18 ms·

Introducing Oculus Quest, Our First 6DOF All-In-One VR System

377 points by MikusR 8y ago

colordrops 8y ago
If it had a camera to allow switching to the "real world" without taking it off, then it would be perfect. Having to take off the headset, put it back on, adjust it on your face, calibrate orientation, then get back into your app so you can answer the phone or grab a drink is annoying.
- wincy 8y ago
  The IR sensor doubles as a camera, so this capability will be available.
  - cheeko1234 8y ago
    Can't wait! If they implement something like VTOL VR HMCS[0], it would be a dream come true: [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlHs9gwGsJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlHs9gwGsJw
  - colordrops 8y ago
    Wait, how does that work? Is there a visible light camera packaged with the IR sensor? Or does the IR sensor also detect visible light at a high enough resolution to be used as a normal camera? Or am I misunderstanding completely?
    - erik_seaberg 8y ago
      It's pretty common for CCD cameras to sense near infared as well as visible light, without a filter to block one or the other.
- cududa 8y ago
  It does pass through with a front mounted camera. There’s also cameras in the eye well- so that config problem is taken care of :)
boringg 8y ago
Battery life?
tshannon 8y ago
> This innovative system uses four ultra wide-angle sensors and computer vision algorithms to track your exact position in real time without any external sensors. I'd be really curious at what FPS they are able to accomplish that and still have enough resources available to actually run applications. Even with hardware dedicated to "computer vision" tracking it'd be quite the accomplishment to do this with a high enough FPS to not induce motion sickness in some people.
- defterGoose 8y ago
  Especially for $400, and, presumably, with an as-light-as-possible battery
- drcode 8y ago
  To be fair, John Carmack almost certainly would need to sign off on any tracking solution that Oculus releases, and he takes FPS and latency issues very very seriously. Keep in mind Oculus has had a "stand alone" headset available earlier than pretty much everyone and is one of the last to release a 6DOF solution, so there's no reason (on the surface at least) to suggest that they didn't take the time necessary to make sure their solution performs well.
- Ajedi32 8y ago
  I believe they're running at 72 Hz. Not quite as fast as desktop headsets, but probably close enough to not induce motion sickness.
- akiselev 8y ago
  We'll have to wait until we get to see a tear down. I strongly suspect they're using an FPGA or Movidius chip to do the 6DOF tracking.
- andybak 8y ago
  The Lenovo Mirage and HTC Focus are already doing rock-solid positional tracking using the same chipset. (the Focus is sometimes slightly short of "rock solid" but I think that's probably due to quality control issues than hardware limitations)
wlesieutre 8y ago
$400, no need for a computer, no need for all of the external tracking cameras that the Rift uses. I'm pretty interested in this, especially with the upward trend in GPU prices. RTX makes for some very pretty games yes, but it's another incremental step in ever increasing graphics. The stuff happening in VR feels like a more interesting direction, and can probably extend across a broad market because the hand controls are more approachable than console game controllers. I haven't actually used a headset newer than a DK1 though. Fingers crossed these get demo setups at Best Buy or something.
- Ajedi32 8y ago
  AFAIK the DK1 didn't even have positional tracking. Going from that to a Quest would be a huge step up in basically every conceivable metric. Positional tracking and hand presence make a massive difference.
  - westoncb 8y ago
    I didn't see anything specifically on this, but I think it would be fair to assume the screen will be significantly higher than the DK1. Even the resolution of the Oculus Go is far better.
    - Ajedi32 8y ago
      Resolution is _way_ better than the DK1. The DK1 was 640 x 800 per eye. The Quest is 1,600 x 1,440 per eye. More than quadruple the pixel count.
    - wlesieutre 8y ago
      Absolutely! I don’t have the numbers handy but I ran them earlier and it’s about 1.7x the pixel count of the CV1, which was already better than the DK1.
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    Yeah, the DK1 I tried was leftover from some research project and ended up at the local maker space for a while. I assume the tracking quality on that is about on par with Google Cardboard. I don’t have a space for a real “room scale” setup with Rift cameras or Vive beacons, so I’ve been waiting on Santa Cruz’s inside-out tracking to look at VR more seriously. Pleasantly surprised by price. They’ve confirmed it’s based on a Snapdragon 835, which isn’t a top end SoC, and I think that’s a smart move to get it down to this range. At $500 they’d have a much harder sell, and this is where PS4 and Xbox One started (once they dropped Kinekt, anyway).
evo_9 8y ago
I think this is a the right combinations of tech at a reasonable price, though I still wonder about the larger viability of the VR market. It's also nice this is self-contained and doesn't require a PC. I've owned a Vive for over two years and not having to devote a good chunk of my basement to it is another plus, along with not having to maintain a really beefy gaming PC. I would much prefer to not deal with a PC; this isn't an anti-windows thing, I work on Win10 all day writing code. However maintaining a gaming rig is another issue entirely. I frequently have to spend 20-30 minutes getting the sound to work correctly after windows updates, iTunes updates, vive updates, steam updates, etc etc. It's almost comical and I wonder if this is an indication of the PC gaming tool-chain issues, or something as simple as Steams VR software is shit. And honestly I don't care, I just want it to work. VR is a lot of fun though, and for most of the past 2 years was worth the hassle. Lately though I don't have the energy to fight my gaming rig and I when I occasionally play now, I just ignore whatever issues crop up. I'm ready for a simpler solution at a good price.
- GaryNumanVevo 8y ago
  Agree, I've used the Vive quite a bit and setting up my PC etc, is definitely a huge barrier to entry. IMO standalone VR is the way to go because it's more readily available, and the lower fidelity graphics forces designers to focus on usable UX that's simple instead of pushing the best absolute graphics.
  - zamalek 8y ago
    6dof was a major holdout for these standalone units: VR without 6dof is an entirely different experience - I don't think the "VR" moniker is at all appropriate (you don't experience "presence"). This is a much needed jump and should do well for showing people what "real VR" feels like. The only gripe I have with this is that, I assume, the controllers would stop working outside of camera FOV. It sounds like minor gripe, but it typically becomes frustrating for someone who is used to full-fidelity room-scale.
    - whywhywhywhy 8y ago
eof 8y ago
I am extremely skeptical that they can get good tracking with no base stations on mobile-esque hardware. But if they can, wow!
- jonplackett 8y ago
  Have you tried AR kit on a new iPhone? The tracking is pretty damn good and that’s just with 2 cameras.
  - ynniv 8y ago
    Two calibrated cameras and, more importantly, calibrated accelerometers and gyroscopes. Cameras alone aren't fast enough, and visual feature detaction not accurate enough, to provide a good experience. All of this is within reach of anyone who is making their own hardware, though.
    - andybak 8y ago
      Google/Lenovo managed it with the Mirage Solo on "fairly lose to stock" Android.
  - jclardy 8y ago
    Actually just one. ARKit works on nearly every iOS device since the iPhone 6S.
- WhiteNoiz3 8y ago
  Hololens has been doing inside out tracking on much older hardware for years now. It's not impossible.
Animats 8y ago
Announcing, not introducing. Shipments in 2019. They're missing this holiday season. The $399 price isn't real until it ships. I'll bet it ships only as some "bundle" that costs well over $500. The Microsoft HoloLens has comparable hardware and that's several thousand dollars.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  The $3k HoloLens is pre-production, developer-targeted hardware, and will be three years old by the time Oculus Quest is out.
