So...Oculus Rift

[Jonj1611]

I have always found the Oculus Rift to be a bit gimmicky for me or maybe I am just remembering the VR of the early 90's which were in many an arcade and were a horrible blocky experience, either way its not something I have ever had much interest in.

Until today I guess.

I went to buy a soundcard locally from someone selling one secondhand. Once I had arrived they told me they were selling it as they couldn't get it between there 2 x 980's, twin 980's you say! I asked how they were running and they said ok but they are mainly used for flight sims and need configuring, especially with the Oculus Rift.

Ah right, Oculus Rift, yes not my cup of tea really. But I was asked if I wanted to try them out, not one to shy away from new tech I said yes and mainly because I had shunned something without actually trying it myself.

So DCS was fired up, in record time I might add, something to do with 3 SSD's I guess. The game was setup so I was already in the air and then I put on the headset.

OH MY GOD! What an amazing experience! Everything looked so real and banking the plane and looking down made me feel quite queezy. Buttons looked like they could be touched and I did in fact feel myself reaching out occasionally. Looking around behind me and over the wings and through the canopy(which feels like it is going to bump your head) was an amazingly realistic and impressive experience.

Overall I am converted and if I can afford them when the consumer version comes out I will get them. A lesson learned by me as well in don't judge before you try. It was a great experience and racing games and first person shooters and space sims all looking like that I can only see it going from strength to strength and hopefully the price will come down while its at it

[Ttaskmaster]

I'm SO looking forward to getting one, too!!
I keep wanting to go for the DK, but I know I should wait for the consumer version...

[Jonj1611]

It was the dev kit 2 version I was using, the consumer version is supposed to be higher res and obviously have a few more bells and whistles. I would say if you can get hold of one now for a reasonable price, go for it, you won't be disappointed.

[MaddAussie]

I bought this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012333478...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT a few days ago to have a play using my moto G as the display, It took a little setting up but worked very well, unfortunately due to my eyes being knackered I didnt get the full stereoscopic effect (my left eye does about 80% of the work , righty just daydreams a bit) but it was still impressive.

[Jonj1611]

I must admit I did think it would affect my eyes coming back from all that immersion to reality as it were but it didn't so was quite happy about that haha

[Ttaskmaster]

you won't be disappointed.

Well, not until the consumer version comes out, with all those bells and whistles, anyway!
Nah, I'm being a grown up this time and spending wisely.

[hairyonion]

I would only buy one if the refresh rate was 120hz not sure version 1 will do that.

[Jonj1611]

Why would the refresh rate of 120hz make a difference?

[abaxas]

God this boils by pyass.

The Oculus rift is a load as it's going back on all the lessons learnt from the previous VR hype. (yes, I'm old)

Immersion is not a function of seeing in 3d, if anything the closer to reality things become the better out minds are at saying it isn't actual reality. Basically it's a cool 'effect' nothing more.

Give it another 20 years and I'm sure it'll come back again!

[w0463167]

been playing elite, and now i want one... i didnt at all before

[Saracen]

Well, not tried them and wouldn't rule it out without, BUT .... my inclination is to not be at all interested. And unless the price is .... realistic (by my definition) then I wouldn't even bother trying it.

I know it's not the same thing at all, but I'm still underwhelmed by HD TV, never mind 4k etc,. Not convinced this is at all for me. But .... maybe my view will change, if I ever try it. Maybe.

[rox0r]

Too early to say, it all depends on the price. I want one, it's the next step forward for immersive simulations, but I'm also not paying through the nose for bleeding edge tech.

Oh and Saracen, you'll be fine with it just make sure you keep your tinfoil hat on so it doesn't pluck your bank PIN from your brainwaves mmkay?

[Jonj1611]

The price needs to come down certainly and I would never have been remotely interested before actually trying it, I am not a die hard fan but I was and still am definitely impressed and if they increase the resolution and make it not so bulky with a good price point I would certainly look at getting one.

[Ttaskmaster]

For the price of $350, or £230 (which is slightly more than my current monitor cost), you get positional tracking and motion blur & judder elimination, with 1920 x 1080 res at more than 60Hz refresh rate (which is my current monitor's limit and even that manages at least 60FPS in just about everything).

If I had the cash to burn, I'd likely buy a DK2 right now.

As is I'm bidding on a couple, yet would you believe people are paying over £500 for 2nd hand ones when you can get them cheaper brand new!!

[Saracen]

Too early to say, it all depends on the price. I want one, it's the next step forward for immersive simulations, but I'm also not paying through the nose for bleeding edge tech.

Oh and Saracen, you'll be fine with it just make sure you keep your tinfoil hat on so it doesn't pluck your bank PIN from your brainwaves mmkay?

Why would I "be fine" with a technology that doesn't really interest me much, and what on earth has it got to do with tinfoil hats or bank PINs?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with, or bad about, the technology, just that the entire concept doesn't much interest me. I'm already fine with it, by the way .... for anybody it appeals to. It just doesn't appeal to me.

Years ago, I'd no doubt have got terribly excited about this. Then again, I spent a good number of years reviewing new hardware (and software) for all sorts of magazines, websites, and newspapers. I ended up all over the world, talking to everybody from product designers to CEOs. I signed, oh, certainly hundreds if not thousands of NDAs. I spent time in code-locked development labs in, say, Apple, looking at products not due for release in the UK (or indeed, anywhere else) for months, and countless times had early versions of hardware weeks or months before it was available at retail.

The net effect was to leave me utterly underwhelmed by things that are merely new, even if revolutionary, unless they interest ME. I no longer have to look at new stuff for a living, so I only do it for fun IF it interests me.

For instance, right now, I'm looking long and VERY hard at both functionality and finance/business case on aerial drones. Why? It interests me. But VR in general and OR in particular just .... doesn't. It doesn't appeal to me, I'm not interested or excited by the concept and there's plenty of other things to spend both my time and money on.

If it excites you, great. Buy one. But the effect on me is .... yawn!

[Ttaskmaster]

The net effect was to leave me utterly underwhelmed by things that are merely new, even if revolutionary, unless they interest ME.

I get the same thing, with the added factor of if/when I'll be able to buy one.
There are a LOT of new products coming out these days, from a slightly faster CPU to a slightly quieter case, OLED phone screens, VR tech... and not just in PC tech, but household products, vehicles, even the utilities industries I work in.

Half of the cool stuff is merely a concept product (why bother making the flippin' thing, if you're never gonna sell me one??!!) and the other half is prohibitively expensive.

The rest of it is just variations on a theme - Ooh, a fancy new "revolutionary" graphics card that is exactly the same as all the others and a whole 5% better than my crappy outdated one (assuming I haven't overclocked it to begin with), which can be all mine for.... HOW MUCH??!!

What I do pay attention to is when a product takes an already cool concept, brings it to my hand (especially for a good price) and most importantly makes the concept work where the previous products failed miserably.
Of course that has the same other condition in that, in order for it to be considered 'cool', *I* also have to be interested in it in the first place!