New VR Headest actually looks viable for average gamers

[BobcatBob 10]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game This is a 110 degree FOV Stereoscopic 3D device with responsive 6DOF headtracking. 640x800 Resolution per eye, no idea how it compares to the Retina display Apple has, but I'm sure it's good!

I can't wait to play Arma 3 using this bad boy!

[jacknorrisuk 146]

Hah, just found this too and saw your post!

It really does look badass. The field of view and head tracking look amazing.

Time to bin my Vuzix?

Is anyone thinking of getting the developer kit? $300 ain't that much for this. Pretty sure we could get it talking to Arma 2 in no time.

[dmarkwick 261]

I'm thinking that 800x640 isn't really a great enough resolution to make this worth the outlay.

[BobcatBob 10]

I'm thinking that 800x640 isn't really a great enough resolution to make this worth the outlay.

"Why is the resolution of the Rift developer kit so low (720p)?

While it’s true that the developer kit uses a relatively low-resolution screen (1280x800), we promise it delivers a compelling, immersive 3D experience. And to be clear, we plan on improving the resolution of the screen for the consumer version. Stay tuned for more details!" Taken from the kickstarter page FAQ

[andersson 285]

Finally!! BIS, compability please!!!;) (If done correctly the collimator sights can finally be useful!!!!!)

[Mr. Charles 22]

Isn't it 2 x 1280x720?

[Dead3yez 0]

I'd wait a few more years until a higher resolutions are available at affordable prices. This really isn't something new.

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=HMZT1

Could just buy one of those and also stick a trackIR on your head along with it. Plus, that one also comes with surround sound headphones. I know it's not the same, but it could do a similar job.

Also as noted, above that the Sony product has headphones. This oculus thing seriously needs headphones as well.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Dead3yez

[BobcatBob 10]

I'd wait a few more years until a higher resolutions are available at affordable prices. This really isn't something new.

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=HMZT1

Could just buy one of those and also stick a trackIR on your head along with it. Plus, that one also comes with surround sound headphones. I know it's not the same, but it could do a similar job.

Also as noted, above that the Sony product has headphones. This oculus thing seriously needs headphones as well.

Except the product you just listed has a FOV of 45 degrees, I don't want to have the experiance of my regular monitor shoved in my face, getting actual peripheral vision from the 110 degree FOV would really enhance the experiance and be why I might be willing to buy one of those things (It certainly would be better than needing 3 whole monitors with those stupid gaps to get a less immersive effect in the end anyways) And headphones can fit on right over it, which is good enough for me, but im not exactly an audiophile... and unless I see one with retina display coming anytime soon I really won't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless I look for it to nitpick.

[andersson 285]

The resolution cant be compared to a normal 720p monitor. I read that the two images, one for each eye, looks better as the eyes and brain process the information.

Then no headphones is good imho. Then one can choose headphones after taste instead.

[Dead3yez 0]

Then no headphones is good imho. Then one can choose headphones after taste instead.

The sound would have to turn with your head for a more immersive experience.

[Tonci87 163]

Well it does if this thing has headtracking. Just get a good 5.1 headset

[x3kj 1247]

Here's John Carmacs behind-close-doors E3 demo. Very impressive, would actually enable me to finally use 3D. The current technology is just either not convincing or gives headaches. Giving support to the unfinished product is obviously not possible. But once this is out, it would be awesome to have it

(copied from the other thread, just because i think it is very interesting to hear carmac's explanation)

[okdante 0]

Yay, a combination with Beyerdynamic Headzone headphones would be an ultimate solution.

(Next would only be a pain-suite)

[gammadust 12]

Well it does if this thing has headtracking. Just get a good 5.1 headset

It does have headtracking... based on gyroscopes. Apparently they achieved pretty good rotational accuracy, though the same can't be said about translation movement. It does look promising still.

To those thinking about supporting the kickstarter: keep in mind this is a Developer kit and the project leaders themselves hope to have contributions from developers, not so much from enthusiasts. Afterall only a game is supported so far (Doom 3 BFG)

[funnyguy1 0]

I've been looking forward to the project since it popped up on mtbs3d forums. Now it looks like it's literally kickstarted for good. Despite the low res it's the most advanced HMD to date. ArmA games would really benefit from this device as it combines 3 very important things for immersion: stereo 3d, wide FOV and accurate headtracking!

