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Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

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Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#281
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. All of us who hate this development are irrational. That's the only explanation for this groundswell. I can't think of a single reason to be cynical about Facebook or about this deal.

Snark aside, people tend to lose all sense of perspective and objectivity anytime Facebook is mentioned. Especially the crowd around here. I really, really don't understand the pathological and irrational hate for Facebook and/or ads.

I think many peoples' issue with Facebook is that they have proven themselves to be untrustworthy on numerous occassions. They're constantly moving the goal post on user privacy with and without consent and they don't treat business users much better.

It's not surprising that people who care personally about Oculus would not be happy with the Facebook acquisition. Especially since the gaming community has a very strong aversion to the toxic social gaming landscape that Facebook was/is host to.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#282
This is going to be just like how Facebook ruined Instagram and WhatsApp. Oh, wait. They didn't. I'm quite certain, based on Facebook's history, that they'll let Oculus be their own thing, and we'll enjoy the benefit of Oculus being injected with huge amounts of funds.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#283
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I said that it was silly to simply donate money to a commercial venture without gaining any stake in it, they called me a naysayer. Who's saying nay now?

How is it a donation if you receive the item you backed? Most people backed Oculus to get their hands on a dev kit (I did). I don't feel like I donated — I feel like I got my money's worth.

A lot of people backed for the "change the world" promise: "Changing the way people experience video games forever."

Of course nobody should be surprised if that turns out to be a bold-faced lie, but that doesn't mean it's not disappointing.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook has the buying power to put together a solid hardware production team. I don't think Google has much internal hardware production knowledge right now, aside from the knowledge they bought when they acquired Motorola. Before that, they mostly made things through hardware partners like HTC, Samsung, and LG. I think they produce the Chromecast internally, but it's not much fancier than a USB stick. I'm sure the…

> Facebook has the buying power to put together a solid hardware production team. Well I have worked in companies making physical goods (shipping millions every year), and you just don't buy a team from one day to another. It's not just about production, it's about supply chain, it's about quality management and quality assurance, regulations for sale in different countries/states, market research, product qualificat…

I think the idea is that Oculus VR is already in this position, they just don't have the monetary resources that Facebook does.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#285
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nah, all the angst is because far too many nerds like to think they "own" up and coming cool technology even if they are not even involved beyond having read about it. When it goes to company that the clique no longer favors, usually after incredible success or the unwashed masses show up, then they act as if the world collapses. It happens so often many of us just laugh if not smirk the whole time we watch the famil…

This is upsetting because it means Facebook is building the software platform for the Oculus, not enthusiast developers or hundreds of independent startups. This has economic impact, and it's personally disappointing for anybody who gets excited about building VRUI. Or, yeah, angst.

Facebook's just buying the Oculus. People will clone it.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#286
post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

nah, all the angst is because far too many nerds like to think they "own" up and coming cool technology even if they are not even involved beyond having read about it. When it goes to company that the clique no longer favors, usually after incredible success or the unwashed masses show up, then they act as if the world collapses. It happens so often many of us just laugh if not smirk the whole time we watch the famil…

This is upsetting because it means Facebook is building the software platform for the Oculus, not enthusiast developers or hundreds of independent startups. This has economic impact, and it's personally disappointing for anybody who gets excited about building VRUI. Or, yeah, angst.

Facebook is building the software platform for the Oculus

The core services sure but why wouldn't it be like FB in general(full of third party apps and games)?

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook has the buying power to put together a solid hardware production team. I don't think Google has much internal hardware production knowledge right now, aside from the knowledge they bought when they acquired Motorola. Before that, they mostly made things through hardware partners like HTC, Samsung, and LG. I think they produce the Chromecast internally, but it's not much fancier than a USB stick. I'm sure the…

You're leaving out Glass, Fiber, Nest, Chromebook, and the 8 robotics companies they just acquired, among other things.

Of those, only Nest designs and builds consumer electronics at scale.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "scale" JC is referring to is not hardware production. It's the virtual reality. Millions of people interacting in real time in a virtual universe in which they are actually present . Think of it as similar to the scaling challenges of MMORPGs. Only much worse.

Ok. But how much realtime stuff has Facebook done? (IM doesn't count.) Do they have any credible experience with anything more specifically relevant than just running large data centers?

Why does it matter, scaling realtime is just like any other programming related challenge. It doesn't take doctorate degrees, just a team of programmers who are willing to learn about the problem area.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#289
post #165
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trick is that "social gaming" does not mean what many seem to think it means. Watch a live stream of Scott Manley having some beers and flying some kerbals to the Mun? Sure, I'm on board with that. Receive a notification that my mother has topped her previous high score in [who cares]Ville? No. No not at all. I've seen absolutely no indication that Facebook understands that "social gaming" should not mean "annoyi…

Why is what you want the only thing that is worth doing? What about the people who do care that their mom topped their previous score in [they care]Ville?

Let's see, one involves spamming people who don't care, the other only involves people who do.. [shit]Ville spam games aren't social gaming, they are anti-social gaming.

Not to mention, what is the context of this discussion? Rift. What does Rift have to do with [shit]Ville spam games? Fuck all.

Re: Minecraft creator says he’s canceled talks for Oculus Rift version

#290
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious how you feel about open source, then. Specifically, node.js. Donating hours of your time working on something that eventually got sold for lots of money that you won't see a dime of. Sounds similar.

Except if I'm a major contributor on an open source project, I A) get to shape software that I (generally speaking) am a consumer of, and B) can put that on my resume. Donating to a Kickstarter may give you some superficial "control" over project direction, but it's a far cry from open source, and it doesn't have the future career impact.

Exactly my sentiment. Open source contributions mean you have some degree of control over the process.

Kickstarter contributions mean you give your money away to a business without a contractual obligation to receive anything.

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