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=== Consumer version ===
=== Consumer version ===


The Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign seeks to get the initial Oculus Rift HMD into the hands of developers, to allow them to integrate their games with the device. A consumer-oriented 'Oculus Rift 2.0' is in the works, and will be aimed at a general market and feature improved components. An increased field of view, improved head tracking, weapon tracking, increased resolution, and wireless operation are some of the features under consideration for the Oculus Rift 2.0.<ref name="AutoFU-6"/> Palmer Luckey has said that such a [[Head-mounted display]] (HMD) should be possible in 2014.
The Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign seeks to get the initial Oculus Rift HMD into the hands of developers, to allow them to integrate their games with the device. A consumer-oriented 'Oculus Rift 2.0' is in the works, and will be aimed at a general market and feature improved components. An increased field of view, improved head tracking, weapon tracking, increased resolution, and wireless operation are some of the features under consideration for the Oculus Rift 2.0.<ref name="AutoFU-6"/> Palmer Luckey has said that such a [[Head-mounted display]] (HMD) should be possible in 1504.


== Software ==
== Software ==

Revision as of 14:26, 27 March 2013

Oculus Rift
TypeHead-mounted display
Invention date2012
Inventor(s)Palmer Luckey (founder)[1]
ManufacturerOculus VR, Inc.
CostDeveloper kit: $300,[2] Consumer version: $200-$300 [3]
ResolutionDeveloper kit: 1280×800 (640×800 per eye),[4] Consumer version: >=1920x1080
Horizontal FOVDeveloper kit: > 90 degrees,[4] Consumer version: TBA
Diagonal FOVDeveloper kit: > 110 degrees,[4] Consumer version: TBA
Head TrackingDeveloper kit: 1000Hz absolute 3DOF orientation (gyr/acc/mag), but no position. Consumer version: TBA
PlatformPC[4] and Android
ConnectionDeveloper kit: DVI / HDMI and USB,[4] Consumer version: TBA

The Oculus Rift is an upcoming high field of view (FOV), low-latency, consumer-priced virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD). It is being developed by Oculus VR, who have raised $2.4 million from a Kickstarter campaign.[4] The company was founded by Palmer Luckey and the co-founders of Scaleform.[5] The Oculus Rift has been endorsed by John Carmack, Gabe Newell, Cliff Bleszinski, Michael Abrash, Tim Sweeney, Chris Roberts, David Helgason, and others.

Design

Some of the elements of the Oculus Rift dev kit have not been announced yet, but the company has released information on some of the specifications for the developer kit.

What is known is that the field of view is more than 90 degrees horizontal (110 degrees diagonal). That is more than double the FOV of most competing devices, and is the primary feature of the device. It is intended to fill almost the wearer's whole view, and the real world is completely blocked out, to create a strong sense of immersion. The resolution is 1280×800 (16:10 aspect ratio) which is split between both eyes, rendering the effective resolution at 640×800 in stereoscopic 3D. The view is taller than it is wide (4:5 aspect ratio). However, because the Rift is not 100% overlap, the combined resolution is effectively wider than 640. The resolution is lower than some other HMDs and is one of the Rift's weaknesses. Oculus is aiming for at least 1920x1080 (960x1080 per eye) for the consumer version. The lenses in the Oculus Rift warp the image so that pixels are closer together in the centre and stretched further apart at the edges, so it would look pin-cushioned, except that the software corrects for that using a pixel shader. The developer version Oculus Rift has DVI and HDMI input on the control box, and comes with one DVI and two HDMI cables, and a DVI to HDMI adapter.

Originally the prototype used a 5.6 inch screen, but after the unexpectedly successful Kickstarter, Oculus discovered that panel wasn't available in sufficient quantities. So they changed their design to use a new, 7 inch screen. The pixel switching time is significantly faster, reducing latency and motion blur when turning one's head quickly. The pixel fill is also better, reducing the screen door effect and making individual pixels less noticeable. The LCD is brighter and the color depth is 24 bits per pixel. However, it makes the Rift dev kit larger and heavier than the prototypes. The 7 inch screen also makes the stereoscopic 3D no longer 100% overlap, with the left eye seeing extra area to the left and the right eye seeing extra area to the right. This resembles normal human vision, which does not 100% overlap either, although the overlap area is smaller on the Rift than in real life.