- opencl 8y ago
  How is this hardware remotely comparable to the hololens? This an Android phone with two magnifying glasses and some cameras attached, and they're already selling a $200 version without the cameras. The expensive part of hololens is the AR optics/display.
- andybak 8y ago
  I'll take that bet
devilmoon 8y ago
400$ and doesn't need a computer? God damn, how are they even able to run VR games like this considering how much a PC able to handle them costs?
- wvenable 8y ago
  The Oculus Go is $200 and doesn't need a computer either. Mobile VR has always required less power than PC VR.
  - devilmoon 8y ago
    Of course mobile requires less power, but they mention Moss among the launch titles which is in no way a mobile experience. I'm thinking they are going to port and downgrade everything then?
    - andybak 8y ago
      Moss is one of the most beautiful VR titles out there. I'm very interested to see how it translates to a GPU a couple of orders of magnitude less powerful.
  - drcode 8y ago
    The Go is pretty cool, but the lack of 6DOF and the limited game catalog really limit its viability. This new device addresses both of these issues (since many Rift games can now be ported over pretty easily)
    - cheeko1234 8y ago
      I don't know if that many games can be ported over easily. Most games on the Rift barely run on the highest consumer GPU's available.
      - drcode 8y ago
        I suspect that the developers of the top 100 rift games (i.e. the games that are actually pretty good and have made some money) will be enormously incentivized to find ways to scale down the visuals a bit because of the easy money they would make. The important part is that no changes in the game mechanics are necessary, given the identical controllers and similar 6DOF capabilities.
justicezyx 8y ago
I'll take this, as all I know Mr. Carmack is behind it.
jonplackett 8y ago
This is it people! VR for the mainstream. As a developer this makes me excited. Been waiting for this since I got the first Rift and was half amazed and half totally deflated. $399 should finally mean a wider audience.
- drcode 8y ago
  I think you could be on to something- I kinda agree this could be the "iPad" of VR. The Oculus Go is already pretty awesome, but it is hampered by a still somewhat limited library and the lack of 6DOF is definitely frustrating- Since this new headset will probably have the full Rift AND Go game catalog at launch, as well as a normie-friendly setup (without base stations or PC) this device could see some mainstream adoption and could be a milestone in VR.
  - browsercoin 8y ago
    What I think will be an iPhone moment for VR is literally when we can drop our phones in a VR goggle that is socially acceptable. I mean we convinced people that listening to music by sticking a speaker in their ear canals is healthy and safe. Why can't we do this for our eyes? The "Samsung Galaxy" moment will be when they start shipping disposable contact lenses with AR functionalities....but this requires a cross industry expertise and highly proprietary nanotech which Pentagon needs to fully test out before approving it for consumer usage, as with many of our major technological innovations owing to the military-defense complex.
    - drcode 8y ago
      You're assuming that people will make zero compromises to use VR- I think this is wrong, given the utility of a VR system. I could have just as easily have said when the original iPhone came out "It will look too nerdy to be staring at a smartphone- Regular people won't adopt smartphones until they can build them into a contact lens."
      - browsercoin 8y ago
bitL 8y ago
How good is 3200x1440 for VR? Has anyone tried prototype already?
- drcode 8y ago
  It sounds like it uses the same optics as the existing Oculus Go device- These are arguably quite good (i.e. you can watch an HD movie quite well and get the full experience) but certainly they are still short of matching "Actual Reality" in terms of resolution.
- Ajedi32 8y ago
  That's about 2x the pixel count of the Rift and Vive. Press is demoing the headset now, so we should be getting some first impressions soon.
- trixie_ 8y ago
  Vive Pro has the same resolution and the upgrade is ok.. the real need is better FOV.
cwkoss 8y ago
Does the headset contain batteries, computer and the GPU? Seems like it'd get hot and not last long. Impressive if they've actually made it work.
- corysama 8y ago
  The Oculus Go is basically a GearVR that’s not constrained by the having its core in the form factor of a phone. So, it has much better thermal design and overheats much less. The Quest is an improved Go.
  - wincy 8y ago
    Now that I think about it, it makes sense that you’d be able to squeeze more performance and have reduced throttling with the larger form factor of a headset. Then they’re able to use cheaper parts and keep the price lower, which is pretty exciting.
- coffeeaddicted 8y ago
  The Oculus Go lasts around 2 hours. Then you have to load batteries for 4 hours. Although they don't recommend it - you can buy a long usb-cable and plug it into your PC to get around this (for apps where the cable doesn't get in the way).
JohnCohorn 8y ago
Most PC based VR games I've seen already use greatly cut down graphics compared to traditional games, even while running at current headset resolutions where the screen door effect is fairly noticeable. But VR can be so much fun that you might stop noticing the graphics in games that don't try to go for realism in their presentation. But if that's the best available on a desktop PC with a recent high end GPU, I'm having a hard time imagining how a portable could be powerful enough that its graphical limitations won't also be a drag on the fun.
- valine 8y ago
  My guess is that the frame rate will be capped at 60fps. In terms of graphics most games will probably be forced to use forward rendering with low resolution meshes and textures.
- jobigoud 8y ago
  The Lenovo Mirage Solo is another standalone 6DoF VR headset (Daydream based) and it runs at 75 fps.
  - andybak 8y ago
    I've been developing for the Mirage and it's a great device (if you ignore the controllers). You have to make graphical compromises but there's multiple ways to create similar effects to PC VR. In terms of raw triangle throughput it's surprisingly capable.
- philote 8y ago
  Yeah, I'm rather skeptical that the experience will be good enough, even for that price. And it's not just the graphics I'm worried about, but also the accuracy of the tracking and whether it will be jittery/laggy at all. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. But I worry that too much hype over an inferior product will harm perceptions of the VR industry.
- colordrops 8y ago
  Oculus Go is pretty fun even though its specs are well below the Quest, so I'd imagine it will be fine. People also have different expectations for different units, e.g. PC rigs vs hand-held gaming units.
applecrazy 8y ago
Is this the release version of the Project Santa Cruz headset that was shown at Oculus Connect?
- LukeWalsh 8y ago
  Yes
forkLding 8y ago
Wonder if VR systems will replace computers in the future
- no1youknowz 8y ago
  If they hit these points: - light enough to wear for 8+ hours continuously - not hot and no perspiring issues - high enough resolution to read text comfortably and without eye strain - VR gloves to simulate keyboard with haptic feedback and mouse/touchpad virtual device - VR/AR mixed reality so that it can map close objects into view, like the coffee on your desk - Work with external cameras to map bodies and put into VR, i.e conference calls / meetings with actual presence. I think we'll start to see a shift and interestingly enough, none of these are difficult to do. I would say, give it 10 years and we'll probably be there.
- shredprez 8y ago
  It totally comes down to the interface. When people think of computers (or, more broadly, devices), they mainly think of the screen and the inputs. If VR or AR can significantly improve on the experience of using a 2D screen + mouse, keyboard, or swipe/tap gestures, people will migrate to that superior user experience. There are plenty of other factors at play, but ultimately usability will determine if VR/AR, which are mainly new interfaces for standard computing, become the standard for computer use.
- d0m 8y ago
