Oculus Connect - Keynote Livestream (New Oculus Rift Prototype Confirmed)

[LAwLz]

The Oculus keynotes will soon start on Twitch.
This keynote is mostly for developers but I thought maybe some people on here would be interested.
Don't expect anything amazing to be announced. (Looks like I was wrong about that).

Link: Oculus on Twitch
Scheduled and other info on Oculus' website HERE.






Flattering picture of Luke on the big screen (not actually Luke). Yes, that is what you look like while wearing a VR headset.


They see two different experiences. "Mobile VR" and "PC VR".

This is the evolution of VR on the PC:

This is the evolution of VR on mobile:



They want to see these two merge in the future but as for now, they are separate.


Iribe making a few jokes about Chinese companies now being able to copy the DK1 thanks to them releasing the source code and schematics for it (as well as all patents).


Average reaction to using the Oculus Rift:

They want to show that the Facebook acquisition was good for VR.
They used the acquisition to requite far more engineers. Doubled the staff in less than 6 months, among the new recruits was Michael Abrash.


Consumer model talk!

What do they want/need for a good VR experience?
These are the 5 major components for creating good presence:

That is 1K resolution per eye.




New prototype announced! Crescent Bay!

As big of a leap as DK1 -> DK2
Higher refresh rate, higher resolution, better optics, 360 degree tracking (LEDs on the back).
Lighter and better ergonomics.
Integrated audio (optional, not mandatory).

My guess is 2560x1440 resolution at 90Hz.

THIS IS NOT THE CONSUMER MODEL!
This is much closer to the consumer model than DK2, but still not the final product.

Palmer is serious about audio so hopefully the optional headphones are pretty good. They are putting a lot of effort into the software part as well. They have licensed audio solutions from RealSpace 3D.


They are making a launcher for Oculus called "Oculus Home". When you start VR you will see this launcher, from where you can discover new games and such.

Epic Games has made a new VR demo called "showdown". Sadly they haven't shown the demo so far. Expect pictures of it soon!


Unity 5 has support for Oculus now! If you are a Unity developed you will be able to get a free add-on for Unity to build VR games with support for a bunch of different features including 3D sound.


They got a big surprise coming! Apparently they didn't (or maybe the surprise was the new Unreal Engine demo they didn't show on the stream)...
(Rumors has it that it's a free U2 album for all DK2 owners).


That's it for the keynotes!
There was a ton of stuff I didn't cover so it might be worth checking the archive later. What I didn't cover was the details of what's needed for good VR and the many anecdotes they told.

[scaryjam823]

I expect something amazing to be announced.

[A.D.A.M]

-snip-

ill watch it might learn something

[LAwLz]

Rumors has it that the consumer model will launch in limited quantities in summer 2015 in an "invite only" program.

Oculus has made no comment about it which is kind of weird since they usually do on these kinds of rumors. Maybe they will announce that?

[Electrostatik]

Bumpy start there for Iribe

 

seems to be more comfortable by the minute

[A.D.A.M]

-snip-

i thought that was luke didnt think it was really him.

[mvitkun]

And then we made everything open source;I can't wait to see all the Chinese knockoffs, God help us all.

[qwertywarrior]

YES

he said it

made fun of Notch for freaking out at the facebook partnership but eventually sold out to microsoft

[qwertywarrior]

wohooo crescent CV1 prototype !!!!

[mvitkun]

@LAwLz update with crescent bay?

And update that the headphones on it are optional.

University of Maryland wut?

[nicholaswillems]

Yay nice prototype! Seems like you will be able to choose if you want it with or without audio, which is great. Choice is very important.

[mvitkun]

@LAwLz
There's still one more part with John Carmack in around 10 min, the demo might be shown then.
It might be the car flip demo.

[qwertywarrior]

@LAwLz update with crescent bay?

And update that the headphones on it are optional.

