[url]http://www.tomshardware.com/news/oculus-oculus-connect-vr-amd-nvidia,27729.html[/url]
Good news for everyone on the red team.
[quote]AMD VR Support
When Nvidia made its low-latency VR announcement, I immediately thought that the green team was going to have a de facto advantage over the red team. Fortunately for AMD users, this isn't the case.
According to Tom Forsyth, Oculus VR's Software Architect, this is a new enhancement for Nvidia GPUs that is already available in AMD graphics cards. In fact, some of these optimizations can be found in current Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 platforms as part of their respective SDK. Why? Because they are based on AMD GPUs.
In my opinion, the Nvidia reveal is a good news story for everyone. It's less about saying one GPU brand is better than another for VR; instead, this is about introducing a new choice and widening the landscape for GPU consumers interested in VR.
However, Forsyth stressed that while AMD's GPU hardware has the goods, things still have to happen on the software side to complete the optimization. In Forsyth's opinion, it's best for consumers to focus on benchmarks and measurable performance before making final choices on GPU favorites; each brand has its strengths and weaknesses.[/quote]
Now let's see AMD come with some announcements soon. Hopefully not restricting these features to a new generation of cards unlike what Nvidia seems to be doing.
[QUOTE=Cairn Trenor;46055728]I ordered the dk2 at the end of July from uk. When can I expect this damn thing?[/QUOTE]
Sadly I believe the most accurate estimation you can expect is "Soon".
No updates on your order?
[QUOTE=krix;46056031]Sadly I believe the most accurate estimation you can expect is "Soon".
No updates on your order?[/QUOTE]US orders are pushing through into August and from what I've seen from /r/oculus, the updates for EU orders usually come on Tuesday evenings. Last EU date on there appears to be 8th of July, but that's from two weeks ago.
Hopefully pushing through all the way through August this week.
I've been doing some thinking about the whole VR thing, and I'm slowly getting the idea that a desk and an office chair might not be the best way to go about this.
Think, for a moment. How many stories have you heard of people sweeping objects off their desks, or leaning forward and bashing their head against the wall, while in the Rift? And that stuff happens when people are sitting down; using a Rift while standing, unless you're in Oculus's grey cubicle, is almost unthinkable. I don't think our traditional setups are going to offer the best fit for VR, since they rely on having a big slab of wood obstructing your movement to support things you won't see.
So I'm looking at getting a chair specifically for VR, and I'm sort of poring through the options to find the best one. Something comfortable, so you don't mind sitting in it for a while. Something fairly upright, to avoid restricting movement. Something with decent spots for mounting a HOTAS, joystick, wheel, yoke or Basskicker, maybe without permanent alteration. Some way to mount the camera on a rigid wire mount in front of you, so it has a larger tracking range.
There are also some things I'm undecided about. Should it swivel or tilt, or should it remain stationary? Should it be more ergonomic and conform to your body shape, or be more traditional? What should it look like, a starship's helm or an easy chair? Should it be entirely dedicated to VR, or should it also make a statement when not in use? Should it have some surface to attach wire conduits, to avoid tangles and make cable management easier?
Right now, I'm looking at a host of lounge chairs in the $300-500 range from Overstock, Target, Amazon, the like. I've got a few candidates for the "perfect VR chair," but I'm looking for suggestions as well. Here are a few I'm thinking of.
[t]http://www.curatedfurniture.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/e/e/eero_aarnio_ball_chair_replica-1.jpg[/t]
The Aarnio Ball Chair, or a replica of it. You can find decent replicas for $500-$1000. These are somewhat unique, because they block outside sound. They're fairly comfortable, some come with armrests, and they overall look the part; they've got that cool sci-fi aesthetic fitting of VR in general. They do restrict motion a little bit, but your head remains free. However, they do have a rather large shell around them, so turning completely around in the Rift without moving your in-game body would be impossible.
[t]http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/poang-chair__19488_PE104775_S4.JPG[/t]
The IKEA Poang. This is significantly cheaper, a sort of budget lounge. It's open, but it doesn't swivel. It rocks a bit, which could be a bit annoying. HOTAS mounting could be a bit odd, since you sit lower in it than most chairs. However, what this one has going for it is price. They cost anywhere from $30-100, so you won't feel too bad if you drill into it to mount a joystick. I'd imagine this as a sort of dedicated VR chair, unlike most others, since they don't really add anything to your overall decor.
[t]http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=56371093[/t]
This is a throwback to the 70s, in many ways. It's not exactly the most inoffensive form, it's rather expensive ($500), and it's probably going to look out of place alongside your more traditional furniture. However, people have had noted success using these for flight sims, since they're sturdy and provide a lot of structure for mounting. They swivel and tilt, but the back of your head is still blocked. It's certainly fitting for a space captain, though.