  Depends what's your definition of the future. Personally, I have no doubt that it'll soon be connected inside our brain so "monitors" will be useless.. anything will be a "monitor" if that's what you want it to be. But it'll be much cooler than that.. I.e. if you're thinking about "What will be the weather tomorrow?", the whole sky could start "virtually raining" to show it to you with AR. It's scary and exciting at the same time.
riemannzeta 8y ago
Timing seems pretty good for 5G at Home https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-here https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-here :-)
schaefer 8y ago
I'm really hoping this unit will allow streaming (graphics, controls) with a PC. I'm guessing the latency would make that hope a pipe dream - but fingers crossed.
- schaefer 8y ago
  So it turns out: The Vive has a wireless adapter...
jimmar 8y ago
The promo videos only showed single players. Does anybody know if two people might be able to network the devices and be in the same virtual space?
- michaelbuckbee 8y ago
  This is more dependent upon what's released for this specific device. There's lots of different apps/services that do this already for other devices, examples: VR Chat - https://vrchat.net/ https://vrchat.net/ RecRoom - https://www.againstgrav.com/rec-room/ https://www.againstgrav.com/rec-room/
- drcode 8y ago
  My 7yo daughter and I have the Oculus Go headsets and are able to find quite a few fun multiplayer games- This new headset will at minimum support the Go library. Maybe around 5% of games have multiplayer support, so out of the 200 or so decent games for the Go around 10 are multiplayer.
- Ajedi32 8y ago
  They showed a video of a multiplayer tennis game on stage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNJla9pO9vg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNJla9pO9vg
- andybak 8y ago
  This is pretty much a solved problem. Adding co-presence to an existing title isn't hard and there's drop-in solutions for Unity etc.
deckar01 8y ago
I was really hoping DOF meant depth of field.
dwighttk 8y ago
The Oculus Quest: Under the Hood video really makes me think of a Nintendo Wii. Doesn't do much to sell what the games look like.
sexydefinesher 8y ago
If this is good enough to play VRChat acceptably then Oculus will have hit gold.
- Asooka 8y ago
  Definitely not, unless they do some amazing magic with restricting resource usage by people's avatars. I can literally put a raytracer inside a shader and upload it. There are worlds that drop down to 30fps on my overclocked water-cooled i7-6700k & 1080ti gaming pc. VRChat's performance demands entirely depend on the world you're in and the amount of optimisation work people have put into their avatars.
leetrout 8y ago
This was all really impressive but I'm bummed they aren't merging the stores / purchases with the addition of the Rift to the mobile app. I hate that I would have to buy a title twice to play it on either platform (I own both).
cheeko1234 8y ago
For comparison: https://i.imgur.com/wtEYpW0.png https://i.imgur.com/wtEYpW0.png Src: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/9j4xmg/could_someone_explain_the_downsides_to_oculus/e6onxqw/ https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/9j4xmg/could_someon...
- SquareWheel 8y ago
  I'd be skeptical. The author of these charts is a staunch Oculus fan, and seems to spend his time doing little else than posting positive Oculus stories to reddit. I don't think he's a shill, just over-committed. At one point the the founder of Oculus Palmer Luckey even called him out as an "insufferable fanboy". [1] I don't say this just be a detractor or mean-spirited, but I would advise caution as there's likely bias in these charts. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4gfpjk/palmer_luckey_on_twitter_i_prefer_production_that/d2hkzd3/?context=1 https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4gfpjk/palmer_lucke...
  - cheeko1234 8y ago
    Where can you find bias in this image and why even bring this up? I commend this over-committed person for providing us with up to date information. Just when I thought I couldn't think less of Palmer Luckey...
  - Ajedi32 8y ago
    The contents of that chart are purely factual. There's very little room for bias unless you want to nitpick on trivial things like what shade of green he used for the font on the price figures.
    - gervase 8y ago
      The bias the parent refers to is implicit, I believe, in the selection of information to convey. That is, the choice of which columns and rows to include in the graph in the first place. They could have included a row for "Open platform for games", or "Has finger detection", etc. Alternatively, they could have included columns for Vive, or Vive+Wireless, and so on. This kind of implicit bias is very difficult to avoid, however; in general, viewers of ANY online media should already be assuming the viewpoints they're consuming are biased in the first place. In particular, since the source is the /r/oculus subreddit, anyone viewing this information there (1) already assumes this implicit bias, and (2) is likely to share it.
mortenjorck 8y ago
This would certainly seem to set the stage for VR’s mass-market inflection point. Current VR early adopters have been using Treos and Windows CE phones, so to speak, and this has the right positioning be the iPhone. The deciding factor is naturally the same one any promising platform has: The question of a killer app. The iPhone shipped with its own killer app, Mobile Safari. Can Oculus or Facebook build the killer app for the Quest? Will a third party? What would a killer app for VR look like?
- hbosch 8y ago
  VRs best chance at mass market adoption is still games and entertainment IMO. This is priced like a game console.
MayeulC 8y ago
> starting at $399 USD for a 64GB headset I am most wary of this. And given occulus's past, I would be surprised if this wasn't a walled garden of sorts. I hope I'm wrong, though, and that you'll be able to run anything, and tinker with the hardware (SD card, nvme ssd) and the software, down to the OS.
- J5892 8y ago
  It's a mobile VR experience (Oculus Go), but with added 6Dof tracking. It's a great step forward, but it will absolutely be a walled garden.
xbkingx 8y ago
This is a great price point and excellent feature set for mainstream VR. I have almost no interest in it, but would be comfortable recommending it to less tech savvy friends and relatives. Having a Vive and GearVR had taught me that I don't like the helplessness that comes from Oculus's mobile VR design philosophy. I like a little more control over my devices, but I totally see the appeal of an "It just works" setup. The thing I am struggling with is how they will determine play space. Not the sensors, and cameras, etc. If I start a game in a large open room then later continue in a smaller space, how will the games handle that? Right now you can see that a game requires a certain amount of space for roomscale and games are generally divided into seated, standing, and roomscale options. Will devs be expected to support all modes and all reasonable levels of roomscale for every title, since the room layout can change at every launch? I'm really looking forward to full 6DOF, untethered VR, but it seems like this might be a bit premature and better suited for AR (environment variation would be to AR as 6DOF tracking was for VR). It's a convenience feature before other unresolved and non-standardized core MR features, like eye tracking, balance, simulation sickness, full body tracking, etc. I'm very interested to see how they handle the inside out tracking, but I fully expect it to be a little watered down (but hopefully better that the Windows MR implementation, which isn't terrible). The Quest seems like a marketing decision taking precedence over a raw technological development path, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing here. VR hype is waning in the public eye and this is a very noticeable improvement for average consumers. It may have been a smart decision that will keep the conversation going, and the investment dollars flowing to devs. I do wonder why this wasn't introduced with a GearVR 2, though. Charge $200 for a pair of controllers and the headset and it's salt the same system. It makes me wonder if they found dealing with varied hardware and an OS not under their complete control too burdensome, or if they just didn't see the numbers they were expecting.
