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Top Rift Experiences Right Now

97 points by thenomad 13y ago

Sephr 13y ago
I strongly disagree with placing Minecraft as the #1 Rift experience. In Half-Life 2, aiming and looking are entirely discrete but in Minecrift (Rift extension for Minecraft), looking and aiming are bound together and you can't even aim upwards (mouse/hydra control is limited to horizontal movement only) to mine tree blocks directly above you without looking 90° straight up and having your headphones fall off. It's not game-breakingly-bad, but it surely is bad enough that I wouldn't even mention Minecraft in the top 5.
- mscottmcbee 13y ago
  I've tried several demos, and Minecrift has been the only one I've gone back to several times. When I tried HL2, there were perspective and latency issues to the point that I couldn't play for more than 15 minutes.
  - OWaz 13y ago
    What do you mean by perspective issues?
    - simcop2387 13y ago
      I'm not sure either (don't have one to play with), but I'd suspect the FOV being wrong could cause what some people would call perspective issues.
  - magicalist 13y ago
    Yeah, they've fixed some issues in the tf2 rift mode that haven't been moved over to the hl2 build yet. In the forums they mentioned that they should be coming soon.
- pixie_ 13y ago
  Turn on pitch as well for mouse aim, I find that the optimal translation of 2d mouse look/aim with the ability to still use your head to look around what you're aiming at - just like a 2d monitor, but now it's 3d - woah.
- thenomad 13y ago
  I must have tighter headphones than you :)
StavrosK 13y ago
Isn't the Rift not out yet? I mean, not even close to out? Why are people worried about the experiences?
- anjc 13y ago
  Because lots of people (e.g. me) have the dev kit and want to get a grasp and what new experiences it can offer.
  - StavrosK 13y ago
    Oh, the dev kits are out? How is it?
    - incision 13y ago
      Yeah, kits shipped in March. The hardware is incredibly polished for something that popped up on Kickstarter 7 months prior. It's comfortable, tracking works wonderfully. The only downside is the relatively low resolution - which it's said will change significantly by the time a consumer version ships. Still, I place it on a very short list of truly remarkable experiences involving technology. The impact of the experience is hard to compare, this video [0] might give you an idea how convincing it is to put it on for first the time. I'm very excited about what will come about as we move out of the stage of cool tech demos and existing games + head tracking to experiences fully conceived with the rift in mind. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqazo3ZEnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqazo3ZEnY
      - xelfer 13y ago
        Is the poor resolution just the first generation devkits or does it still seem low on the updated 1080p versions?
        incision 13y ago
        As I understand it the 1080p Rift is a prototype for demo purposes only [0]. Also, I wouldn't say the resolution is "poor". Again, it's hard to describe, but it 800x640 presented through the Rift is a lot nicer than it looks on paper. 0: https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3259 https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3...
tessica 13y ago
At Greylock HackFest two weeks ago, someone built the Oculus Drone (https://github.com/feross/oculus-drone https://github.com/feross/oculus-drone) which was a quadcopter-drone that could be controlled by the Rift. The Rift would see what the camera mounted on the drone could see. I think that made for an awesome experience!
netcraft 13y ago
We got two rifts this last week. They really are incredibly immersive. First law is definitely on my list to play - we just didn't have an extra controller around the office. Some other good ones are the Unreal Dev Kit (seems it needs a special build though) and another called Titans of Space.
- rje 13y ago
  First Law dev here - I'll have a new build coming out soon that has better support for more controllers and keyboards. Hope you enjoy it!
  - netcraft 13y ago
    That will be amazing - I was just reading your blog earlier - I like how you're going about things and it really seems you're on a great track. Let me know if you need a beta-tester! Keep up the good work.
momerath 13y ago
Show HN?: http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/news_27833.html http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/news_27833.html
- thenomad 13y ago
  Thanks for the link! I'll check it out for next month's column.
reustle 13y ago
> “what? I’ve been in here for an hour?” I think the "in here" is key. As everyone has been saying, this is a whole new way to think about HMI.
- thenomad 13y ago
  Definitely. It's very telling that my girlfriend and I have both started to refer to Rift time as time "in the Rift".
Fuzzwah 13y ago
My good friend Teddy (who I co-project managed the HL2 mod Dystopia with) is the guy behind the Cover Shooter demo. https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2915 https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2915 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSoj9EU7pWs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSoj9EU7pWs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CaUoAVck6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CaUoAVck6g I'm definitely eager to see what the specs are for the initial mass market release of the Rift is.
- thenomad 13y ago
  Cool - it's a spectacularly cool idea and a great proof of concept.
mp3geek 13y ago
I would've thought TF2 would be on that list..
- furyofantares 13y ago
  I don't find TF2 to be that much different with the Rift. I think it's just too fast paced, so I just end up playing it as normal.
- thenomad 13y ago
  I like playing TF2 on the Rift - the "I AM SHOOTING WITH MY FACE" aspect is fun - but it's just too vomit-inducing for me, and most people we've tested it on. Great fun if you don't get motion sick at all, otherwise... not ideal. As the comment below indicates, it's also very similar on and off the Rift - no real "wow, VR" moment.
Andrenid 13y ago
I'm surprised War Thunder isn't on the list. Has native Rift support already built in, multiple views to choose from (pilot's eyes, virtual cockpit, etc), and is ridiculously immersive. It's one of the main demos all my friends flip out about, and has them talking about for days after coming to my place and playing it.
- thenomad 13y ago
  I put it in as an honourable mention. It's a spectacular demo, but the actual gameplay I've found is pretty hard to get into, not helped by the "it's online so you're terrified of the League of Legends effect" problem.