It will include Oculus' new 1000Hz Adjacent Reality Tracker that will allow for much lower latency 3DOF head tracking than almost any other tracker. It uses a combination of 3-axis gyros, accelerometers, and magnetometers, which make it capable of absolute head orientation tracking without drift.[6][7] This new tracker was first shown in all the CES 2013 demonstrations (but with the old screens). Previous prototypes and demonstrations used a Hillcrest tracker that is normally 120Hz, with a special firmware that John Carmack requested to get it to run at 250Hz. Tracker latency is a very important issue for Virtual Reality because the display needs to update as soon as you turn your head for it to seem real.

A USB interface is used for sending tracking data to the host machine and powering the device, partially negating the need for an external power supply. However since its power requirements slightly exceed the rating for USB, it will come with a power adapter that can optionally be used to connect the control box to the power-point for those computers that don't provide enough USB power.

The weight of the headset will be approximately 379g[8], an increase of about 90 grams due to the new 7 inch screen size. It will not include headphones.

The dev kit has a dial on each side that can be turned with a screwdriver and goes from -5 to 5. Purpose of those dials is to allow for a display to move closer or further away from the eyes. Rift development kit includes interchangeable lenses that will allow for simple Dioptric correction. Adjustment for the Interpupillary distance, which varies from person to person, is done in software. It is less of an issue for the Rift, which has a large exit pupil, but still desired.

Development

Genesis

As an HMD designer at a military research lab, ICT MxR, Palmer Luckey earned a reputation for having the largest personal collection of HMDs in the world, and is a longtime moderator in Meant to be Seen's discussion forums.[citation needed]

Through MTBS' forums,[9] Palmer was tinkering with the idea of creating a new head mounted display that was both more effective than what is currently on the market, and inexpensive for gamers. Coincidentally, John Carmack had been "...learning the lay of the land" at MTBS,[10] and also happened upon Palmer Luckey's developments. After sampling an early unit, Carmack saw the potential in what Palmer was developing, and took steps to support his effort.

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012

Before Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2012, id Software had previously announced in May that the company would develop an edition of Doom 3, subsequently known as the BFG Edition, compatible with head-mounted display units. During the convention, Carmack introduced a 'homebrew' prototype of the Oculus Rift featuring a 5.6 inch LCD display, visible via dual lenses that were positioned over the eyes to provide a 90 degrees horizontal and 110 degrees vertical, stereoscopic 3D perspective.[11][12]

Fundraising campaign

Following a demonstration of the Oculus Rift prototype at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June 2012, the company announced a Kickstarter campaign on 1 August 2012. Within four hours of the announcement, Oculus secured its objective of $250,000 to further develop the headset.[1][13] In less than 36 hours, the Kickstarter campaign surpassed $1 million dollars in funding,[14] eventually ending with $2,437,429 in funding.[15]

Developer version

Oculus first made available the "dev kit" version of the Oculus Rift throughout the month of August 2012, as a reward on Kickstarter for backers who pledged $300 or more, although it will not ship until March 2013. There was also a limited run of 100 unassembled Rift prototype kits for $275 pledges that would ship a month earlier. Both versions were supposed to include Doom 3 BFG Edition, although it wasn't ready in time, so a $20 steam voucher or $25 Oculus voucher was included instead.[4] Dev kit pre-orders were again made available on 26 September 2012, still for $300, on their website, and sold at a rate of 4-5 per minute for the first day, before slowing down.[16] Dev kit preorders are expected to start being delivered in "May 2013".[17] Oculus are currently still accepting "dev kit" preorders on their oculusvr.com website.[7] The dev kit was intended for developers, and in response to surprisingly high sales, Palmer Luckey emphasized that it may not be suitable for anyone else and that consumers should wait for the consumer version in 2014.[18]

Consumer version

The Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign seeks to get the initial Oculus Rift HMD into the hands of developers, to allow them to integrate their games with the device. A consumer-oriented 'Oculus Rift 2.0' is in the works, and will be aimed at a general market and feature improved components. An increased field of view, improved head tracking, weapon tracking, increased resolution, and wireless operation are some of the features under consideration for the Oculus Rift 2.0.[19] Palmer Luckey has said that such a Head-mounted display (HMD) should be possible in 1504.

