Shady move over at Oculus today...

[BurntJello]

I remember back when I was doing my research to get into the VR market. Oculus or Vive, the only 2 "full" choices at the time. A big minus for Oculus was that Facebook recently bought it.

Guess what? I have a Vive.

Ok, there were also other technical reasons Oculus would not have worked with my old PC... but I sure am glad I avoided them.

This has obviously been in the works since the sale of the company. Hardly unexpected.

 

[WR3ND]

Dodged the bullet myself. Never had a FB account and never got an OR.

My condolences. o7

 

[Taimaru]

I was planning to replace my old CV2 with a new Oculus around Christmas but I won't be now as I really do not like Facebook. I think I'll wait until there is VR support in Odyssey and see what the best VR headset (other than Oculus) is before buying another VR headset.

 

[Terekhov]

Indeed, this is a terrible step. I purchased my Rift S at a time when, whilst it was not the highest end device out there, it was still by far the best "bang for buck". Additionally, I was unsure of what the VR experience would be and I purchased the device at the end of a long "Shall I, Shan't I" phase (the counter beinf the massive outlay with the haeadet and GPU required to buy in.

More details are here:
https://www.oculus.com/blog/a-single-way-to-log-into-oculus-and-unlock-social-features/

Whilst on the surface of that, they do seem to offer a path for existing users to opt-out of the change with only partial loss, I too, Like Old Duck, fear that 'path' will be more like walking a tightrope being repeatedly attacked by an aggressive seagull (or the infamous difficulty of a non-prime member checking out a purchase from Amazon without ending up with a trial of Prime that they then need to figure out the magic incantation to cancel!).

So my main takeaways from the document:
In about six weeks' time (Oct 2020) , any new Oculus devices will require a linked Facebook account.

• Any new Oculus models will require a linked Facebook account.
• Existing Devices can stay as is until the beginning of 2023.
• Oculus accounts will be merged info Facebook profiles. This seems to require explit action by the account holder.
• If accounts are not merged, the account holder will still be able to use the device but after the start of 2023 will be limited in functionality - Social interaction and new content purchases seem to be the affected areas.
• It's not clear how much existing content purchased will be affected - it looks as if access will be maintained to it, but no effort made to maintain access to content that falls out of some kind of 'scope' for what might be trivial reasons.
• What it means for software and firmware updates is not clear.
• How aggressive the prompting to integrate with Facebook will become is unclear.

Hmmmmmm.......
By 2023, I suppose that the "Rift S" will be 'older tech' and ripe for replacement anyhow... I now am certain that when that time comes, I will purchase a device from another manufacturer.

In less than a year, Im astounded how Hooked on VR I've become, and muse on how I dallied before diving in. Just yesterday I dusted off my old Track IR 4 to run the new flight simulator 2020. It just wasn't the same..... I still don't know which way my future with ED will go once Odyssey launches and (then being then Horizons locked) I'm unable to access the newer features/content (please don't derail this thread because of my last comment - I'm well aware of the factors at play and the choices that I can make)

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Paraphrased opening narration, "The Twilight Zone"

The Outer Limits actually.

The Twilight Zone is this:

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone!

 

[Shiro Akai]

Great. Exactly when I start to approach the though of considering a purchase of some VR gear. I did some vague research, it showed that there are just two real competitors: HTC and Oculus with Oculus looking more attractive. I don't have FB and don't intend on having one so now the choice is simple.

I'll remain VR-less.

 

[VR CMDR Novindus]

I like my Oculus Rift. Very solid, great controllers, reasonable quality display. I already login with my FB account, as I find it convenient to use instead of going through a sign-up process for everything, so there'll be no change for me there.

However, that HP Reverb G2 is looking increasingly attractive, even with the inevitable Aussie consumer tax we'll be paying on top of the price conversion.
I could keep my Rift with 3 Sensor setup for better performing room scale stuff, and use the G2 for seated play.

Yep, I'll be weighing this temptation for the coming months no doubt...

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Me personally I don't care if I have to use Facebook . They want to know about my boring life than go ahead. End of day I just want to continue getting Vr updates for Elite.

Highly recommend watching the TV series Black Mirror. Some episodes are awfully close to the bone the way things are going in terms of technology.

As far as I'm concerned, I nuked my FB account years ago, my wife's followed some time later thankfully. No life functionality whatsoever has been lost, quite the opposite.

Oculus as a product ruled itself out for me as soon as Facebook got involved - I'm not surprised about this move in fact I thought it had happened already.

Did people really not see this coming? I find that more shocking if I'm honest...

 

[Fishy]

Facebook lied? What an unexpected development!

 

[Juniper]

I have a CV1, having initially jumped on the VR bandwagon with a DK2. The CV1 is not really much better and I was disappointed. Since I don't play E: D any more, it's rarely used anyway.

Despite having an original Oculus account not linked to FB, I'm also a dev, and they've also said to use it for development I have to link it to FB. Even the "test account". So... umm... yeah... screw that. Apparently this makes things "easier". Not sure who for.

I was already eyeing (in glorious 2160p) the Reverb G2 because of the incoming FS2020 support. Think this move just about settles it.

 

[Vetinari]

What is The Circle?

Its a film with Tom Hanks (but thats not the reason to watch it). Quite relevant to this thread though.

 

[Dagwit]

Spoken like a true rich privilege dude (no offense).

Actually, the Reverb isn't that expensive.

The computer that can support it, on the other hand....

 

[Hell Razor5543]

The way Oculus phrase their post indicates that only people who do not already have an Oculus account will need a Facebook account to log in. I read that to mean that if you already have an Oculus account you will still be able to use your Oculus VR system.

 

[Northpin]

The way Oculus phrase their post indicates that only people who do not already have an Oculus account will need a Facebook account to log in. I read that to mean that if you already have an Oculus account you will still be able to use your Oculus VR system.

Indeed, but there is no guarantee that in another 6-12-18 months they will not force you to to link your Oculus account to a Facebook account.

 

[Old Duck]

Actually, the Reverb isn't that expensive.

Unless it's a cardboard box, VR is an expensive toy, relatively-speaking, unless you're a "money is no object" kinda guy. Sure, for the guy who can buy a new car to match his new suit on a whim, all VR is "cheap", but for most average folk, having a relatively new $350 purchase become something you have to throw away because of a stupid decision by the company, that's not a trivial loss of $$$.

Now SOMEDAY I'll upgrade my VR to something with a better resolution, contrast, and FOV. That will also require me to upgrade my gaming rig, as I struggle to feed my humble yet hungry Rift S. That day is still years away, however.

 

[Comandante]

Never had a fakebook account, never want one. It looks like existing Oculus account users have two years before they force users to walk the plank.

That means I have two years to find a new VR device and try and sell mine toward the end of the period.

I refuse to have to join a social networking site in order to use VR, sorry to sound a stalwart. Sure, I could have an empty account but it just seems ridiculous to have to do that.

 

[777Driver]

Spoken like a true rich privilege dude (no offense). I barely was able to afford my Rift S, so it's not trivial just to go out and swap HMDs like Madonna swaps diamond necklaces.

Sorry but if you have the spare time for computer games, you have the time to work and afford things. I am not rich by any means, my parents where wealthy, I had to get a job at 16, I also payed for my uni.

I work my butt off, right up to this day when people are now out claiming benefits for covid. I worked two shifts doing crap jobs during this period, until a real contract turned up. I have money in my account because I save and spend wisely, I rarely spend money on myself. MY DK2 was purchased nearly 5 years ago,CV1 a few years later, the Rift-S is crap, I cant even sell it on gumtree. My latest reverb was purchased 5 months ago.. Hardly splashing out on a brand new Merc each year..

 

[Old Duck]

Sorry but if you have the spare time for computer games, you have the time to work and afford things.

Ahhh, the "poor people are lazy people" argument. Maybe I should start charging for that mod you enjoy so much...

Regardless of wealth, I find your argument a very poor defense of the topic at hand - a company ruining an otherwise good product (I for one LIKE my Rift S hardware) by making a stupid and legally questionable requirement of tying a person's real identity to that hardware for the purpose of collecting data on that person. Can't way stay on this topic rather than handwaivium it away with a "Just buy another VR headset, dummy!" reply?

 

[777Driver]

Ahhh, the "poor people are lazy people" argument.

What an idiotic comment.

 

[VR StarLightPL]

Actually, the Reverb isn't that expensive.

The computer that can support it, on the other hand....

There are a few forum posters here using the Reverb for Elite. It seems that, paradoxically, it doesn't have such big requirements because you don't have to pump the supersampling slider too high. That's because the native resolution is already bonkers 2160x2160. Also VR is behaving different with frames per second. The industry set a "golden standard" of 90 fps. Just yesterday I was having a blast on DCS with only 40 frames per second and was amazed how well it still worked (single player). That's thanks to motion smoothing introduced by valve long time ago. I can't guarantee that someone else won't reduce into a pile of nausea though. Anyhow that clever compensation technique saves skimpy devs who won't invest into better optimised engine (khem Fdev khem) for a price of artifacts in the picture.

I did some vague research, it showed that there are just two real competitors: HTC and Oculus with Oculus looking more attractive. I don't have FB and don't intend on having one so now the choice is simple.

I'll remain VR-less.

Your research was really vague, somehow you skipped the whole more affordable WMR section, and also decided Index isn't worthy of consideration, probably because it's priced similarly to what HTC is used to charging with their substandard products.
WMR's like Samsung Odyssey+ and HP Reverb G1 and G2 are still viable alternatives if Index is above the budget.
Also I hope the release of G2 will flood the market with various brands of used headsets which hopefully will affect the price on general.

The way Oculus phrase their post indicates that only people who do not already have an Oculus account will need a Facebook account to log in. I read that to mean that if you already have an Oculus account you will still be able to use your Oculus VR system.

Using probably yes, but you will lose all multiplayer content because the friends system will use facebook. And it might be that some day you won't be able to login anymore as the auth method changes.
It is also possible that the community will make enough stink that they will reconsider. Tbh the moment Facebook bought them I knew this would happen. I am frankly amazed it took so long.