Have Oculus/Facebook dropped the ball?

[dementia]

Don't get me wrong, I love my DK2 and cannot play ED without but it seems to me that Oculus have gone from having the edge on VR to now be playing catch up with HTC and others.

Details like specs and price aside, the fact that the Vive will be out sooner than the Oculus CV1 is a major fumble by Facebook/Oculus.

When you take into consideration that the price and specs of the Vive are likely to be the similar if not better then this widens the gap even further.

Like the console wars, thee who gets it out first wins!

 

[Tony Spaniels]

From what Ive heard, there'll only be a limited amount of Vives released for 2015. The majority will be picking one up in Q1 2016 about the same time as the CV1.

Also there'll be a lot of early adopters like myself who'll end up getting both, and others who will happily wait until they are both released to see and consider which they want to get then.

I think GearVR will be the main device to be taken up by those outside the gamer market/ early adopters.

 

[ranix]

I think Oculus have given up on pc-based VR and are trying to make a wireless console. I don't know why they'd do that but that's the shape the tea leaves seem to be taking. Palmer doesn't seem to really give a about PC support.

 

[Magnusvermagnussen]

I think Oculus have given up on pc-based VR and are trying to make a wireless console. I don't know why they'd do that but that's the shape the tea leaves seem to be taking. Palmer doesn't seem to really give a about PC support.

Well put Ranix. My impression over the past few months is that HTC is the more power-oriented of the two HMD's (Oculus and HTC; Morpheus/Playstation VR is for the kiddie table) soon to hit mass-market. They are also aiming more squarely at the rapidly re-growing PC gaming community. They have stated that their HMD will be priced at a premium and will reflect it's "high end" status:
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"We want to deliver the most premium VR experience the world has seen," Gattis said. "That’s not marketing speak, but more about where Vive is positioned in the market. This is at the high end." (Source: http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=ht...lang=en-US&w=MA7s6r-PnvcJ8PmCMgkTtfTzHM7b7atq
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This, to me, means that not only will support be optimized for future games in a more effective way than oculus, but that it may eventually segment the market as between Vive and Oculus, creating a "gaming" and "social media" sub-market for each HMD, respectively. That isn't necessarily a bad thing for the HTC, despite the PC Gaming market being significantly smaller than the Facebook-checking social media fiend; rather is giving HTC cache and perhaps a permanent foothold in the leading edge gaming market, which will allow them to one day have the credibility to branch out into consoles and take over gaming- that is one way of looking at it at least.
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In any event, I'm sold on the Vive. I'll be picking one up when it comes out. Unless Oculus is able to offer a compelling reason to go back to them, I'll probably stick with HTC for the foreseeable future.

 

[Yololo69]

Oculus and Vive will have the same screen quality unless a last minute surprise. Vive will be far more expensive. They will be out together Q1 2016 (unless you are Obama or Spielberg don't expect to have it in 2015, only pre-ordered). Both are targeting the PC World (what I read here seems just speculation/imagination/etc. at least this is what I want to believe without more facts, for now it's just words). Oh, and for now I don't care touch or Vive VR input. I'm happy with my stick and wheel, cockpit guy So I prefer the solution sold without any input until The VR Game make me want them (it don't exist yet).

 

[WolfishHickory]

The whole thing is frustrating me somewhat.

Love DK2 and oculus to date but it annoys me they're releasing later and their controllers later still. Also I'm inclined to jump the first way that will allow me to play ED on a consumer product which currently looks like Vive. I like the look of the Vive and in terms of pure HMD specs there's nothing to choose between them, so on the face of it I'd just go straight for Vive as soon as poss.

However in terms of how they're positioning their experiences I'm preferring Oculus. I have no desire to wield batons, wire cameras around my room because I'll have to chase them into walls, stand up whilst gaming, walk blindly about the tiny spaces I have for PC gaming (90% of us are in offices and bedrooms right?). That's either wii territory to me or an experience you pay for because you need a space big enough to make the most of it. To me current VR is an experience best tailored around seated activities and, possibly for home VR, always will be.

So on that front I'm back to oculus currently. I like the concept of their controllers a lot more, even though they won't put in an appearance for a while. Guess I'll just have to behave like a adult and hold off for a bit and see what happens .

My feeling about the Vive experience though is that it's angling towards the impractical. I think if there's anything people should have learned about the last few years it's that hard core gaming and motion controls and / or any physical activity that can't be achieved with two thumbs do not mix.

 

[bitstorm]

I think Oculus have given up on pc-based VR and are trying to make a wireless console. I don't know why they'd do that but that's the shape the tea leaves seem to be taking.

Facebook innit. They want it in the lounge, more potential for harvesting user data there.

 

[CMDR Rison]

I think there is a lot of misinformation here.

First of all, I don't think the price gap between the headsets will be that great, especially when you consider the controllers.
Vive comes with motion controllers.
Rift doesn't. Comes later for additional cost.
Once you add in the cost of the Oculus Touch Controllers, my guess is the price gap will probably be non-existent.