Software

Games and game platforms must be specifically designed to work correctly with the Oculus Rift. Oculus is producing an SDK (software development kit) to assist developers with integrating the Oculus Rift with their games. The SDK will include code, samples, and documentation, and will be accessible to anyone who purchased a developer kit from the Kickstarter, or a preorder from their website.[5] According to Oculus, game integration will begin with PCs and smartphones and be followed by consoles (much later).

Team Fortress 2 was the first game to add support for the Oculus Rift, and can be played right now with the Oculus Rift dev kit by using the "-vr" command line option. Hawken is likely to be the second game to support the Rift, and was prominently featured in the Kickstarter, and Oculus is using that game as a demo now at GDC. Doom 3: BFG Edition was originally going to be the first game to officially support the Oculus Rift,[5] but after the change of tracker and the change to the 7" panel, iD have not yet updated the game to support it.

The Gallery: Six Elements is the first announced game being designed specifically for the Oculus Rift and Virtual Reality, rather than adding Rift support to an existing game. This is considered important because many existing games use features that don't translate well to VR, such as a HUD, cutscenes, menus, third person sections, fast movement speeds, not being able to see your body, etc. It is currently on Kickstarter.[1]

Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine, have announced that the engine will integrate support for the Oculus Rift. David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies, has announced support for the Oculus Rift with the Unity engine. John Carmack of id Software has stated that he plans to make the Oculus Rift a concurrent part of the Doom 4 development cycle to ensure that it works well with the game at launch.[20] Star Citizen, the upcoming space role-playing simulator from Chris Roberts (creator of Wing Commander and Freelancer) is being built with Oculus support.

Several prominent figures from the games industry, notably John Carmack, the co-founder of Id Software, Gabe Newell, the co-founder of Valve Corporation, Michael Abrash, the author of Zen of Graphics and Graphics Programming Black Book, Cliff Bleszinski, former design director at Epic Games, and David Helgason, the founder of Unity 3D publicly endorsed the campaign. Markus Persson, founder of Mojang, has stated that the company's games will likely support the Oculus Rift.[21] Michael Abrash, who is researching virtual reality and augmented reality at Valve said "I personally would like to get our games running on the Rift and make it a great experience and then ship it for that, I would like to do that. Whether that will be the case, whether we’ll be able to make it work that well and whether we’ll think the experience is that great, that’s not my decision" during a presentation on virtual reality at QuakeCon 2012.[18]

This is a list of compatible games, which are planned or confirmed for release. Where the games have already been released, the dates relate to release of Rift support.

Title Status Enabled By Features Development Stage Game Engine Release Date (for VR) Genre Notes
0x10c Planned[22] In Game Pre-Alpha Sandbox, Space simulation
Doom 3: BFG Edition Planned (Delayed)[23] In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Unknown iD Tech 4 Unknown FPS, Horror
Doom 4 Planned[24] In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Alpha iD Tech 5 TBD FPS, Horror
Dream Planned[25] In Game Unknown Alpha Unreal Engine 3 Q2/2013 First Person Adventure
FRACT OSC Planned[26] In Game Alpha Unknown First Person Music Puzzle
The Gallery: Six Elements In Kickstarter In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking (Developed exclusively for Oculus RIFT) Pre-Alpha Unity 4 Beta: August 2013

