immersive experiences.

[imacimacmillil]

A couple of points:

 

1. The motion blur problem is a direct result of the low quality of the screen, and should hopefully be corrected with the consumer release of the Rift. Ditto for the low resolution.

2. There is a much more important differrence between TrackIR and the Rift's head tracking: the Rift is only 3DOF, which is a *huge* handicap. With a such a low resolution screen, it is vital to be able to lean in closer to the instrument panel in order to read the gauges, but alas, you cannot. But Oculus will almost certainly have this resolved for the consumer version, and there is someone on the MTBS forums who I'm putting my faith in to solve this problem before Oculus does. 

[ram0506]

Ah, hand trackers, already done:

 

I guess clickable cockpits will be de rigeur again! :-)

 

 

Hello Freycinet,

 

maybe this one would be a better solution for simulation:

 

[JG27_Chivas]

We seem to be forgetting that this is still a prototype, not the consumer version.  This latest development version is 3DOF, and has a relatively low resolution.   The developer is well aware of these problems and fully understands the consumer version will need full very low latency positional tracking, and a much higher resolution, to avoid as much as possible any nausea.   I know the first consumer version of TrackIR ONE made me feel a little queezy, until I got used to it.   We will have to wait and see if their first consumer release product has addressed these issues.   If they can't it will be just another in a long line of VR failures.   This time however I believe the hardware/software to make VR possible can be and is being built, but can it still stay at the three hundred dollar price point, if they have to, let say, use the new Oled bendable screens, or other expensive high resolution screens.   Anyone who has ever built anything new and complicated know that they will have to built a number of prototypes until they get it right.   Hopefully they will have a break thru sooner than later for the consumer version, and don't have to many money men forcing the product out the door before its ready.

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

With all the 1:1 head movement required with the Occulus can you see silk scarves becomming a popular peice of flight simming apparel if it becomes main stream?

 

 

+1

[SharpeXB]

It sounds fantastic. One concern I can think of is if you are older, being able to focus your eyes on a screen that close. I wear multifocal contacts that do a great job with up close vision. I'll just have to try it someday. 8" or so is about the closest I can see something.

Maybe if the screen is that close you don't need any correction.

Edited March 31, 2013 by SharpeXB

[Furio]

Thank you, Jason.

Most of the problems (weight, resolution, blurring) will be taken care of by normal development. But it looks to me that some fundamental ones are here to stay, and we???

[MrGeddings]

joined to comment as i thought you may go for a bit negitive approach because of being a part of TrackIR in the past but you make good points.  To be honest right now The Dev version of Oculus Rift would indeed NOT be good for heavy dogfighting airplane games as of the motion blur issues (and maybe of turning your head oftan too)   But you guys could still (since you could get the SDK and docs without having the Rift ..) work on the possibly of including support down the road for the commerical version of the Rift which should include better screen with less motion blur (the blur mainly i think comes from the fast that the screen is 60 hz and not 120 hz and hopefully they will fix that in the final version (however its said the blur is still much better then the previous pre-dev kit version)

 

I think for now Oculus Rift would be better for less "action oriented games" at least the Dev version.   This would make it more keen for games like Flight Simulator X and non combat flight sims since you do not need to turn your head that much (at all really)

 

and yes the TracKIr would be better for dog fighting games because of the speed however, for me i found that TracKir is actually a bit limiting. the 10 to 1 movement just feels less naturual to me playing say Amra 2 made me want to be able to turn around 1 to 1 and see the scene change but you coudnt. without losing sight of the moniter.

 

so for me i think the 360 degree view will be very nice.

 

But keep in mind the Dev Kit is NOT for consumer use now  developers can get it and use it to work with games and just be aware of the limiations right now

 

but good write up.   but im glad im a causual flight Sim X fan and would not worry too much about it :-D.

[SR-F_Winger]

Big thanks for this review. 

Some comments i feel necessary to make without reading the whole post. So apologies if anyone already said something of what i say now:

 

 

Will it revolutionize PC gaming? For some it will be the best thing since sliced bread. For others it will not be worth the investment. Once its the final product and all the small childrens deseases are cured it will DEFINATELY be:)!

 

How much will it cost? I have no idea. It has been stated that it will be around 200-300 dollars. I think "Affordable" is one of the words used to describe pricerange.

 

Does it work as advertised? Yes, but with some limitations and niggles. Thats because its the DEVELOPER kit and not the final endconsumer product.

 

Will 1C/777 support it? Possibly, but we will evaluate it more once we have the SDK and an actual test unit. This part will be in the hands of Loft and the team and they will have to see if it is possible to squeeze it into our already tight development schedule. In your own interest: I REALLY hope you do!

 

Is it better than TrackIR? No, it???