Secondly, the logistics of the Vive are not so cumbersome. If you want to just put the sensors on your desk (like the Oculus camera) and sit there in your chair, you can, and it should work just as well as the Rift. Nothing about the Vive requires you to wire things into your walls, stand up and walk around blindly.

The only advantage I see in the Oculus is for those that have no interest in EVER using motion controllers They probably get a decent discount.

 

[Oheck]

I'll go for the unit that will provide me with more options as far as freedom of experiences, and do both well. Right now, that looks like the Vive. It can do the sitting experience exceptionally well, as well as standing and moving around UP to 15'. I'm covered for any experience they make.

You wouldn't be blindly walking around in the Vive either. You can set your own virtual boundaries, and developers are coming up with some clever ways to move around virtual environments without requiring large spaces.

 

[WolfishHickory]

Misinformation is a strong word.

All I'm saying is Vive's currently placing itself ever so slightly less in my area of interest than oculus. They're pushing walkabouts a bit more which is less what I'm interested in. That's all really.

 

[CMDR Rison]

I apologize if I misunderstood. No disrespect intended.

 

[Qubit]

I think the Oculus Rift and Vive are almost identical with regard to specs and experience offered. I have more concerns for Oculus Rift due to the pressures from Facebook and their business model.

However, I see actually walking around the room being fairly limiting, you will never be able to go far enough for most games. This is not a problem for E: D, because it is better suited for being seated, so both HMD's will be suitable.

For other games, I think the better set up will be with something like the Virtuix Omni - from the demos it looks like it could offer the best VR FPS experience, and provide quite workout!

Currently, the way things are are looking I think I will most likely end up getting the Vive (I expect better support for most games via SteamVR; Linux support), then a bit later get the Virtuix Omni or similar to provide the complete experience, without needing a huge amount of space and with peace of mind that I will not walk into the coffee table, or guitars, etc

I am also keeping my eye on the R&D progress into VR gloves that provide haptic feedback. We are already starting to see the beginning of a huge shift in gaming that I expect will get really interesting over the next 5-10 years.

These are truly exciting times.

 

[Stocker]

From my understanding about Oculus is that, they got help from Valve to make a decent HMD. And with that wealth of experience from Valve, a agreement was signed. For what I can tell was that in the agreement, Oculus had to wait for Valve to set a release before Oculus could set a release date for the CV1. Because Oculus was selling the DK2 which Valve help develop.

 

[Yololo69]

Mmmm, people seems to forget something huge IMO. yes, with the Vive and if you're lucky enough to have the gaming room you will have a better way to have some standing experience. For you who have currently a DK2, did you try to launch a standing experience, like the SlowDown demo? What's the biggest problem, making the experience nearly impossible or highly painful?

The Cable!

It's like persons comparing 2 pretty cars, one with possibly a shiny paint and the other one with a better trunk. And everybody forget both have the electrical power supply wired to the wall!

 

[dementia]

For the walking around the room stuff then VR will just not cut it. Something like the Sulon Cortex (AR device) will be the way forward there but of course the Cortex is not really meant for games like ED/flight sims in mind.

 

[Ramjet]

Wow the rubbish is knee deep in this thread ! Misinformation is a total understatement. Oculus have not abandoned PC and no plans to do such a thing, they are heavily invested. CV1 of Rift will be a rather large surprise to those prematurely believing HTC Valve have taken the number one spot in the race for VR supremacy. Ripleys believe it or not !

 

[dementia]

Wow the rubbish is knee deep in this thread ! Misinformation is a total understatement. Oculus have not abandoned PC and no plans to do such a thing, they are heavily invested. CV1 of Rift will be a rather large surprise to those prematurely believing HTC Valve have taken the number one spot in the race for VR supremacy. Ripleys believe it or not !

Of course it is all pure speculation. An HMD 'war' can only be good for the consumer in a way as it will do at least 2 things... 1. Accelerate the technological advances and 2. Drive the price to performance ratio down so you get more bang for your buck.

 

[WolfishHickory]

I apologize if I misunderstood. No disrespect intended.

hugs.

You or someone made a good point in that clearly Vive will be able to cover the more basic seated experience even if it is pushing more room-based features.

I like them both. Just wait and see I guess. Nothing to complain about either way , VR is the most exciting technological thing to happen in such a long time. I just hope one of them sticks!

 

[.Stu.]

really? never heard any of that before. why would any company guarantee themselves 2nd place?

 

[CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE]

Mmmm, people seems to forget something huge IMO. yes, with the Vive and if you're lucky enough to have the gaming room you will have a better way to have some standing experience. For you who have currently a DK2, did you try to launch a standing experience, like the SlowDown demo? What's the biggest problem, making the experience nearly impossible or highly painful?

The Cable!

What's the current thinking on how long we will have to wait for wireless VR HMDs?