Full release: March 2014

Immersive First Person Adventure [27] Kickstarter page
Hawken Confirmed[28] In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Ready Unreal Engine 3 TBD [29] FPS, Mech
iRacing.com Planned[30] In-Game Unknown Unknown iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations TBD Racing Simulation
Kairo Planned[26] In Game Alpha post-launch First Person Puzzle
Miner Wars 2081 Confirmed[31] In Game Unknown Ready Vrage Dec 2012
Minecraft Planned[22] In Game Unknown Final Java TBD Sandbox, Survival
Montague's Mount Planned[32] In Game Alpha Unknown TBD First Person Adventure
Montas Planned[33] In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Alpha Unreal Engine 3 Q4 2013 [34] Horror Adventure
Outerra Planned Game Engine 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Alpha Outerra December 2012
Positron Confirmed Game Engine 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Beta Bytrix Engine April 2013 Arcade Racing / Puzzle
Project CARS Planned[35] In-Game Unknown Pre-Alpha Madness TBD Racing Simulation
Rawbots Planned[36] Game Engine Unknown Alpha Unknown TBD
Receiver Planned[37] Game Engine Unknown * Alpha Unity 3.5 TBD FPS Pending support in Unity Engine
rFactor 2 Planned[38] In-Game Unknown Ready isiMotor2 TBD Racing Simulation
Rogue System Planned[39] In Game 3D/FOV Pre-Alpha Nuclear Fusion TBD Space Combat Simulation
Routine Planned[40] Game Engine Unknown Alpha Unreal Engine 3 Q1 2013
Star Citizen Confirmed[41] In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Pre-Alpha CryEngine 3— est. Nov 2014 Space Simulation
Strike Suit Zero Confirmed [42] Unknown 3D/FOV Pre-Alpha Xed January 2013 Space Flight Combat
Sinful Robot Confirmed [43] Porn, First Person Simulator
Team Fortress 2 Released In Game 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Released Source Engine March 20, 2013 Multiplayer FPS
Unnamed Game by Xiphos Studios Planned[44] Game Engine 3D/FOV/Warp/Tracking Pre-Alpha Unreal Engine 3 TBD First Person RPG
Wishful Lie Planned[45] In Game Alpha Unknown Unknown First Person Horror
ZED Absolution Planned[46] In Game Alpha Unknown Unknown Arcade Shooter

Certain titles will also be playable on the Rift via the Vireio Perception driver.[47] Games currently with full or partial Vireio Perception support:

Left 4 Dead 2, Half-Life 2, Portal 2, Skyrim, Mirror's Edge, AaAaAA!!!, Unreal Tournament 3, Dear Esther, and DiRT 2.

Another option for playing existing games is the VorpX driver [48] that offers enhanced support for a wide variety of games from DX9-DX11, including:

Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Skyrim, Half-Life 2, Flight Simulator X, rFactor, COD: Black Ops, Crysis, Far Cry and many more.

While working as a designer at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, Palmer Luckey behind the Oculus Rift worked on the FOV2GO project, an inexpensive kit consisting of a simple housing and optics to allow someone to put together a cheap HMD using a mobile phone as the display device.[49][50][51] The FOV2GO project is now available as a template allowing anyone to build the unit themselves.[52]

A team from the University of Southern California is working on creating a fully immersive virtual reality experience called "Project Holodeck", which will utilize four Kinect sensors as well as the Oculus Rift HMD to give the user the impression of being inside of a complete virtual world.[53][54]