908087 8y ago
Just a reminder to those of you who are (rightfully) trying to avoid feeding the beast that is Facebook: Oculus is Facebook
dharma1 8y ago
what's the SoC/GPU? I would love to see this succeed, but wonder how much longer FB will keep pumping money at VR if the sales for this disappoint.
- andybak 8y ago
  Snapdragon 835 apparently. The 845 would have pushed the price point up considerably. If so I think they made the right call. The price point was my biggest concern with this thing.
superkuh 8y ago
All mobile computers of small form factor are gimped by energy storage and heat dissipation limits. This will not be able to do high fidelity VR and it'll only be doing it's low quality extrapolation-based frame doubling to meet VR framerates for a limited time on any reasonable bettery.
- andybak 8y ago
  Well. I've got a device in the room with me that rather proves you wrong, sir.
  - superkuh 8y ago
    Really? It does 2k+ pixel 90 FPS renders for more than a minute? I think your 'proving me wrong' is just not understanding, or ignoring, what I said about heat dissipation and frame reuse.
    - andybak 8y ago
      I think you've slightly moved the goalposts but essentially - yes. Have you used a Lenovo Mirage or similar?
      - superkuh 8y ago
        https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/09/carmack-oculus-quests-power-is-comparable-to-xbox-360-or-ps3/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/09/carmack-oculus-quests... has a quote from CTO John Carmack, "Expecting Rift-level performance from a self-contained mobile headset like the quest isn't realistic, Carmack said, partly for simple electrical reasons. While a high-end gaming PC often draws up to 500 watts of power, Carmack said the Quest only uses about 5W, a tidbit that should be of benefit to the Quest's still unconfirmed battery-life statistics."
jose-cl 8y ago
Is anybody developing oculus apps/games?
randyrand 8y ago
Finally same room VR multiplayer will be reasonable.
person_of_color 8y ago
So this tracks position by looking at the room (segmentation), rather than the room looking at you?
donohoe 8y ago
I want this so badly, but… The Oculus privacy policy has a blanket clause that lets it share and receive information from Facebook and Facebook-owned services. I’ll come back when that’s no longer the case.
- markovbot 8y ago
  Oculus is owned by Facebook and will never change that. It's a completely useless hardware platform, IMO. Even buying one requires monetarily supporting Facebook, which is unethical in my view.
- technofiend 8y ago
  Yup. Non starter. Hopefully Nvidia wakes up and creates a console with a packaged GPU of theirs. I'll happily buy an appliance but I'm not spending anything on a machine that requires me to actively participate in the Facebook ecosystem.
- tokyodude 8y ago
  yes. If you watch any adult movies or play any adult games Facebook sucks all that up and adds it to your profile. Have had this confirmed by friends at Oculus. Wont be buying any more Oculus equipment until I can be sure there is no data collection period
- kruczek 8y ago
  Yep, even if they'd be offering it for free, after adding the privacy tax for all the data they siphon, I certainly wouldn't touch it. Exactly the reason why I went with HTC Vive.
  - mrguyorama 8y ago
    This was also my reason. I'm glad I made it too, because even though the oculus was $100 cheaper, my understanding is that it doesn't do room scale as well. Though I wish valve would stop with their stupid trackpads.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
the8472 8y ago
Under 6DoF I would have expected some sort of suspension system so you can play things like Descent or skydiving in VR
pk455 8y ago
Why do the controllers have rings?
- gfosco 8y ago
  Tracking, because the rest of the controller is hidden in your hands.
bootlooped 8y ago
Interesting how HTC went the high end (and very expensive) route with their Pro headset + wireless adapter, while Oculus went low-mid with a standalone device.
- whywhywhywhy 8y ago
  Oculus is seemingly trying to avoid incremental updates, from what they've been saying they're holding off on Rift 2 until they can ship with variable focal [0]. In the end I think this is the right play, as much as some of us love PC Gaming it's pretty much niche compared to the audience Oculus are trying to get. I've blown some minds when I showed my friends my PCVR setup but none of them were willing to buy tower PCs to get it at home, $400 stand alone headset though? Definitely. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7aviAhxG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7aviAhxG4
- meheleventyone 8y ago
  I think the form factor is the key selling point. Even with wireless you are still effectively tethered to a PC and the hard mounted tracking space which is still dangling wires everywhere. In comparison the Quest works in larger spaces with zero setup (unless you want a safety barrier rendered) and they don’t fight with one another. Due to that you can just sling it in your bag and take it anywhere, won’t need a dedicated space at home and can just stick it on a shelf when not in use without having to break down the tracking space or leave unsightly stuff in place. I also think this will help push VR onto office desktops. Companies I’ve visited tend to keep their VR gear in one central location or worse in a store. Use is sporadic so adoption is really low. Having a simple unit on your own desk is much more accessible and much less embarrassing to experiment with. Also given the way the tracking works it should be reasonable to share data between devices and take part in shared VR in person. I believe there is a demo at OC5 where they are doing this already in a big hall.
- T-A 8y ago
  https://www.vive.com/cn/product/vive-focus-en/ https://www.vive.com/cn/product/vive-focus-en/
keyle 8y ago
This is very exciting... Any idea of the cost of the devkit? Are they letting little guys like me develop for it? (UE4)
- hoelle 8y ago
  Oculus Quest dev kits will be hard to get for a while, but if you're a small developer, the easiest place to start developing VR is on the PC/Rift. The SDKs are the same! Unity and Unreal will definitely be supported.
  - andybak 8y ago
    The Lenovo Mirage has the same chipset and a 6DOF controller dev kit was just announced. That makes it the ideal test platform for the Quest.
peter303 8y ago
An analysis of great VR suggests it needs approximately a peta-op of computing power for sufficient temporal and spatial resolution and motion tracking. Merely a factor of a hundred over current systems and achievable in 6-7 years according to Moores Law. Just be patient. In the meantime figure out how to generate content.
- UpshotKnothole 8y ago
  Is Moore’s Law still in effect? I was under the impression that progress had slowed considerably in the last few years.
- iabacu 8y ago
  Wondering if there is a reference/citation you might link to?
drngdds 8y ago
Does the technology exist to wirelessly stream video from a PC to a (hypothetical) VR headset at the resolution and framerate of the regular Rift/Vive with low latency? That's what I really want.
- modeless 8y ago
  Yes, it's not hypothetical. There is an official wireless adapter from HTC for the Vive now.
- ClassyJacket 8y ago
  Yes, and you can buy an official works adapter for the Vive Pro right now.
coffeeaddicted 8y ago
Promo-video is blocked here (germany) with "Video unavailable. This video contains content from ustv, who has blocked it on copyright grounds".
- flohofwoe 8y ago
  It's working here (Berlin), you didn't miss much though, just the usual "young people getting all excited about something" ad.
  - coffeeaddicted 8y ago
    First one works - the second one is blocked.
    - flohofwoe 8y ago
      True, for some reason I didn't even notice there's a second video after the disappointing first one :)
poisonborz 8y ago
Great. Now that the whole pack is $399, and fairly complete bundle at that - when it fails, and it will - finally everyone will get how much of a failure VR is. (disc: in its current iteration, for mainstream, excluding special cases like architercture or medicine: it certainly is the future, somewhere)
kriro 8y ago
Second video (the one with the actual details, not the trailer) is not available here (video was removed). Good marketing...not.

