Oculus Rift Kickstarter has finaly begun

sheena_yanai

<div align='center'><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game" target="_blank">step into the game (video)</a>

<img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/000/094/418/0c7ab132719971110b7c6ff2a833d7dd_large.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>

<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NYa8kirsUfg"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NYa8kirsUfg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>

Technical specs of the Dev Kit (subject to change)
Head tracking: 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra low latency
Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal / 90 degrees horizontal
Resolution: 1280x800 (640x800 per eye)
Inputs: DVI/HDMI and USB
Platforms: PC and mobile
Weight: ~0.22 kilograms

<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game" target="_blank">kickstarter price 300$</a>

sold

plus if some higher resolution OEM displays will be finaly produced, its quite easy to swap the panel, and replace it with the upgrade oculus provides.


<a href="http://oculusvr.com/" target="_blank">Oculus Homepage</a>

lolfighter

Aww, Virtual Boy's kid is all grown up.

X_Stickman

Honestly until I have a fully tron-like environment where I can move around freely, I'll never see the point in a virtual reality headset for private purposes. I guess the kinect is a good step towards that but still not enough room.

Whatever way you slice it it's still basically just a head IR tracking system with small monitors pressed right up in your grill.

lolfighter

And stereoscopy. I'm gonna assume that's gonna be the big selling point.

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1955627:date=Aug 2 2012, 05:04 AM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lolfighter @ Aug 2 2012, 05:04 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955627"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And stereoscopy. I'm gonna assume that's gonna be the big selling point.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
way better looking stereoscopy than you currently get with polarized glasses and 120 hz screens.
and the massive FOV of 110° unlike current consumer HMD´s which cost 3 times the price which offer just 40-45°.

they realy have to push the panel making industry to produce higher density screens for this purpose, to bad you cant get panels like
apples retina displays as OEM.

for a track ir 5 system you pay between 140 to 200$

for the oculus rift 300$ , and its head tracking got less latency than a track ir setup, because of its high precission accelerometers, without the issues any optical tracking has

Align

Maybe in a few generations when it's not so heavy and even cheaper.

sherpa

Would having a screen that close to you risk your eye health?

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1955650:date=Aug 2 2012, 05:05 AM:name=sherpa)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sherpa @ Aug 2 2012, 05:05 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955650"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Would having a screen that close to you risk your eye health?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
people still believe that?
its not like your eyes have to focus any differently, or there is any harmful radiation emited by led backlight.
i havent heard of any camera man suffering from eyecancer caused by using lcd viewfinders all day long

sherpa

Easy tiger, I was thinking as mildly as eye strain not cancer.

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1955660:date=Aug 2 2012, 05:55 AM:name=sherpa)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sherpa @ Aug 2 2012, 05:55 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955660"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Easy tiger, I was thinking as mildly as eye strain not cancer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
you can overdo everything.
theres no eye strain since the eye focuses normaly , its in the optics, the assembly just works like a electronic view finder with way larger fov

Scythe

Actually yeah, I threw my eyes out of whack for a while when adjusting the settings on the camera for my FPV flying rig. I had my goggles on over my left eye, and my right eye looking down at the teensy wires used to interact with the menu. After a while I got accustomed to it. When I'd finished I took the goggles off and my eyes would no longer focus at the same distance, and I had a splitting headache. It took about twenty minutes for my eyes to return to normal. I would not feel comfortable driving a car in that state.

This isn't a typical use case, but if the per-eye focus setting was different on one of those things it would result in the same problem.

--Scythe--

lolfighter

It shouldn't be though, because you were looking at different things, and therefore focusing your eyes different from each other. A VR headset like this would simulate the natural way of looking at objects from two different angles to determine distance (and thereby produce depth). You're fooling the brain into thinking it's looking at a distant object, when it is actually looking at two slightly different pictures.

Monkfish

Is this John Carmack's thing that he had at E3?

