Think your gaming set-up is perfect?
Think again. Meet the VR system that wants to revolutionize the way we game
Gaming is no stranger to vaporware - its 12
years on, and were still waiting for Elite 4. But even in an industry that
fails to deliver more often than a courier navigating via Apple Maps, virtual
reality stands out. From Nintendo's blurry Virtual Boy in the'90s to various
nausea-inducing arcade machines of the '00s, VR has spawned more headaches than
FIFA has sequels.
A
mysterious headset called the Oculus Rift wowed press and DEVS alike.
Last summer at E3, all of that changed. A
mysterious headset called the Oculus Rift wowed press and DEVS alike. Within
weeks, the homemade 3D prototype became one of the biggest Kick starter
projects of all time, raising over $22.5m to fund a new kind of VR headset:
light, affordable and ultra-high tech. But with its original November 2012
shipping date slipping to 2013, will the Oculus Rift join The Lawnmower Man
in the Virtual Hall of Shame or can it finally deliver the immersive frag fest
garners are howling for? We sent Mark Harris into the eye of the Oculus to find
out...
The Hardware & How It Works
Built with off the-shelf smartphone
components, developed using open source code and funded by Kickstarter, the
Oculus Rift is VR from the streets. What makes it work? A sleek, lightweight
build that can be worn for hours at a time, an ultra-wide angle 3D display that
mimics the human eye's field of view and lightning-fast head tracking to wipe
out in-game lag.
Build
Weighing under 250g, the Rift is as light
and comfortable as a pair of ski goggles (no surprise, as that’s what it’s
based on). A single proprietary cable carries HD video, USB and power from a
separate control box.
Weighing
under 250g, the Rift is as light and comfortable as a pair of ski goggles (no
surprise, as that’s what it’s based on).
Optics
Binocular style lenses provide the wide 110
– degree field of view that makes the Rift feels so immersive. Oculus is
working on making swappable lenses, for gamers who are short or far sighted.
Nice of them.
Display
The first developer kit uses a 7in 1280x800
– pixel screen, giving 720p stereo 3D gaming. The company promises the consumer
device, possibly coming as soon as 2014, will offer up 1080p gameplay.
A
single proprietary cable carries HD video, USB and power from a separate
control box.
Sensors
Accelerometers in the goggles provide
inch-perfect head tracking. A key feature is the 50ms response time between
sensing motion and updating the display, which makes head tracking completely
smooth.
Hands-on with the Oculus Rift
Time to see what all the fuss is about, I'm
set up on a MacBook Pro running Doom 3 and a newer, more advanced game engine
that OCUILIs asks me not to identify (they're still in commercial
discussions). The current prototype of the Rift is a work in progress, with a
duct- taped outer shell and a frame that's been MacGyvered together from a pair
of Scott snow goggles. Even in this state, it's light and comfortable to wear.
A single cable plugs in to the top, and away we go...
The gaming experience is simply stunning.
The 3D effect is fantastic and the focus distance feels totally natural - no
awkward squinting or refocusing required. Response time is almost perfect, with
every twitch of my head reflected immediately in the virtual world. It really
is as if I'm actually inside the game, rather than just watching or playing it.
The
gaming experience is simply stunning. The 3D effect is fantastic and the focus
distance feels totally natural - no awkward squinting or refocusing required.
The experience of floating through the
virtual environment is so natural that it's easy to forget I'm still sitting
in an office chair, rather than roving an industrial landscape hunting
zombies, It's great but the hyper-realism eventually triggers mild motion
sickness, which gets worse until I remove the headset. That said, surely
roving an industrial landscape hunting zombies would leave me sick anyway. I'm
sold.