That's a few of the options I'm considering right now. The biggest problem having a dedicated VR station solves is freedom of movement, being able to move and lean without harming yourself or your things. I think we'll see more "VR inspired" furniture as this comes into the mainstream, just as we've seen gaming oriented furniture over the past few years, but these are probably some of our best options right now.
Anyway, what do you guys think about this? Is this a bit more obsessive than it should be, or is this actually a problem worth some degree of concern right now? Do you have any suggestions for other seating options, or have you even given it much thought? I'm really interested to know what your plans are once VR moves past the novelty and into more serious terrain.
Kind of sounds like you'd need a chair specific for the VR you plan to play. And any actual furniture will probably focus on a simple chair that you can sit in for hours.
Or maybe people are just silly. I've been playing around with the DK2 for about a week now and haven't come close to knocking over things or damaging something. In fact, I've eaten a meal (if you can call a sandwich and drink a meal) while playing Windlands with no trouble at all and alternated between bed/computer to change episodes on LiveRiftView amazingly comfortably.
I'm not trying to stroke my ego or anything but don't you guys maintain a mental perception of where you are sitting in the real world, recognising and remembering where the things on your desk may lay and your relative position at all times whilst also being aware of your VR environment?
[QUOTE=K1ngo64;46056691]Or maybe people are just silly. I've been playing around with the DK2 for about a week now and haven't come close to knocking over things or damaging something. In fact, I've eaten a meal (if you can call a sandwich and drink a meal) while playing Windlands with no trouble at all and alternated between bed/computer to change episodes on LiveRiftView amazingly comfortably.
I'm not trying to stroke my ego or anything but don't you guys maintain a mental perception of where you are sitting in the real world, recognising and remembering where the things on your desk may lay and your relative position at all times whilst also being aware of your VR environment?[/QUOTE]
Yes, but it depends on the game. Swivel chair + hydras + HLVR, I slowly rotate overtime and end up facing the wall or something. Whereas standing up, I can keep my feet and forward in the same spot.
[QUOTE=Orkel;46056846]Yes, but it depends on the game. Swivel chair + hydras + HLVR, I slowly rotate overtime and end up facing the wall or something. Whereas standing up, I can keep my feet and forward in the same spot.[/QUOTE]
I suppose it depends on the chair. Some might give more tactile feedback than others allowing you to accurately judge how much you turn. Mine moves pretty smooth and I wouldn't be able to tell if I didn't have my feet touching the floor all the time or the games actually used surround sound rather than stereo since I can hear where the front speakers are.
[QUOTE=Sgt. Khorn;46056459]Kind of sounds like you'd need a chair specific for the VR you plan to play. And any actual furniture will probably focus on a simple chair that you can sit in for hours.[/QUOTE]
I guess it'd like an omni, but minus the treadmill part. So, imagine a stool with a saddle shape, and an armature that comes out of the base and attches to the back of the chair for support and leverage, connects at the end of a large ring, The ring splits in the middle, has gel padding on the inside and top of the ring. Basically a chair that wraps around your torso and if you want to lean left and right you can do it without worrying about falling over or out of the chair. I bet you could even adjust it in a way you could use the ring itself as arm wrests if your arms get tired. The base would have to have a wide stance and be damn heavy to keep it from toppling over due to overzealous fat gamers though, but you'd want as much stability as possible so maybe wheels would be a no-no. So I would think three large metal legs would swoop out from the bottom in a way it could rock just a little if pushed too far, but won't tip over. Wires can go through ports in the chair that connect at the top of the armature too so you wouldn't have to worry about tangling shit up, they all come from where they should, out of the way.
It seems pointless in comparison to the omni, but the omni also involves running, but if you don't really want to do that at the moment the chair could give you a similar feeling and with 6 axis motion being a thing it'd be great for re centering your orientation.
[QUOTE=K1ngo64;46054748]Got a link to the hang glider demo or is just the UE4 Landscape demo?[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, no. The professor isn't in today, so I can't ask either. But it was on Unreal 4.
[QUOTE=Daemon White;46057239]Unfortunately, no. The professor isn't in today, so I can't ask either. But it was on Unreal 4.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the landscape demo. It's pretty good.
[video=youtube;c88kdTPaXZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c88kdTPaXZQ[/video]
what's the game where you use weird chain-hands to swing around a giant tree? saw some guy streaming it last night but didn't get the game name, looked like fun
Windlands. It's one of the best DK2 demos atm.
