Oculus "Rift" : An open-source HMD for Kickstarter

[Vaughanabe13]

Thanks for the update Palmer, sounds really exciting.

No probs on the delay, good things come to those who wait...

PS - found a little bit on the FOV2GO and RIFT here:

http://www.3dfocus.co.uk/3d-news-2/the- ... ality/8736

According to that article, "The Kickstarter campaign started on June 14th."

[Nick3DvB]

Yeh, not sure when it was actually written, most of their stuff is syndicated, the guts of it came from here I think:

http://interactive.usc.edu/2012/06/10/p ... -holodeck/

http://www.jamesiliff.com

[BillRoeske]

Some really big names in the game industry are getting involved with this, not only the initial kit, but future development as well.

Slightly disappointed to hear of the momentary delay, but mostly really excited to see the interest and where it could lead!

Aside from the common speculation of Source and Skyrim support, I'd kinda love it if Turn 10 jumped on this. It's a bit of a pipe dream because of the need to certify/license input devices on the XBox, but hey, a guy can dream. I can guarantee that at least three of my friends would jump on the Rift bandwagon with Forza support, though. Then again, two of them probably will anyway if iRacing supports it reasonably well.

Looking forward to seeing the industry cameos in your revised Kickstarter video. If you're happy with the hardware, though, don't let pending deals or whatever delay you too long. Insert picture here of Fry demanding that you take my money.

[brantlew]

ok, I'll throw out my wild speculation (wish) as well. Tridef/nVidia support please.

[PatrickReddeck]

Good news: That is not actually bad news at all. A lot has changed in the past week, and while I cannot go into details just yet, I can promise that nobody here would possibly be upset with it. Some really big names in the game industry are getting involved with this, not only the initial kit, but future development as well. Thanks to those names, the Kickstarter can be 30 days instead of 60, meaning that the Kickstarter will end and start shipping units even earlier than before! More info as soon as I can give it.

Thanks for holding on with me!

Sounds like great news for your business Palmer. I have a couple of questions as they pertain to us hobbyist, particularity those working on something specifically for Rift.

Are you increasing the number of orders you are taking?
What sort of effect will this have on the hobbyist community?

I was under the impression that the early adopters here were developers and not just gamers. Is that correct or is John Carmack one of just a handful developers?

[benz145]

Some really big names in the game industry are getting involved with this, not only the initial kit, but future development as well.

Alright seeing as we've been delayed let the pointless, baseless rumours start now! I'm calling it - Valve.

But seriously, congratulations Palmer there's nothing better than a honest geek with a lifelong passion finally getting that big break

Damn I hope it is Valve... If they end up developing Portal 3 with time travel game play AND VR support and I may just have a nerdgasm.....

Also, next gen sony and microsoft is coming very soon.... lets hope the buzz created by the Rift leads to console based VR support too

I think we're likely way too far toward the next generation of consoles to have them change course to make a console that has considerations specifically for VR. It's possible that some post-launch tweaks will make them compatible, but first we need some solid standards for the type of 3D that will be use, the resolution to be supported, and the framerate expected. Hopefully this project gets attention and the industry will finally solve some of these hurdles.

[German]

I think we're likely way too far toward the next generation of consoles to have them change course to make a console that has considerations specifically for VR. It's possible that some post-launch tweaks will make them compatible, but first we need some solid standards for the type of 3D that will be use, the resolution to be supported, and the framerate expected. Hopefully this project gets attention and the industry will finally solve some of these hurdles.

It's not quite the same thing as Oculus Rift but an article about a recently leaked document from Microsoft showed, among other things, some kind of augmented reality glasses called 'Kinect Glasses' as an accessory to the successor to the 360. The document was from August 2010, so I am sure things have changed since then. Just shows that the big players are thinking about this kind of stuff.

[TheRealistWord]

Woo! Congrats Palmer! Delayed Kickstarter, but in the long run, we'll get our Rifts sooner than planned I'm glad that the word's spreading and interesting is extending far, far outside this forum, so very curious what other names in the industry have taken an interest in this.

