Based on the amount of stuff I have at home, I could definitely consider myself an enthusiast. For all kind of things, audio, music, computers, and a continuing list, one thing that stood out to me for awhile was the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that created a huge amount of attention on Kickstarter. Formed of an all-star team of people from Valve, id-Software, Electronic Arts and other amazing companies, Oculus has been working hard to bring virtual reality to the real world.
The Oculus Rift is a basically a monitor-headset that covers your field of vision and makes images/videos/games seem much more realistic. Using a screen with lenses, plastic, and magic, you can translate a game on a flatscreen monitor into an immersive experience. You can look around and see the depth within objects, lean in and have a closer look at textures, and explore the world as if you were really there!
I received my Rift last week and have been experimenting with different demos and settings. Following the guides that the community helped set up is very important because this device is still in its very early stages. Despite being called the DK2, it has only been 2 years between these two devices and there are still many issues in this community of enthusiasts and developers.
Demos
At the moment, there are a few demos that I’ve tried which use Unity and the Unreal Engine. Since the Rift is still early in development, you can expect that there will be issues with compatibility and generally getting things to work. Some thoughts on the demo’s that I’ve experienced:
- Unreal Roller Coaster - The first go-to demo that one should check out when demoing the DK2! You’re in a living room and are sitting on a roller coaster that goes along furniture. If I actually had a chair that moved with the demo, this would have been the best experience. It can actually disorient you as it did for some of my friends because at the turn of your head you’re still in the living room going along with the roller coaster.
- Kon Tiki - You are on a boat that has been cast off an island. You can walk around on the main deck and explore the raft. Lots of ocean sounds, a bright sun, and interestingly textured wood.
- Fairy Forest - You spawn in a forest straight out of a fairy tale, complete with flower patches, shiny fairies, stone brick paths, and cottages. Many
- Ocean Rift - For this demo, I was underwater, walking around on the ocean floor. With my Q701s on my head, I felt like I was actually in a dive suit and exploring. Because of how close everything was in-demo, I inadvertently synced my breathing with the breathing of the diver.
- Senza Peso - A short but interesting opera/play taking you through a journey. As if I had been playing Devil May Cry, you go through lands of ice and fire, watching people act in this story. Different and weird.
Hopefully, I can get more demos up and running like the Boiler Room from Spirited Away and Kokiri Forest. Definitely should watch more Miyazaki movies too so I get references better. I’m not a fan of the scary demos so I will let other people try them out if they wish. ;)
Games
I’ve yet to properly play any games from my collection. In my Steam account I have Half Life 2 and Euro Truck Simulator 2, but I did not configure them at all. Some bouts of laziness have kept me from working with these but I will get to it soon to feel how the game should really play.
One game that many people have been raving about is Elite:Dangerous, a space adventure simulator. I’ve read many rave reviews and experiences on reddit so I definitely will be checking this out when it comes out of beta. There have also been good murmurs about using a Gamecube/Wii emulator to play Nintendo games with the DK2 actually working. I will add more thoughts when I get a chance to play games actually designed with the VR experience in mind.
Feeling
Physically, having the DK2 on my face is still a bit wonky. The foam cushion on my face is okay but I feel like there could be a better way to stick the ski goggles headset on your head. Adjusting the Rift’s screen away from your face is insecure, with some pulling, you don’t even have to turn the knobs to adjust it. For extended periods of time while I’m getting set up for a demo, the DK2 does feel heavy and I feel discomfort in having it on my head. While trying to put it on your head, the straps may cover your ears and interfere with your hair, so prepare to fix your hair after taking off the Rift.
Now to address the biggest thing that might occur with users of the DK1 and DK2, simulator sickness. Due to the hardware and software still being worked at, one may experience a kind of motion sickness while or after playing some demos. Since there is no proper way to handle the movement of a character/avatar in computer games, we’re using the WASD-Mouse way of navigating around. Translating that over to demos at the moment can be disorienting and, it doesn’t feel like the the way one should be navigating.
There is also the issue of the screen door effect. Like one of the metal screens you have on your windows to protect you from bugs in the summer, if you focus at one point on the DK2’s screen, you can see the RGB colors on the display. It is not terribly distracting but it does remind me of back when we still had CRT displays and you could see the color if you looked closely enough. Your mileage and experience will vary when using it!
Ending Thoughts
I wish I had a chance to test out the Crescent Bay prototype that Oculus VR showed off at Oculus Connect. Reading about the new specs and difference in design, it would have made a much more amazing introduction into VR. I’ll continue to read more stories, hang around on /r/oculus, and participate in the developer forum.
If some of you have been following Oculus VR, this post may seem like another echo for what others have been saying. If you’re skeptical, I would say that you should give it a try for yourself and see what VR is heading towards. Right now I’m only using the Developer Kit 2, so there is still a lot of time and room for improvement before the Consumer Version comes out. There is a lot of tinkering you have to do in order to get the Rift to work properly, multi-monitor doesn’t work, setting the Rift as a primary display, and so much more experimentation. With people like John Carmack and other all-star industry names working at Oculus, I don’t have any fear that they won’t deliver an amazing experience with CV1.
Update: I originally wrote this article back in October 2014 when I first received my Rift. It’s been awhile so I wanted to get this post out as a good opinion to reflect on for when I preview another virtual reality headset in the future. I’ve sold my Oculus DK2 through Craigslist as I haven’t been using it much lately. I will be getting the Consumer Version 1 (or CV1) as soon as it comes out. By that time, many many issues will have been resolved and the ecosystem will have a huge huge amount more to offer!
