Razer Hydra at 50% off. Worth it?

[MrGreen]

I hope this isn't against this forum's policies, and I sincerely apologize if it is, but I thought this might interest a few people here.

You can get the Razer Hydra at 50% off using the promo code BESTOFCES2013.

Razer store link

I'm tempted...

Do you guys think it's the perfect match for the Rift as we speak?

[Fredz]

No shipping outside US and Canada, too bad...

[jayoh]

I was going to pull the trigger but amazon has it for about 10 more with portal 2., doesn't seem like a huge discount.

[brantlew]

It all depends. It's the easiest way to get positional head tracking right now (without yaw limits). But how well it is supported by the Rift is unknown at this point. In the best case scenario, Oculus would allow third party position data to be fed into the SDK. So any indie and beta games in development for the Rift could include positional tracking via the Hydra. If that doesn't happen, then it will be up to hackers to either shoe-horn it it or nice indies to include native Hydra support with their Rift titles. I hope that doesn't happen or we may start to see a bunch of segmentation. Some studios choosing optical (TrackIR), some choosing Hydra, and some just waiting for Oculus.

Personally, I think it's worth it because I am guessing there will be a lot of novel uses for the Hydra when all the developers start experimenting with VR control schemes.

[drifter]

Do you guys think it's the perfect match for the Rift as we speak?

not perfect but for the pc it's one of the best (if you don't care the wires)
well 80$ with portal 2 is cheap (especially for a Razer product), you don't take too much risk

I hope that doesn't happen or we may start to see a bunch of segmentation. Some studios choosing optical (TrackIR), some choosing Hydra, and some just waiting for Oculus.

let's hope the Oculus team rapidly bring a proprietary solution, as they think to maybe add it to the dev kit before the consumer version.

[Owen]

Its by far the best hand tracking solution right now, especially if you want to do things like weapon holding and have joysticks for movement. Not many games use it right now, but unless something totally new and better comes along it may become a VR standard.

[geekmaster]

I hope this isn't against this forum's policies, and I sincerely apologize if it is, but I thought this might interest a few people here.

You can get the Razer Hydra at 50% off using the promo code BESTOFCES2013.

Razer store link

I'm tempted...

Do you guys think it's the perfect match for the Rift as we speak?

I just tried to buy one. After the promo code, it costs $49.99 plus $11.35 shipping (from California to Minnesota USA).

I did not complete my order because they are incorrectly trying to charge me sales tax. I do not live in California, and they do not have a storefront in Minnesota, so they should not be charging me any Tax.

Now I have to wait for a reply from their order support department. Any idea how long is that promo code remains valid?

EDIT: I decided to go ahead and place the order even with the extra (incorrect) sales tax charges. But now their website is giving a server error. I tried paying with paypal, and with credit card, and I even tried starting over and filling out the forms again. Still server error. Oh well, maybe later...

EDIT2: I called them and they said to use Internet Explorer. I was using Google Chrome, which is not working for me on their website for placing orders. The purchase completed with IE. I noticed they charged me a much higher tax rate than my local Minnesota sales tax (which they should not have charged). I suspect they charged me a California tax rate even though I do not live in California. They have more problems than just browser support. Disappointed, but still a lot cheaper than these things go for on ebay... That is good. Thanks for the "heads up" on the Promo Code. It worked! No Portal game though. Perhaps I should upgrade my order...

[Naru]

I think the coupon works for anything from the Razer store. I'm considering buying the Hydra and some headphones. Anyone have any suggestions for Razer headphones. A lot of sold out stuff though.

[crespo80]

No shipping outside US and Canada, too bad...

the discount applies to european razer stores also, check it out, I tried on the italian store and it works

[geekmaster]

I just discovered that razer is running their paypal payments through the digitalriver payment processing center, which is in Minnesota (which is my home state, and why they charged me state sales tax). I must have gotten hit with some extra county or city taxes for whichever tax zone that processing center is in, even though they should not apply to me for online purchases made in another state.