I just hope the 'hacker / DIY perspective' won't get lost with all kind of 'commercial / big party' interesests.

That's initially what I feared, but I'm guessing that strong commercial support will give the Rift a chance to get even more exposure and fall in the hands of more than just the hobbyists and devs. Maybe start carving into the casual gamer's market eventually? Seems like VR is one of the next logical steps with consoles, after their hand at tablet and motion accessories and boosting the processors/graphics every gen.

[Krisper]

Thanks for the update Palmer, sounds really exciting.

No probs on the delay, good things come to those who wait...

PS - found a little bit on the FOV2GO and RIFT here:

http://www.3dfocus.co.uk/3d-news-2/the- ... ality/8736

I love this bit
"Carmack has agreed to ship a fresh copy of the new Doom 3: BFG Edition along with every RIFT that Palmer gets fundraising for."

So we all get Doom 3 BFG Edition, whoot!! Or is that just over zealous journalism? Or is Palmer going to limit the number he gets funding for .. Noooo! take my money now.

[mm0zct]

If I remember correctly Carmack mentioned he was (at least considering, if not planning to) buy 100 copies of Doom3 to go with the Rift kickstarter. If there are more than 100 units produced then I don't think we can expect that every unit will come with the game, it will probably be a kickstarter option for those that get in quick.

[cybereality]

This is sounding really promising, and I'll be watching this space closely.

My guess: SEGA wants to get back into the console market and will finally release their ill-fated VR headset from the 1990's.

[DragonM]

Wouldn't it be great if the new announcement is an upgrade to 1080p displays? LOL I can dream.

Sadly, that's unlikely, given his phrasing. If that were the case, he'd have said "big names in the electronics industry."

Unfortunately, it takes a lot more buzz than just MTBS3D to get the attention of Samsung. A successful Kickstarter is a good first step towards gaining that attention, but even that is only a first step on a rather long road. The weight the big names in games can lend to the project are another step (witness the effect of the considerable weight of Mr. Carmack), but it takes a lot of steps before fabs that budget production runs in the millions pay attention to what you're doing.

But while we're dreaming, consider the end of that shining road: the attention of both Samsung and, say, Blizzard. Or Turbine. Blizzard would very much like to regain the 2 million World of Warcraft users they've lost over the past several years. Azeroth in immersive 3D? Or Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online. Middle Earth in immersive 3D? Say what you will about the game itself, LOTRO is already an incredible artistic achievement. Looking at it "from the inside" would be spectacular. Native Rift support from either or both would catapult the Rift from truly-nerdy-omg-you-look-like-such-a-dork-with-those-on to everybody-plays-with-a-Rift-how-can-you-not? overnight.

DM

[WiredEarp]

I'm hoping that the large amount of interest will mean that the economies of scale will tip in our favor, so that perhaps we can get a higher resolution screen .
The really good thing about all of this is it shows there is significant interest in high FOV displays, which is good as most of the established VR companies seem to just not get the importance of high FOV.
Imagine if ST1080 had a 90 degree fov model, they'd sell HEAPS of them.

[LeeN]

Maybe we will see 240 hz and/or OLED option

[nyohan]

hmmm The Pre-Kickstarter page doesn't let you pre-order anymore.

[space123321]

I wanted to pre-order as well however due to the fact that I am not in the US (in Canada) I believe Palmer noted to wait for kickstarter... Palmer - anything that can be done for none US MTBS3D users would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[andrewe1]

I wanted to pre-order as well however due to the fact that I am not in the US (in Canada) I believe Palmer noted to wait for kickstarter... Palmer - anything that can be done for none US MTBS3D users would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Wait for the kickstarter

[Tinus]

I am way too excited for this, can't wait to start hacking.

[MalDuffin]

One of these bad boys will be heading for Ireland as soon as the Kickstarter pops up! I worked with Virtuality headsets at IBM ( when they started manufacturing them many moons ago ), but haven't been aware of any major jumps in technology until I read some of the Carmack articles. His credibility def has swung my support for this.