377 points by MikusR 8y ago

If it had a camera to allow switching to the "real world" without taking it off, then it would be perfect. Having to take off the headset, put it back on, adjust it on your face, calibrate orientation, then get back into your app so you can answer the phone or grab a drink is annoying.

wincy 8y ago
The IR sensor doubles as a camera, so this capability will be available.
- cheeko1234 8y ago
  Can't wait! If they implement something like VTOL VR HMCS[0], it would be a dream come true: [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlHs9gwGsJw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlHs9gwGsJw
- colordrops 8y ago
  Wait, how does that work? Is there a visible light camera packaged with the IR sensor? Or does the IR sensor also detect visible light at a high enough resolution to be used as a normal camera? Or am I misunderstanding completely?
  - erik_seaberg 8y ago
    It's pretty common for CCD cameras to sense near infared as well as visible light, without a filter to block one or the other.
cududa 8y ago
It does pass through with a front mounted camera. There’s also cameras in the eye well- so that config problem is taken care of :)

boringg 8y ago

Battery life?

tshannon 8y ago

> This innovative system uses four ultra wide-angle sensors and computer vision algorithms to track your exact position in real time without any external sensors. I'd be really curious at what FPS they are able to accomplish that and still have enough resources available to actually run applications. Even with hardware dedicated to "computer vision" tracking it'd be quite the accomplishment to do this with a high enough FPS to not induce motion sickness in some people.

defterGoose 8y ago
Especially for $400, and, presumably, with an as-light-as-possible battery
drcode 8y ago
To be fair, John Carmack almost certainly would need to sign off on any tracking solution that Oculus releases, and he takes FPS and latency issues very very seriously. Keep in mind Oculus has had a "stand alone" headset available earlier than pretty much everyone and is one of the last to release a 6DOF solution, so there's no reason (on the surface at least) to suggest that they didn't take the time necessary to make sure their solution performs well.
Ajedi32 8y ago
I believe they're running at 72 Hz. Not quite as fast as desktop headsets, but probably close enough to not induce motion sickness.
akiselev 8y ago
We'll have to wait until we get to see a tear down. I strongly suspect they're using an FPGA or Movidius chip to do the 6DOF tracking.
andybak 8y ago
The Lenovo Mirage and HTC Focus are already doing rock-solid positional tracking using the same chipset. (the Focus is sometimes slightly short of "rock solid" but I think that's probably due to quality control issues than hardware limitations)

wlesieutre 8y ago

$400, no need for a computer, no need for all of the external tracking cameras that the Rift uses. I'm pretty interested in this, especially with the upward trend in GPU prices. RTX makes for some very pretty games yes, but it's another incremental step in ever increasing graphics. The stuff happening in VR feels like a more interesting direction, and can probably extend across a broad market because the hand controls are more approachable than console game controllers. I haven't actually used a headset newer than a DK1 though. Fingers crossed these get demo setups at Best Buy or something.

Ajedi32 8y ago
AFAIK the DK1 didn't even have positional tracking. Going from that to a Quest would be a huge step up in basically every conceivable metric. Positional tracking and hand presence make a massive difference.
- westoncb 8y ago
  I didn't see anything specifically on this, but I think it would be fair to assume the screen will be significantly higher than the DK1. Even the resolution of the Oculus Go is far better.
  - Ajedi32 8y ago
    Resolution is _way_ better than the DK1. The DK1 was 640 x 800 per eye. The Quest is 1,600 x 1,440 per eye. More than quadruple the pixel count.
  - wlesieutre 8y ago
    Absolutely! I don’t have the numbers handy but I ran them earlier and it’s about 1.7x the pixel count of the CV1, which was already better than the DK1.
- wlesieutre 8y ago
  Yeah, the DK1 I tried was leftover from some research project and ended up at the local maker space for a while. I assume the tracking quality on that is about on par with Google Cardboard. I don’t have a space for a real “room scale” setup with Rift cameras or Vive beacons, so I’ve been waiting on Santa Cruz’s inside-out tracking to look at VR more seriously. Pleasantly surprised by price. They’ve confirmed it’s based on a Snapdragon 835, which isn’t a top end SoC, and I think that’s a smart move to get it down to this range. At $500 they’d have a much harder sell, and this is where PS4 and Xbox One started (once they dropped Kinekt, anyway).

evo_9 8y ago

I think this is a the right combinations of tech at a reasonable price, though I still wonder about the larger viability of the VR market. It's also nice this is self-contained and doesn't require a PC. I've owned a Vive for over two years and not having to devote a good chunk of my basement to it is another plus, along with not having to maintain a really beefy gaming PC. I would much prefer to not deal with a PC; this isn't an anti-windows thing, I work on Win10 all day writing code. However maintaining a gaming rig is another issue entirely. I frequently have to spend 20-30 minutes getting the sound to work correctly after windows updates, iTunes updates, vive updates, steam updates, etc etc. It's almost comical and I wonder if this is an indication of the PC gaming tool-chain issues, or something as simple as Steams VR software is shit. And honestly I don't care, I just want it to work. VR is a lot of fun though, and for most of the past 2 years was worth the hassle. Lately though I don't have the energy to fight my gaming rig and I when I occasionally play now, I just ignore whatever issues crop up. I'm ready for a simpler solution at a good price.

GaryNumanVevo 8y ago
Agree, I've used the Vive quite a bit and setting up my PC etc, is definitely a huge barrier to entry. IMO standalone VR is the way to go because it's more readily available, and the lower fidelity graphics forces designers to focus on usable UX that's simple instead of pushing the best absolute graphics.
- zamalek 8y ago
  6dof was a major holdout for these standalone units: VR without 6dof is an entirely different experience - I don't think the "VR" moniker is at all appropriate (you don't experience "presence"). This is a much needed jump and should do well for showing people what "real VR" feels like. The only gripe I have with this is that, I assume, the controllers would stop working outside of camera FOV. It sounds like minor gripe, but it typically becomes frustrating for someone who is used to full-fidelity room-scale.
  - whywhywhywhy 8y ago

eof 8y ago

I am extremely skeptical that they can get good tracking with no base stations on mobile-esque hardware. But if they can, wow!

jonplackett 8y ago
Have you tried AR kit on a new iPhone? The tracking is pretty damn good and that’s just with 2 cameras.
- ynniv 8y ago
  Two calibrated cameras and, more importantly, calibrated accelerometers and gyroscopes. Cameras alone aren't fast enough, and visual feature detaction not accurate enough, to provide a good experience. All of this is within reach of anyone who is making their own hardware, though.
  - andybak 8y ago
    Google/Lenovo managed it with the Mirage Solo on "fairly lose to stock" Android.
- jclardy 8y ago
  Actually just one. ARKit works on nearly every iOS device since the iPhone 6S.
WhiteNoiz3 8y ago
Hololens has been doing inside out tracking on much older hardware for years now. It's not impossible.