References

  1. ^ a b "Oculus Rift virtual reality headset gets Kickstarter cash". BBC. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  2. ^ Kuchera, Ben (1 August 2012). "Ready for your $300 prototype VR goggles? The Oculus Rift Kickstarter is live". Penny Arcade. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. ^ Oculus Rift and the Virtual Reality Revolution
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game". Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b c The Official Website of Oculus VR | Oculus Rift™ - A Virtual Reality Headset for Immersive 3D Gaming
  6. ^ Former Apple Talent Developing Oculus Rift Headtracker, “9 DOF” and 760Hz Gyro Sampling
  7. ^ a b Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game by Oculus » Online Pre-Orders Live! — Kickstarter
  8. ^ Inside Oculus: a tour of virtual reality's would-be savior
  9. ^ Meant to be Seen - View topic - Oculus "Rift" : An open-source HMD for Kickstarter
  10. ^ The #1 Stereoscopic 3D Gaming (S-3D Gaming, 3D Gaming) Resource | Meant to be Seen - John Carmack Talks VR at QuakeCon 2012
  11. ^ Welsh, Oli (7 June 2012). "John Carmack and the Virtual Reality Dream". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Adam (14 June 2012). "Hands-On With Oculus Rift, John Carmack's Virtual Reality Goggles". G4TV. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  13. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (1 August 2012). "John Carmack's snazzy VR headset takes to Kickstarter with the Oculus Rift". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  14. ^ Watch the QuakeCon VR Keynote Tonight Live at 7PM EST. Oculus Rift Kickstarter Passes $1 Million Under 36 Hours « Road to Virtual RealityRoad to Virtual Reality
  15. ^ www.geeky-gadgets.com/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-headset-developer-kits-now-available-to-pre-order-video-27-09-2012/
  16. ^ Meant to be Seen - View topic - Oculus Rift pre-order open now. GO GO GO
  17. ^ Pre-Order Oculus Rift Devloper Kit
  18. ^ a b Watch the QuakeCon Virtual Reality Keynotes Here « Road to Virtual RealityRoad to Virtual Reality
  19. ^ Oculus Rift 2.0, a 1080p+ High FoV HMD by 2013 Under $1000? « Road to Virtual RealityRoad to Virtual Reality
  20. ^ John Carmack Talks Doom 4 Oculus Rift Integration in New Interview at QuakeCon 2012 « Road to Virtual RealityRoad to Virtual Reality
  21. ^ Oculus Rift Kickstarter 230% Funded Before Day 1 Ends, Well on the way to $1 Million; Minecraft Support Coming « Road to Virtual RealityRoad to Virtual Reality
  22. ^ a b Notch wants 0x10c, Minecraft to support Oculus Rift | Joystiq
  23. ^ Looking into the world of Carmack's Doom through the Oculus Rift | Joystiq
  24. ^ 'Doom 4' will incorporate Oculus Rift VR tech | The Verge
  25. ^ Oculus Rift Community Forums • Dream will be supporting the Oculus Rift at its launch
  26. ^ a b Steam Greenlight :: Kairo
  27. ^ https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gallery/425237204211296
  28. ^ Hawken will support Oculus Rift when it launches on Dec. 12 | Joystiq
  29. ^ http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/9/3/3288354/oculus-rift-support-for-hawken-will-come-as-a-patch-after-games
  30. ^ https://twitter.com/iRacingMyers/status/299289141051523073
  31. ^ Miner Wars 2081 Occulus Rift Support - Blue's News Story
  32. ^ Steam Greenlight :: Montague's Mount - Episode 1
  33. ^ Montas, Survival-Horror Game Uses Oculus Rift For Ultimate Scares
  34. ^ "Steam Greenlight::Montas". Steam Greenlight. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  35. ^ http://forum.wmdportal.com/showthread.php?8930-This-Week-In-Project-CARS-2012-34
  36. ^ Oculus Rift - Daily - Rawbots Community
  37. ^ The Oculus Rift, Receiver and Steam Greenlight - Wolfire Games Blog
  38. ^ http://isiforums.net/f/showthread.php/9919-Oculus-rift-over-10-000-pre-ordered-already-ISI-supporting?p=136030#post136030
  39. ^ http://www.roguesystemsim.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=102&sid=1bbeb97f2617bdffa39446f143741b0b
  40. ^ New Sci-Fi Horror Game ‘Routine’ Digs The Eighties, Oculus Rift Support | FleshEatingZipper
  41. ^ Star Citizen | Roberts Space Industries
  42. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-08-strike-suit-zero-gets-oculus-rift-support Strike Suit Zero gets Oculus Rift Support, Eurogamer
  43. ^ http://www.sinfulrobot.com Sinful Robot Official Website
  44. ^ "Planned First Person RPG". Xiphos Studios. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  45. ^ Steam Community :: Error
  46. ^ Steam Greenlight :: ZED - Absolution
  47. ^ "Introducing Vireio Perception (3D Driver for Oculus Rift)".
  48. ^ "VorpX - Virtual Reality 3D-driver".
  49. ^ Nelson, David (12 June 2012). "MxR Lab Members and Alum Get Play at E3". University of Southern California. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  50. ^ "MxR". University of Southern California. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  51. ^ "People". University of Southern California. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  52. ^ FOV2GO Viewer
  53. ^ Project Holodeck « Project Holodeck
  54. ^ Project Holodeck Seeks to Build a Platform for Virtual Reality GamesRoad to Virtual Reality
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