Ah, that's Windlands? I'll try that out tomorrow and stream on twitch.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;46057001]I guess it'd like an omni, but minus the treadmill part. So, imagine a stool with a saddle shape, and an armature that comes out of the base and attches to the back of the chair for support and leverage, connects at the end of a large ring, The ring splits in the middle, has gel padding on the inside and top of the ring. Basically a chair that wraps around your torso and if you want to lean left and right you can do it without worrying about falling over or out of the chair. I bet you could even adjust it in a way you could use the ring itself as arm wrests if your arms get tired. The base would have to have a wide stance and be damn heavy to keep it from toppling over due to overzealous fat gamers though, but you'd want as much stability as possible so maybe wheels would be a no-no. So I would think three large metal legs would swoop out from the bottom in a way it could rock just a little if pushed too far, but won't tip over. Wires can go through ports in the chair that connect at the top of the armature too so you wouldn't have to worry about tangling shit up, they all come from where they should, out of the way.
It seems pointless in comparison to the omni, but the omni also involves running, but if you don't really want to do that at the moment the chair could give you a similar feeling and with 6 axis motion being a thing it'd be great for re centering your orientation.[/QUOTE]
That actually sounds like a fairly viable solution. If I knew anything about actually designing furniture, I'd like to try to prototype it.
Where's Ajacks when you need him?
[QUOTE=K1ngo64;46057362]Yeah, the landscape demo. It's pretty good.
[video=youtube;c88kdTPaXZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c88kdTPaXZQ[/video][/QUOTE]
I had a weird little problem with the landscape demo in the DK2, your 6pos tracking remains facing 'north', so if you were to start out and shuffle left/right, it'd be fine, but if you turn to your right, moving left right will bob your head forward backward, and facing away from 'north' will make you move the opposite directoin
[QUOTE=woolio1;46057914]That actually sounds like a fairly viable solution. If I knew anything about actually designing furniture, I'd like to try to prototype it.
Where's Ajacks when you need him?[/QUOTE]
I heard the call. I am here my son.
What if you had a keyboard/mouse tray that sat on the ring and spun like a machine gun turret on a Humvee. That might work, and the cord for the rift would go down through your stool base so it wouldn't bind as you turned. You'd have to have some kind of way to raise the ring to get in, like one of those little raise panels you see on a commercial counter, and when you are in the ring you and your stool can spin 360.
This is how I ingest my alcohol during long rift sessions
[t]http://horobox.co.uk/u/orkel_1411563636.jpg[/t]
So does the Devkit 2 do that thing where the screen blurs in an unpleasant way when you move?
[QUOTE=Orkel;46059908]This is how I ingest my alcohol during long rift sessions
[t]http://horobox.co.uk/u/orkel_1411563636.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
If I'm streaming in the rift you'll see me look to the right then straight up quite often, I'm either lifting the unit a bit to see stream chat through the nosehole or taking a swig, heh
in other news, it's 6pm at work and I'm staying super late because I've got 23 hours to move a scene from some third party program through 3ds max (polygon nightmare) to UE4 and have a rift-ready demo for a huge important client event here tomorrow evening, complete with walls that fade away which I'm pretty sure I need to learn UE4's math functions to operate. Let's do this
[QUOTE=Pvt Anderson;46059944]So does the Devkit 2 do that thing where the screen blurs in an unpleasant way when you move?[/QUOTE]
DK2 uses low persistence technology at 75hz. So motion blur is almost fully eliminated. The view stays pretty much as sharp whether you're turning your head or sitting still.
[IMG]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/ajackss/rift_chair_zps899be0eb.png[/IMG]
This is what I would have in mind. You could mount a MicroATX/ATX tower behind the seat, run a slip connector at the base of the seat pivot for the power cord and have the whole setup able to freely spin 360. For the camera sensors you could have little light arms that come off that hold the camera right where it needs to be. The whole deal would tilt, and for that I'd just straight up copy my ultra heavy duty setup on my old 1930's Goodform industrial office chairs. I bet it could work. Says someone who's never used the rift.
Holy christ slip ring connectors are expensive. I'll have to do some experimenting.
I just did a test with an extension cord and a shopvac tube to simulate a normal power cable running through the pivot axis of the chair, and with 1' of slack cable at the bottom it was able to do 4680* of rotation in one direction before the cord became taught, two feet doubled that. The problem would be wear on the cable, but if I were building one for my own use, that wouldn't be a problem. I'd just happily unwind myself the other direction. Also, I would assume you wouldn't be madly spinning , and that you could have a 'home' indicator, something on the floor that indicated when you were facing your home direction so you could orient yourself. I bet you'd not often ever reach your max rotation in actual play.
After looking it up you could totally fabricate your own slip ring power connector.
[QUOTE=Ajacks;46060197][IMG]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/ajackss/rift_chair_zps899be0eb.png[/IMG]
This is what I would have in mind. You could mount a MicroATX/ATX tower behind the seat, run a slip connector at the base of the seat pivot for the power cord and have the whole setup able to freely spin 360. For the camera sensors you could have little light arms that come off that hold the camera right where it needs to be. The whole deal would tilt, and for that I'd just straight up copy my ultra heavy duty setup on my old Goodform industrial office chairs. I bet it could work. Says someone who's never used the rift.