Animats 8y ago

Announcing, not introducing. Shipments in 2019. They're missing this holiday season. The $399 price isn't real until it ships. I'll bet it ships only as some "bundle" that costs well over $500. The Microsoft HoloLens has comparable hardware and that's several thousand dollars.

ceejayoz 8y ago
The $3k HoloLens is pre-production, developer-targeted hardware, and will be three years old by the time Oculus Quest is out.
opencl 8y ago
How is this hardware remotely comparable to the hololens? This an Android phone with two magnifying glasses and some cameras attached, and they're already selling a $200 version without the cameras. The expensive part of hololens is the AR optics/display.
andybak 8y ago
I'll take that bet

devilmoon 8y ago

400$ and doesn't need a computer? God damn, how are they even able to run VR games like this considering how much a PC able to handle them costs?

wvenable 8y ago
The Oculus Go is $200 and doesn't need a computer either. Mobile VR has always required less power than PC VR.
- devilmoon 8y ago
  Of course mobile requires less power, but they mention Moss among the launch titles which is in no way a mobile experience. I'm thinking they are going to port and downgrade everything then?
  - andybak 8y ago
    Moss is one of the most beautiful VR titles out there. I'm very interested to see how it translates to a GPU a couple of orders of magnitude less powerful.
- drcode 8y ago
  The Go is pretty cool, but the lack of 6DOF and the limited game catalog really limit its viability. This new device addresses both of these issues (since many Rift games can now be ported over pretty easily)
  - cheeko1234 8y ago
    I don't know if that many games can be ported over easily. Most games on the Rift barely run on the highest consumer GPU's available.
    - drcode 8y ago
      I suspect that the developers of the top 100 rift games (i.e. the games that are actually pretty good and have made some money) will be enormously incentivized to find ways to scale down the visuals a bit because of the easy money they would make. The important part is that no changes in the game mechanics are necessary, given the identical controllers and similar 6DOF capabilities.

justicezyx 8y ago

I'll take this, as all I know Mr. Carmack is behind it.

jonplackett 8y ago

This is it people! VR for the mainstream. As a developer this makes me excited. Been waiting for this since I got the first Rift and was half amazed and half totally deflated. $399 should finally mean a wider audience.

drcode 8y ago
I think you could be on to something- I kinda agree this could be the "iPad" of VR. The Oculus Go is already pretty awesome, but it is hampered by a still somewhat limited library and the lack of 6DOF is definitely frustrating- Since this new headset will probably have the full Rift AND Go game catalog at launch, as well as a normie-friendly setup (without base stations or PC) this device could see some mainstream adoption and could be a milestone in VR.
- browsercoin 8y ago
  What I think will be an iPhone moment for VR is literally when we can drop our phones in a VR goggle that is socially acceptable. I mean we convinced people that listening to music by sticking a speaker in their ear canals is healthy and safe. Why can't we do this for our eyes? The "Samsung Galaxy" moment will be when they start shipping disposable contact lenses with AR functionalities....but this requires a cross industry expertise and highly proprietary nanotech which Pentagon needs to fully test out before approving it for consumer usage, as with many of our major technological innovations owing to the military-defense complex.
  - drcode 8y ago
    You're assuming that people will make zero compromises to use VR- I think this is wrong, given the utility of a VR system. I could have just as easily have said when the original iPhone came out "It will look too nerdy to be staring at a smartphone- Regular people won't adopt smartphones until they can build them into a contact lens."
    - browsercoin 8y ago

bitL 8y ago

How good is 3200x1440 for VR? Has anyone tried prototype already?

drcode 8y ago
It sounds like it uses the same optics as the existing Oculus Go device- These are arguably quite good (i.e. you can watch an HD movie quite well and get the full experience) but certainly they are still short of matching "Actual Reality" in terms of resolution.
Ajedi32 8y ago
That's about 2x the pixel count of the Rift and Vive. Press is demoing the headset now, so we should be getting some first impressions soon.
trixie_ 8y ago
Vive Pro has the same resolution and the upgrade is ok.. the real need is better FOV.

cwkoss 8y ago

Does the headset contain batteries, computer and the GPU? Seems like it'd get hot and not last long. Impressive if they've actually made it work.

corysama 8y ago
The Oculus Go is basically a GearVR that’s not constrained by the having its core in the form factor of a phone. So, it has much better thermal design and overheats much less. The Quest is an improved Go.
- wincy 8y ago
  Now that I think about it, it makes sense that you’d be able to squeeze more performance and have reduced throttling with the larger form factor of a headset. Then they’re able to use cheaper parts and keep the price lower, which is pretty exciting.
coffeeaddicted 8y ago
The Oculus Go lasts around 2 hours. Then you have to load batteries for 4 hours. Although they don't recommend it - you can buy a long usb-cable and plug it into your PC to get around this (for apps where the cable doesn't get in the way).

JohnCohorn 8y ago

Most PC based VR games I've seen already use greatly cut down graphics compared to traditional games, even while running at current headset resolutions where the screen door effect is fairly noticeable. But VR can be so much fun that you might stop noticing the graphics in games that don't try to go for realism in their presentation. But if that's the best available on a desktop PC with a recent high end GPU, I'm having a hard time imagining how a portable could be powerful enough that its graphical limitations won't also be a drag on the fun.

valine 8y ago
My guess is that the frame rate will be capped at 60fps. In terms of graphics most games will probably be forced to use forward rendering with low resolution meshes and textures.
jobigoud 8y ago
The Lenovo Mirage Solo is another standalone 6DoF VR headset (Daydream based) and it runs at 75 fps.
- andybak 8y ago
  I've been developing for the Mirage and it's a great device (if you ignore the controllers). You have to make graphical compromises but there's multiple ways to create similar effects to PC VR. In terms of raw triangle throughput it's surprisingly capable.
philote 8y ago
Yeah, I'm rather skeptical that the experience will be good enough, even for that price. And it's not just the graphics I'm worried about, but also the accuracy of the tracking and whether it will be jittery/laggy at all. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. But I worry that too much hype over an inferior product will harm perceptions of the VR industry.
colordrops 8y ago
Oculus Go is pretty fun even though its specs are well below the Quest, so I'd imagine it will be fine. People also have different expectations for different units, e.g. PC rigs vs hand-held gaming units.

applecrazy 8y ago

Is this the release version of the Project Santa Cruz headset that was shown at Oculus Connect?