Caboose

<!--quoteo(post=1955692:date=Aug 1 2012, 04:03 PM:name=Monkfish)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkfish @ Aug 1 2012, 04:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955692"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Is this John Carmack's thing that he had at E3?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why, yes it is.

Xyth

VR is the future but I feel like this is the betamax of VR headgear, inevitably going to be outdone as soon as the technology is a little better (see-through LCD screens).
$685K isn't nearly enough either.
Best of luck to them regardless.

Might as well go full troll mode:
There are essentially 0 legal consequences if this person takes the money and runs. Who's going to track them down, kickstarter? They already made their money.
It just seems too much like a scam. <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console?ref=home_popular" target="_blank">"A fool and his money..."</a>
I do really really hope I'm wrong though, Ill gladly admit if I'am.

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1955786:date=Aug 2 2012, 02:32 PM:name=Xyth)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Xyth @ Aug 2 2012, 02:32 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955786"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->VR is the future but I feel like this is the betamax of VR headgear, inevitably going to be outdone as soon as the technology is a little better (see-through LCD screens).
$685K isn't nearly enough either.
Best of luck to them regardless.

Might as well go full troll mode:
There are essentially 0 legal consequences if this person takes the money and runs. Who's going to track them down, kickstarter? They already made their money.
It just seems too much like a scam. <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console?ref=home_popular" target="_blank">"A fool and his money..."</a>
I do really really hope I'm wrong though, Ill gladly admit if I'am.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


the betamax of head mounted displays is around since 20 years now, there was no significant progress in this field for gaming, and the prices for usable devices are still aimed at military and science contractors, not afordable for regular consumers. and the consumer market vr headsets are all not realy suitable for imersive gaming since they do not offer the required fov, its like playing with fat letterboxes around the screen. with this thing you almost cant see the borders of the screen because of its wide field of view. thats more like VHS, and if investors and the industry will finaly see that there is potential for the consumer market they might kick off the DVD of VR headsets, producing the badly needed high resolution LCD panels for this kind of technology. it is impossible to get higher res OEM panels at the moment. the panel makers just do not see the need for this, and apple keeps sitting on their retina displays, not sharing.

the goal of 250 000, plus the investment which was already there before is only used to build and deliver SDK kits for software developers.
this guy is a well known name in the DIY HMD scene with tons of experience and reputation, and he already delivered proof of concept prototypes which cost him initialy less than 500$ to build from scratch, and thats without the deals of OEM component manufacturers he works now with

Monkfish

<!--quoteo(post=1955702:date=Aug 1 2012, 11:40 PM:name=Caboose)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Caboose @ Aug 1 2012, 11:40 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955702"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Why, yes it is.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Ok that makes me feel a lot better about this thing. I hope it succeeds!

Also, for those of you who are skeptical about this thing being as good as they say it is, watch this!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYa8kirsUfg&feature=plcp" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYa8kirsUfg&feature=plcp</a>

(oh god I could listen to Carmack talk forever)

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1955888:date=Aug 2 2012, 08:34 PM:name=Monkfish)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkfish @ Aug 2 2012, 08:34 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955888"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ok that makes me feel a lot better about this thing. I hope it succeeds!

Also, for those of you who are skeptical about this thing being as good as they say it is, watch this!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYa8kirsUfg&feature=plcp" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYa8kirsUfg&feature=plcp</a>

(oh god I could listen to Carmack talk forever)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

oh, yes, forgot that video, added it to my post , thanks

Thansal

While I'm not going to be backing the kickstarter, I'm fairly hyped about this in general. I mean, with Carmack involved I really do expect to see head mounted displays become considerably more common, and actually worthwhile.

However, I'm not an early adopter, I'll wait for them to become more standard, and for games to really start supporting them.

-Drake-

I wear vary-focal glasses so its not for me weather I like it or not =[

That_Annoying_Kid

it's a good thing everyone kept feeding the kickstarter after they met the goals....


