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Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

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21–30 of 212 posts

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#23
post #6

I just get the feeling VR technology simply will not work because the resolution isn't high enough, and even the most top-end monster PCs cannot handle standard resolution VR, let alone 4K or even 8K in the future. Graphics cards really need a huge performance jump to make VR work, and given both Nvidia and AMD seem to be happy releasing a new set each year with only modest 20-30% performance gains then what does thi…

There seems to be some speculation[1] that the performance increase from Maxwell to Pascal will be larger than usual.

Given that 2016 is supposed to be the "year of VR", it makes (marketing) sense that the GPUs released this year will be designed and/or optimized for that purpose. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

[1] - http://www.pcgamer.com/nvidias-pascal-is-10x-as-powerful-as-...

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#24
post #14

The thing that worries me about this is that I don't see anything mentioned about different sizes. Hats aren't all one size. Glasses aren't all one size. I have an unfortunately large skull and "one size fits all" hats never fit me. Does this mean that there won't be an Oculus for me?

For the devkit at least, there is an adjustment band that goes from approximately waist-sized down to babydoll-head size, so you should be covered. The only adjustment for eye separation was in software, so YMMV for that side.

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#25

Not that you can necessarily pinpoint a specific date for release when dealing with hardware but I have to believe, with no hard evidence, that releasing new products right after Christmas and just before tax time has to be one of the worst times to release...unless you intentionally want demand to be initially low.

I imagine the pent up demand for a consumer launch may exceed their initial manufacturing capacity.

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#26
post #6

I just get the feeling VR technology simply will not work because the resolution isn't high enough, and even the most top-end monster PCs cannot handle standard resolution VR, let alone 4K or even 8K in the future. Graphics cards really need a huge performance jump to make VR work, and given both Nvidia and AMD seem to be happy releasing a new set each year with only modest 20-30% performance gains then what does thi…

Foveated rendering would make 4K and 8K easier to reach.

Also, with VR, you can just upscale. You don't need to render a 4K/8K image to eliminate the screen-door effect.

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#27

Now the real question- go with Facebook and buy an Oculus Rift or go with Valve/HTC and buy a Vive? The Vive has more features (like head tracking) but maybe it will be more expensive? There's been nothing but silence in terms of pricing of either of them... I do have a hard time justifying $500+ for a screen I'll strap to my head that will probably be obsolete in a year or two. I will say though, I recently bought a…

The Rift most certainly has head tracking - perhaps you're getting confused with Gear VR, which lacks positional tracking.

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#29

Now the real question- go with Facebook and buy an Oculus Rift or go with Valve/HTC and buy a Vive? The Vive has more features (like head tracking) but maybe it will be more expensive? There's been nothing but silence in terms of pricing of either of them... I do have a hard time justifying $500+ for a screen I'll strap to my head that will probably be obsolete in a year or two. I will say though, I recently bought a…

I'm waiting for the Vive, or at least a bunch of a reviews of both platforms. I trust Valve a lot more than Facebook to deliver a gaming device that won't be caught up in strange legal requirements, social media promotion, lock-in, platform exclusives, and potential privacy exploitation.

I also feel that the Valve team has been working on the non-sexy issues like controls, motion sickness, advanced eye tracking (rumor?), and head tracking as opposed to the narrative that comes out of the Rift which seems to be centered on "OMG RESOLUTION AND FPS!" Obviously, gamers will lean towards the latter but I suspect work on the former will be more important.

I'm also concerned that this stuff will look great, but will require a $2,500 gaming machine to make it all work right. I just upgraded to a Nvidia 950 and from what I've read that's really too weak to do 1080p per eye at 60fps on anything coming close to AAA graphics. I really don't want to be forced to deal with PS3-like polygons and textures for the 3D effect to work correctly.

I guess I'll wait and see. I'm certainly not doing any preorders. I'll let the early adopter crowd figure this stuff out. I'm also waiting for magic leap to produce an AR product, but don't expect that to happen anytime soon. I am somewhat concerned that AR could strangle VR in the cradle.

Re: Oculus Rift Pre-Orders to Open on January 6

#30

Did they ever decide to care about Linux again? I returned my devkit because they said they didn't care about Linux a couple of weeks after I got mine. I won't send them more money unless they're going to support Linux.

Did they say they didn't care, or did they say they needed to focus development? There is a big difference between the two. If they were making a game in Unity and didn't release a Linux version, that's one thing. If they're making a brand new specialized piece of hardware and have had numerous delays and just need to get a product out the door... well it's a little more understandable that they would focus on one platform first.
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