Holy christ slip ring connectors are expensive. I'll have to do some experimenting.[/QUOTE]
My plan was literally a base with a stool, and a giant elbow joint with a ring or something that "squeezes" the users torso, the top would be padded all the way around so your arms could be far out or forward resting comfortably, using controllers, light guns, hydras, mouse/keyboard like you've designed, etc. Then you can lean left, right, forward, and backward. The joint behind the user would be lockable, so you'd have it loose to get it where you need it, then flip a lock on the side to keep it at that height. It would allow some movement in either direction, but the main objective is to give you as much free range motion as possible, without needing to stand up. I really like how more plausible and realistic your design is though, you've got something there.
Is there any reason you couldn't attach a swivel pulley to your ceiling to hold the cord directly above your head? That would be ideal for people who blew all their money on a desktop and can't afford fancy chairs. :v
[img]http://www.tcintlinc.com/assets/Image/Product/thumb/DoubleSwivelEyePulley.jpg[/img]
I don't own a Rift so I have no idea how the cords work or how long they are. I guess you might have a problem where too much cord gets pulled down by the user's head and it can't go back up but certainly there's a solution to that? Springs or something?
from the sound of it, you want to attach the sensor cameras to the chair? they need to be stationary in relation to your entirety, if they were attached I feel you'd have some trippy conflicts going on
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Baboo00;46060360]Is there any reason you couldn't attach a swivel pulley to your ceiling to hold the cord directly above your head? That would be ideal for people who blew all their money on a desktop and can't afford fancy chairs. :v
[img]http://www.tcintlinc.com/assets/Image/Product/thumb/DoubleSwivelEyePulley.jpg[/img]
I don't own a Rift so I have no idea how the cords work or how long they are. I guess you might have a problem where too much cord gets pulled down by the user's head and it can't go back up but certainly there's a solution to that? Springs or something?[/QUOTE]
the most basic way to carry that idea out would be to have a weighted pulley on the cable beyond the first pulley, so 1: it's always providing pull so it's taught above you, and 2: it repositions to where it has the most influence it can at any time
[t]http://i.imgur.com/MXPgx9h.png[/t]
however this is goofy and will be uncomfortable to use with enough weight to keep it out of your way. too light, and it'll bunch up on you, and the counterweight would probably get flung off the cable if you pull down too fast. Cartoony impractical, but very basic and realistic principals
I cant help but imagine an annoying brother pulling the weight down, lifting you out of your chair by your rift.
[QUOTE=dai;46060406]from the sound of it, you want to attach the sensor cameras to the chair? they need to be stationary in relation to your entirety, if they were attached I feel you'd have some trippy conflicts going on
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
the most basic way to carry that idea out would be to have a weighted pulley on the cable beyond the first pulley, so 1: it's always providing pull so it's taught above you, and 2: it repositions to where it has the most influence it can at any time
[t]http://i.imgur.com/MXPgx9h.png[/t]
however this is goofy and will be uncomfortable to use with enough weight to keep it out of your way. too light, and it'll bunch up on you, and the counterweight would probably get flung off the cable if you pull down too fast. Cartoony impractical, but very basic and realistic principals[/QUOTE]
[img]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img673/23/EKHONe.png[/img]
[editline]23rd September 2014[/editline]
[img]http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img540/4018/Jtw7uT.png[/img]
Dammit now I want a rift chair without having a rift.
Actually the whole idea doesn't work. Because spinning around wouldn't cause your character to spin around. It would acutually work better if you just had 135* of movement either left or right, with some kind of soft stop so it didn't come to a jarring stop. But as I think about it, wouldn't not having your keyboard locked stationary against your rotation really mess with your feeling of center?
What's with all the chair talk? I can't help but think experiencing VR is becoming more and more of a complicated and limited experience. And this "seated experience only" talk by Palmer Luckey is getting me worried.
[QUOTE=MatheusMCardoso;46061070]And this "seated experience only" talk by Palmer Luckey is getting me worried.[/QUOTE]
it's legalese for "if you do stupid shit and break your neck on a desk, don't say we didn't warn you". They're still making it the most comfortable experience they can for an array of situations. However, being in a spinny chair opens up some of your freedom to really look around, you don't need to be doing 360s but having the ability to turn around and sit comfortably in any direction is a huge bonus in the fewer situations it's needed.
in a safe demo, horizon is locked and you're at a proper height so the floor feels like it's where it should be. You have a sense of balance. Take away something like a point of reference or control over movement and you're likely to tip right over. Oculus has no control over what happens in demos so they give the warning to shift blame where it rightfully is, on disruptive experiences and human error.
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