melmer

Oculus rift

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Turns out there's some clarification. He didn't leave id Software, but his work for them is definitely taking a back seat in priority.

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Oculus told Engadget via email he's not really working at id anymore, and I doubt they'd run their mouth off on that unless it was the truth. I have to assume Carmack's role at id will be mostly ceremonial, despite the damage control and spinny PR talk Bethesda and some others will assuredly spread around.

 


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Don't we all get bored doing the same thing for months (years in Carmack's case) on end? It's hard to believe sometimes but he actually is a human.

Since Carmack got the MegaTexture concept working, I've heard far more about his rocket-building than I have anything to do with id’s gaming output or tech developments.

Given how progressively ordinary – even mundane – id’s games have become, I don't think he'll be the only one bored over there. There aren't many of the original dream team left already anyway.

And I agree with toblix; given Carmack’s ferocious reputation for computational performance, this could prove a huge kick for Rift.

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John Carmack just tweeted this (sorry, the special code stuff is a little too much for my one time use of Twitter):

"Augmenting panoramic photos with crude depth geometry, even by hand, will add a lot to the viewing experience in a Rift."
 

It hadn't occurred to me that people might make static art for this platform until I read this tweet.

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I've been playing Strike Suit Zero with it, and it works well. Much less sickening than FPS, but occasionally it gives you these amazing moments of vertigo as you look down at something huge passing beneath you.

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I haven't been around for a while :( I've had a lot going on... 

 

But I did make an occulus game for MolyJam 2013! 

 

http://www.twitch.tv/molyjamla/c/2542112

 

^There's our "showcase" presentation in the LA space. I'm the tired bearded looking fellow wearing the Insomniac Games shirt. I just ordered my actual dev kit the other day. Just like UDK integration into Unity is DEAD simple. Occulus actually provides a cameraController prefab that has a script loadout that will read all the sensors! 

 

I'm starting to wonder how long it'll be before we see a retail unit. I am assuming sometime in 2014. 

 

I actually don't have the newest build of our "game" I'll try and find the newest version so I can compile a build and post it here in case anyone wants to try it! Also I'll try to post more!

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I heard end of 2014, but that's basically just a rumour. I'm pretty certain they're not going to rush it though. There are two really good reasons for them to wait: 1080p displays getting cheaper, and more widespread developer uptake.

 

Edit: Serenity looks pretty nice, and reminds me of Skipping Stones. Lovely!

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So that "Alone" thing is basically what they were talking about on Idle Thumbs where J Allard shows up in your living room. At least I think that was a segment recently.

 

Downloading now.

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Alone is an excellent idea. I'd want to run a live version to be played in an actual dark room as well :)

 

Over the past month I've been playing a bit of Volo Airsport, and while it's obviously still a prototype, it's excellent. It models thermals, so if you get good enough to fly close to ridges and mountainsides, you can keep ascending and flying for quite a long time. Even with the fairly basic heightmap and (I think) no object collision, that's pretty breathtaking.

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Over the past month I've been playing a bit of Volo Airsport, and while it's obviously still a prototype, it's excellent. It models thermals, so if you get good enough to fly close to ridges and mountainsides, you can keep ascending and flying for quite a long time. Even with the fairly basic heightmap and (I think) no object collision, that's pretty breathtaking.

 

I love this, though playing it in the Rift will make my stomach churn when things get hectic. 

 

 

My occulus should be arriving in the coming weeks!!!

 

Whoo! 

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Okay, I have a fantasy; tell me if i'm missing some crucial understanding.

An Oculus Rift game where you put your keyboard in a specific spot on your desk in order to have it be in the same spot in the matrix. Then you type on your keyboard. The cool thing about it is that you can be a writer in various environments. How cool would it be to be able to put an Oculus Rift on and then type up your novel in a parisian salon at the turn of the century. Or you could be looking out your apartment window in Neo-Tokyo, watching the noodle-shops floating by in the neon rain.

I had this idea because I often go out to various cafes in order to write. I depend on having certain ambient atmospheres. I write best when there is a lot of pedestrian traffic and the only audible conversations are either indistinguishable because of volume or language. Right now I'm looking out a wall of glass watching student foot-traffic and the library elevator dings and opens and closes. It's nice, but I'd love to have a library of virtual environments in which I can peck away at The Great American Twine.

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It would be a tough disconnect that your hands on the screen wouldn't be matching your own movements.

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That's why CastAR!

I watched the KS video but I don't understand how it works... it's a projector in the glasses, but the images in the videos didn't seem to move with peoples heads?

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That's because the image you see in the video is from the CastAR mounted on the camera. So you're seeing the projected image from the POV of the camera, while the two kids are seeing it from each of theirs.

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Yes, they project onto a retro-reflective surface. Meaning, any light that hits the surface is bounced back straight towards the viewer's eyes and because of minimal light scattering, you can have multiple people looking at the same surface without the pictures bleeding into each other. There are infrared markers worked into the retro-reflector and a little camera built into the frame of the glasses that looks at those for positioning information.

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It would be a tough disconnect that your hands on the screen wouldn't be matching your own movements.

 

Please Don't, Spacedog! intentionally exploits that.

 

I got to try an oculus build of Among The Sleep, and (as long as you're used to first person stuff in it without feeling sick) it kind of shines: You're embodied as a child, so if you look down you see your own tiny body toddling around.

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Looks like some novel abilities are coming out of the Rift development kits; climbing, gun-play, spray-painting, examining bottles and bongs.

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Mario Kart. The most important thing to note about this video: "It works surprisingly well, and Mario's nose and hat actually feel like your own while you're playing."

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