I remember getting bitten by this when I purchased stuff online from Moscow Russia, and the payments were also processed by digitalriver...

It added almost 10 percent to my order cost. Oh well, the hydra is still cheaper than they go for on ebay... I am looking forward to using it with my Rift...

[MSat]

ARGHHHHH

I waited too long, and now it's out of stock

[2EyeGuy]

I already have a Razer Hydra, but it's been broken for months and I have no way of getting it fixed.
The trigger springs always break. Very disappointing build quality from Razer. The Sixense part works though.

[WiredEarp]

If you can get a Hydra for that cheap, I'd definitely advise buying one. Or two, so you have a spare to hack with. They have a LOT of potential, that has not really been realised yet due to the form factor of the controller. Its a real shame Sixense dont allow us to buy the sensors in a more conveniently sized package...

[cybereality]

For $50, yeah, its worth it. I'd say splurge and get the Portal 2 bundle, as that's probably the best demo of the hardware so far.

[MSat]

Woohoo! Checked Razer's site again and it was back in stock. Got it for $63 w/shipping

[geekmaster]

For $50, yeah, its worth it. I'd say splurge and get the Portal 2 bundle, as that's probably the best demo of the hardware so far.

Okay, you convinced me. I just ordered the bundle. Now I will have a spare hydra for hacking.

I see that store.razerzone.com has a link at the bottom of the web pages for "California Privacy Rights", but it also says at the bottom that "DR Globaltech" (digitalriver.com) is the authorized merchant for all purchases at their online store, and digitalriver is in my home state (about 30 miles from me), which is why they stick me with state sales tax even though razer is in California.

Perhaps I could have gotten combined shipping on my two orders, if only cybereality had made the recommendation BEFORE my first order.

[MrGreen]

Ordered as well!

[MSat]

Ordered as well!

BTW, thanks for the Promo code

[MrGreen]

Ordered as well!

BTW, thanks for the Promo code

You're very welcome!

[Matoz]

Worked in the german store too. Couldn't resist. Ordered the Portal 2 bundle as the device only was sold out.

[shent1080]

Definitely worth it if you can get it without portal 2, in the uk you can get the portal 2 bundle at amazon for £80 anyway

Thanks for the code though, i'm going to be keeping my eye on the razer site.

[Naru]

Ordered mine last night plus some headphones. Something I noticed is to stick to the default 3-5 day shipping. It's like $13, and the change to economy 7-10 days is only a dollar cheaper. I also didn't get charged sales tax. If I had I would have bought it on amazon instead. It was constantly getting sold out too, usually while I was checking out, but it gets restocked every few hours anyway.

@MrGreen, Thanks for the code.

[geekmaster]

I see that the newegg price (including shipping) for the bundle is about the same as I paid with the promo code (including shipping and Minnesota sales tax).

[MSat]

Just got a confirmation e-mail saying it's on backorder. :-/

[Inscothen]

I got the same email but it was listed as in stock when I checked the razer store just now

[cybereality]

Either Razer has a very small stock, or maybe the Hydra is more popular than I thought.

Would be cool if a lot of people got it and it gets more support.

[MSat]

I've been a little geeked on getting my hydra, especially since I've been talking about it for months now, so I've been doing some reading up on it. Surprisingly, I couldn't find a real manual for it - or at least what I would consider to be a real manual. One of the things I found out that piques my curiosity is the fact that the controllers can be unplugged from the base, meaning they can have replacement input devices. So theoretically, they could offer a replacement that consists of one motion sensor with a chest strap for body motion tracking, another controller without motion tracking but with buttons + analog stick, and one standard hydra controller.

[Edenspuzzle]

For anyone interested, I've got a free Unity package to get you set up with the Razer Hydra in minutes

Forum: http://sixense.com/forum/vbulletin/show ... s-included!)

Download Link: http://www.alextardif.com/Content/Sourc ... ackage.zip

Will probably save some of you a lot of time so you can jump right in with the Rift.

