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John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

oculusvr.com

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Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#121

Post by JoshTriplett »

AndrewDucker wrote: post #62

I've played with an Oculus VR, and I think they're amazing. But I'm not convinced that they're ready for the mass market yet. Not because of any failing on their part, but because I think that they need games, and controllers, specifically designed to work with VR. You can't use mouse/keyboard well if you can't see the mouse/keyboard. UIs that float at the bottom of the screen feel very odd when you move your head ar…

> You can't use mouse/keyboard well if you can't see the mouse/keyboard.

Uh, what? Even if you don't touch-type, you shouldn't need to look at the keyboard and mouse to play a game. All the keys you need should be under your fingers or in easy reach, and a mouse especially should be easy to use without watching your hand and fingers.

I do agree with your comments about HUDs; VR games lose a lot of immersion if you have UI elements present (unless your character is supposed to have a HUD in-game). However, many games do fix that, by eliminating the HUD entirely.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#122

Post by themstheones »

untog wrote: post #108
coldtea wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It would use a lot of processing power to examine the camera input and attempt to extrapolate positioning for overlayed elements. What camera input? Why go all in such a roundabout way, processing the image to determine the location? What he proposes just needs the GPS/compass (if Google Glass has one, else it's trivial to add one). You get relevant wikipedia articles for your location (including the direction you'…

Nope. GPS isn't anywhere near accurate enough for that- believe me, I've tried. It's usually accurate to a few meters, which is fine for an overhead map, but would be horribly jarring when used for AR.

You need to use military grade GPS. It's much more accurate.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#123

Post by nawitus »

pearle wrote: post #10

Wait, is he leaving id? Didn't see that clarified in the article.

He is not.

"Although Carmack will take on a new role with Oculus, the game designer will remain with id. "John has long been interested in the work at Oculus VR and wishes to spend time on that project," reads a statement from video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, whose parent company ZeniMax acquired id Software in 2009. "The technical leadership he provides for games in development at id Software is unaffected." [1]

1. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/08/07/john-ca...

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#124

Post by mistercow »

themstheones wrote: post #96
lightbritefight wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing new by default, but its opening up a lot of hardware potential. Its not just a screen and camera that's at eye level, its also setting new social norms that make that acceptable. Even now, Glass isn't far from Bluetooth levels of socially okay, which is say annoying to most but acceptable. Once it reaches that point, I expect AR to be a focal point of development. It only makes sense. A simple street view ove…

Your ad idea is stomach-turning. I see enough ads without having to subject myself to new streams of advertisement. Conversely I'd happily install an app that put art over billboards. It would be nice to go to Times Square and feel like you're in the Louvre.

>Conversely I'd happily install an app that put art over billboards. It would be nice to go to Times Square and feel like you're in the Louvre.

That's not going to happen for the foreseeable future. See http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/abrash/why-you-wont-see-hard-...

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#125

Post by tchock23 »

This is awesome news. I received my Oculus in the first batch and have had a ton of fun playing around with it (save the occasional nausea, but that's really game-specific).

Agree with some comments here that the Rift needs more VR-specific content, but it's still early and with news like this I'm confident that great VR/Oculus-specific content will emerge soon.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#126

Post by Aloisius »

moocowduckquack wrote: post #88
sbarre wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I'd call Google Glass "AR". It's just a small screen in your vision, it doesn't analyze or enhance your existing viewpoint in any way (unless I am mistaken). Cast AR is a better example: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/18/cast-ar-hands-on-with-jer...

AR is any augmentation of senses, so a wristwatch is AR for your sense of time for instance. Google glass doesn't do predator-vision, but it can augment stuff like memory or positional awareness.

AR integrates computer-generated sensory input realistically into reality.

A wristwatch and Google Glass are no more AR than a piece of paper with a map on it is.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#127

Post by mpyne »

daraul wrote: post #28
themstheones wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's AR?

Augmented Reality. For a good example of current projects representing each field: Virtual Reality - Oculus Rift Augmented Reality - Google Glass AR sits on top of/alongside the real world, where VR tries to replace it.

Nintendo 3DS actually has basic demonstrations of AR as well. They use cards with images on it that can be replaced in real-time by simulated 3-D objects using the 3DS camera.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#128

Post by 83457 »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #58

First time I hear of the Oculus... somehow I can't stop thinking about the Virtual Boy :) Congrats, it must not be easy signing up a programming icon like Carmack.

If first time hearing about it then that thought may make sense. However Carmack is the person who launched Oculus into the media spotlight with his demo of the Rift at E3 last year. He was following a 3d hacker/enthusiasts forum, saw posts about a prototype Palmer Lucky created, asked if he could get a prototype and was sent one (apparently the only one), adjusted Doom3 for it, demoed it to media at E3 and it took off from there.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=carmack+e3+oculu...

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#129

Post by Goronmon »

AndrewDucker wrote: post #62

I've played with an Oculus VR, and I think they're amazing. But I'm not convinced that they're ready for the mass market yet. Not because of any failing on their part, but because I think that they need games, and controllers, specifically designed to work with VR. You can't use mouse/keyboard well if you can't see the mouse/keyboard. UIs that float at the bottom of the screen feel very odd when you move your head ar…

You can't use mouse/keyboard well if you can't see the mouse/keyboard.

I can't imagine being able to properly play PC games while also having to constantly look at your mouse/keyboard.

Re: John Carmack joins Oculus as CTO

#130

Post by venomsnake »

thenomad wrote: post #117
aaronblohowiak wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The dev kit is not yet consumer ready, but it does show a glimpse of the future. The (low) resolution of the screen on the dev kit is really distracting, but more importantly we are still learning about the control schemes. Right now, it is very hard/disorienting to play FPSs on the rift (IMNSHO).

The solutions to this problem might be really odd. Personally, I've been testing the Wii Balance Board as a useful input device for the Rift - and it's showing some promise. One tester did describe my test game as "Dungeon Segway Challenge", but we're getting there slowly...

Put a gun, sword into the hands of the player. Just think of the Neal Stephenson kickstarter with Rift VR.
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