Oculus Rift and DCS World Discussion

[average_pilot]

Very interesting article in the International Business Times..

 

"Eye strain associated with having a screen in close proximity to the eyes and motion sickness is a major cause for concern with the nascent virtual reality technology. The problem experienced by virtually all VR prototypes currently under development is believed to be caused by the inaccuracy of the motion tracking system. The resulting inconsistency between the actual motion of the user's head and on screen movement leads to a large percentage of users becoming physically nauseous.

 

The New York Times points out that the issue is pressing enough for VR pioneer John Carmack to fear that a bad implementation of the technology could send the industry back to the '90s. This is clearly a reference to Sega's VR project on its Genesis console in '93. The VR prototype had to be scrapped because it was found to induce motion sickness induced vomiting, according to a BBC feature on the technology.

 

However, Gabe Newell has claimed that "zero percent of people get motion sick" when using the Vive VR headset. The Verge reports that the Vive's capability to ward off motion sickness is partly attributed to its unique Lighthouse motion-tracking system. The setup enhances head tracking by incorporating laser sensors for improved accuracy that's precise down to one-tenth of a degree."

Eyes are less strained with the Rift than with a normal desktop displays because the lenses make you focus on infinite instead of a few cm. :/

As always, non specialized journalists don't know very well what they are writing about.

 

And, please, don't get upset, but what Valve is saying about motion sickness with the Vive sounds like propaganda to me. Specially knowing that Oculus and Valve are currently at the same stage technologically.

It's not fair to compare a Development Kit with basic functionality and now quite 'old' as it is the Oculus DK2 with a soon to be released product only tested in controlled situations like the Vive.

All this doesn't mean that motion sickness in Vive and Oculus' counter part is greatly reduced to virtually zero with proper software, powerful enough pc's and whatever else that is required.

Edited April 28, 2015 by average_pilot

[Chivas]

No one has reported motion sickness with the Oculus Crescent Bay or the Vive headset, in limited testing at Events. Time will tell if their will be a problem when using more complex gaming software for longer periods of time.

 

Carmack is rightfully concerned about motions sickness being a problem, especially since he is working exclusively on mobile VR that doesn't use the sophisticated external motion sensors that Oculus and Vive are using. That said Carmack was surprised when they didn't see a lot of customer complaints from the first prototype release of Samsungs GearVR.

[Chivas]

Oculus: ‘Focus is on full games/experiences’ for Rift Launch

http://vrfocus.com/archives/14447/oculus-focus-full-gamesexperiences-rift-launch/

 

Oculus E3 Appearance Teased: ‘we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on’

http://vrfocus.com/archives/14419/oculus-e3/

 

Analyst: ‘Facebook Earnings Call Didn’t Rule Out 2015 Oculus Rift Launch’

http://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-earnings-call-oculus-rift-release-date-2015-launc/

 

E3 should be very interesting this year with the VR launch just months away. Not sure if Vive has had time to make many changes to their headsets so I think they will focus on advertising the game software that they plan to have ready for their launch.

 

Oculus has hinted at a number of headset features, that they've never disclosed. Hopefully we will see some of them at E3.

[DerekSpeare]

 

Is this something everyone knows about and I am only finding it out or is this something new - It was uploaded yesterday and looks quite nice :)

[rcjonessnp175]

Is this something everyone knows about and I am only finding it out or is this something new - It was uploaded yesterday and looks quite nice :)

 

Came to light at Smartgraph.com

 

Looks epic and can't wait we already know from wags that they have completed the gui compatibility for the rift in dcs 2.0!

[average_pilot]

Oculus: ‘Focus is on full games/experiences’ for Rift Launch

http://vrfocus.com/archives/14447/oculus-focus-full-gamesexperiences-rift-launch/

 

Oculus E3 Appearance Teased: ‘we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on’

http://vrfocus.com/archives/14419/oculus-e3/

 

Analyst: ‘Facebook Earnings Call Didn’t Rule Out 2015 Oculus Rift Launch’

http://www.roadtovr.com/facebook-earnings-call-oculus-rift-release-date-2015-launc/

 

E3 should be very interesting this year with the VR launch just months away. Not sure if Vive has had time to make many changes to their headsets so I think they will focus on advertising the game software that they plan to have ready for their launch.

 

Oculus has hinted at a number of headset features, that they've never disclosed. Hopefully we will see some of them at E3.

I hope there is news on E3 about the Rift.. There hasn't been anything official from Oculus but GearVR related announcements since... forever? Not that much, but it looks like that :)

[Chivas]

I hope there is news on E3 about the Rift.. There hasn't been anything official from Oculus but GearVR related announcements since... forever? Not that much, but it looks like that :)

 

Competition always has developers holding their cards closer to their chest. Oculus has suggested they've been working on a number of features for the CV1, that have yet to be announced. Most likely because they want to keep them secret, and their is no point announcing a feature until they're sure it will actually work. It will be almost a year since Oculus started putting together their Crescent Bay prototypes, so a number of things have probably come together since then.

 

I doubt the Vive will have much to show in regards to improvements to their Vive headset at E3, and will probably concentrate on showing the developers projects that are supporting their headsets. Much like Oculus did at some events.