LukeWalsh 8y ago
Yes

forkLding 8y ago

Wonder if VR systems will replace computers in the future

no1youknowz 8y ago
If they hit these points: - light enough to wear for 8+ hours continuously - not hot and no perspiring issues - high enough resolution to read text comfortably and without eye strain - VR gloves to simulate keyboard with haptic feedback and mouse/touchpad virtual device - VR/AR mixed reality so that it can map close objects into view, like the coffee on your desk - Work with external cameras to map bodies and put into VR, i.e conference calls / meetings with actual presence. I think we'll start to see a shift and interestingly enough, none of these are difficult to do. I would say, give it 10 years and we'll probably be there.
shredprez 8y ago
It totally comes down to the interface. When people think of computers (or, more broadly, devices), they mainly think of the screen and the inputs. If VR or AR can significantly improve on the experience of using a 2D screen + mouse, keyboard, or swipe/tap gestures, people will migrate to that superior user experience. There are plenty of other factors at play, but ultimately usability will determine if VR/AR, which are mainly new interfaces for standard computing, become the standard for computer use.
d0m 8y ago
Depends what's your definition of the future. Personally, I have no doubt that it'll soon be connected inside our brain so "monitors" will be useless.. anything will be a "monitor" if that's what you want it to be. But it'll be much cooler than that.. I.e. if you're thinking about "What will be the weather tomorrow?", the whole sky could start "virtually raining" to show it to you with AR. It's scary and exciting at the same time.

riemannzeta 8y ago

Timing seems pretty good for 5G at Home https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-here https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-here :-)

schaefer 8y ago

I'm really hoping this unit will allow streaming (graphics, controls) with a PC. I'm guessing the latency would make that hope a pipe dream - but fingers crossed.

schaefer 8y ago
So it turns out: The Vive has a wireless adapter...

jimmar 8y ago

The promo videos only showed single players. Does anybody know if two people might be able to network the devices and be in the same virtual space?

michaelbuckbee 8y ago
This is more dependent upon what's released for this specific device. There's lots of different apps/services that do this already for other devices, examples: VR Chat - https://vrchat.net/ https://vrchat.net/ RecRoom - https://www.againstgrav.com/rec-room/ https://www.againstgrav.com/rec-room/
drcode 8y ago
My 7yo daughter and I have the Oculus Go headsets and are able to find quite a few fun multiplayer games- This new headset will at minimum support the Go library. Maybe around 5% of games have multiplayer support, so out of the 200 or so decent games for the Go around 10 are multiplayer.
Ajedi32 8y ago
They showed a video of a multiplayer tennis game on stage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNJla9pO9vg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNJla9pO9vg
andybak 8y ago
This is pretty much a solved problem. Adding co-presence to an existing title isn't hard and there's drop-in solutions for Unity etc.

deckar01 8y ago

I was really hoping DOF meant depth of field.

dwighttk 8y ago

The Oculus Quest: Under the Hood video really makes me think of a Nintendo Wii. Doesn't do much to sell what the games look like.

sexydefinesher 8y ago

If this is good enough to play VRChat acceptably then Oculus will have hit gold.

Asooka 8y ago
Definitely not, unless they do some amazing magic with restricting resource usage by people's avatars. I can literally put a raytracer inside a shader and upload it. There are worlds that drop down to 30fps on my overclocked water-cooled i7-6700k & 1080ti gaming pc. VRChat's performance demands entirely depend on the world you're in and the amount of optimisation work people have put into their avatars.

leetrout 8y ago

This was all really impressive but I'm bummed they aren't merging the stores / purchases with the addition of the Rift to the mobile app. I hate that I would have to buy a title twice to play it on either platform (I own both).

cheeko1234 8y ago

For comparison: https://i.imgur.com/wtEYpW0.png https://i.imgur.com/wtEYpW0.png Src: https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/9j4xmg/could_someone_explain_the_downsides_to_oculus/e6onxqw/ https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/9j4xmg/could_someon...

SquareWheel 8y ago
I'd be skeptical. The author of these charts is a staunch Oculus fan, and seems to spend his time doing little else than posting positive Oculus stories to reddit. I don't think he's a shill, just over-committed. At one point the the founder of Oculus Palmer Luckey even called him out as an "insufferable fanboy". [1] I don't say this just be a detractor or mean-spirited, but I would advise caution as there's likely bias in these charts. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4gfpjk/palmer_luckey_on_twitter_i_prefer_production_that/d2hkzd3/?context=1 https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/4gfpjk/palmer_lucke...
- cheeko1234 8y ago
  Where can you find bias in this image and why even bring this up? I commend this over-committed person for providing us with up to date information. Just when I thought I couldn't think less of Palmer Luckey...
- Ajedi32 8y ago
  The contents of that chart are purely factual. There's very little room for bias unless you want to nitpick on trivial things like what shade of green he used for the font on the price figures.
  - gervase 8y ago
    The bias the parent refers to is implicit, I believe, in the selection of information to convey. That is, the choice of which columns and rows to include in the graph in the first place. They could have included a row for "Open platform for games", or "Has finger detection", etc. Alternatively, they could have included columns for Vive, or Vive+Wireless, and so on. This kind of implicit bias is very difficult to avoid, however; in general, viewers of ANY online media should already be assuming the viewpoints they're consuming are biased in the first place. In particular, since the source is the /r/oculus subreddit, anyone viewing this information there (1) already assumes this implicit bias, and (2) is likely to share it.

mortenjorck 8y ago

This would certainly seem to set the stage for VR’s mass-market inflection point. Current VR early adopters have been using Treos and Windows CE phones, so to speak, and this has the right positioning be the iPhone. The deciding factor is naturally the same one any promising platform has: The question of a killer app. The iPhone shipped with its own killer app, Mobile Safari. Can Oculus or Facebook build the killer app for the Quest? Will a third party? What would a killer app for VR look like?

hbosch 8y ago
VRs best chance at mass market adoption is still games and entertainment IMO. This is priced like a game console.

MayeulC 8y ago

> starting at $399 USD for a 64GB headset I am most wary of this. And given occulus's past, I would be surprised if this wasn't a walled garden of sorts. I hope I'm wrong, though, and that you'll be able to run anything, and tinker with the hardware (SD card, nvme ssd) and the software, down to the OS.

J5892 8y ago
It's a mobile VR experience (Oculus Go), but with added 6Dof tracking. It's a great step forward, but it will absolutely be a walled garden.

xbkingx 8y ago

This is a great price point and excellent feature set for mainstream VR. I have almost no interest in it, but would be comfortable recommending it to less tech savvy friends and relatives. Having a Vive and GearVR had taught me that I don't like the helplessness that comes from Oculus's mobile VR design philosophy. I like a little more control over my devices, but I totally see the appeal of an "It just works" setup. The thing I am struggling with is how they will determine play space. Not the sensors, and cameras, etc. If I start a game in a large open room then later continue in a smaller space, how will the games handle that? Right now you can see that a game requires a certain amount of space for roomscale and games are generally divided into seated, standing, and roomscale options. Will devs be expected to support all modes and all reasonable levels of roomscale for every title, since the room layout can change at every launch? I'm really looking forward to full 6DOF, untethered VR, but it seems like this might be a bit premature and better suited for AR (environment variation would be to AR as 6DOF tracking was for VR). It's a convenience feature before other unresolved and non-standardized core MR features, like eye tracking, balance, simulation sickness, full body tracking, etc. I'm very interested to see how they handle the inside out tracking, but I fully expect it to be a little watered down (but hopefully better that the Windows MR implementation, which isn't terrible). The Quest seems like a marketing decision taking precedence over a raw technological development path, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing here. VR hype is waning in the public eye and this is a very noticeable improvement for average consumers. It may have been a smart decision that will keep the conversation going, and the investment dollars flowing to devs. I do wonder why this wasn't introduced with a GearVR 2, though. Charge $200 for a pair of controllers and the headset and it's salt the same system. It makes me wonder if they found dealing with varied hardware and an OS not under their complete control too burdensome, or if they just didn't see the numbers they were expecting.