Give money directly to the project at this point, kickstarter went from making 25k on this to 100K

Kickstarter is neat, and the Oculus rift looks neat, but it's already funded

Thansal

So, I didn't sleep much last night, but I'm fairly sure you are being negative about people still buying into the kickstarter.

Why?

I mean, it isn't like these are donations (baring the first one), you are buying a product at a reasonable rate, and they are using the profits to fun their company.

The larger a production run they can do, the better for the product, and the majority of people 'donating' are getting the product.

ellnic

NS2 in VR. That would be quite an experience

1dominator1

If there was ever a reason to disconnect aim from view this is it.

H3lix

while i feel this may just be vr boy 2.0 destined to fail. I will keep track of it and see how it turns out. As of right now the kickstarter version is not made for the general consumer. It is for developers to work on it themselves. if i get this thing for $600 i better not have to assemble it, troubleshoot it and program it to use it. plug and play is the only option i will accept. I hope it does succeed tough, it would definitely lead to better version of it in the future.

Align

<!--quoteo(post=1957775:date=Aug 5 2012, 08:22 PM:name=1dominator1)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (1dominator1 @ Aug 5 2012, 08:22 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1957775"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If there was ever a reason to disconnect aim from view this is it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was thinking the same, this looks like it'd work well if you had the VR view be totally separate from where you're aiming your gun, so essentially it'd control exactly like a regular FPS but you have free view of everything around you while moving or shooting etc.

Talesin

Er, actually if you read the reward tiers, a fully assembled dev-kit (including the headset) goes for $300, not $600. The early-prototype that you had to assemble yourself was $275, and scheduled to arrive a few months before the assembled versions.

Given that they're at a cool $1.3 million at the time of this posting, I get the feeling they may just hit mainstream. Additionally, as most of the reviews end with 'I only regret that I cannot SHOW you how incredible this is', I'd give it more consideration than writing it off with the mindlessly glib 'VirtualBoy 2.0' tag. Not to mention John Carmack, GabeN and CliffyB all going on-record to say 'this is the next step'.

Personally I'm going to wait for the higher-res consumer version if possible, as they've quintupled their funding mark in four days, with 26 to go; I definitely want one, but 640x800 per eye is a bit chunky, and I'd much rather have a version with diopter adjustability built in.

Also Gemmy; the 110-degree FOV is nice, but if you read the white-paper, it's 90 degrees horizontal FOV, 110 degree diagonal... which is kind of cheating to say, IMO, even if it's drastically better than anything else currently on the market even at 90 degrees horizontal FOV.
I can only imagine how incredible this will be if (when) someone hooks up a stereoscopic FPV rig to an RC aircraft, even beyond the video gaming use.

douchebagatron

I tried holding a piece of paper about 2 inches in front of my eyes to focus on it and not only was I unable to focus on it, but my eyes hurt like hell for about 5 minutes after. Is this a problem other people have, or am I broken? If I'm broken then that's disappointing because then I'll probably never be able to use this.

sheena_yanai

<!--quoteo(post=1957908:date=Aug 6 2012, 08:07 AM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (6john @ Aug 6 2012, 08:07 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1957908"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I tried holding a piece of paper about 2 inches in front of my eyes to focus on it and not only was I unable to focus on it, but my eyes hurt like hell for about 5 minutes after. Is this a problem other people have, or am I broken?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

you are broken indeed
or rather your common sense is.

you forgot the lenses between your eyes and the tft panel compensating for the distance, making your eyes focusing not any different than looking at a regular computer screen at a regular viewing distance. think about a old camcorder viewfinder, its lcd screen is just a centimeter away from your eye

lolfighter

<!--quoteo(post=1957915:date=Aug 6 2012, 01:47 AM:name=sheena_yanai)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (sheena_yanai @ Aug 6 2012, 01:47 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1957915"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->you are broken indeed
or rather your common sense is.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's harsh. The intricacies of human optics are hardly common knowledge.

sheena_yanai

yeah, im sorry 6john