 

There are always delays, so I doubt the Vive will be able to release their product with a comprehensive set of available software before the end of this year. They haven't even released their prototypes to developers yet. Its more likely we will see Oculus and Vive release in early 2016, both having successful launches, while the one with the more comprehensive software suite winning early sales. That said the market will be large enough to accommodate a large number of competing headsets. Its a win/win for us.:)

[rcjonessnp175]

So looks like I'll be buying the vive for Christmas as long as it works with dcs 2.0

[smirkza]

 

I think for me the best thing about this short video is that you can the shadows working. Their absence in the current build with the DK2 impacts quite heavily on immersion.

 

It's amazing how much you don't appreciate a good shadow till it's gone.

[rcjonessnp175]

I think for me the best thing about this short video is that you can the shadows working. Their absence in the current build with the DK2 impacts quite heavily on immersion.

 

It's amazing how much you don't appreciate a good shadow till it's gone.

 

Good catch had to re watch it since I was to concentrated on the terrain! I miss cockpit shadows very much in current dcs with rift

[Chivas]

So looks like I'll be buying the vive for Christmas as long as it works with dcs 2.0

 

Good luck with that. I think ED already has its hands full building Oculus VR support in the new unfinished EDGE graphic engine. I hope I'm wrong and ED gets its hands on the Vive prototype and SDK in the next month or two, but I wouldn't hold my breath on having Vive support by Christmas.

[rcjonessnp175]

I am leaning that way too. This is not going to be a Betamax/VHS war. Most software developers will eventually implement support for both, if they want to make money. Unreal is already committed to that. It makes the most sense. I mean, imagine if a software could only work with one brand of monitor, it would be a flop.

 

Totally agree with your thought process. It only makes sense and i dont know if Oculus is say the official sponsor or whatever you want to call it for dcs world. But i would imagine the vive would work with it somehow.

[Chivas]

Totally agree with your thought process. It only makes sense and i dont know if Oculus is say the official sponsor or whatever you want to call it for dcs world. But i would imagine the vive would work with it somehow.

 

 

I would agree if combat flight sims weren't such a niche market with no funding to create support for multiple VR headsets. Maybe a third party like Vorpx could spend the time creating the necessary code, but they seem to be more interested in bigger markets. Currently we are lucky that ED sees the upside of VR support and a member of the Oculus team is a huge DCS fan.

 

Hopefully the SDKs of Oculus and Vive are similar enough or easy enough to work with, but VR developers have said its not hard to create rudimentary support for VR, but VERY difficult to do right. Its suggested that the best code will be written especially for VR, not code that is converted to run VR. Hopefully the new EDGE graphic engine in the works is also being optimized for atleast Oculus support, if not generic VR support for multiple VR support.

[Chivas]

That is good news, and developers are starting to announce support for the Vive headset.

[MemphisBelle]

I havent been reading through the thread so far, but is it known already (or at all) whether the steam VR device will work with DCS World instead of Oculus Rift?

[Chivas]

I havent been reading through the thread so far, but is it known already (or at all) whether the steam VR device will work with DCS World instead of Oculus Rift?

 

Its unlikely that DCS has had time to look at supporting the Vive headset yet. They are burning the midnight oil completing EDGE which would probably have improved Oculus Rift support. Hopefully they've made time to apply for the free HTC Vive prototype that could be available in the coming months.

[rcjonessnp175]

Well we know for a fact according to Wags dcs 2.0 has the gui oculus ready. If anything we will be squared away with oculus and maybe in future vive support. Honestly it will probably be something that can me modded in

[average_pilot]

Aaaah.... The days of "we're not going to support the Rift 'cos you can't see the keyboard" are so long gone now :)

[PiedDroit]

Aaaah.... The days of "we're not going to support the Rift 'cos you can't see the keyboard" are so long gone now :)

At some point I'm quite sure they will all have a pair of cameras attached (Like Totem VR) that will allow to see the external world from a smaller window inside the device's display, or on overlay, or by switching the display (with button or voice command), whatever.

[average_pilot]

I mean, seeing it with perspective, now it's inconceivable not giving proper Rift support to DCS for such a small issue like "I can't see the keyboard".

Think about it. We could not have official support right now for that ridiculous idea. Fortunately Wags was introduced to VR in a way that we are still waiting to experience by ourselves and things started rolling.

[Chivas]

Not seeing the keyboard shouldn't be a problem for WW2 pilots, but could be a problem for more complex modern aircraft. If you can program all the inputs you need into a Hotas it shouldn't be a problem. It will be even easier for the pit builder, as he can program more inputs. I doubt that anyone who has built their own pit couldn't easily find all the switches, etc without having to look. Its not like all the switches have the exact same shape and feel.

[PiedDroit]

Not seeing the keyboard shouldn't be a problem for WW2 pilots, but could be a problem for more complex modern aircraft. ...

More an issue of clickable pit vs non clickable pit I think.

[rcjonessnp175]

More an issue of clickable pit vs non clickable pit I think.

 

Exactly, also when I need to type jtac coord or other tasks in a10c I can see keyboard just fine through the slits

[Chivas]

More an issue of clickable pit vs non clickable pit I think.

 

Clickable pits are a good idea in VR, but I'm referring to, and personally prefer the tactile feedback of Hotas systems switches, dials, levers, etc, and never use clickable cockpits. Maybe someday if a VR glove gave tactile feedback, but I'm not so sure that will be properly done anytime soon. I also like the fact I don't have to memorize all the different aircraft cockpit switch etc positions.

[MemphisBelle]

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Thanks you both for your replies. I am curious where we will go with those kind of devices in the future