Every journey starts with a single step. Image courtesy popularmechanics.com For Oculus it was somewhere here (ok, ok, first you need to put your shoes on, or flip-flops if you wish, but we’ll leave that stuff out). My favorite part must be this one: [..]2) Logo/s. I am listing the organization as "Oculus", I plan on using that name on my VR projects from here on out. The HMD itself is tentatively titled "Rift", if you have better ideas, let me know. I based it on the idea that the HMD creates a rift between the real world and the virtual world, though I have to admit that it is pretty silly.[..]. Looks like it wasn't actually, and it stuck quite well . What happened after ? 2012 Hugely successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign 2012 end of the year, Developer Kit 1 available 2014 Crystal Cove updated prototype presented at Consumer Electronics Show 2014 Developer Kit 2 available from 2014 On June 11th, the Consumer Version of the Oculus Rift was presented to the press, with loads of physical demos planned for the E3 Entertainment Expo. The Rift has evolved towards a mature product and hopefully will some more until Q1 2016 when it will become available to the public. You can watch the stream here (it actually starts at 35 minutes mark) ..or you can read about the main announced features: Custom display and adjustable optics Since the distance between the eyes is slightly different from one person to another, the Rift now has an easy dial to allow setting the lenses in the exact desired position. The design of the new set took into account people waring glasses as well so you can easily wear yours while enjoying the Rift. Constellation tracking The tracking system was enhanced and fine tuned for precise low latency head movement. Coped with the discreet sensor camera we’ll be able to enjoy the Rift seated or while standing, allowing to move "a bit". Integrated VR audio Spatialized audio, with the integrated VR audio headphones are also included in the kit, but fear not it is possible to easily removed and add our own should we prefer to. We need to first listen to it before judging it though. Improved ergonomics A feature that might seem small, but thinking that we'll (probably) be wearing the Rift for hours and hours, it's crucial that it offers the best ergonomics. Also, "forgetting" you are wearing "the ski goggles" will definitely contribute to the immersion. Under the hood Earlier in May, the main specs were announced, and even if there's always a possibility to see some changes, what we can expect for is a Rift that runs at 2160×1200 at 90Hz split over dual displays, consuming 233 million pixels per second. At the default eye-target scale, the Rift’s rendering requirements go much higher: around 400 million shaded pixels per second. To put things in perspective: A traditional 1080p game at 60Hz requires 124 million shaded pixels per second. So this means that by raw rendering costs alone, a VR game will require approximately 3x the GPU power of 1080p rendering. But this isn't as bad as it sounds. For those of you running triple screen, what your card is already running is around 375 milion shaded pixels, so you're almost there. However, it needs to be constant, as it appears tha every framed skipped in the Rift makes it an unconfortable experience. Another aspect to take into account is that the Rift is a "standard" device, available in the exact configuration to the developers and users. So we can expect a lot of optimizations in the future. Having said all that, the current "reference" configuration reccomended by Oculus is: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater 8GB+ RAM Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output 2x USB 3.0 ports Windows 7 SP1 or newer Anything higher than this, can only get better. Who knows, somewhere in the future we'll be able to say "nah, I won't be buying a more powerful card, it's not needed for my Rift".. ok, maybe not, you beautiful-graphics suckers . More ? Yes. The Oculus Rift Touch. Along with the VR headset, Oculus also revealed a new wireless controller, a breed of its own actually, since it also features tracking besides classical buttons. But what does it do exactly ? Hand presence: “Once you have your hands involved, you really need tracking to be perfect or you’re going to feel like your hands are dead.” Precise manipulation: “You need to be able to pick up a gun from a table and then fire it, throw it, or drop it, effortlessly.” Low mental load: “Something that would let you use these controllers effortlessly.” Communicative gestures: a matrix of sensors will allow Rift to recognize gestures like pointing and giving a thumbs up. Traditional inputs: “Buttons and analog sticks are still around for a reason. Those types of inputs are not going anywhere,” said Lucky. Oculus Touch will have two trigger buttons and give haptic feedback. Design: there are two controllers, one for each hand, and the tracking technology used is exactly the same as that used in the Rift itself Sounds pretty good on paper, but once again we'll have to test it and judge for our own. Especially since it will come with a separate price tag. And speaking of prices, this is probably the last real piece of the puzzle: How much will the Rift cost ? No official comment for the time being but we can probably expect somewhere between 350 and 500 USD (EUR). If the Assetto Corsa experience will be as good as we hope to be, I'm afraid there's not much we can do to stop our selfs pressing that Purchase button.. Instead of a conclusion Aside from the news itself, it might be worth to notice another thing as well: when you have an idea, and you are willing to put the best you can into making it happen, without the fear of publicly failing, great things can happen. A resurrected revolution (back in the 80s the technology was not ready), that this time will change the way we see games and virtual reality forever.