Hopefully if Murphy tries to get involved and tinker, he'll stay on native soil, mess with mine and will leave the rest of your headsets bug-free

[LeeN]

I didn't know IBM made HMDs, their products are not on this ancient list
http://stereo3d.com/hmd.htm#chart

[MalDuffin]

I didn't know IBM made HMDs, their products are not on this ancient list
http://stereo3d.com/hmd.htm#chart

They manufactured the hardware for Virtuality after their move to use PC hardware - previously Virtuality were using Amiga hardware I think. This was mainly for their arcade machine business ( the few sample projects were arcade games, eg Zone Hunter - at IBM we were tasked with writing a relatively simple program to help test the hardware quickly, where you could navigate a 3D space and touch objects to test both the headset and also the hand controller, both of which were independant of each other ).

[bmwesting]

My guess is that interest in the gaming community means that one or more studios have said that they will help support the device in their game by releasing a version/patch that support the Rift. Either that or they've agreed to subsidize the cost somewhat to encourage development.

Valve might be likely, Gabe seems to be very receptive to fans and their ideas, and they even have Michael Abrash working on wearable computing over there.

Brandt

[brantlew]

How about Bethesda? Close ties to id/Carmack so who knows? Wouldn't it be awesome to get native SkyRim support?

[Nick3DvB]

I just read the official DOOM III BFG release date is October 16th?

Hopefully that won't be a problem for the Kickstarter bundle?

[PalmerTech]

I just read the official DOOM III BFG release date is October 16th?

Hopefully that won't be a problem for the Kickstarter bundle?

The PC work is going to be done before then, luckily.

[brantlew]

Hey Palmer, a few of us have been pursuing software lens distortion correction in another thread. Emerson is making excellent progress, and I am curious as to how close he is getting. When you get a chance could you view this image in the Rift and tell us what it looks like?



http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... 913#p74912

[TilliK]

So palmer, If someone that lives in sweden wants to get in on that pre-kickstarter pre ordering, is there anyway of doing that? I can fix an adress for shipping in USA if that helps! I'm really exited about the rift! and looking forward for the coming years of development this will trigger.

[nicolasbol]

Hello,

What is the status of the kickstarter since the June 14th target is gone ?

I am from Toronto and drooling over this device with Doom 3 BFG. Please take my money !!

[QuasiSteve]

What is the status of the kickstarter since the June 14th target is gone ?

From a few pages back:

[...]
Bad news: The Kickstarter is approved, but I am going to have to delay it for two weeks.

Good news: That is not actually bad news at all. A lot has changed in the past week, and while I cannot go into details just yet, I can promise that nobody here would possibly be upset with it. Some really big names in the game industry are getting involved with this, not only the initial kit, but future development as well. Thanks to those names, the Kickstarter can be 30 days instead of 60, meaning that the Kickstarter will end and start shipping units even earlier than before! More info as soon as I can give it.
[...]

http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... 420#p74809

[NickK]

Wouldn't it be great if the new announcement is an upgrade to 1080p displays? LOL I can dream.

Sadly, that's unlikely, given his phrasing. If that were the case, he'd have said "big names in the electronics industry."

Unfortunately, it takes a lot more buzz than just MTBS3D to get the attention of Samsung...

I am no expert in the area but I don't think it's just buzz. The smartphone market set off an avalanche of small high definition screens and Samsung is now one of few big manufacturers in that space. They've recently shown off flexible OLED screens and a few transparent ones for applications in augmented reality.

Due to volume of supply the cost of such screens have dropped significantly over the last few years. Samsung is surely looking at other markets for LCDs. Combine it with advances in OpenGL since version 3+. And it *finally* becomes the right time for VR hardware + 3D software to reach sufficient technological level at the decent cost to go mainstream.

There is still a lot of work to be done on both hardware and software fronts but it should no longer cost an arm and a leg to construct good VR visors and actually support them in software. I'm actually hoping that Samsung will target the VR market in the next year or two. Should be fun.

