Since I got my dev-kit in the post, I have had some incredible and truly epic experiences. Finding myself nervously looking over my shoulder in shooters, catching my breath as I navigated a tricky ledge with a long drop or simply gazing around the environment just because I was amazed at how real it all felt, even with the somewhat limited resolution (the "screen door effect") that is the developers kit. I have orbited earth as an astronaut on a spacewalk and have flown an x-wing like spaceship complete with pew-pew lasers and rockets through space/combat. And Skyrim... the dragon... great zombie Jesus! the dragon.
Yet as immersive as the RIFT is, there are several issues that you encounter when using not only this particular head mounted display (HMD), but any device that provides a sudden and complete immersion in the virtual world. For example, using the keyboard while unable to see the real world. For me, after years of gaming and geeking, I am able to locate keys by touch or muscle memory. New users or those unfamiliar with such control devices may not find it so easy. A game controller can overcome some of these limitations, however, I am more of a keyboard warrior than a console owner - which means that my ducky shine 2 (keyboard) and razer taipan (mouse) are my personal "weapon of choice" ;P
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| razer hydra |
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| project holodeck |
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| Unreal Development Kit (UDK) - demonstrating player scale in-world and box-brush. |
Both Unity and Unreal offer support via the Oculus SDK. I am still undecided on which engine I will run with - however - at this stage, UDK has my attention. I also decided to purchase a Razer Hydra. I had to revert to finding one on e-bay seeming Razer has completely sold out of stock. It would seem that Razer/Sixsense are also unable to provide any sort of ETA on when they will be back in, only indicating that they have not discontinued the product line. Fortunately, I was able to find an online supplier who still had stock on hand, so I should have mine soon. The first tech-demo I intend on trying out with the RIFT/Hydra combo?
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| ZOTHD tech demo for RIFT&HYDRA |
Project Holodeck has done some incredible work in tracking and immersion in the past. This is some of their work and it is worth a viewing, even without the Razer Hydra on hand. ZOTHD is an amazing tech demo featuring some great work. Looking forward to seeing what these devs can cook up :)
Total immersion is possible with the RIFT. After demoing a HD 1080p version of the dev-kit at E3 this year, Oculus are only limited by current available hardware (the ideal display for the RIFT hasn't been built yet). Although improving the display is one of the big goals, additional tracking improvements have also been promised for commercial release. Given the strong community support and continued sales of the dev-kit (Oculus have already sold more dev-kits through the website than they did during the Kickstarter campaign), there is infinite potential in many aspects of this "new" reality.
Yet how immersive can it get when you stay seated while your avatar "walks" through something like a gaming environment. Things like cockpits or seated positions are fine for some games, however, can it be as "real" when you are just sitting there in your chair clicking away instead of walking forward? walking, running, jumping and such in a virtual world... don't get me wrong, I loved my time bounding through Skyrim proper, shooting fireballs and ice! It's just that it would be far more convincing if I could literally walk through the world. I understand it's an activity that you may only want to do for a limited time. Personally, while I am hardly the physical type, the increased disconnect by not actually walking while your avatar does can only decrease the immersion factor.
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| Virtuix's OMNI |
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| wizdish |
Then the Omni Kickstarter launched, along with the WizDish campaign. Suddenly, omni-directional treadmills were available and for a significantly cheaper entry price point. Personally, I backed the Omni. While the Wizdish offered a cheaper initial pledge, it did not include a tracking solution - something that when included in the budget, places the cost of the WizDish roughly equal that of Virtuix's Omni. Secondly, while the fixed support of the Omni has its limitations, for example, currently you have to lean forward to crouch, I think a waist support is needed. Not just to keep you within the 3D space, but also to protect you from when your senses fool you into trying to sit down while you are standing nowhere near an actual chair. Besides, the Wizdish doesn't support you actually lifting your feet off the ground like you would in real life. Wizdish's action may mimic a real walking gait, however, the stability and rate of turn are a concern for me - especially with no price yet on the enormous inflatable "crash-pad".
I have lots of plans for both software and hardware involving VR and while some may be currently focused on proof of mechanics/concept over gameplay/functionality, I think it is essential to begin building it now because when the Oculus RIFT goes commercial sometime in 2014, virtual reality will finally have its time "in the sun"(A)
(A) - DO NOT expose your Oculus RIFT to sunlight. The forums reveal one poor buyer who received an ebay devkit with two dots burnt into the display. turned out the seller had photographed the RIFT outside in the sunlight, causing the sun to focus through the lenses and damage the screen.
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