University of Maryland wut?

seems like they are going to use very good 3D sound software that has been in development for over 10 years

 they wouldnt have chosen it if it was crap

this is the website

http://realspace3daudio.com/

 

they have a Unity plugin

http://realspace3daudio.apps-1and1.com/technology/#vr

[mvitkun]

seems like they are going to use very good 3D sound software that has been in development for over 10 years

 they wouldnt have chosen it if it was crap

this is the website

http://realspace3daudio.com/

 

they have a Unity plugin

http://realspace3daudio.apps-1and1.com/technology/#vr

Yeah I know, I meant I thought it was funny that he referred to it as "one of the best universities in the country/world/something"

[Sakkura]

Good thing the built-in headset is optional. I hope it will be the same way in the consumer model. Ideally optional not just in the sense that you can detach it and use another headset, but that you can buy the thing without included audio at a lower price.

[LAwLz]

Crescent Bay might be 90Hz judging by Carmack's speech.

 

Edit: Most of what Carmack is talking about is going way above my head so I can't really make any updates.

[Sakkura]

Carmack does have that effect on most people.

[Reprise]

One guy on reddit believes the screen in Crescent Bay to be 4K, at least better than the Note 4 panel.

 

Thats absolutly amazing.

[qwertywarrior]

One guy on reddit believes the screen in Crescent Bay to be 4K, at least better than the Note 4 panel.

 

Thats absolutly amazing.

 

its been told that the PC being used a single GPU running

so 4k at high fps ~90Hz is pretty hard  it might be something else

 

they could be using a diffuser of some sort + AA

[Reprise]

its been told that the PC being used a single GPU running

so 4k at high fps ~90Hz is pretty hard  it might be something else

 

they could be using a diffuser of some sort + AA

 

The thing is, it wouldn't have to run on 4K. The screen would still look much better, even if its only scaled up.

 

1440p display and some kind of diffuser also seems like a solid idea.

[qwertywarrior]

The thing is, it wouldn't have to run on 4K. The screen would still look much better, even if its only scaled up.

 

1440p display and some kind of diffuser also seems like a solid idea.

hmm i never thought of that

its true people that used it on reddit (/oculus)  didnt notice the black grids between pixels so yeah it could be 4k 

but it would have to be played at 1080p  because interpolation

1440p on a 4k panel  would look a bit blurry

 

 

edit: carmack showed in the years ahead 4k will be used in VR

so i guess this is 1440p

[Deli]

Good to hear more developments. But......it feels like centuries since they announced the project. Prototype after prototype. When will we see the product hits the market? At this rate, someone else might beat them to have a decent product available, gain traction and market share before we know. Samsung and Sony still have better marketing and brand awareness for the general public than Oculus. Come on, step on the gas.

[unsubscribed]

The fact that NVidia 9xx series are also focusing on VR can mean 2 things. Either Oculus is ready to be released and within 6 months it should happen or NVidia has their own VR headset up their sleeves. And I do believe the latter. Time will tell.

Better start saving. 2015 will be big on VR.

[Sakkura]

Good to hear more developments. But......it feels like centuries since they announced the project. Prototype after prototype. When will we see the product hits the market? At this rate, someone else might beat them to have a decent product available, gain traction and market share before we know. Samsung and Sony still have better marketing and brand awareness for the general public than Oculus. Come on, step on the gas.

 

It needs to take a long time, otherwise you'd get a pretty crappy experience at launch. That would be a disaster.

 

And personally I don't really care who is first to market or who ends up being more successful. Just like I don't really care whether Asus or BenQ or LG or Dell etc. sells the most monitors.

[TheEpicCanadian]

Oculus revealed it's new "Crescent Bay" prototype during their Oculus Connect livestream yesterday. The new model features a faster frame-rate, 360-degree head tracking, built-in headphones, and a lighter build. 

 

 

The Crescent Bay is not an official developer kit, but instead a “feature prototype” designed to show off the future of what Oculus is doing, similar to the pre-DK2 “Crystal Cove” prototype. The Crescent Bay likely won’t ship out to developers but will prepare them for what Oculus puts into the “DK3″ or whatever it calls its next developer kit, which VR makers will be able to buy and tinker with.

 

 

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/20/oculus-connect-announcements/