97 points by thenomad 13y ago

Sephr 13y ago

I strongly disagree with placing Minecraft as the #1 Rift experience. In Half-Life 2, aiming and looking are entirely discrete but in Minecrift (Rift extension for Minecraft), looking and aiming are bound together and you can't even aim upwards (mouse/hydra control is limited to horizontal movement only) to mine tree blocks directly above you without looking 90° straight up and having your headphones fall off. It's not game-breakingly-bad, but it surely is bad enough that I wouldn't even mention Minecraft in the top 5.

mscottmcbee 13y ago
I've tried several demos, and Minecrift has been the only one I've gone back to several times. When I tried HL2, there were perspective and latency issues to the point that I couldn't play for more than 15 minutes.
- OWaz 13y ago
  What do you mean by perspective issues?
  - simcop2387 13y ago
    I'm not sure either (don't have one to play with), but I'd suspect the FOV being wrong could cause what some people would call perspective issues.
- magicalist 13y ago
  Yeah, they've fixed some issues in the tf2 rift mode that haven't been moved over to the hl2 build yet. In the forums they mentioned that they should be coming soon.
pixie_ 13y ago
Turn on pitch as well for mouse aim, I find that the optimal translation of 2d mouse look/aim with the ability to still use your head to look around what you're aiming at - just like a 2d monitor, but now it's 3d - woah.
thenomad 13y ago
I must have tighter headphones than you :)

StavrosK 13y ago

Isn't the Rift not out yet? I mean, not even close to out? Why are people worried about the experiences?

anjc 13y ago
Because lots of people (e.g. me) have the dev kit and want to get a grasp and what new experiences it can offer.
- StavrosK 13y ago
  Oh, the dev kits are out? How is it?
  - incision 13y ago
    Yeah, kits shipped in March. The hardware is incredibly polished for something that popped up on Kickstarter 7 months prior. It's comfortable, tracking works wonderfully. The only downside is the relatively low resolution - which it's said will change significantly by the time a consumer version ships. Still, I place it on a very short list of truly remarkable experiences involving technology. The impact of the experience is hard to compare, this video [0] might give you an idea how convincing it is to put it on for first the time. I'm very excited about what will come about as we move out of the stage of cool tech demos and existing games + head tracking to experiences fully conceived with the rift in mind. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqazo3ZEnY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqazo3ZEnY
    - xelfer 13y ago
      Is the poor resolution just the first generation devkits or does it still seem low on the updated 1080p versions?
      - incision 13y ago
        As I understand it the 1080p Rift is a prototype for demo purposes only [0]. Also, I wouldn't say the resolution is "poor". Again, it's hard to describe, but it 800x640 presented through the Rift is a lot nicer than it looks on paper. 0: https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3259 https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3...

tessica 13y ago

At Greylock HackFest two weeks ago, someone built the Oculus Drone (https://github.com/feross/oculus-drone https://github.com/feross/oculus-drone) which was a quadcopter-drone that could be controlled by the Rift. The Rift would see what the camera mounted on the drone could see. I think that made for an awesome experience!

netcraft 13y ago

We got two rifts this last week. They really are incredibly immersive. First law is definitely on my list to play - we just didn't have an extra controller around the office. Some other good ones are the Unreal Dev Kit (seems it needs a special build though) and another called Titans of Space.

rje 13y ago
First Law dev here - I'll have a new build coming out soon that has better support for more controllers and keyboards. Hope you enjoy it!
- netcraft 13y ago
  That will be amazing - I was just reading your blog earlier - I like how you're going about things and it really seems you're on a great track. Let me know if you need a beta-tester! Keep up the good work.

momerath 13y ago

Show HN?: http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/news_27833.html http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/news_27833.html

thenomad 13y ago
Thanks for the link! I'll check it out for next month's column.

reustle 13y ago

> “what? I’ve been in here for an hour?” I think the "in here" is key. As everyone has been saying, this is a whole new way to think about HMI.

thenomad 13y ago
Definitely. It's very telling that my girlfriend and I have both started to refer to Rift time as time "in the Rift".

Fuzzwah 13y ago

My good friend Teddy (who I co-project managed the HL2 mod Dystopia with) is the guy behind the Cover Shooter demo. https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2915 https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2915 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSoj9EU7pWs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSoj9EU7pWs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CaUoAVck6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CaUoAVck6g I'm definitely eager to see what the specs are for the initial mass market release of the Rift is.

thenomad 13y ago
Cool - it's a spectacularly cool idea and a great proof of concept.

mp3geek 13y ago

I would've thought TF2 would be on that list..

furyofantares 13y ago
I don't find TF2 to be that much different with the Rift. I think it's just too fast paced, so I just end up playing it as normal.
thenomad 13y ago
I like playing TF2 on the Rift - the "I AM SHOOTING WITH MY FACE" aspect is fun - but it's just too vomit-inducing for me, and most people we've tested it on. Great fun if you don't get motion sick at all, otherwise... not ideal. As the comment below indicates, it's also very similar on and off the Rift - no real "wow, VR" moment.

Andrenid 13y ago

I'm surprised War Thunder isn't on the list. Has native Rift support already built in, multiple views to choose from (pilot's eyes, virtual cockpit, etc), and is ridiculously immersive. It's one of the main demos all my friends flip out about, and has them talking about for days after coming to my place and playing it.

thenomad 13y ago
I put it in as an honourable mention. It's a spectacular demo, but the actual gameplay I've found is pretty hard to get into, not helped by the "it's online so you're terrified of the League of Legends effect" problem.