To start with, let me forewarn you that this post will most certainly be mostly walls of text as it will be several months of developments compressed into what is essentially an update on where virtual reality is at today. While I would like to include all of the changes, these past few months have seen some extraordinary developments to both companies and road maps in regard to the future of this new digital frontier. To say it has been a whirlwind of new demos and studios, hardware and software development and an abundance of Kickstarter's would be an understatement. Rather than attempt to detail them all, I shall do my best to summarize the most significant of these changes.
Obviously, the most important shift was Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR for US$2.1billion. This caused a mixed reaction amongst the development and enthusiast community. Many feared Facebook's acquisition of Oculus would affect the direction the company was headed. Given Facebook's track record when it came to its users privacy and its reputation for what it did to companies it bought, many studios and devs canceled projects due to the uncertainty. It also opened up spirited debate amongst the community over the reasons why Palmer and crew would "sell out" before the Oculus RIFT had reached commercial release. As I understand it, the resources of Facebook and the ability for Oculus to remain it's own entity opened up new possibilities that would not just ensure the success of the RIFT itself, it could offer the sort of critical development that is needed for VR to be accepted by the masses. It also seems that it can provide research funding and the social networking foundations required to start building one of the possible future meta-verses. Oculus's SDK and the new-n-improved DevKit2 now shipping to developers worldwide had some significant teething issues and studio's aiming for launch-ready software were encouraged to transition to the new DK2. Facebook stating that it had no intention on making a profit selling HMD's left many (including myself) wondering whether or not the SDK would eventually end up becoming a clandestine data farming software interface typical of any given social media network environment.
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| Samsung GEAR VR <link> |
While the forums have been littered with a large number of legitimate (Durovis Dive) and the not-so-legitimate attempts at mobile VR (I am looking squarely at you vrAse), there have been some DIY solutions, including Google's cardboard, which are available online for those interested in mobile solutions. In
recent news Oculus has announced it is entering the mobile VR space. As far as this geek is concerned, that is very good news indeed. One of the difficulties in bringing virtual reality to the general public will be the price of entry required from it's users. While the Oculus RIFT is a comparatively cheap HMD, the hardware required to run stereoscopy in full high definition can be an expensive and limiting thing. This is before having to pay for supporting hardware, such as omnidirectional treadmills (ODT) like Virtuix's Omni and Cyberith's Virtualizer. When you include dedicated tracking solutions like Sixense's STEM or prioVR, the costs add up. This is where a low-cost HMD and smartphone can offer a much more mobile and far less expensive option.
Software wise, compatibility with the changes introduced with the DK2 has seen the emergence of updated versions of DK1 demo's plus the influx of new projects and developers. While it is early days yet, Australian developers have been left somewhat in the lurch by Oculus. Shipping delays for some regions and lack of updates from Oculus has seen some animosity develop between developers and enthusiasts alike and while I am certain the staff at Oculus are doing their very best, many feel deceived by shipping estimates on orders. While I am still patiently awaiting the arrival of my very own DK2, I had hoped that shipping to Australia would have been similar to how it was for the DK1. Still, with more and more DK2 demo's becoming available, it is encouraging to see existing projects updated and new ones introduced. I am especially looking forward to testing Proton Pulse, EVE: Valkyrie, Elite:Dangerous and some of the other proof-of-concepts in the DK2 when it arrives. A quick look through a
list of demo's currently available indicate that it will become increasingly difficult to compile a shortlist of go-to programs when actually demoing VR. While I had hoped to take my DK2 on the road with me when I head interstate next month, it looks like it will have to manage with the DK1 for now, that is unless Oculus decides to bulk ship some DK2's to Australia :)
Before leaving, I must apologize for the lack of posts. I was aiming for once monthly updates, as I stated in my last post. However a combination of work and life itself keeps finding ways for me to spend much of my available spare time. So for now, all I can promise you is updates when I have the chance.
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