[android78]

It looks like the promo code no longer works.

[MSat]

For anyone interested, I've got a free Unity package to get you set up with the Razer Hydra in minutes

Forum: http://sixense.com/forum/vbulletin/show ... s-included!)

Download Link: http://www.alextardif.com/Content/Sourc ... ackage.zip

Will probably save some of you a lot of time so you can jump right in with the Rift.

Cool! There's quite a few people here that work with Unity, so it might get some good use.

[MrGreen]

For anyone interested, I've got a free Unity package to get you set up with the Razer Hydra in minutes

Forum: http://sixense.com/forum/vbulletin/show ... s-included!)

Download Link: http://www.alextardif.com/Content/Sourc ... ackage.zip

Will probably save some of you a lot of time so you can jump right in with the Rift.

Awesome! Hopefully Razer ships my Hydra sometimes this year.

Merci Alex!

[Edenspuzzle]

For anyone interested, I've got a free Unity package to get you set up with the Razer Hydra in minutes

Forum: http://sixense.com/forum/vbulletin/show ... s-included!)

Download Link: http://www.alextardif.com/Content/Sourc ... ackage.zip

Will probably save some of you a lot of time so you can jump right in with the Rift.

Awesome! Hopefully Razer ships my Hydra sometimes this year.

Merci Alex!

Great! Feel free to message me if you need any help, and of course, with any videos people make with it! I've seen some projects that people have done with it and it's just really cool to see

[cybereality]

Thanks, Edenspuzzle!

[voliale]

Awesome! Hopefully Razer ships my Hydra sometimes this year.

Ordered mine January 11. Shipped today.

[geekmaster]

Mine is in transit. razerzone.com is in California USA. Their web pages say that their authorized dealer is in Minnesota USA (my home state) so I was charged Minnesota sales tax. However, the product shipped from Ontario Canada (just north of me) and it is now in Nevada USA.

It seems that if I ordered and paid on a California website and my product shipped from Canada, I should not have been charged sales tax. If it was actually shipped from Minnesota I should have received it by now. International shipping from Canada seems a bit extreme. I should think it would be stocked in the USA somewhere, like Minnesota perhaps, or why charge Minnesota sales tax?

[German]

It seems that if I ordered and paid on a California website and my product shipped from Canada, I should not have been charged sales tax. If it was actually shipped from Minnesota I should have received it by now. International shipping from Canada seems a bit extreme. I should think it would be stocked in the USA somewhere, like Minnesota perhaps, or why charge Minnesota sales tax?

Companies are required to charge sales tax if the purchaser resides in a state where they operate. They operate in Minnesota, you live in Minnesota, you get charged sales tax.

Where it ships from is irrelevant.

[EdZ]

Finally back in stock in the UK, and the code has expired!

[MSat]

*checks e-mail*

Hmmm.... Still nothing

[jf031]

Just received my Hydra (without Portal 2) today. Basically, in mouse emulation mode, it isn't that great and essentially amounts to a gimmick. I see little point in using it with games that don't support it directly and take advantage of the 6DoF. I played around with it in the Simple3D program included with Sixense's Motion Creator 2 (sidenote: the editor included with it is a pain to use, but I eventually made a simple config file for GZDoom), and it seems very responsive and accurate (I can't really detect the lag - would need to see the 6DoF tracking in first person on the Rift to see how much disconnect there is from my actual hand movement). I'll try out the Unity "Sixense Starter Pack" sometime later.

Ultimately, the Hydra seems pointless to me without a high-FOV HMD. This seems like it was literally made for VR. I would love to use one controller for head tracking (just duct tape it to the Rift devkit, ha) - at least for translational tracking - and the other as a "hand." I hope developers support it.

[Mystify]

I have never really cared for motion controls. Waving around stuff in front of a screen doesn't do much more me.
However, with a HMD, instead of moving in front of the game, you could be moving inside of it, and I suspect that will make all the difference in the world.