What it's like in an Oculus Rift DK2, my personal experience.

[astropheed Veteran]

Last night I received my DK2. Ignoring technical difficulties, here is my experience.

 

Note: I originally wrote this for the Oculus Developer forums. I removed some technical things and formatted it better for Neowin.

 

 

What it's like in V.R.:

 

It's very similar to just looking around in real life. I feel my brain knows it isn't real but it still feels real enough that I can get lost from time to time in that reality. I found Minecrift (a Minecraft mod) did a really good job at tricking my brain into occasionally thinking this is real. If, for example, you jump off a very high cliff your stomach will go into your skull. Walking up to a tree and just looking up is very cool. The night sky was impressive. My favorite Rift experience so far.

 

When driving in Live For Speed you can really judge the distance between you and the other cars. It also feels very much like you're sitting in a Race Car. The graphics don't seem to matter as I don't consider LFS a pretty game. My brain just doesn't seem to care that everything is ugly. As long as I get that constant FPS, and the judder stays to a minimum, it's amazing.

 

I played Minecrift for about 2 hours straight. I have to say I've yet to experience any motion sickness or "VR Sickness" at all. When I first launched Virtual Desktop (my first working demo) and looked at my hands that was a bit disorientating to see they weren't there, but I quickly got used to it and it no longer bothers me at all. Not seeing my body also doesn't bother me. I admit I have a very strong stomach and never vomit.

 

 

Memories:

 

I'm just thinking about yesterday (Day 1) with my DK2 and the memories are very strange. I don't feel like I remember I was playing a game, it actually feels more like I remember being there. I remember looking up at a tree and I remember staring at a creeper up close (Creative Mode) and realising that creepers are a bit short. My brain remembers it as if I was there.

 

There is a part of me that thinks that's really damn cool but another part of me that thinks, "that could potentially become a problem". So long as my brain can differentiate reality memories from VR memories (much like a dream) then it should be alright. But, sometimes I can't remember if I dreamed something or if it happened. Giving a developer that kind of power could be potentially dangerous I suppose.

 

For now I'll consider it a neat feature. Perhaps not everyone experiences it like this anyways.

 

 

Issues I expected but wasn't an issue:

 

I require glasses, but it's for an astigmatism, so I wasn't sure how it'd work in the Rift. Since my vision is really only bad on far away things I seem to have perfect vision in the Rift without glasses. I see just as well in the Rift without glasses as I do in real life with glasses. That was an awesome treat.

 

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Any questions about VR just ask and I'll do my best to answer them. The experience is very difficult to explain and you pretty much just need to try it. I don't throw words like "amazing" around very often but this comes close to being one of those moments where you think, "this will change everything".

[DrainTheSw4mp]

I got mine a couple days ago, everything you've said is spot-on. The first day I got it I had a massive headache about 3 hours after using it but I don't think it's related, and I only used it for a couple minutes, as I spent most of the time setting it up and playing with the SDK. I didn't feel any motion sickness, nausea or headaches while using it.

[astropheed Veteran]

I got mine a couple days ago, everything you've said is spot-on. The first day I got it I had a massive headache about 3 hours after using it but I don't think it's related, and I only used it for a couple minutes, as I spent most of the time setting it up and playing with the SDK. I didn't feel any motion sickness, nausea or headaches while using it.

 

I didn't get any headaches as of yet. My Wife got a bit anxious after being in Titans of Space for a little bit. It puts a perspective on things in a way only scale can. She was fine though other than that. She really enjoyed it. I can't wait to use it some more.

[Odom Member]

How heavy is the headset? I haven't tried VR in many many years, and at that time the things were almost helmet like heavy. What is the Oculus like?

How are the games played on it? Are you sitting at your desk as usual, only with the Oculus? Or would you have to get wireless input to get that "immersive feel"? 

 

I have been reading about it here and there, but never really followed it. But, I can't wait until that hits mainstream. I enjoy playing FSX and imagining that game with such a headset would certainly put an entirely new feel to the game (as well as with all the others).

 

Many thanks on the info, really appreciate it  :)  (Y)

[astropheed Veteran]

 

How heavy is the headset? I haven't tried VR in many many years, and at that time the things were almost helmet like heavy. 

 

I hardly notice it after a few seconds. It's not very heavy. Feels about as heavy as wearing Sky Goggles, as the weight is distributed around by the straps. After hours of use I notice no real discomfort, but I also wear glasses all day so my face is used to it.

 

 

What is the Oculus like?

