Today there was an expo in Paris (near where I live), where it was possible to try the Oculus Rift DK2. So I bought my ticket and went there. It was more than just the Rift, actually, since the demo also had me use the Novint Falcon with a gun. The game was a simple FPS, I don't know the name, it looked like an indie game. No interface beyond the central reticle which had some kind of ammo indicator.
The experience was great as far as the rift was concerned : though the resolution was obviously pretty low, I don't feel like I experienced this "screen door" effect I keep reading about. I just felt like playing on an old TV. Looking around, the tracking was great, I think there were a few hiccups but nothing too bad. I didn't find the experience that immersive, though, at no point did I feel "presence" inside the virtual world. To be honest it felt more as if I was very close to a giant screen I couldn't see in its entierty.
I don't blame the DK2 for it though : the game's graphics were pretty bad, and I didn't get the chance to adjust the Rift for my head : no IPD, no moving the lenses, I didn't even get to adjust the straps, so the Rift was very loose on my head.
I felt slightly nauseous at times but I found that to be reassuring : the game was an FPS with strafe movement, it was my very first experience, so some discomfort was to be expected, and it was a lot better than I anticipated. I realized far into the demo that what made me feel a bit nauseous was the games fault : it did not take into account lateral movement of my head. When I moved my head laterally and saw that my POV didn't move in the game, this instantly made me feel nauseous, though it only lasted a few seconds.
Regarding the Novint Falcon, I found it to be a useless gadget : I wouldn't use it if you gave it to me for free. It's very lackluster in terms of precision compared to a mouse, and the force feedback, while nice, just makes the aim even worse. Looking around with it is not natural at all.
I wanted to try the Rift because I wanted to make up my own opinion about a certain number of things, to decide if buying a DK2 (along with a GPU upgrade) was worth it for me. These are the things I wanted to test and my opinion regarding them :
- The weight on my face : it was perfectly tolerable, I expect that by settings the straps tighter, it should be very fine.
- The resolution : while obviously lackluster, it was not gamebreaking at all. Granted the game didn't have text unlike Elite, but still it was okay.
- The field of view : simply put, it felt like putting a scuba diving mask. The field of view was fine, and I think I could get it even slightly wider by adjusting the lenses from what I've read on the web.
- The VR sickness : like I said, I was fine for the most part, and this was in an FPS with strafing and 3DOF. I expect I would be fine in ED (going easy on the combat maneuvers at the beginning I guess).
I hope this is informative for people who haven't yet tried the Rift. As for me...
DK2 and 2 x EVGA GTX970 about to be ordered
The experience was great as far as the rift was concerned : though the resolution was obviously pretty low, I don't feel like I experienced this "screen door" effect I keep reading about. I just felt like playing on an old TV. Looking around, the tracking was great, I think there were a few hiccups but nothing too bad. I didn't find the experience that immersive, though, at no point did I feel "presence" inside the virtual world. To be honest it felt more as if I was very close to a giant screen I couldn't see in its entierty.
I don't blame the DK2 for it though : the game's graphics were pretty bad, and I didn't get the chance to adjust the Rift for my head : no IPD, no moving the lenses, I didn't even get to adjust the straps, so the Rift was very loose on my head.
I felt slightly nauseous at times but I found that to be reassuring : the game was an FPS with strafe movement, it was my very first experience, so some discomfort was to be expected, and it was a lot better than I anticipated. I realized far into the demo that what made me feel a bit nauseous was the games fault : it did not take into account lateral movement of my head. When I moved my head laterally and saw that my POV didn't move in the game, this instantly made me feel nauseous, though it only lasted a few seconds.
Regarding the Novint Falcon, I found it to be a useless gadget : I wouldn't use it if you gave it to me for free. It's very lackluster in terms of precision compared to a mouse, and the force feedback, while nice, just makes the aim even worse. Looking around with it is not natural at all.
I wanted to try the Rift because I wanted to make up my own opinion about a certain number of things, to decide if buying a DK2 (along with a GPU upgrade) was worth it for me. These are the things I wanted to test and my opinion regarding them :
- The weight on my face : it was perfectly tolerable, I expect that by settings the straps tighter, it should be very fine.
- The resolution : while obviously lackluster, it was not gamebreaking at all. Granted the game didn't have text unlike Elite, but still it was okay.
- The field of view : simply put, it felt like putting a scuba diving mask. The field of view was fine, and I think I could get it even slightly wider by adjusting the lenses from what I've read on the web.
- The VR sickness : like I said, I was fine for the most part, and this was in an FPS with strafing and 3DOF. I expect I would be fine in ED (going easy on the combat maneuvers at the beginning I guess).
I hope this is informative for people who haven't yet tried the Rift. As for me...
DK2 and 2 x EVGA GTX970 about to be ordered