In other news, there is already a target date and references to "large quantities": http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Doom-3 ... 16055.html

As reported during E3 2012, id Software Technical Director John Carmack demoed the gadget, a side project he started after completing Rage. The headset is slated to be sold in limited quantities for around $500. However, technical difficulties prevent the headset's resolution from matching current HD graphics, yet movement is reportedly so fluid, it's life-like. Carmack is hoping to have a large number of kits thrown together by the time QuakeCon 2012 launches in August.

[rajveer]

Hmm, could indeed be Valve:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... n-hardware

[EdZ]

Bear in mind that these high-resolution LCD/OLED panels are just bare panels. They're designed to directly interface with the SOC inside a mobile device, and often do so in an entirely proprietary manner. Purchasing one for a HMD is not as simple as buying the panel itself: you wold also need a driver board to take the TMDS signals from DVI/HDMI and turn it into whatever signalling method the panel needs to drive it. For custom panels for cellphones/tablets that do not use FPD-link (and even those that do, no two panel interfaces are completely alike or strictly compatible), this almost certainly means using an FPGA and designing the interface almost from scratch. The cost for putting them into the Rift is not so much the purchase of the panels themselves, but the design and manufacture of the driver boards.

[brantlew]

Good point EdZ

[TheRealistWord]

@rajveer - thanks for posting that interview. It reaffirms my belief that John just, plain and simple, gets it. The next gen of consoles can beef up their processors and GPU's and ram all they like, but it's going to take much more than a graphical overhaul to keep video games fresh, unique, and interesting. Sequels on next gen consoles running in 1080p @ 60 fps with advanced particle effects and real time dynamic lighting (Unreal Engine 4?) will definitely look pretty, but it's essentially the same experience wrapped up in a sparkling, neon bow instead of a single colored, droopy bow. That's why all three big console devs are expanding and trying their hand at motion controls, and now taking a run with incorporating tablets with gaming (Wii U and the Xbox Smart Glass). But even so, I think mainstream HMD's and VR is what the video game industry really needs to take the next big step forward.

So before I stray too far offtopic ... The Oculus Rift seems to be one of the key pieces in doing that.

btw, in the interview, John mentions that Sony's taking an interest in this and a follow up - does he mean Sony's interested specifically in the Oculus Rift (as in, they know about it, they're talking about it, etc.) or is he saying that he doesn't know if Sony knows about the Oculus Rift, but is just interested in 3D HMD gaming in general? Oh, and Valve! So uh... the fabled Half-Life 3 and the Oculus Rift?

[PatrickReddeck]

I've had word from Hillcrest Labs that their 250Hz firmware is indeed custom for John and not something ready to release into the wild. I would caution against buying a tracker and expecting the 250Hz firmware update to be available.

Palmer,

Is John acquiring the tracker with the 250Hz and providing them for Kickstarter? Are you working with them directly, and will the Rift Bundle have the 250Hz update firmware?

[optimus]

Wow, a week of missing posts and it seems so much has happened post E3. Great work to all involved.

I must say, PalmerTech, it's a damn shame these game 'journos' aren't doing their job and actually researching the product. If so they'd very quickly see that it's your baby and they'd give far more credit! At least they're getting the word out. And we still think you're pretty rockin'.

Is there a FAQ yet? Would it be worth while setting up a community wiki in the interim to handle questions? It strikes me as something we could do to help that shouldn't step on any toes + take a way a bit of the administrative effort.

[coresnake]

Waitta go optimus you jinxed it, now NO-ONE is replying

[AntonieB]

Yeah.. it's pretty quiet over here Was hoping some more teasers / information

[petersmc]

Sorry if this info is already on the forum, but what is the agreed "end game" resolution for a high FoV solution like RIFT. In otherwords, assuming the screen resolution is optically warped to match retenal acuity + some eye movement, how dense does the screen need to be such that any pixcelation issues disappear?

[petersmc]

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I wonder what Toshiba are up to. A 6.1 inch display at 2560x1600 that is too big for a phone and too small for a tablet . . . they wont want to have invested in this for nothing. Seems to me to fit pretty well with RIFT - especially if they could to slotted in as an upgrade.