[4 IN 1 0]

The sound would have to turn with your head for a more immersive experience.

For Arma alone the problem is already taken care of by the game itself, not the case for other games, but wouldn't be that hard.

Translation movement only need good quality accelerometer.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Here is a demo of the lens system used in Oculus Rift (Early prototype),

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TrackIR 5 will be rendered obsolete with this device, Carmack had opted out for HillCrestLabs' accelerometers, the following are the specs of the motion tracker,

http://hillcrestlabs.com/products/modules.php

http://hillcrestlabs.com/products/downloads/1000-2896%20-%20FSM-SI-2%20Product%20Brief%20v%201%200.pdf

$99 PU, when buying bulk

Here's the main thread with PalmerTech, who is Palmer Luckey of Oculus3D. - http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=14777

If an application/game can do stereoscopic 3D, it can be done on Oculus Rift - all you need to do is modify the render to specific warp value for the optic system due to the curvature of the lenses.

NVIDIA can mod their drivers to do this in five minutes.

[virtualvikingx 19]

This is most excellent. Almost 1.4 m US dollars in 7 days. Amazing!

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

PR4 Prototype vid should be viewed with YouTube 3D off, by the way.

Roundtable group with Carmack, Abrash of VALVe and Palmer Luckey at Quakecon from 2 days ago,

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DooM III BFG demo with the head mounted display at QC,

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Source engine games can be used with Rift as well - almost out the box. If NVIDIA doesn't patch their drivers due to their 3D (Surround) Vision, then developers will integrate built-in support for 3D, if they haven't already.

An example of how it would look like,

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http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=15086

The lens straightens the image back to normal.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Iroquois Pliskin

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Review/impressions by John Carmack from some weeks ago,

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=14967

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=14995

Up-to-date preview from Quakecon 2012, August,

1st http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=14967&start=30#p77263

2nd http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=14967&start=30#p77562

Specs of the LCD panel used in the dev kit prototype @ Kickstarter - http://www.azdisplays.com/PDF/HV056WX1-100.pdf

It's a 5.6 inch TFT LCD with 1280x800 resolution. Inside the device, the panel itself is divided into two areas, producing renders for each eye, that are displayed through a lens system, producing a very wide 110 degrees diagonal FOV - this creates the magic of immersion, the eyes don't see the borders/edges of the screen, when wearing the HMD.

On the other hand we already have Sony's Personal 3D Theatre HMZ-T1, which had been released in November last year. It uses OLED panels @ 1280x720 and everything good that comes with OLED technology: superb contrast, good brightness, 0.01 ms response time (compared to fastest LCD with 2 ms), but the optics system on HMZ-T1 head mounted display is different: two 0.7 inch OLED panels instead of one on the Oculus Rift, smaller lenses, resulting in 45 degrees FOV, though one of the advantage of this is support for legacy content and regular BluRay movies, along with any other stereoscopic 3D outputting device, such as a PlayStation 3. This particular device has already been discontinued, because no manufacturing capacity had been setup to meet the overwhelming demand.

Sony's HMZ-T1,

http://s3.gizmologia.com/files/2011/08/Sony-HMZ-T1-por-dentro.jpg

http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/sony-hmz-t1-wearable-3d-headset-0.jpg

Demo,

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Specs on HMZ-T1 screen - http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/cx_news/vol66/pdf/ecx331_332a.pdf Same 0.7 inch OLED as on their Alpha digital SLR camera viewfinders. They're not going to share this stockpile of OLEDs with anyone else, let's hope they put it to good use. ;)

There's a rumour that Sony may be working on a second version of a similar HMD for gamers, presumably with headtracking built-in, better ergonomics, 1080p screen - announcement could be around the end of August.