Edited April 1, 2013 by Winger

[BlitzPig_EL]

I have the full CH HOTAS and there still are not enough buttons, switches and levers.

 

As combat flight simulations move on to ever higher levels of "realism" a simple HOTAS will never be able to keep up.

Edited April 1, 2013 by ElAurens

[JG27_Chivas]

GTC 2013: Oculus VR Reveals Future of Oculus Rift at ECS
Subject: General Tech | April 1, 2013 - 05:37 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: virtual reality, oculus vr, oculus rift, GTC 2013, gaming

Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, took the stage at NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference to talk about the state of its technology and where it is headed.

Oculus VR is a relatively new company founded by Palmer Luckey and managed by CEO Brendan Iribe, who is the former CPO of cloud gaming company Gaikai. Currently, Oculus VR is developing a wearable, 3D, virtual reality headset called the Oculus Rift. Initially launched via Kickstarter, the Oculus Rift hardware is now shipping to developers as the rev 1 developer kit. Oculus VR will manufacture 10,000 developer kits and managed to raise $2.55 million in 2012.

The developer kit has a resolution of 1280x800 and weighs 320g. It takes a digital video input via a DVI or HDMI cable (HDMI with an adapter). The goggles hold the display and internals, and a control box connects via a wire to provide power. It uses several pieces of hardware found in smartphones, and CEO Brendan Iribe even hinted that an ongoing theme at Oculus VR was that "if it's not in a cell phone, it's not in Oculus." It delivers a 3D experience with head tracking, but Iribe indicated that full motion VR is coming in the future. For now, it is head tracking that allows you to look around the game world, but "in five to seven or eight years" virtual reality setups that combine an Oculus Rift-like headset with a omni-directional treadmill would allow you to walk and run around the world in addition to simply looking around.

Beyond the immersion factor, a full motion VR setup would reduce (and possibly eliminate) the phenomena of VR sickness, where users using VR headsets for extended periods of time experience discomfort due to the disconnect between your perceived in-game movement and your (lack of) physical movement and inner-ear balance.

After the first developer kit, Oculus is planning to release a revised version, and ultimately a consumer version. This consumer version is slated for a Q3 2014 launch. It will weigh significantly less (Oculus VR is aiming for around 200g), and will support 1080p 3D resolutions. The sales projections estimate 50,000 revision 2 developer kits in 2013 and at least 500,000 consumer versions of the Oculus Rift in 2014. Ambitious numbers, for sure, but if Oculus can nail down next-generation console support, reduce the weight of the headset, and increase the resolution it is not out of the question.

With the consumer version, Oculus is hoping to offer both a base wired version and a higher-priced wireless Rift VR headset. Further, the company is working with game and professional 3D creation software developers to get software support for the VR headset. Team Fortress 2 support has been announced, for example (and there will even be an Oculus Rift hat, for gamers that are into hats). Additionally, Oculus is working to get support into the following software titles (among others):

AutoDesk 3D
TF2
DOTA 2
L4D
Half-Life
Warface
Minecraft
Fortnite
UT3
Hawken
Crysis
During the presentation Iribe stated that graphics cards (specifically he mentioned the GTX 680) are finally in a place to deliver 3D with smooth frame rates at high-enough resolutions for immersive virtual reality.

Left: potential games with Oculus VR support. Right: Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe at ECS during GTC 2013.

Pricing on the consumer version of the VR headset is still unkown, but developers can currently pre-order an Oculus Rift developer kit on the Oculus VR site. In the past, the company has stated that consumers should hold off on buying a developer kit and wait for the consumer version of the Rift in 2014. If the company is able to deliver on its claims of a lighter headset with higher resolution screen and adjustable 3D effects (like the 3DS, the level of stereo 3D can be adjusted, and even turned off), I think it will be worth the wait. The deciding factor will then be software support. Hopefully developers will take to the VR technology and offer up support for it in upcoming titles into the future.

Are you excited for the Oculus Rift?

[AndyJWest]

Are you excited for the Oculus Rift?

 

Not particularly. I'll leave my excitement for when I see objective reviews of the production hardware. Endless repetition of hype from Oculus's own press releases doesn't excite me. It bores me...

[SR-F_Winger]

Not particularly. I'll leave my excitement for when I see objective reviews of the production hardware. Endless repetition of hype from Oculus's own press releases doesn't excite me. It bores me...

Every single video of people that try out the rift speak the same language. And theyre all NOT from the developers. The hype is not made by OculusVR. Its made by the blown away users.

[AndyJWest]

Every single video of people that try out the rift speak the same language. And theyre all NOT from the developers. The hype is not made by OculusVR. Its made by the blown away users.

 

Er, yes. Users who haven't seen the final product, and are blown away by the hype...

Edited April 1, 2013 by AndyJWest