908087 8y ago

Just a reminder to those of you who are (rightfully) trying to avoid feeding the beast that is Facebook: Oculus is Facebook

dharma1 8y ago

what's the SoC/GPU? I would love to see this succeed, but wonder how much longer FB will keep pumping money at VR if the sales for this disappoint.

andybak 8y ago
Snapdragon 835 apparently. The 845 would have pushed the price point up considerably. If so I think they made the right call. The price point was my biggest concern with this thing.

superkuh 8y ago

All mobile computers of small form factor are gimped by energy storage and heat dissipation limits. This will not be able to do high fidelity VR and it'll only be doing it's low quality extrapolation-based frame doubling to meet VR framerates for a limited time on any reasonable bettery.

andybak 8y ago
Well. I've got a device in the room with me that rather proves you wrong, sir.
- superkuh 8y ago
  Really? It does 2k+ pixel 90 FPS renders for more than a minute? I think your 'proving me wrong' is just not understanding, or ignoring, what I said about heat dissipation and frame reuse.
  - andybak 8y ago
    I think you've slightly moved the goalposts but essentially - yes. Have you used a Lenovo Mirage or similar?
    - superkuh 8y ago
      https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/09/carmack-oculus-quests-power-is-comparable-to-xbox-360-or-ps3/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/09/carmack-oculus-quests... has a quote from CTO John Carmack, "Expecting Rift-level performance from a self-contained mobile headset like the quest isn't realistic, Carmack said, partly for simple electrical reasons. While a high-end gaming PC often draws up to 500 watts of power, Carmack said the Quest only uses about 5W, a tidbit that should be of benefit to the Quest's still unconfirmed battery-life statistics."

jose-cl 8y ago

Is anybody developing oculus apps/games?

randyrand 8y ago

Finally same room VR multiplayer will be reasonable.

person_of_color 8y ago

So this tracks position by looking at the room (segmentation), rather than the room looking at you?

donohoe 8y ago

I want this so badly, but… The Oculus privacy policy has a blanket clause that lets it share and receive information from Facebook and Facebook-owned services. I’ll come back when that’s no longer the case.

markovbot 8y ago
Oculus is owned by Facebook and will never change that. It's a completely useless hardware platform, IMO. Even buying one requires monetarily supporting Facebook, which is unethical in my view.
technofiend 8y ago
Yup. Non starter. Hopefully Nvidia wakes up and creates a console with a packaged GPU of theirs. I'll happily buy an appliance but I'm not spending anything on a machine that requires me to actively participate in the Facebook ecosystem.
tokyodude 8y ago
yes. If you watch any adult movies or play any adult games Facebook sucks all that up and adds it to your profile. Have had this confirmed by friends at Oculus. Wont be buying any more Oculus equipment until I can be sure there is no data collection period
kruczek 8y ago
Yep, even if they'd be offering it for free, after adding the privacy tax for all the data they siphon, I certainly wouldn't touch it. Exactly the reason why I went with HTC Vive.
- mrguyorama 8y ago
  This was also my reason. I'm glad I made it too, because even though the oculus was $100 cheaper, my understanding is that it doesn't do room scale as well. Though I wish valve would stop with their stupid trackpads.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

the8472 8y ago

Under 6DoF I would have expected some sort of suspension system so you can play things like Descent or skydiving in VR

pk455 8y ago

Why do the controllers have rings?

gfosco 8y ago
Tracking, because the rest of the controller is hidden in your hands.

bootlooped 8y ago

Interesting how HTC went the high end (and very expensive) route with their Pro headset + wireless adapter, while Oculus went low-mid with a standalone device.

whywhywhywhy 8y ago
Oculus is seemingly trying to avoid incremental updates, from what they've been saying they're holding off on Rift 2 until they can ship with variable focal [0]. In the end I think this is the right play, as much as some of us love PC Gaming it's pretty much niche compared to the audience Oculus are trying to get. I've blown some minds when I showed my friends my PCVR setup but none of them were willing to buy tower PCs to get it at home, $400 stand alone headset though? Definitely. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7aviAhxG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7aviAhxG4
meheleventyone 8y ago
I think the form factor is the key selling point. Even with wireless you are still effectively tethered to a PC and the hard mounted tracking space which is still dangling wires everywhere. In comparison the Quest works in larger spaces with zero setup (unless you want a safety barrier rendered) and they don’t fight with one another. Due to that you can just sling it in your bag and take it anywhere, won’t need a dedicated space at home and can just stick it on a shelf when not in use without having to break down the tracking space or leave unsightly stuff in place. I also think this will help push VR onto office desktops. Companies I’ve visited tend to keep their VR gear in one central location or worse in a store. Use is sporadic so adoption is really low. Having a simple unit on your own desk is much more accessible and much less embarrassing to experiment with. Also given the way the tracking works it should be reasonable to share data between devices and take part in shared VR in person. I believe there is a demo at OC5 where they are doing this already in a big hall.
T-A 8y ago
https://www.vive.com/cn/product/vive-focus-en/ https://www.vive.com/cn/product/vive-focus-en/

keyle 8y ago

This is very exciting... Any idea of the cost of the devkit? Are they letting little guys like me develop for it? (UE4)

hoelle 8y ago
Oculus Quest dev kits will be hard to get for a while, but if you're a small developer, the easiest place to start developing VR is on the PC/Rift. The SDKs are the same! Unity and Unreal will definitely be supported.
- andybak 8y ago
  The Lenovo Mirage has the same chipset and a 6DOF controller dev kit was just announced. That makes it the ideal test platform for the Quest.

peter303 8y ago

An analysis of great VR suggests it needs approximately a peta-op of computing power for sufficient temporal and spatial resolution and motion tracking. Merely a factor of a hundred over current systems and achievable in 6-7 years according to Moores Law. Just be patient. In the meantime figure out how to generate content.

UpshotKnothole 8y ago
Is Moore’s Law still in effect? I was under the impression that progress had slowed considerably in the last few years.
iabacu 8y ago
Wondering if there is a reference/citation you might link to?

drngdds 8y ago

Does the technology exist to wirelessly stream video from a PC to a (hypothetical) VR headset at the resolution and framerate of the regular Rift/Vive with low latency? That's what I really want.

modeless 8y ago
Yes, it's not hypothetical. There is an official wireless adapter from HTC for the Vive now.
ClassyJacket 8y ago
Yes, and you can buy an official works adapter for the Vive Pro right now.

coffeeaddicted 8y ago

Promo-video is blocked here (germany) with "Video unavailable. This video contains content from ustv, who has blocked it on copyright grounds".

flohofwoe 8y ago
It's working here (Berlin), you didn't miss much though, just the usual "young people getting all excited about something" ad.
- coffeeaddicted 8y ago
  First one works - the second one is blocked.
  - flohofwoe 8y ago
    True, for some reason I didn't even notice there's a second video after the disappointing first one :)

poisonborz 8y ago

Great. Now that the whole pack is $399, and fairly complete bundle at that - when it fails, and it will - finally everyone will get how much of a failure VR is. (disc: in its current iteration, for mainstream, excluding special cases like architercture or medicine: it certainly is the future, somewhere)

kriro 8y ago

Second video (the one with the actual details, not the trailer) is not available here (video was removed). Good marketing...not.