---------- Post added at 05:01 ---------- Previous post was at 04:08 ----------

To balance it out, this the third HMD I'd like to mention - http://www.3dvisor.com/ "Emagin Z800" at overpriced $1799 - blast from the past one might say, but the chassis is solid, as is the head-tracking, only crap part is the screen,

SVGA – 800 x 600 triad pixels per display (1.44 megapixels)

>50 cd/m2

>200:1

RGB Signal Input (PC D-Sub) 24 bit per pixel color

You get the idea, but the thing is, this same company has its own OLED production - http://www.emagin.com/oled-microdisplays/ This 1080p scalable one in particular http://www.emagin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/WUXGA-Datasheet-Rev1.-11.pdf (1920 X 1200

AMOLED MICRODISPLAY)

Why isn't it on the market? Answer: http://www.oled-info.com/emagin-got-24-million-develop-high-brightness-2000x2000-oled-microdisplays-us-navy

eMagin got $2.4 million to develop high-brightness 2000x2000 OLED microdisplays for the US Navy

eMagin has won a new contract from the US Navo to develop a high-brightness 2000x2000 OLED microdisplay for aircraft cockpits. The first stage of this project (worth $1.1 million) will begin immediately, until September 2012. Then a second $1.3 million stage will begin and will run for 12 months. eMagin hopes that this contract will lead to adoption of OLED microdisplays for the first time in day-time avionics operation.

More profitable to peddle this to the military. :)

Help us, Sony (Samsung, Toshiba & others), you're our only hope. ;)

Edited August 8, 2012 by Iroquois Pliskin

[BobcatBob 10]

I'm hoping all that spare money the Oculus Rift guys have picked up by now will mean we get a seriously awesome screen when the the final product hits the market, having that great resolution allowing for more precise longer range engagements, an awesome FOV for situational awarness in first-person, head tracking so I can stop using/rebind that alt key, and 3D just for plain immersion factor, this is what Arma has been begging for it's whole life!!!!

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

I'm hoping all that spare money the Oculus Rift guys have picked up by now will mean we get a seriously awesome screen when the the final product hits the market, having that great resolution allowing for more precise longer range engagements, an awesome FOV for situational awarness in first-person, head tracking so I can stop using/rebind that alt key, and 3D just for plain immersion factor, this is what Arma has been begging for it's whole life!!!!

If it doesn't work out, there's always Sony HMZ-T1 with 45 FOV, or the upcoming Sensics Smart Goggles @ 64 FOV - http://smartgoggles.net/products/natalia/ Same company produces the high quality Sensics zSight HMD - http://sensics.com/products/head-mounted-displays/zsight-integrated-sxga-hmd/ I kinda wish it wasn't $11k, discounted from $24k, though. :)

You won't find the Sony HMD, unless you're in the U.S. as it has been sold out due to (unanticipated) demand and generally it can be viewed as a toe in the water by Sony, researching if there's a market for VR/personal 3D viewers. And there is. :)

Best review I've seen on Oculus Rift, August 8 - http://penny-arcade.com/report/editorial-article/behind-the-scenes-with-the-oculus-rift-the-hardware-that-could-change-the-w

[4 IN 1 0]

I just wonder if BI be interested to give native support for Oculus Rift in RV4 from ground up, or if it is possible to make it possible by a free track plugin, just imagine people playing ARMA 3 and standalone DayZ with this. But then again it will still be a far cry because we just have no Idea that if the consumer version will ever happen.

I am also very worried about those 3000 backers really have no idea about what this is all about and have the wrong impression about that it is a product instead in reality it is only a dev kit for game developers.

Edited August 9, 2012 by 4 IN 1

[Red_Ninja 10]

"The sound would have to turn with your head for a more immersive experience. "

Well if this device was controlling your head rotation, then as long as you have 5.1 set up the sound should technically not move with your head movement. If there is an explosion in front of me and I turn my head left, the explosion shouldn't sound like it is still in front of me. It should sound like it is to my right. With 5.1 the effect should be great!

[liquidpinky 11]

"The sound would have to turn with your head for a more immersive experience. "

Well if this device was controlling your head rotation, then as long as you have 5.1 set up the sound should technically not move with your head movement. If there is an explosion in front of me and I turn my head left, the explosion shouldn't sound like it is still in front of me. It should sound like it is to my right. With 5.1 the effect should be great!

Don't need 5.1, it already works fine in A2 and SKYRIM with headtracking and stereo headphones/speakers already. Also without headtracking in fact, they both follow the position of your ears quite well no matter how you are moving them around.