 

It's like looking through Ski Goggles. Basically, if they rendered what you see in real life and you put on Ski Goggles it'd look about the same. You're able to accurately judge distances due to the proper 3D and as far as your brain is concerned it basically thinks, "well this is reality now", and the transition is pretty instant. Taking off the headset takes a second to re-adjust to reality but it's pretty quick and doesn't seem to cause any issues. If something comes towards your face you have the urge to duck out of the way. Crashing into a wall at high speeds is troubling. Scary games are much scarier.

 

 

How are the games played on it? Are you sitting at your desk as usual, only with the Oculus?  Or would you have to get wireless input to get that "immersive feel"? 

 

They are played in a sitting position. The games that make you feel like you're sitting have the best immersion. But some games, like Windlands, is played in a standing (in-game, you're still sitting), first person, run and swing game, and it's very good, so it's not a rule. I don't use any wireless inputs.

 

Sometimes finding the keyboard or mouse can be difficult as you completely lose your real world position. One minute you could swear your keyboard was 10 cm in front of you and you reach well passed 30 cm before you find it. Also, you need to be able to type without looking or it can become tedious.

 

 

I have been reading about it here and there, but never really followed it. But, I can't wait until that hits mainstream. I enjoy playing FSX and imagining that game with such a headset would certainly put an entirely new feel to the game (as well as with all the others).

 

Following it will definitely hype you up, the experiences are universally positive. It will probably be a niche at first as the 'class acts' won't want to put a block on their face, but my Mother-in-law (who is the most proper and posh Woman I know) is very excited to try it. I believe it has the potential to become mainstream but people really need to try it, explaining it doesn't do it justice.

 

Remember though that only games that were specifically designed for the Oculus work, some others still can work but it's a cheapened experience; like watching Titanic 3D.

 

 

Many thanks on the info, really appreciate it   :)   (Y)

 

No worries.

[benplace]

Where are you getting games at?

What all games have you tried?  Can you rate them in order?

What kind of workstation/video card do you have?

If you were going to demo it to someone you wanted to impress what demo would you run?

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Bring it on, that's all I can say. Sounds awesome, especially for someone that loves running around a virtual battlefield and getting a thrill...with something like Oculus? Hell yes, please and thank you. (Y)

[astropheed Veteran]

Where are you getting games at?

 

Oculus Share, WeArVR, Reddit, Google, Internet Forums

 

 

What all games have you tried?  Can you rate them in order?

 

1. Windlands (Think spiderman but with crazy fun physics and awesomeness in a can, requires "VR Legs" *)

2. Minecrift (Lego)

3. Welcome to Oculus (A collection of demos that showcase VR, not really a game)

4. Virtual Desktop (A massive screen of your desktop in a virtual space)

5. Life for Speed (Racing)

6. Titans of Space (Fly through the solar system and compare scale of planets/sun)

7. Oculus Configuration Test Demo (It's just you sitting at a desk, awesome, but boring)

8. VRCinema (no head tracking = bad)

9. DolphinVR (Smash Bros. Melee) (Ran like crap, if it ran better it'd be awesome)

 

 

What kind of workstation/video card do you have?

 

i3 2.8 Ghz / AMD R7 260X (I think) with 4 GB Ram. It needs to be more powerful I get fairly low performance in some games. 

 

 

If you were going to demo it to someone you wanted to impress what demo would you run?

 

Not sure, depends on the person I suppose.

 

If I knew they liked Minecraft then probably Minecrift. If not I'd show them either "Welcome to Oculus", "Oculus Configuration Test Demo" or "Titans of Space", any of those would do fine.

 

 

--

 

 

*VR Legs: Used to VR, don't get freaked out by not seeing your hands. Don't get sick from falling from heights, can hit a wall at 100 KM/h and not flip out.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

6. Titans of Space (Fly through the solar system and compare scale of planets/sun)

*VR Legs: Used to VR, don't get freaked out by not seeing your hands. Don't get sick from falling from heights, can hit a wall at 100 KM/h and not flip out.

Number 6 had me sold. That would be incredible.

[Luc2k]

Following it will definitely hype you up, the experiences are universally positive. It will probably be a niche at first as the 'class acts' won't want to put a block on their face, but my Mother-in-law (who is the most proper and posh Woman I know) is very excited to try it. I believe it has the potential to become mainstream but people really need to try it, explaining it doesn't do it justice.

Add some Japanese adult games to your software rotation and report back on your mother-in-law's reaction. :laugh: